Chapter 197

197. Chapter 194: The Great Universe Art

This was Ding Huan's third month at Zangjian Mountain.

During the first two months, he barely ate or drank, relying solely on celestial qi, yet he did not grow noticeably thinner.

Each time he connected with the vast universe through Zangjian Mountain's cosmic vortex and deduced a new Zhou Tian circulation path.

The qi from the Zhan Shen crystals surrounding him and the Zhan Shen vein beneath him was swiftly drained.

Whenever a meridian in his body merged with the vast starry sky he had constructed to form a Zhou Tian, he continued searching for the next meridian's Zhou Tian pathway.

Ding Huan did not know how others created cultivation arts; in his knowledge system,

as a Dao body, a human had no useless meridians or useless acupoints during cultivation.

Every meridian he discovered could form a complete Zhou Tian, and all Zhou Tians must repeatedly cover every acupoint in the body.

The seventieth meridian's Zhou Tian…

The eightieth meridian's Zhou Tian…

After the third month passed, Ding Huan had already constructed ninety-nine meridian Zhou Tian circulations.

Once these meridians activated their Zhou Tian, each one fused seamlessly with the vast starry sky he had constructed, operating perfectly within his own great universe.

After the fourth month passed, Ding Huan still had only constructed ninety-nine meridian Zhou Tian circulations.

No matter how hard he tried, he could not find the hundredth meridian's circulation method.

Ding Huan possessed abundant cultivation knowledge and a complete cultivation system; he knew clearly that the number of meridians one could connect with in cultivation could never be limited to just one hundred.

According to the Heavenly Gang and Earthly Sha count, there should be one hundred and eight meridians.

As the fifth month neared its end and Ding Huan still could not find the hundredth meridian, he stopped obsessing over it.

Just as he had once been unable to establish his Foundation, sometimes he might be right—but what was right now did not guarantee it would be right in the future.

A cultivation art based on a hundred meridian pathways was undoubtedly countless times stronger than the Luo Shi Jing.

Feeling the cultivation art he had deduced but had not yet begun to practice, feeling each clear Zhou Tian pathway.

At this moment, Ding Huan felt as if his body had become the embryo of the universe—his meridians were the origins of galaxies, galaxies forming a vast starry sky, and a speck of star dust, nearly imperceptible, was born beneath this boundless cosmos…

Each Zhou Tian circulation resembled the flow of cosmic galaxies, seamlessly connecting with external laws, then returning infinite primordial qi back to himself.

Ding Huan let out a triumphant roar—this moment, he was the universe.

He opened his eyes; his current cultivation level was barely that of a Level Seven Gene Warrior.

Yet he could not help but be exhilarated—only now had he found his direction.

He took his body as the universe, his form as the boundless, his meridians as galaxies, and a single speck of star dust as the origin of the Dao, creating his own Great Dao.

Though far from completing his Great Dao—even perhaps never completing it—

though he had only discovered ninety-nine meridian Zhou Tian pathways,

he had taken this first step, meaning he now held infinite possibilities.

Whether his Great Dao would ever form, whether he could truly forge a unique cultivation path starting from a single speck of star dust—he would never regret it.

He glanced at the Zhan Shen vein beneath him; it had shrunk by half due to his creation of the art. The ten thousand Zhan Shen crystals around him had also shrunk by a third.

Ding Huan was deeply relieved—he had brought enough Zhan Shen crystals, or he could never have created his own art.

Having created his own cultivation art, Ding Huan did not immediately begin practicing; instead, he recalled his psychological journey and creative process over the past few years.

From Earth to the Four Directions Starland, then seeking answers among the stars, arriving at Xifeng City, entering the small courtyard to meditate in seclusion, and finally attaining Dao at Zangjian Mountain…

One day later, Ding Huan fully regained his usual calm.

It was time to begin cultivation.

Ding Huan stared at the cosmic vortex before him, took a deep breath, and activated his unique art, beginning his first Zhou Tian circulation.

Before the first Zhou Tian even completed, Ding Huan was stunned by the terrifying speed at which it absorbed celestial primordial qi.

Infinite qi was sucked away like a whale drinking water; his cultivation level plummeted even faster.

When he created the art, his level had already dropped from Level Nine Gene Warrior to Level Seven Gene Warrior.

Now, as he began practicing, his level plunged wildly.

Level Six Gene Warrior, Level Five…

After a month, Ding Huan was forced to eat something.

He felt his true qi had not diminished—indeed, it had become even more refined—but his Level Nine Gene Warrior realm had vanished entirely.

He was now a mortal possessing the power of a Level Nine Gene Warrior.

As he began practicing the new art again, Ding Huan felt uneasy.

He had no cultivation left—surely it wouldn't drop further?

In just one day, Ding Huan joyfully discovered he had once again entered Level One Gene…

No, he should no longer be called a Gene Warrior—he had condensed his first personal star dust.

As he continued practicing, the number of star dust he condensed grew steadily.

Ding Huan fully immersed himself in this exhilarating cultivation.

He clearly understood in his mind: the more star dust he condensed, the closer he drew to Foundation Establishment.

In just one month, Ding Huan felt a vast cluster of star dust gathering in his dantian.

These star dust were the foundation of his Dao of the Universe.

