Chapter 241: Golden Immortal Great Accomplishment is but a line away; peering once more into the Source Sea of the Dao

Inside the palace chamber.

Bright light fell from all around, blooming into colorful, clear, and jade-pure ripples.

From the three-foot bronze tripod on the table, wisps of smoke rose like clouds; Fang Longye opened his eyes, filled with irrepressible joy.

The Three Calamities are completely passed~

Essence, Qi, and Spirit have all been baptized by the Three Calamities, becoming completely different from before.

One could see that the auspicious clouds above his head spanned about an acre, clear light shimmering, imbued with the color of drizzling rain.

Within the auspicious clouds, the Three Flowers—which had only been in the form of flower buds when he first entered the Golden Immortal Realm—had all grown, no longer resembling their original state.

Whether it was the Qi Flower representing Dharma, or the Spirit Flower representing the primordial spirit, both had caught up to the Essence Flower, which had been the first to undergo transformation, with no difference between them.

The three immortal blossoms, resembling lotuses yet not quite lotuses, swayed gracefully within the auspicious clouds, crystal clear and translucent, each presenting the three colors of gold, silver, and lead, radiating an indescribable immortal light.

They were no longer in the form of flower buds, but were instead budding, on the verge of blooming yet not quite open.

Not only that, but after the Three Calamities had fully passed, it was as if a layer of dust-laden locks had been broken, and the growth of the Three Flowers above his head was no longer restricted.

As they swayed, they began to continuously absorb the foundation Fang Longye had accumulated during this period, growing rapidly.

Advancing in tandem.

Strands of divine brilliance rose from within his body, absorbed by the Three Flowers above his head, making them increasingly transcendent and refined.

At the same time, countless seal characters leaped out within the auspicious clouds. Each was the size of a fist, carrying profound and true principles, looking like flying birds, tadpoles, or golden tripods, ancient and natural.

Thousands upon thousands, endless and continuous, one after another, they submerged into the Three Flowers above his head.

Crack—

With the Three Flowers above his head bathed in so much creation, it was not long before a faint, marvelous sound arrived, like the sound of flowers blooming.

The Three Flowers above his head, which had been budding, unfolded their bodies in unison, their petals slowly opening.

Strands of mysterious immortal light poured out, illuminating the surroundings, forming layers of halos and shooting out strange light.

The three flowers, each in the colors of gold, silver, and lead, became increasingly clear and bright, pure and full of vitality.

For a time, the entire palace was filled with radiant colors and intoxicating fragrance.

The Three Flowers continued to bloom, and with every instant, marvelous sounds were emitted, like the ringing of bells and drums.

I do not know how much time passed, but in the end, the Three Flowers above his head had bloomed more than eighty percent, presenting a scene of full blossoming.

At this point—

The accumulation Fang Longye had built up along his journey was exhausted, and just as the Three Flowers above his head were about to bloom completely, it came to an abrupt halt.

"Hahaha!"

Feeling his current realm and strength, Fang Longye could not help but laugh out loud, filled with immense joy.

He raised his eyes to look at the Three Flowers above his head; the three immortal blossoms swayed gracefully, all in full bloom, clear and noble, shrouded in mysterious, hazy immortal light.

All over his body, countless Dao scripts and talismans radiated vibrant Dao Rhyme, with marvelous sounds murmuring from time to time.

"Golden Immortal Great Accomplishment, just one line away!"

Fang Longye muttered to himself, his eyes bright, revealing irrepressible surprise.

Before this, he had roughly calculated his changes after passing the Three Calamities, knowing that his changes would be significant and that his realm and strength would inevitably take a leap forward.

But he had not expected the improvement to be so immense.

Perhaps this is what it means to accumulate much and break through!

It allowed him to leap over several stages directly, reaching the threshold of Golden Immortal Great Accomplishment.

One must know that although in Honghuang, the Golden Immortal realm is not divided into such clear levels as early, middle, and late stages...

There are still certain divisions, though they do not represent combat power, but are only used to let one understand their own cultivation progress.

And the distinction of these divisions corresponds to the Three Flowers above the Golden Immortal's head.

As a hallmark feature of a Golden Immortal, after achieving the Golden Immortal Realm, the object of refinement lies in these Three Flowers above the head.

