Extreme Spirit Chaos Technique

The Profound Old Ghost chuckled self-deprecatingly. "I know this might feel a little strange, a little awkward..."

"No, it’s not awkward at all," Mu Chen replied with a faint smile.

"Is that so? Haha," the Profound Old Ghost laughed. "Then let me ask you, in your mind, what is the purpose of cultivation?"

"To improve myself, get stronger, and protect the ones I love," Mu Chen answered without a moment’s hesitation.

The Profound Old Ghost nodded. "Indeed. Your purpose and reasons are the same as before; they haven’t changed at all. But let me ask you this: do you feel the same joy from cultivation now as you did back then?"

This time, Mu Chen paused to think. ’He’s right... Is the joy the same as it was before?’

"Is the source of your motivation still the same?"

"..."

"Are you tired?"

Silence. Still silence. The Profound Old Ghost continued, "The joy has diminished, or perhaps it’s gone completely, right? Your motivation is no longer the pure desire to stand at the pinnacle of the world. Now, it’s pressure. Pressure from Tingyu Pavilion, pressure from Mu Bingling and her Snow Moon Spirit Fox, pressure from your expanding world and the ever-increasing burdens you must bear. It’s exhausting... isn’t it?"

Closing his eyes, Mu Chen took a deep breath of the fresh air inside the Extreme Spirit Pearl and smiled bitterly. "It is..."

He recalled the past: when the Profound Old Ghost helped him reforge his Dantian, when he broke through from Martial Disciple to Martial Artist, when he advanced ring by ring, when he mastered a new Combat Skill, a Secret Technique, or a new Combat Technique. That happiness, that joy, was long gone. His heart grew heavier, the pressure on his shoulders mounted, and cultivation became a mere habit—a daily chore that had lost all its color, all its original thrill.

"You’re forcing yourself," the Profound Old Ghost sighed. "Pushing yourself, driving yourself, constantly pressing forward. But Xiao Chenzi, did you know? Diligence, hard work, perseverance... as your Martial Arts Realm gets higher, the impact of these external factors on your progress will diminish. They will become less and less effective, until finally, they’ll have no effect at all."

"No effect at all?" Mu Chen’s pupils constricted.

The Profound Old Ghost shook his head with a bitter smile. "That’s right, they will eventually have no effect. Master once said that no matter how great a person’s Martial Arts Talent, if they are not diligent and hardworking, their progress in their Martial Arts Realm will be incredibly slow. If they fail to have an awakening during this slow progress, they will ultimately waste their talent and potential due to their own laziness."

Considering what he had just said, Mu Chen asked, "Is that viewpoint wrong?"

The Profound Old Ghost shook his head grimly. "No, that viewpoint is never wrong. Diligence can make up for a lack of skill. However, that principle has a major limitation. Master will give you an example. Let’s say your talent would only allow you to reach the level of a Fourth-Ring Martial Emperor in your lifetime. At a normal cultivation speed, you would reach this limit before you turn forty. But if you were to put in twice the time, or even four times the time, into your cultivation, you could reach this limit by the age of twenty, or perhaps even earlier."

"What’s more, because of your diligence, tenacity, and perseverance, you will break through that limit. You’ll have saved twenty years of cultivation time compared to a Martial Artist with the same talent. In those remaining twenty years, you might rely on sheer grit and time to force your Martial Arts Realm all the way to the Nine-Ring Martial Emperor Peak. But that is where you will stop. That is your true, insurmountable limit."

Mu Chen froze. ’An insurmountable limit? Does that mean... this is what Master meant when he said diligence, hard work, and perseverance lose their effect as one’s Martial Arts Realm increases?’

The Profound Old Ghost nodded. "Exactly. But ’diligence, hard work, and perseverance’ doesn’t cover everything. It would be more accurate to say that at this point, all external factors influencing one’s Martial Arts Realm cease to have an effect. Why? Because once a Martial Artist enters the Venerable Realm, breakthroughs no longer depend on diligent, painstaking cultivation. They depend on Martial Arts Enlightenment! The term ’Martial Dao’ itself tells you: first comes ’Martial,’ then comes ’Dao.’ Before the Emperor Realm, you rely on diligent cultivation. After the Emperor Realm, you rely on Martial Arts Enlightenment. And your ability to achieve profound enlightenment is fundamentally determined by your Martial Arts Talent. That is the true measure of how far you can walk the Martial Dao."

Hearing this, Mu Chen couldn’t help but frown. The Profound Old Ghost saw it, but instead of asking, he just continued, "Are you thinking that this has nothing to do with what we were discussing earlier?"

Mu Chen nodded instinctively.

The Profound Old Ghost let out a hearty laugh. "Master asks you, then: when you break through your Martial Arts Realm, what must you do?"

"Break through the bottleneck."

"And has breaking through those bottlenecks become harder, easier, or has it stayed the same?"

"Harder and harder."

Mu Chen knew the answer to this question all too well. Over the past year of his cultivation, as his Martial Arts Realm had risen, the speed at which he broke through his bottlenecks had become slower and slower. In fact, it had taken him a full month to break through from the Emperor Realm Second Ring to the Emperor Realm Third Ring. It was something he could never figure out.

"And why is it getting harder?"

’That’s right, why was it getting harder? It was always just a membrane, and my Dantian was always overflowing with Primordial Power. Why did it take longer each time? Was the membrane getting thicker?’

"It’s because the required Martial Arts Enlightenment is deeper," the Profound Old Ghost said. "And your mentality, your state of mind, determines your Martial Arts Enlightenment. When your spirit is weary, when you can no longer feel the joy of cultivation, when you are driven only by pressure, when you force every breakthrough and constantly rush yourself... then no matter how great your talent, your Martial Arts Realm will eventually grind to a halt. This is the true message Master has been trying to convey."

At this, a gentle smile touched the Profound Old Ghost’s lips. "So, Xiao Chenzi, since you can’t resolve those matters with your current strength, just cast aside all this so-called pressure, these so-called burdens, this great stone on your heart. Wait until you truly need your strength to deal with those things, and face them then. Who knows? By that time, you might just have the power to handle them."

"But... wouldn’t that be running away?" The Profound Old Ghost’s words struck a chord with Mu Chen.

"It’s not running away; it’s being flexible. It’s like the saying, ’Take a step back to see a broader sea and vaster sky.’ Xiao Chenzi, don’t you feel that because of all this negativity, you’ve missed out on countless beautiful sights over the years?"

’Over the years, I’ve missed countless beautiful sights?’ Mu Chen’s gaze grew distant, and the stirring in his heart intensified.

"And because of these burdens, you’ve become passive. You’ve run away from so much love. Xiao Chenzi, you really need to rest and reset. You need to learn how to enjoy this world again—to enjoy the thrill of cultivation, the joy of progress, and... the love that others offer you."

Suddenly, a large hand came to rest on Mu Chen’s head, ruffling his hair gently. Then, a soft voice drifted to him.

"And even learn to be proactive. To create your own future, instead of just passively reacting to it..."