Chapter 312: Star Sea Destruction, Cihang's Glance Back

The spiritual energy within my body has undergone a complete qualitative transformation, differing now as much as water does from mercury. A single strand of this energy now contains as much "Dharma" power as several strands did before.

"The Dragon Seed has been planted in my Wind Mansion. It connects with my entire body's spiritual energy and my soul, acting as the very root of both."

"However, I still cannot comprehend the scriptures on the Dragon Seed! Only by continuously studying and transforming the Dragon Seed's scriptures into my own, making them resonate, will I reach the second heaven of the Dao Seed Realm. This will allow my Dao Heart to manifest, and subsequently project its external form."

In the first heaven of the Dao Seed Realm, Li Weiyi had only cultivated an invisible field. This field could suppress and lock down martial cultivators in the Five Seas Realm, preventing their escape. Only upon reaching the second heaven of the Dao Seed Realm could he release the external manifestation of his Dao Heart, allowing his spiritual energy to become more versatile and aggressive.

Whatever the state of the Wind Mansion or Ancestral Field, and whatever form the practitioner's intention takes, that is what the external manifestation of their Dao Heart will resemble. Therefore, for most Dao Seed Realm cultivators, the external manifestation of their Dao Heart is merely a spiritual energy field, devoid of unique phenomena.

If the spiritual energy possesses an ice attribute, it can cause snow and frost to fall. If it has a fire attribute, it can incinerate the sky and scorch the plains. If it has a lightning attribute, it can destroy all beings and travel thousands of miles in a day.

"Master Guan said that the Dragon Clan's cultivation methods have a complete cultivation path, system, and scriptures, and are very widely spread, making them more reliable than martial arts explored on one's own."

"I planted the Dragon Seed in my Wind Mansion as a cover, not as my future path of cultivation."

"However, the Dragon Clan's cultivation methods can still be studied. I can draw upon their system and cross-reference it with my own insights to avoid straying onto a wrong path while exploring."

"It is said that the cultivation path of the Deformed Human martial cultivators uses the Dragon Clan's methods. With each major realm advancement, they ingest the blood of an ancient immortal beast, gaining a unique physical transformation. Ultimately, they transform into dragons and roam the heavens and earth."

"Since the Dragon Clan's cultivation methods are so widely disseminated, the Twin Rice Sect must surely have a record of them."

Directly comprehending the scriptures on the Dragon Seed itself is very difficult. However, the Dragon Clan's cultivation manuals contain many annotations related to these scriptures.

How should one comprehend them? Which scriptures should be studied first, and which later? How can one cultivate the most suitable Daoist techniques based on the scriptures comprehended? What is the most efficient way to comprehend them? Even planting the Dragon Dao Seed requires much to learn and study; it is far from an overnight success.

The faster one comprehends and learns, the quicker one will break through to new realms.

Li Weiyi intended to first plant the Dao Seed he truly wished to cultivate in his Divine Palace, and only then go to the Spirit Valley Hall to search for the Dragon Clan's cultivation manuals. For his main Dao Seed, he planned to follow Master Guan's teachings, using his battle-method intentions to communicate with the wondrous laws of heaven and earth and comprehend his own unique scriptures.

Li Weiyi's twelve battle-method intentions were cultivated based on the "Jade Void Breathing Method" and the "Twelve Explanatory Gate Dispersed Hands," clearly belonging to the Explanatory Gate's cultivation system. He did not know which was stronger, the Explanatory Gate Dao Seed or the Dragon Seed, but this martial art was, after all, something he had practiced since childhood. Every breath, every stance, every nuance had already integrated into his bones and soul.

"Whoosh! Whoosh..."

The twelve battle-method intentions, like twelve deities, ascended around the twelve points of his body. They stood in various sacred and majestic poses, like divine clay sculptures in a temple, exuding an invisible oppressive force that would cause ordinary people to willingly kneel and kowtow upon seeing them.

Li Weiyi drew the twelve battle-method intentions into his Divine Palace, fully attaching his consciousness to them.

Then, following the comprehension method recorded in "The Book of Heavenly Demons," he used his battle-method intentions as a bridge to perceive the Dao traces and laws within them. There was no other way; Earth's martial arts had declined, and his master had never taught him Explanatory Gate scriptures. Li Weiyi could only use the Nine Li Tribe's spiritual codes to explore the path of the Dao Seed Realm.

