Chapter 163: Leaping Across the Sea to the Other Shore

This truly was a small cauldron, barely an inch tall. It had no dazzling light, no terrifying fluctuations of divine power; instead, it exuded a sense of naturalness and grandeur. Indeed, though small, even tiny, it gave an impression of immense power and majesty. It resembled not merely an artifact, but rather a vast landscape, a star field, a world born of natural law.

The Mother Qi of All Things is extremely rare, a true treasure, and a sacred material for crafting artifacts, making it incredibly precious. To speak nothing of its “root source,” which exists only in legends and cannot be seen, yet it had now been forged into this cauldron.

Ye Fan’s heart was far from calm. As he gazed inward at the cauldron, he liked it more and more. It manifested heaven and earth with its profound yellow hue, possessed three legs and two ears, and its upper contour was vast and primordial, embodying both Dao and principle. He activated his profound art, intending to summon the cauldron, but to his surprise, he found the small cauldron as heavy as mountains and rivers, incredibly difficult to move. “This...” He was truly stunned. The cauldron was as heavy as mountains and rivers. “Rise!” Ye Fan shouted, pouring all his divine power into the small cauldron with all his might, finally managing to summon it. It was ancient and unadorned, hanging silently in the air like an unmoving bedrock from the dawn of creation. “Go!” Ye Fan lightly commanded, intending to send it far away.

With a mere tremor in the air, the less-than-an-inch-tall cauldron caused the surrounding boulders to silently shatter into dust. The entire stone forest before him vanished instantly.

“The Mother Qi of All Things, forged into a cauldron, is indeed terrifying!” Ye Fan retrieved the cauldron, feeling joy first, then a frown. The cauldron was so heavy that he found it incredibly difficult to wield, feeling as if he were facing a colossal peak. Had it not been forged within his own body, creating an inseparable link with him, he would have been utterly incapable of moving it with his current cultivation.

This cauldron already possessed the nascent characteristics of a supreme artifact. If it were to further intertwine with Dao and principle, it might one day evolve into an ultimate weapon.

Ye Fan was not in a hurry to advance to the seventh layer’s colorful cloud flames. He would have ample time to temper the cauldron later; first, he wanted to improve his cultivation.

His own strength was the fundamental basis of everything; otherwise, even with the cauldron, he wouldn’t be able to wield it as effortlessly as an extension of his own arm.

Now, his physical body was robust and his divine power abundant. If he settled down and diligently cultivated, he would surely achieve a breakthrough in a short time.

Ye Fan chose another stone forest, then excavated a cave dwelling. Holding the Bodhi Seed, he sat cross-legged inside and began his silent cultivation.

Previously, in the spatial realm of the Peacock King deep within the Qixia Mountains, Ye Fan had already made progress. He only needed to take half a step further to reach the pinnacle of the Divine Bridge realm. Therefore, he was confident he could break through to the Other Shore here.

Time flowed by. Ye Fan remained motionless, meditating peacefully. A month later, he finally reached the peak of the Divine Bridge, ready to refine the fist-sized ‘source’.

However, just then, he noticed something abnormal: his vision became blurry, and he couldn't see anything, as if he had lost his way. “How can this be?” he wondered, startled, thinking he had been targeted and fallen into a trap. Yet, there was no murderous intent, no divine power fluctuations, and the surroundings were eerily quiet.

He extended his powerful spiritual sense, scanning in all directions. To his astonishment, even his spiritual sense only perceived hazy mist, nothing else. “My five senses, my spiritual perception... why are they blurred? What has harmed me?” Ye Fan quickly calmed down, pondering silently. Then, thoughtfully, he muttered to himself, “Could it be...”

He thought of a possibility, a cultivation state he had overlooked: the ‘Danger of Lostness’ in the Divine Bridge realm. The Dao Scripture mentioned it only briefly, without elaborating, and he had never paid it any mind. All this time, when he studied the Dao Scripture, he focused on the core principles, disregarding these seemingly irrelevant mentions, yet today he encountered it.

The human body holds infinite mysteries. To avoid being trapped in the Sea of Suffering and to explore other bodily secret realms, a cultivator must traverse the Sea of Suffering. Only by cultivating the Celestial Meridian, spanning above the Sea of Suffering and leading to the Other Shore, can one lay the foundation for escaping this predicament. This is the Divine Bridge realm, a crucial stage.

But as the Celestial Meridian grows, spanning the void, where exactly must it extend to reach the Other Shore? Some people spend their entire lives unable to break through the illusion, trapped at this end of the Divine Bridge, unable to cross the Sea of Suffering. This is the ‘Lostness’. In the most severe cases, the five senses can be stripped away, spiritual perception completely lost, rendering one a senseless and disabled person, which is truly terrifying.

Most people encounter mist blocking their path when cultivating the Celestial Meridian, unsure of where to go. However, it’s usually not severe; by calming their minds, they can pass through unhindered. Ye Fan’s cultivation, however, had always been smooth until now, without any setbacks. Before reaching the pinnacle of the Divine Bridge, he had never been encircled or restricted. Only at this moment did it fully manifest: endless mist erupted, illusion obscuring his spiritual perception, blocking his path. This was a severe ‘Danger of Lostness’.

“Crossing the sea leads to the Other Shore!” A life-or-death trial lay before him; he had to face it. There was no retreat, or his five senses—hearing, sight, and others—would be stripped away, leaving him completely lost.

Ye Fan set aside the source stone and put the Bodhi Seed into his bosom. He wanted to face this challenge genuinely, without relying on any external aid.

A powerful cultivator must pass this hurdle on their own, through personal experience. Otherwise, their future cultivation would be shadowed, and their spiritual perception would no longer be sharp. This was a process of questioning his own heart, not relying on external objects.

