The Sims: I Open the Immortal Path for All Beings

Chapter 829: Chapter 779 Steps instead of brackets

The saying goes that one doesn’t visit a temple without a cause; and since Wu Shijiu is currently seeking him out, Pei Xuanjing suspects there must be something important on Wu Shijiu’s mind. Thus, Pei Xuanjing cuts straight to the chase, especially since he was unwilling to dally while tidying up his own cultivation practice. It wasn’t that Wu Shijiu couldn’t come to him, but rather, he shouldn’t have come at this time.

After breaking through to become one of the Spiritual Realm Level Nine Strongest, for most of the powerhouses, this moment is the optimal state for them to become one with Heaven and Earth. Seizing the time for cultivation and then stabilizing their realm, or even taking a step further, is also a possibility.

After all, for most powerhouses, the moment right after a breakthrough is when they can enhance their strength most rapidly. If they miss this opportunity, it then becomes very difficult to make significant advancements in the following period, even to the point where it’s extremely challenging to make any progress at all due to the constraints of Heaven and Earth.

And if Wu Shijiu is seeking him out at this time, it must be for a serious matter; otherwise, he would not waste such a precious opportunity.

“Ah,” Wu Shijiu, having heard Pei Xuanjing’s direct question, furrows his brows slightly and lets out a light sigh before speaking, “My visit today to the national advisor may seem presumptuous. Aside from wanting to thank the national advisor personally for the guidance in the past, there are some matters on which I need the national advisor’s instruction and assistance.”

The reason for his visit to Pei Xuanjing today is indeed significant, or else even if he wished to thank Pei Xuanjing, he wouldn’t have chosen this prime moment for cultivation. After all, Pei Xuanjing would understand his absence, but missing his own chance to cultivate could never be regained by any means.

But reality demanded that, after Wu Shijiu stayed in closed-door cultivation for a while, stabilizing his realm completely, he had no choice but to come. Because he discovered that after securing his realm, he could no longer continue to improve, or rather, the advancement of his strength was incredibly slow, which was completely different from what he had understood about breakthroughs.

“Do you not know about this, Taoist Friend?” asked Pei Xuanjing with a flicker of confusion in his eyes after hearing Wu Shijiu’s words.

Wu Shijiu’s face was filled with bewilderment as he quickly implored, “Please enlighten me, national advisor.”

He was earnest in his request, as the most daunting predicament for a cultivator is the inability to make any progression in cultivation, which is no doubt torturous.

“Taoist Friend achieved breakthroughs using the secret techniques of the Witch Deity Teaching. Although such breakthroughs may increase the likelihood of becoming a Supreme Strong, they undoubtedly have a significant impact on the cultivator themselves, limiting them to the original path of the Supreme Strong, making the speed of realm advancement after the breakthrough very slow,” explained Pei Xuanjing, clarifying the underlying reason.

At first, when the Witch God Sect Leader proposed to collaborate with Pei Xuanjing, he spoke of something that could aid in breaking through to the Spiritual Realm Level Nine Strongest.

Pei Xuanjing’s initial reaction to such a wondrous and mysterious item was whether its heaven-defying effects could potentially carry serious consequences in the future, but the Witch God Sect Leader assured there would be no such repercussions, nor would it affect further cultivation of the Supreme Strong.

However, Pei Xuanjing still refused and did not agree to the request. Instead, it was Wu Shijiu who chose this approach and managed a successful breakthrough with its aid.

The current situation Wu Shijiu faced was completely beyond his own expectations. Based on his background in the Witch Deity Teaching and understanding of the item, as well as the promises made by the Witch God Sect Leader that there would be no future problems, Wu Shijiu had trusted in it.

But now, the reality before him showed that although he had successfully made the breakthrough, after stabilizing his realm, he was unable to rapidly enhance his strength, or at least not as quickly as he had anticipated.

Had Wu Shijiu raised this question earlier, Pei Xuanjing might not have been able to provide a reasonable answer. However, Pei Xuanjing’s avatar had sequestered himself within the Witch Deity Teaching decades ago, gained insight from the sacrificial altar, and uncovered many of the sect’s secret rituals and some marks left from ancient times. Therefore, he had grasped some understanding of this phenomenon.

“The very slow progress in strength during this period is completely normal,” Pei Xuanjing first concluded. Then, as Wu Shijiu looked on with a face full of surprise, Pei Xuanjing continued, “You borrowed ‘that thing’ for the breakthrough, which is akin to cheating your way across the Heavenly Chasm. Currently, your strength is actually improving, but it’s basically bridging your path of cultivation. Therefore, the advancement is slow. If you don’t believe it, carefully feel it for yourself, Taoist Friend.”

This situation is actually quite normal. To explain it in terms Pei Xuanjing understood, the leap from Spirit Realm Eighthfold to Ninthfold is like crossing a Heavenly Chasm, going from the eighth to the ninth floor of a tower.

Normally, cultivators who break through on their own strength need to build a staircase framework between the eighth and ninth floors on their own, and once this framework is completed, they can construct the ninth floor, thus qualifying as a Supreme Strong. After the breakthrough, they seize the time when they are one with Heaven and Earth, rapidly continuing to elevate.

However, Wu Shijiu was different. His own strength was not sufficient to truly build the staircase framework between the eighth and ninth floors. The “thing” he borrowed was a shortcut, allowing him to ascend to the ninth floor using a makeshift staircase. After the breakthrough and once he stabilized his realm, which meant balancing out his newfound position on the ninth floor, his subsequent cultivation period with Unity of Heaven and Man actually wasn’t about quick advancement. Instead, it was about remedying his earlier shortcuts, beginning to fill in the staircase framework in place of the makeshift structure.

For those who take shortcuts to become a Supreme Strong, if they don’t swiftly reinforce their foundation after the breakthrough and continue seeking rapid improvement, the faster they elevate their strength, the more likely their makeshift structure won’t hold, turning into a castle in the air that one day will collapse. It is only by first reinforcing the foundation and substituting the staircase framework for the temporary scaffold that they can truly be considered without future concerns.

“So that’s how it is,” Wu Shijiu realized as he carefully sensed the changes within his body.

It was because he was a disciple of the Witch Deity Teaching, deriving from the same origin, that the subtle influence was gradual and unnoticed. Following his slow strength increase, he promptly sought out Pei Xuanjing, overlooking this detail.

“Taoist Friend, it’s best to go into seclusion as soon as possible, and seize the last opportunity. Otherwise, missing this chance would be truly regrettable,” said Pei Xuanjing.

The plan to merge the two realms was about to commence, and if Wu Shijiu failed to seize this chance, he would lose out on much fortune, a loss he would find difficult to compensate for in the future.