Chapter 201

201. Chapter 198: Do Not Offend Ding Huan

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 new Zhou Tian cultivation routes.

The Zhan Shen crystals around him and the qi within the Zhan Shen vein beneath him were rapidly drained.

Whenever a single meridian merged with his constructed vast starry sky 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 has 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 circuits.

Once these meridians activated their Zhou Tian, each one fused perfectly with his constructed vast starry sky, operating flawlessly within his own grand universe.

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

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

Ding Huan possessed abundant cultivation knowledge and systems; 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 Heaven's Three and Earth's Twenty-Seven, there should be one hundred 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 is right now does not guarantee it will be right in the future.

A cultivation art based on one hundred meridians was undoubtedly countless times stronger than the Luo Shi Jing.

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

At this moment, Ding Huan felt as if his body had become the embryo of the universe, meridians as the origins of galaxies, galaxies forming a vast starry sky, and a speck of star dust—barely detectable—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; at 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 path.

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 Dao, creating his own Great Dao.

Though far, far from its completion—even perhaps never to be completed—

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

he had taken this first step, meaning infinite possibilities now lay before him.

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 halved in size. The ten thousand Zhan Shen crystals around him had shrunk by a third.

Ding Huan was deeply grateful he had brought enough Zhan Shen crystals; otherwise, he could never have created his own cultivation 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 Star Continent, then into the stars seeking answers, arriving in Xifeng City, settling into the small courtyard for seclusion and meditation, finally attaining Dao at Zangjian Mountain…

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

It was time to begin cultivation.

Ding Huan gazed at the cosmic vortex before him, took a deep breath, and activated his unique cultivation art for the first Zhou Tian.

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

Endless 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.

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 grown denser—but his Level Nine Gene Warrior realm had vanished entirely.

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

When 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 cultivating, the number of star dust he condensed increased.

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 condensing star clouds—the ordinary term for Foundation Establishment.

Without hesitation, Ding Huan reached into his Star House and pulled out seven-tooth Suqing grass.

According to conventional cultivation principles, seven-tooth 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 noticeable effects.

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 and powerful beings, one cannot walk the ordinary path, for the ordinary path has long been exhausted by others.

Nor can one build a Dao foundation that can limit one's height at any time.

He must have a Dao foundation that constantly enhances his Great Dao cultivation art.

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

Thus, when creating his own Great Dao cultivation art, Ding Huan spent nearly one or two months integrating genetic theory into the Zhou Tian system.

His goal was to absorb the necessary genes during Zhou Tian circulation to strengthen his Great Dao foundation.

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

The toxic mist possessed unique genes; while he cultivated and enhanced his strength, the genes within the toxic mist could likewise strengthen his Great Dao foundation.

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

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

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

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

Even if one possessed all these, to create such an art, one needed a resolute heart like Ding Huan's—determined to seek the footsteps of immortal gods—and a soul-deep awakening to the truth of life after 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 certainly 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 his Nebula foundation, he finally had some real capital.

Indeed, the Great Dao has three thousand paths; as long as one aligns with oneself, each person can carve out the path most suited to them.

The path he chose was utterly unlike that of ordinary cultivators—but it suited Ding Huan perfectly.

Ding Huan stood up, thoroughly satisfied.

Only over 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 derivation of the art 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 toxic mist of the Sword-Storage Mountain and directly separated its Spiritual Qi from its toxic fluid.

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

Ding Huan felt profound emotion; 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 Great Dao art so perfectly suited to himself.

Perhaps this was what was meant by: "One cannot see the true face of Mount Lu, for one is lost within its mountains."

To comprehend the truth of the universe, perhaps one must stand apart from it—observe its grand operation from one side, rather than be trapped within it.

Before returning, he must name his art.

When he created this art, 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 flashy name…

His Great Calculation Art was already flashy enough.

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

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

"Boom!"

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

Ding Huan's scalp prickled—he felt the thunder had locked onto him.

For the first time, Ding Huan frantically surged all his True Qi outward; he was relieved to have 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.