The dense, ancient forest, with its towering trees, thorny vines, and thick underbrush, including the layer of dead leaves beneath Li Weiyi, seemed to be slowly torn apart and smeared away, disappearing into a blood-red mist. The ground beneath him was now bare, revealing only a patch of dark red soil.
The soil wasn’t hard or dry; it felt like the dried-up seabed, soaked in blood for countless ages. ... Li Weiyi sat cross-legged, his eyes tightly shut, deep in meditation, completely unaware of the changes happening around him.
When the spirit tablet elder had taught him the meditation method for the Spirit Sense Path, he had explained it like this: "Light can penetrate unbreakable metal, boil oceans, and burn the heavens. It can illuminate the universe. It is the most miraculous thing in the world, the source of all energy, and the foundation of consciousness."
"Spiritual power is a force cultivated through the soul's consciousness. It is entirely different from the physical power cultivated through the body."
"Soul consciousness is a phenomenon of the transformation of light particles."
"To cultivate spiritual power is to absorb the light particles from the world and convert them into spiritual light particles within the body. When enough spiritual light particles accumulate, they can form a spiritual flame, which then opens the spiritual realm at the center of the brow." ...
Li Weiyi could understand the greatness and mystery of light in nature. Just like all energy on Earth, its origin could almost always be traced back to the sun. That massive star hanging in the void was, without a doubt, the most awe-inspiring sight one could witness on Earth, possessing a domineering energy that surpassed even the gods.
However, because it was always there, people had grown accustomed to it, seeing it as nothing more than a bright spot in the sky. The meditation method taught by the spirit tablet elder was called the "Single Blade of Grass Meditation." It involved imagining oneself as a small plant, capable of endlessly absorbing light particles.
Li Weiyi tried to imagine himself as a blade of grass, but his mind kept drifting back to the grand sight of the Fusang Divine Tree he had seen from the bronze ship. So, he decided to follow his heart.
He imagined himself as two Fusang Divine Trees, capable of pulling all the light particles from the world into his body, forging his own Golden Crow or sun. ... Under the blazing sun, Xue Zheng stood atop a hill in the Mang Mountain Range, holding a long blade. He had followed the trail of Li Weiyi's escape to this place.
Misled by the scent of Yang Yun's blood, he had taken a wrong turn. After retracing his steps, he finally found Li Weiyi's true escape trail on the other side of the Sui River, which had cost him a lot of time. By the time he reached this spot, it was already noon.
In his view, the towering mountains stretched endlessly, with vast forests and rolling clouds between the peaks. Numerous large, strange birds flew in flocks through the mist. From deep within the mountains came the deafening roars of unknown beasts, instilling a sense of awe and caution.
The Mang Mountain Range was infamous for its many legends of the supernatural, danger, and the bizarre. Even someone as confident and resolute as Xue Zheng felt immense pressure after venturing this deep. In the distance, about ten miles away, a large area suddenly turned dark.
There were no clouds or mountains blocking the sky above. How could such a strange phenomenon occur?
"Whoosh!"
Murong Xiao caught up, folding her black wings and landing beside Xue Zheng. The quiver on her back was now fully stocked with arrows.
"The leader of the Changlin Gang, Xu Changlin, has personally escorted Yang Yun back to Nine Li City to claim credit. The deputy leader, Tang Yan, will be here in less than fifteen minutes."
Xue Zheng spoke in a metallic, clanging voice, "Li Weiyi is severely injured and won't get far. We must find him before he recovers, or killing him will become a much more troublesome task." Murong Xiao was well aware of Xue Zheng's prowess.
Ranked fourth in the Seven Springs Hall, he was known as the "Undefeated Blade Master," having never lost a battle. Although there were three elders ranked above him, even they couldn't break through the defense of his Silver Half-Immortal Body. However, their achievements were more illustrious, and they had lived longer, hence their higher rankings.
Xue Zheng was much younger than them. The reason he hadn't reached the Five Seas Realm was that he aimed to break through to the Nine Springs Supreme Realm. Although Murong Xiao was ranked twenty-first, she knew that in a one-on-one fight on the ground, Xue Zheng could kill her with a single strike.
She said, "The eldest daughter of the Yang family has increased the bounty several times and added the information about Li Weiyi possessing multiple magical artifacts to the kill order. This will undoubtedly cause quite a stir. I suspect even some Five Seas Realm experts might be drawn here.
We need to hurry!"
"Whoosh! Whoosh!"
The two of them followed the traces of Li Weiyi's escape and disappeared from the hilltop. ... Countless specks of light from the world gathered from all directions, converging at the center of Li Weiyi's brow. More and more.
They condensed into larger, brighter points of light, filling the entire acupoint until a feeling of swelling pain emerged.
"Boom!"
The acupoint trembled. A small space, no larger than a square inch, was torn open at the center of his brow. Inside floated a tiny flame of spiritual light, the size of a grain of rice.
Countless spiritual light particles swirled around it, merging into the flame.
"A world born within the brow. The human body truly is a mysterious treasure trove."
"I've only just had a spark of spiritual light, yet I've already accumulated enough spiritual light particles to open the Brow Spiritual Realm? Isn't the speed at which I'm absorbing these light particles a bit too absurd?"
