Chapter Ninety: Lightning-Struck Wood?

To Chen Yu, the Dao Realm is less of a cultivation tier and more akin to a state of sudden enlightenment; it is categorized simply by the varying depth and effect of that realization.

Thus far, he had touched upon both the Initial Illumination and Deep Concentration realms. By the standards of the mortal world below, this would easily place him on par with the young daoist scion of a prominent lineage or the direct disciple of a major sect. In fact, the vast majority of daoists merely heard of these states without ever witnessing them firsthand, and a great many deeply doubted the existence of the Dao Realm altogether, dismissing it as mere imagination of the ancients.

Yet, in reality, Chen Yu had stepped into it several times.

Although each entry was aided by fortuitous circumstances, those profound feelings—so remarkably aligned with the descriptions recorded in the daoist scriptures—were undoubtedly the Dao Realm. Among all the transcendent powers he had faced thus far, this was the only one whose existence he did not have to infer merely from textual similarities in daoist tomes.

It was entirely different from spiritual qi, vital energy, embryonic breathing, or mental force.

"Seniors and predecessors of the past have also walked this path."

When it came to determining whether one had truly crossed the threshold, Chen Yu had his boundless sea of consciousness to serve as verification. As long as the waves in that vast expanse fell calm, it signified that he had stepped into the Dao Realm.

How, then, did those predecessors confirm it?

Upon careful reflection, it was not particularly difficult. Both Initial Illumination and Deep Concentration could be considered forms of sudden enlightenment. The wondrous sensation of a sudden spiritual baptism was something impossible to forget once experienced.

During Initial Illumination, it allowed him to perceive the glowing orb within his consciousness, from which he eventually nurtured and excavated his mental force.

As for Deep Concentration... it laid the foundation for his integration of the three methods, the creation of the inner-harvesting breathing technique, his entry into the inner-harvesting qi-absorbing realm, and his progression onto the true path of cultivation.

Without that deep meditation upon Rosy Cloud Cliff, while he could not say progress would have been entirely impossible, he would have lost countless sparks of inspiration, and his advancement undoubtedly would have been delayed for a long time.

This time was no exception. Under the influence of the incense stick crafted from miscellaneous fragrant herbs, he once again entered Deep Concentration. Inspiration burst forth within his mind, and various persistent problems that had previously eluded his understanding suddenly seemed as transparent as ice melting under a blade.

This feeling was much like the first time he consumed the Lanting divine fruit, when his mental force was amplified and his wisdom abruptly unlocked.

Of course, eating the divine fruit again no longer produced that same sensation; after all, the difference in his mental capacity over the past few months was as vast as clouds and mud. Tasting it now yielded only a pleasant flavor.

However, based on his understanding of the records in daoist texts, while the first three Dao Realms were detailed comprehensively with numerous corroborating accounts, the descriptions of the Cicada-Stilling and Turtle-Breathing realms were vague, evasive, and ambiguous.

This might simply be because he had not gained access to the true transmissions of major sects and prominent temples; it was hardly surprising that the texts circulating in the outside world lacked detailed records of them.

Yet Chen Yu occasionally suspected that, much like other exaggerated claims in daoist lore, these latter two realms might be states that no one had ever truly stepped into, existing solely as fanciful projections.

If that were the case, it was entirely possible that nothing existed beyond the realm of forgetting oneself.

He had not yet come to a definitive conclusion; these were merely passing, idle musings. Whether such realms existed or not mattered little to him. To Chen Yu, the significance of the Dao Realm lay mostly within that formless sea of consciousness, where it could smooth the rolling waves and cause the giant net to materialize.

Gazing at the burning incense on the desk, the blue smoke curling steadily upward, Chen Yu's gaze flickered as if he were deep in thought. He could plant more of the miscellaneous fragrant herbs. Leaving aside the mental effects of their fruit when processed into incense, their utility in aiding deep meditation alone made them worthy of his attention.

The prerequisite, of course, was that he could reliably replicate the entry into the Dao Realm.

Suppressing his wandering thoughts, he closed his eyes, crossed his legs, and continued to inhale and exhale the faint, drifting fragrance in the surrounding air.

...

On the eighth day of the eighth month, a day after the mountain trails had cleared, a figure sped and leaped through the mountains.

His movements were ethereal and exceptionally agile.

Carrying a basket on his back, Chen Yu intended to make a trip into the mountains to gather some herbs capable of dispelling dampness and cold, while also inspecting the condition of the wild forests. The recent torrential rain and subsequent landslides had heightened his vigilance. He wanted to survey the mountains—especially the rock formations close to the Daoist temple—checking every direction from top to bottom, storing the terrain clearly in his mind so he would not be caught unprepared by sudden disasters.