The next step was to condense a star cloud—the ordinary term for Foundation Establishment.

Without hesitation, Ding Huan reached into his Star House and pulled out Seven Fangs of Suqing Grass.

According to conventional cultivation principles, Seven Fangs of Suqing Grass was merely one of the main ingredients for a Foundation Establishment Pill, requiring other herbs to be refined into a pill to produce a clear effect.

Ding Huan chose not to do this.

His Dao was utterly unlike ordinary Dao—since he fused his gene spirit root, his path had been destined to be unconventional.

To follow in the footsteps of those immortal gods, one cannot walk the ordinary path, for the ordinary path has long been trodden bare.

Nor can one build a Dao foundation that can cap his height at any moment.

He must have a Dao technique that constantly strengthens his Dao foundation.

During cultivation, one absorbs Spiritual Qi; absorbing Spiritual Qi enhances one's strength, but cannot strengthen the Dao foundation.

Thus, in creating his own Dao technique, Ding Huan spent nearly one or two months integrating genetic theory into the Zhou Tian Star System.

His goal was to absorb the required genes during Zhou Tian practice to strengthen his Dao foundation.

Now he was deep within the Sword-Storage Mountain, surrounded by nothing but toxic mist.

The toxic mist had its own unique genes; while he cultivated and enhanced his strength, the mist's genes likewise strengthened his Dao foundation.

Now he took out Seven-Tooth Green-Shaping Grass—he needed neither refine it into a Foundation Establishment Pill nor ingest it.

He only had to place it beside him; as he activated his technique, the genes within Seven-Tooth Green-Shaping Grass beneficial to his Dao foundation would be drawn in and become part of his Dao foundation.

This reversal-of-nature method—even if someone thought of it, they could not accomplish it.

They lacked such profound knowledge reserves; this required not only mastery of Dao cultivation knowledge, but also deep comprehension of the vast universe's life genes.

Even if one possessed all these, to create such a technique, one needed a will as resolute as Ding Huan's—to seek the footsteps of immortal gods—and a soul-deep awakening to life's truth from a cycle of reincarnation.

The genes of Seven-Tooth Green-Shaping Grass were swiftly drawn in; Ding Huan's inner stardust began to condense.

Days passed; the Star-Spark Crystals around Ding Huan grew fewer, and the Star-Spark Crystal vein beneath him shrank.

Yet Ding Huan's aura grew ever more formidable.

Boom! As a resonant sound erupted from Ding Huan's dantian, a cloud-like nebula, smooth as jade, now floated within his dantian.

Ding Huan's spiritual sense swept outward; the next instant, the entire hundred-li radius of the Sword-Storage Mountain appeared within his spiritual sense.

Ding Huan did not know how strong a True Core cultivator's spiritual sense was, but he vaguely felt that even a True Core cultivator's spiritual sense would not surpass his.

No, it was definitely weaker.

If he wished, his spiritual sense within the Sword-Storage Mountain could reach even farther; once he left the Sword-Storage Mountain, his spiritual range would multiply many times over.

Now that he had forged the Nebula foundation, he finally had some real capital.

Indeed, the Dao has three thousand paths; as long as it suits oneself, each person can carve out their own perfect path.

His path was utterly unlike that of ordinary cultivators, yet it suited Ding Huan perfectly.

Ding Huan stood up, thoroughly satisfied.

Only ten thousand Star-Spark Crystals remained; the Star-Spark Crystal vein still had a bit more than one zhang left.

These portions were consumed by his technique derivation and by his advancement to the Nebula stage.

Around the rock lay pools of toxic fluid.

This was the result of his cultivation—he had absorbed the Sword-Storage Mountain's toxic mist and directly separated its Spiritual Qi from its toxic fluid.

From now on, even if he lived permanently in the Sword-Storage Mountain, he would fear no toxic mist here.

Ding Huan felt deeply moved; his plan to establish his Foundation in West Wind City had been completed far more perfectly than he had imagined.

Gazing at the starry vortex before him, Ding Huan felt a surge of relief.

Fortunately he had found this place; had he truly been lost in the boundless cosmos, he might never have created a Dao technique so perfectly suited to himself.

Perhaps this was what was meant by: "You cannot see the true face of Mount Lu, because you are within its mountains."

To comprehend the truth of the universe, perhaps one must stand at its edge and observe its grand operation—not be trapped within it.

Before returning, he must name his technique.

When he created this technique, he had treated himself as the universe, absorbing all Spiritual Qi and genes from the vast cosmos to continually perfect his own universe.

He must give it a spectacular name…

His Great Computation Art was already spectacular.

Ding Huan's inspiration struck suddenly; his spirits soared:

"From today on, the technique I, Ding Huan, have created shall be called the Great Cosmos Art."

"Boom!"

Almost the instant Ding Huan spoke the words "Great Cosmos Art," a thunderclap exploded above his head.

Ding Huan's scalp prickled—he felt himself locked onto by the thunderclap.

For the first time, Ding Huan frantically surged all his True Qi outward; luckily, he escaped the giant rock.

Crack! A bolt of lightning struck the giant rock where Ding Huan had stood.

The rock split open.

Ding Huan stared at the sight beneath the split rock, dumbfounded.