Chapter 335

Chapter 335: Finding the Answer

Spiritual energy, celestial fire—they all belonged to the category of tangible substances. Though ordinary people couldn’t see spiritual energy, those whose strength had reached a certain level could perceive it, especially when it resided within a person or a demon beast. At the very least, it could be seen by others!

The soul, however, was imperceptible to anyone but oneself—truly an intangible substance!

All three of his previous attempts had involved using tangible substances to try cultivating an intangible one. This, without a doubt, was the root cause of his failure!

These were the thoughts that flashed through Lou Yun’s mind in an instant. Following this line of thinking, his ideas seemed to suddenly become crystal clear.

Since tangible substances couldn’t be used to cultivate something intangible, did that mean an intangible substance could be used to cultivate another intangible substance?

As soon as this idea surfaced, a wave of inexplicable joy washed over Lou Yun. He knew he had grasped the key to cultivating the soul. He was now just one step away from achieving cultivation! Once he took that step, he would surely find the specific method!

With this realization, Lou Yun’s mind regained its initial calm and composure. He began to ponder a new question: what exactly was this intangible substance?

Though his eyes were closed, as he contemplated this, distinct images appeared vividly before his mental vision.

A cloudless azure sky, undulating blue waves of the ocean, towering mountains, sky-reaching trees, boiling and churning lava…

These weren’t images he deliberately conjured. Instead, they seemed to rush before his eyes of their own accord, rapidly flashing past one after another.

As he watched, Lou Yun’s thoughts churned. No, no, all these scenes depict tangible things. Yet what I seek is the intangible substance!

Faintly, though, Lou Yun felt that their sudden appearance must have some connection to the intangible substance he was searching for.

If anyone could hear Lou Yun’s thoughts at this moment, they’d likely think him mad. Searching for something intangible through the visual experience was inherently contradictory!

However, Lou Yun didn’t dwell on the apparent contradiction in his thinking. Even if he had, he wouldn’t have found it strange. He was seeking the method to cultivate the soul, and the nature of the soul itself was a profound paradox!

To counter paradox with paradox—that was the correct approach!

While wrestling with these contradictory notions, the images continued to flood Lou Yun’s vision, growing ever more diverse—white clouds, heavy rain, mist, rocks, and more!

"The blue sky, the ocean, the mountains, the trees, white clouds, heavy rain, mist, rocks… all these are products of nature…" Lou Yun murmured silently within his heart. But before he could finish, his entire body suddenly froze, immobilized as if in a trance!

After a brief pause, the words slipped not just from his mind but audibly from his mouth: "Nature! Yes, nature! I understand! I know what the intangible substance is! They are things only perceived after comprehending the way of nature. They are omnipresent yet nowhere to be seen. Yes, that’s it! Haha! I’ve found it at last!"

A sudden clarity burst through Lou Yun’s mind. The immense joy of seemingly unlocking all the answers instantly suffused his entire being, radiating an intense excitement from within. The triumphant laughter he thought had echoed only in his mind now escaped audibly from his mouth.

Had anyone been present, Lou Yun’s sudden transformation would have startled them profoundly.

A person sitting cross-legged, utterly still, face expressionless, devoid of all emotion, eyes tightly shut in deep meditation—suddenly his mouth opened, uttering baffling words, followed by several bouts of wild, almost crazed laughter. Then, as abruptly as it began, the laughter ceased, and he returned to his original, placid, meditative state. It was an undeniably eerie spectacle.

Even Chang Xiang, standing guard nearby, mistook the wild laughter for rumbling rock and nearly swept Lou Yun away to flee!

Thankfully, his composure prevailed, allowing him to suppress the impulse at the last moment. Watching the now-quiet Lou Yun, Chang Xiang patted his chest in relief, sighing inwardly, That was close! The boy must have had a breakthrough, leading to such a reaction. Had I whisked him away, startling him out of his cultivation… the consequences would have been disastrous!