As time passed, the divine image of the battle-method intention corresponding to "Guanyin Enlightenment" was the first to flicker, then transforming into a long river of scriptures. It broke through the immortal aura surrounding the Divine Palace and plunged into endless darkness and void. He had no idea where it was connecting to.

Suddenly, an incredibly shocking scene appeared before Li Weiyi's eyes. At the end of the darkness and space, a vast sea of stars emerged, strongly resembling the central region of the Milky Way galaxy. A sacred and beautiful figure stood above the boundless cosmic divine sea, lotus petals beneath her feet, a brilliant Buddha halo around her. With a flick of her finger, countless stars plummeted. A section of the star sea was annihilated, transforming into a meteor shower that shot into the deep, dark void.

This figure was identical to his battle-method intention, but her aura and divine power were incomparable to a mere light projection. As if sensing being watched, she turned her head and glanced back. Li Weiyi's scalp tingled; he felt as if struck by lightning. He sensed that she was a real entity, not a mere shadow of the Great Dao, and... she seemed to be looking at him. This feeling was terrifying. Her lips moved slightly, as if she were speaking.

"Boom!"

Li Weiyi's entire body shook, and the surrounding forces of time and space became incredibly chaotic. He felt light-headed and disoriented, as if tumbling through a void. When his vision returned, he found himself back inside the Buddhist pagoda formation area of Nanqing Palace. His brow felt scorching hot, and his spiritual energy uncontrollably surged outward, continuously pouring into the Ancestral Dao Taiji Fish. One fish-eye emitted a green glow, while the other released a crimson aura. The two lights intertwined, slowly rotating. Above his head, an increasingly massive Taiji grinding disc began to form...

Li Weiyi had no idea what was happening and turned pale with fright. This was not the first time he had witnessed such a scene. The first time occurred at the North Pole on Earth, where the power of the Ancestral Dao Taiji Fish formed a Taiji grinding disc several tens of miles in diameter, pulling everyone into this unknown and eerie world.

This was the main altar of the Divine Cult. If such a commotion were to happen here, An Xianjing might not be able to protect him. In fact, they might even seize the Ancestral Dao Taiji Fish first. Li Weiyi quickly closed his glabella spirit realm, retracting all his spiritual energy.

Gradually, the light from both fish-eyes faded. The Taiji grinding disc above his head vanished. The entire world calmed down and returned to normal.

Li Weiyi looked around and then inward at his Divine Palace. It was empty; the twelve divine images of his battle-method intentions had dissipated.

"Hoo!" He let out a long breath, cold sweat beading on his forehead. He had been thoroughly shaken. This was too bizarre! He had been cultivating a Dao Seed and communicating with the Great Dao, yet he had witnessed a scene of a star sea being destroyed. He had been sitting in the blood-mud space, yet he had been pulled back by an unknown force. Even though he hadn't intentionally mobilized his spiritual energy to activate the Ancestral Dao Taiji Fish, it had surged out uncontrollably, simultaneously activating both fish-eyes and almost causing a disaster. This was the first time such an uncontrollable situation had occurred, leaving Li Weiyi deeply unsettled.

"Activating both fish-eyes simultaneously can cause such changes," he mused. Li Weiyi's heart stirred as he recalled the wondrous sight he had witnessed at the North Pole: the massive Taiji grinding disc formed by the Ancestral Dao Taiji Fish, with many Daoist texts and Buddhist scriptures flying within it. These Daoist texts and Buddhist scriptures should also be symbols of the Dao. Before this, he had been busy cultivating and had never attempted to activate both fish-eyes simultaneously.

"The commotion is too great and completely uncontrollable. I must leave the main altar before attempting to plant the Dao Seed in my Divine Palace again."

Li Weiyi took a deep breath. Only after his mind had calmed did he step out from the shimmering barrier of the formation. The area enveloped by the shimmering barrier became completely quiet.

"Clang!" "Clatter!"

A while later, the sound of dragging chains emanated from the more than twenty-story-tall black Buddhist pagoda. A cold wind suddenly rose, swirling dust. Inside the wide-open door on the first floor of the pagoda, the skeletal figure that had been sitting cross-legged eerily stood up. Its deep-set, dark eye sockets fixed on Li Weiyi's receding back beyond the shimmering barrier. Its body had originally been covered in chains. At this moment, the terrifying sound of chains breaking echoed within the pagoda. Unfortunately, Li Weiyi was already far away and completely unaware of the terrifying changes happening inside.

"Planting the Dao Seed was successful. My Wind Mansion instantly expanded by more than double. Under the nourishment of Dao Seed Realm spiritual energy, my physical body will steadily improve for a while."

