At those words, Ren, merged with the Zhu Xian Sword Formation, froze!
After all, Ren cultivated the Sword Dao. Relying on his nature as a Sword Spirit and on the Zhu Xian Sword, he had advanced relentlessly, cutting through every obstacle! But thinking back, hadn't he been advancing a little too fast?
Not long ago, he had still been struggling desperately in the Fairy Tail World!
Yet after arriving in the Investiture of the Gods World, he had grown stronger at every turn and swept all before him!
In the Shrouding the Heavens World, he had carved a path of slaughter!
Ren seemed to have advanced just like a sword: always forward, heedless of the consequences, as if that were only natural!
But the words "To use its edge, first blunt its sharpness" made Ren realize something was wrong!
He fell silent and turned his awareness inward, examining his body and soul!
When he looked at his soul, he discovered that the once-pure soul now bore faint, almost imperceptible cracks. Sword Aura had even seeped into it!
Only then did Ren understand why he had advanced so quickly. He had taken a dangerous shortcut, burning through his own potential to keep growing stronger!
As for his newly remade body, Ren found nothing wrong with it. But he knew he had been carried away by his newfound power, chasing speed above all else. Only when he looked back did he realize how far he had strayed, onto a path of ruin!
This was not the Devil Dao of the Primordial World, of course. It was a road with no return, one that led to his own destruction!
Ren knew that if he kept advancing this way, his body would eventually break under the strain!
The same was true of his soul.