Li Weiyi remembered that Cai Yutong had taken seven days to accumulate enough spiritual light particles to open her Brow Spiritual Realm after her initial spark. Even so, the spirit tablet elder had praised her repeatedly, calling her a prodigy of the Spirit Sense Path.
Though Li Weiyi's eyes were closed, he could clearly see the small world beneath his brow and the spiritual flame floating at its center. The walls of the world shimmered with flowing light, a truly mystical sight. This was the first realm of the Spirit Sense Path—the "Square Inch Flame."
Square Inch referred to the size of the Brow Spiritual Realm. Flame referred to the size and intensity of the spiritual flame. The second and third realms of the Spirit Sense Path were: Square Inch Blaze and Square Inch Bright Flame.
As for Li Ling's Earth Flame Realm, it belonged to the first realm of the Grand Spirit Sense Path's Three Realms. The combat power of a Grand Spirit Sense Master corresponded to the Five Seas Realm of martial arts cultivation. Beyond that was the Spirit Sense Master's Three Realms, corresponding to the Dao Seed Realm of martial arts cultivation.
Square Inch, Square Foot, Square Yard... Spirit Sense Master, Grand Spirit Sense Master, Spirit Sense Master... It was said that only upon reaching the level of a Spirit Sense Master did one truly begin the cultivation of the spirit and the transformation of spiritual power.
The first two realms were merely about absorbing light and nurturing the flame. Li Weiyi opened his eyes and let out a long breath. Just as he felt the fatigue, pain, and weakness in his body easing, he was startled by the drastically changed scenery around him.
He quickly stood up and looked around.
"Where is this?"
Everywhere was shrouded in a blood-red mist, like thin veils of smoke. The muddy ground beneath his feet left bloody footprints with every step. A chill ran down his spine.
He clearly remembered sitting in a dense, ancient forest before entering meditation, with a tree with iron-hard bark just three steps away and a thick layer of fallen leaves emitting the scent of decaying vegetation. Could it be... Had he encountered something supernatural?
The Mang Mountain Range was known for its heavy yin energy, being the site of numerous imperial tombs. Countless tales of spirits and ghosts had emerged from these mountains. Moreover, the other side of the range was connected to the endless, dark realm of the dead.
Li Weiyi had specifically researched the Mang Mountain Range because he knew the Tomb of the Cang King was located there. The more he learned, the more uncertain he felt.
"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!"
He quickly took out the Evil Camel Bell and retrieved the stone coffin, spirit tablet, and urn from within. These three must know about the Mang Mountain Range. If he had accidentally stumbled into some forbidden area, perhaps they could help him escape.
As soon as the blue-and-white urn touched the ground, it seemed to sense something and began bouncing excitedly on the bloody mud.
"How did we get here? How did you do it? I thought you'd need to reach the Longevity Realm before you could bring us here. This is too sudden. Am I dreaming?"
Seeing the urn master so excited and familiar with the place, Li Weiyi felt a bit more at ease. He asked, "Master Urn, stop bouncing. What is this place?"
The spirit tablet elder was puzzled.
"You don't know where this is? Then how did you get here?"
Li Weiyi explained how he had experienced a spark of spiritual light and opened his Brow Spiritual Realm in one go. The three of them were no longer surprised by his extraordinary talent, but they still fell into a brief, frustrated silence. The stone coffin elder was the first to speak.
"It seems that for the master of the Dao Ancestor Taiji Fish, entering Shaoyang Star isn't too difficult. All you need is to cultivate spiritual light."
The spirit tablet elder said, "This is truly unbelievable!"
"What's there to be surprised about? The Dao Ancestor Taiji Fish is a treasure beyond our comprehension. Besides, the fact that he became its master means there's some connection between them," said the urn master.
Listening to their conversation, Li Weiyi pondered for a moment, then reached for his neck and pulled out the Dao Ancestor Taiji Fish from his collar. The eyes of the two bronze yin-yang fish were now empty, with only the pale green Dao Ancestor's brow bone remaining.
The other eye, which had held the pale red Buddha's relic, was now missing, leaving a bean-sized hole. He couldn't believe it and tentatively asked, "Are we... on the Buddha's relic? Is the Buddha's relic what you call Shaoyang Star?"
Li Weiyi had heard Zhao Meng describe in detail how, under a microscope, the Buddha's relic appeared as a pale red, Mars-like planet with towering mountains, dry ancient riverbeds, and a vast, deep red dried-up sea. The bronze ship had once docked by the shore of that dried-up sea. The spirit tablet elder confirmed, "Shaoyang Star is that fish eye!
The bloody mud beneath our feet is likely a corner of the star. The three of us know about this because, a thousand years ago, before the great war, all the combatants gathered on this planet. Its mysteries, or rather the mysteries of the Dao Ancestor Taiji Fish, far exceed your imagination."
The stone coffin elder said, "You can try walking outward and see if you can leave the blood mist." If they were truly on a bean-sized Buddha's relic, how unbelievable was that? Li Weiyi tried to calm himself and took seven steps forward, reaching the edge of the blood mist.
He reached out to touch it.
(End of Chapter)