Chapter 292 - 276: [Reverse Inheritance of Innate]
Origin Mechanism, Peak Essence, Mysterious Hidden Treasure, Collection of Returning Ruins!
Four profound Spiritual Mechanisms shone in concert deep within Qi Yun’s Purple Mansion, his Daluo Heaven. They rotated slowly, forming the perfect, flawless embryonic cycle of the Great Dao—one that illustrated the process of all things from birth to peak, through mystery to their final return.
He had now obtained three of the four "Realm Heaven Four Spirits" required to break through to the Foundation Establishment Middle Stage.
Only the last one remained—[Innate].
Then, he would be able to break through to the Foundation Establishment Middle Stage!
"Of the Realm Heaven Four Spirits, [Yin Yang] and [purity and turbidity] are the easiest. They are the foundation of Heaven and Earth’s manifestation, contained within all things in the world. As long as your Magical Power is sufficiently pure and your comprehension sufficiently deep, absorbing and refining them is merely a matter of effort. There is a path to follow."
Perched on Qi Yun’s shoulder, the Little Golden Man of God of Wealth Cai Shen could see that he was preparing to break through to the Foundation Establishment Middle Stage.
"But [Four Seasons] and [Innate] are true trials of the Great Dao.
[Four Seasons] is external, related to karma. It requires you to personally face tribulations, to pluck that flowing Spiritual Light from amidst the myriad of worldly phenomena. The difficulty lies in opportunity and courage."
It paused, tilting its head to look at Qi Yun. His face was still pale, but his eyes were bright. A peculiar expression appeared on its small, golden face.
"As for [Innate]... that is internal.
To say it is difficult is an understatement; it is as hard as ascending to the heavens. It relates to the ’beginning of the Dao,’ the ’origin of things.’ It is ethereal and untraceable. Countless geniuses of prodigious talent have been trapped before this trial, seeking it in vain.
But to say it is easy... it can also be as simple as flipping your palm."
"What do you mean?" Qi Yun circulated his Magical Power to calm the internal tremors caused by withstanding the aftershock of the True Monarch’s probe. Wiping a trace of faint golden blood from the corner of his mouth, he couldn’t help but ask.
’This Emperor’s True Spirit is immensely knowledgeable. Back when the Great Tang still existed, some True Monarchs were likely its inferiors. It possesses a profound understanding of obscure cultivation cruxes.’
Cai Shen’s Little Golden Man straightened its back slightly. "Others who seek [Innate] must cultivate arduously without pause, letting their spirits roam the great void, to catch that first wisp of Spiritual Light in the boundless sea of the Dao.
Returning to the Innate from the Acquired, ascending by reverse inheritance—it is incredibly difficult.
But you are different."
Its gaze seemed to pierce through Qi Yun’s physical body, looking directly at the vast Daluo Heaven deep within his Purple Mansion:
"You have a [Venerable Dao Foundation]!
What does Venerable mean?
It means transcending the Ten Thousand Laws, commanding all Daos. The foundation itself has already touched the source of the Great Dao, secretly aligning with the mystery of the ’Innate’!
In a sense, your Dao Foundation is an embryonic Manifestation of the ’Innate’ in this world.
Or rather, a Venerable Dao Foundation is one of the forms of the ’Innate.’
Therefore, you yourself... are [Innate]!"
You yourself, are [Innate]!
This single short sentence struck him like a clap of thunder, a sudden and profound enlightenment that instantly scattered the fog and apprehension in Qi Yun’s heart regarding this trial.
’The Supreme Treasure I’ve been desperately seeking has been with me all along!’
His expression immediately turned solemn. He cupped his fists respectfully toward the Little Golden Man of Cai Shen on his shoulder, his tone sincere:
"Senior, your words have parted the clouds and let me see the sun.
I ask for Senior’s guidance."
"Of course, of course."
Cai Shen chuckled magnanimously, shifted its little bottom on Qi Yun’s shoulder into a more comfortable position, and then opened its mouth.
A series of Secret Seal syllables, imbued with the fluctuations of a unique Dao Rhyme, flowed like a murmuring stream or the chime of ancient bells directly into the depths of Qi Yun’s Sea of Consciousness.
It was not a long lecture, just over a hundred syllables, yet each one carried the weight of a mountain, pointing directly to the origin of the Great Dao.
Within them was contained the crux of how to achieve the Reverse Inheritance of Innate.
Qi Yun closed his eyes and focused, immersing his entire Heart and Spirit in this Secret Seal of True Words.
His Daluo Heaven Dao Foundation began to operate spontaneously, using its unparalleled capacity for inclusion and deduction to rapidly analyze and digest the infinite mysteries within.
Time in the outside world seemed to freeze.
Only the resonance of the Dao and the blossoming of Spiritual Light remained in his Sea of Consciousness.
After about the time it takes for half an incense stick to burn, Qi Yun’s eyes snapped open. A brilliant light flowed within them, clear and bright, and deep within, a primordial scene of chaos parting and nebulae being born flickered and vanished.
He let out a long breath of Muddy Qi.
The breath was turbid at first, but three feet from his body, it transformed into a wisp of incomparably pure Spiritual Qi, devoid of any Acquired impurities, and vanished into the void.
"It is true what they say: ’True teachings in three sentences, false ones in ten thousand scrolls,’" Qi Yun remarked with emotion, his gaze toward Cai Shen filled with undisguised gratitude. "If Senior had not cleared up my confusion, I fear I would have spent more than a decade, or even longer, groping in the dark just to barely touch the threshold. The dangers and detours along that path would have been innumerable."
