Living steadily in the world of gods and mystery

In the days that followed, Chen Li’s life settled down once more.

He returned to the tranquility of his former days.

Half a month later.

The Communication Talisman was finally completed.

Chen Li and the two women tested it, and it felt similar to leaving a message on the phone. When Chen Li activated the Male Talisman, he could engage in a one-way communication lasting up to twenty or thirty seconds.

The person holding the Female Talisman would simultaneously receive the information.

The greater the distance, the shorter the communication time would be.

If one were without the talisman on hand, then there was nothing that could be done.

To have a conversation like a phone call, both sides needed to be at the Foundation Establishment level, and several Male and Female Talismans would need to be prepared for repeated, costly use.

...

Time passed, autumn gave way to winter, and then spring arrived once again.

With the cultivation of the Immortal Muscles Jade Bones Skill, his body’s strength grew daily. At the same time, his progress in basic swordsmanship accelerated, gradually nearing max level. However, he found himself firmly stuck on the final step.

He was unable to advance an inch for two whole months.

After spending more time with Zhou Hong and Zhang Shuniang, Chen Li chose a quiet spot near Luanluo Mountain, carved out a cave dwelling, and began his seclusion for a breakthrough, determined in his heart not to emerge until he had succeeded.

Living in isolation, undisturbed by anyone, his days consisted of nothing but cultivating, practicing spells, eating, and sleeping.

Cultivation is all about persistence; there are no shortcuts.

During these increasingly rigorous days of practice, his consciousness became pure through refinement.

At the same time, the sensitivity of his body became clearer and more radiant. It shined brightly, with light and shadow shifting with every movement and thought, appearing complex and intertwined, yet containing a certain regularity.

Only his brain remained in darkness.

As if brewing some sort of transformation.

The days went by one by one.

Before he knew it, a month had passed.

The sensations within Chen Li’s body became more distinct, from the muscles, internal organs, bones to the capillaries and nerve endings; his entire body radiated a bright light.

One clear morning.

As if he had finally accumulated enough power, the long-awaited transformation in Chen Li finally began.

While practicing as usual, his entire spinal cord and surrounding nervous network suddenly lit up as if electrified, quickly dimmed again, and just when Chen Li thought the impact had failed, the nerves lit up once more.

This time the light was even more dazzling, and the speed of lighting up was faster.

It was as swift as lightning.

This process repeated several times, like electromagnetic pulses, the entire nervous network flickering on and off.

Each time it was more intense than the last.

Brighter and brighter!

Faster and faster!

His entire body was illuminated.

Waves of flashing light surged up along his spine, continuously assaulting the darkness of his brain, relentless. As time went on, finally, in one moment, his brain was ’ignited’...

"Boom!"

Chen Li’s whole body shook, and his heart was filled with light; his pupils ejected a burst of multicolored brilliance, his momentum suddenly surged.

...

In the cave.

Chen Li emerged from something akin to sudden enlightenment, regaining his senses.

All around was extremely quiet.

Countless particles of dust hung suspended in the air, drifting with the current of the air, floating aimlessly, dancing, tracing intricate paths.

The sound of birdsong outside seemed elongated, becoming extraordinarily long and melodious. He could even discern the subtle changes in the tune that caused vibrato.

At the entrance of the cave, a few early spring grasses were decorated with morning dew, trembling lightly in the breeze. Occasionally when a droplet fell, it appeared to him in slow motion, almost fifty percent slower.

The droplet hit the ground with a tinkling sound, scattering countless sparkling splashes.

His mind felt incredibly clear, thoughts sharp and fast. Many long-forgotten memories became distinct once again, although he had forgotten them before, they now came back to him vividly.

This feeling was somewhat similar to when he first refined his marrow. His five senses—smell, taste, hearing, sight, touch—were all greatly enhanced, and everything in front of him came to life.

But it wasn’t just that.

"This sensation... it’s as if my brain’s processing speed has become much faster," he mused.

The previous marrow refining increased his capacity for sensory reception, making him more ’sensitive’ and reducing the ’latency’ of his body, while brain refining increased his ability to process information, greatly enhancing both the volume and speed of processing.

His thoughts were significantly faster.

Enough to make him feel a disoriented sense of time.

It was as if the world around him had slowed down.

Chen Li moved his body and suddenly lashed out with a thrusting punch.

Boom!

A sonic boom resonated through the air.

His right fist and body shot out like lightning and retracted just as quickly.

"Strength and speed seem unchanged, but the movements feel even more effortless. My eyes can now clearly capture my own punches," Chen Li thought to himself. He recalled the fight with Ke Xian from last year.

If he were to encounter Ke Xian now.

Although he still wasn’t confident that he could take him down within a few moves, at least it wouldn’t be as perilous. Even without using the Flash Skill for assistance, he could easily handle it.

Chen Li then proceeded to cast several spells in succession.

Invisibility Technique!

Penetrating Vision Skill!

Rainbow Transformation Skill!

Whether reciting incantations or forming hand seals.

The feeling compared to before... there wasn’t much difference.

However, considering the slowed perception of time, it should actually be more than fifty percent faster.

In the eyes of others, it probably appeared almost instantaneous.

