"I want to become an immortal, with boundless magical power!"
Su You's aura was like a rainbow, as if he could swallow rivers and mountains. He possessed an overbearing majesty that looked down upon all living beings and stood invincible in the world.
Xixi's expression remained calm and unmoved. "The path of immortality is long," she said, "and the Destiny Plate is just the beginning."
Su You was startled, followed by boundless joy. A month had passed—had Xixi finally decided to impart an Immortal Art to him?
"To open the heavens and split the earth, and forge the foundation of the Dao."
Xixi said calmly, "The first major realm of cultivation is the Destiny Plate, which is further subdivided into three minor realms. From lowest to highest, they are Fate-Opening, Sea-Breaking, and Heartless."
"The Destiny Plate is one's natal plate and the foundation of human cultivation. It is formless and intangible, initially existing as a mass of Chaos hidden within the dantian. If you wish to cultivate immortality, the first step is to open your own Destiny Plate and forge your cultivation foundation. This is Fate-Opening."
"Once the Destiny Plate is opened and the foundation is forged, you can absorb the spiritual Qi of heaven and earth and transform it into spiritual power. This is Sea-Breaking."
"Finally, cultivate the Spiritual Terrace and condense your Spiritual Sense. This is Heartless."
Su You was shocked. So this was how the cultivation realms were divided!
"The Destiny Plate is the beginning of cultivation and the foundation of the Dao. It can be said to be of the utmost importance."
Xixi continued slowly, "Yet this step is like a fish leaping over the dragon gate. It is equivalent to creating the heavens and earth within your body, as difficult as ascending to the heavens. Most people cannot accomplish this independently; they require the assistance of a powerful cultivator to open the Destiny Plate."
"However, a tiny fraction of people are favored by the Heavenly Dao—one in a hundred million—who can independently open their Destiny Plate and forge their foundation. Such people are far stronger than others."
Su You suddenly straightened his back with a manly shudder. Could it be... that he was that one-in-a-hundred-million immortal prodigy?
"Today, I shall impart to you the Hualing Life and Death Dao!"
Xixi suddenly flicked forward and appeared right in front of Su You. Before he could react, she extended a slender jade finger and pressed it against the center of his brow. A speck of divine brilliance blossomed from her fingertip and instantly surged into Su You's mind.
Boom!
Within his sea of consciousness, another world seemed to have emerged. Under the water-like moonlight, a graceful figure danced with light and fluid movements. She danced beneath the moon, beautiful and touching, possessing an endless aesthetic. Yet with a gentle wave of the figure's plain hand, the endless mountains and rivers on the ground below were flattened. With another wave, the boundless firmament above was obscured; shining stars fell, and the scorching sun hung down from outer space. With a flip of her hand, clouds formed; with a turn of her hand, rain poured. The sun and moon lost their luster, and the mountains and rivers dimmed.
Su You's mind trembled violently, shaken beyond measure. This was an Immortal Art! That figure's cultivation was heaven-shaking and earth-shattering, unfathomable. She could move mountains and fill seas, pluck stars and catch the moon, capable of anything, as she deduced the Dao and the Dharma to impart to him!
Next, the figure once again displayed a Divine Ability. As she danced gracefully, all living beings in the world turned into white skeletons; withered bones littered the ground, devoid of vitality. This was a heaven-defying method—with a light dance, she could erase the vitality of all things. No matter what cultivation level or realm a living creature possessed, they were like helpless little animals, instantly turning into white skeletons, their bodies dead and their Dao destroyed. Yet as the woman softly chanted once more, her voice melodious and enchanting like wonderful immortal music, the endless white bones on the ground actually stood up again, their flesh and blood reborn, returning from the dead!
Su You was extremely shocked, his mind in a state of intense excitement. He was passively comprehending this Immortal Art, plunging into a deep state of enlightenment. This was an indescribable feeling; the figure spoke no words, yet her profound Dao and Dharma blossomed entirely through her dance. Su You felt as though he had plunged into a boundless, majestic sea, his mind sinking into the water and drifting with the rolling waves. This was a heaven-reaching scripture, the supreme Dao of becoming an immortal, which was fully expounded to Su You as that speck of divine brilliance flickered!
...
One year later.
Rumble—
Huge waves surged to the heavens, and chaotic Qi permeated the air.
Su You stood towering between heaven and earth like a giant standing amidst Chaos. With both hands holding up the sky and both feet treading the earth, he tried his utmost to prop open this expanse of Chaos.
Opening the heavens and splitting the earth!
Yet those wisps of chaotic Qi were too heavy; every single wisp was as heavy as a mountain. Chaos permeated, misty and vast, surging like raging waves. Su You's entire skeleton creaked, bearing immense pressure. Blood spilled from the corners of his mouth, and his flesh was on the verge of cracking.
Fate-Opening was the first step on the path of cultivation. This step was extremely difficult, requiring great perseverance, and most people could not open it by themselves, requiring the help of a powerful expert.
With Xixi by his side, Su You should have been able to open his Destiny Plate effortlessly, but Xixi had never once helped him, leaving him to open it entirely on his own.
According to Xixi, the Destiny Plate had to be opened independently. Only by experiencing the hardship of every step during the opening process and leaving behind one's own insights could one truly forge the foundation of the Dao and achieve boundless future accomplishments.
If she helped him, although it would be easy, Su You would lose his insight into this stage, which would be detrimental to his future growth.
In reality, those who could independently open their Destiny Plate could be counted on one hand—they were geniuses chosen out of ten thousand. This was a talent that could not be achieved through perseverance alone.
Most people merely groped about in the Fate-Opening stage, and once they reached their limit, they sought out powerful cultivators to help them succeed in opening it and step into the Sea-Breaking Realm.
