The Desolate Era

Chapter 2 – Comprehending ‘The Way’ by the Pond

Ji Ning, relying on his ‘one with the world’ footwork technique, ran at high speed, as fast as the wind. After leaving Eastmount Marsh, he continued to flee at high speed, moving most likely over a thousand kilometers through the mountain forests before coming to a halt. Actually, by now, the Golden Crow [the Sun] had already completely sunk beneath the horizon. However, the eastern horizon was still very red, and there was still some light cast on the ground.

“Whew!” Ning wiped the sweat from his forehead.

“I first ran three hundred kilometers on water, then another thousand kilometers on land. In addition, I was moving at my maximum speed. I’ve never run like this before. I didn’t expect that even with a body like mine, I still ended up so sweaty.” Ning usually could run for a thousand kilometers on Eastmount Marsh without sweating at all, but this time, he really had moved at his utmost speed.

Feeling exhausted, Ning slowly walked forward. There was a pool in front of him, and within the pool, there were a few floating lotus flowers. The flowers were not stained at all by the mud, and their stems were straight. The fragrance of the lotuses entered his nose, causing the exhausted Ning to let out a hint of a smile as he sat down next to the pool.

“I guess I managed to make it through that setback.” Ning withdrew a bamboo reed with a flip of his hand. The reed was filled with clean water. Raising his head, he took two gulps.

“I wonder how the little green snake is doing.” Ning sighed lightly. “Little green snake, don’t blame me. I’m not able to help you either. Alas, I haven’t reached the Xiantian level.”

“Xiantian!”

Just thinking about this made Ning feel a hint of worry.

The [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens], as the most powerful Fiendgod Body Refining method, was extremely powerful, but training it was simply too difficult. Even someone with his background found it so hard to breakthrough. ‘Merge Yin and Yang, Fuse Fire and Water’. How was this accomplished?

“What do I need to do in order to break through?” Ning pondered bitterly.

Hu!

A gentle breeze blew by. The cool, summer night breeze was so comfortable. The breeze wafted through the lotus flowers in the pool. Some spun in place, first towards one direction, then towards the other.

Having reached the ‘one with the world’ level in the [Shadewind Steps], Ning naturally was able to mentally become one with the wind. When the wind blew past the lotus blossom, he could clearly sense…

“Huh?” Ning suddenly revealed a look of curiosity. “When the wind blows the lotus, it turns both left, then right!”

Ning suddenly felt as though he understood something.

“If a leaf is blown by the wind, it will be blown wildly without any rhythm at all!”

“If it was a small tree that was being blown down by the wind, it would only shake from left to right! That’s because it doesn’t have any enormous round leaves.”

But when the lotus flower is blown upon, the petals of the lotus can turn left or turn right, cancelling out this force.”

Raising his head, Ning stared at the sky. It wasn’t completely dark yet, but in the skies, he could already faintly see the light of the moon. “The Golden Crow [Sun] falls, and the Moon Rabbit [Moon] rises!”

“Turn left, turn right!”

“Day and night. Because there is day, thus there is the concept of night!” Ning murmured to himself. “In a place of utter darkness, a tiny hint of light is incomparably brilliant! The left and right turns of the lotus petal allow it to cancel out the two contrasting spins, allowing it to cancel out the force of the wind and stay in place, unmoved.”

Ning closed his eyes.

His spirit was already ‘one with the world’, and he became one with the wind and the lotus flowers in the pool.

He could faintly sense some sort of enormous Principle, which hid ancient secrets that had existed since the creation of the endless universe…this secret, was the Dao [The Way]! The wind held the Dao within it, and the Dao itself was vast and unknowable. But when the wind blew past the lotus flower…Ning was capable of seeing the shadow of the Dao flash through the lotus flowers. Capable of finding a hint of the movements and the true appearance of the Dao!

Ning quietly sat there in the lotus position by the side of the pool, completely lost in thought as he attentively meditated on the hint of the ‘Dao’ which he had sensed from the lotus flowers circular movements.

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