But enlightenment had never been a flash of inspiration. It was a sudden spark born only from strength and the accumulation of vast knowledge and experience.
Yet the process was incomparably painful...
Through spring and summer, through sunrise and moonset, Chen Xun stood beneath the tree like a wooden carving. Only Big Black Ox, constantly running about to nurture other spiritual herbs, kept this patch of heaven and earth from seeming quite so silent and dead.
A thousand years later.
Frost had settled between Chen Xun's brows, and at last, the corner of his lips stirred.
Big Black Ox's eyes lit up, only to hear him curse under his breath. "Damn it... did I comprehend it in the wrong direction?"
"Old Ox, bring me some Enlightenment Tea. If my comprehension isn't enough, then fortune will have to make up for it."
"Moo moo~"
Half a day later.
A tea table had appeared beneath the tree. Chen Xun no longer stood there, instead drinking tea with an exceedingly leisurely air. No matter how one looked at him, he did not seem to be comprehending the Dao at all; rather, he looked as though his spirit had wandered through heaven and earth.
Taking a break from enlightenment...
Another thousand years passed.
The Enlightenment Tea Tree had gone bare on one side. Chen Xun still sat beneath it drinking tea with a face full of contemplation. From his initial curses and doubts, he had arrived at the silence written all over his face now. Still, there had been a trace of progress.
He had discovered that the issue within was fundamentally not one of any Dao or other. It was a mutation born from the fusion of multiple Daos—just like how everyone had initially revered Heavenly Spirit Roots, yet now fought desperately to