I did a rough estimate, and I should be able to finish around the end of October. If it takes a little longer, it should still be finished by the end of this year.
This stretch of the story is finished for now. The main arc ahead will be Eastern Radiance Heaven, including Tiantuo's pursuit of the Dao, Xu Xuan's awakening, and the grand finale.
There was originally another stretch of story about Xu Xuan's ascent to "Severance," but people kept saying things were dragging, so I skipped it for now. I'll fill it in later, including the origin of the identity [Ying Qi].
Often, when I sped up the plot, it was because the pressure was too much and I was badly stuck. All I could do was find a way to move into the next stage of the story.
The readers' perspective and expectations have already been pushed very high, so it's difficult for me to switch viewpoints. But viewpoints at the Golden Core or Immortal level are also very hard to write.
At this point, there are so many setting details and characters that reading has become exhausting, and while writing, I also feel as though I've spun a cocoon around myself and become trapped inside it. Conceptual, abstract battles are especially difficult to write.
Readers can't picture how the fighting works, and it's hard for the author to describe it clearly, too. It can easily turn into hand-waving. I'm doing my best to make it clear.
Familiarity breeds contempt, while the unfamiliar inspires awe. Once you write about lofty figures in concrete detail, they can easily become mundane-unless they keep winning and are always the clever ones in the story.
But a story where everyone is clever is impossible to keep writing.
I'm not clever myself.