Chapter 220: Bizarre Object Assisting Enlightenment

Ever since that strange, net-like pattern had slipped into his body, it had vanished without a trace, like a stone sinking into the sea. It had not caused the slightest disturbance since.

Li Shun had exhausted nearly every method he could think of. He had examined his entire body with his spiritual sense, circulated his qi, and tried every possible means of probing his meridians, yet he could not find even the slightest trace of it within this body, much less force it out.

As the years continued to pass within these lightless, dayless ruins, Li Shun had almost completely forgotten about that strange imprint.

Until today.

His aimless speculation and secluded deductions had somehow, against all odds, allowed him to perfect a Great Divine Ability of the Heaven-Earth realm!

Only then did Li Shun suddenly awaken as though from a dream, once again recalling that exceedingly strange totemic imprint, one that was highly likely to have been left behind by some indescribable Outer God.

“After this net-like pattern entered my body, it actually caused such a heaven-shaking transformation in my comprehension?”

Li Shun's heart trembled violently, and for a moment, he found it difficult to believe.

Yet his mind was exceptionally meticulous. With a single turn of thought, he found a way to verify it.

He would strike while the iron was hot and attempt to deduce and comprehend another Great Divine Ability of the Heaven-Earth realm.

“Threefold Self-Reflection...”

Li Shun forcibly suppressed his agitation and rapidly recalled every experience he had gone through when employing this ability in the past.

However...

After a moment, he opened his eyes in confusion.

His mind was completely blank. Not the slightest inspiration could be found.

“Could it be that what happened just now was merely an illusion?”

“Perhaps it wasn't that Outer God imprint secretly influencing me at all. Maybe I simply stumbled upon an epiphany by sheer chance and managed to comprehend the divine ability to perfection?”

A trace of self-doubt inevitably arose within Li Shun's heart.

But after careful consideration, he ultimately shook his head with a self-deprecating smile.

“When something abnormal occurs, there must be something behind it. With my meager comprehension and aptitude, there is simply no possibility of deducing a Heaven-Earth realm divine ability out of thin air.”

“If that strange pattern really is responsible, then perhaps my failure to reproduce the result now is because that previous enlightenment exhausted some kind of spiritual essence contained within the net-like pattern?”

In any case, the ruins of the Heavenly Court possessed almost no concept of time. Li Shun had all the time in the world to verify his conjecture.

He simply let nature take its course and once again sank into those deathly silent days of empty-minded existence.

He had no idea how much time passed in this muddled state.

Until one day.

Without warning, an incredibly profound and mysterious sensation suddenly arose within Li Shun's heart.

It was as though some form of enhancement had been injected into the depths of his spiritual platform. In an instant, his entire being became clearer and more transparent than ever before.

“The effect of that net-like pattern has returned.”

A vague realization emerged within Li Shun's heart.

Without the slightest hesitation, he immediately gathered his mind and once again attempted to comprehend the Threefold Self-Reflection divine ability.

With the enhancement provided by that net-like pattern, the effect was truly astonishing!

Previously, relying solely on himself, Li Shun had been like someone trying to admire flowers through a fog when faced with a divine ability capable of resetting the cause and effect of an entire world. He simply had no way to begin.

Although he had already used the Threefold Self-Reflection stone statue countless times without realizing it, wielding that terrifying power again and again, he still had absolutely no understanding of how this divine ability actually manipulated the laws.

But now, with the assistance of this strange pattern, the layers upon layers of obscure laws blocking his path seemed to be suddenly swept aside by an invisible pair of hands.

The profound and unfathomable structure of the Threefold Self-Reflection divine ability unexpectedly became clear and orderly before his eyes.

Its structure was still so complex and vast that it was almost suffocating to behold, but it was no longer an incomprehensible heavenly scripture. At last, there were truly traces that he could follow.

“The speed of comprehension is still somewhat slower than directly absorbing a Sage's stone statue.”

“But it is already terrifying enough.”

“It can actually forcefully elevate the perspective of a mere Spirit Resonance realm cultivator like me to the level of a Sage capable of looking down upon the laws of heaven and earth!”

Li Shun became completely intoxicated, sinking into the supreme mysteries of the Threefold Self-Reflection divine ability.

In his dazed state, it seemed as though he had truly transformed into that Confucian Sage who had once dominated the ages, using himself as an immovable anchor and forcibly tracing the entire world back to its origin, resetting it anew.

However, this near-divine state of profound enlightenment did not last long.

Just as Li Shun became completely immersed in it, unable to extricate himself, a violent sensation of weightlessness suddenly surged from the depths of his soul!

It was as though he had been kicked from the highest heavens and sent crashing back into the mortal world.

The crystal-clear sensation of having divine assistance suddenly vanished from his mind. The profound principles of heaven and earth that he had understood with complete clarity only a moment ago instantly became obscure and incomprehensible once more, like an unreadable heavenly scripture.

“The effect of the net-like pattern has disappeared again?”

“Why was it so short this time?”

Li Shun felt an intense sense of loss.

Even more dangerously, an uncontrollable thirst began to grow within his subconscious.

It was an instinctive greed and longing for the heaven-defying power of that net-like pattern.

Fortunately, Li Shun's intelligence had not yet been completely clouded.

Covered in cold sweat, he instantly came to his senses and realized that this extreme craving, which resembled withdrawal, was very likely the subtle corruption and temptation exerted upon him by the net-like pattern.

“So what if it can help me comprehend a Sage's divine ability?”

“I'm trapped here anyway. I never intended to leave.”

“Besides, anything you can accomplish, I can accomplish through the Fangcun space.”

“Perhaps even more safely and effortlessly than relying on an external object with such questionable intentions as you.”

With that thought, the taut string in Li Shun's heart suddenly relaxed, and he could not help laughing at himself.

As the greed and agitation within his heart were forcibly suppressed and gradually faded away, the clarity and rationality in his eyes slowly returned.

Over the extremely long years that followed, Li Shun found a delicate balance between the two.

He neither completely became a puppet of the net-like pattern nor foolishly rejected it altogether.

Instead, from time to time, he would simply take advantage of it for free, borrowing its heaven-defying auxiliary properties to comprehend and deduce various techniques and foundations of the Dao.

Through this painstaking, gradual process, Li Shun systematically dissected and integrated the complicated systems of cultivation he had learned in the past.

In theory, he had almost reached the absolute limit of what a cultivator of the Spirit Resonance realm could comprehend.

In contrast, when it came to Great Divine Abilities of the Heaven-Earth realm that touched upon the origins of the laws, such as Threefold Self-Reflection and the Heavenly Being Codex, his gains were pitifully small.

More often than not, before he could even grasp the slightest clue, the net-like pattern would already run out of strength and simply go on strike.

Li Shun took this very lightly.

If it worked, he would seize the opportunity to comprehend.

If it did not, he would simply sit in meditation amid the ruins and patiently wait for it to recover for another cycle.

Whenever a dangerous thought began to emerge from the depths of his soul, tempting him to completely open himself and demand more assistance from the net-like pattern, Li Shun would immediately sit down in meditation without hesitation.

He would forcibly sever every distracting thought and completely empty his mind.

Only through such harsh methods of suppressing his own desires was Li Shun able to endure these desolate years without ever becoming lost within the strange, fantastical dream woven by that net-like pattern.

He maintained his original heart, never allowing himself to change.