Even the promotion of a Golden Immortal to the Taiyi realm is closely linked to the Three Flowers above the head.

Just as when one is in the True Immortal Realm, wanting to promote to the Golden Immortal Realm requires putting more effort into the Five Qi in the Chest.

Therefore, the cultivation of a Golden Immortal is roughly divided into several stages according to the form of the Three Flowers above the head.

For instance—

When one first becomes a Golden Immortal and has not yet undergone the calamity, the Three Flowers are in the initial stage of flower buds; then, as the Three Flowers grow and turn into the form of flower bracts, that is the next stage.

The next stage after that is when, after the Three Calamities, the Three Flowers are in a state of being on the verge of blooming; further on, there are the stages where the Three Flowers are just opening, half-open, and the stage where Fang Longye's Three Flowers are now approaching full bloom.

It sounds complicated, and in Honghuang, there is no shortage of people like Fang Longye who, through accumulating much and breaking through, experience leap-style growth.

Therefore, some people divide the Golden Immortal realm into four stages: Initial Achievement, Small Achievement, Great Achievement, and even the so-called Perfection.

The first three correspond to the three forms of the Three Flowers above the head: unopened, half-open, and fully open.

As for the so-called Perfection stage.

Although it still involves working on the Three Flowers above the head, the premise for this step requires the Three Flowers to be fully bloomed, which is very different from the work done in the first three stages.

It can be said that with Fang Longye's accumulation and breakthrough, he has already traversed more than half of the entire Golden Immortal stage.

"With a little more accumulation, I will be able to reach the end of the Golden Immortal realm~"

Fang Longye sat upright on the Cloud Couch, light settling between his brows as he examined the Three Flowers above his head, which had already bloomed more than eighty percent.

It was truly not far from blooming completely.

Perhaps this step is not so easy for others.

Because the cultivation of a Golden Immortal has already begun to involve the comprehension of the laws and principles of the Dao. This is countless times harder than simply cultivating Essence, Qi, and Spirit.

But for him, it is different.

Unlike ordinary people, what he currently lacks is not an understanding of the Dao.

One must know that with an Inner World at his disposal and adhering to the path of refining the essence and discarding the dross, both his Pure Lotus Divine Ability and the secret technique of the "Yin and Yang Great Vehicle Dragon Transformation Scripture" can satisfy his requirements for the laws.

At least at this stage, he does not need to worry that his understanding of the principles of the laws might not be profound enough.

What he truly lacks at present is actually in terms of his essence, Qi, and spirit, which are still somewhat weak due to the short duration of his cultivation.

Especially in terms of Dharma power, he naturally cannot compare to those Golden Immortals of long standing.

And to make up for problems like Dharma power is obviously much easier to solve than the former.

After all, Dharma power is easy to obtain, while Dao practice is hard to cultivate.

Especially since he has a Golden Finger, resources in this regard are much easier to resolve.

Therefore, for Fang Longye, he is truly not far from the end of the Golden Immortal Realm.

It is just missing some accumulation to let the Three Flowers atop his head fully bloom.

That's right, as long as the Three Flowers atop his head fully bloom and he steps into the Golden Immortal Great Accomplishment, he will soon be able to set about breaking through to the Golden Immortal Perfection.

Because to step from Golden Immortal Great Accomplishment into the Perfection stage does not require any understanding of the Dao or cultivation of essence, Qi, and spirit.

One only needs to merge the Three Flowers atop the head, condense the essence, Qi, and spirit into one entity, inseparable and indistinguishable, merging into a single Primordial whole, and one is considered to have stepped into Golden Immortal Perfection.

This step is difficult if one says it is difficult, and easy if one says it is easy; it specifically depends on which path of the Dao the Golden Immortal is on.

Whether it is the "Heavenly Immortal Path" of dual cultivation of life and nature, or the slightly inferior "Earth Immortal Dao," for Golden Immortals of these two paths, this step cannot be said to be achieved in one move, but it is only a matter of trying a few more times. As for the "Human Immortal Dao," "Ghost Immortal Path," and "Divine Immortal Path," for Golden Immortals of these three paths, because they did not persist in dual cultivation of life and nature at the beginning of their practice.

