Chapter 140 Comprehending the Mysterious Ice Monument

Not far from Liu Pan stood a middle-aged man at the peak of the Martial Master realm. Initially, he had no intention of paying attention to Liu Pan. However, after Liu Pan emitted a trace of the pressure belonging to the Martial Monarch realm, the man's expression changed instantly. Wearing a wide, smiling face, he spoke up, "You must be visiting this place for the very first time, Senior Brother?"

"What happened just now is actually nothing special. It occurs quite often when comprehending the Profound Ice Monument, and you will get used to it in time."

"As for the details, Senior Brother will naturally understand once you try to comprehend the Profound Ice Monument yourself. Under such a temptation, absolutely no one can resist it."

The middle-aged man did not go into great detail, but the implication of his words was crystal clear: the root of everything lay within the Profound Ice Monument.

Liu Pan's eyes flickered. He looked the middle-aged man up and down and said, "Judging by your appearance, you must have been staying here for quite a while. I heard that the Profound Ice Art originates from the Profound Ice Monument, which means the complete Profound Ice Art can be comprehended from it. Is this rumor true or false? Having stayed here for so long, have you ever seen anyone successfully comprehend the complete Profound Ice Art?"

"A complete one? I haven't seen anyone achieve that, but there were indeed people who managed to comprehend the seventh and eighth layers." As the middle-aged man spoke, he turned his head to look ahead, then lowered his voice and gestured with his chin. "See? That man in black sitting in the front row close to the Profound Ice Monument is the one who comprehended the eighth layer. Right now, he is trying to comprehend the ninth layer, though I estimate he has very little hope. His complexion is even worse than those two previous cultivators who had comprehended the eighth layer of the cultivation technique; I'm afraid he won't last more than a few days."

Following the middle-aged man's gesture, Liu Pan spotted the man in black. Indeed, the man's complexion was extremely pale, his brow furrowed, and a faint bluish-black tint was clearly visible—truly abnormal.

However, although the man's complexion was dreadful, the fluctuations faintly emanating from his body were astonishing. It seemed he had reached the peak of the Martial Emperor realm, and a single step further would elevate him into a mighty Martial Ancestor capable of dominating a spatial realm.

Looking past the man in black, Liu Pan swept his gaze across the faces of the others and noticed for the first time that many of them had unnatural complexions, most bearing that same faint bluish-black tint between their brows.

Based on the implications of the middle-aged man's words, Liu Pan understood that the depth of this bluish-black hue should correspond to how deeply an individual had comprehended the Profound Ice Monument.

What kind of situation was this?

Liu Pan frowned, looking up and down at the Profound Ice Monument with a strange look surging in his eyes.

Back when he first saw the structural map of the Sky Frost Sect, Liu Pan had already sensed something amiss regarding the Profound Ice Monument. When he saw someone instantly brushing off the temptation of the monument, his judgment was further confirmed. Now, he still felt that there was a problem with the Profound Ice Monument, except that...

After pondering for a moment, Liu Pan closed his eyes, preparing to try comprehending the Profound Ice Monument himself.

Since it was confirmed that some people had indeed comprehended the seventh and eighth layers of the Profound Ice Art, he had to give it a try even if he knew the monument was problematic. He did not want to miss the opportunity to potentially acquire the subsequent stages of the Profound Ice Art.

A desolate aura rushed toward his face. The moment he concentrated slightly, Liu Pan sensed an abstruse aura appearing within his perception. Needless to ask, the source of this abstruse aura was none other than the Profound Ice Monument.

Since he had already decided to comprehend it, Liu Pan naturally hesitated no longer. He immediately settled his mind and began to fathom this abstruse aura.

Soon, Liu Pan raised an eyebrow, finally understanding why the middle-aged man had said that it was utterly impossible for anyone to resist such a temptation.

This was a form of realization—an enlightenment regarding the Profound Ice Art.

