Chapter 1503: Chapter 165: Instant Enlightenment
In the state of having no desires or pursuits, Ah Dai’s True Qi continuously advanced. The dark golden liquid energy circulating within him grew stronger with every completed cycle. As the volume of True Qi in his body increased, Ah Dai noticed a transformation within his Golden Body. Fine, intricate patterns began to appear on his once bare body, as though his Golden Body had donned an armor. The energy it possessed was steadily increasing.
Time passed quietly, and even Ah Dai had lost track of how many cycles of cultivation he’d completed. Finally, his True Qi reached full capacity, and his Golden Body had completely turned to dark gold. The surging energy seemed ready to burst forth.
Taking a deep breath, Ah Dai slowly opened his eyes. Everything in the room seemed different, as it had been when the Sword Saint of the Tian Gang had passed energy onto him. Every corner of the room was imbued with radiant colors, and everything appeared vividly clear. Ah Dai could even effortlessly make out the grain patterns on the wooden table.
With a mere thought, Ah Dai’s body lightly floated to the ground. To his astonishment, a faint golden glow coursed across the surface of his skin. Upon touching it, he felt that his skin had become far tougher than before, as though an armor now covered his Golden Body, providing an additional layer of defense. Judging by its resilience, his skin was now no weaker than the Giant Spirit Snake Armor he wore. He raised his hands, and with a twist of his wrists, a ribbon of silver light drifted into existence. This silver radiance was far purer than when he’d first reached the sixth transformation of his Realm. Its energy was now fully internalized, and from the surface, there was no hint of its overwhelming potency. Not only this, but Ah Dai also discovered with amazement that his once imposing aura had vanished. He looked at himself in the mirror and saw a completely ordinary person staring back. He did not realize that through this cultivation, he had finally surpassed the Sword Saint of the Tian Gang, stepping into the pinnacle of martial arts—the mystical Realm of Returning to Simplicity.
After finishing his cultivation, Ah Dai felt his formerly turbulent emotions calm, and everything around him now seemed to resonate with profound truths. The second Golden Body in his chest had diminished in size, now no taller than two inches, and its light had dimmed significantly. Ah Dai was certain that if he could fully integrate this second Golden Body as his own, he would surely reach the ultimate stage of Shangsheng transformation, as described by the Sword Saint of the Tian Gang.
Scratching his head, Ah Dai muttered to himself, "I wonder how much time has passed. Let’s go outside and have a look. This cultivation session probably lasted more than a day and night." Suppressing the faint golden glow that lingered on his body, he pushed open the door and stepped out of his room, coming face to face with a server. The server’s expression immediately betrayed a hint of surprise. Walking briskly toward Ah Dai, he said, "Sir, you’ve finally come out. Ever since you checked in, you never once left your room—we were starting to worry something had happened to you! We tried opening the door from the outside several times, but it seemed like something was blocking it from the inside, and we couldn’t get in."
Ah Dai realized that the barrier must have been formed by the buildup of his True Qi within the room, sealing it completely. He apologized, "I’m terribly sorry. I’m a martial artist training in martial skills, and I’ve been deep in cultivation these past few days. That’s why the door got blocked. Could you tell me how many days I’ve been here?"
The server gave Ah Dai a puzzled look and replied, "Oh, I see! You’ve been here for seven or eight days, I think. You can check at the front desk to be sure. By the way, if you plan to stay longer, you’ll need to settle the room fee."
Ah Dai nodded, thanked the server, and walked toward the inn’s front desk. Although this inn wasn’t very large, its lobby had a unique design. The surrounding walls were made of transparent glass, allowing a clear view of the street outside. During the day, the lighting inside was exceptionally bright. Ah Dai strolled up to the counter and said to the receptionist, "Hello, I’m staying in Room 36. Please settle my bill."
The female receptionist glanced at Ah Dai, pulled out the ledger, and began flipping through it. While she searched, Ah Dai looked around. Through the transparent glass, he noticed a large crowd of townsfolk gathering on the street outside, piquing his curiosity. He couldn’t help but ask the receptionist, "Why are there so many people outside? Did something major happen in the city?"
The receptionist continued flipping through the ledger as she replied, "It’s not just the city—it’s the entire continent. Something big has happened."
Ah Dai’s heart skipped a beat. He thought to himself, Could it be the Dark Forces stirring up trouble again? He hastily asked, "What happened?"
The receptionist, now slightly impatient, said, "There’s a notice outside. Everyone’s reading it. Why don’t you go take a look yourself? Oh, here it is—your room fee totals fourteen gold coins and five silver coins."
Ah Dai paid the room fee and quickly stepped out of the inn.
It seemed to be midday. The sun hung high in the center of the sky, and its rays cast warmth and comfort. The street buzzed with a bustling crowd of people. Not far from the inn’s entrance, hundreds of townsfolk had gathered, all seemingly fixated on something. Driven by curiosity, Ah Dai walked casually toward the crowd. As he approached, he could hear the clamor of voices.
"Who would’ve thought! The church has such a young Red Bishop. His wedding is bound to be extraordinarily grand! Too bad my status is too low; otherwise, I’d definitely go to the church’s Divine Mountain to see it."
"Yeah! I want to see it too. Maybe on the Divine Mountain, we’ll even catch a glimpse of His Holiness the Pope. If I could meet His Holiness, I’d have no more regrets in life." ...
