Chapter 1601 - 669: The Curse of Knowledge
Chapter 1601: Chapter 669: The Curse of Knowledge
"Why not?"
Ning Zhuo cast his Divine Sense towards the Pill Day.
The Pure Yang Ancestor’s Elixir still shone brilliantly.
The True Intent remained overwhelmingly abundant.
Within the Pill Day, Ning Zhuo also saw countless intricate insights left by past Sect Leaders. There was the joy of a Sect Leader practicing Qi Cultivation at dawn in his youth, the rise of Righteous Energy in a Sect Leader’s heart after slaying ghosts in his prime, and the silence and reluctance of an aged Sect Leader pouring his lifelong Pure Yang True Intent back into the pill.
These True Intents lay before Ning Zhuo, like the branches of a mountain laden with Spirit Fruits.
The fruits were already at his lips, but he couldn’t eat or swallow them!
Ning Zhuo grunted, beads of sweat forming on his forehead. His hands pressed on his knees, and his knuckles turned slightly pale from exertion.
"Is it possible that my comprehension is insufficient, and I can’t grasp it?"
This thought emerged and echoed in his Divine Sea.
Ning Zhuo was mired in distress: "Stuck here, I cannot continue absorbing the elixir’s True Intent, and before long, the battle between Chun Yangzi and Liang Ming will have a result."
Though Ning Zhuo was detained, he wasn’t isolated from external information. On the contrary, he maintained a high degree of attention to the outside world, especially the fifth battle.
At this moment, the battle between Chun Yangzi and Liang Ming had been ongoing for six days and five nights, and both sides were showing obvious signs of fatigue.
Anyone could tell that this battle could not last much longer; at most, it would have a day and night before the outcome was decided.
"Regardless of the result of this battle, Chun Yangzi will certainly demand the return of the Pure Yang Ancestor’s Elixir."
Ning Zhuo put himself in Chun Yangzi’s shoes: even if he wanted to lend it out again, he would certainly retrieve it first to check how the pill’s Medicinal Power had been absorbed.
After Chun Yangzi completed the fifth battle, the contention over the Sun Raising Yang Locking Cloud Altar would certainly reach a conclusion.
Even if Chun Yangzi supported Ning Zhuo in confronting the Three Brave of Xiang Sect, he would not joke about his own sect’s foundation.
In fact, the fact that Chun Yangzi could demand the return of the Yang Fish after Ning Zhuo was "detained" and still lend out the Pure Yang Ancestor Master Pill made Ning Zhuo feel fortunate.
"I’ve already absorbed a large amount of True Intent and am unable to reverse my realm to restore it back to Medicinal Power and compensate for it. A character like Chun Yangzi, once the pill is retrieved, will not give me a second chance!"
Ning Zhuo read Chun Yangzi’s demeanor and knew how troublesome he was, understanding the current predicament.
He originally planned to take advantage of Chun Yangzi’s battle time to fully absorb the True Intent and push his realm to a higher level. But in practice, the plan faced immense obstacles.
"I’ve never encountered such a situation before when absorbing True Intents."
"Could it be that the senior Chun Yangzi tampered with the pill?"
As this thought arose, Ning Zhuo shook his head.
Another possibility made Ning Zhuo even more uneasy.
"I have not cultivated the ’Pure Yang Pill Scripture’."
"This Inheritance Pill was originally intended for the use of the Sect Leaders of Pure Yang Palace. Each generation of Sect Leaders cultivated the ’Pure Yang Pill Scripture’, and their Mana, Flesh Body, Divine Soul, Heart, all resonated with the True Intent in the pill."
"Though my Origin Yang is at its peak, and my Child Body is pure and my Yang Energy abundant, my foundation is ultimately not of the Pure Yang Lineage."
"Could this crucial issue be that the cultivation techniques are incompatible?"
Irritation began to rise in Ning Zhuo’s heart, soon affecting his absorption of True Intent and the enhancement of his realm.
He simply opened his eyes and stopped his comprehension.
Ning Zhuo lightly tapped his knees with his fingers, frowning deeply as he delved into contemplation.
Just at this moment, a grand Divine Sense descended: "Ning Zhuo, my young friend, hehehe, I know your current distress. The True Intent is right at your lips, but you cannot eat or swallow, is that so?"
Ning Zhuo was slightly stunned, not expecting the Earth Guardian True Monarch to be paying attention to him.
However, the broad-headed youth pondered for a moment and found it reasonable: "This region is based on the Divine Domain of the Earth Guardian True Monarch. Moreover, I successfully summoned a god long ago, inviting the Earth Guardian True Monarch to be my Protective God."
Ning Zhuo immediately responded with his Divine Sense: "God above, it is indeed so, I ask for your guidance."
The grand Divine Sense came again: "Hehehe. Ning Zhuo, my young friend, you’re also aware of the Heart Learning of Confucian Cultivators. This is a new path capable of stirring the framework of Confucian Cultivators! But have you ever thought about why Heart Learning originated from a new talent like Wang Xinyue and not from those deeply rooted Great Scholars?"
Ning Zhuo’s gaze slightly shifted.
Wang Xinyue.
Heart is Reason, Knowledge and Action Unity, Attaining Conscience.
By common reasoning, the Great Scholars of Confucian Cultivators have deeper accumulation, richer knowledge, higher Literary Palaces, read more classics, and seen more of the world. They should be more qualified to initiate a new study.
Yet Heart Learning emerged from such a young talent.
Ning Zhuo had a moment of insight.
The Earth Guardian True Monarch continued: "The Great Scholars’ old paths have been tread too deeply, their past knowledge became the lens through which they view everything. How did the new path come about?"
