Cultivating Disciples to Breakthrough

Watching the light in the distance slowly getting closer along with the loud rumbling sound that now seemed to be omnipresent, Xuan Hao had nothing to do as he waited. Even trying to focus on comprehending the Dao was impossible, as the loud rumbling sound would wake him up the second he tried to close his eyes to focus on comprehending the Dao. So, in the end, he could only silently wait for the approaching sea of light.

Of course, he had also attempted to move after realizing he was stuck in the same location, but it he hadn’t really been able to do anything, as whatever kept him locked in place wasn’t anything he could interact with in his current soul state. In fact, he realized that there wasn’t much he could do in his soul state, as it seemed like his cultivation had completely disappeared. Only allowing him to remain floating in the same location.

But... Considering that he was in a soul state, he was certain that his cultivation wasn’t gone, as entering a soul state like he had done outside his physical body was only something that was possible after reaching the Nascent Soul Realm. However, if his strength had been suppressed to the Nascent Soul Realm, he should at least have been able to tell that his cultivation realm had been suppressed. Not the current state where he felt like a mortal who had somehow managed to project his soul outside his body without dying.

After all, the main reason why those below the Nascent Soul Realm were unable to have their soul leave their bodies was not because it was impossible to do so, but instead because their souls were too weak to survive outside the body. Only with the birth of the nascent soul would the soul be strong enough to survive outside the body.

Then again... He couldn’t exactly judge his current situation like he normally would. For all he knew, he might have a soul that was as strong as a mortal but still had the ability to exist and be conscious outside his body due to the unique environment of the empty- No, now partly filled void.

Unique environment... Indeed, this is a rather unique environment...

Feeling his own thoughts starting to somewhat deteriorate as he tried to think of anything that might distract him from the passage of time, Xuan Hao couldn’t help staring into the distance at the sea of light expanding out towards him in the distance.

Although it felt decades- or perhaps hundreds of years had passed by now, the sea of light barely seemed to have moved forward at all.

Going by his own calculations, if the sea of light approached him at its current speed, it would take millions- If not tens of millions of years for it to reach him... And although he was confident in his own will, he understood that there was no way he would be able to last that long without losing his mind.

Spending over a hundred years in the empty void watching the sea of light slowly expanding towards him with the omnipresent sound of rumbling echoing out all around him, preventing him from entering meditation, was already close to his limit and he knew it.

At the end of the day, he wasn’t an ancient cultivator who had lived for countless eras and had the time to refine an indomitable will that wouldn’t be shaken even after a million years, he was still a junior in the cultivation world who had barely been around for a little hundred years. Strong as his will was, it wasn’t anywhere near what was required for him to endure until the light reached him.

Because of this, Xuan Hao slowly came to the realization that the strange space he found himself in might be some kind of ancient trial that tested the will of the participants. A test that he was far from capable of completing, though it did leave him with some hope that he might be able to leave the strange void alive by failing the trial.

No... This is just my own speculations on the situation, it might not be some ancient trial and even if it is, there is a high likelihood that I won’t leave this place alive if I fail. Not to mention, failing should happen when my will breaks...

Sighing silently to himself as he thought this, he also realized that failing the trial essentially meant his will breaking. Meaning he wouldn’t exactly be in recoverable state even if the trial was kind enough to let him go after he failed it.

In other words, to ensure his own survival, he had to find some way to pass the trial... And although his will had indeed been strengthened over what had felt like hundreds years inside the strange void, it was far from enough to last until the sea of light reached him.

By a rough calculation, if his will continued to grow stronger at the same speed, he should be able to last a little over twenty thousand years inside the empty void. Far from the millions of years he needed to last to pass this trial.

Meaning, if he wanted to survive in a state where he could still be called himself, he had to find a different way to pass the trial that didn’t involve his willpower.

The problem was... This was likely a trial that had been designed by an existence that far exceeded his comprehension. Fooling a trial set up by such an existence was easier said than done. Especially considering there was no sign of the trial itself having any problems, as it seemed to function exactly according to what Xuan Hao guessed were the requirements for the trial.

Maybe... Maybe the system has some solution...?

Feeling himself growing increasingly desperate as no ideas emerged, Xuan Hao decided to turn his attention towards the system. Silently praying that it had some solution for his current situation...