Time flew by like a startled swan.
In the blink of an eye.
Two years passed. For these two years, the sky had been a battlefield. The large golden claw and the small red bird, two adult Pure-Blooded Ferocious Beasts, had battered the Great Wilderness to the point of near collapse.
Of course.
Because the tribes and great clans in the Great Wilderness generally had Offering Spirits.
As long as they weren't deliberately targeted, the aftermath of the two beasts' battles was blocked by the Offering Spirits of the Great Wilderness's tribes and great clans, preventing devastating damage to these groups.
Initially.
Indeed, many tribes and great clans were worried that the two beasts would fight their way to their doorsteps. However, after two years of fighting, they only fought in the sky.
Over time.
The tribes and great clans in the Great Wilderness, including villages like Stone Village, had grown accustomed to two terrifying beings fighting in the sky. They were just extra cautious when venturing out.
After all, no one knew if, while they were fighting, the aftermath of their attacks might accidentally fall on their heads, turning them into dust like those mountain ranges.
Great Wilderness, Vast Mountain Range, Stone Village.
"Five years, a full five years. Willow Deity, I might really have been abandoned."
Shi Yi lay sprawled on the crown of the Willow Deity's true form, the Willow Tree. From his initial uncertainty to his current despair, he felt as though he had truly been abandoned.
Was the Martial King Manor that impressive?
Was a Double Pupil user just abandoned like that?
"Two years ago, the two old men who were guarding outside Stone Village and secretly protecting you also left," the Willow Deity said calmly. "They seemed to have something very urgent to attend to, so much so that they didn't even have time to notify you."
At this moment.
She was still in her Willow Tree form, standing in the center of Stone Village. But with the exception of Shi Yi, no one dared to climb onto the crown of the Willow Tree to lie down.
"I know," Shi Yi said weakly. "Two years ago, when you said they were one fat and one thin, I knew they were Ninth Grandpa and Thirteenth Grandpa."
"With your current strength, leaving the Great Wilderness is not difficult," the Willow Deity's tone remained calm and unwavering. "You can return to the Martial King Manor yourself to seek answers."
"Willow Deity, it's just the Limit of the Celestial Passage Realm," Shi Yi said with a suspicious look in his eyes. "You're not going back on your word, are you?"
"As long as you can do it, I will keep my promise," the Willow Deity's voice was full of certainty. "But I don't believe you can do it."
To reach the Limit of the Celestial Passage Realm, the Ten Celestial Passages, wasn't something that could be achieved by staying in Stone Village and cultivating diligently. It required tempering through life and death to have a sliver of hope.
If everyone could improve their realm, and even break through the Limit, by cultivating diligently without struggle/contention, then why were so many people in this world obsessed with opportunities?
"Isn't it just breaking through to the Limit of the Celestial Passage Realm, the Ten Celestial Passages?" Shi Yi gritted his teeth inwardly. "Is there a need to look down on people so much?" She said he couldn't do it, so he was determined to prove that he could.
Up to now.
Shi Yi was already eleven years old. He had been in Stone Village for five years, a full five years. He had stayed in Stone Village the entire time, cultivating by the side of the Willow Deity, this powerful figure.
Two years ago, he had six Celestial Passages. Two years later, he had nine Celestial Passages. Don't underestimate this mere three Celestial Passage increase.
Under normal circumstances, cultivators in the Celestial Passage Realm only needed six Celestial Passages to advance to the next realm.
Shi Yi thought the same way. He wasn't interested in reaching the limit in every realm, nor did he think he had the ability to. His main strategy was for the higher realm to bully the lower realm. He planned to break through realms when he reached nine Grotto-heavens, and didn't feel the need to force a breakthrough to ten Grotto-heavens.
As everyone knows.
One could break through to the next realm with six Grotto-heavens. Eight Grotto-heavens was the limit for humans. Nine Grotto-heavens was a realm that only Ancient Descendants and Pure-Blooded Ferocious Beasts had the potential to reach. Ten Grotto-heavens had never been achieved by anyone in the Lower Realm's Eight Regions.
Thus.
There was the saying that nine Grotto-heavens could be called king, and ten Grotto-heavens could be called venerable.
If the Blood Moving Realm was just about refining the body, allowing it to withstand the scouring of Heaven and Earth energy and avoid being accidentally burst by it during future cultivation.
