Chapter 112 - 111: Demonstration, discussion.

Chapter 112: Chapter 111: Demonstration, discussion.

He raised his right hand and turned his palm toward them.

"Watch."

Slowly, darkness spread from his fingertips, swallowing the flesh until his hand became a shapeless mass that extended to his wrist.

Different from before.

This time, a thin stream of spiritual energy flowed from his arm into the darkness.

Chen Yan immediately focused on it.

Despite the hand’s strange appearance, the energy passed through without resistance whatsoever, following the meridians as naturally as it would through ordinary flesh.

"How can this be? How can the meridians still transfer spiritual energy?" he asked.

"Why wouldn’t they?" Chen Yuan replied. "Changing their appearance doesn’t mean their function has disappeared."

Before Chen Yan could pursue the matter, a faint crackle filled the cave. Lightning flickered within the darkness, spreading between its shifting tendrils before gathering around Chen Yuan’s palm.

Chen Feng’s eyes narrowed, and he exclaimed in shock, "You can change its attribute without using a spiritual technique?"

"No..."

"You are replacing a spiritual technique’s reliance on the heavens with direct control over attributes. This is a totally brand-new path."

Chen Yuan gave a small nod.

With a slight movement of his fingers, the lightning vanished into the other end of the cave.

And instead of exploding, Chen Yuan controlled it to move around the place with great accuracy.

At certain intervals, the lightning changed in nature, and under their astonished gazes...

The lightning solidified into a metallic luster and returned to Chen Yuan’s hand before dissolving into the darkness.

"I- Incredible!"

Chen Feng praised him in shock. "Changing the attribute of the lightning after it has already been sent out just like that..."

"What manner of attack is that? And from the fluctuation alone, it was no less powerful than any top second-grade spiritual technique I’ve seen before."

Chen Yuan smiled at their astonishment and slowly began to explain.

"Normally, we resonate with the heavens to wield the attributes of the world. Our techniques allow us to draw upon those principles, but everything still depends on the cultivation path that supports them."

"No matter how much we refine our techniques, there are limits we cannot overcome through the existing system."

"Even the best body cultivation, spiritual, and soul techniques we can develop only reach the peak of Foundation Establishment, since the path beyond has already been cut off."

Chen Yuan turned his attention back to his hand.

"And to that end..."

"I developed another way to resonate with these attributes, one that doesn’t depend on the heavens."

The darkness shifted, and small green shoots emerged from its surface.

Their stems lengthened, tiny leaves unfolding as they grew.

Before long, several flowers had opened among them, their delicate petals swaying faintly despite the absence of wind.

Chen Yueran leaned forward, her wariness briefly giving way to curiosity.

"Father, are you growing flowers out of your hand?"

"More or less."

A few sparks rose from the blossoms, drifting through the cave like fireflies before fading into the air.

"Wind can become flowers, flowers can become fire, and fire..."

The faded fireflies emerged yet again, turning into dazzling electrical fireflies that flew through the air between the four of them.

"They can be a combination of the two without the help of a spiritual technique to form them."

"Faster means of attacking..."

"Unpredictable changes in nature..."

"And the ability to manipulate these elements with greater efficiency."

Chen Yuan watched them disappear, then closed his fingers. The plants withered into wisps of darkness and were absorbed back into his hand.

"I use pain, despair, and suffering to establish that resonance instead of the original one."

Chen Feng’s expression changed.

"Pain... and suffering?"

"Among other things."

"That hardly sounds like a path worth pursuing, Chen Yuan."

Chen Feng took a step forward through the air and gave Chen Yuan a worried look. "If anything, that sounds like the path of the damned."

"I never said it was." Chen Yuan met his gaze.

"And before you misunderstand, this isn’t about inflicting suffering on others."

Chen Yuan understood their concerns. They were worried that he might have developed a sinister path that required the suffering of others.

"The price is paid by the cultivator himself, through self-mutilation and the suffering that follows."

"I force a transformation that allows me to establish a connection without relying on the heavens."

"The original right hand could only get me so far, allowing me to wield power up to the peak of Foundation Establishment."

His tone remained matter-of-fact, but the explanation did little to reassure them.

Chen Feng looked at Chen Yuan’s right hand, recalling what Chen Yueran had told them about his escape. He hesitated before asking, "You destroyed your original hand to create this, didn’t you?"

Chen Yuan remained silent for a moment. He neither confirmed nor denied it, though his expression made it clear that Chen Feng had come close enough to the truth.

"My path is extreme," he said. "I have no intention of asking anyone else to follow it, nor do I have any intention of letting it spread throughout the family."

Before Chen Feng could press him further, Chen Yuan raised his left hand.

A thick book appeared above his palm, its old cover plain and unadorned.

He opened it to the first page, revealing tightly written records detailing the process through which he had refined his first hand.

Chen Feng cautiously extended his divine sense toward the book.

The moment it touched the pages, that same oppressive sensation of despair and suffering brushed against his consciousness.

He withdrew almost immediately and looked at Chen Yuan with horror.

"What exactly is this?"

"The Book of the Nameless."

Chen Yuan closed it and held it out before them.

"I can share three pointers from its contents. They won’t teach you how to recreate my hand, nor will they give you a ready-made cultivation method. They’re principles that might help you find a path of your own."

Chen Yan’s attention remained fixed on the book. "You want us to develop our own cultivation methods?"

"I want you to consider the possibility of opening up a brand-new path ahead..."

He paused and turned to look at their faces more closely. "So that others will have more than one path to follow."

Chen Yuan moved toward the center of the cave, where the ancient sword platform lay beneath them.

For a brief moment, his gaze rested on it before he turned back to his family.

"We cannot keep relying on spiritual techniques and hoping the orthodox path will eventually carry us beyond its limits. If the foundation itself is flawed, then no amount of improvement will change where it ends."

"Someone has to look for another way forward. But that doesn’t mean my way is the right one for everyone."

Chen Feng still looked unconvinced.

Chen Yan had fallen quiet again, while Chen Yueran watched him with an expression that mixed curiosity with concern.

None of them had agreed with him, but they didn’t lash out or challenge his words either.

Chen Yuan did not press them to accept his claims.

He had shown them what he could do, but he knew that a demonstration alone would not earn their trust.

"The price of my path is too great," he continued. "I won’t ask my descendants to endure the same suffering just because I chose to endure it myself. What works for me may not work for you, and there may be better ways that I haven’t discovered."

He looked down at the book before meeting their eyes again.

"I want the next generation to have choices that we never had."

After a brief discussion, the three eventually agreed to Chen Yuan’s proposal.

They were still wary of the strange path he had taken, but they no longer pressed him about it.

Instead, Chen Yuan promised to find time to guide each of them in exploring a path of their own, one suited to their strengths rather than forcing them to follow his.

With that settled, the conversation shifted to the Zhao Family and their hidden ancestor.

They discussed the old man’s strength and whether the Zhao Family might come looking for trouble again, though Chen Feng seemed far less concerned than the others.

"Let him come here if he dares to make trouble!"

Chen Feng laughed, stroking his beard with a confident grin.

"It’s been a long time since I last went all out. I’d like to see just how much stronger he is than me."

His hand rested against the hilt of his sword, and his grin widened.

"If he’s truly stronger, then I’ll just have to see whether my sword can cut him down."

There was no fear in his voice, only the eagerness of a swordsman who had spent too long without a worthy opponent.

Chen Feng had no intention of underestimating the Zhao Family’s ancestor, but the prospect of facing such a powerful cultivator had stirred his fighting spirit.

Such was the confidence of the Swordsman of the Leaf.