Nameless Region Arc Chapter Sixty-Four: Comprehension

The current situation was unmistakably clear. Combining all previous signs and clues, together with his own speculations and reverse reasoning, Zhou Xuanhong was certain that Xu Yuqi had not perished; even if he had, at least his divine soul remained. The reason he had survived for so many years was undoubtedly the Form Evolution Technique. Although Zhou Xuanhong did not yet know what hidden dangers the Form Evolution Technique might pose, he could surmise that cultivators who practiced it could, in some way, prolong their own existence.

“What nonsense is this Grand Evolution Art? It’s definitely not the original version—it must be a method that old monster uses to control others. But what now? The Evolution God Seal is already branded in my sea of consciousness, is there any way to erase it?”

The only thing Zhou Xuanhong could think of was the bloodthirsty mother bug. Ever since the mother bug advanced to the Foundation Establishment stage, it no longer devoured blood, but instead consumed divine soul power. During his Foundation Establishment, he had used the mother bug to swallow the passage within his sea of consciousness, thus succeeding in cultivating the Form Evolution Technique and creating a unique channel for his technique to circulate.

He sent his divine sense to the mother bug, which flew from the earthen spiritual base in his sea of consciousness and landed on the Evolution God Seal, opening its mouthparts to bite down.

Crunch!

Regrettably, the mother bug failed to make a dent in the Evolution God Seal. It wasn’t that it couldn’t devour it, but rather its current strength was insufficient to shake the seal. Only a faint bite mark was left, which vanished in the blink of an eye.

“There’s hope! But your level is still too low. Perhaps, once you break through to the Golden Core stage, you’ll be able to use your special devouring abilities to destroy this mark.”

The mother bug transmitted a message to Zhou Xuanhong: “This energy is very beneficial to me. You should devour more of it.”

Zhou Xuanhong’s consciousness returned to the light orb. Coldly, he sneered in his heart: Since that’s the case, I must repay the ancestor’s ‘kindness’ in full. The Grand Evolution Art, is it? Then I’ll master it completely—what is there to fear!

Yet Zhou Xuanhong paused, carefully pondering how to turn this plot against him into an opportunity for his own benefit. Simply comprehending the secret art would be somewhat of a loss; if he could also gain insight into the world-destroying finger from the earlier vision, it might become one of his trump cards in the future.

Zhou Xuanhong was always such a person—everything began with his own interests, always seeking maximum benefit. Xu Yuqi wanted to seize his body? Very well! He would wait for the attempt, but before that, he would squeeze every advantage from what Xu Yuqi offered. When the time came, let the strongest prevail!

He withdrew his will from the light orb, then exited the stone tablet space, returning to his main body in the real world and opened his eyes.

Beside him, Xuan Qizi asked, “Have you grasped the basics?”

Zhou Xuanhong nodded, then shook his head. “Master, I have indeed entered the basics, but I feel there are deeper layers yet to be comprehended, so I withdrew to rest for a moment.”

Xuan Qizi was startled—such high comprehension! Even he had barely entered the basics of this secret art, unable to reach greater depth after much effort.

He sighed inwardly: If this child weren’t favored by the ancestor, I would surely groom him as the next leader of the sect.

Setting aside that thought, Xuan Qizi smiled, saying, “No matter, take your time. I’ve told you, stay as long as you need, until you fully comprehend it.”

He knew full well the secret of the Grand Evolution Art, but so what? He had long known the ancestor was still alive and willingly served beneath him.

The deeper one comprehended the Grand Evolution Art, the firmer the Evolution God Seal rooted itself. When the day came for the ancestor’s possession, he could easily succeed through the seal.

A moment later, Zhou Xuanhong’s spirit left his body and will entered the stone tablet again. As expected, the scenes of ancient battles unfolded before his eyes. Magnificent, grand arts of heaven and earth, profound soul secret techniques—watching them again, Zhou Xuanhong observed carefully, immersing himself completely in those two great magical arts, as if he were an ant gazing up at mighty beings as dazzling as the stars.

As Xu Yuqi departed with the stone tablet, the vision faded, and the scene before Zhou Xuanhong returned to the misty gray space.

He stood in place for a long while, finally plunging into the light orb to begin comprehending the Grand Evolution Art.

The process was short; soon he voluntarily left the stone tablet space and returned to his body. The Evolution God Seal in his sea of consciousness deepened slightly.

Xuan Qizi sensed the aura of the Evolution God Seal within Zhou Xuanhong grow stronger, nodded in satisfaction, and asked, “How is it? Is there room for improvement?”

Zhou Xuanhong nodded, “Yes, but as I progress, my soul grows more strained and the consumption increases.”

Upon hearing this, Xuan Qizi took out two bottles of golden liquid from his storage ring. “This is Ethereal Treasure Liquid. It can restore your soul’s energy and enhance your powers of perception. Drink it. Stay here and continue to comprehend. I’ll go to the sect’s treasury and bring you more soul-nourishing treasures.”

Zhou Xuanhong quickly knelt in respect, “Thank you, Master, for your kindness. I will remember your benevolence always!”

Xuan Qizi nodded approvingly. “No need for such formalities. This is what I should do. Rest well and apply yourself to your studies!”

“Yes!”

Once Xuan Qizi had left, Zhou Xuanhong gazed at the two bottles of treasure liquid in his hand with gratitude and joy, though inwardly he sneered, “My good master, you truly are a most obedient dog!”

