Chapter 116: Comprehend The Dao-Gain Enlightenment

The Suolwither Elm loomed ominously, its gnarled branches twisting like skeletal fingers as it maintained its dominion over the poisonous swamp. Bubbles of noxious gas erupted from the murky waters, their sickly green hue reflecting the dim light that filtered through the dense canopy above. Jiang Feng stood amidst the chaos, his body battered and bruised, his breath ragged.

For the first time in his life, he had faced an opponent who rendered his abilities useless, leaving him vulnerable and exposed. The weight of that realization pressed heavily on his shoulders as he adjusted his tattered robes, his movements slow and deliberate.

He glanced down the long, winding path ahead lingering on the brutal path of cultivation that lay before him, his gaze then shifting to the four walls of flame that encircled the chamber. The flames danced and flickered, their movements hypnotic, forming intricate patterns and lines that seemed to tell a story—a story of power, rage and destruction. Jiang Feng's eyes lingered on Ji Moran's Deepfrost concept, its icy brilliance a stark contrast to the fiery walls. It, too, had been born from the comprehension of the original formation lines etched into the icy chamber they had encountered earlier.

"Are these truly formation lines, why not call them Dao Threads?" Jiang Feng muttered to himself, his voice barely audible over the hiss of the swamp and the crackle of flames. He raised a hand to shield his mouth and nose from the heat mixed poison, his mind racing as he began to piece together the fragments of understanding scattered before him. "Inside the first cave, the lines were rough, jagged, like the edge of a broken sword's blade, but it was still sharp nonetheless and extremely so, nothing could change its sharpness, broken or not. But here... they're different. More refined, more deliberate."

His thoughts spiraled as he tried to make sense of it all. "Reality is but a shell? Is that the only concept the original lines were, a mix of sharp illusions?" The swamp seemed to respond to his musings, its waters churning and twisting in sync with his movements. The air was thick with the stench of decay, and the incessant buzzing in his mind grew louder, the Soulwither Elm was at work, a cacophony of whispers that threatened to overwhelm him. He clenched his fists, his nails digging into his palms as he fought to maintain his focus.

"A sword is sharp," he whispered, his voice steady despite the turmoil within. "But it is not accompanied by illusions. One must focus on the sword in their hand, the sword in their heart, to cut down all obstacles in their path. To remain true to the blade, to shatter all illusions and sever the false truths that block one's path forward, that must be it. A sword that cuts through all illusions, to remain steady even when broken, this is the Sword Dao." His eyes glimmered with a newfound clarity as the illusionary memory of his father's lifeless body flashed before him—a memory that had haunted him, a wound that had never fully healed in his mind.

In that moment, something within Jiang Feng soul shifted. His aura surged, sharp and unyielding, like a blade unsheathed for the first time in his life, sharp spiritual energy began to gather around his body. The air around him grew heavy, charged with an energy that seemed to cut through the very fabric of reality. The ground beneath his feet cracked and splintered, though he remained oblivious to the destruction he was causing. His mind was elsewhere, lost in the depths of his own sorrow and longing.

The image of his father's face, pale and lifeless, had been a specter that haunted him, a ghost that refused to be laid to rest, he didn't know where his father was in this large universal realm, dead or alive?. The illusion he had faced when he first came to the Obsidian Woodlands had magnified that fear, twisting it into a grotesque reality that had nearly shattered his mind. But the Eternal Flame Codex had intervened, its warmth pulling him back from the brink of despair. Now, as he stood amidst the flames and the swamp, he felt a flicker of that same warmth—a reminder of the strength he still possessed.

"The Dao Threads on the walls inside the Titan Race Mountain," he murmured, his voice barely above a whisper once again. "They were wild, untamed and very furious now that I think about it. Like a spear thrust defiantly toward the heavens, refusing to kneel, refusing to yield. They spoke of freedom, of a heart unshackled by the chains of captivity." He raised his head, his gaze piercing through the haze of the swamp, and his aura shifted once more. It was no longer sharp like a sword's edge, but became wild and untamed, a force of nature that refused to be contained.

The dragon coiled around his chest stirred, its scales shimmering as it absorbed the dual auras that radiated from Jiang Feng's body. The beast's eyes glowed with an ancient wisdom, its roar echoing through the chamber as it fed on the energy that surrounded them. Jiang Feng, however, remained unaware of the transformation taking place within him. To him, time itself seemed to slow, each moment stretching into an eternity as he delved deeper into his own mind.

He could see the lines now—lines that crisscrossed and formed the swamp, lines that formed the sound waves emanating from the Soulwither Elm. He could see Zhan Huito charging forward, his spear gleaming in the dim light, though his movements were sluggish, as if trapped in molasses. He could see Ji Moran, her body crumpled on the ground, the icy tree above her shattering into a thousand glittering shards. Gao Zhenlei's roar echoed in the distance, lightning crackling above his head as he fought against an unseen foe.

