"I'm sorry, Yilin, I didn't expect this to happen either. I've worried you."
Ning Beichen said to Liu Yilin with a pang of heartache.
After all, a girl had guarded him here for three months, and she must have endured a lot of fear and anxiety during that time. It wasn't something that could be compensated with a simple apology.
"As long as you're alright, I'm willing to stay for a year, let alone three months," Liu Yilin said, her face flushing. However, she felt she had said too much and quickly changed the subject. "By the way, Beichen, did you succeed in your cultivation this time?"
"I'm not entirely sure, but I think I must have succeeded?"
Ning Beichen felt his own power, the surge of his life force, and the resonance with the universe in his breathing. He felt as though he had reached the realm of 'harmony between man and nature'.
However, he lacked a benchmark beside him, so he couldn't be sure if he had succeeded. He also didn't feel any laws restricting or affecting him.
But the woman in linen had said that using the power of a transcender would alert the laws. Should he try it?
Ning Beichen felt tempted at the thought.
But temptation did not equate to impulsiveness. If what the woman in linen had said was true, and he was discovered by those so-called laws and annihilated, he would have died unjustly.
There was another reason.
There was a passage within the stone building. Ning Beichen, however, had no sense of direction inside. In other words, if he were truly detected by the laws, he would have nowhere to escape.
But Ning Beichen knew that he could use the Songshan Sword Art before becoming a transcender, and yet his Songshan Sword Art was not discovered by the laws.
Could it be that the Songshan Sword Art was not a transcender sword technique? It merely possessed power comparable to one.
Or did the Songshan Sword Art even surpass transcender sword techniques? Would it not be rejected by the laws?
Without clarity on this matter, Ning Beichen lacked a sense of security.
He had worked hard to get to where he was, not to be a subordinate. If breaking through to Grandmaster made him less free than not breaking through, then why would he bother cultivating?
As for the transcender realm, Ning Beichen wanted to go, and he certainly would go, but not now. The reason was that he feared he might not be able to return if he went.
And there were still many people and things he couldn't let go of here.
Not to mention things in the distant future, just the fact that Linglong had not yet awakened meant Ning Beichen couldn't and wouldn't leave.
"Forget it, why fear anything? One should live life to the fullest and act with the courage of burning one's bridges."
Ning Beichen decided to test his strength here and see if it would trigger the laws' annihilation or punishment.
However, for safety's sake, Ning Beichen asked Liu Yilin to move far away before he began his test.
Ning Beichen punched towards the valley. A terrifying and powerful force erupted from his fist, followed by a deafening roar.
In the distance of the valley, a massive fist print had been created by Ning Beichen's punch.
Seeing this enormous fist print, even Ning Beichen was somewhat stunned, even doubting if he had made it himself.
He hadn't used any earth-shattering fist techniques just now. It was a simple punch, yet its power was even greater than his full-power strike using the Great Annihilation technique previously.
If he had been unconvinced about his breakthrough to Grandmaster before, the scene before him now had made him certain that his strength had indeed increased significantly.
However, after the punch, Ning Beichen felt no discomfort, nor was he annihilated by the laws.
To verify his judgment, Ning Beichen threw several more punches towards the distant valley. Finally, he used the Great Annihilation technique, directly shattering a low mountain peak within the valley.
Yet, Ning Beichen still felt no discomfort, nor did he see any punishment or annihilation from the laws.
Next, Ning Beichen took out his ancient bronze sword and, facing a larger and taller mountain peak in the distance, unleashed the Songshan Sword Art. With a single sword strike, he severed the mountain in half.
Ning Beichen withdrew his hand and ceased attacking. What he had used was 'One Sword Shakes the Wind and Rain'.
Based on his previous strength, he could at most unleash two such swords before his internal energy would be depleted.
But now, Ning Beichen found that even if he used 'One Sword Shakes the Wind and Rain' ten times consecutively, his body's energy would not be completely depleted. This was the difference between now and then.
Ning Beichen waited in place for several hours, but felt no discomfort, nor was he annihilated by the laws.
This made Ning Beichen both excited and somewhat puzzled.
Didn't the woman in linen say that using the power of a transcender would lead to annihilation by the laws?
But now, he was completely fine.
"Could it be that it takes time?"
To test this idea, Ning Beichen and Liu Yilin stayed there for a few more days. However, Ning Beichen was still not annihilated by any laws, which made him extremely surprised.
"Is it possible that the laws cannot sense him? Or perhaps... he has a special quality that allows him to evade the laws' detection."
Ning Beichen pondered in his mind.
But regardless, this experiment had completely calmed Ning Beichen's heart. This situation was undoubtedly very beneficial to him. At the very least, he wouldn't be annihilated by the laws just because he fought someone.
However, there was something that left Ning Beichen confused: no passage had appeared in the stone building, so Ning Beichen didn't know if he truly counted as a transcender.
These matters couldn't be figured out immediately, and Ning Beichen didn't have much time to linger here. After all, they had been out for several months.
So, Ning Beichen and Liu Yilin left the place. Along the way, he also explained to Liu Yilin his discovery of the Zhou Tian Path during his meditation, the abyssal monsters within the Zhou Tian Path, and the stone gate.
"Yilin, this time I accidentally discovered the situation with the Zhou Tian Path during my meditation. You shouldn't tell anyone about it for now."
"In all the cultivation techniques and ancient texts of various sects that I have read, there has never been any record of such a situation. Perhaps this is just a method I stumbled upon to break through limitations, and it is not universally applicable at present. Moreover, this method is extremely dangerous. One wrong step could be fatal," Ning Beichen instructed Liu Yilin.
"I understand. I won't tell anyone. This is our secret," Liu Yilin nodded and said.
"Yes, but don't worry. I will continue to study the Zhou Tian Path to ensure I can find some safer methods. When you break through your limitations, you won't be caught off guard," Ning Beichen promised Liu Yilin.
He was unwilling to go to the transcender realm alone. Even if he had to go one day, he would find a way to bring his people with him.