In a sense, while the ‘Danger of Lostness’ was a trial, overcoming it would baptize both body and mind. It would awaken one’s innate intuition, strengthen the subconscious, enable one to see through illusion, and directly perceive the source.

Ye Fan closed his eyes and remained motionless, as still as a fossil. It was not until half a month later that he finally whispered, “I will not be lost...”

At that moment, in his inner vision, dense mist enveloped all directions. He felt as if trapped in a cage. His mind, immersed in the Wheel Sea, could only perceive a segment of the Celestial Meridian, unsure where it should extend.

The ‘Danger of Lostness,’ touted as a life-or-death trial, was no exaggeration. Many prodigious individuals, when recalling their past, emphasized having overcome this very challenge.

Ye Fan was truly in danger. His five senses grew increasingly numb, and his spiritual perception was on the verge of disappearing. He felt as if he were completely enclosed, unable to hear or see... like a deaf and blind man.

“I ask my own heart, where is the Other Shore?” Ye Fan felt no fear, no panic; his heart was calm. He carefully pondered what he had learned, trying to gaze into the mist and see through it. “The Other Shore, the Other Shore... is returning also a shore?” he constantly asked himself. He then affirmed, “The path of cultivation is winding and long. How can one turn back? How could I turn back? One must press forward courageously.”

The mist remained an impenetrable barrier, and his five senses grew even more numb. He felt he was about to lose all spiritual perception, a danger he had never before encountered, potentially bringing his progress to a halt and rendering him useless. “According to records, the greater one’s potential, the harder it is to escape the Danger of Lostness. I should not be discouraged; rather, I should consider myself fortunate.” Ye Fan remained calm, showing no panic, and instead felt an even stronger sense of confidence.

In a flash, another half-month passed, and he still hadn't emerged from the mist. Time slowly elapsed. For two full months, Ye Fan endured the ‘Danger of Lostness’. When his five senses were completely stripped away, he could perceive nothing at all. “The Other Shore, the Other Shore... it’s not the shore opposite. Why seek it? Wherever I go, it is there. The place where I stand, that is the Other Shore.” Ye Fan said calmly. With a rumbling sound, the clouds and mist surged and rapidly dispersed. Heaven and earth became clear, and everything was before his eyes.

In just an instant, the mist completely dispersed. His five senses revived, sharper than ever, and a mysterious radiance enveloped him, as if he were undergoing a baptism. He had passed the life-or-death trial, seeing through the ‘Danger of Lostness’. His 'instinct' was baptized, and his spiritual sense burst forth like a bolt of silk, perceiving an increasingly vast area. His body and mind felt as though they had been forged.

Ye Fan immersed his mind into the Wheel Sea. At this moment, the Celestial Meridian within was even thicker and more crystal clear, like a purple-gold beam spanning the sea, leading to an unknown place.

He ascended the Divine Bridge and stepped forward directly. Just as he had said, wherever he went, that was the Other Shore. He had crossed the sea.

The Celestial Meridian shone brilliantly as he traversed the Sea of Suffering and reached its end. This was a pure land, where clouds and mist drifted. High in the sky, he vaguely saw a colossal Dao Palace.

Drifting white clouds obscured his vision, and the Dao Palace vanished, impossible to perceive again. Ye Fan felt no regret; having just reached the Other Shore and not yet achieving perfection, how could he enter the Dao Palace secret realm?

The legendary Dao Palace corresponds to the thoracic region of the human body, where five deities are said to reside. Cultivating this secret realm brings forth various extraordinary phenomena. The ‘Valley Spirit’ is considered immortal, often referred to as the ‘Mysterious Female,’ whose ‘Gate’ is the very root of Heaven and Earth. These five deities nurture the five elements, and their pure five energies connect with heaven and earth, flowing ceaselessly to generate Dao power.

Upon reaching the Other Shore realm, he felt profound changes within himself. His essence, qi, and spirit had sublimated, and his divine power surged. The Sea of Suffering had expanded to the size of a palm, sparkling and dazzling.

He felt as if a single punch could shatter the azure sky and a kick could cleave the earth, a strange illusion born of his increased power.

He didn't move. Instead, he held the fist-sized source in his hand and began to slowly refine it. He needed to consolidate this realm.

He didn't expect to reach the Grand Completion of the Other Shore realm and undergo a metamorphosis like a butterfly breaking from its cocoon; that was unrealistic, as he had only just entered this realm.

The fist-sized source was pure and flawless, shimmering with radiant light, containing unimaginable vast vital energy. Ye Fan spent more than half a day refining it, finally absorbing it all. Afterward, he remained in seclusion for another ten days before finally awakening completely, having finished this session of cultivation. “What is this...” Just then, Ye Fan was greatly surprised as he looked inward at his Wheel Sea.

The golden Sea of Suffering shimmered with points of light. He felt that something new had appeared on the surface of the sea, full of vitality, with a hint of green. “What is that?” Ye Fan was dumbfounded. There, a strange plant grew in the golden expanse, appearing and disappearing, like a green lotus, enveloped in chaotic mist!

“How could this be?” He was utterly shocked, not understanding why this change had occurred. And when he inadvertently looked up, he was stunned again. The space above the Wheel Sea was no longer hazy or empty; it was a clear blue, like the azure sky itself.

Ye Fan was truly astonished that a series of changes had occurred after reaching the Other Shore. “A sky... a green lotus... could my unique phenomenon be appearing?” He found it hard to calm down. Then he muttered to himself, “No, this is merely the preliminary evolution of the Wheel Sea; it doesn’t count as a unique phenomenon!”