Chapter 265: Half a Year Later, The Sixth Sea

After two months of Qi refinement, the newly acquired 10,000 units of Dharma Qi were completely integrated, allowing for effortless mobilization and transfer.

"Whoosh!"

Li Weiyi exhaled a vibrant stream of Qi mist, then opened his eyes with a smile. "So that's what it means," he mused, "the fifth stage is in the Wind Palace, and the sixth stage is in the Ancestral Field."

"The Wind Palace is indeed profound," he continued. "The world barrier can directly absorb Dharma Qi from heaven and earth, retaining its essence and discarding its dross. The entire inner world functions as a wellspring."

"After repeated tempering, absorption, and purification, the fifth-stage Qi is finally complete!"

He looked around the boat at the increasingly dense white mist and boiling seawater, clear signs that the Golden Crow was about to emerge from the seabed.

Li Weiyi blew a whistle, recalling the seven small creatures that had been flitting among the Xihe flowers.

He then put away the jade boat and, along with Chan Hai Guanwu and Li Ling, returned through the five-foot-diameter spatial channel to the blood-mud space on Shaoyang Star.

"Gurgle!"

"Gurgle!"

Water-vat-sized bubbles emerged on the sea surface.

The seawater turned golden-red, and amidst dazzling divine flames, the Golden Crow burst forth from the water.

In the past six months, aided by numerous Light Flame Pills and the Fusang Divine Tree, Li Weiyi's spiritual power consecutively broke through two realms, reaching the Calamity Fire Realm. The spiritual light within his Spirit World was now fully cultivated.

Such rapid improvement, of course, came at a significant cost.

Purchasing Light Flame Pills alone cost him 100,000 Spring Coins, an enormous expense.

Back in the blood-mud space, he looked at the five partly empty boxes, sighed deeply, then picked up a pen and ledger and sat down to review his accounts.

The main bulk of his expenditure was on "Spring Fluid."

To cultivate the Sixth Sea's Wind Palace and the Seventh Sea's Ancestral Field, one must refine "Spring Fluid" to nourish the barriers of the inner world, allowing them to continuously expand and thereby cultivate fifth-stage and sixth-stage Qi.

Spring Fluid is an essence condensed from the spring eyes of martial cultivators in the Dao Seed Realm, with each drop valued at a thousand silver.

During cultivation in the Sixth Sea, on average, each expansion of one square unit consumed one drop of Spring Fluid.

Li Weiyi had previously asked Yin Er to help him purchase Spring Fluid.

A total of 50,000 drops were purchased; the Hidden Gate contributed half, and he paid the other half, totaling 250,000 Spring Coins.

Li Weiyi definitely needed to stock up more, as his Fifth Qi Sea was already 18,000 square units, several times larger than that of other martial cultivators.

As a Divine Hidden person, Li Weiyi could naturally mobilize the Hidden Gate's resources at will. However, needing 50,000 drops at once nearly brought Yin Er to tears, as he had to scour various places to procure enough for him.

After all, Dao Seed Realm martial cultivators would never make a living by selling Spring Fluid unless they were so utterly destitute.

A Dao Seed Realm martial cultivator could only condense a few drops a day.

Other Seventh Sea martial cultivators only consumed a few hundred drops of Spring Fluid per month, which their clan's Dao Seed Realm martial cultivators could supply. This was unlike Li Weiyi, who used 10,000 drops in just two months.

Li Weiyi closed his ledger and sighed. "Cultivating the Sixth Sea, the Seventh Sea, spiritual power, and the growth of the seven Phoenix Wing Moth Emperors—all require money," he muttered. "Fortunately, the Hidden Gate covered half the cost..."

In the past six months, the seven Phoenix Wing Moth Emperors devoured the 2,000-year-old Seven-Star Silver Fire Begonia given by Jiang Ning, as well as medicinal ingredients equivalent to ten thousand-year-old spirit herbs sent by Zuoqiu Hongting as repayment. They also consumed a significant amount of Xihe flowers.

Now, they had grown from seven inches to eight inches, and then from eight inches to nine inches.

Their cultivation and strength advanced by leaps and bounds, but their immense consumption made Li Weiyi's heart pound with anxiety.

