Duncan's journey into grass fields was relatively peaceful for a while.
He didn't come across any demonic beasts for some time. He also didn't hear the ruckus of those damn monkeys for a long time. Peace finally returned to Duncan's mind as he enjoyed the temporary sound of the wind rustling through the grasses and felt it caress his face.
Letting out a bright smile Duncan slowed down his pace and took in the scenery around him. Wherever his vision passed he only saw grasses. It was like being in a desert, only the sand was replaced with grasses.
Duncan hadn't actually seen a desert in his life. But, he had come across a depiction of it in the sect scripture hall. Seeing mounds and mounds of sand piled together that they even made a hill impacted Duncan in a strange way. Ever since then, that image has been imprinted in his eyes.
Looking at the grass fields that stretched into the horizon, Duncan was reminded of it. He wondered what it would feel like to stand on a hill made of sand, instead of being amidst these tall grasses.
At that moment, Duncan gave birth to a strange goal in his life. Until now, he had only had taking revenge, enjoying wine and women as much as possible as his only goals in life. Now, he wanted to see the world with his own eyes.
With all the beauty that the world had, he wanted to visit them. From the glaciers in the cold region to the deserts in the hot region. From the tallest mountains in hilly regions to the deepest caves under the ground. Duncan wanted to see all of them with his own eyes. Not just as a depiction in a booklet, but as something he could see and feel.
Duncan didn't want his life to be all about taking revenge. Enjoying wine and women were things he did before he became a cultivator. Since he had become a cultivator, he must have something else to do as well as a cultivator. Duncan felt that seeing and experiencing all that the world has to offer was a goal worthy of a cultivator.
To many, becoming powerful and gaining immortality is all they think about when becoming a cultivator. To Duncan, it felt like pursuing something without even planning to do something with it.
A cultivator had a long life span. From what he had learned until now, Duncan knew that cultivators lived for thousands and thousands of years if they don't die in one struggle or the other.
While the life of a cultivator is filled with constant struggles and battles between life and death, Duncan felt that it was only a small part of what cultivation had to offer.
With a lifespan of over several thousand years, most cultivators rarely use it for anything. As a person's cultivation increases, their abilities increase as well. From being able to travel dozens of miles as a mortal to be able to cross thousands of miles as a cultivator, the rise in ability was really big.
Duncan felt that most people wasted such abilities by living in a small region and not venturing further. Even if it was a Sect Master level existence, they rarely ventured out of their territory. Most of the time, they were tied up with one work or the other. They spent the rest of their time cultivating to improve their realm.
Duncan didn't want to live like that. He wanted to see the world in all of its glory. From glaciers to deserts, from mountaintops to deep sea caves, he wanted to explore them all. He wanted to see them all and feel them with his very own senses.
That was the life he wanted to have.
As Duncan realized his new goal with cultivation, a kind of sublimation happened in his soul. It was like a transformation. Duncan felt as if he had shed his mortal coil at this moment and become a cultivator entirely.
He now had a realistic goal that confirmed with his desires. Revenge, women, and wine were things that were born out of his desires and experiences as well. This was also a goal he set for himself.
Duncan felt that his life had a new direction after setting this goal. He didn't like being cooped up in the sect and cultivating arduously. He much preferred wandering the world like this and experiencing new things. This kind of cultivation suited his tastes much better than the one he did in the initial two weeks.
No to mention the drastic increase in his strength he had been having of late. Something about this way of cultivation felt just right to Duncan.
Duncan felt the irritation that had been plaguing him ever since the monkeys set upon him vanish. He felt the worry of being weak that had subconsciously taken root in his heart after meeting powerful cultivators like Shen Wulong and his fiancé melt like morning dew upon sunlight.
He felt the agitation in his heart when he heard his senior brother call him an embarrassment settle down. He felt the needless anger he had been carrying in his heart ever since he heard about the destruction of his town subside.
At this moment, Duncan felt totally relaxed and content with his life.
