I created an extraordinary era

Chapter 664 Three years have passed in the blink of an eye!

"Teacher, why does Huang Shang come to Panlong Town so often?"

After Huang Shang's figure disappeared into the wind and snow, Hua Changfeng couldn't help but ask.

Just now at the dinner table, I overheard some people saying that Huang Shang used to come back almost every year.

Even now that he's a deacon in the Hall of Judgments, he still comes every three years.

He initially thought the other person wanted to find a teacher.

Judging from the conversation at the dinner table, it was clear that it had nothing to do with the teacher.

"Because this is where the moon he couldn't take with him is buried!"

Xia Yuan stared at the alleyway where Huang Shang's figure had disappeared, his gaze seemingly piercing through time and snow, returning to a long time ago.

Hua Changfeng was taken aback.

"She is his wife."

By the side.

Fu Hongkang slowly began to recount what had happened back then.

He was also involved in that case back then, so he was naturally very clear about it.

Fu Hongkang did not follow up on the matter, so he did not know that the woman was buried there.

It wasn't until Xia Yuan mentioned it that he gradually understood.

"What a devoted lover he is!"

Upon hearing this, Hua Changfeng couldn't help but sigh.

One of the three great deacons of the Hall of Judgment actually went to such lengths for a woman who had been dead for more than thirty years.

This intention.

In today's world, this is truly a rare find.

Hua Changfeng pondered for a moment, then spoke again:

"Teacher, Huang Shang's obsession runs so deep, is this a good thing or a bad thing?"

He has now embarked on the path of cultivating visualization techniques, so naturally he wants to know more about the experience of condensing the divine soul.

"Obsession?"

Xia Yuan smiled and tapped the table lightly with his fingertips.

"Look at the snow."

In the courtyard, the last few snowflakes drifted down.

The sunlight struggled to pierce through the clouds, falling on the snow and reflecting a blinding white light.

"Snow covers everything, seemingly cold and ruthless, yet it can nourish the buds of spring the following year. So too can obsession."

Xia Yuan's voice was calm.

"Being trapped in it is like being shackled by inner demons. But if you can transform it into a driving force for progress, remembering it without becoming addicted, then it is the most resilient root system, enabling you to walk more steadily and further on this path."

Upon hearing this, Fu Hongkang's body trembled slightly, as if he had realized something.

He looked down at his hands and remained silent.

Hua Changfeng's eyes also flickered, as if he were deep in thought.

"You don't need to think so much!"

Looking at the two of them, Xia Yuan couldn't help but shake his head.

"The path to uniting the spirit is to understand one's true nature."

"Just observe other people's paths; ultimately, you still have to find your own."

"Being fixated on form and imitating the path of others is the biggest obstacle to concentrating one's spirit. What you need to see is your own true self, not a reflection of someone else's heart."

He raised his hand, his fingertips seemingly capturing a ray of sunlight filtering through the eaves, warm and bright.
"Remember, it is you who needs to concentrate your divine soul, not me, or anyone else."

"Your joys and sorrows, your concerns and pursuits, are the very essence of who you are. They are the mirror and the light that reflects your soul."

As for good or bad.

Xia Yuan glanced at the two of them and spoke calmly:
"You will understand when you truly see your own mind and nature."

"Thinking too much now is like trying to find a path in the snow; the more you search, the more confusing it becomes."

"Finally, let me remind you of one thing: do not try to visualize anyone, and do not become anyone's shadow!"

Even me.

"why?"

Hua Changfeng blurted it out.

Just as Xia Yuan said, he did indeed intend to use Xia Yuan as the object of his meditation.

In his view, Xia Yuan was powerful.

Using Xia Yuan as an object of contemplation and a reflection of oneself is probably the best choice.

Why would the teacher say that?

Could it possibly do something bad to the teacher?
"If you contemplate me, then when you finally understand your true nature, what you will understand is not your true nature, but me!"

"Will you still be yourself by then?"

Hua Changfeng and Fu Hongkang were both taken aback, their faces showing confusion.

Hua Changfeng hesitated and said:

"Teacher, you just said not to visualize anyone, including yourself. But isn't the purpose of practicing visualization to find an external 'object of visualization' to refine the spirit and reflect upon oneself?"

"If you cannot visualize a specific person or object, then what should you visualize?"

Xia Yuan shook his head helplessly.

"What I mean by not visualizing anyone is not to deny the method of using external phenomena to reflect internal phenomena, but rather to warn you not to visualize a being with an independent mind."

He reached out and caught a drop of melting snow dripping from the eaves. The droplet condensed on his fingertip and did not disperse, reflecting a miniature world.

"The focus of contemplation is on the imagery and spirit of the object, rather than the will itself."