Without the help of an expert, they might spend their entire lifetime and still fail to take that step.
The gap between the Fate-Opening and Sea-Breaking realms was also vast as heaven and earth. The Fate-Opening realm only possessed close-combat methods, relying on the Chaos that had not yet been successfully opened to provide energy. After breaking the sea, however, one could fully release the powerful energy within the Chaos, absorb the spiritual Qi of heaven and earth, and project spiritual power outside the body, granting long-range attack capabilities.
Only at this step could one be considered a true cultivator, capable of executing a cultivator's most powerful "arts" and "techniques," and wielding powerful Divine Weapons and magic treasures. Therefore, many people could not wait to skip the Fate-Opening stage and experience the powerful strength of the Sea-Breaking Realm ahead of time.
The Destiny Plate was a person's natal plate, containing the potential of the human body. Fate-Opening was the stage of continuously releasing that potential until the Destiny Plate was successfully opened, breaking the shackles and fully releasing the energy within the body.
Yet whether it was because Su You was naturally gifted or because the Hualing Life and Death Dao was too miraculous, after spending nearly a year opening his Destiny Plate, he was now only a single step away from parting the chaotic Qi and successfully opening the Destiny Plate.
Gradually, a charm of the Dao spread between heaven and earth, and a mystical resonance rose.
Su You trembled all over, as if bearing the Hundred Thousand Mountains, but his gaze was firm as he circulated the Hualing Life and Death Dao, pushing apart this expanse of Chaos bit by bit.
This was a difficult path. Had Xixi not been by his side all along, Su You might have given up long ago.
Never underestimate the motivation provided by an immortal maiden!
Boom—
Suddenly, this expanse of Chaos cracked. It rumbled and vibrated; half of the chaotic Qi rose while the other half sank, and heaven and earth were newly opened!
A thin wisp of cloud vapor appeared from his dantian, and the Destiny Plate materialized like a small millstone, its two layers of cloud vapor—one above and one below—rotating in opposite directions.
Above the dantian, the Yin-Yang Taiji Diagram, which had remained motionless all this time, suddenly trembled. Countless golden light patterns soared into the sky, transforming into a sky full of golden radiance that shrouded the horizon. Dazzling and bright, it emitted a mysterious fluctuation.
Two Yin-Yang fish swam tail-to-tail, yin embracing yang, yang embracing yin, life and death standing side by side.
Then, the Taiji Diagram suddenly sank, plunging straight into the dantian and merging into the Destiny Plate, blending between the two layers of cloud vapor.
At the same time, the upper layer of cloud vapor turned milky white, while the lower layer turned pitch black. As the golden light patterns circulated, black and white set each other off. Those profound and intricate golden light patterns also poured into the Destiny Plate like various special symbols, or perhaps like ink wash paintings. Little golden tadpoles circulated continuously, blooming with divine light. Then, bursts of thunder sounded, giant waves galloped, fierce winds and driving rain battered, and lightning flashed and thunder rumbled.
Su You's mind was immersed within it, transforming into a giant standing in the midst of Chaos. He saw lightning sweeping across heaven and earth like ten thousand dancing snakes; strips of ink-black lightning twirled around the Destiny Plate, dancing like a roaring tide. Golden light patterns surged, brilliant as rosy clouds and fierce as raging fire, finally rushing forward like ten thousand horses. Rolling thunder resounded within his body, black and white Qi circulated, and runic inscriptions flashed. The summit was dense with a river of stars, and the base bloomed with a brilliant lotus. Lightning ran wild, the Destiny Plate rotated, and a startling, unearthly charm spontaneously emanated, shaking the mind and overawing the soul.
This was a Phenomenon—a miraculous sight that appeared when heaven and earth were newly opened and the Destiny Plate was formed!
Legend had it that those who could independently open their Destiny Plate would all produce a Phenomenon upon successful opening. This was the favor of the Heavenly Dao, a gift once in a hundred million. Such a Phenomenon would later become a powerful offensive method, which was also why those who independently opened their fate far surpassed their peers.
Finally, Su You's physical body began to bloom with endless light. Behind him, a phantom drifted and sank, hazy and indistinct. A river of stars hung in the nine heavens, countless stars dazzlingly bright, surrounded below by tens of millions of ink-black bolts of thunder, with gorgeous crimson glow shrouding the horizon.
Huge waves rushed to the sky, and a black ocean rose and fell, emitting bursts of terrifying fluctuations. Suddenly, a white jade-like lotus rose from the surface of the sea. It possessed nine petals, flawless and immaculate, pure and untainted.
At last, all the Phenomena vanished, and everything returned to peace. This heaven and earth were left with only two colors—black and white. The sky was pure white, save for a single dot of black; the earth was black as ink, retaining a single dot of white.
Above the Taiji Diagram, the brilliant rosy clouds transformed back into golden light patterns and faded within it.
The Destiny Plate rotated slowly, releasing a powerful suction force. The spiritual Qi of heaven and earth around Su You was instantly drawn in, rushing into his mouth and nose to merge into the Destiny Plate.
The Destiny Plate spun, crushing and grinding the spiritual Qi of heaven and earth, refining it into incomparably pure spiritual power before absorbing it.
Ultimately, the Phenomenon completely vanished. Su You's eyes were bright, the black and white clearly distinct. He remained the handsome youth of before, yet a powerful aura permeated from him.
Rolling energy fluctuations swept through the surroundings, shattering nearby rocks and stones.
Before him, Xixi looked at Su You calmly, serene and graceful, aloof from the world.
Su You flashed his signature harmless smile. "Xixi, am I amazing? Hurry up and praise me!"
Xixi: ......