Boom! A sudden arc of lightning crashed down. Joe Di, who was darting forward, only managed to turn his head aside before the bolt struck his left shoulder.
Crack! The bones in his left shoulder shattered instantly, and the powerful force spread from there, fracturing his breastbone as well. Though the impact was fierce, it only reached his chest; Joe Di's formidable Sacred Physique absorbed most of the force, preventing greater injury.
While repairing his bone injuries, Joe Di was also comprehending the Grand Way Divine Art that followed no rules at all. At the same time, his speed did not decrease in the slightest as he continued charging forward along the black road.
A cultivator trailing behind Joe Di stared blankly at his disappearing figure in the distance. After a long moment, he muttered, "That must be a physique beyond the Sacred Physique. Otherwise, no one could survive such a Grand Way Divine Art... Who is he, who on earth is he...?"
As a cultivator who had long dwelled at the bottom of the Grandway Abyss, he knew well that even those with the Sacred Physique would have their flesh torn apart under such terrifying Grand Way Divine Arts. In the end, they could only rely on top-tier treasures to heal their bodies. But even the wealthiest cultivators couldn't possibly have enough treasures to keep healing themselves. So, even with the Sacred Physique, one could only move a little faster than others on this path—no one would dare to charge forward as madly as Joe Di. Even after being injured, his speed didn't slow down; it only grew stronger.
At first, Joe Di was rushing forward out of worry that someone else might reach the summit of Mountainview before him. Especially after learning that someone of Eugene Yi's caliber was also here, his concern only deepened.
Later on, Joe Di completely set that concern aside. Now, he sped ahead not to compete, but because he wanted to be struck by those sudden Grand Way Divine Arts.
Each time he was attacked by a Grand Way Divine Art, Joe Di felt as if he was on the verge of grasping something, but every time, he fell just a little short.
To uncover the law behind these Grand Way Divine Arts, Joe Di kept darting forward, repeatedly exposing himself to their attacks—determined to seize that elusive rule he could never quite grasp.
At first, Joe Di would encounter other cultivators along the way, but as his mad rush continued, the number of people he met dwindled.
By now, Joe Di's body was covered in wounds from repeated Grand Way Divine Art attacks. If his Sacred Physique hadn't surpassed its limits, he would have been torn to shreds, his soul blasted into oblivion.
Bang! Another beam of light shot over, piercing straight through Joe Di's chest and leaving a bloody hole behind.
Joe Di collapsed to his knees. Just as a flash of insight appeared in his mind, the beam scattered it once again.
His body was riddled with broken bones, shattered organs, and his skin, battered by countless Grand Way Divine Arts, looked as torn as a tattered rag.
If this continued, he wouldn't be comprehending Dao resonance from the Grand Way Divine Arts—instead, his body and Spiritual Sea would collapse, and his soul would be doomed.
Joe Di sighed and swallowed a drop of Cosmic Essence. Once his insight was interrupted, it was hard to recover; impatience would achieve nothing. Since that was the case, he decided to take things in stride. Besides, so many people had walked this path—Joe Di believed none of them had truly grasped the law behind the Grand Way Divine Arts. If someone had, they would have reached the summit of Mountainview long ago.
Relaxing his mindset, Joe Di's wounds healed instantly with the help of the Cosmic Essence.
Joe Di changed his clothes and, just as he was about to walk forward slowly, suddenly froze. In that instant, he grasped the Dao resonance of the Grand Way Divine Art that had struck him countless times. He was right—it was a law-based Divine Art. But this law wasn't one of the universe's laws; rather, it was a...
Joe Di tried to find a word to describe this law. He pondered for a long time, but couldn't come up with anything.
Joe Di looked up and casually mimicked a beam of light, blasting it forward.
Boom! The beam he had mimicked struck the road not far ahead, leaving a white mark across its surface.
"So that's it." Joe Di looked at his own palm, feeling a tingling sensation on his scalp. He had comprehended the true Grand Way—the very Divine Art he had just unleashed.
His Dao had always been one of rules—within the vast universe existed endless rules, and these rules were built upon even more endless laws.
He had always sought to comprehend the basic laws of the boundless universe, and through these laws, he understood its mysteries and refined his Dao.
If he continued this way, he would indeed become a great cultivator, but everything he achieved would be confined within this universe. Since he was part of it, eventually someone else could surpass him by the same means.
Even if no one surpassed him, he still couldn't transcend the universe, nor could he break free from it.
But he had never considered that every cultivator is equivalent to a universe themselves—whether cultivating the Dao or opening up their own world.
Since a cultivator is a universe, to become stronger or greater, one cannot always cultivate the rules of the universe they inhabit, nor keep comprehending its laws. What he understood and cultivated, others could also grasp and cultivate—because they, too, were part of this universe.
He needed to possess laws unique to himself, let his own laws construct his own rules, and then let those rules shape a universe that belonged to him alone.
Joe Di took a deep breath. He knew that in this moment, he had achieved enlightenment. Indeed, sometimes pausing to reflect along the journey is more effective than endlessly chasing in exhaustion.
If not for today's enlightenment, even if he stepped into the Third Step in the future, Joe Di believed that in the face of the Cosmos Lord, he would be left groveling on the ground. He was certain the Cosmos Lord hadn't been killed by Morgan Du; no one knew where he was now.
One thing Joe Di was sure of: the Dao resonance of the Cosmos Lord was definitely not limited to cosmic rules. Otherwise, he would never have transcended the universe. Without that transcendence, true immortality would be impossible, for one's lifespan would always be weaker than the universe itself.
The Grand Way Divine Arts that had struck him just now also didn't originate from the universe's Dao, nor were they lawless—they were Divine Arts that transcended this universe.
Just like the beam he had unleashed earlier—though the Divine Art was still weak, few cultivators could withstand it.
If he could truly construct his own laws, then use those laws to build the rules of his own world, he could create a Grand Way Divine Art unique to himself. Such an art would be no different from those found along the path to Mountainview, and as his cultivation advanced, it might even surpass them.
"Hahaha..." Joe Di felt an exhilarating sense of freedom. If he wished, he could merge with the Dao at any moment—a Dao that truly belonged to him, not some lesser path.
Since he was here, he would merge with the Dao at Mountainview. Joe Di stepped forward once more...
With just one step, Joe Di froze and stopped moving. Before him stood a vast, boundless peak—its summit invisible, yet Joe Di was certain this was Mountainview.
"I understand now," Joe Di murmured. So this was the true meaning of Mountainview.
If he hadn't stopped to heal and suddenly realized that constructing Divine Arts required his own world of rules, then no matter how fast he went, he wouldn't have reached Mountainview before anyone else.
Mountainview is called Mountainview because you can only ever see it from afar, never truly approach it. Only by comprehending the Dao resonance along the way can you reach its base in a single step. It's not a distance of sight, but a distance of the heart.
Now that he had just comprehended the Grand Way Divine Art, he had arrived at the foot of Mountainview in a single step. Since he was here, he was determined to climb to its summit.
"Eh!" A surprised exclamation sounded in Joe Di's ear. Only then did he realize someone had arrived before him—not to climb the mountain, but to sit at its base and meditate. His arrival had startled the other.
(This chapter is dedicated to all friends, including Lao Wu, who work hard for their livelihoods. When you’re tired, take a break, clear your mind, then move forward—always move forward. May you perfect your own Dao. That’s all for today’s update. Good night, friends!)