Chapter 313

The level of magic power within his body underwent a complete qualitative change, like the difference between water and mercury.

A single wisp of Qi now contained "Dao" energy equivalent to several wisps in the past.

"The Dragon Seed has been planted in the Wind Mansion, connected to the magic power of my entire body and linked to my soul, acting like the root of both magic power and soul."

"But I still cannot understand the scriptures on the Dragon Seed! Only by constantly contemplating, transforming the Dragon Seed scriptures into my own, and making it pulsate can I be considered to have reached the second layer of the Dao Seed Realm. This will allow the Dao Heart to manifest, and subsequently, the Dao Heart to project externally."

At the first layer of the Dao Seed Realm, Li Youyi had only cultivated an invisible field.

He could rely on this field to suppress and lock down Five Seas Realm martial cultivators, making it impossible for them to escape.

Only by reaching the second layer of the Dao Seed Realm could he release the Dao Heart projection, giving his magic power more variation and aggression.

Whatever state existed within the Wind Mansion or Ancestral Field, and whatever his intent looked like, that was what the Dao Heart projection would look like. Therefore, for the vast majority of Dao Seed Realm martial cultivators, their Dao Heart projection was just a magic power field, with no strange sights.

If the magic power had an ice attribute, it could trigger falling snow and frost.

If the magic power had a fire attribute, it could burn the heavens and scorch the earth.

If the magic power had a lightning attribute, it could destroy all living things and travel ten thousand miles in a day.

……

"Master Can said that the Dragon Clan's cultivation method has a complete path, system, and Dharma Canon, and it is widely spread, making it more reliable than a martial path explored by oneself."

"I planted the Dragon Seed in my Wind Mansion to deceive others; it is definitely not my future cultivation path."

"But the Dragon Clan's cultivation method can still be studied, using its system as a reference to verify against my own, so I don't go astray while exploring."

"It is said that the cultivation path of the Freak-type martial cultivators uses the Dragon Clan's method: every time they raise a major realm, they consume the blood of an ancient immortal giant beast, adding a unique physical change. Finally, they transform into a dragon and roam the heavens and earth."

"Since the Dragon Clan's cultivation method is so widely spread, I imagine the Twin Rice Sect also has it recorded."

Directly contemplating the scriptures on the Dragon Seed was a very difficult task.

However, the Dragon Clan's cultivation Dharma Canon had many annotations related to these scriptures.

How should one contemplate them?

Which scriptures should be contemplated first, and which later?

How should one cultivate the most fitting Dao techniques based on the contemplated scriptures?

How can one contemplate them most efficiently?

……

Even with planting the Dao via a Dragon Seed, there were many things to learn and study; it was by no means something that could be achieved overnight.

The faster one comprehended and learned, the faster one could break through realms.

Li Youyi prepared to first plant the Dao Seed he truly intended to cultivate in his Divine Gate, then go to the Spirit Valley Hall to search for the Dragon Clan's cultivation Dharma Canon.

For his main Dao Seed, he prepared to follow Master Can's teachings, using his combat intent to communicate with the wondrous laws of heaven and earth and comprehend scriptures unique to himself.

Li Youyi's twelve combat intents were cultivated based on the "Jade Void Breathing Method" and the "Twelve Scattered Hands of the Chan Sect," clearly belonging to the Chan Sect's cultivation system.

He did not know whether the Chan Sect Dao Seed or the Dragon Seed was stronger, but this was, after all, the martial art he had practiced since childhood; every breath, every move, and every nuance had already been integrated into his bones and soul.

"Whoosh! Whoosh..."

The twelve combat intents rose up like twelve deities in twelve directions around his body.

They were in various postures, sacred and magnificent, giving people an invisible sense of oppression like clay statues of gods in a temple; ordinary people would willingly kneel and kowtow upon seeing them.

Li Youyi gathered the twelve combat intents into his Divine Gate and attached his consciousness completely to them.

Following that.

He followed the contemplation method recorded in the "Heavenly Demon Canon," using his combat intent as a bridge to perceive the Dao traces and laws within.

There was no help for it; the Earth martial path had declined, and his master had never taught him the Chan Sect's classics, so Li Youyi could only use the Nine Li Clan's Dharma Canon to explore the path of the Dao Seed Realm.

As time passed.

The combat intent shadow corresponding to "Mercy Navigation Aperture Opening" was the first to flicker, subsequently transforming into a long river of scriptures that broke through the immortal mist on the periphery of the Divine Gate and entered the endless darkness and void.