Sensing the sincere gratitude in Qi Yun’s eyes, Cai Shen’s Little Golden Man waved its hand, its tone light and casual:
"No need for that. You helped me escape, giving me a new life. That is a monumental favor, one I am bound to repay.
Besides, you’re a decisive kid. You’re bold but not reckless, cautious but not timid.
Your temperament is very much to my liking; you have some of the flair of an old friend of mine.
Let’s just consider this mutual assistance between friends."
It chuckled, a teasing look appearing on its golden face:
"Who knows, maybe one day in the future, when you succeed in Seeking Gold and Proving the Dao and become some incredible figure, I’ll have to shamelessly ask you to help me get my wooden body back from Nanyin."
The last sentence was spoken flippantly, clearly in jest, yet it also contained a faint glimmer of hope for the distant future.
"Mm." Qi Yun didn’t say much, just nodded lightly.
Then, his expression turned serious, and he delayed no longer.
He sat cross-legged atop the West Sea Black Cliff. Behind him was the ancient, deathly-still, ink-black ocean and its Returning Ruins air; before him, the desolate, endless desert of shifting sands.
Qi Yun slowly raised his hands, placed them on his knees, and formed a simple, ancient Seal Technique that resembled a fetus curled in the womb.
This was the starting seal from the Secret Skill Cai Shen had taught him, used to activate one’s own innate nature.
"The Great Dao is silent, the myriad phenomena return to their source.
By my method, I call upon my beginning..."
A low, clear chant flowed from Qi Yun’s lips. It was no ordinary language but the same Dao-voice as the Secret Seal from before.
As he chanted, the aura around him began to change in a profound way.
First, the void behind him rippled once more, and the Daluo Heaven phenomenon manifested.
But this time, it did not expand majestically as it would in battle. Instead, it converged and condensed inward, finally forming into a Glazed Treasure Bead just three feet in diameter. It was far more solid, with chaotic air currents swirling like a vortex inside, and it enveloped Qi Yun’s upper body.
On the surface of the Treasure Bead, illusory images of the sun, moon, stars, earth, water, fire, and wind appeared and vanished in an extremely slow cycle, as if enacting the supreme principle of the very first moment of creation.
Immediately after, within Qi Yun’s Purple Mansion, the [Four Seasons] Spiritual Mechanisms he had just gathered all shone brightly. Four-colored lights burst from his body and merged into the Daluo Heaven sphere of light behind him.
"BUZZZZ—"
A low hum of the Dao echoed from within Qi Yun’s body. It was not the sound of bones creaking but the resonance of his Dao Foundation with the Great Dao!
His skin began to emit a gentle, jade-like luster. A faint Treasure Light shone from his bones, and the sound of his blood flow was like a rushing river, or perhaps the great hymn of the Dao.
Trace!
Qi Yun’s eyes flew open. The distinction between pupil and sclera vanished, leaving only a deep and endless void.
He opened his mouth and uttered an ancient syllable into the void before him.
BOOM!
The space before him did not shatter, but the scene abruptly twisted and flowed in reverse!
Within a hundred-zhang radius centered on him, the falling dust of the Returning Ruins air traced its way back upward; the faint air currents brushing past the cliff face spun in reverse.
Even the eternally still, ink-black surface of the West Sea seemed to ripple with circles that contracted inward...
Everything presented an image of "returning to the origin"!
This was a localized phenomenon of the Great Dao, triggered by the eruption of his own "Innate" vital mechanism!
He was using himself as an anchor to forcibly carve out a small domain of "Reverse Inheritance of Innate" within this Acquired world!
"Condense!"
The second syllable was uttered, even heavier than the first.
The pores all over Qi Yun’s body suddenly opened, exhaling countless specks of light. They were as fine as dust, chaotic in color, yet they radiated the most primitive and pure aura of the Great Dao!
The specks of light sprayed out like a mist, yet they did not disperse. Instead, they gathered madly above his head, at the very center of the Daluo Heaven Treasure Bead, colliding and fusing!
At first, there was only chaos.
But as more and more specks of light gathered and the fusion deepened, the chaotic mist of light began to collapse inward and solidify.
Gradually, a "radiance" was born that could not be described by any Acquired color.
It was not black, not white, not cyan, not purple. It seemed to contain the possibility of all colors, yet also to transcend the very concept of color.
This radiance grew brighter and more solid, finally transforming into a strange "crystal" about the size of a pigeon’s egg. It was perfectly round, its surface smooth as a mirror, and within it seemed to contain a miniature, chaotic Cosmos.
The crystal rotated slowly. With each rotation, it emitted a strange, formless, and substanceless wave that could soothe all Acquired agitation and return all things to their tranquil origin.
The Spirit of the [Innate], at this very moment, had successfully converged and achieved Manifestation, forged in the furnace of Qi Yun’s own Venerable Dao Foundation, stoked by the fire of the [Four Seasons], and guided by the supreme Secret Skill!
The moment the crystal formed, the reverse-flow phenomenon of the Daluo Heaven and the gushing specks of light behind Qi Yun all subsided simultaneously.
The Chaos Color in his eyes faded, returning to clarity, but his face grew even paler, and his aura weakened once more.
But as he watched the [Innate] crystal float before him and slowly descend into his palm, feeling the Dao Rhyme within—so pure it was absolute, so ancient it was eternal—his eyes held nothing but fervent heat and satisfaction.
The Realm Heaven Four Spirits were, at last... complete!
The gate to the Foundation Establishment Middle Stage had been thrown wide open before him.
He needed only to regulate his breathing and recover his strength, and then he could attempt to pass through!
...