Chapter 260 – Weapon Manuals Enter the Body to Refine the Spirit, Compensating for Void and Clarity

“Is this kid a monster? He’s actually comprehended yet another concept!”

As a shocked roar echoed across the mountain peak, the situation’s development subtly exceeded everyone’s expectations.

Ye Kuang himself was equally taken by surprise.

One could say even he hadn’t anticipated that as he gradually absorbed the eighteen weapon manuals into his being, he’d discover an inexplicable transformation occurring within himself.

This sudden realization reminded Ye Kuang of a passage inscribed on the Kunlun Token:

“The Celestial Palace stands beyond mortal reach, where immortality remains elusive; Primordial Yuan knows no bounds, with cosmic qi surging vast; Without entering Kunlun, one cannot cultivate essence, energy, and spirit.”

Only at this moment did Ye Kuang begin to understand.

These so-called weapon manuals, while appearing as eighteen distinct forms, actually contained eighteen exquisite schools of Martial Studies.

They embodied the domineering art of weapon mastery, the invincibility of imperial combat, the supremacy of cunning strategies… Yet they weren’t merely conceptual understandings, but rather forces that tempered one’s spiritual essence.

History spoke of the legendary Lonely First Swordsman, who displayed extraordinary talent from childhood. Though enemies multiplied like weeds and his experiences bordered on the miraculous, he ultimately sought defeat throughout the martial world.

So why couldn’t he use these eighteen paths for his Dao Inquiry in the martial world?

With this thought, Ye Kuang focused his gaze on the final illustrated page – the Sovereign’s Sword Leadership!

This approach, renowned throughout the world for its noble righteousness, could advance with unstoppable offense or retreat with impenetrable defense.

While noble men typically never questioned the sword, once matters of right and wrong and personal grievances entered their martial hearts, they would draw their blades without mercy, guided by unwavering loyalty!

Ye Kuang: “Merge with me! From now on, you shall exist within me, and I within you. You become me, and I become you!”

Hummm!

His words, murmured as if to himself with indescribable emotion, suddenly resonated with the sword.

In that moment, Ye Kuang resembled a rootless duckweed that had finally found its direction, enabling him to stride forward with purpose.

Golden light quietly blossomed around him as Brahma Sound penetrated his heart, unexpectedly leading him to momentarily transcend worldly attachments.

Witnessing this miracle unfold again, though long since desensitized, the crowd couldn’t suppress their astonished exclamations.

“Heavens! Each of the world’s weapon manuals contains profound truths – how is he worthy of such attainment?”

“This guy is forging his own path, clearly intending to leave us with nowhere to go.”

“Eighteen forms, eighteen forms… Each concept is extremely dangerous, yet they’re all merging into a single body. This is unprecedented throughout history.”

While the crowd remained in stunned disbelief, the Four Sages exchanged incredulous glances.

Their astonishment at someone using the eighteen weapon manuals to temper their spiritual essence far exceeded anyone else’s present.

Because they knew deeply that the eighteen concepts operated as separate systems with clear distinctions – mishandling them could drive one mad, leaving a person neither human nor ghost!

Yet contrary to expectations, Ye Kuang showed no signs of mental confusion. Instead, he wore an expression of enjoyment. This…

Little did they know that through a fortunate mistake, he had accidentally reached the true opposite shore of the Clarity Realm.

Here we must mention: The essence of the Clarity Realm involves eliminating inner demons as one’s cultivation progressively breaks through.

However, this elimination truly returns them to nothingness, creating innate deficiencies that require tempering one’s spirit through weapon manuals to compensate for these voids, thus achieving the pinnacle of clarity!

Though Ye Kuang hadn’t yet fully comprehended this, he was already practicing it.

One could say this was destiny manifesting through seemingly random occurrences.

At this moment, he had clearly forgotten time, forgotten everything, yet deeply understood in his mind exactly what he needed to accomplish.Just as this tempering of the essence could compensate for his innate deficiencies, allowing him to tread the path to becoming the strongest in history.

Yet, as a wisp of essence took its place in the vacancy, Ye Kuang couldn’t help but tremble all over.

When that inexplicable sensation washed over him, he abruptly opened his eyes.

Seemingly puzzled, he couldn’t understand why such a thought had suddenly arisen. At the same time, he felt bewildered, harboring both a desire to explore the earlier electric-like sensation and an unmistakable uncertainty.

With this contradiction brewing, Ye Kuang began to feel a sliver of doubt toward the Clarity Realm.

If what lay ahead was merely an empty shell, an illusory shadow, then no matter how much power he gained, it would be nothing more than a facade—easily shattered at the slightest touch!

Or perhaps, true clarity required tempering one’s own essence before gradually taking command of the universe?

Whoosh—boom!

In an instant, a thunderous realization struck Ye Kuang’s mind, leaving him standing frozen in place.

And how could such a scene escape the discerning eyes of the Four Sages?

“Strange, hold back for now. This young man seems… off.”

“You feel it too? Just now, I sensed something pass right through me.”

“Huh? You felt it as well?”

“How peculiar, how peculiar. Where there is abnormality, there must be mischief. Let’s wait and see.”

But just as their voices faded, the entire area was suddenly engulfed by waves of overwhelming energy.

One by one, they focused their gazes, unable to comprehend what was happening, and a shared thought emerged: Has this kid gone mad?

Ye Kuang was laughing maniacally!

“Hahaha… So that’s it, so that’s it…” His excitement was uncontrollable, as if he had stumbled upon the funniest joke in the world, and he couldn’t hold back.

Just as the Four Sages were beginning to suspect he had truly lost his mind, the roaring laughter abruptly ceased.

Ye Kuang closed his eyes, no longer perceiving things through his physical sight but confronting everything with his heart.

Under the bright moonlight, his entire essence and spirit transformed into countless flickering fireflies, gradually converging within his heart.

Meanwhile, Elder Pan’s fragmented words echoed in his ears: “The courtyard is like an expanse of clear water, with algae and duckweed crisscrossing—shadows of bamboo and cypress.”

“‘Being’ is observing things through the self; ‘non-being’ is observing things through the heart.”

“Do not overanalyze. Remember, the boat will straighten itself when it reaches the bridge… This is a realm, and likewise a wondrous method. Only by seeing, perceiving, and comprehending with the heart…”

Buzz, buzz, buzz!

In that moment, a smile suddenly bloomed on Ye Kuang’s face, the corners of his lips curling irresistibly. He knew he had finally understood.

Observing things through the self only reflected the things themselves, while observing things through the heart perceived nothing but emptiness—ephemeral insights, fleeting like morning dew.

But when observing things through the heart, though formless and intangible, they could take root and grow into tangible essence within.

At that moment, he once again invoked the long-lost “Three Wisdoms” of hearing, contemplation, and cultivation, giving birth to a pair of insightful eyes that saw through the nature of things—from nothingness to existence, and from existence back to nothingness. From nothing, something emerged, and within that something, nothingness resided.

He had discerned the power of his own essence from the flaws of the Clarity Realm.

The cypress tree was his essence, and the tangled algae were the vacancies once occupied by his inner demons!

If Ye Kuang wished to achieve the Innate Realm, he needed to fill the courtyard’s accumulated water, drop by drop, with his tempered essence.

Only then could he undergo a profound transformation and comprehend the Innate Realm!