132: Gaining enlightenment, condensing enlightenment, and spiritual enlightenment

“If the Lin Family possessed such a Cultivation Technique, then why hasn’t anyone tried to seize it for so many years?”

Someone couldn’t help but voice the doubt in their heart.

After all, a Cultivation Technique that could lead directly to the Golden Core Realm was extremely precious, enough to incite competition among most Dao Foundation Martial Artists.

Yet, the Lin Family had remained safe and sound for so many years, which naturally puzzled people.

“That’s because no one knew before; they all thought it was just an ordinary Dao Foundation Cultivation Technique.

This news, it’s said, actually came from someone close to the County Commandant, who praised Lin Yuan’s Cultivation Technique during their confrontation, saying it had the potential for the Golden Core Realm and that it was a pearl cast before swine in his hands.”

“The reason Lin Yuan was captured but not killed back then was because the County Commandant wanted to learn the whereabouts of the Cultivation Technique from him.

Unexpectedly, Lin Yuan was killed in prison by someone else—what a twist of fate!”

“That White Lotus Sect Leader is truly extraordinary.

He wasn’t Sealed and even killed the county magistrate and Lin Yuan.

This has thoroughly offended the County Commandant, no wonder he’s being hunted throughout the city.”

“However, this person is indeed formidable.

Despite such an intensive search, he managed to escape, remaining undiscovered for an entire day and night.

Truly impressive.”

Many people exclaimed with emotion.

“I heard the County Commandant has already sent someone to the prefectural city to request the Divine Mechanism Disk to calculate this person’s whereabouts.

I’m afraid the White Lotus Sect Leader will ultimately be trapped and perish within Bei Yuan County.”

“The Divine Mechanism Disk? This is something only used against the most heinous bandits.

There’s only one in each prefecture, and it can deduce a person’s movements and whereabouts; it’s incredibly precious.”

“Is the White Lotus Sect Leader really worth using such an item for?”

Many people were surprised.

But this point, clearly, no one knew.

And Ning Yuan, hearing these contents, felt his heart sink.

“This world is indeed unfathomable, to actually possess such a miraculous item.

It seems I need to find a way to quickly obtain the subsequent Dao Foundation Cultivation Technique.”

“As long as I’m strong enough, I won’t fear her threats.”

Ning Yuan thought silently, then drained the wine in his cup.

Then, he arrived at the largest bookstore in Bei Yuan County.

Ning Yuan searched for information about Cultivation.

However, there were no Cultivation Techniques here, and information about Cultivation was also scarce.

But Ning Yuan did find a few miscellaneous notes and travelogues.

The contents within gave Ning Yuan a completely new understanding of this world.

He also learned about the various forces currently existing in the world.

Ning Yuan took these books back to the inn and slowly perused them.

This was the first time in several months since he arrived in this world that he truly settled down to read and understand it.

After all, when he first arrived, he was so poor he couldn't afford food, so his first priority was to fill his stomach before considering anything else.

Later, he was swept into joining the White Lotus Sect, constantly pursued, unable to even enter cities.

Even if he could, he wouldn't be able to buy books, so naturally, he couldn't learn anything...

Back at the inn, Ning Yuan immediately began flipping through a travelogue.

“After Aperture Opening, one must further condense the Innate Nine Apertures and open the Ancestral Aperture between the eyebrows to achieve a complete transformation and condense a Golden Core!”

“And above the Dao Foundation Realm, the Divine Ability Realm is divided into Dharma Aspect, Life Star, carefree ( carefree)...”

Regarding the latter two Realms, Ning Yuan did not find any records in the book.

However, the author of this travelogue did briefly describe the Dharma Aspect.

He had once seen a thousand-zhang Dharma Aspect manifest in the air, lifting a hand to throw a mountain, and a single finger to sever a river.

“Is that real or fake?”

Ning Yuan’s lips twitched slightly; the descriptions within were truly somewhat unbelievable.

The gap between this and the Dao Foundation Realm was simply too vast.

It was a world of difference.

Even greater than the gap between the Qi Cultivation Realm and Aperture Opening.

Ning Yuan, half-believing, half-doubting, opened another book.

Any descriptions involving the Divine Ability Realm were extremely grand.

However, Ning Yuan wasn't really focused on this point; he just wanted to know more about the Aperture Opening Realm, methods for condensing apertures, and information about the major forces in the Jianghu.

“Divine Court, Three Thousand Dao Sects, Eight Hundred Left Paths, and the Heretical Alliance—the Alliance!”

“The Heretical Alliance is an Alliance formed by various heretical sects, with six major sects at its head, overseeing various branch sects.”

“Desire Sect, Lotus Sect, Blood Sea Divine Sect, Gu God Sect...”

“I remember, it seems the White Lotus Sect is a branch of the Lotus Sect, but I don’t know how many branches there are.

Perhaps the Lotus Sect doesn’t even know about this branch of the White Lotus Sect.”

Ning Yuan suddenly understood.

From the records in the book, he also gained a general understanding: the heretical sects had committed a major transgression back then, leading to an irreconcilable conflict between righteous and demonic paths.

For many years, they had been suppressed and besieged, forcing those once arrogant heretical sects to band together for survival, forming the Heretical Alliance.

The Divine Court even issued an edict: anyone encountering a heretical sect member was to be immediately executed without trial.

“What kind of heinous deeds did these heretical sects commit back then to incur such wrath?”

“I really didn’t expect joining a heretical sect would lead to such a pitfall.”

Ning Yuan’s face darkened.

He had originally thought that the heretical sects had only done things that violated imperial prohibitions and opposed the court.

Things that could always be whitewashed.

He hadn't expected there to be another reason.

