Duncan could feel the boundless might of the earth that was radiating under him with his senses clearly. Each and every grain that made up the earth that was in direct contact with his body was clearly perceived by him.
This wasn't an in-depth perception.
Duncan knew his limits. His soul strength wasn't strong enough to do that. Rather, his perception was only at the most basic superficial level. He wasn't even able to sense 1% of the mysteries behind them.
But, Duncan wasn't disappointed.
In the past week, after constant meditation and perceiving the surroundings around him, Duncan was gradually able to feel out a few possibilities for him to increase his battle strength in the immediate future.
He had even found a few interception points where both his martial arts and soul art can be said to have an intersection. This discovery only energized him further.
Duncan wasn't afraid of hardship or monotonous work. As a spirit stone miner, he had already been accustomed to doing repetitive monotonous things. It wasn't a difficulty for him at all.
Furthermore, the perception of the surroundings and figuring out the mysteries in them wasn't boring. Every new discovery brought Duncan countless inspirations and another new line of thought.
When cultivators first come in touch with the mysteries of the world, their growth rate would be shocking at the initial stages. This was considered a milestone in martial cultivation.
After some time, the growth would plateau out and the insights and inspirations gained by a cultivator would dry up. This was a normal occurrence in the cultivation world. And only those with high talent would be able to perceive further and improve in the future.
Duncan was currently in this stage. Even though he perceived the concept of Windspeed and Swordcut, he never truly entered this zone previously. Now, with the meditation, Duncan had, at last, arrived at this step.
His first contact with the mysteries of the world around him was currently giving him countless inspirations. This was a qualitative growth every cultivator experienced when they reached a certain stage and had the right opportunity.
Duncan didn't even perceive the time he was immersed in this state. He was completely immersed in this state, enjoying all the benefits it was giving him currently. This state was also called as Initial Enlightenment in the cultivation world.
Initial Enlightenment was a special state in the cultivation world. A cultivator can obtain enlightenment at different moments in his life. When a cultivator's knowledge, experience, and other factors arrive at a certain stage and they meet a corresponding opportunity, they will obtain enlightenment on their own.
These opportunities may vary widely. It can be a master's lecture, it can be a lucky encounter, it can be an artifact, it can be a legacy, or even a casual conversation. In short, there were no bounds in regard to it.
The first time a cultivator achieves such a state was called the Initial Enlightenment. There is no fixed time as to how long an Initial Enlightenment lasts. It varies from person to person. From a day to even a year, the duration isn't fixed at all.
During Initial Enlightenment, a cultivator would first come in touch with the mysteries of the world around him. Since this is the cultivator's first encounter, his mind would be broadened and he would undergo a qualitative change. As a result, a cultivator's strength would jump leaps and bounds in a short period of time after the Initial Enlightenment.
But, after this state ends, a cultivator would face the first important hurdle in his journey to immortality. During Initial Enlightenment, a cultivator would be inundated with a lot of information regarding the various mysteries of the world. So, when he comes out of the state, he would have a lot of information swimming in his brain.
The test a cultivator faces at this moment is whether they can pull themselves out of this sea of information and maintain a clear mind. A lot of cultivators get usually lost in the sea of information they gained and would waste their time going after everything.
Ultimately, a human's time is limited.
Even a cultivator who has a longer lifespan than a mortal is not an exception to this rule. Those who try to dabble in everything can never become experts. Expertise in any area requires dedication and unmitigated effort. There must be long hours of work put into it. Only then, a cultivator can excel in a certain field.
Whether it be alchemy, weapon forging, formations, or talisman refining, every path and dao a cultivator takes will require a monumental effort to reach the top. Only those at the top can be called experts.
Thus, the Initial Enlightenment can also be said to be a process that weeds out the weak from the strong. Those who get lost in the sea of information will never be able to progress further.
Even if a cultivator comes to his senses later, he would have spent a lot of time on other things while he was immersed and would have wasted valuable cultivation time. This would always leave a shadow in their heart and shake their dao heart at critical moments.
Second-guessing oneself and lamenting on missed opportunities are all common phenomena amongst people who get lost after Initial Enlightenment. The nature is vast and the dao is immesearuble. Only those with firm dao heart can climb further and further. Getting lost in miscellaneous things will only lead to mediocrity.
Only when a cultivator's level reaches a certain stage will they be able to perceive everything in the world and gain insight easily. Ordinary cultivators will only get lost and be delayed in their cultivation journey.
This is the test of Initial Enlightenment. And this was the test that Duncan currently faced at the moment.
*****
Duncan's Initial Enlightenment lasted for ten days.
Duncan opened his eyes in a dazed manner and found his head swimming with a lot of miscellaneous thoughts. There were all kinds of inspirations and insights into a lot of things that Duncan had never dreamed about.
These insights and inspirations felt as if they would vanish the next moment if he didn't pay enough attention to them. This left Duncan in a lurch. He didn't know what to concentrate on.
Everything felt important to him. For example, there was some insight into how a formation was created and how to use the interaction of nature to increase its might. There was another insight that gave him some idea on mixing what herbs he had picked up would help him create what kinds of effects in pills.
The really devastating thing to Duncan was, all these insights and inspirations he had obtained were based on the knowledge he had accumulated so far. He felt that it would be a pity not to pursue them. But, he was hesitant as to which one he should try.
This was the really terrifying thing about Initial Enlightenment. All the insights and inspirations gained are based on a cultivator's knowledge accumulation. This is what makes it harder for them to let go. No one wants to let go of things that they have accumulated with hard work.
How many people can be clearheaded at this time?
How many people can tell that they would willingly sacrifice some knowledge when the entire cultivation knows that the more you know the easier it will be for you to progress further in cultivation?
This was a test of a person's dao heart. The firmer someone's dao heart is, the easier it will be for them to extricate themselves from this predicament. Even though Duncan knew earlier that he can't try everything and decided to only focus on increasing his battle strength, right now he wasn't far from getting lost.
That is the true terror of Initial Enlightenment. It is easy to discard things when you don't have options or very few options to pursue. But, when someone is presented with everything they could think of, they would naturally hesitate in the face of overwhelming rewards and would like to get everything.
Only someone who has a stable dao heart will be able to stop himself from biting off more than he could chew. This isn't a matter of knowing oneself. This is the true nature of all beings. Only by practicing restraint and being true to your goal can one extricate themselves from this predicament.
If Duncan had stepped into the Spirit Sea realm outside of the Grotto Heaven, then he would have been advised by his master Liang Tianye regarding this. Because it is generally known that the Initial Enlightenment only occurs to people after stepping into the Spirit Sea realm.
There is a reason for this as well. For a cultivator to enter Initial Enlightenment, they need to be able to perceive their surroundings and have some idea regarding concepts. A cultivator in the Qi Gathering realm doesn't have enough soul strength to perceive the world around them. So, it is generally accepted as such.
However, with Duncan breaking through to the Spirit Sea realm inside the Grotto Heaven, there was no one to instruct him on the dangers of this situation. When Liang Tianye instructed Duncan, he was just someone who was beginning cultivation. Naturally, Liang Tianye didn't put enough effort into educating Duncan in a wholesome manner.
As a result, Duncan now faced a precarious predicament of getting lost in the vast amount of insights and inspirations he had gained recently. And there was no one else to guide him out of this predicament.
Duncan sat inside the cave in a daze trying to figure out what to do now…
