Early morning.
Ye Ping held the Heaven-Observing posture for an entire day.
Unfortunately, he did not gain sudden enlightenment of the Primordial Godfiend Diagram.
This left Ye Ping feeling rather miserable.
The cultivation method had stated it very clearly.
Those with aptitude could gain sudden enlightenment of the Heaven-Observing Godfiend Diagram with a single glance.
And those without aptitude might never be able to comprehend the Primordial Godfiend Body-Tempering Art in their entire lives.
But Ye Ping did not give up.
He rested for a short while. Now that he had Qi-Replenishing Pills, he no longer needed to eat rations, saving the time spent on meals and even the time spent going to the privy—after all, he had eaten nothing.
At present, out of the twelve shichen in a day, Ye Ping spent almost eleven shichen cultivating. The remaining shichen was used for a little rest, or to do other things.
Noon.
Ye Ping still had not gained sudden enlightenment of the Heaven-Observing Godfiend Diagram.
But he did not lose heart. On the contrary, he became even more hardworking.
“The Primordial Godfiend Body-Tempering Art requires one with great perseverance to comprehend it. Although my aptitude isn’t good enough, I have a perseverance ordinary people do not. I will definitely succeed. Ye Ping, believe in yourself.”
Beneath the blazing sun, Ye Ping still raised both hands, sensing heaven and earth.
Carrying this will with him.
All the way until late into the night.
The Qingyun Dao Sect was quiet and peaceful.
Above the firmament, the stars were like a river, and the bright moon had yet to appear.
Ye Ping was still seeking sudden enlightenment of the Primordial Godfiend Body-Tempering Art.
Unfortunately, he still had not comprehended it.
Ye Ping understood that his aptitude was ordinary and could not compare to those geniuses. If he wanted to gain enlightenment, he had to pile up time.
But even understanding this, Ye Ping still felt somewhat anxious. Asking himself honestly, who wouldn’t want to learn such a Godfiend Body-Tempering Art sooner?
One shichen later.
Ye Ping’s arms were tired from being raised. He lowered his hands, then sat on the ground and let out a deep sigh.
It was night.
A cold wind blew past.
Holding the “Primordial Godfiend Body-Tempering Art,” Ye Ping kept pondering where he had gone wrong.
“The cultivation method definitely isn’t wrong.”
“It must be that I’ve understood it wrongly.”
“But where exactly is the problem? Should I ask Senior Brother?”
Ye Ping pondered inwardly.
But very quickly, he shook his head.
If he asked Senior Brother about this too, wouldn’t his image in Senior Brother’s heart become even worse?
Ye Ping dismissed his own idea. He felt it was still necessary to properly study it himself.
Thus, Ye Ping held the cultivation method and continued thinking.
Although the manual was not thin, there was no content in the latter half. The key lay in this Heaven-Observing Godfiend Diagram.
Ye Ping believed this was an unparalleled cultivation method, because the simpler a cultivation method was, the more profound the meaning it expressed.
As the saying went, the Great Dao was simplicity itself.
The more complicated and flashy something was, the less reliable it was.
Ye Ping still understood this point.
A full half shichen passed.
All of a sudden, Ye Ping slapped his thigh. He had thought of the crucial point.
“The Heaven-Observing Diagram! The meaning of ‘observing’ is not truly to gaze upon heaven and earth, but to use the heart in place of the eyes and observe the boundless universe.”
Ye Ping had pondered for a full shichen, and suddenly fixed his gaze on the character “observe.”
This character was slightly different from the others, a little larger. It was through this detail that Ye Ping finally gained a thread of insight.
“Right, right, right.”
“When ordinary people look at the sky, they only feel that heaven and earth are vast. But they don’t know that the so-called heavens are actually the universe, are infinite galaxies, boundless and without end. That is the true heaven.”
“When I observed heaven and earth, I was also shackled. Daoist Venerable Moxuan existed even earlier than heaven and earth. The heaven in his eyes was the boundless universe, vast and limitless, the maha worlds. It was not the heaven in one’s eyes, but the heaven in one’s heart.”
“Hiss. Eldest Senior Brother, I understand.”
