Cheng Xinzhan communed with his Heart Mansion and learned with a single inquiry that winter had given way to spring twice during his seclusion. He had entered seclusion in mid-spring of Ming year 480; now it was already early spring of year 482.
He had not expected so much time to have passed.
Cheng Xinzhan felt a little regretful. He had missed the golden wind and autumn dew of the Gengzi Year just like that-a rare heavenly gang available only once every twelve years. Moreover, after he passed "Nirvana Thunder" and "Obstacle-Breaking Thunder," there had been no sign of "Unfixed Thunder." Was it not coming? He had wanted to see what he would be like in a state of agitation, and there were sixty free years of life to be had, too. Who would complain of living too long?
But on second thought, Cheng Xinzhan smiled again. Compared with what he had gained, none of those things mattered. With his Great Dao clearly established and the road ahead wide open, what more could he want?
Thinking back on it now, this lightning calamity had truly been perilous-and truly interesting. "Nirvana Thunder" and "Obstacle-Breaking Thunder" had actually arrived together. "Nirvana Thunder" had provided cover for "Obstacle-Breaking Thunder," turning the task of breaking through silent darkness into one of breaking through it along his own unique trajectory of the Great Dao, so naturally stirring his thoughts about the Great Dao.
Layered together, the two had sharply increased both the difficulty and the danger.
Because of "Obstacle-Breaking Thunder," "Nirvana Thunder" had become far more difficult: he had to illuminate his mind and perceive his nature, attain enlightenment and the Dao, and break through the silent darkness in his own way. And because of "Nirvana Thunder," the consequences of failing "Obstacle-Breaking Thunder" had become