The moment Lin Yuan spread divine sense into the Mountain and River Withered Painting, the confines of the bedroom vanished completely. His consciousness was forcefully pulled into an endless ocean. The faded brushstrokes that appeared so lifeless, rapidly expanded, taking on color, depth, and unfathomable scale.
When the spatial distortion finally settled, Lin Yuan found himself standing beneath a sky, breathing in air that was impossibly rich with spiritual qi.
He was inside the painting.
Before him stretched a breathtaking expanse filled with towering mountains that pierced the clouds and roaring rivers that carved their way through valleys. Lin Yuan began to walk through the vibrant place. He simply strolled along the banks of a rushing river, as he allowed his hand to flow freely with the wind, his fingertips lightly grazing the soft petals of the flowers that surrounded the area.
This inner realm radiated an aura of absolute peace!
As his gaze scanned the horizon, he suddenly noticed something. Far above, at the absolute peak of the tallest mountain in the center of the realm, something was glowing. It was not a harsh, blinding light, but a warm, golden radiance that felt deeply profound, pulsing in perfect harmony with the heartbeat of the universe itself.
Drawn by the sheer gravity of the aura, Lin Yuan did not hesitate. Tapping into the teleportation ability of his Nascent Soul realm, he took a single, silent step forward.
The fabric of space folded around him. In the blink of an eye, he teleported, instantly bridging the gap of several miles.
He found himself standing on the peak of the highest mountain. Sitting cross-legged on a smooth boulder at the very edge of the precipice was a figure bathed in that brilliant, golden light.
It was a Buddhist-like monk. He wore a typical, simple saffron robe that draped elegantly over his shoulder, exposing his right arm. Despite the ancient weight of the aura he gave off, the monk looked incredibly youthful, possessing smooth skin and a serene, handsome face that seemed entirely untouched by the ravages of time.
Sensing Lin Yuan’s arrival, the monk did not open his eyes immediately. A gentle voice simply echoed in the air.
"You are an interesting one," the monk said, his tone carrying a smile. Slowly, he opened his eyes, revealing irises that mirrored the golden radiance of the sun. "You are the first Nascent Soul cultivator to have comprehended my painting. To pry on it with such a cultivation base... such talent, indeed. Tell me, young friend, what essence did you notice that brought you to this painting?"
Lin Yuan stood tall, his black-and-white Daoist robes fluttering in the high-altitude wind. He recalled the day at the auction house. When all the other cultivators had dismissed the painting as a useless piece of art, he had caught a fleeting ripple of the Dao of Rain.
"I noticed the essence of rain," Lin Yuan answered honestly.
The monk chuckled, a warm sound that caused the clouds around the mountain peak to gently part. "Oh? You chose the Dao of Rain. A fascinating and heavily traveled path. But tell me, young friend... what exactly do you understand by the Dao of Rain?"
Lin Yuan’s gaze narrowed slightly in contemplation.
"Impartiality," Lin Yuan replied, his voice firm and unwavering. "Rain falls on everyone equally. It does not choose to spare the wicked, nor does it selectively shower the righteous. It falls on the beggar in the slum and the emperor in his palace with the exact same weight. It is the absolute embodiment of true impartiality, just like the Heavens."
The monk’s smile widened, but he slowly shook his head.
"Just there, but wrong," the monk countered softly. He looked up at the sky. "Do you truly think the Heavens are impartial?"
Lin Yuan was genuinely shocked. The Heavenly Dao was universally revered across the Nine Provinces as the ultimate, impartial judge of all creation. To suggest that the Heavens were partial was something else. Was this monk entailing that the Heavenly Dao possessed bias?
Seeing Lin Yuan’s stunned expression, the youthful monk began to speak, his voice weaving through the wind.
"The Heavens give the eagle wings to soar the skies, but give the fish scales to remain forever trapped in the rivers. Is that impartial?" the monk asked, his golden eyes locking onto Lin Yuan. "The Heavens feed the wolf by offering it the flesh of the lamb. The Heavens grant the ancient tortoise a lifespan of ten thousand years, yet decree that the mayfly shall wither and die in a single day. The Heavens forge the supreme talent of a prodigy, yet curse another with crippled meridians from birth. If the Heavens are impartial, why is the world built upon a foundation of absolute inequality?"
The monk gestured to the vast landscape below them. "Look at the scene before you, young friend. Look at your Dao of Rain."
Following the monk’s gesture, Lin Yuan cast his gaze downward. As if responding to the monk’s will, dark clouds rapidly gathered over the world, and a heavy downpour began to fall.
Lin Yuan with his comprehension ability, began to watch the rain interact with the world.
He saw the gentle raindrops falling upon the exotic flowers he had just grazed, the water delicately nourishing the soil and causing the petals to bloom with vibrant life. He saw the rain pouring into the roaring rivers, filling them to the brim, sustaining the fish and the aquatic beasts that relied on the currents to survive.
But then, he looked at the mountains. The heavy rain violently battered the rocky slopes. The sheer volume of water caused mudslides, tearing ancient trees from their roots, eroding the stone, and violently shaking the very foundation of the peaks.
Enlightenment struck Lin Yuan like a bolt of lightning.
"The rain nourishes the flowers," Lin Yuan murmured, his eyes wide as the truth finally clicked into place. "It fills the rivers with life... but it shakes the very mountains!"
Lin Yuan looked back at the monk, his Dao Heart resonating with a terrifying new clarity. "Rain’s intentions aren’t the same for all beings! To the flower, it is a blessing of life. To the mountain, it is an agent of violent erosion. Its effect is entirely subjective to the vessel receiving it. Just like Heaven!"
The monk’s golden eyes flared with brilliant approval. He stood up from the smooth boulder, his saffron robes billowing around his glowing figure.
"Excellent," the monk praised, his voice echoing with deep admiration. "For a Nascent Soul cultivator, you truly have incredible comprehension. To grasp the subjective nature of the Dao so quickly... I might say you even rival mine when I was in the Body Integration realm."
Lin Yuan frowned, his mind snagging on the unfamiliar term.
"Body Integration realm?" Lin Yuan asked, completely perplexed.
The youthful monk laughed, a sound that seemed to vibrate through the very fabric of the world.
"Yes," the monk nodded, his expression turning somewhat nostalgic. "Contrary to the popular notions held by the frogs residing at the bottom of the well in this lower world, Soul Transformation is not the peak of cultivation. The Cultivation World is Truly Vast and Boundless."
The monk raised his hand, pointing a finger toward the endless sky above, mapping out the true path to immortality.
"Listen well, young friend. After Nascent Soul, one must sever their mortal attachments to enter Spirit Severing. After that comes Soul Transformation, where the soul takes on a semi-divine form. But beyond that lies the true starting line: Void Refinement, where one masters the absolute laws of space. Then comes Body Integration, where the flesh and the Great Dao become entirely indistinguishable."
The monk lowered his hand, his golden eyes burning with reverence. "And even that is not the end. Above Body Integration lies Grand Ascension, and finally, the absolute pinnacle before true immortality... Tribulation Transcendence."