"Drip... drip..."
In the woods, droplets slid from the leaves and struck the tender grass below, making soft yet crisp sounds.
The dark clouds had receded, and sunlight returned to the earth. A rainbow hung like a bridge, linking the ground to the heavens.
"Ugh..."
Zhou Changqing suddenly felt the world spin. His mind rapidly grew heavy, and an emptiness rising from his soul spread throughout his body.
He opened his eyes, and sunlight shone into them, illuminating the lucid gleam rapidly fading from his gaze.
Within a few breaths, that clear, quick-witted feeling from before ebbed away completely like a retreating tide.
His entire mind felt as though it had been covered in a thick layer of cement, with bricks piled into an insurmountable wall.
It's over...
After a moment, Zhou Changqing recovered his senses and sighed inwardly, somewhat wistful.
Honestly, the state he had experienced during Enlightenment had been better than anything he had ever known. Now that it had faded, he felt distinctly uncomfortable.
Having tasted Enlightenment's clarity, how could he not feel uncomfortable with shackles wrapped around him again?
Before long, however, Zhou Changqing's mood shifted from dejection to excitement.
For no other reason than that he had not only broken through to Dou Wang this time, but also encountered an opportunity for Enlightenment. His harvest had been immense!
Although Enlightenment had lasted only briefly, judging by the change in the weather, it could not have exceeded half an hour.
Yet in that hour, he had accomplished things that would otherwise have taken several years, or even more than a decade!
Recalling his gains, Zhou Changqing immediately circulated the Heavenly Dipper Gold-Tempering Art.
Instantly, the Dou Qi within his Dou Crystal surged like a rushing river, pouring into his meridians and completing its circuit at tremendous