Jason Sutton trembled all over, staring in shock at Brian Sutton. After a long while, he looked up to the sky and let out a deep sigh: “No wonder you were able to break through the spatial maze in your thirties. Your comprehension truly surpasses that of ordinary people. Once this technique is mastered, tens of thousands or even millions of years are common in the Primordial Era, nothing out of the ordinary—everyone is used to it. But your explanation, this is the first time I’ve heard it. Thinking it over carefully, it does seem to make sense.”

Brian Sutton, however, was thinking of something else. The Mind Sword Body Technique he practiced was already extremely difficult at the very first level; even after practicing for a long time, it was hard to make progress, as if he had hit a bottleneck. But before his ascension, he was a swordsmanship expert, with unique insights into the way of the sword. That was how he managed to step into the first level of the Mind Sword Body Technique within three years. Such progress was simply inconceivable for anyone who had practiced this martial art.

In this Primordial world, martial cultivation is measured in tens of thousands or even millions of years. This probably has something to do with comprehension as well. If one can comprehend, perhaps the time required can be greatly shortened. But Brian Sutton was gradually coming to understand that these peerless techniques require an extraordinary amount of true qi to circulate the meridians. Although the spiritual energy of heaven and earth is abundant and omnipresent, unfortunately, it is both thin and, moreover, not true qi. Often, a vast amount of primordial energy can only be converted into a small amount of pure true qi.

The internal energy before ascension and the true qi cultivated by practitioners in the Primordial Era are worlds apart, and one of the biggest reasons is the purity of the true qi. The internal energy he had previously cultivated was like a crude handicraft, completely incomparable to the true qi cultivated by Primordial martial artists.

Chapter 11: The Feathered Demon Beast

Within the Hidden Valley, there are over ten thousand caves. No one knows exactly how many people are hidden here. Every morning, a thick fog inevitably rises in the valley, only gradually dissipating by evening—one of the valley’s great wonders. By rights, the Hidden Valley is a major settlement for the human race, yet the vast valley is empty. Apart from a few white-haired old men at the entrance, who are as silent as wood and rarely utter a word, it is hard to see anyone else. At least, in the more than ten days Brian Sutton had stayed in the valley, he had seen no more than a thousand people, which is extremely few compared to the valley’s enormous area.

More than ten days ago, a purple-robed, long-bearded Daoist arrived in the Hidden Valley, asking indifferently who was the newly joined martial artist. Jason Sutton answered, and was then taken away. Brian Sutton followed all the way, trailing the Daoist into a new cave. The cave was empty, and from the fresh earth on the walls, it was clearly newly made.

“From now on, this will be your cave. Cultivate well. The spirit-gathering array inscribed above was just carved not long ago; it will take some time before it functions at full capacity. If there’s any problem with the array, you can come find me at cave number 123561.”

After saying this, the Daoist hurried off, as if he had urgent matters to attend to. Brian Sutton knew that these Primordial martial artists all made it their mission to strengthen their power as quickly as possible. The Daoist was eager to cultivate; if not for the request of the Hidden Valley elder, he probably wouldn’t have come out of meditation to help a junior disciple build a cave dwelling.

“Brother Wuji, I have already requested to settle here in the Hidden Valley. For the next thousand years, I will not leave this residence. Brother Wuji, if you are willing, why not stay and cultivate with me? What do you think?” After the Daoist left, Jason Sutton asked.

Brian Sutton let out a long sigh and said with a bitter smile, “Brother Wuji, to tell you the truth, my cultivation method is very special. For you, accumulating internal energy takes a great deal of time, but my martial art is very different. It is easy to achieve but hard to advance. Cultivation is easy, and once you enter a realm, there are no obstacles, and progress is rapid—far faster than ordinary practitioners. However, conversely, advancing from one realm to the next is countless times harder than for ordinary practitioners. It’s very possible that one may never cross into the next realm. Unlike your techniques, no matter how difficult, after tens or even millions of years, you will naturally reach the peak. The two martial arts I practice have both reached the end of a certain realm. If I want to go further, hard work alone is simply impossible. Besides, I have just ascended and know little of this Primordial world; there is still much I do not understand. It’s just as well to use this time to travel outside, both to experience the customs of the Primordial world and, perhaps, to encounter some opportunity that will break through this bottleneck and allow me to reach a higher realm. That’s always a possibility.”

Jason Sutton exclaimed in surprise, “Is there really such a cultivation method?” Jason Sutton searched through all the martial arts he knew, but had never heard of a technique that was easy to practice but extremely hard to advance. For a moment, he thought Brian Sutton was just making an excuse to avoid staying in the valley with him.

Seeing Brian Sutton nod, Jason Sutton sighed inwardly and said with meaning, “Brother Wuji, this Primordial world is full of dangers. Strength is the only guarantee of safety. You have only just ascended and have yet to experience this. Well, some things, no matter how much others say, one will never believe until they experience it themselves. Take care, Wuji. See you in a thousand years.”