Demon Immortal



When Shen Wulong was explaining things to Duncan, he didn't have that much understanding of cultivation. So, he wasn't able to ask such pertinent questions. But, now that his cultivation and understanding of concepts have risen, his mind was beginning to churn with new ideas.

It was not as if Duncan was the first to think of such things. But, most cultivators use complementary concepts of two daos to create some domain. Like combining the concept of revolution and pressure to form a whirlpool, or combining rotation and speed to form a penetration point. 

Duncan however has never come into touch with other concepts until now. So, he was only left with the option of two concepts he knew. As they say, a young calf knows no fear.

Squinting a little, Duncan smiled eagerly, "Let's try and see what happens."

Duncan felt a bit mischievous as the idea emerged in his mind. Calming himself down a bit, Duncan began to theorize how to combine his understanding of speed of the wind and cutting form of a sword. 

Time passed in relative silence in the forest as Duncan immersed himself in trying to find something that could increase his prowess further. Countless simulations ran through his mind as he tried to combine the two concepts he had knowledge of.

Alas, while Duncan's mind was willing, his understanding of the intricacies of the forces involved in the universe was really lacking. As a result, no matter how Duncan tried to combine the two concepts, Duncan came up with no solution.

"How do I combine speed of the wind with cut of the sword? What could the final form be? Will my sword cut at the speed of the wind? Or will my cut be sped up by the wind? Regardless, it doesn't make much sense," Duncan mumbled incoherently.

Creating something was never a simple matter. It is easy to follow the steps of a creator and understand the intricacies involved. But, it is always difficult to tread a path that has never been walked upon.

Duncan had overestimated himself at this juncture. Whether it be a cultivation technique or a martial art, creating something unique has never been easy. Only those peerless geniuses and old monsters will usually do such things.

In his eagerness to increase his power, Duncan had tried to do something that was beyond his comprehension. If anyone could combine two concepts and create something new, how can comprehending the dao be an eternal pursuit?

Duncan was neither a genius nor someone who has deep understanding of the universe. It was only pipedream for him to think about creating something new. Days passed by before Duncan woke up from his ponderings.

"Damn, I nearly became obsessed with combining the two concepts," Duncan said shivering once he woke up. "If this persisted, I would end up wasting my time by doing something that I have no hope to accomplish."

Duncan grimaced as he finally understood that he didn't have enough understanding to do something outrageous as combining two vastly different concepts. With his level of understanding, it was impossible to do something like that.

If he had persisted with his actions, he might even end up suffering from qi deviation. Luckily, he woke up in the nick of time. Or else, he would have wasted away caught up in his ponderings.

"I heard that sometimes cultivators would get caught up in pondering the mysteries of the dao and would end up bedraggled. No wonder. I merely tried to combine two concepts that I have a small understanding of, and I already entered such a state. If this was related to daos…" Duncan shivered in fear just thinking about it.

"Have I grown arrogant of late? Why did I think I could do something like this? My cultivation has been rising fast recently. I even got past the test in that archway. Maybe, my head has been swollen because of that," Duncan muttered self-reflecting a bit.

"Luckily, I ran into such a situation. If not, I would have thought I was someone invincible and would have ended up dead somewhere. It is better I suffer some setbacks like these that don't have much negative impact, rather than making a mistake while wandering outside and ending up dead."

"But, it isn't as if I didn't have any gains. My understanding of both the cutting concept and the speed of the wind concept has risen sharply due to this mishap. Trying to combine them together made me understand a bit more about the inherent nature of these two concepts," Duncan smiled slightly and got up.

Squinting his eyes, Duncan unsheathed his sword and performed a cut without any hurry. The next moment a couple of trees in the distance were cut horizontally and fell down with a huge thud.

"As I thought, with my new understanding of the cutting concept, my sword technique has improved further. And right now, I didn't even inject my qi into the attack. This was performed using pure swordsmanship," Duncan mumbled admiring his handiwork.

The next moment, Duncan disappeared from his spot and reappeared some distance away in midair. Duncan walked calmly above the ground with no pressure. His steps were light and he was able to stroll for a while before he was forced to use qi once more to remain midair.

"Both my speed and maneuverability have increased as well. Before this, I can never walk midair without using qi. But now, things have changed. I don't need to expend much qi while traveling. And if I use qi, I can travel half a mile within the blink of an eye," Duncan pondered further.

"This is almost like an escape technique. With this, I don't need to learn any escape techniques. I can run fast and cover a large distance using this alone. How wonderful! Is this the charm of dao? I can feel the wind itself assisting me while I move. This is really something," Duncan mumbled while feeling the wind that was passing by near him.

As Duncan felt the wind passing by, he felt as if he had returned to his carefree days when he had been a mere mortal. Enjoying the sensation for a few minutes, Duncan walked back down to the ground with a content smile on his face.

"When I visit the scripture hall next time, I need to find some martial arts that have some complementing concepts. Either ones that deal with wind or the ones that deal with swords. This way, I can see if I can combine them together," Duncan muttered looking deep in thought.

"Shen Wulong was right. The martial cultivation is as vast as an ocean. There are a lot of things I need to learn. If I don't increase my knowledge, I would never be able to progress."

Duncan sighed realizing that he had been a bit neglectful of his time spent in the scripture hall. When he was in the sect, he used the scripture hall to increase his understanding of the world. 

Duncan didn't think it was a mistake. If not for that bit of knowledge he gained, he would be dead already. Those seemingly ordinary books in the scripture hall had saved him while being in the wilderness.

But, it didn't mean that he didn't use the scripture hall properly. Only when he learns a lot about the martial arts techniques can he create something. He needs to know what was the usual method of combining concepts. He needs to know how to create a domain. 

If not, he would never be able to progress in his martial cultivation. Just like qi cultivation, one needs to put effort in order to progress their martial cultivation. Imagine having a Nascent Soul realm of cultivation and yet being only able to use concepts in attacks. That would be terribly shameful.

Duncan shook his head and a wry smile formed on his face. Such a Nascent Soul realm cultivator was barely better than the Violet Palace realm cultivator. Usually, cultivators understand and form their domains during the Golden Hall realm. 

In that case, any Golden Hall realm cultivator would be able to fight with that Nascent Soul realm cultivator on equal footing. It would be a terrible disgrace to encounter something like that. 

At this moment, Duncan realized how important it was to increase his martial cultivation as well. If he doesn't progress in that, he would be left behind by his peers easily.

Remembering an old sentence he heard in the Starmist City when he was a mortal, Duncan was enlightened further. It was said that technique, companion, land, and resources are the four cornerstones for cultivation.

Duncan understood why technique was the first cornerstone at this moment. Without proper technique, whether it be cultivation technique or martial arts technique, it is hard to become powerful. The importance of the other three combined together might not be equal to the importance of technique.

Duncan sighed as he realized this aspect of cultivation. Just then, his eyes fell on the sword in his hand. Duncan couldn't help but be surprised seeing it. This was the sword that was given to him by Granny Jiao.

"How peculiar, even the sword I brought in Starmist City was shattered during the fighting. But, this ordinary sword I was gifted with by Granny Jiao still seems to be fine. I have killed even Level 2 beasts with it, but nothing has happened to this ordinary sword," Duncan mumbled focusing his attention on the sword for the first time.

"How can an ordinary sword handle that much stress? There is a reason cultivators often switch weapons while adventuring outside. Only artifact swords are capable of withstanding the amount of qi channeled through by cultivators." 

"Is there something special in regards to this sword?"

*****

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