"The current me is truly... more powerful than ever before."

He clenched his fist tightly, feeling that he couldn’t possibly be in better shape: "Now, I finally have some sense of security!"

He sighed with emotion for a while, then opened the game panel.

’Basic Swordsmanship Grandmaster: 3200/3200’

"As expected! It’s max level!"

Besides that, even his lifespan had increased by 3 years, reaching 293 years, one step closer to the 300-year limit of Foundation Establishment.

How could one describe Chen Li’s feelings at this moment?

It could only be said that they were complex.

Basic Swordsmanship, he had started practicing it not long after his transmigration, for a whole ten years until now. He had spent countless hours and shed much sweat during this time, evolving a once insignificant mortal swordsmanship step by step into a divine skill, no less than any Cultivation Technique.

Today this Cultivation Technique had finally reached max level, coming to an end.

There was satisfaction indeed, but more so a feeling of emptiness.

"Fortunately, Cultivation Techniques are not like skills. By continuing to practice, strength can still be steadily elevated; it’s not really the end. After all, brain refinement has just begun. According to past experience, there should still be a rapid increase for a while."

Chen Li packed up the items in the cave, retrieved the Five Elements Yin Yang Spirit Gathering Array he had set up outside, and walked out of the dwelling.

A chill hit him, causing goosebumps all over his skin.

The early spring air was bitterly cold, and the mountain was still covered with remnants of snow.

Chen Li took light steps then heavy steps as he walked. This time, there wasn’t the mismatched coordination of the limbs like during marrow cleansing, but rather a feeling that his body had become light and airy as if the gravity of the earth had lessened considerably.

Without feeling any exertion, by just ’normally’ walking, he could bound a great distance with a single step.

After that, he either stepped too heavily or too lightly.

His pace was sometimes fast, sometimes slow.

During the walk, he could feel a clear sense of ’hanging in the air’.

’A long time’ before landing.

Of course, Chen Li knew that these were all illusions.

It was his sense of time that had gone awry.

He looked around, and the whole world seemed to have slowed down a lot, even the gentle breeze passing and the branches swaying were lethargic and feeble.

"This is somewhat problematic... I can only gradually adapt!"

In fact, the breakthroughs in Foundation Establishment, even the minor realm advancements, elicited similar feelings, but none were as pronounced and abrupt as this time.

Chen Li walked with a joyful heart, savoring this wonderful sensation of supreme tranquility and detachment from the world. He did not fly, but tread step by step, measuring his floating descent down the mountain, then rounded around Luoluo City for a while.

He absorbed the mundane vigor of the world, striving to adapt to the new sense of timing.

By late afternoon, he finally returned to the sect’s gates.

Zhou Hong and Zhang Shuniang were not there, only a few young maids were left in the dwelling.

With nothing left to do, Chen Li simply returned to his inner chamber to continue practicing his swordsmanship and consolidate his realm, waiting until evening before the two women returned.

"Husband, have you left seclusion?"

"Hmm, I just came back not long ago. Did you go to listen to lectures just now?" Chen Li spoke slowly, enunciating each word.

"No, that’s not it. The sect has just taken in a new batch of junior disciples; we went for the excitement," Zhou Hong said with a smile as she sat beside Chen Li: "They’re all seven or eight-year-old kids, many were crying and wailing too."

"Youth knows no fortune, ah. They will feel fortunate later!"

The sect selected a batch of children with superior aptitudes from the secular world to join every year.

Sometimes there were over a hundred, sometimes only a few dozen.

The number of disciples always stayed around one or two thousand.

Being chosen was akin to transforming from fish to dragon. Even if the vast majority couldn’t achieve Foundation Establishment in the end, they were still a hundred times stronger than ordinary mortals. It was a leap in longevity, strength, and status in all aspects.

Zhou Hong and Zhang Shuniang chattered away about trivial matters that had occurred while Chen Li was in seclusion.

Chen Li sometimes responded or commented.

Looking at his wives and concubines to his side, one youthful and graceful, the other full of mature charm, he couldn’t help but feel ardor. Not seeing them for over a month felt like three autumns had passed.

But with an incredibly strong will, he managed to restrain himself.

After refining his brain, not only was his sense of time a mess, but his body had also become more sensitive to cold, heat, dampness, humidity...

Just as before, he might make a fool of himself, so he needed some time to readjust.

...

In the following days, as Chen Li practiced daily alchemy, the difference in his sense of time became more and more severe.

Time, in his eyes, kept stretching.

From initially slowing by fifty percent to gradually slowing to over twice as much.

At the same time, the range of his Spiritual Sense was also continuously expanding, as if even his soul’s consciousness was affected, from an original radius of thirty to forty meters to over a hundred meters. And these drastic changes all occurred within half a month.

Only afterward did it begin to slow down.

Such a short period and such dramatic changes

Made Chen Li feel an alienation from the whole world, unable to adapt for a long time, as if he had stepped into another dimension of time. Problems grasping time and strength significantly affected his daily life.

For this reason, Chen Li practiced purity of mind and abstention from desires every day, and often went out to communicate with others, striving to become accustomed to these changes.

It wasn’t until a month later that he gradually got used to it and no longer needed to make a conscious effort.