Chapter 45: Awakening the Mind's Eye, Descending the Mountain

Having completed the categorization and organization of numerous martial arts manuals, Lin Heng stepped out of the subterranean treasury where he had spent the past year.

With every step he took, the vast and boundless primordial energy between heaven and earth rushed toward him in swarms, redeeming the potential he had accumulated over the past year.

His aura was climbing at a breathtaking speed.

Before long, it had surpassed the threshold of the eleventh stage of the Grand Master realm, reaching the scope of the twelfth heaven.

Moreover, showing no signs of stopping whatsoever, it quickly broke through to the thirteenth heaven.

At this moment, Lin Heng’s aura was still surging violently!

This was the essence of cultivation in the Grand Master realm: once the conception of artistic imagery was comprehended, one's cultivation could advance rapidly under the blessing of the Ocean's Boundless Divine Skill, nourished by the power of heaven and earth.

At this instant, Lin Heng felt his consciousness dispersing throughout heaven and earth.

Without using his eyes to see, his ears to hear, or his nose to smell, the appearance of the entire Cloud Sword Palace sect grounds naturally and effortlessly reflected within his mind.

A year had passed, and by now, the sect's mountain gates had been completely restored, leaving no trace of the wreckage left behind by the great battle of the past.

Not only had the entire mountain gate been rebuilt to be much more majestic and sturdy than before, but it had also been made vastly more spacious.

Numerous experts walked back and forth within the gates, each exuding a powerful aura and wearing a confident, high-spirited expression, beginning to take on the majestic demeanor of the world's premier martial arts sacred ground.

"Is this considered the mind's eye? Or perhaps divine perception?"

Reflecting heaven and earth with his mind and spirit, all things in the world were clearly perceived by Lin Heng. It was no different from seeing them with his own eyes—in fact, it was even clearer.

Lin Heng could feel that as his cultivation continued to rise, the range of his mind reflecting the surrounding heaven and earth was also expanding.

Initially, when Lin Heng was in the thirteenth heaven of the Grand Master realm, he could only perceive a radius of one thousand meters around himself within the surrounding world.

However, as his cultivation advanced to the fourteenth heaven, the reflection range of his mind directly expanded to two thousand meters.

Subsequently, when his cultivation reached the fifteenth heaven, the radius of his mental reflection expanded to three thousand meters.

In the end, Lin Heng’s cultivation stabilized at a level just past the halfway mark of the fifteenth heaven and stopped growing, while the radius of his mental reflection also finalized at three thousand five hundred meters.

From this, it could be seen that for every realm or heaven of cultivation gained, the radius of the mind's reflection would increase by one thousand meters.

"While the mind's eye is active, it consumes spiritual power. If one focuses their attention on a single point, they can not only observe macroscopic objects but even perceive the flow of the microscopic world, witnessing extremely minute changes."

"The more carefully one observes a single entity and the more information one obtains, the greater the impact on the brain."

"In addition to comprehensively covering a three-thousand-five-hundred-meter radius centered around oneself, one can also condense the observational capability of the mind's eye into a linear beam to scan distant areas, allowing one to focus solely on a specific location and greatly enhancing the observation range."

"If one looks exclusively at a single spot, the maximum perceptual range is one hundred and twenty kilometers."

Lin Heng tested the characteristics of this brand-new ability and quickly came to understand them thoroughly.

Normal use of the mind's eye did not impose too heavy a burden on Lin Heng. The consumed spiritual power could be quickly replenished and nourished by his vital blood and energy, making it entirely feasible to keep it open for enemy detection during combat.

On the other hand, if he were to observe a tiny patch of ground with his mind, focusing solely on a grain of sand to explore the absolute extremes of the microscopic world—observing the movement of molecules, atoms, and even electrons—

Though he could indeed see them, the massive amount of information transmitted back from the microscopic world at every instant would consume a vast amount of the brain's computational power to comprehend. This would lead to a rapid depletion of spiritual power and place a heavy burden on his physical body.

And this, too, gradually allowed Lin Heng to understand what the Realm of Heaven and Man truly was.

The so-called Heaven and Man state was someone who penetrated the origin of the world and whose consciousness approached the Dao.

Cultivation in the Grand Master realm focused on artistic conception. Through the practice of these conceptions, one broke through human limitations, gradually bringing essence, qi, and spirit to a transcendent realm while continuously enhancing cognitive abilities.

Until one day, when Lin Heng’s mind's eye could clearly perceive everything within this universe and comprehend the most essential operational laws of the world, he would be considered to have broken through to the Realm of Heaven and Man.

