“What exactly does it mean?”
Li Chonglou felt as if a lump had formed in his mind. Both thinking and recalling were much slower than usual, as if he couldn't quite process things.
Yet, his ingrained caution allowed him to gradually adapt to this state, and his thoughts and memories finally synchronized.
“No! What Old An said might very well be this place!”
After an unknown period, Li Chonglou finally came to his senses!
He was currently in the most critical life-or-death crisis of his life. How could he have the mood or time to indulge in this pleasant sensation here! It was only then that Li Chonglou, for the first time, consciously surveyed his surroundings.
All he could see were colorful lights, appearing as beams. It was as if he had entered some wondrous dimension, where he could clearly feel the existence of time!
This in itself was a miraculous sensation. Time was inherently an ephemeral thing, yet he could distinctly perceive its passage!
However, beyond this, he had no other awareness of his situation.
“It’s over. How am I supposed to get out of here now?”
At this moment, he recalled Old An’s words. It seemed Old An definitely knew something. But for some reason, why hadn't he directly told him how to leave when he warned him?
The more Li Chonglou pondered, the more perplexed he became. Simultaneously, another peculiar sensation arose.
As long as his gaze fixed upon a certain direction, or more precisely, a certain point, his mind would simultaneously conjure the time it would take for him to reach that destination.
Yes, it was time!
It was akin to being in reality, when he looked at a place, his mind would automatically display the time it would take to reach it at full speed, or by running, or by walking, much like playing a game.
Everything was transformed into clear, visible data.
“Forget it. Since there’s nothing else to do, I’ll just head forward and see.”
Li Chonglou fixed his gaze on the farthest point. Eleven years, this number instantly appeared in his mind.
Eleven years?
Li Chonglou blinked in surprise, then became worried if this time referred to real-world time. If it truly was, then this situation would be no different from death.
A wave of annoyance washed over him. However, unlike his previous resolve, he hadn’t even figured out this place, and he didn't know if time flowed the same here. Li Chonglou still held a desire to live.
As the saying goes, even in death, one should at least be a conscious spirit, to die willingly!
With his goal set, Li Chonglou could only think of other things to pass the long time along the way.
Suddenly, he felt that being too clear-headed wasn’t necessarily a good thing, because this place was simply too boring.
Eleven years, the thought alone made Li Chonglou feel it was incredibly long.
Yet, in reality, he could only wait for time to tick by.
For the first year, he still felt a sense of comfort in this space. But starting from the second year, he became numb.
Then, in the third year, he replayed his life’s events numerous times. He had even planned out his future endeavors after escaping hundreds of times!
This almost led him to a qi deviation, frightening Li Chonglou into quickly abandoning such thoughts.
But there was still so much time left!
Helplessly, Li Chonglou could only try various methods to pass the time until he shifted his attention to secret techniques and Meridian Sublimation.
“How can I still feel my body’s existence?”
This was a pleasant surprise. In fact, this hadn't been present from the start. It was only as he got closer to the destination that Li Chonglou gradually began to feel it. The sensation was akin to becoming God.
Observing himself from a divine perspective.
Of course, it wasn't his real self he was seeing, but a materialized phantom body.
Even so, Li Chonglou was delighted.
Because this meant he could use this time to perfect his various cultivation methods!
No sooner said than done. From the fourth year onwards, Li Chonglou dedicated himself entirely to researching various cultivation techniques.
The most important among them was naturally Meridian Sublimation.
Ever since he learned the miraculous acupoints from Wutong, Li Chonglou’s understanding had been greatly expanded. All he lacked was time.
And now, time was precisely what he had in abundance!
However, he hadn't expected that once he became fully immersed, although it felt like only a few days had passed, upon opening his eyes, less than five years remained until his destination.
“Huh? So, two years have passed already?”
Li Chonglou was very perplexed and a guess arose in his mind.
To verify it, he immersed his consciousness once more.
For others, this state might be a difficult process, with those having lower talent and comprehension needing considerable time just to enter it.
But Li Chonglou could enter this state whenever he wished, taking at most a few dozen seconds.
This time, he experienced five days of enlightenment consecutively. The process of enlightenment felt timeless, but Li Chonglou could deduce the passage of time based on his progress.
Now, his Meridian Sublimation was like a pile of files needing organization. He knew how much time each would require. Therefore, Li Chonglou deliberately woke up after approximately five days of progress.
Upon opening his eyes, the target point he had fixed upon eleven years ago was indeed right in front of him.
“It seems to be true. As long as I enter that state, the flow of time increases. One day here is equivalent to one year there.”
Upon realizing this, Li Chonglou suddenly became worried again.
If that were the case, would the years he had wasted earlier also represent the same amount of time passed in reality?
If that were true, he estimated he would never forgive himself.
His master was waiting for Shi Boqiong’s rescue, and could only hold on for a few months to half a year at most. If three to four years had really passed, his master would have long since reincarnated!
And his wife, he had promised to return within a few months to half a year. If he had suddenly disappeared for four years, would she have thought he was already dead?
Family, master, and his father – everything might have undergone earth-shattering changes in these years!
However, all this was currently just his speculation. At the edge of his vision, his mind conjured another eleven years.
“Forget it, I won’t think about these things for now. If I can’t even get out of here, what’s the point of thinking about anything else?”
Li Chonglou was not one to give up. In his current situation, no one could be certain of their guesses. Until he reached that point, he would never give up!
Thus, to make time pass faster, Li Chonglou once again entered the state of enlightenment.
One day, two days, one year, two years. Li Chonglou stayed in this state for a full ten days before forcibly waking himself up.
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I've contracted COVID. I'm not sure if my stored manuscripts will last for a few days. I can only update twice a day now.