"For example, you can visualize a flower, a mountain, a river, or even a star!"

"It could even be an emotion, a belief!"

“These external things do not have complex thoughts, and they will not impose their own Tao and thoughts on you.”

"What you are borrowing is the pure artistic conception that they contain, the one you need."

"This will hone your spirit and ultimately trigger your own inner insights and strength."

"For example, Nangong Hong uses the will of martial arts to reflect on himself!"

"Okay, that's all for today."

"The practice of visualization can be taken slowly, there's no need to rush!"

After speaking, Xia Yuan stood up and brushed off non-existent dust from his robes.

"Let's go, the snow has stopped, let's go for a walk."

"Yes!"

The two nodded and didn't ask any more questions. They then followed Xia Yuan out of the courtyard.

The snow at the alley entrance was already almost ankle-deep.

The three of them walked slowly along the path, the sound of their shoes crunching through the fresh snow crisp and pleasant.

The distant mountains, like dark eyebrows, silently bear witness to this boundless expanse of white, while wisps of smoke rise from the village and disappear into the azure sky.

Time slips by quietly in this peaceful cycle.

The grove of trees across from the village turns green and then yellow, then falls, only to be covered by fresh snow again, in a never-ending cycle.

The icicles under the eaves freeze and melt, melt and freeze again, recording the changing seasons.

Three years have passed, like a stream flowing over pebbles, not changing their shape, but quietly smoothing out some of their edges and settling some stories behind them.

Of course, this applies to Xia Yuan.

But for others, it is far more complex than just a few stories.

First, there was March of the 34th year of the Extraordinary Era, which was two and a half years ago.

After eight months, Fu Hongkang finally broke through to the late stage of Dark Force.

This took a little longer than expected.

He could tell that Fu Hongkang had something on his mind and couldn't focus all his energy on cultivation.

Xia Yuan was well aware of the situation, but he didn't say anything.

After breaking through to the late stage of Dark Force, Fu Hongkang did not linger.

He was indeed feeling a bit stifled after spending eight months in the countryside.

In addition, he needed to go back and handle matters concerning the Heavenly Gang Alliance.

Therefore, on the third day after the breakthrough, Fu Hongkang bid farewell to Xia Yuan.

Xia Yuan thought Fu Hongkang would go see his first love whom he could never forget, but unexpectedly he went straight back to Xinyuan City.

Xia Yuan simply shook his head at this.

After Fu Hongkang left, Hua Changfeng calmed down completely and focused most of his energy on cultivating visualization techniques.

After initially feeling confused about visualization techniques and failing to visualize Xia Yuan, he finally succeeded in mastering the basics of visualization techniques in the same year.

The basics of visualization are not difficult to grasp; the challenge lies in maintaining a clear and pure mind during practice.

Otherwise, it's easy to get completely lost in it, which can lead to mental trauma at best, or even madness at worst.

This places extremely high demands on willpower.

Those who lack willpower will find it difficult to go very far in visualization techniques, let alone condense a complete visualization diagram!

Fortunately, Hua Changfeng's willpower is quite good.

Although the progress is a bit slow, there shouldn't be any problem in at least showing the basic form of the visualization method.

As for whether the divine soul can be completely condensed, that remains to be seen!
Aside from a very few individuals, almost no one else can say with absolute certainty whether they can condense their divine soul.

In contrast to the tranquility of Panlong Town, the outside world is undergoing far greater changes!

The biggest change is that in these three years, seven more extraordinary individuals at the Unity Realm have emerged.

They are Liu Xiaoyan, Ji Ruxue, Wei Lingjun, Bai Zhengyu, Cecilia, Payne, and Feng Hao.

Liu Xiaoyan became the fifth person to reach the Transformation Realm in martial arts.

He left many of his contemporaries far behind.

At the same time, she also opened up two acupoints when she broke through to the Unity Realm.

Cecilia, like her, opened two acupoints, while the others only opened one.

Clearly, this is most likely due to insufficient martial arts realm or insufficient understanding of the laws.

Liu Xiaoyan, who opened two acupoints, has reached the level of Transformation Force.

Cecilia, on the other hand, controls two states of mind, the third stage and the second stage respectively. While her combat ability isn't particularly strong, opening up acupoints isn't about combat power.

Speaking of opening acupoints, although Nangong Hong has been very busy in the past three years, he has opened three more acupoints after breaking through the second barrier of the skin and flesh.

The number has now reached thirty-one.

As for Ji Xuan, although the two are at the same level, there are only twenty of them.

Everyone else is still in the top ten or below.

It's mainly because they haven't had much time to cultivate in the last few years.