This was a feeling that even many powerful cultivators in the world have never felt. Cultivators in general are people who never felt content. They would be plagued with one worry or the other. Even powerful cultivators always had something that is bothering them in the back of their minds. They rarely felt true serenity like Duncan did at this moment.
Letting out a loud laugh, Duncan unsheathed his sword and performed a cut. A streak of sword light emerged from his sword and vanished into the distance. The tall grass in the region that the sword light passed through was cut into two and gently fell down.
"I have been really an idiot until now," Duncan chuckled sheathing his sword back. "How can mortals grasp the profundity of heaven and earth? It is basically impossible. If I had persisted in my thinking like a mortal and tried to judge cultivation arts from a mortal perspective, I would never achieve the insight required to grasp a concept."
"A mortal can only affect things physically. They can never alter heaven and earth with a thought. How can someone like that grasp the intricacies in the concepts of nature?"
"A cultivator has the qi of heaven and earth in his body. They can affect heaven and earth with their thoughts and actions. I needed to stop thinking like a mortal. With a single cut, I can level mountains and split rivers. This is the essence of <Absolute Cut Sword Arts>. A mortal can never do this. I have been trapped with thinking like a mortal for too long," Duncan laughed carefreely.
"No more, I say. I have shed my mortal coil. I am a cultivator in every way it matters now. I can see the profundity of nature. I can feel the intricacies that shape them to be what they are. And with this, I can affect them the way I want."
"I have only gleaned a small insight into the act of cutting. I can already cut grass that is a hundred feet away by staying in this spot and swinging my sword. And when I improve, I will be able to even cut mountains and split rivers. Who knows I might go even further than that if I walk this path to the end," Duncan laughed happily.
"The same is true for <Wind Chasing Steps>. It is not just the speed of the wind I need to worry about. I need to be able to chase that wind. Ha… Ha… Ha… I think it is time I stopped trying and truly chased the wind," Duncan laughed heartily and vanished from the spot he was in.
The next moment he was seen far away. His speed was truly eye-catching. Before this, Duncan's speed was nothing spectacular. But now, his speed had even tripled. This was a huge increase in his speed.
"When I chase the wind, the very air, and even water is my stepping stone. Why do I need the earth to catch my footsteps? I am someone who chases even the wind. How can I be restricted by a measly thing as a stable ground? Ha… Ha… Ha…" Duncan laughed euphorically as he stepped into the air and started running through the air.
Within moments, Duncan vanished into the horizon by traversing the very air in the atmosphere. He was running across the sky with loud laughter ringing everywhere. He didn't have a care in the world as he used the air as his platform and ran across the sky.
*****
In the distance, Chen Wangjie felt a cold sweat forming on his back as he saw his junior brother's reckless actions. After searching for a long time, he finally found his junior brother with the help of the ruckus created by the monkeys.
All morning he has been watching from the shadows and enjoying his junior brother's predicament. He felt that the situation was way too hilarious and didn't have the heart to interfere. After all, he was a little miffed with this junior brother of his. So, seeing his junior brother suffer only brought him joy.
"This junior brother of mine looks to be a little fierce. It has only been two weeks since I saw him, he had already improved this much. This is truly something. But, this junior brother seems a bit silly as well. I don't know what gave him to courage to be so brazen in the Grasslands with his strength…"
Just as Chen Wangjie finished saying his thoughts, he saw his junior brother swatted out of the air by the tail of a demonic snake, causing him to fly off in the distance.
"Ah, as expected," Chen Wangjie smiled. "Crap! I need to make sure he is alive. If he dies, my Blood Blossom Fruit will vanish as well. Not to mention the mission the Vice-Sect Master gave."
Soon Foodie Chen vanished into the distance.
Groans came from the region where he was standing a moment ago. Several demonic monkeys whimpered on the ground. They looked as if someone had used them as punching bags.
*****
A/N: Hey folks!
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