Because for every inch they grew, the required amount of thousand-year-old spirit herbs doubled.

The current combat power of the seven small creatures could naturally rival that of some martial cultivators in the first layer of the Dao Seed Realm; their strength would not be inferior to that of Cang Li, Long Dian, and others during the Hidden Dragon Lantern Festival.

If their intelligence grew in the future, or if they summoned swarms of insects to assist them, their combat power would naturally advance further.

However, they must grow to one foot in length before they can truly be considered to have reached the Dao Seed Realm.

The Dao Seed Realm is divided into nine Heavens.

The First Heaven is "Planting the Dao."

The Second Heaven is "Palpitation."

The Third Heaven is "Dao Birth."

Growing from nine inches to one foot is undoubtedly a significant hurdle. Spirit Master said they must consume thousand-year-old spirit herbs of at least 3,000 years to pass this stage more easily.

Otherwise, they would have to wait several more years to accumulate power gradually.

"With my current strength entering the Hidden Dragon Lantern Festival, plus the seven little ones," Li Weiyi thought, "who could possibly stop me?"

Li Weiyi's physical body was now perfected, and his Dao body was formed. He believed that if he faced Ge Xiantong or Luan Sheng Lin You, both in the Fifth Sea Realm, and neither side used their trump cards, he could definitely win with ease.

Fighting one against two or even one against three would not be impossible.

Master Jar crawled out from underground, his ashes and blood-mud fusing to form a blood-mud figure with an extremely strong aura. "Still thinking about the Hidden Dragon Lantern Festival?" he scoffed. "Let me tell you, in the nine Heavens of the Dao Seed Realm, the gap between each Heaven is enormous. Only geniuses of the inheritor level barely possess the ability to fight across one realm."

"In other words," he continued, "after an inheritor breaks through and reaches the First Heaven of the Dao Seed Realm, they can fight across one realm against a Second Heaven martial cultivator."

"Given the talent of Ge Xiantong and Luan Sheng Lin You," he added, "when they reach the First Heaven of the Dao Seed Realm, they can fight across two realms, with combat power comparable to a Third Heaven martial cultivator."

"With your current strength," he advised, "facing a Second Heaven Dao Seed Realm martial cultivator, you would have to use all your trump cards to even have a chance. It will only be easier when you reach the Seventh Sea and face a Second Heaven Dao Seed Realm martial cultivator."

"Half a year has passed already," he continued. "With the aid of Dragon Seeds, their cultivation speed must be extremely fast. They must have reached the Second Heaven and might even be on the verge of entering the Third Heaven."

Li Weiyi walked over and smiled. "Master Jar," he said, "I'm not getting carried away. I know very well that the path others take ten or twenty years to complete cannot be caught up to in just over a year by me. I'm more anxious than you, but impatience is useless. The Five Sea Realm must be accumulated slowly."

"I heard that among those people," he added, "the youngest, Cang Li, spent a full seven years cultivating in the Five Sea Realm."

"I haven't had a chance to ask," Li Weiyi continued, "what exactly is a Dragon Seed? Why can it allow Dao Seed Realm martial cultivators to rapidly elevate their realm?"

Master Jar sat down on an empty box and began, "I must first tell you what a Dao Seed is."

"A Dao Seed is extremely profound and difficult to describe in words," he said. "It's like the Great Dao itself; you vaguely know what it is, but you just can't grasp it."

"To condense one's own Dao Seed," he continued, "we generally still need to rely on combat method intent, using it as a bridge to communicate with the Great Dao and condense our own martial Dao Seed. All subsequent cultivation is based on it."

Li Weiyi asked, "Combat method intent is born from conforming to the marvelous laws between heaven and earth. In other words, is a Dao Seed the very laws of heaven and earth?"

Master Jar thought for a moment. "Not yet at the level of the laws of heaven and earth!" he replied. "Cultivating a Dao Seed is merely the initial step of comprehending the Great Dao; it's still very far from the true laws of heaven and earth."

"I will teach you the method of using combat method intent to condense a Dao Seed later," he added.

"Now, about Dragon Seeds."

"A Dragon Seed," Master Jar explained, "is actually a Dao Seed condensed from the Great Dao insights of the ancient Emperor Feilong. When it is planted in the Ancestral Field, martial cultivators can directly absorb and comprehend it. This speed is naturally several times, even ten times, faster than condensing one's own Dao Seed and slowly deciphering texts and exploring."