Even after ascending to Golden Immortal and growing a body or primordial spirit, by comparison, they are extremely weak among the three elements of essence, Qi, and spirit, and simply cannot compare to the other two items that have been consistently cultivated.

As the saying goes, "Human Immortals" are mostly brutes, and "Ghosts and Gods" are fragile.

Even if a "Human Immortal" cultivates a primordial spirit again at the Golden Immortal realm, it will be suppressed by their powerful physical body; not only is it extremely weak, but it also cannot exert any effect.

And "Ghost Immortals" and the "Divine Immortals" converted from Ghost Immortals, even if they recreate a body for themselves at the Golden Immortal stage, cannot cultivate any powerful strength.

It is very clear that this imbalance will inevitably affect these Golden Immortals of the three paths as they move from Great Accomplishment to the Perfection realm.

Although neither "Human Immortals" nor "Ghost Immortals" cultivate the Three Flowers atop the head, but rather another system.

But all paths lead to the same destination, and the higher one goes, the more this is true.

As long as one is at Golden Immortal Great Accomplishment, to enter the Perfection realm, no matter which path, one must achieve the unity of the three elements of essence, Qi, and spirit, blending the principles into one, without exception.

Unless he does not want to progress anymore~ because this is the necessary path for a Golden Immortal to enter the Taiyi Realm.

Strictly speaking, Golden Immortal Great Accomplishment can already be considered the end of the Golden Immortal path.

As for the Perfection stage, it actually represents that the Golden Immortal has already embarked on the road to peeking into the Taiyi Realm.

It can be said that this stage has already faintly exceeded the Golden Immortal, and it is not an exaggeration to call it a half-step Taiyi.

And for "Human Immortals" and "Ghost Immortals," wanting to step into this stage of Golden Immortal Perfection and peek into the Taiyi Realm, the innate imbalance of essence, Qi, and spirit is a difficult hurdle they must face.

However, this has little to do with Fang Longye. Anyway, for him, who walks the "Heavenly Immortal" path, it seems he is still a line away from Golden Immortal Great Accomplishment.

In reality, it is just that distance from Golden Immortal Perfection.

"However—" Fang Longye restrained his thousand-fold thoughts, sighed secretly, and said softly: "Golden Immortal Great Accomplishment to Perfection is easy, there are no barriers. But Golden Immortal to Taiyi is a threshold that is hard to enter!"

This threshold has blocked I don't know how many Golden Immortals. Just looking at Yang Chan's background, and that she is only now setting about breaking through to Taiyi, one knows how hard this threshold is to cross~ Of course, Fang Longye has a faint suspicion that there should be some hidden circumstances here. Otherwise, with Yang Chan's background, she wouldn't have lived for nearly a hundred epochs and still only be a Golden Immortal.

However, even setting aside her special case where her status and cultivation realm do not match. It is not a rare thing for a Golden Immortal to waste a dozen or so epochs stuck at the threshold of promotion to Taiyi.

Even "wasting" is just Fang Longye's subjective opinion; others would not think this is wasting anything, because it is as normal as can be~

Monsters like Yang Jian and Nezha, who jumped from Golden Immortal to Taiyi or even Daluo in just a few years, are the minority, the exceptions, the abnormal ones.

Even for Yang Jian and Nezha, despite their heaven-defying talent, who dares to say that there is no factor of the tempering they received from killing their way out of the Conferring of the Gods Tribulation?

Fang Longye took examples to warn himself not to be complacent or self-righteous.

At the same time, he circulated his auspicious clouds, induced the mysterious, and cast his mind into it, attempting to see what he could achieve regarding that vast ocean of the Great Dao.

As his primordial spirit induced the mysterious, the shocking scene appeared before Fang Longye's eyes once again.

He saw that in a space-time indescribable in words, the ocean of the Dao was vast and mighty, without shore or limit.

Where the Great Dao resides, Yin and Yang are obscured, cause and effect are isolated, there is no east, west, south, or north, and no universe or Five Elements.

There is only the "Dao," supreme and great.

The Dao Source Sea!

Last time, Fang Longye did not have much cognition of this, only occasionally flipping through some general introductions in some classics.