Lou Yun, having regained control of his laughter, had found the answer to his first question: what the intangible substance truly was.

The answer was, in fact, remarkably simple. He’d known it long before today—even since the very first time he had forged a weapon!

It was encapsulated in four simple words:

Heaven and Earth energy!

Myriad energies flowed within the heavens and the earth—intangible, invisible, yet omnipresent.

Heaven and Earth energy embraced all things, governing their movements. Conversely, all things commanded this energy, yet only those who could sense the way of nature could access and direct it. Other living beings could neither command nor even perceive it!

The soul—intangible, invisible, omnipresent—could only be seen by those capable of perceiving it!

The soul and Heaven and Earth energy were two entities with nearly identical natures!

Lou Yun’s thoughts raced even further: Could it be that Heaven and Earth energy was, fundamentally, the soul of nature itself?

Of course, given Lou Yun’s current knowledge and awareness—and frankly, that of Chang Xiang, Gui You Quan, or others—no definitive answer to this profound idea existed.

But this was a fleeting notion, and Lou Yun didn’t dwell on it. His full attention swiftly focused on the second problem—his original and sole purpose for this meditation:

How to cultivate the soul itself!

Since using tangible substances had failed, only an intangible substance could work. Given the striking similarity between the characteristics of Heaven and Earth energy and the soul, Heaven and Earth energy undoubtedly became the prime candidate for soul cultivation!

Though only a hypothesis, an inexplicable surge of confidence filled Lou Yun. He was certain his idea was correct—Heaven and Earth energy could cultivate the soul!

But a new challenge arose. Only those who could sense the way of nature could perceive and thus command Heaven and Earth energy. To "see" it—just like seeing the soul—one first had to sense its pervasive existence. And this "sensing" wasn’t a simple feeling; it required a definitive awareness of that omnipresent energy. So how could one achieve this perception?

Lou Yun had perceived Heaven and Earth energy multiple times before. Especially during each act of forging a common weapon—in the final moments before the weapon’s creation. Moreover, when Shui Lingluo and others displayed their ability to control water, he had even managed to replicate and employ the Chaos Seal, effectively directing Heaven and Earth energy himself!

But those moments of perception and control had been fleeting sparks of inspiration, coincidences. What Lou Yun needed now wasn’t intermittent flashes of insight; he required the capability to sense and command this energy anytime, anywhere!

The solution was straightforward. To perceive Heaven and Earth energy, one first needed to comprehend the way of nature. And what exactly was the way of nature?

He was teetering on the brink of success, yet problems continued to cascade. Lou Yun, however, felt not an ounce of discouragement, only swelling confidence and excitement. If all problems were so easily solved, then wouldn’t everyone in the world be a supermaster?

Contemplating the way of nature, images once more filled Lou Yun’s mind—the sun rising and setting, the rotation of constellations, the changing of the seasons…

These were phenomena unique to the great nature, and within them resided the essence of the way of nature! To understand its true meaning, he needed to immerse himself within these scenes.

Gradually, Lou Yun’s consciousness sank back into the state he’d experienced when he first discovered his own soul—the deepest level of meditation. A state where one seems absent yet simultaneously pervades everything.

Last time Lou Yun entered such a state was within the True Dream Realm, so Chang Xiang hadn’t witnessed it firsthand. This time, however, wholly focused on Lou Yun, Chang Xiang immediately noticed the profound shift. To verify his observation, Chang Xiang even temporarily withdrew from Lou Yun’s body, hovering within the void right before him, fixing an intense gaze upon him.

To Chang Xiang, Lou Yun was physically present—within arm’s reach—yet simultaneously, it felt as if Lou Yun didn’t exist at all.

It was as if the man had merged with the seething lava, the trembling cliffs, the flickering tongues of fire—become one with the surrounding volcanic environment.

At this moment, Lou Yun was the ceaselessly churning lava, was the precariously leaning rock, was the incessantly dancing flame. Lou Yun was the volcano itself!