Li Weiyi frowned. "Will there be limitations to cultivating this way?" he asked.

"No!" Master Jar replied. "The cultivation method of the Dragon Race is one of the most magnificent Great Daos in heaven and earth. It has a sound and complete cultivation path and canon, making it more reliable than a martial Dao one discovers oneself. A Dragon Seed itself is also one of the highest-grade Dao Seeds."

"Of course," he continued, "while they refine and absorb Feilong's Great Dao insights, in the Dao Seed Realm, they will certainly also observe and comprehend various canons to align with their own combat method intent, and will not completely abandon it."

Chan Hai Guanwu said, "I have a different opinion."

Li Weiyi and Master Jar both looked over.

She said, "The Dragon Race's cultivation method is indeed a path to the supreme Great Dao, but to say it has absolutely no limitations is not necessarily true."

Master Jar asked, "How high does one's cultivation have to be for the limitations you're speaking of to manifest?"

"Don't forget," Chan Hai Guanwu said, "he's the one favored by the Bronze Warship Master, the master of the Dao Ancestor Tai Chi Fish, and a direct descendant of the Chan Sect."

Master Jar pondered for a long time, then nodded. "She is right!" he said. "Weiyi, I think the Twelve Dispersed Hands of the Chan Sect are far from simple. Since your master had you cultivate them from a young age, you should still use these twelve combat method intents to condense your own Dao Seed!"

Li Weiyi asked, "Wouldn't that mean I'd have to slowly comprehend and explore on my own? In the Dao Seed Realm, I would be left far behind by them, wouldn't I?"

"You can cultivate both—plant a Dragon Seed in the Wind Palace," Chan Hai Guanwu suggested. "This way, you can also deceive everyone into thinking you've truly become a martial cultivator with a 'poor' Dao Seed."

"Cultivate two Dao Seeds?" Li Weiyi questioned. "Where would I find the time for that? My cultivation speed would be even slower."

"No, you have time, and more time than anyone else."

Chan Hai Guanwu's gaze fell on the Dao Ancestor Tai Chi Fish on Li Weiyi's chest, specifically the light blue fish eye. "The light red fish eye is Shaoyang Star, possessing extraordinary spatial power," she explained.

"Aren't you curious what the other fish eye of the Dao Ancestor Tai Chi Fish is?"

Li Weiyi was surprised and uncertain. He held the Dao Ancestor Tai Chi Fish in his palm and examined it closely. "Master said it's the Dao Ancestor's brow bone..." he murmured. "Could it also be a planet?"

"My cultivation hasn't recovered yet, so it's hard for me to give you a definitive answer," Chan Hai Guanwu said. "But I'm certain it's related to time. In Tai Chi, only time can complement and balance space."

"After you reached the Calamity Fire Realm," she continued, "each time you left and returned to the blood-mud space, I observed carefully, and that light blue fish eye showed signs of flickering."

"I speculate that when your spiritual power mastery breaks through to that of a Spirit Mentalist, it will reveal its profound time-related mysteries."

Li Weiyi thought carefully, but found it difficult to grasp the mysteries of time. "So," he asked, "what I should be doing right now is quickly cultivate my spiritual power to become a Spirit Mentalist?"

"Spirit Master," he called out, "how long will it take for my spiritual power to break through to a major realm?"

Spirit Master's voice rang out, "You've only been in the Calamity Fire Realm for a month! Li Ling has been cultivating spiritual power since childhood, and look how long she's been in the Calamity Fire Realm. Even now, breaking through is still a long way off for her."

"Becoming a Spirit Mentalist isn't that easy!" Li Ling interjected. "In the Nine Li Divine Palace, that's considered an elder-level expert!"

Li Weiyi said, "I can buy resources to shorten the cultivation time."

"I've never heard of such a resource," Li Ling said. "Even among ancient clans like the Nine Li, renowned in the Lingxiao Living Realm for their spiritual power cultivation, Spirit Mentalists under sixty years old are extremely rare. There are no shortcuts; this is an insurmountable chasm."

Spirit Master said, "Well, not entirely impossible..."