“Never mind, I should continue searching for information about Aperture Condensation.”

Ning Yuan muttered to himself.

He had only just learned about this Aperture Condensation.

The Early Stage of Aperture Opening was called Aperture Connection, meaning connecting a hundred apertures.

The Middle Stage of Aperture Opening was called Aperture Condensation, condensing the Innate Nine Apertures and enhancing the five senses.

The Late Stage of Aperture Opening was called Divine Aperture, opening the Ancestral Aperture between the eyebrows, which could enhance Mental Energy, give birth to Divine Sense, allowing not only introspection but also ‘seeing’ further, discerning the subtle, like a cicada sensing the wind before it moves.

It enlightened one’s six senses, allowing for foresight, detecting danger, and making it difficult for anyone to launch a sneak attack.

Seemingly just three layers of a minor Realm, the actual difference was even greater than the difference between minor Realms in the Qi Cultivation Realm.

Each advancement brought earth-shattering changes.

The difference in strength was even more apparent.

This was why Lin Yuan and Li Yuelan, despite being only one minor Realm apart, were not a match for her.

It was even the reason why, even teaming up with the Mingwang Sect Leader, they were captured alive.

Capturing someone alive was even harder than killing them.

Soon, Ning Yuan found some relevant information.

While not universally known in this world, it was not a secret either.

Only orthodox Dao Foundation Realm Cultivation Techniques, when inherited, had their own methods for condensing the Nine Apertures.

From virtual to real.

However, the Bei Ming Divine Skill that Ning Yuan Cultivated was not a Cultivation Technique from this world, and in Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils, it already had an upper limit, so it was naturally impossible to create subsequent Cultivation Techniques.

And this required him to explore on his own.

“This Aperture Condensation method isn’t difficult, but the Nine Apertures are unlike others; they are of utmost importance.

Once an accident occurs, even if one doesn’t die, they will be crippled.”

Seeing the description in the book, Ning Yuan’s expression also became somewhat solemn.

Seven of the apertures were in the head.

If something went wrong, at best one would be deaf, blind, or mute; at worst, it would damage the brain, leading directly to death.

This was also why the experts of the several major Families in Beiyuan City had all entered the Dao Foundation Realm, and the oldest, the Li Family Patriarch, had been in the Dao Foundation Realm for thirty years, yet remained in the Early Stage of Aperture Opening.

Because some people dared not easily condense their apertures.

Even with orthodox Cultivation Techniques and detailed steps, it was impossible to be foolproof.

The Li Family Patriarch had tried, and ended up blind in one eye and deaf in one ear, his Dao Foundation damaged, making further progress impossible for life.

Unless he had a fated transformation, he would not be able to fully recover.

These travelogues also recorded some interesting anecdotes.

Once, someone successfully condensed the seven apertures, but an accident occurred while condensing the lower yin aperture, resulting in him becoming an eunuch, which became a laughingstock.

Seeing these contents, Ning Yuan felt a chill run down his spine.

“I never thought that a small Aperture Condensation would be so perilous and difficult.

This was truly unexpected, no wonder the book lamented that among ten Aperture Connection practitioners, only one achieves Aperture Condensation, and among ten Aperture Condensation practitioners, only one achieves Divine Aperture.”

“This means that out of a hundred Martial Artists in the Early Stage of Aperture Opening, only one can reach the Late Stage of Aperture Opening and have a chance to undergo a complete transformation.”

“I used to think things were simpler.”

Ning Yuan took a deep breath and put down the travelogue.

Seemingly early, middle, and Late Stages, they were actually equivalent to three different Realms.

And they were accompanied by danger.

“If that’s the case, I’m afraid that transformation also carries other dangers, not as beautiful as it seems on the surface.”

“No wonder Lin Yuan said back then that if someone was a transformed Martial Artist, they wouldn’t be assigned to a place like theirs to be a County Commandant.

Such a Genius would be famous throughout the entire Divine Court, enough to rank among the top hundred.”

“Now that the method for condensing the Nine Apertures has been obtained, the next step is to comprehend and integrate it into my Bei Ming Divine Skill, and deduce the subsequent Cultivation Technique.

However, Aperture Condensation is dangerous, and I cannot risk myself directly.

It seems I can only...”

Ning Yuan opened the System.

[Host: Ning Yuan]

[Luck: 490]

[Cultivation: Aperture Opening Realm Early Stage]

[Martial Arts: Bei Ming Divine Skill, Dragon Subduing Eighteen Palms, Six Meridian Divine Sword, Lingbo Microstep, Star Shift, Tianshan Six Yang Palm, Life and Death Talisman, Disguise Technique]

[multiverse map: Countdown to activation in current world: 26 days. (Note: Consuming two hundred and sixty Luck points can immediately activate the next world)]

“Entering the next world, condensing apertures in the body I inhabit in that world, and then directly inheriting these powers upon my return, might allow me to bypass the danger.”

“Next, I need to find a safe place, because when my Soul enters the multiverse map, my Physical Body will be unprotected, so I must be careful and cautious.”

Thinking of this, Ning Yuan immediately went to the real estate agency to select a courtyard for rent.

The next day, the transaction was completed, and that evening, Ning Yuan found a hidden cellar in the rented courtyard.

“Expend Luck, activate the multiverse map!”

As Ning Yuan silently recited, 250 Luck points were instantly consumed.

Ning Yuan’s consciousness once again felt a distortion.

Before his eyes was a colorful blur, filled with specks of light.

After an unknown period, everything before Ning Yuan’s eyes gradually solidified.

It was still an antique-style room.

“This is...” Ning Yuan’s heart stirred, and he opened his attribute interface.