Li Yao stood amidst the devastation, the dissipating energy of his techniques still clinging to the air. He was cloaked in the residual divine light, his form a silhouette of controlled power. For two months, he had practiced the Blazing Sun Divine Radiance and Shield without the Heavenly Book's direct aid. The process was iterative and manual—analyzing energy flow patterns, optimizing activation sequences, and calibrating output.
The differential in efficiency was notable. The Book provided instant, perfect comprehension. Manual practice yielded slower, but self-derived, understanding. This was not a detriment but a necessary parallel process. The Heavenly Book was a compiler for supreme-level code (scriptures), but mastering the application of compiled subroutines (divine arts) required hands-on debugging and optimization. He could not afford to be a theorist without practical skill.
Result: Combat protocols were now operational at an acceptable efficiency rating for his realm. Engaging his past self would be a swift, decisive termination.
Cultivation was the core operating system, but combat power was the necessary application suite. In the operational environment of Zhetian, will and temperament were defensive and offensive firewalls, built upon demonstrated capability. He would not become a statistical outlier of a higher-realm cultivator defeated by a lower-realm one.
He returned to his courtyard and resumed the long-term project: Weapon Forging.
Within his Bitter Sea, the forty-nine Divine Runes had been painstakingly woven into the crude, abstract form of a furnace. It had a tripod base, a rounded body, two side handles, and a lid. It was featureless, lacking patterns or Daoist runes—a wireframe model awaiting detailed rendering. This was the foundational layer. Completion was a function of time and the infusion of insights from future realms.
The primary objective, however, was now within reach. Two months had passed. His resource stockpile, combined with the monthly stipends and the Heavenly Book's passive absorption (estimated equivalent to ~300 jin of Pure Source), had reached the threshold.
He had deliberately paused active scripture cultivation for sixty-three days. The undeduced Great Sage-level Yao Guang Scripture was more than sufficient for dominance in the Eastern Wilderness. But sufficiency was not optimality. The gap between a Great Sage scripture and an Emperor-level one was a chasm in foundational quality. He had calculated the delay as a worthwhile investment for a superior base architecture.
Now, the investment was ready to mature.
He released his stockpile of Pure Source into the room. The ambient energy density spiked dramatically, a localized surge of potential. With a thought, he activated the Heavenly Book's active absorption protocol.
The Book, already primed by months of passive absorption and enriched by the profound comprehension he had gained from realm consolidation and technique practice, responded.
Whoosh.
Its second page turned. It did not consume the raw Source in a crude sense. Instead, it used the released energy as a catalytic medium and a power source, while the true fuel was the accumulated depth of his understanding of the Life Spring Realm's Dao principles. The vast energy in the room swirled, was filtered and directed by the Book, and illuminated the page segment by segment in a brilliant, logical progression.
As the last of the catalytic Source was expended, the second page was fully active, charged and ready.
Li Yao's consciousness became the input mechanism. The non-deduced "Yao Guang Scripture Life Spring Chapter" in his memory was inscribed onto the page.
The deduction was instantaneous and silent. A new data packet was generated: the perfected, evolved Life Spring Chapter. It was imprinted directly into his sea of consciousness. He did not "comprehend" it; he integrated it, as one would install a finalized software update. The logic was flawless, the pathways optimal.
He initiated the new cultivation cycle.
The effect was immediate and systemic. The essence he had abstained from actively cultivating for two months—along with the vast environmental energy now present—had created a potential gradient. With the new, ultra-efficient scripture as the conduit, this potential was actualized.
His divine power surged on an optimized curve. His organs and bones resonated at a higher purity frequency. His Bitter Sea, previously stabilized, began a new phase of controlled expansion. At its center, the Life Spring—now circulating energy according to the perfected scripture—pulsed with increased vigor, its connection to the Wheel of Life more efficient, releasing purer strands of vital force.
He absorbed a piece of Pure Source as a test. The process was several times faster than during the Bitter Sea stage. System throughput had increased as predicted.
He concluded the initial integration phase. Diagnostic results: Life Spring capacity and output had increased by approximately 20%. The two-month accumulation of "idle" essence in his tissues had been efficiently converted, resulting in a significant initial power boost.
The strategic delay was vindicated. He now operated on a superior version of the Yao Guang Scripture's Life Spring chapter. The foundation for this realm was now as peerless as his Bitter Sea foundation.
The loop continued: Patience → Accumulation → Deduction → Quantum Leap in Efficiency. The Heavenly Book was not a shortcut to avoid work; it was a process that transformed deep, patient preparation into exponential returns on investment. The next phase of rapid advancement could now begin from a maximized starting point.