"It’s measured out step by step, and questioned step by step."
"But these Great Scholars, every step they take is on the old path."
"The old path is too easy to walk."
The Earth Guardian True Monarch’s words were full of profound meaning.
Ning Zhuo understood: "Wang Xinyue does not carry the burden of heavy old knowledge, so she can pave the way from her own heart’s intent. With fewer entanglements of old rules, she can directly address her true self."
Earth Guardian True Monarch: "A promising child. This is what is called the ’curse of knowledge.’"
Ning Zhuo’s heart was shaken.
Earth Guardian True Monarch: "The more you know, the more you bring old experiences to understand new things—this is both an innate endowment and a postnatal shackle."
"You have studied the Five Elements and when you see ’Yang,’ you subconsciously observe it through the lens of the Five Elements. You have studied the Array Dao and when you see ’Yang,’ you unconsciously scrutinize it with the eye of an Array Eye. You consider how it forms arrays, how it gains momentum, how it circulates. You have studied mechanisms and when you see ’Yang,’ you think about how it enters devices, how it drives, how it becomes the spirit mechanism of a machine."
"With all these old experiences, when you look at ’Yang,’ it is no longer purely ’Yang’ in your eyes—it becomes a subset of the Five Elements, a variant of the Array Dao, the fuel of mechanisms. You always see shadows of old things in new things, which allows you to gather the strengths of many, integrating them, yet at every encounter with a wholly new realm, you first pull out old rules from an old box to measure it, rather than initially approaching it with a clear and open heart to feel its original appearance."
"’Yang’ is just ’Yang’; it is not confined by the birth and destruction of the Five Elements, not limited by the circulation of the Array Dao, not driven by mechanisms. It has its independent nature—that nature rises like the first sun in the east, not relying on any old experiences, yet can permeate all things, becoming another origin outside the Five Elements, another vein outside the Array Dao, another vitality beyond mechanisms."
"But you cannot comprehend it."
"You are already hindered by your achievements."
A flash of lightning seemed to cross Ning Zhuo’s Heart Lake.
Indeed.
Previously, with the deep realms of the Five Elements and so on, he had achieved excellent results by analogously understanding the Yang Dao.
But it was like he wanted to see the scenery of another mountain, yet remained standing on the original mountain.
Standing high and looking far from the original mountain naturally offers a broad view, but it has its limits. When he wants to see more, he must truly set foot on another mountain.
But Ning Zhuo had not achieved that.
Carrying past achievements, he tried to comprehend the Yang Dao. In such circumstances, achievements became preconceptions.
Earth Guardian True Monarch: "The further a cultivator walks on a certain path, the more easily they are shaped by that path. If you delve deeply into the Fire-attribute, you will use fire to see everything. If you go far in the Array Dao, you treat the world as an Array Map. The advantage is that everything becomes usable by you. The downside is that everything only retains the aspect you are familiar with."
"All the Pure Yangzi throughout the ages have cultivated the ’Pure Yang Pill Scripture,’ and they have all embarked on a pure and extreme path. Therefore, whenever they want to transform, it is exceedingly difficult."
"It is for this reason, there is a very important term in cultivation."
"Forget Tao!"
Ning Zhuo’s eyes flashed with essence, muttering, "After gaining the Tao...Forget Tao."
At this moment, he deeply understood a principle—whatever is gained, must also be paid for! The other side of the strengths harbors significant weaknesses. The other side of a huge gain may be equally massive, yet hidden cost.
"Thank you, God, for enlightening me!" Ning Zhuo sincerely expressed his gratitude.
Earth Guardian True Monarch laughed heartily, knowing he had successfully bestowed a great favor and reached his goal, thus he fell silent.
Ning Zhuo fell into deep thought.
Understanding the cause, he immediately knew how to break the situation.
Inheriting Dao Jade Page!
"Inheriting Dao Jade Page can temporarily bear the realms for me. If I can remove a part of the Five Elements, Array Dao, and Mechanisms realm, I could absorb the True Intent of Yang Dao in a purer state."
For a moment, the light in his eyes dimmed again.
The Inheriting Dao Jade Page was insufficient.
The bit of Inheriting Dao Jade Page in Ning Zhuo’s hands could not hold so much True Intent.
Ning Zhuo could also create Inheriting Dao Jade Pages, he could even request help from the Confucian Cultivator Group to create them.
But...
Time waits for no one!
Pure Yangzi and Liang Ming have been fighting for six days and five nights, and this battle could almost end at any time.
"Taking a step back, even if Pure Yangzi falls. Given his character, he surely cannot have failed to arrange things beforehand."
"It is almost certain he has made people arrangements. If he sacrifices himself, someone will definitely come to Pure Yang Peak to reclaim the Pure Yang Ancestor Master Pill!"
Ning Zhuo felt a growing anxiety in his heart.
What should he do?
Could he just watch, letting this significant opportunity slip away from his grasp?
Ning Zhuo was unwilling.
He knew too well how precious True Intent is!
"Wait a moment." Suddenly, a light went off in his eyes, a spark of inspiration struck, and he thought of another solution.
"Perhaps, this method could work!"
Myriad Phenomena Cradle!
This spell revolves around Early Wisdom Talent, allowing its caster to experience the world like a newborn, perceiving everything with fresh, untainted senses.
Once things appear as first encounters, it naturally allows for more inspiration and insight.
To treat heaven and earth as my cradle, with all things as matters for enlightenment, this is the Myriad Phenomena Cradle!
Kong Ran has significant authority on this aspect. He often uses it to read Confucianism classics, benefiting every time with new insights from a completely fresh angle.