Moments later, after drinking one bottle of Ethereal Treasure Liquid, Zhou Xuanhong felt his mind become clear and empty. Thoughts that once flickered briefly through his mind now became much clearer, and his will worked swiftly—he was very satisfied with this state.

Thoughts are the vague images that arise in every living being's sea of consciousness, appearing and vanishing swiftly, encompassing all things, a thousand thoughts in an instant. Thoughts are born and extinguished constantly. For example, one might see something and wish to comment, but not know where to begin because the thought is too vague, insufficiently tied to oneself.

Now, after drinking the Ethereal Treasure Liquid, all his thoughts became clearer, and Zhou Xuanhong felt that the finger he had seen in the previous vision now held even more mysterious nuances.

His spirit entered the stone tablet world again, and the familiar scenes and familiar finger appeared once more. But this time, as he gazed up, he seemed to see far more—indescribable, unfathomable, like an ant trying to discern a complex formation.

Yet, in the elder’s Grand Evolution Art, he witnessed another, even more mysterious and profound method of application—far more comprehensive and complete than what the light orb offered.

The vision returned to the misty gray space, and Zhou Xuanhong fell into deep contemplation, carefully probing the mysteries of that finger and the elder’s execution of the Grand Evolution Art, rather than the peculiar version in the light orb.

After a long time, Zhou Xuanhong returned from his meditation, his will much fatigued. He lingered briefly in the light orb, and with his newfound understanding of the elder’s Grand Evolution Art, easily caused the Evolution God Seal in his sea of consciousness to deepen again, then left the stone tablet world.

Outside, Xuan Qizi returned to the fourth level, confirmed that Zhou Xuanhong’s spirit had returned, took out a pile of soul-nourishing treasures from his storage ring and handed them to Zhou Xuanhong, introducing each one:

“This is a Soul-Nourishing Stone. Place it around you to nurture your soul, hasten recovery, and dispel fatigue;

This is a Resonance Pill, with effects similar to Ethereal Treasure Liquid;

This is the third eye of a Three-Eyed Spirit Cat. Hold it in your hand to clear your mind of distracting thoughts;

And this…”

Zhou Xuanhong nodded at each, clasped his hands in gratitude, “Thank you, Master!”

Xuan Qizi said with satisfaction, “No need for ceremony. Your task is to comprehend this secret art well—it will bring immense benefits in the future!”

Thus, Zhou Xuanhong began his long journey of comprehension: watching the vision—leaving the vision—grasping the finger technique and the elder’s Grand Evolution Art—deepening the Evolution God Seal—leaving the stone tablet world—restoring his soul—re-entering the stone tablet world—watching the vision…

Over and over again. Seeing that Zhou Xuanhong’s comprehension would not end soon, Xuan Qizi went off to attend to sect affairs.

Zhou Xuanhong did not scheme in Xuan Qizi’s absence; he suspected Xu Yuqi might be observing him, so he acted with utmost caution.

Days passed, and the domains near the Form Evolution Sect seemed normal as ever, yet rumors about the sect grew more rampant.

People said the Form Evolution Sect was dwindling, its future high-level combat power would be increasingly scarce, and soon it would be outshone by the Yin Corpse Sect. Yet rumors are just rumors; they rarely matter, only causing minor changes in small corners.

Within the first month of Zhou Xuanhong’s study, a major event shook the Yin Corpse Sect: a progeny of a Void God ancestor from the Supreme Lunar Corpse Sect descended, took Bai Youxuan as a disciple, and brought her to the Supreme Lunar Corpse Sect for personal guidance.

From then on, the Yin Corpse Sect’s status soared. They were rewarded with a small world from the Supreme Lunar Corpse Sect, larger than the Form Evolution Sect’s herb world, emboldening the Yin Corpse disciples to act lawlessly, causing trouble throughout the surrounding cultivation domains.

The Form Evolution Sect could only remain silent. Though they publicly condemned the actions, they never launched any real punitive expeditions. This showed all the neighboring powers the sect’s decline, and for a time, all the surrounding domains were under the shadow of the Yin Corpse Sect’s claws.

When common folk suffered at the hands of the Yin Corpse Sect, the sword cultivators of the Song Mountain Sword Pavilion seized the opportunity, actively hunting evil Yin Corpse disciples. The situation improved somewhat, but not much: there were too few sword cultivators, and the Yin Corpse disciples had many escape tricks, simply moving elsewhere to continue their crimes.

In the second month of Zhou Xuanhong’s study, the Yin Corpse Sect announced the opening of their small world, with five hundred spots available. Four hundred were divided among various powers, and the remaining hundred were left for rogue cultivators to compete over.

With the Form Evolution Sect’s previous experience with their own world pearl, this time no team larger than ten was allowed inside. If discovered, all gains would be converted to spirit stones and distributed among the entrants.

For this opening of the Yin Corpse Sect’s small world, cultivation was limited to the early Foundation Establishment stage, and countless rogue cultivators scrambled desperately for a hundred places.

Those least eager to enter were the Form Evolution Sect. Given fifty spots by the Yin Corpse Sect, they managed to decline to just thirty, and even then with obvious reluctance.

Ultimately, only fifteen disciples were dispatched—five of them old disciples in the Qi Refining stage, while the remaining thirty were actually rogue cultivators disguised as sect members. The Form Evolution Sect had too few disciples now, and every single one had to be cherished.

Among the five hundred slots were Kong Xiaori and his sister. The pair concealed their identities, mingled among the rogue cultivators, and did not use the Form Evolution Sect’s quota.