In the cultivation world, the exact same cultivation technique would yield different effects when practiced by different cultivators. The reason for this lay in the fact that a cultivator's mindset, aptitude, spiritual roots, and physical constitution could never be entirely identical.

Because of these differences, disparities in strength arose.

Factors such as spiritual roots and physical constitution were fixed and practically immutable. Therefore, in order to grow stronger, the only breakthrough lay in altering a cultivator's comprehension of various aspects of the technique.

In this way, by adjusting the minute details of how the technique circulated within the body based on their understanding, refining the circulation of the technique, cultivators could display the maximum strength they were capable of achieving.

However, altering one's understanding of a technique sounded simple, and executing it was also moderately straightforward, but the crucial prerequisite was having guidance from someone more knowledgeable.

As the saying goes: Those who achieve mastery first are teachers. The longer one cultivated and the more complete the cultivation technique mastered, the more thorough one's understanding of the technique tended to be.

Most people who had practiced the Profound Ice Art could perceive its extraordinary nature. However, the outside world only possessed the cultivation methods up to the sixth layer, and guidance could only extend that far. To advance any further, unless a subsequent technique appeared, it was simply impossible.

The reason why the Profound Ice Monument was so irresistible was precisely because the abstruse aura it emitted contained insights into the Profound Ice Art. As for the techniques beyond the sixth layer of the Profound Ice Art, they were likely deduced in reverse from this very insight.

Suppressing the churning thoughts in his mind, Liu Pan immersed himself entirely in the comprehension of the Profound Ice Monument.

The first layer...

With a mental command, Liu Pan quickly constructed a diagram of the human meridians in his mind, then followed the guidance within the comprehension to begin simulating the circulation of the Profound Ice Art.

From the main pathways down to the minute branches, and finally to the microscopic capillaries. As the time spent on comprehension increased, Liu Pan felt a growing sense of astonishment; he had never imagined that anyone could comprehend the Profound Ice Art to such a profound degree.

Without the slightest exaggeration, the aura emitted by the Profound Ice Monument contained the very spirit and charm of the Profound Ice Art!

As for cultivation techniques, only when cultivated to a certain realm would they possess their own unique spiritual charm. Although Liu Pan had practiced the Profound Ice Art and his innate comprehension was not low, up until now, the Profound Ice Art within his body lacked the slightest trace of spiritual charm. To put it bluntly, it had merely been circulating in a rigid and mechanical manner, failing to be applied with fluidity and life.

"Indeed, it is irresistible."

Liu Pan sighed. The circulation of the first layer of the Profound Ice Art inside his body shifted rapidly, and within a short moment, he had fully integrated this insight.

And the very moment this insight was completely assimilated, Liu Pan's body trembled slightly, and his cultivation realm broke through from the peak of the third-tier Martial Monarch to the fourth-tier Martial Monarch.

Over the next three days, apart from visiting the Sky Frost Sect's cafeteria for three meals a day, Liu Pan spent almost all of his time immersed in the comprehension of the Profound Ice Monument.

In just three days, his comprehension of the Profound Ice Art had reached the sixth layer. Such a speed was something even Liu Pan himself found hard to believe.

Yet upon further reflection, Liu Pan grew calm. Because it had always been like this; in his eyes, the study and comprehension of cultivation techniques in this world were simply absurdly easy.

Perhaps this was related to the fact that he had read countless fantasy novels and understood far too many cultivation techniques depicted within them.

Regarding the comprehension of the Profound Ice Art on the Profound Ice Monument, every time he mastered another layer of the technique and integrated it into his own practice, Liu Pan's strength would advance a step further. Although his cultivation realm remained at the fourth-tier Martial Monarch level, Liu Pan knew clearly that he could no longer be compared to his former self.

Finally, the comprehension of the sixth layer technique was fully integrated into Liu Pan's body. However, Liu Pan did not stop there, for he could clearly sense the insights for the seventh layer of the Profound Ice Art...

*(I have arrived at the destination. Looking for a job today took up a lot of time, and I am truly sorry. I will strive to update stably from now on. Thank you all for your support.)*