In the Abyss.
Wave after wave of blue light surged like a tide.
Lin Chen’s eyes narrowed slightly, staring at the blue light in the endless abyss. At first, the dispersed blue light, and later on, it condensed into waves, surging continuously like the tide.
At the moment the first blue wave surged, Lin Chen’s entire mind was captivated, his heart beating in sync with the surging blue tide.
With each wave of blue light, the heart would beat once.
The frequency, from slow to fast.
The tide, increasingly dense.
Originally, the blue light only surged about a ten feet from the abyss, but as wave followed wave, the distance began to lengthen, from ten feet to twenty feet...
The previous wave hadn’t dissipated, and the next wave arose.
"What exactly is Canglan?"
Lin Chen murmured softly, the vast sea profound and immeasurable, these words were difficult to comprehend.
But the next sentence he understood.
"There are waves like the tide, with light as blue, named Canglan."
The waves of blue light he saw surging out from the abyss currently, matched this description well.
"So, the so-called Canglan is actually a fluctuation?"
Lin Chen raised his finger, and as his heart beat, his finger pointed out a Canglan Finger.
In the darkness, the Canglan energy shot out from the Canglan Finger was clearly visible, splitting the entire darkness just like a water surface being parted by the energy.
The Canglan energy went straight ahead, while on both sides, blue light rippled like water waves.
"The Seventh Palm?"
Lin Chen recalled when he comprehended the Wind and Cloud Palm, creating Palm Six and Palm Seven.
Inch Force Instant Release!
Several forces erupted and stacked together.
However, this required a preliminary accumulation process, hence the First Palm, Second Palm, Third Palm... until all Qi Blood in the body was mobilized to the limit, allowing the execution of Palm Six and Palm Seven.
But now...
Lin Chen transformed the finger into a palm, lightly slapping out, the Canglan energy turning into a swath of blue light brushing through the darkness; within this Canglan energy, he saw fluctuations, like those tidal fluctuations.
"Does the power increase with more fluctuations?"
A glint of insight flashed in Lin Chen’s eyes. He vaguely grasped a particular trait of Canglan, maybe not the entire True Meaning, but it should be one of the unique traits of Canglan.
Especially every time he struck, his heart would beat in sync. It seemed like just one beat, but under keen Perception, he could clearly detect that this heartbeat brought about vibration throughout the body.
The vibration is the fluctuation!
But fluctuation alone is not enough; it needs stacking...
Only with stacking can the power increase.
Lin Chen took a deep breath, allowing his heartbeats’ roaring sound to resonate perfectly with the abyssal tidal fluctuations.
He gazed at the ceaseless Canglan Tide within the abyss, suddenly raising his hand to trace a profound trajectory, striking out a palm.
Initially, the Palm Wind was as gentle as a breeze, but after breaking through the darkness for ten feet—
Three visible Canglan ripples stacked in the dark void, transforming into a bright blue wave crashing down with a roar.
The dark space was torn into web-like cracks, then instantly collapsed massively, suffused by Canglan energy.
One palm, two palms, three palms...
Upon discovering the ninth Canglan ripple, the entire Canglan energy became unstable, starting to spread toward all sides, unable to continue breaking the darkness forward.
"It’s my rhythm that’s off. Once the Canglan Ripples exceed seven, my heartbeat and breath fall out of sync with the Canglan Tide in the abyss; an adjustment is needed."
The Canglan Tide in the abyss disappears every hundred breaths and then begins to surge again after ten breaths.
The first thirty Canglan Tides surge faster with each wave, the speed continually stacking, but after thirty breaths, the speed slows down, each wave slower yet propelling the entire Canglan energy further forward.
Lin Chen no longer continued to strike but observed the Canglan Tide in the abyss, feeling the rhythm from fast to slow, then slow to fast.
Meanwhile, he synchronized his breathing frequency with the rise and fall of the tide.
Tide fast, breathing rhythm fast.
Tide slow, breathing rhythm slow.
Once, a hundred breaths.
Twice, two hundred breaths.
...
In the darkness, Lin Chen watched tirelessly...
After a two-hour.
Du Xiaofeng appeared at the Inheritance Hall plaza, about to enter.
"No need to come in, Lin Chen is unharmed."
Before setting foot inside the hall, Du Xiaofeng heard the voice of a frail old man from within, his expression turning respectful: "Thank you, Uncle-Master, for looking after Lin Chen."
With this assurance from Uncle-Master, he knew there was no need to worry about Lin Chen’s safety.
"May I ask, Uncle-Master, why the Canglan Treasure Manual changed in this way?"
Since there’s no danger to life, Du Xiaofeng pondered on why his own disciple caused this situation with the Canglan Treasure Manual, yet Uncle-Master said Lin Chen was unharmed, implying this might have happened before—so why hadn’t he heard of it?
As a Sect Elder, he was privy to many sect secrets.
"The Heart of Canglan."
The frail old man responded, Lin Chen having acknowledged Du Xiaofeng as a mentor, this matter would be informed to him subsequently.
"The Heart of Canglan?"
A gleam of enlightenment flashed in Du Xiaofeng’s eyes. He wasn’t aware of the Canglan Treasure Manual changing like this, but he had heard of the Heart of Canglan.
The sect’s secret archive recorded that if someone was extremely compatible with Canglan energy, they could comprehend the Heart of Canglan.
With the Heart of Canglan, cultivating any technique related to Canglan energy within the Canglan Sect would see rapid progress. Techniques complex and elusive to others could be grasped within several hours by a disciple with the Heart of Canglan.
A disciple with the Heart of Canglan is a heaven-sent Canglan Sect disciple.
In the Canglan Sect’s historical records, five thousand years ago during the Flame Dynasty, there was a youth who, before entering the sect, came into contact with Canglan energy and even condensed the Heart of Canglan, later personally brought back to the sect and accepted as a disciple by a Myriad Phenomena powerhouse of the time.
That disciple later became renowned throughout the Flame Dynasty, leading the Canglan Sect to expand its territory more than twice, named the Fifth Ancestor of the Canglan Sect.
The Canglan Sect has a long history, having produced many Myriad Phenomena powerhouses, yet from its founding until now, only five individuals are titled Ancestors, the first being the founding patriarch, and the other three significantly contributed to the sect.
The Second Ancestor, during a crisis, turned the tide, preventing the Canglan Sect’s downfall.
The Third, Fourth, and Fifth Ancestors all helped expand the sect’s territory, enlarging the Canglan Domain.
"Uncle-Master, since Lin Chen has the Heart of Canglan, is it inappropriate for me to teach Lin Chen?"
Du Xiaofeng recalled that the Fifth Ancestor was personally trained by a Myriad Phenomena powerhouse within the sect. Now with Lin Chen having the Heart of Canglan, and he himself being just an Elder of the Innate Fifth Realm, would it be inappropriate for him to serve as Lin Chen’s mentor?
Though he desired a disciple with boundless potential, considering Lin Chen’s own Martial Path development, if a Supreme Elder from the sect could tutor Lin Chen, he would choose to let go, allowing Lin Chen to take the Supreme Elder as a mentor.
"No need to change."
The frail old man understood what Du Xiaofeng was thinking, but Du Xiaofeng only knew that the Fifth Ancestor had the Heart of Canglan. He didn’t know that over these five thousand years, many disciples within the sect also condensed the Heart of Canglan, yet they did not reach the heights of the Fifth Ancestor.
Back then, the Fifth Ancestor condensed the Heart of Canglan upon first encountering Canglan energy, whereas Lin Chen achieved it with the aid of the Canglan Divine Scripture; there is still a difference between the two.