Demon Sword Sect’s Undercover
Chapter 475 - 475 474 Unyielding

475: Chapter 474: Unyielding 475: Chapter 474: Unyielding Hou Niao finally understood his situation, but even he himself wasn’t sure what good understanding all this did for him?

Apart from destroying confidence, what other path was there?

In every realm, there are things one must do.

Why must cultivation be taken step by step?

Why does the Cultivation World treat so-called geniuses with such cautious conservatism?

Why does the Daoist Sect always follow procedures to the letter?

Why does the Buddhist Sect always adhere strictly to rules?

It is for this reason.

Children should play with toys.

If they insist on doing adult things, the outcome is predictable.

These taboos are the summary of countless lessons learned from countless failures of innumerable predecessors in the Cultivation World.

They have formed the present framework of the cultivation system, ensuring that the vast majority of cultivators will advance step by step within a breakable framework, instead of ambitiously trying to bite off more than they can chew.

Hou Niao wasn’t ignorant of this.

Since the day he began cultivating, all the Daoist Records he skimmed mentioned this point—do not forcefully seek what does not belong to your realm; do not always dream of ascending to heaven in one step.

In this world, there are many who claim to have penetrated the mysteries of heaven.

It is precisely because their thoughts are too advanced that their physical realms cannot keep up, and the inevitable result is a life spent in vain, filled with desolation and despair.

He knew the reasoning, but when it actually came to his own cultivation, how many could truly claim to abide completely within the framework?

When faced with so-called opportunities, who wouldn’t throw themselves into it wholeheartedly, wishing they could be that one in a million?

Following the rules alone, how can one stand out?

We seek fortune through risk; how can a horse fatten without night grazing?

The entire Cultivation World actually survives on such contradictions, knowing the harm of crossing bounds yet tirelessly indulging in danger, walking a fine line.

Of course, seeking to cross bounds also requires luck.

Many spend their entire lives without finding such an opportunity, unable to escape the confines of the mundane, advancing step by step toward the ordinary, ultimately blending into the crowd.

Then there are those cultivators who are fortunate.

They cross bounds, whether subtly or blatantly walking through it, and become outstanding figures at various levels within the Cultivation World.

Hou Niao’s situation belonged to those who had crossed bounds but were unlucky.

He had crossed too much, and just at the most critical aspect, he should have easily broken through the Sea of Consciousness’s barrier with his comprehension of thunder.

Yet, due to his encounters with the Yu Family, he inadvertently added a layer of insurance from the Heavenly Dao to his Sea of Consciousness.

The Shan Sect’s Quanzhen is not specialized in the Thunderbolt Daoist way like the Guo Sect’s Taiyi, so they are not deeply involved in this aspect.

It was all his own doing.

He sighed deeply.

Faced with this situation, his only option was to grind it out with time, hoping to coincidentally solve this problem through future experiences.

That’s also the choice most cultivators in such circumstances would make, which frankly, is just counting on luck.

But Hou Niao also knew that the results of relying on luck like this were not good.

As time passed, opportunities grew dimmer, confidence lost, eventually becoming a stubborn cultivator who could make a name for themselves within the Tongtian Realm, yet forever incapable of progressing to the Upper Realm.

There were many such individuals, invincible at a certain level, appearing glorious to outsiders.

Yet, only the insightful knew how short the lives of these temporary heroes were, nothing more than that.

Hou Niao didn’t want to become like that.

He hadn’t given up on the impulse to ascend.

In his view, if the Heavenly Dao had closed a door for him, it must have opened a window.

It’s just that the window was very small and its location was very hidden.

Whether he could get through this obstacle depended on how steady he could hold himself!

He believed his intuition hadn’t deceived him.

If he gave up now, that would be an unforgivable mistake.

Heaven might set traps for him, but he couldn’t trip himself up.

Subconsciously weaving through the thunderclouds, sometimes with Sword Control, sometimes with Body Sword, sometimes holding the sword against the thunder, he tested the Sea of Consciousness barrier’s response in such a dense thunder environment.

There was no response.

As he had guessed, the barrier wasn’t an issue of strength, but belonged to some kind of mysterious category.

Doing everything within his power, he tried everything he could think of, one thing after another…

The impulse to ascend was still there.

He could clearly feel the restlessness in his Dantian, the longing in the Purple Mansion, the readiness in the Sea of Consciousness, but the path to entry eluded him.

Hou Niao hovered silently in the air, feeling somewhat regretful.

Cultivators should not act against their better judgment, but his current predicament had forced him to do just that, predictably without any results.

After such prolonged contemplation, he had considered every conceivable aspect.

For someone as consistently meticulous as he was, it was impossible to overlook any significant direction.

He sighed.

Could there possibly be another, somewhat extraneous factor?

Why did the transfer of the Thunder Force follow a different path on the return trip?

The variability of Thunder Force was dependent on the environment.

The course set by winds and tides, climate and ocean currents—all these natural changes between heaven and earth could influence the shifting of the Thunder Force.

Therefore, in his opinion, the route’s meanderings towards Blue Island were to be expected.

Surely, that was how the Thunder Force was supposed to travel?

Was the destination fixed, with the journey full of twists and turns, adapting as required?

However, such a theory could not explain the straight line emanating from Blue Island!

That was indeed a straight path, connecting Blue Island to the Thunder Triangle without a single deviation.

That was a bit harder to explain, wasn’t it?

Was the Thunder Force on the outbound trip not the same as on the return?

This question was perplexing to him.

To thoroughly understand its essence was probably beyond the capabilities of someone with his modest Cultivation at the Tongtian Realm.

Since there were no other methods to consider and no illusions about the future, he took out the sea chart in his idle time.

Relying on memory, he used a charcoal pencil to first draw the path of the Thunder Force on its way to Blue Island.

His memory was excellent, and he had his unique understanding of the sea chart.

He would deliberately note the position each time the Thunder Force made a turn.

He remembered clearly that there had been a total of six turns on the outbound trip, and each was almost a right angle.

After he outlined the complete route with the charcoal pencil, a pathway took shape on the sea chart, resembling a character: Bow!

With the start marked by a hook and the end by a horizontal stroke, it represented the positions of the Thunder Triangle and Blue Island.

A perfectly standard Bow, even the stroke lengths matched perfectly.

What connection did Thunder have with a Bow?

It made no sense!

Next, he started to draw the return path.

This was much simpler, just a single straight line.

Combined together, they formed a character:

Diao!

What was the pronunciation of this character?

It was quite obscure.

He didn’t recognize it and didn’t believe that such a character actually existed.

What in the world!

Subconsciously, he circulated the Thunder Intent in his mind, moving the Thunder Force according to the character ‘Diao’.

In doing so, he immediately felt a difference!

It was as if something in the world was opening up to him!

Diao, an Ancient Thunder Talisman!

Impossible to write down, impossible to pass on, it does not fall into characters, nor does it leave traces!

With the circulation of the Thunder Force, a smile tinged the corners of Hou Niao’s mouth!

He had found the key to opening the barrier of his Sea of Consciousness!

Within his mind, the Thunder Force moved according to the character, slowly turning at ‘Bow’, then abruptly descending in a straight strike!

Diao!

The Sea of Consciousness opened quietly and was no longer separated by the slightest barrier!

…With the Soul Mountain River Qi, the Wind and Thunder Control the Universe.

The light and smoke of Cang Sea are silent, drawing the bow reveals the dragon and snake anew.