If they focus wholeheartedly on cultivation, Yuan Liren and Sikong Yang should be able to open up ten acupoints.

However, it is precisely because of the efforts of these people and the great investment of the Federation of People's Associations that the Vientiane Skyway has been largely completed.

The original plan was to take five years.

It seems that perhaps only about a year will be enough!
As the events have grown increasingly significant in recent years, more and more people have come to know about information related to the Vientiane Heavenly Road.

Although most people are still unaware of the full details, the fact that only a portion of the information has been revealed is enough to drive countless people into a frenzy.

One of the most attractive aspects is that the Myriad Manifestations Heavenly Path contains all of the Origin Ancestor's cultivation insights.

If one could absorb all of it, one could even break through to a realm beyond the Transformation Realm.

Those who transcend the path of laws can also comprehend laws beyond the realm of intent.

In addition, the Vientiane Sky Road offers numerous opportunities and rewards.

As long as you can obtain enough points inside, even someone at the Innate Realm can cultivate all the way to the Unity Realm or even higher.

Therefore, the Vientiane Heavenly Road has been regarded by many as the greatest opportunity to rise to the top and change their destiny in one step!
After all, in the past, even the most outstanding geniuses needed to accumulate resources and improve their strength at the same time.

But it’s different now!

In the Vientiane Sky Road, it's almost like giving everyone a fair chance to compete.

Whether you come from the Origin Academy or a small external force.

Those who can stand out on the Heavenly Road will receive generous rewards that were previously unimaginable.

In this way, the entire landscape of the extraordinary world could be reshaped!

In this trend, no one can remain uninvolved.

Even figures like Wu Zong Nangong Hong and Feng Zong Ji Xuan could easily be overthrown by those who came after them if they didn't keep up with the times.

After all, people like Xuan Yuan Yun Gui and Fang Yuan Hang are only one step away from the Unity Realm.

In particular, Xuan Yuan Yun Gui was the fourth person to break through to the Transformation Realm in martial arts.

His strength is even greater than that of Nangong Hong when he was at the ninth level of the Transcendent Realm.

Once he gains some insight from the Myriad Manifestations Heavenly Path, he may very well surpass Nangong Hong.

Speaking of which, during the Grandmaster Ranking selection in the 34th year of the Extraordinary Era, a top genius with extremely high talent also emerged.

This person was named Augustus. He had only been in the Origin Academy for eight years when he reached the peak of the sixth level of the Transcendent Realm and his martial arts realm had reached the peak of the Dark Force Realm.

Moreover, his understanding of fire has also reached the second stage.

Moreover, not long after breaking through to the Transcendent Realm, he integrated his artistic conception with martial arts.

When he reached the fourth stage of the Transcendent Realm, he even created his own extraordinary martial arts.

Such talent even surpasses that of Xuanyuan Yungui back then.

He is arguably the strongest among the younger generation.

However, there was an exception in this year's Grandmaster Ranking.

The vice-principal of a mere extraordinary university actually surpassed countless geniuses from extraordinary academies and even the Origin Academy to reach the forty-sixth place on the Grandmaster Ranking.

This person was Zhu Wanqin.

Fifteen years later, Zhu Wanqin had already broken through to the sixth level of the Transcendent Realm.

She also became the first person in history to enter the Grandmasters list as a member of the Extraordinary University.

This has truly astounded countless people.

After all, the resources of the Extraordinary University can never compare to those of the Extraordinary Academy, let alone the Origin Academy!
Yet, even under these circumstances, Zhu Wanqin surpassed them and ascended to the Grandmaster Ranking.

Of course, in terms of cultivation speed alone, Zhu Wanqin is definitely not considered fast.

They are at least not as good as the geniuses from the Origin Academy.

In fifteen years, most people at Origin Academy were able to break through to the Grandmaster level, but Zhu Wanqin was only at the sixth level of the Mortal Transformation Realm.

This is the gap in resources.

For people like Zhu Wanqin, the role of Wanxiang Tianlu is the most significant.

She is very likely to take off with the help of the Wanxiang Sky Road.
……

While most people were drawn to the Vientiane Skyway.

The situation in the Western Continent has become increasingly turbulent over the past three years.

Several battles between superhumans have taken place in secret, and it is even rumored that a Grandmaster at the fourth level of the Transcendent Realm has fallen in the Dawn Society.

The murderer has not been caught yet, and we don't even know who he is.

However, all of this happened a year ago. In the past year, there have been very few fights and even fewer disputes.

Clearly, many people are making preparations for the Wanxiang Skyway.

There's no time to create unnecessary trouble at this time.

In contrast to the outside world, life in Panlong Town remains peaceful.

Xia Yuan would either sit quietly in the courtyard or chat with Uncle Ding, Zhang Changsheng, and other relatives and friends every day.