Jiang Feng's gaze lingered on the crumbling ice phoenix, its once-majestic form now dim and lifeless. Yet, even in its final moments, it seemed to resist, sparks of flame flickering amidst the ice. "Deepfrost," he whispered, his voice tinged with awe. "The lines that formed the concept of ice. But this icy concept... it came from the Lunara Glacies, the moon flame. Can fire truly be this cold? Is such a thing even possible?"

His mind raced as he tried to reconcile the paradox before him. "A phoenix is reborn through nirvana," he mused, his voice become audible. "One of the nine sovereign concepts. Could Ji Moran follow that path? Could she ascend to the Nirvana Concept?" He watched as the phoenix shattered, its fragments scattering like stardust, and yet, it continued to move, defying the stillness that had enveloped everything else.

"That's it," he realized, his eyes widening with understanding. "When one end of a concept reaches its extreme, it has no choice but to turn back. The extreme of fire is extreme cold. The extreme cold can burn. This is the concept of the Solaris Infernum and the Lunara Glacies—the sun and moon, coexisting, supporting the sky and all that lies beneath it. Like hot and cold, light and dark, the sun and moon cannot be separated. Ice seeks to freeze everything, to create a cold world, a cold heart, devoid of emotion."

For a moment, Jiang Feng's expression grew cold, his soul seemingly frozen by the weight of his realization. But then, a smile crept across his face, warm and genuine. "Even in the coldest of times," he murmured, "if one's will is strong enough, if one has those they need to protect, goals they need to fulfill, there will always be warmth. Even in the heart of winter, there is a flame that refuses to be extinguished."

The aura around him shifted once more, becoming bitingly cold. The ground beneath his feet froze, the ice spreading rapidly, only to be devoured by the dragon coiled within him. Jiang Feng's gaze fell on Ji Moran, and for the first time, he allowed himself to acknowledge the feelings he had buried deep within his heart for the last month and a half.

He didn't know when he had started to care for her, when her presence had become a source of comfort and strength. Perhaps it was because he had always been alone, always fighting his battles in solitude. But now, standing beside her, he felt a sense of fulfillment, a desire to protect her, to stand by her side no matter the cost.

"Like the flames that burn in my heart," he roared, his voice filled with resolve, "they fuel my rage, my desire to see this world consumed by fire if there is no light. My hatred for the chains of the sky that seek to bind me, that seek my life and for the people who wish to see me dead—let them burn. And for those who wish to see her dead... let them burn!!."

His Skyforge flame roared to life, its brilliance illuminating the chamber as it began to draw on the flames inside the chamber like a beast devouring meat. "In the heat of my soul, when rage consumes me, let there be a cold storm to calm my soul. I am the flame that will burn eternal." As he spoke, the land around him turned blue, the air growing hotter with each passing moment as the walls of the chamber shook frantically.

Before him, his Skyforge flame quickly gather and took shape, its form shifting until it resembled a small fairy creature of sorts, like a spirit taking form. The creature opened its eyes, cold and unfeeling in one, furious and raging in the other. It then opened its right hand, revealing an orb of raging fire, and in its left hand, an orb of burning blue ice.

Inside Jiang Feng's mental world, the Skyforge furnace trembled as the blue flames within compressed, forming a small fairy that mirrored the one before Jiang Feng. "Bipolar Domain" a voice whispered in his mind, soft and ethereal.

Jiang Feng smiled as he watched the fairy zipped into his chest, its presence a comforting warmth amidst the cold. He took a deep breath, the spiritual energy of the Obsidian Waterfall Realm surging around him as his comprehension deepened. The process felt both slow and rapid, as if time itself were bending to his will.

Jiang Feng could see the threads that formed the poisonous swamp, he could see the threads of the soul waves twisting around him and invading his body. He could also see Zhan Huito attacking, his saber glowed an ominous green, obviously filled with poison. Not only that but a massive tree stood above him, shooting out dozens of thick branches towards Jiang Feng. But they all moved slowly, Jiang Feng could see it all, 'This is true enlightenment.'

"These are all the true meanings I've encountered," he stated, "except one." He opened his right hand, and there black mist began to gather from all directions, swirling and coalescing into a dense cloud. The mist amplified the dread in his heart, its darkness seeping into every corner of his being. Black threads extended from the mist, connecting to everything in sight—Ji Moran, Gao Zhenlei, Zhan Huito, the walls of flame, even the sky above.

"Darkness is present in everything," Jiang Feng said, his voice steady despite the weight of the incoming attacks. "There is no good without evil, and no evil without good. Embrace the abyss, the void, its stillness and seek out one's true self." With that, he opened his mouth and swallowed the black mist, the original form of the concept of darkness. It coursed through him, merging with his very essence, as he embraced the duality that lay at the heart of existence.