Chapter 413: Comprehending the Dao
"So, it was because I took the 'Time Water' earlier that I briefly possessed the Power of Time?"
The feeling of seeing things as if in slow motion lasted for a full hour before disappearing.
Tian Lin felt somewhat dazed at the moment, after all, he had never experienced such a mystical sensation before.
Vaguely, he seemed to have a slight understanding of the Power of Time. But if asked to describe its mysteries, he found himself at a loss.
Fortunately, he still had the second piece of [Millennium Tree Root], and without much hesitation, Tian Lin directly stuffed the second piece into his mouth and chewed fervently.
The sweet juice once again flowed into his belly, but this time, the surrounding things did not appear to 'slow down' like before.
"Could it be that the second piece of the Millennium Tree Root doesn't contain Time Water?"
He quickly shook his head because the sweet juice was still flowing within his body, confirming that it was indeed Time Water.
Soon, Tian Lin's gaze shifted to the tea on the table.
He watched as the tea rapidly darkened in color and its Spiritual Energy began to vanish at a fast pace—
This cup of tea was not ordinary tea; after the tea leaves were steeped in spiritual water, they would exude rich Spiritual Energy.
But at that moment, the Spiritual Energy began to dissipate rapidly, and the tea leaves started to change color quickly—as if the tea had been left for too long and couldn't hold the Spiritual Energy. The tea leaves seemed to have been soaked multiple times, eventually turning from Spiritual Tea into ordinary tea.
Tian Lin faintly sensed something and raised his hand. A green pear fruit suddenly flew up in mid-air and landed automatically into Tian Lin's hand.
But as soon as the green pear fruit landed in his hand, it began to rot instantly.
In just a brief moment, the once plump and juicy green pear fruit turned into a smelly core in Tian Lin's hand.
Tian Lin had never heard of green pear fruit rotting, but the fruit in his hand was indeed decomposing.
"Is this also the Power of Time?"
Once the effects of the Time Water faded, the confusion in Tian Lin's heart deepened.
Even after consuming two pieces of [Millennium Tree Root], his understanding of time remained very vague.
The Dao gave him two opportunities, but both were missed. He wasn't able to grasp the Power of Time with the help of the Time Water.
But this was normal, as even a Divinity Transformation powerhouse wouldn't dare claim to fully grasp the Dao.
And what Nascent Soul Powerhouses referred to as cultivating the Dao was merely cultivating a Daoist Skill related to it under the Dao.
Tian Lin was currently only at the Golden Core Early Stage, unheard of for someone at this stage to grasp the Dao.
He didn't need to be so anxious, yet he felt somewhat unwilling.
After all, not everyone had the chance to drink Time Water. Who would want to miss such an opportunity when the Dao arrives?
"Trying to directly comprehend the Dao with my current cultivation and insights probably won't have much effect, no matter how much Time Water I drink."
Tian Lin pondered for a long time, abandoning the thought of becoming instantly enlightened.
He stored almost all of the [Millennium Tree Roots] into the Storage Bag, leaving only a small piece.
However, Tian Lin didn't consume the small piece immediately but placed it on a stone table beside him and began to comprehend his Seasonal Dao on his own.
His Seasonal Dao consumed twenty-four Dao Seeds, each representing a kind of Daoist Skill.
It's just a pity that the Daoist Skills demonstrated by a single Dao Seed were all rather weak and small in power.
"Actually, the Seasonal Dao is also the Time Dao—one year is called a 'year', and thirty days is called a 'month'! A year has twenty-four solar terms, so twenty-four solar terms represent a year."
"A year consists of four seasons, and the four seasons are made up of the twenty-four solar terms. So time can transition from spring to summer, summer to autumn, autumn to winter, and winter to spring!"
"Thus, the start of spring is one change, the start of summer is another, the start of autumn is yet another, and the start of winter is a further change!"
Tian Lin had an idea and took out a Cold Fragrance Leaf to chew on.
For comprehending Daoist Skills, the effect of the Cold Fragrance Leaf was somewhat lacking.
Yet, since it was 'Enlightenment Tea', no matter how lacking it was, it still had some effect in aiding comprehension.
"So a single solar term is a Daoist Skill, and the transition between two solar terms is another Daoist Skill. The former is the Seasonal Dao, whereas the latter involves the Power of Time brought about by the transition of seasons."
Finding the effect of the Cold Fragrance Leaf not good enough, Tian Lin stuffed a piece of [Millennium Tree Root] into his mouth.
The Time Water began to flow in his body once again, but this time there were no earlier effects like 'slow motion' or causing other things to age.
Yet Tian Lin was not anxious; instead, he stood up and, with a wave of his hand, the core of the green pear fruit on the stone table started to sprout.
With another wave, it even rained inside the cave mansion, and the spring sprouts began to accelerate their growth.
"This is the Start of Spring and Rain Water—only with my current strength, I can only alternate between two solar terms momentarily!"
The rain in the cave accumulated more and more, quickly soaking everything in the cave. The water flowed from the cave to the outside just as Elder Mei was returning.
He entered the cave, casting a surprised glance at Tian Lin and exchanged a look with Tang Zhi beside him.
At this moment, Elder Mei once again harbored murderous intent towards Tang Zhi!
Not for any other reason, but because Tian Lin's displayed talent for understanding the Dao was truly exceptional, provoking envy in those who witnessed it!
While Elder Mei did not harbor envy towards Tian Lin, it was different for Tang Zhi.
There was a grudge between Tang Zhi and Tian Lin, and Elder Mei feared that seeing Tian Lin's displayed talent, Tang Zhi might be motivated to eradicate this problem.
Thus, at this moment, Elder Mei also developed the notion of wiping out Tang Zhi completely—
But Elder Mei was cautious because he didn't have a legitimate reason to act against Tang Zhi.
Even if there was a legitimate reason, such an action would provoke dissatisfaction across the entire Wenda Sect. By then, he might not be able to protect Tian Lin and Mei Xianfu.
People might not be able to do anything to him, but couldn't they target his juniors? Unless he could ensure Tian Lin and Mei Xianfu stayed within the Goddess Sect forever without venturing out—
But for a Golden Core to advance to the Nascent Soul Realm, staying within the sect isn't feasible.
"Tian Lin greets both elders!"
Immersed in casting spells, Tian Lin somewhat lost himself, only coming to his senses after Tang Zhi and Elder Mei had entered the cave mansion for an hour.
Also, because of his earlier spellcasting, the True Qi within his body was almost completely exhausted.
However, these were minor issues, and the fact that Tian Lin gained something from his comprehension was already a delightful achievement.
He spoke with a light tone and seemed a bit embarrassed: "I got a bit carried away and turned a perfectly good cave mansion into a mess, causing both elders to laugh."
Elder Mei didn't say a word; he raised his hand and gathered the water from the cave mansion into a ball, then squeezed it.
With a 'pop' sound, the water ball instantly vanished.
In an instant, the cave mansion became exceptionally dry again.
While Elder Mei was clearing away the water stains, Tang Zhi kept nodding and said:
"Previously, I might not have dared to say I had complete confidence. Seeing Tian Lin's talent now, I am fully confident in getting the sect to recognize Tian Lin's True Disciple status."
Elder Mei squinted at Tang Zhi and asked, "Will this make things difficult for you?"
Tang Zhi responded, "Although Elder Yu is not in the sect, by rules, he should have a quota for a True Disciple within the sect. And the Wenda Sect only has Tian Lin as a disciple in the sect—so what's the difficulty?"