252: Heaven

"Sigh, they don't know how to look after the elderly; at least they should know that the dead are the most important."

"Having to explain all this to you is indeed exhausting."

Yu Kou waved his hand, clearing the image, and continued walking with his hands behind his back, his figure appearing much more weary.

"I've said so much just now; I wonder how much you took in and how much you understood."

That's it?

Besides introducing the map, he didn't seem to say much?

"Um, Old Ancestor?"

"No need for that; just call me Yu Kou."

"If you feel that's offensive, calling me Senior is fine too."

"Senior, when does our trial begin?"

Zhou Yan felt that continuing to listen to these incomprehensible past events was not only meaningless but might even be harmful to him.

Just like that small booklet, it was better to listen and see as little as possible.

Yu Kou's expression was a bit strange as he slightly turned half his face.

"You are already on the path of the trial, and you are about to face the final one."

When did that happen?

Before Zhou Yan could think further, they had reached their destination.

This time was different from before; it was rare to reach here by walking.

"We're here."

Yu Kou finally stopped before a massive gate and then made a \"please\" gesture.

"Once you emerge from here, you will be the Saint of our Qingxu Grotto-Heaven."

"But I must still remind you, once you step through this door, you will be inextricably linked to the Mahayana Realm from now on; it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say you are certain to become a Mahayana."

"However, the price is equally terrifying."

"Certain to become a Mahayana?"

"Isn't that a good thing?"

Zhou Yan didn't think more about it; after all, he had already finished his thinking on the way.

"Ngh—!"

"Phew—"

"Ngh—!!!"

"Eh?"

"Senior! This... this door has some strength!"

Zhou Yan first tried to push it but failed, then exerted force several more times to no avail. Finally, he could only push the door with a face flushed red while calling out to Yu Kou for help.

Yu Kou just strolled over and waved for Zhou Yan to step back.

Zhou Yan obediently stepped aside, wanting to see what kind of Divine Ability this special Mahayana would perform, only to see the other party reach out and pull the door to both sides, followed by a bright gap opening up.

"This isn't a push door; it's a sliding one."

Immediately after, Zhou Yan saw the massive bronze gate being slid open to the left and right.

No, what kind of renovation Genius installed this?

Such a large door, and you're telling me it slides sideways?

However, this interlude did indeed ease Zhou Yan's nervous tension a bit.

"Step, step, step."

In the originally narrow passage, as Zhou Yan continued forward, the sound of footsteps became clearer and clearer, echoing in the space.

A creak came from behind; Zhou Yan knew Yu Kou had closed the door.

Zhou Yan walked in a pure white space, feeling a bit like complaining.

Why is every space either a Void Realm or pure white? Has this world run out of budget? It wasn't even as lively as the cheap special-effect scenes in his own System.

But what was he supposed to do in this room?

Yu Kou only told Zhou Yan that he was already in the trial, and behind the door was the final trial.

But from beginning to end, he hadn't done anything, just... those bits of knowledge?

Zhou Yan suddenly grasped the key and quickly went through his previous memories.

From start to finish, the other party had been emphasizing the importance of knowledge.

Yu Kou had said he said a lot, but it seemed very little was received by him.

Then he linked it to the description of knowledge in that small booklet from before.

Acquiring knowledge requires sufficient strength, while absorbing, containing, or spreading knowledge requires a sufficient Status.

Then... \"There's no need to think further; since you already understand the content of the trial, it is enough.\"

An ethereal \"voice\" rang out in this vast, pure white space.

"Who are you?"

Zhou Yan looked at a massive ball of light that suddenly emerged in front of him, his expression solemn as he tried to use the panel and Divine Sense to detect its source.

The result was unsatisfactory, much the same as when he had investigated Yu Kou earlier.

"My name?" The ball of light flickered once with every word it spoke.

"My name is... Cang Tian."

Good grief, are they all this arrogant?

Looking at it this way, having Mo Ran spread the name of Tai Yi could be considered following the local customs.

His resilient Dao Heart had significantly increased Zhou Yan's resistance, so even upon seeing this existence calling itself \"Cang Tian,\" he only felt the same level of shock as when he first met Yu Kou and was quickly able to regain his composure.