But those introductions were often vague, only letting him understand it in a superficial, gulping-down-a-date fashion.

But now—

Previously, Fang Longye had swallowed and refined the True Spirit of Lv Wen, obtaining quite a lot of memories.

Although due to the gap in their realms, most of the first-person memories could not be viewed.

But regarding some common sense, knowledge, and secrets, he finally understood them clearly.

The "Dao Source Sea" is the place where all projections of the Great Daos of the Primordial World gather; it can be called the source of the Dao, hence it is named the Source Sea.

Cultivation after Golden Immortal Perfection is inextricably linked to it. Taiyi is only the initial involvement, and Daluo is considered deep. Even above Daluo, one still has to deal with it.

It can be said that only by coming into contact with the Dao Source Sea can one be considered to have truly stepped onto the journey of pursuing the Dao.

Gazing at this vast and boundless Dao Source Sea.

It was surging and mighty, seemingly supreme and unique, yet it seemed to encompass everything, lacking nothing. It could be called: nothing is not reflected, nothing is not seen, nothing is not viewed.

All the Great Daos of the entire Primordial World are here! Whether it is the Great Dao born from the beginning or the Great Dao unique to the cultivator themselves, they all have reflections here.

Encompassing everything, nothing is not revealed.

Even a Golden Immortal is imperceptible in such an ocean of the Dao.

Like dust, without a sense of presence. A single gust of wind or wave could potentially annihilate them completely.

Therefore, observing with Fang Longye's mind, he could not see anything; he only felt that the vast Great Dao was entirely before his eyes.

"Let's try!"

Fang Longye thought of the barrier between the Golden Immortal and the Taiyi Realm, and his mind stirred at once; he diverted the greater part of his consciousness, wishing to approach this Source Sea of the Dao.

Yet, before he could truly draw near, a water droplet, so tiny as to be invisible, splashed up; before he could even react, he was struck and pulverized into dust.

……

In the present world, within the palace chamber.

Smoke curled from the precious tripod on the table, rising seven or eight feet, condensing into cloud vapor above, and merging with the Aura of Fang Longye, who sat upright to the side.

Faintly, there was the sound of a dragon's roar, exceptionally clear and resonant.

Yet, suddenly, the dragon's roar changed from resonant to shrill, sounding miserable and unbearable to the human ear.

It was because Fang Longye had been suddenly and severely wounded, causing the surrounding environment to echo his state.

Large swathes of blood-red color even appeared out of thin air around his body, shrouding him within and casting an oppressive atmosphere over the entire palace.

One could only hear a dragon's roar, mixed with pain and excitement, moaning incessantly within the blood-red color.

After a good while, the cloud light swirled and washed away the blood-red color; Fang Longye revealed his form, still sitting upright, though his complexion was very pale.

Stroking his head, which was still throbbing with a dull pain and seemed to be swelling, Fang Longye chuckled: "Remarkable progress~"

Previously, he had only caught a few glimpses of the 'Dao Source Sea' and could not bear it. But now, he had not been forced to retreat until he intended to submerge his consciousness directly into the Dao Source Sea.

Compared to before, the magnitude of the progress was evident.

As for his consciousness being pulverized into dust by a tiny water droplet in the 'Dao Source Sea', he did not care in the slightest.

This was because he had long anticipated it.

Before courting death, Fang Longye had already understood the risks. After all, he would not gamble his life.

The reason he did so was precisely to experience firsthand just how difficult it is to leave one's own mark in the 'Dao Source Sea'.

After all, the only memory of the Taiyi Realm he had obtained, which was the memory of Lv Wen, was limited by the gap in cultivation realms, and he had basically failed to obtain any first-person perspective.

It was a pity that he had not sensed anything at all.

Nowadays, it is no longer a stage where one can casually ignore the gap in cultivation realms.

It appears he is not far from the perfection of the Golden Immortal.

In reality, the difference of a single line is like a chasm between heaven and earth.

"However, it is fine~"

Fang Longye sat in meditation to regulate his breath, recovering his damaged consciousness while muttering to himself: "I am not without gains; at the very least, in that instant, my consciousness was imbued with quite a few Dao principles."

"That realization from that single instant alone is enough for me to comprehend quite a few truths."

(End of this chapter)