The power of Divine Myriad Changes
When Gaofeng felt that his progression slowed down, he carefully considered his next move. What he came to realize was that even though he was at the peak of the ninth stage, he could still improve within the body-strengthening realm without entering the qi-gathering realm. Even the greatest techniques of the Shangsheng clan, only annotated that there were a total of nine levels to each cultivation realm, but the Divine Myriad Changes actually described a total of eleven levels for each cultivation realm. The technique claimed that regular cultivation techniques indeed were restricted to nine levels, as the heavens wouldn't allow true perfection. This was because true perfection in cultivation created a potential of a being which could challenge even heaven itself, and thus heaven harshly restricted cultivation as to never have anyone reach the illusive perfect tenth level.
However, his technique actually had eleven levels per realm, rather than ten, and this acted as a way in which to go beyond even perfection, making the potential of the cultivator with such a technique be greater than the supposed absolute peak which could be achieved through cultivating each realm to perfection. The reason Divine Myriad Changes didn't have twelve or more levels for each realm, was because as long as one broke through the limit of absolute perfection, it couldn't be replicated. Meaning that even if one continued to cultivate to levels beyond eleven, it would actually have no impact on the person in question. This incredible potential of the Divine Myriad Changes was also the reason Gaofeng's cultivation had slowed down considerably. It would actually have been pretty simple for Gaofeng to directly enter the qi-gathering realm if he so desired, however what he was attempting to do was to go against heaven's laws by cultivating to absolute perfection, for so to breach the limit of absolute perfection and transcend.
The laws he were comprehending regarding body strengthening mainly revolved around how to use one's strength to the maximum potential, while also continuously increasing his bodily strength. Such laws were very basic, but also necessary for body cultivation. Gaofeng realized that he would have an easier time understanding such laws if he was moving in accordance with what he aimed to achieve, and thus he stood up at the bottom of the pool and started preforming the first move of the Yin-Yang Dragon Fist over and over, utilizing all of his power in each strike, and continuously alternating the hands he was using to perform the move. His understanding was increasing bit by bit as he grasped the essence of truly utilizing the complete potential of his body. Every muscle, from his tiniest muscles in his toes, to his gluteus maximus, to his taut biceps. He struck out with increasing force as his understanding increased, but at a certain point he met what felt like a steel barrier which disallowed any further improvement. Each time Gaofeng struck forward with increasing might, the next strike became more difficult, and a feeling of intense danger washed over him due this his strides towards the taboo of heaven.
Heaven was suppressing him, using its might to restrict his actions and to make sure that he wouldn't be able to break through to reach perfection. The metallic barrier was akin to a test from the grand dao, which would judge whether or not he truly reached the requirements to achieve great perfection. However, even heaven wasn't omnipotent, and could only utilize a fraction of its power to suppress a cultivator at the body-strengthening realm due to the laws which governed heaven. This power, however, was far above the strength of even a peak qi-gathering realm cultivator, and had thoroughly reached the initial level of the qi-refining realm. Such power was hundreds of times the amount even a great genius could handle, and thus was a near sure-fire way for the cultivator to fail their attempt at breaking through to the tenth level.
From the information Gaofeng had gleamed through his cultivation technique, he realized that he only had a single attempt at breaking through heaven's suppression and achieving perfection. If he was stopped at this stage, he would be deemed unworthy by the great dao and be forever unable to even attempt to break through to this level again. The mere suppression akin to the qi-refining realm, however, merely felt like the surrounding liquid was slightly more viscous, and didn't really hinder Gaofeng much at all. He continued striking out the Yin-Yang Dragon fist's first move, "Rebellion", and when he struck the metallic barrier, it disintegrated like a bread being turned back into flour. A second metallic barrier appeared, stronger than the last one, but this was similarly disintegrated with ease. How could barriers created to stop a body-strengthening cultivator possibly stop Gaofeng with his monstrous physique which could inflict damage on the level of a Dao Searching realm cultivator?
The third and fourth barriers were disintegrated in the same fashion, and Gaofeng continued striking out with every ounce of power his muscles could produce. He knew that no matter how weak these barriers were, he needed to utilize the entirety of his power to truly prove himself to the great dao. If he disintegrated these barriers without utilizing his full power, that would simply be disrespectful. Although Gaofeng didn't really care whether or not he was disrespectful, he still desired to gain the maximum benefit of this trial, as well as acclimating with his true power, which made him desire to unleash his full power. When Gaofeng disintegrated the tenth metallic barrier, the grand dao manifested around him, and he was baptized by its laws, making his usage of physical power truly reach perfection relative to his cultivation stage.
This baptism of laws was akin to being accepted by the grand dao and achieving the same quality as heaven itself. At this moment, Gaofeng got a feeling that it would be unwise to attempt to directly enter the 11th level of the body-strengthening stage, as he had gotten a slight premonition that this undertaking would carry with it grave danger even for his powerful body. Thus, after he had arrived at the peak of the 10th level due to the massive influx of spirit liquid in the pool, he instead decided to work on his divine techniques until he had adapted to his current strength.
Leaving the pool, Gaofeng headed to the cafeteria. The cafeteria utilized a self-serving system which was operated by intricate formations engraved on a large bulky machine. Unfortunately, this had to be the case on the 10th peak, as only incredibly talented cultivators were even allowed on the mountain. Hence there were no servants or other staff, and every chore was up to the cultivators themselves. However, there were special formations in every room which automatically cleaned the floors and every surface. Such inventions made the life of these cultivators very simple.
After Gaofeng had finished eating, he started heading towards the weapon's hall to begin working on his abilities and techniques, however he stopped halfway there when he heard an ancient sounding voice echoing between the walls. The authoritative voice clearly stated, "All new cultivators of the Holy Temple's tenth peak are required to come to the Discussion Hall." Gaofeng perked up at this statement, as he speculated that this was likely either the temple master or that elder senior brother of the tenth peak. No matter who it was, Gaofeng was curious about what the meeting was for. When looking at his map he realized that the Discussion Hall was right next to the Weapon Hall, and thus he easily found his way there.