If the Songshan Sword Art was indeed the 'Transcendent' martial skill she spoke of, then Ning Beichen was quite certain he could use it. As for the punishment mentioned by the woman in hempen clothes, he had yet to experience it.
Thus, he suspected either the woman in hempen clothes was mistaken, or the Songshan Sword Art was not a 'Transcendent' martial skill, but rather a sword technique with power no less than one.
"Of course not. This world is protected by powerful laws. No one within this world can become a Transcendent, let alone use Transcendent abilities," the woman in hempen clothes told Ning Beichen.
"Are the Transcendent beings you speak of those who have reached the Unity of Heaven and Man realm?" Ning Beichen asked again, as this question was extremely important to him. He had to get it clarified.
"I don't know what the Unity of Heaven and Man is, but based on my guess, what you call the Unity of Heaven and Man should be Transcendent beings."
"What is a Transcendent being? It is a human who has transcended the mortal realm and possesses extraordinary power. They are rejected by the laws of this world. Just like the sword skill you used earlier, it is a sword skill that transcends the mortal realm," the woman in hempen clothes explained to Ning Beichen.
"You mean Transcendent beings are rejected by this world? If they are Transcendent beings, what kind of rejection will they face?" Ning Beichen asked in shock.
"To understand these things, you must first understand what a Transcendent being is and grasp their essence," the woman in hempen clothes said to him.
"I sincerely request your guidance, miss," Ning Beichen immediately replied.
Such an opportunity was rare, and Ning Beichen did not want to miss it. Moreover, he and this woman harbored no deep enmity.
Although she had injured Liu Yilin, she had compensated for it with the pill she gave him later.
"Transcendent beings mean they have transcended their mortal bodies. Their essence is a form of human evolution, and they possess power beyond that of ordinary humans, able to control the forces of heaven and earth. For example, various immortal and divine techniques that can move mountains and fill seas."
"I understand. Then why do you say there are laws in this world? Do the laws prevent humans from transcending the mortal realm?" Ning Beichen continued to ask.
The woman in hempen clothes replied, "Actually, in the early days, this world had no laws restricting it, so many people cultivated their way to become Transcendent beings. Many became Transcendent beings."
"However, after Transcendent beings gained power beyond the mortal realm, they began to have a huge impact on this world. In the eyes of Transcendent beings, ordinary humans became like ants. A large number of mortals were humiliated and exploited by Transcendent beings, becoming their slaves..."
"But this was not the most fatal aspect. The most fatal was that the struggles between Transcendent beings began to affect heaven and earth, causing severe damage to the environment of this world."
"Powerful Transcendent beings can suppress mountains and rivers with a single palm, and obliterate towering peaks with a single punch. Moving stars and changing the sun and moon were commonplace. Once a battle began, it would cause the sky to collapse and the earth to crack, the seas to dry up and the rocks to erode..."
"However, you must know that this world nurtured an environment suitable for human survival. Once this environment is destroyed, extremely terrifying things will happen, such as the mass death of life, including humans and various creatures."
"When the environmental destruction reaches its extreme, this world will begin to self-repair, leading to world-ending scenarios. Humans, ordinary creatures, and even powerful Transcendent beings will all perish. No one can resist it until this world returns to its origin."
"After I came here, I studied some of your history and found that your recorded history only spans a few thousand years. However, in our records, this world has already experienced multiple cycles of world-ending and rebirth."
"For example, the Cretaceous period, the Ice Age, and the Age of War. These were all self-destruction of this world, or in your modern terms, called self-correction."
"As this world corrected itself, it also began to produce some laws for protection. For example, when humans cause extensive environmental damage, corresponding punishments will appear, such as earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, melting glaciers, torrential rain, widespread epidemics, and reduction of the human population."
"The laws will correct themselves through various means, either through natural means of punishment or through the means of living beings for punishment."
"And Transcendent beings will be defined as harmful by the laws. Therefore, to protect the stability of this world, the laws will suppress the emergence of Transcendent beings. Thus, in this world, Transcendent beings will not appear."
After the explanation from the woman in hempen clothes, Ning Beichen suddenly understood many things.
For example, why human martial artists reached a dead end after cultivating to the Grandmaster realm, being unable to advance further no matter how much they cultivated.
It was not that humans couldn't become Transcendent beings, but that the laws did not allow humans to become Transcendent beings in this world.
This explained it.
Why Ning Beichen had never seen anyone in the Unity of Heaven and Man realm in this world.
However, Ning Beichen believed in human intelligence. Although there were restrictions from the laws, they could not possibly restrict all humans.
Even though Ning Beichen had not seen anyone in the Unity of Heaven and Man realm, not seeing them did not mean they didn't exist. Not existing now did not mean they didn't exist in the past.
This was because throughout human history, there were records of powerful cultivators from various eras.
Either they had been wiped out by the laws, or they had found ways to evade the laws.
As he thought about this, Ning Beichen's mind became active, and an idea began to form.
Perhaps the secret of the Nine Palaces Strategy was not to allow martial artists to break through to the Unity of Heaven and Man, but to provide the secret to evading the laws.
If that were the case, would the coordinates provided in the Nine Palaces Strategy be the place to evade the laws?
The appearance of this woman in hempen clothes clearly indicated she was a Transcendent being. Coupled with the leopard whose strength far surpassed that of a Grandmaster, and the coordinates of the Nine Palaces Strategy, could such coincidences exist in the world?
"Miss, I would like to know if you are a Transcendent being?" Ning Beichen boldly asked her.
The woman in hempen clothes nodded, clearly having no intention to conceal anything, and generously admitted to being a Transcendent being.
This made Ning Beichen extremely excited.
If she was truly a Transcendent being, wouldn't that mean she was the human powerhouse who had reached the Unity of Heaven and Man realm that he had always wanted to see?
"You are truly a Transcendent being. Then why are you not affected by the laws?" Ning Beichen asked, suppressing his inner excitement.
The woman in hempen clothes looked at Ning Beichen somewhat curiously and then replied.
"This is not a secret. Did your elders not tell you?"