Along the way, he also planned to take a look at the collapsed terrain.

That day, lightning had run wild, rain had poured in sheets, and the sight of the mountains crumbling remained vivid in his mind, breathtakingly terrifying.

Before that, however, he had to visit Rosy Cloud Cliff.

He wanted to go to the spot struck by lightning and search for any residual traces of it, such as lightning-struck wood; failing that, even scorched earth and shattered stones would suffice, as long as they had come into direct contact with heavenly lightning.

It was not for any other reason than that Chen Yu wanted to see if he could extract and analyze an array inscription related to [Lightning]. This was not wishful thinking; the violently volatile array inscription [Scorching], used in the Mountain-Crushing Talisman, had been isolated precisely from charcoal that had been baked over a fire.

If he could truly find traces of lightning, there was a certain possibility he could achieve his goal.

Still, while Chen Yu entertained the thought, he did not hold excessive expectations. The reason he was able to extract a unique array inscription from charcoal roasted over a fire was primarily because he had sufficient raw materials.

One had to bear in mind that he had used dozens of pounds of charcoal alone, with countless pieces of timber consumed over several days, exhausting his vital energy more than a dozen times over. Even so, he had only managed to obtain scattered, fragmented patterns, which he had successfully refined only after numerous rounds of deletion and blending.

It was unlikely that a single flash of lightning would prove quite that fortuitous.

Moreover, when lightning struck wood, it likewise scorched the material into charcoal through high temperatures. Because of this, even if remnants did exist, he doubted whether he would discover anything novel—it might simply turn out to be yet another [Scorching] array inscription.

As these thoughts turned in his mind, Chen Yu sped onward. His mastery of lightness kung fu, paired with the Light-Body Technique, allowed his form to bound through the forest like a running tiger or leopard, exceptionally swift.

Before long, a journey that originally took half an hour was completed in less than a quarter of it.

At the foot of Rosy Cloud Cliff, a massive pile of rubble and soil lay choked and heaped across the narrow path, blocking it entirely.

This path saw very few travelers, so neither those from the mountain above nor the village below had come to clear it.

Chen Yu lifted his foot, bounded across the rock face with three or five great leaps, and quickly climbed the mountain slope. As for the mountain path below, he paid it no mind; few people walked it anyway, and paths leading down the mountain existed on both the east and west sides. This particular trail had originally been worn into existence by the disciples of the Cloud Crane Temple when they visited the pavilion atop Rosy Cloud Cliff.

Now considered abandoned, it no longer warranted the trouble of clearing.

Upon reaching the hillside, he truly felt the devastation before him. Chen Yu came to a halt and looked over: the pavilion, which had stood for decades, had ultimately failed to withstand the ordeal, its upper half collapsed and tiles shattered all over the ground.

Not far away, four or five dark marks remained, though the scorching on the ground had already become blurred. Meanwhile, a long, deep gash on the trunk of a tree seemed to still speak of the roaring thunder from that day.

Was there really lightning-struck wood?

Chen Yu raised an eyebrow involuntarily. He knew full well that this did not quite match the traditional lightning-struck wood spoken of in daoist texts, but in his view, it had been struck by lightning and retained carbonized traces.

He strode over to the tree, broke off a section, and brought it to his hand for inspection. Immediately, a hazy mist coiled out, poured into the wood, and began to circulate within.

As expected, the arrival of his vital energy caused the internal structure to begin changing; the infusion phenomenon could occur even during carbonization.

However, after half a quarter of an hour, Chen Yu lowered the piece of charcoal, picked up a few more remnants from the ground, and finally let out a soft sigh, tossing the black chunks in his hand aside.

Indeed, he had oversimplified the matter. The lightning of this world was likely identical to that of his previous life; hence, what remained after scorching was naturally nothing more than the [Scorching] array inscription.

There was nothing related to lightning to be found.

Still, not all charcoal was created equal. Perhaps due to the properties of this specific tree, while the array inscriptions infused after the carbonization of different individuals were all [Scorching], subtle differences remained in the finer details.

Though he could not yet discern the utility of these subtle differences, once he returned to analyze and combine them according to the Three Powers principle, and condensed them into an array to test, he would know.

Next, he would take a look deeper into the mountains.

With that thought, Chen Yu lingered no longer, once more gathering his qi and bounding away into the distance.