Chapter 180 What Is Enlightenment?



Duncan didn't rush towards the Starmist City. 

Rather, he walked calmly on the road to Starmist City without any hurry. With a sword in his hip and a wine gourd in his hands, he walked leisurely towards the Starmist City, as if he was going for a walk.

He didn't care about the sun that was beating down on him. As a cultivator, his body was stronger than ordinary mortals. So, a little bit of sun didn't bother him much. As for the dust that blew on his face and body, Duncan felt that it would be too bothersome to expel them with qi. Such a wastage of qi was stupid in his mind. So, he didn't bother about it either.

Even though he walked leisurely, his speed wasn't that much different from the speed of a caravan. He would occasionally stop and admire the sunset or sunrise, appreciate the beauty of the world, and indulge himself in passing fancy without any scruples.

As a cultivator, Duncan didn't need to sleep much. So, even at night, he would walk slowly in the moonlight on the dirt path leading toward the city. Walking in the moonlight as he chugged wine, gave Duncan a very novel feeling. He liked it very much. 

Throughout the journey, several merchant caravans passed by him on the road to Starmist City. Seeing the guards who were protecting the caravans, Duncan felt a little bit melancholy. When he initially stepped out of the town he had lived his life in, he too acted as those guards.

Full of vigor and expectation for life outside of his town. It can be said that his cultivation journey wouldn't have started if he hadn't stepped out of Starsinger Town. To Duncan, the action of agreeing to be a guard for the merchant caravan can be said to be a life-changing decision.

Now that he saw those guards, Duncan couldn't help but recall the time he spent as a guard on the road to the Starmist City. In a vague sense, it can be said that Duncan was retracing his steps right now.

This allowed him to come to terms with several things in his mind. Thinking about how he performed his first kill, Duncan couldn't help but smile a little. Even the act of rushing forward to meet the wolf beast during the attack brought a smile to his face.

If it was the current him, he wouldn't even need to raise his sword. A mere flick of his fingers would kill the wolf. But, at that time it had been a struggle of life and death. Within one year, he had changed completely.

This gave him a poignant evaluation of his own increase in strength.

As for rushing to kill the Wang Clan, Duncan wasn't really in a hurry. The Wang Clan was rooted in the Starmist City. They wouldn't run off anywhere. If the Patriarch of the Wang Clan hadn't broken through the Spirit Sea level and reached the Violet Palace realm after all these years, a few days of difference wouldn't help him much.

Even if he broke through, Duncan had the confidence to kill him. The cultivation technique he practiced wasn't ordinary. The martial arts he cultivated were also top-tier. And his progress in them had been far more than several Violet Palace realm cultivators could boast. 

So, Duncan didn't feel any urgency in dealing with the Wang Clan.

On the other hand, the only thing he was currently concerned about was what to do after exterminating the Wang Clan. He could either return to the sect or continue traveling outside.

When it came to returning to the sect, Duncan wasn't very keen on that matter. The atmosphere in the sect made him want to avoid it as much as possible. So, the best option for him was to travel the world and gain experience.

But, the question was, where does he want to travel next?

He didn't have any clear idea at the moment. There was no clear-cut destination in his mind. So, Duncan didn't know what to do after dealing with the Wang Clan. With no destination in mind, Duncan could only decide to do things on a whim. He figured that he would reach Starmist City first and then deal with that bit of decision-making.

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Two weeks passed and a travel-worn Duncan stood before the entrance to the Starmist City. The first time he entered the city, Duncan had been part of a caravan guard. The caravan had hurried to reach the city gate without giving him any opportunity to take in the sight of the city gates.

Now, Duncan stood before the city gates and watched it from a distance. After seeing the gates of the Grotto Heaven open, watching the city gates seemed very lackluster. There was no majesty to these gates in Duncan's opinion.

There is no harm without comparison. Unless one traveled, their view would be limited to their surroundings. Now that he has experienced things that only a cultivator could experience, Duncan found the mundane world a bit boring. In a way, Duncan understood why the cultivators rarely paid attention to mortals.

Compared to the things a cultivator comes into contact with, the world of mortals and their activities looked pale and boring. It didn't bring out any sort of curiosity in the heart. Since that was the case, who would waste time taking note of boring things?

Even if someone loves to watch ants scurrying in the ground, it is only because those things interest the said person. Humans are beings made of curiosity. Whether they are cultivators or mortals, people only take note of things that arouse their curiosity. No wonder cultivators seldom pay attention to mortal affairs.I think you should take a look at

It wasn't arrogance. It was indifference in its purest form.

This also let Duncan know the difference in thinking between cultivators and mortals. Once upon a time, he had scorned this indifference thinking cultivators were very arrogant and had been contemptuous of their behavior. But, now that he is standing on the other shore, he understands the reason for their actions. 

Letting out a wry smile, Duncan shook his head. He didn't expect the sight of the city gates to give him such enlightenment in the matters of the mind. In a way, this can also be said to be a form of cultivation. He had read about strong cultivators experiencing mortal dust in order to break through. 

At that time, Duncan didn't understand why they did such pointless things. But, now that he had obtained enlightenment by watching the gates of the Starmist City, Duncan can say he understood what those cultivators were striving for.

It is said that experience shapes the person. It is indeed true. Everyone experiences different things in their life. And naturally, the enlightenment everyone gets from things they experience will be different.

If he hadn't once entered this city as an ordinary mortal and if he hadn't seen the gates of the Grotto Heaven, his viewing of these ordinary gates wouldn't give him such enlightenment.

What is enlightenment? 

Everything a cultivator experiences would slowly accumulate. These accumulated experiences would build up to a point and then burst out into a lot of insights at a particular moment. This process is what is called enlightenment. 

There is nothing mysterious about it. The fact that it is highly valued among cultivators is because of the unique nature of it. Enlightenment can't be taught. It can't be passed down. Even if the two different people undergo the same experiences, the things they take note of and how they react to the situation would be different.

Hence, there is no way enlightenment could be tailored for a person. It depends on the thoughts and actions of a person. And the value of this enlightenment comes from the burst of insights that a person figures out at that moment. These are rare things that could only belong to that particular cultivator. No one can snatch them away or use it apart from the cultivator who gained those insights.

That is exactly why enlightenment can be said to be a precious opportunity.

This moment of enlightenment let Duncan know that he wasn't that different from a mortal. Sure, he was way more powerful than them. Sure, he was different from them in his thoughts and actions. But, when it comes to the core essence, a cultivator and a mortal are one and the same. 

Only their interests and pursuits are different.

This also let Duncan know that the emotions he had weren't a hindrance to his cultivation. Rather, they are an integral part of him. Cultivation didn't mean severing emotions and living far away from the mortal world. It meant the pursuit of higher strength.

For that, the things Duncan does and thinks about will be different from mortals. That was the fundamental difference between them. But, in every other way, he wasn't that different from a mortal without cultivation.

He didn't know how others cultivated. But, Duncan knew what his cultivation was all about. This would help him escape from detours in the future. The lesser detours he took on his path to the top of the world, the earlier he would arrive there. Duncan knew that this bit of enlightenment was very timely and it would help him a lot in the future while making decisions.

When Duncan realized this, a bright smile bloomed on his face. His entire being felt free and there was a lightness in his heart. Taking a deep breath, Duncan felt the breeze softly brush his face. It felt very refreshing at this moment.

With a bright smile, Duncan walked forwards and stepped into the Starmist City with his travel-worn clothes. He didn't even mind the contemptuous look shot toward him by the guards. 

At this moment, nothing in the world could dampen his spirits…

*****

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