He did not know where it was connecting to.

Suddenly, an incredibly shocking scene appeared before Li Youyi's eyes.

At the end of the darkness and space, a vast sea of stars appeared, very much like the center of the Milky Way.

A sacred and beautiful figure stood above the boundless cosmic sea, stepping on a lotus pedestal, with brilliant Buddha rings; as she pointed her fingertip, countless stars fell. A sea of stars was annihilated, transforming into a meteor shower that flew toward the deep darkness of space.

This figure was exactly the same as his combat intent, but the aura and magical power she possessed were incomparable to a mere shadow of light.

Seeming to sense that she was being watched, she turned her head and glanced back.

Li Youyi's scalp went numb, as if struck by lightning; he felt that she was truly real, not just a shadow of the Great Dao, and... she seemed to be staring at him. This feeling was too terrifying.

The corners of her mouth moved, as if she were saying something.

"Boom!"

Li Youyi's entire body shook, and the forces of time and space around him became extremely chaotic.

He felt light-headed, as if he were tumbling through the void.

When he recovered his vision, he discovered that he had returned to the Buddha Pagoda array area in the Southern Clear Palace. His brow was scorching hot, and his mental power was leaking out uncontrollably, constantly pouring into the Dao Ancestor Taiji Fish.

One fish eye emitted a cyan glow, while the other released a red mist.

The two types of radiance intertwined and slowly rotated.

Above his head, an increasingly massive Taiji grinding disc condensed...

Li Youyi did not know what had happened and was terrified.

He had seen the scene before him once before.

The first time was at the North Pole on Earth, when the power of the Dao Ancestor Taiji Fish condensed into a Taiji grinding disc with a diameter of several dozen miles, dragging everyone into this unknown and eerie world.

This was the main altar of the Divine Sect; if he caused such a commotion, even An Xianjing might not be able to protect him. It was even possible that they would first seize the Dao Ancestor Taiji Fish.

Li Youyi hurriedly closed his brow's spirit realm and withdrew all his mental power.

Gradually.

The light from the two fish eyes dimmed.

The Taiji grinding disc above his head vanished.

The entire world calmed down and returned to normal.

Li Youyi looked around and then looked inward at his Divine Gate. The Divine Gate was empty; the twelve combat intent shadows had already dispersed.

"Phew!"

He let out a long breath, his forehead covered in cold sweat; he had truly been scared out of his wits just now.

It was too bizarre!

While condensing the Dao Seed and communicating with the Great Dao, he had seen a scene of a star sea being destroyed.

He was clearly sitting in the Blood Mud Space, yet he had been dragged back by an unknown force.

He clearly hadn't mobilized his mental power to activate the Dao Ancestor Taiji Fish, yet his mental power had surged out uncontrollably, simultaneously activating both fish eyes and nearly causing a catastrophe.

This was the first time such an uncontrollable situation had occurred, leaving Li Youyi truly shaken.

"Simultaneously activating both fish eyes actually causes such a change."

Li Youyi's heart stirred, and he thought of the strange sight he had seen at the North Pole. In the massive Taiji grinding disc condensed by the Dao Ancestor Taiji Fish, many Dao texts and Buddhist scriptures had been flying about.

These Dao texts and Buddhist scriptures should also be symbols of the Dao.

Before this, he had always been busy cultivating and had never tried to activate both fish eyes simultaneously.

"The commotion is too big and completely uncontrollable. I must leave the main altar before trying to plant the Dao in the Divine Gate again."

Li Youyi breathed deeply, and after his emotions calmed, he walked out of the array light veil.

The area shrouded by the array light veil became completely silent.

"Whoosh!"

"Clatter!"

A moment later, the sound of iron chains being dragged came from within that twenty-plus-story-high black Buddha pagoda.

A cold wind suddenly rose, and dust swirled.

Inside the open door on the first floor of the pagoda, the withered skeleton that had been sitting cross-legged in meditation eerily stood up, its deep, pitch-black eye sockets staring fixedly at the back of Li Youyi, who was gradually walking away outside the light veil.

Its body had originally been locked with iron chains.

At this moment, the terrifying sound of iron chains breaking echoed through the pagoda.

Unfortunately, Li Youyi had already gone far away and had no idea of the shocking change inside.

"The Dao planting was successful, and my Wind Mansion has instantly expanded by more than double. Under the nourishment of the Dao Seed Realm's magic power, my physical body will be in a state of steady improvement for the next period of time."

