When a person is completely absorbed in something, they become oblivious to the passage of time.
Yang Kai had entered the Cosmos Temple to enter seclusion and fathom its mysteries, using them as a mirror to reflect his own insights into the Dao of Space. Far from finding any part of it tedious, he was genuinely enjoying himself.
The Cosmos Temple truly deserved its reputation as an extraordinarily ancient creation. The Cosmos Grand Array was profoundly intricate and wondrous, with countless novel aspects that never failed to catch Yang Kai's eye. Each revelation led to further understanding, gradually elevating his mastery over the Dao of Space.
It took a full five years for Yang Kai to barely complete his survey of the entire Cosmos Grand Array. He identified numerous damaged sections — these were the array's gaps and deficiencies, and only after calculating and repairing them could the array be restored to its former glory.
The mental exertion required for the calculations was no small matter. Yang Kai poured every ounce of his energy and intellect into the work, and with each obstacle he overcame, his mastery of the Dao of Space advanced another notch.
However, no matter how much he enjoyed the process, spending one's days in such monotonous labor was still immensely taxing and unbearably lonely. Without a sufficiently resolute heart, one would likely go mad.
So from time to time, Yang Kai would emerge from seclusion for a brief rest. A balance of work and rest, of tension and relaxation — only then could one work with greater efficiency.
Each time he came out, the golden-armored Sixth-Order Open Heaven general from Great Battle Heaven would appear before him immediately, presumably fearing he might have some need. But the man was a taciturn sort who wouldn't say a word if you poked him with a stick. In the beginning, Yang Kai still tried to strike up a conversation, but without exception received no response whatsoever.
After a while, he stopped expecting any. Sometimes, in a talkative mood, he would simply mutter to himself; other times he would wander through the desolate Cosmos Temple on his own, the golden-armued general following a step behind like a servant. On occasion, he would send the man to fetch fine wine and food, then sit and drink alone.
The golden-armued general never complained. No matter what Yang Kai requested, he carried it out to the letter. At first Yang Kai felt somewhat embarrassed, worrying he was being too much trouble, but eventually he grew comfortable with it.
This time, upon emerging from seclusion, Yang Kai had him prepare a full table of wine and dishes.
Right in front of the great hall of the Cosmos Temple, Yang Kai casually grabbed a stone block to sit on and poured himself drink after drink. The golden-armued general stood nearby, spine straight as a spear, gaze fixed straight ahead.
After a few drinks, Yang Kai's spirits were high. He muttered to himself: "Five years of surveying and I found 1,135 flaws. Two more years of calculations and I've only repaired seven. At this rate, fully restoring the Cosmos Grand Array here would take at least a hundred years."
A hundred years... neither long nor short. More than enough for an ordinary mortal to live out an entire unremarkable life, but for an Open Heaven realm cultivator, it was nothing more than the snap of a finger.
"Brother Jin!" Yang Kai looked up toward the golden-armued general. He didn't actually know the man's name, so he'd simply assigned him a surname on the spot. The general never objected, so it had stuck ever since. "I'm afraid I'll have to trouble you to stay here a while longer. But don't worry — a hundred years is just the normal pace of calculation. The first section took me six months, the second only five months, the third four. It'll only keep getting faster from here. It might not take nearly as long as I said."
Brother Jin remained silent as always, as expected.
Yang Kai drained the last of his wine, patted his backside as he stood, and turned to head back inside the hall. "I'll get back to it. You rest up."
"Why don't you go take a look at the other Cosmos Temples?"
A stranger's voice came from behind.
Yang Kai turned his head, staring at the golden-armued general in complete astonishment, looking him up and down so hard his eyes nearly bulged from their sockets.
A long moment passed before he broke into an amused laugh. "So it's not Brother Jin — it's Senior Sister Jin!"
Only now, with the golden-armued general actually speaking, did Yang Kai realize the person he'd assumed was a man was in fact a woman. Moreover, her voice was crisp and melodious — genuinely pleasant to the ear.
A woman with such a lovely voice was almost certainly no plain sight.
But in all their time together, she had never uttered a word. Clad in that golden armor, with a commanding and imposing figure, Yang Kai had simply assumed from the outset that she could never be a woman.
After a moment of surprise, Yang Kai slowly shook his head. "I understand what you're getting at, Senior Sister. In the Three Thousand Worlds, several Cosmos Temples have fallen into disrepair and are no longer usable. The damaged sections at those other temples won't all be identical to this one's. If I went to check the others, I might find solutions without having to exhaust myself with all this calculation — since what's broken here might be intact elsewhere."
"But if that's the case, why not just find a completely intact Cosmos Temple and study it thoroughly? That way, I'd have a clear reference for every damaged section and a straightforward solution for each."
Senior Sister Jin said nothing.
Yang Kai continued: "The reason I don't do that is because without working through the calculations myself, it would be meaningless. Blindly following the ancients is nothing more than walking someone else's path. What you figure out through your own reasoning is what truly belongs to you." He tapped his own temple, and his gaze drifted involuntarily toward Senior Sister Jin's chest.
*Shing!* Cold light erupted as the sword at Senior Sister Jin's waist was half-drawn from its sheath.
Yang Kai shrank his neck and ducked headlong into the Cosmos Temple. His voice drifted out from within, faint and airy: "Thank you for the fine wine, Senior Sister. Next time I come out of seclusion, I'll probably need you to prepare some repair materials for me!"