If it were his former self, let alone being only at the Nascent Soul Realm now, even if he were at the Late Stage of the Nascent Soul Realm, seeing them would probably be like the first time he encountered the name of the Ancestral Dragon—just a single name would be enough to have a massive impact.

"Not bad, your Aptitude is indeed top-notch."

The ball of light witnessed the extremely short time it took for Zhou Yan to go from shock to calm and understood his state.

"Compared to your predecessor, I am more optimistic about your potential."

Zhou Yan scratched his head.

"Um... can we do the trial first? We can chat about other things later?"

Zhou Yan was already starting to feel a bit uncomfortable, having a sensation of spinning in place; the longer he spun, the worse it felt.

The ball of light flickered and did not respond.

Just as Zhou Yan thought the other party had crashed, the pure white space suddenly underwent a drastic change, transforming into a place similar to an observatory.

Overhead was a massive transparent dome through which one could look up at the entire sky.

"Is it starting already?"

Feeling a slight vibration beneath his feet, Zhou Yan steadied himself and looked around once the ground became stable.

"This place is my Cang Tian Library."

The ball of light appeared again, but its size was much smaller, shrinking from the original two-story height to the size of two fists.

It floated beside Zhou Yan and began to introduce the place.

"You already understand the content of the trial, which is to acquire knowledge."

"As for why it is so..."

"I will first briefly explain the other layer of meaning behind the division of Realms."

"The Cultivation Techniques you currently practice and the paths you take all originate from the new method."

"The new method and the Old Method differ greatly; one could even say they have very little connection."

"The Old Method cultivates the self and connects with heaven and earth, eventually leading to feathered Ascension, completing the ultimate leap of life."

"While the new method places more importance on the self, achieving supreme power by ascending to the ranks of gods and immortals from a Mortal body through multiple self-leaps."

"In the Old Method, except for one obvious transformation during Core Formation, a Cultivator's state of life basically no longer changes afterward. Although they still experience birth, aging, sickness, and death, their years are much longer compared to Mortals."

"If people could still become immortals, the Old Method would naturally be more perfect."

"But different eras have their own Laws."

"The current new method is the only path you can take, so you must follow it."

"Regardless of who you were in your past life, at this moment, there is only this one path."

Zhou Yan looked at the \"books\" around him.

He was certain they only appeared as books in his eyes; heaven knows what they actually were, including the ball of light before him.

Calling itself Cang Tian... could this guy be the Heavenly Dao?

Or a part of the Heavenly Dao?

"So, learning knowledge is related to practicing the new method?"

"Precisely," Cang Tian said decisively.

"In the new method, cultivation can be compared to a person's life: embryo, infant, youth, young adult, middle-aged, and elderly."

"When you form a Golden Core, you complete your first life leap, stepping onto the path of the extraordinary and welcoming a new life."

"Bidding farewell to your past as a Mortal, you naturally return to being an 'embryo'."

"And only when you break through the embryo and emerge from the cocoon as an infant does the path of the extraordinary truly begin; this is the 'Nascent Soul'."

"But unlike the growth of a Mortal, a Cultivator needs to cultivate themselves and comprehend Laws to continue growing; otherwise, they will gradually wither, which is 'premature death'."

Through this description, Zhou Yan gradually understood the other party's meaning.

"So you're saying I need to acquire this knowledge and better understand this world to better master the Laws and grow without dying prematurely?"

"Correct."

"Understanding the truths and unknowns of the world is indeed more conducive to your growth."

"But you've misunderstood one point."

"This world has never lacked children who are ignorant and yet still grow."

"Laws and the truths of the world have never been the same thing."

"However, if you are to achieve Mahayana in the future, you must know these things during your growth process."

"In other words, you must not only be like a student learning dead knowledge in an academy but also understand the principles of the world; only then can you become a complete person."

"When you reach a higher Realm, you will be able to better persist, rather than reaching the end once you've finished learning."

It was still explained quite vaguely.

Zhou Yan knew they weren't being riddlers on purpose; it was just that he found it difficult to understand at his current level.

But this feeling was indeed not very pleasant.

However, what he meant by \"unable to improve after finishing learning\" probably referred to the difficulty of taking a step further after comprehending the Laws?

Just like Li Wenbo and the others, trapped in Soul Transformation, unable to Breakthrough further without external help?