Finally, by turning these most essential operational laws of the world to his own use and elevating his strength to the absolute limit, shattering the void and ascending to the heavens in broad daylight would no longer be a mere fantasy.

"Well then, it is also time to go and witness this brilliant and bustling world."

Withdrawing from the state of the mind's eye, a smile emerged on Lin Heng’s face.

Once he understood what the Realm of Heaven and Man was, he also understood how to strive toward a breakthrough into that realm.

Next, Lin Heng planned to descend the mountain to travel and wander, measuring the mountains and rivers on foot, absorbing the wonders of nature and the myriad phenomena of the mortal world, refining his artistic conception to perfection, and breaking through to the Realm of Heaven and Man in a single stroke.

"Master, I am heading down the mountain to travel."

Lin Heng appeared in the main hall of the Cloud Sword Palace and conveyed his intention to leave to his master, Xiao Rang, who was currently handling sect affairs.

"Very well, go ahead, my disciple. Remember to come back and visit when you have time."

Xiao Rang did not attempt to persuade him to stay and readily agreed.

If this had been several months ago, Xiao Rang probably would have asked Lin Heng to stay and anchor the sect grounds.

Because back then, all the experts of the Cloud Sword Palace were out conquering territories and plundering the spoils of war to establish their status as the world's premier martial arts sacred ground.

But now, a year had passed, the spoils of war had long since been plundered, and a brand-new ruling system centered around the Cloud Sword Palace had been established. The local tyrants and powerful families across Lan Prefecture had obediently submitted as vassals and paid tribute to the Cloud Sword Palace.

Consequently, numerous experts had successively returned to the mountain gates to hold down the fort, and their combat strength had returned to its peak.

Even if Lin Heng were to leave at this time, there was no fear of anyone attacking their empty home.

In fact, even if Lin Heng didn't want to leave the mountain, Xiao Rang would have advised him to go travel and wander in the near future.

Lin Heng had been on the mountain for over ten years, and taking advantage of a major victory, he had integrated the martial arts inheritances of three major martial arts sacred grounds and numerous powerful factions into himself. If he didn't descend the mountain now and simply squatted within the mountain gates every day, there would be nothing left for him to improve upon.

He was eagerly anticipating Lin Heng becoming an expert of the Heaven and Man realm.

As long as Lin Heng achieved the Realm of Heaven and Man, he could leave behind a direct inheritance to the Heaven and Man realm for the Cloud Sword Palace, thereby forging an eternal and immortal glory for the sect.

"I will write to you periodically, Master."

Lin Heng replied with a smile.

Pausing for a moment, he offered a reminder: "While Master is busy with sect affairs, do not neglect your own cultivation. Setting aside other benefits, having an extended lifespan is always a tangible reality."

With that, Lin Heng used the sound-transmission technique to impart the latest version of the inner cultivation method of the Ocean's Boundless Divine Skill to Xiao Rang.

This inner cultivation method was derived from the Cloud Sword Palace's original Cloud Sword True Art, but its speed in refining qi and forging the physical body was faster than the Cloud Sword True Art by more than a single grade.

While it could not guarantee that a practitioner would definitely break through multiple realms to become a Heaven and Man expert, it was ultimately beneficial to cultivation, allowing one to travel further within the Grand Master realm and live for a few more years.

Lin Heng still had hundreds of years of lifespan ahead of him in the future; he certainly didn't want his master to age and die prematurely.

"Thank you, my disciple. Your master will not let his cultivation fall behind."

After pondering for a moment, Xiao Rang grasped the exquisite subtleties of the Ocean's Boundless Divine Skill.

And because of that, he felt the deep filial piety behind Lin Heng's gesture.

Xiao Rang’s expression grew even gentler as he smilingly accepted.

"If Master has time, you can pass a copy of this inner cultivation method on to Senior Brother Zhang Yuan."

"As for the other elders of the sect, feel free to pass it along to whoever you deem trustworthy."

"I'm off."

Lin Heng waved his hand, his figure flashing and vanishing before Xiao Rang's eyes.

He did not mind passing down his own martial arts, for it was always the person who was strong, never the martial art itself.

Under equal conditions, Lin Heng was confident he would not be weaker than anyone.

"Perhaps the offhand words of comfort Heng'er spoke that day will actually come true?"

Gazing in the direction where Lin Heng had disappeared, Xiao Rang recalled what Lin Heng had said to him on the second day after his breakthrough to the Grand Master realm—that in the future, he would take everyone up to ascend to the upper realm together and enjoy eternal longevity.

At the time, he hadn't taken it seriously, assuming it was merely his disciple comforting him upon seeing scenes of life, death, and parting.

Now, looking back, it seemed all of this might actually come true!