Then the Celestial Passage Realm was about laying the foundation for potential, looking at a person's future. By seeing how many Grotto-heavens they had opened in the Celestial Passage Realm, one could roughly guess how far they could go.
However.
For Shi Yi, nine Grotto-heavens was already satisfactory.
It wasn't that Shi Yi wasn't striving for progress.
Shi Yi's idea was very simple.
In short, it was eight words.
Bully the weak with strength, the small with the large.
And this.
This was Shi Yi's truest thought.
It was also the goal Shi Yi had set from the beginning.
For Shi Yi.
He just wanted to steadily bully the small with the large, crushing his opponents with absolutely irresistible strength, rather than having a fair and just duel with them.
What "invincible at the same level"?
Why did I have to be at the same level as you? Why couldn't I be one level higher?
A higher official rank could crush people to death, and raising a realm level could crush you just the same.
In this world, there weren't that many young supreme beings who could fight across realms.
If everyone could fight across realms, the so-called realms would be a pile of dog shit.
So in Shi Yi's view.
As long as he was one or even two realms ahead of the opponent, he could hang them up and beat them. If he was really unlucky enough to encounter a young supreme being who could fight across realms.
If he couldn't fight, he wouldn't fight. If he couldn't fight, he would run away. There was no need to fight to the death. When the time was right, he would secretly kill them with a surprise attack.
Unfortunately.
The Willow Deity didn't think that way. In order to help Shi Yi lay a solid foundation and have hope for the future, so that he could stand shoulder to shoulder with her.
She promised him that as long as he broke through to ten Grotto-heavens, he could truly and substantially come into contact with her human form.
Instead of just lying on the treetop like he was now.
He sighed at the tree.
He cried out in vain.
However.
Willow Deity still underestimated Shi Yi's persistence.
Especially his persistence in certain areas.
In two years, Shi Yi, without any external opportunities, meaning without the aid of spiritual fruits or elixirs, managed to cultivate to nine Grotto-heavens through tireless day and night effort.
And because of this promise, Shi Yi forcibly suppressed the desire to break through to the next realm, insisting on proving to Willow Deity that he too could break through to ten Grotto-heavens.
"Shi Yi, it's already remarkable that you could cultivate to nine Grotto-heavens alone without any external opportunities. But breaking through to ten Grotto-heavens is not as simple as you think. Ten Grotto-heavens, even in the Upper Realm, represents a true young supreme being."
Willow Deity's tone was calm and unwavering. In most cases, her voice sounded calm and unwavering, making it difficult to perceive her inner emotions.
"Are you kidding? I, a Double Pupil user, can't even reach a mere ten Grotto-heavens? I'll break through and show you sooner or later, proving that I can do it." Shi Yi's tone was full of tenacity.
He didn't know what his Dao heart was.
He just couldn't accept her saying he couldn't do it.
Isn't it just grinding?
I'll grind and show you!
"Nine Grotto-heavens and ten Grotto-heavens, although there is only one Grotto-heaven difference between the two, a miss is as good as a mile. Shi Yi, I think you should understand this principle very well."
In fact, Willow Deity was also a little surprised. According to her estimation, Shi Yi's bitter cultivation, without contention or snatching, would at most rely on the talent of a Double Pupil user to forcibly raise himself to eight Grotto-heavens, which would be the limit.
After all, eight Grotto-heavens is the limit for the human race. Without opportunities, it's unlikely to break through eight and reach nine.
As a result, two years later, Shi Yi used his actions to break her preconceived notions.
It turns out that besides going out to fight and snatch opportunities from others, bitter cultivation also has its rewards.
It's no wonder Willow Deity was surprised.
Because the word "opportunity" itself represents danger. Opportunity equals danger. Many people who thought opportunity had arrived actually died because of it.
Opportunity, great opportunity, the greater the opportunity, the greater the possibility of death in the end. Even strong individuals are no exception. The word "opportunity," to put it bluntly, is a gamble on luck.
It depends on who has good luck!
If you have bad luck, no matter how great the opportunity, if you don't have the life for it, the opportunity has nothing to do with you, and you may even suffer unwarranted disaster, ultimately becoming a stepping stone for those with great luck.
At this time.
Talking about Dao heart and effort is all empty talk. It's all about luck.
(End of Chapter)