One answer after another appeared in Ye Ping’s heart.
At this moment, he was incomparably excited.
“The reason I haven’t gained enlightenment is because I’ve been walking down the wrong path all along.”
“Ye Ping, oh Ye Ping, how can you be so stupid? You almost failed to comprehend it.”
Ye Ping inwardly blamed himself for being too foolish.
He had not understood the meaning of the two words “observe heaven.”
Just think about Ye Ping’s idea—it was extremely correct.
The firmament in the eyes of ordinary people was still vast, but as a transmigrator, Ye Ping knew just how large the true heavens were.
When he was young, he especially liked watching programs about cosmic exploration, so naturally, he understood just how vast this world was.
With this, Ye Ping took a deep breath.
He placed the Primordial Godfiend Body-Tempering Art into his robes, then once again assumed the Heaven-Observing Godfiend posture.
But at this moment, he did not look at the sky.
Instead, he closed his eyes, turning his heart into his eyes, and looked upon the heaven and earth within his heart.
In an instant.
A clear breeze swept past.
Within Ye Ping’s mind, the grand panorama of the universe appeared.
Countless galaxies emerged in Ye Ping’s mind, infinite and immeasurable, undying and imperishable.
And at this very moment.
Above the firmament, the stars suddenly trembled one by one.
The myriad stars shook, blooming with incomparably dazzling light.
The Great Xia Dynasty.
This place was magnificent and resplendent, the height of luxury and extravagance.
Within the Hall of Heavenly Secrets.
Amid an ancient chart, the stars flickered.
The old man seated before the ancient chart opened his eyes in an instant, then revealed an expression of disbelief.
“This, this! This is impossible. The myriad stars are flickering—has an immortal sage appeared? How could there be such a phenomenon?”
The old man’s body trembled.
He was the Hall Master of the Great Xia Dynasty’s Hall of Heavenly Secrets, with monstrous authority. His status was second only to the Emperor of Great Xia.
But at this moment, the old man’s body shook, and terror appeared in his eyes.
Not only that, in the three directions of east, south, and west, there were three different Halls of Heavenly Secrets. Within those three Halls of Heavenly Secrets, powerful existences also revealed looks of terror.
In the world of immortal cultivation.
There were peerless experts who liked observing the stars of the firmament to divine the heavenly secrets. The study of heavenly secrets was extremely important in the world of immortal cultivation. It could be used to read fortune and misfortune, to read the fate of a nation, and even the great fortune of an entire race.
No matter the country or dynasty, before any major decision was made, they had to invite those versed in heavenly secrets to observe the stars and predict the future of the matter.
If it was ominous, they would retreat.
If it was auspicious, they would advance.
Although the calculations were not necessarily a hundred percent accurate, in certain matters, they were indeed miraculously effective.
Now, the experts of the four great Halls of Heavenly Secrets were all shaken, which was enough to prove how terrifying this matter was.
However, to the majority of cultivators under heaven, there was nothing unusual at all.
For example, within the Qingyun Dao Sect.
Su Changyu was quietly gazing at the firmament alone.
He did not notice anything unusual whatsoever.
If he had to say something, Su Changyu felt that the stars today seemed a little brighter than usual.
Not far away.
Xu Luochen and Chen Lingrou were watching Su Changyu.
“Second Senior Brother, what do you think has been going on with Eldest Senior Brother lately? Every time it’s around this hour, he looks at the stars by himself. Could something be weighing on his mind?”
Chen Lingrou asked.
“I’m not sure.”
Xu Luochen shook his head, not very clear either.
“Could it be that Junior Brother’s aptitude is too poor, making him too difficult to teach? Is Eldest Senior Brother a little unhappy?”
Chen Lingrou continued.
“It’s possible. After all, the Sword Dao isn’t something just anyone can learn. Forget it, in a few days, I’ll teach this Junior Brother. Otherwise, if this continues, who knows whether Eldest Senior Brother might do something extreme.”
Xu Luochen said as much.
And just like that, everything was peaceful.
Within the rear cliff of Qingyun.
A phantom image of a godfiend also completely appeared within Ye Ping’s mind.