Sand grains swirled.

The dry winter sand pelted the SUV's windows, the rolling snow dust coalescing into a mist... The road conditions were terrible, but thanks to the deep-sea navigation system, the vehicle could still pinpoint the correct direction with precision.

Potholes riddled the road.

The car bounced back and forth.

Da Du was eight thousand *li* from Nagano.

By private jet, the journey would take only half a day.

But by car, even taking the fastest route... it would take thirty hours.

This time, they hadn't taken the private jet... at Tsuka Oni's insistence.

The guy was willing to go to Nagano, but he flatly refused to fly, insisting on driving, and he gave a reason Gu Shen and the others couldn't refuse.

Every plane Tsuka Oni had ever been on... had crashed.

A vehicle killer?

Given this guy's "cursed" reputation with the Goddess of Fate, Gu Nanfeng decided to forgo the aerial route and travel by land instead.

……

……

Leaving Da Du's main urban area, they gradually entered a desolate, uninhabited zone.

So far, so good.

Gu Nanfeng sat in the driver's seat, slightly lowering the window beside him, but not a single grain of sand entered through the gap.

Because he had unleashed his "Lan Qie" (Wind Cut).

The sand grains were stirred by a gentle breeze, each one distinctly suspended beside the vehicle, as if drawn by an invisible force, forming a slender sand whirlwind that coiled around the car.

In the passenger seat, Lu Nanjin tried to mimic the same technique... but she fell short. Blocking the sand wasn't difficult, but capturing every single grain that brushed past the car with such precision was exponentially more challenging.

From the other side, sand grains swirled around Lu Nanjin's side as well, but they couldn't coalesce into a defined shape.

"Mastering one's extraordinary abilities requires exploration... Although the Deep Sea provides a systematic training algorithm, even without the assistance of the Deep Zone, one can still continue to develop on their own."

Gu Nanfeng multi-tasked, speaking calmly, "In the Northern Continent, many people aren't connected to the 'Deep Sea.' They don't undergo extraordinary trials in the Deep Zone, nor do they seek the help of the super-brain to break through their bottlenecks... This method is called 'Penetration Cultivation.'"

"Penetration Cultivation?"

Gu Shen, who had been meditating in the back seat, woke up from his Jingzhe Breathing Technique.

"Suppose... there's a technology that can swap two people's souls." Gu Nanfeng answered obliquely, "If my soul and Lu Nanjin's were swapped... What would happen after our bodies were exchanged?"

Tsuka Oni, who had been dozing with his eyes closed, suddenly perked up, but he only managed a creepy chuckle before hearing the sheath of the blade in Lu Nanjin's arms vibrate, and he wisely swallowed his laughter.

Gu Shen frowned, deep in thought.

Coincidentally, both of them possessed the "Lan Qie" ability, but one had cultivated it to a state of great accomplishment, while the other was probably hovering around the eighth or ninth layer of the Deep Sea.

"Cultivating the extraordinary... The spirit and the flesh need to be matched, but which is more important?" Gu Nanfeng changed his approach, "If our bodies were exchanged, and she and I fought again, who would win?"

"You."

This time, Lu Nanjin spoke.

Gu Shen vaguely understood.

Even if the bodies were exchanged, the spirit, the memories, and the insights would remain unchanged... Gu Nanfeng could still perfectly control "Lan Qie," he would still be in the "great accomplishment" realm. Limited by the lower realm of the physical body, his strength would be affected, and he could only unleash a certain amount of destructive power.

But Nanjin *Shijie's* spirit would be completely unable to reach the container height of the "twelfth layer." Even with a body, she wouldn't be able to unleash the power of the great accomplishment Lan Qie.

"'Penetration Cultivation' is about transforming the spirit, the insights, into bodily memories, permeating every cell." Gu Nanfeng said quietly, "Even if one stops thinking, the body possesses extraordinary perception. Extraordinary individuals tempered under this cultivation method... are natural-born warriors."

"You can say that the Northern Continent's cultivation methods are backward, but their combat abilities are very strong."

Gu Nanfeng said earnestly, "In recent years, the Central Continent's academic schools have led the cultivation trend in the extraordinary world... Everyone is undergoing trials in the Deep Zone. It's true that it allows for rapid advancement, but it's easy to turn oneself into a hothouse flower."

He paused.

He laughed, "I'm not saying that the adjudicators of the Tribunal are hothouse flowers... The Eastern Continent Tribunal's way of nurturing newcomers is through a large number of missions and life-or-death combat, which is somewhat like a combination of the Central Continent's academic school and the Northern Continent's penetration method."

"Think about it again, a long time ago, before the Deep Sea was created by Alan Turing... How did the powerful extraordinary individuals of the Five Continents Council cultivate back then?"

Including Tsuka Oni.

All three people in the car fell into deep thought.

Groping in the dark, one person holding a lamp, the other groping completely in the dark... Undoubtedly, the latter's rate of progress would be much slower, but if the two reached the same point, because the process was difficult and they encountered countless setbacks, the latter's experience would be richer.

And later.

When there was no light... The latter still summarized their own "experience."

The former, on the other hand, suddenly lost the lamp.

The Deep Sea... is that lamp!

"That's why... the Deep Zone is only open to the twelfth layer now." Gu Nanfeng said seriously, "It's not because the end of extraordinary cultivation is the twelfth layer, but because the Deep Sea's computing power can only reach this step. Those titled individuals beyond the twelfth layer will no longer be able to rely on the Deep Sea to advance their cultivation."

"Perhaps many years later, the Deep Sea's computing power can take another step, and the overall strength of the extraordinary individuals can also take another step. But for now... this lamp can't help you reach the end."

Gu Nanfeng lowered his eyes and smiled somewhat mockingly, "Besides... the end of this road is really too far away."

Having seen the God Seat, one would understand.

If there really is an end to extraordinary cultivation... then they should be the so-called end.

He didn't believe that developing the Deep Sea to its limit could produce a Deep Zone algorithm that allowed one to "reach the God Seat."

"So... If you want to become stronger, you need to discard the idea of relying on external objects as soon as possible..."

Gu Nanfeng had just opened his mouth, but before he could finish his sentence.

There was a "bang!"

The SUV's tire seemed to make a muffled sound, as if it had run over something. The car briefly levitated for a moment, then landed heavily. As the electronic system alarms went off, Gu Nanfeng frowned, sharply turned the steering wheel, and the sand whirlwind that coiled around the vehicle instantly scattered, propping up the chassis.

After landing, the vehicle lost its direction, but with the assistance of "Lan Qie," it finally came to a slow stop.