"With my current strength, I should be able to contend with ordinary martial cultivators in the fourth heaven of the Dao Seed Realm."

Li Weiyi had fought against both Wang Shu and Wang Zhi. When fighting Wang Shu, it was a combined effort. Moreover, Wang Shu had not truly condensed a Dao Lotus. When fighting Wang Zhi, firstly, the Yellow Dragon Sword and Golden Crow flames suppressed the lingering spirits within him, and secondly, six Phoenix-winged Moth Emperors also assisted. Furthermore, Wang Zhi's strength was merely comparable to a fourth-heaven martial cultivator; he was not truly in the fourth heaven of the Dao Seed Realm. Therefore, Li Weiyi had not yet fought a true fourth-heaven martial cultivator alone. There was a significant gap in strength between the third and fourth heavens of the Dao Seed Realm, not easily bridged. Those who had condensed a Dao Lotus were well-known figures throughout any province.

Yao Qingxuan had once said that as long as he possessed the strength to defeat a fourth-heaven Dao Seed Realm martial cultivator, he could go to the surface to carry out missions. His strength was now barely sufficient!

But two matters still held him back. One was the Golden Rice. The other was Tang Wanzhou.

Li Weiyi went to the formation area where Tang Wanzhou had been hiding. The Buddhist hall had been completely cleaned out. The spatial formation was embedded with eight high-grade blood crystals, which, along with the ancient immortal beast blood in the formation's grooves, emitted a complex and mysterious red, shimmering light.

A month ago, Li Weiyi had teleported Tang Wanzhou away. She still had not returned. It was very likely she had perished. Longevity merely meant shedding the shackles of mortal lifespan, not true immortality. Li Weiyi, considering his low cultivation, lacked her courage and dared not blindly use the teleportation array to an unknown place. He enjoyed adventure and viewed challenging tasks as enjoyable, but only if he had a certain degree of confidence. Decisiveness versus impulsiveness, courage versus recklessness, often hung by a single thought. Truly decisive people actually know best how to exercise restraint. Courageous people know best how to make choices and sacrifices, understanding when the most crucial moment has arrived.

Li Weiyi cleaned up any traces of his presence, exited the shimmering barrier of the formation, and headed towards the formation area where the Golden Rice was located.

Nine months had passed, and the Golden Rice had grown over ten meters tall. Its leaves were like colossal golden swords pointing directly at the sky. The rice stalks were as thick as a bowl's mouth, gleaming with colorful light internally and pulsing with vitality. Such a plant, if seen outside, would resemble a mythical immortal herb and incite bloody conflicts for its possession.

Li Weiyi had no intention of claiming it for himself; he felt only a strong sense of anticipation, secretly thrilled and joyful. Nearly a year of cultivating the seed had demanded much energy, spiritual power, and spiritual light. Watching it thrive day by day, growing stronger and more resilient against the elements, how could he not feel affection for it?

It had already grown glistening golden rice ears, each containing eighteen grain pods. He couldn't clearly see what was inside the grain pods, but An Xianjing had once said that usually, each ear had only two embryos. "Benevolent Rice" that produced four embryos did exist but was very rare. Six, eight... were even rarer. Now was a critical period for the embryos' growth, so how could Li Weiyi possibly leave for an extended period?

"Whoosh!" He released his spiritual energy, which transformed into a misty aura and flowed towards the Golden Rice. Instantly, the rice leaves became even more radiant, the ears swayed, and the life within seemed to be joyfully dancing.

No matter what form life takes, life itself is not wrong. The fault lies either with the guide, the creator, or the time or environment of its birth.

Li Weiyi sat on the field ridge, conjuring a shimmering image of a twenty-zhang (approx. 66 feet) tall Fusang Divine Tree. Golden Crow flame-light rained down from its branches as he began to tell the fairy tales he still remembered. It was as if he had returned to his childhood. His master, senior sister, and senior brothers were all there. He would run barefoot through the fields, a crab in his hand, climb the leaf-strewn stone steps, and return to the Daoist temple on the mountain. He would run past the senior brother carrying water, loudly calling for his master, while his senior sister would surely have prepared the meal. How warm and comforting those times were, yet sadly, the memories were already blurry.

The life within the grain pods seemed to remember Li Weiyi's voice, able to understand the stories. The rice ears swayed rhythmically from side to side, emitting rustling sounds. Peaceful, natural, beautiful—everything seemed eternal at this moment.