"With my current strength, I should be able to compete with an ordinary martial cultivator at the fourth layer of the Dao Seed Realm."

Li Youyi had fought against both Wang Shu and Wang Zhi.

Fighting Wang Shu had been a collective effort.

Moreover, Wang Shu hadn't truly condensed a Dao Lotus.

Fighting Wang Zhi, firstly, the Huang Long Sword and Jin Wu flames had restrained the dead spirits within him; secondly, he had the help of six Phoenix-Winged Moth Emperors. Furthermore, Wang Zhi only had strength comparable to a fourth-layer martial cultivator, not a true fourth-layer Dao Seed Realm cultivator.

Therefore, Li Youyi had not yet fought alone against a true fourth-layer martial cultivator.

The gap in strength between the third and fourth layers of the Dao Seed Realm was vast and not easily crossed.

Anyone who condensed a Dao Lotus was a major figure known throughout their entire province.

Yao Qingxuan had once said that as long as he possessed the strength to defeat a fourth-layer Dao Seed Realm martial cultivator, he could head to the surface to carry out missions.

His strength was now barely enough!

But there were two things still tying him down.

One was the Golden Rice. The other was Tang Wanzhou.

Li Youyi arrived at the array area where Tang Wanzhou had been hiding.

The Buddha hall had been completely cleaned up.

In the spatial array, eight top-grade blood crystals were embedded, and together with the blood of ancient immortal giant beasts in the array's grooves, they all emitted a glowing red radiance, complex and mysterious.

A month ago, Li Youyi had teleported Tang Wanzhou away.

She had not returned to this day.

It was very likely she had already perished.

Longevity was merely the lifespan breaking free from the shackles of mortals, not immortality.

Li Youyi considered his cultivation to be low and lacked her courage; he dared not blindly use a teleportation array to go to an unknown place.

He liked adventure and viewed challenging things as a pleasure, but he had to have a certain degree of certainty first.

Whether one was decisive or impulsive, brave or reckless, it often happened in a single thought.

Decisive people were actually the best at restraint.

Brave people were the best at knowing when to let go, knowing when that most critical moment had arrived.

Li Youyi cleaned up the traces of his presence, exited the array light veil, and headed toward the array area where the Golden Rice was located.

Nine months had passed, and the Golden Rice had grown to over three zhang tall, its leaves pointing toward the firmament like giant golden swords. The stalks were as thick as a bowl, flowing with colorful light and filled with life fluctuations.

Such a plant, if seen outside, would be like an immortal herb, triggering a bloody storm of competition.

Li Youyi had no intention of claiming it for himself; he only felt a strong sense of anticipation, his heart secretly excited and joyful.

After nearly a year of nurturing it, he had expended much energy, magic power, and spiritual light. Watching it grow strong day by day, becoming tougher and able to withstand wind and rain, how could he not have developed feelings for it?

It had already grown golden ears of rice, and on each ear, there were eighteen grain sacs.

He couldn't see clearly what the situation was inside the grain sacs, but An Xianjing had once said that in most cases, one ear only had two fetuses. Rice that nurtured four fetuses did exist, but it was very rare.

Six, eight... were even rarer.

Now was the critical period for the fetuses' growth; how could Li Youyi leave for a long time at such a moment?

"Whoosh!"

He struck out with magic power, which transformed into mist and surged toward the Golden Rice.

Immediately, the rice leaves became even more brilliant, the ears swayed, and the life within seemed to be jumping joyfully.

No matter what form it took, life itself was not wrong.

The fault lay either with the guide, the creator, or the time or environment of its birth.

Li Youyi sat on the ridge of the field, propping up the twenty-zhang-high shadow of the Fusang Divine Tree, and between the branches and leaves, he sprinkled a rain of Jin Wu flame light, starting to tell the fairy tales he still remembered.

It was as if he had returned to his childhood.

His master, senior sister, and senior brother were all there; he ran barefoot through the fields, grabbing crabs in his hands, climbing the stone steps covered in leaves, and returning to the Taoist temple on the mountain. He ran past his senior brother who was carrying water, shouting loudly for his master, and his senior sister must have already prepared the meal.

How warm it was back then; unfortunately, the memories had already blurred.

The life within the grain sacs seemed to remember Li Youyi's voice and could understand the stories; the ears swayed rhythmically from side to side, emitting a rustling sound.

Peaceful, natural, beautiful; everything seemed eternal at this moment.

(End of chapter)