Two years ago, the group held a 100-day celebration for Uncle Ding.

The centenary celebration was a very lively affair.

Uncle Ding invited everyone living in the village, whether he knew them or not, to the feast.

If you live to be a hundred, every meeting you have is one less you'll ever meet.

It's fate that we can sit at the same table.

Xia Yuan even cooked the meal himself that day.

He stewed a pot of "longevity soup".

The soup was slowly simmered with wild mushrooms, free-range chicken given by villagers, and a few kinds of vegetables that he grew himself.

After Uncle Ding's 100th birthday celebration, time flowed quietly like the water of Panlong Creek, seemingly unchanging, but in reality never turning back.

Uncle Ding used to be the first person in the village to get up.

As dawn broke, you could see him slowly practicing his well-known health-preserving boxing routine in the courtyard.

From some unknown day onwards, the boxing stances slowed down, and then slowed down even more.

Sometimes he would just stand under the old tree, watching the east turn white.

After a long while, he slowly raised his hand.

He practiced a few moves and then rested, sitting on the smooth stone bench.

Today, Uncle Ding is 102 years old.

Xia Yuan sat opposite him, quietly pouring a pot of warm pine needle tea.

The misty vapor blurred Uncle Ding's deeply lined face, but it could not obscure the blood and vitality that Xia Yuan sensed were quietly and rapidly disappearing.

It was a kind of depletion originating from the deepest level of life, like the last stream in the deep mountains in autumn.

No matter how hard the people on the shore try to divert and dig canals, it will inevitably become thin and slow, and eventually return to silence.

Xia Yuan sensed it more clearly than anyone else.

The once vibrant energy within Uncle Ding's body has now dwindled to a faint orange glow, slowly swaying in his empty chest cavity.

The blood that had flowed for over a hundred years lost its former surging power, becoming viscous and sluggish, like river water about to freeze over.

The functions of the internal organs are irreversibly declining. They are still trying to operate, but like old objects that have been used for too long, they are slowly losing their function.

Even with a continuous supply of primordial medicine, it is still impossible to reverse the laws governing life and death.

All the original medicine can do is slow down this inevitable decay process as much as possible.

Xia Yuan estimated that Uncle Ding would completely die within three to five years at most.

Compared to Uncle Ding, Aunt Ding's health is much better.

Although Aunt Ding is now close to 100 years old, she shows little sign of decay.

It's very likely that he can live for another ten years or so.

However, as Aunt Ding watched her uncle's health decline day by day, an indescribable sense of desolation gradually crept into her eyes.

She would often sit next to Uncle Ding, not saying much, but simply taking her needle and thread and slowly mending clothes that were not actually damaged.

Or he might hold a bowl of water, not taking a sip for a long time, just staring out the window with a blank look in his eyes, seemingly lost in thought.

Sometimes, when Uncle Ding was asleep, she would sit by the bed and gaze at his gaunt face, which looked even more withered in his sleep, by the dim light coming through the window.

During the day.

Aunt Ding no longer talks and laughs loudly with the neighbors like she used to, or complains about Uncle Ding's carelessness.

She became very quiet, a quietness that accompanies the passage of time.

Xia Yuan could sense that within Aunt Ding's still vibrant life, a wisp of waning life was growing stronger.

It wasn't physical, but emotional.

It was as if part of her life force had already begun to diminish in intensity and light as Uncle Ding weakened.

Perhaps for her, living longer does not mean more joy.

Instead, it means a longer wait and a more solitary farewell.

On this day, Uncle Ding was feeling a little better and sat in the courtyard basking in the sun.

He himself seemed to be the one who understood all of this best.

He no longer feels the slight anxiety or helplessness he sometimes feels towards his declining health, as he did in the previous two years.

Uncle Ding today embodies complete acceptance and tranquility.

He picked up the wooden cup in front of him; his hand was still trembling slightly, but his movements were steady.

He took a sip of the warm tea, squinted his eyes, feeling the warmth slide down his throat, then smiled at Xia Yuan, his voice slow and hoarse:
"Xiao Yuan, there's no need to waste those essence potions on me anymore!"

"I've lived long enough to get by!"

He turned his head slightly, his gaze gently falling on Xia Yuan. There was no fear of death in his eyes, only a kind of almost perfect composure.

"It's alright, Uncle Ding, those things mean nothing to me!"

Upon hearing this, Uncle Ding's wrinkles slowly smoothed out, like the bark of an old tree touched by a spring breeze.

A knowing smile flickered in his cloudy eyes, and he nodded gently, no longer insisting.

"You."

He murmured something under his breath, seemingly lost in thought.
(End of this chapter)