Chapter 315 - 308: Guiyuan
After dinner.
Chen Li summoned his eldest son, Shouheng, his second son, Shouye, and his eldest daughter, Shouyue, to the small training courtyard in the backyard.
"I’ve called the three of you here to hone your Combat Techniques and comprehend the Martial Dao."
Seeing the confused looks on their faces, Chen Li explained.
He said no more and took out the Ruins Mirror.
The next moment, an invisible ripple instantly enveloped the entire training courtyard.
The three of them felt their vision blur. The surrounding scenery rippled and twisted violently like water. When their vision cleared, they found themselves in a completely unfamiliar environment.
Before them was a boundless, white, and empty void. Above, below, left, and right—all was a vast emptiness, leaving them with no sense of their location.
"Where is this?"
Chen Shouye looked around, unable to hide his astonishment.
Chen Shouyue nervously took a step closer to her second brother, her small hands unconsciously clenching the hem of her clothes.
"Don’t panic." Chen Shouheng, who had entered the Ruins Mirror before, explained, "This is an Exotic Treasure Father obtained by chance, named the Ruins Realm. This mirror is profound; it can conjure a mirror image of anyone who enters, identical in Cultivation, Martial Arts, and even fighting habits.
Fighting it is like a life-and-death battle against another version of yourself. It’s the best way to train your practical combat skills and discover your own shortcomings."
As soon as he finished speaking, white light surged in the void not far ahead, quickly solidifying into three distinct figures.
Their faces, figures, clothes, and even the expressions in their eyes were identical to the three siblings.
"I’m... fighting myself?"
Chen Shouyue stared at the "Chen Shouyue" who was indistinguishable from her, her mouth slightly agape, feeling utterly strange.
"Begin."
Chen Li’s voice echoed from the void.
A sharp glint flashed in Chen Shouheng’s eyes. Although he had sparred frequently with his wife, Zhou Shuwei, after breaking through to the Divine Hall Pass, it was never a true life-and-death battle.
Now, facing this "mirror image" that was completely identical to him, a powerful fighting spirit surged in his heart. He was the first to move, transforming into an afterimage and lunging straight for his double.
He combined the Dragon Suppressing Palm and Tiger Subduing Fist, striking at his opponent’s vital points without holding back in the slightest.
The two identical figures instantly clashed. Powerful Qi flared out as they fought on equal footing, making it impossible to determine a winner for the moment.
Seeing their eldest brother had already made his move, Chen Shouye and Chen Shouyue exchanged a glance and each charged toward their own "mirror image."
Chen Shouye’s Cultivation Technique focused on defense.
His battle with his mirror image wasn’t an intense exchange of attacks like Chen Shouheng’s.
He deployed layer after layer of the Immovable Vajra Bright King Gang Qi. The two of them were like a pair of fortresses, their battle more a contest of Inner Qi consumption and defense. They were locked in a stalemate, a war of attrition.
On the other side, however, Chen Shouyue’s situation was completely different.
She executed the Five Directions Twenty-Four Solar Terms Wuxiang Fist. The technique’s moves were exquisite and her Inner Qi flowed quite smoothly, showing she had clearly grasped its essence.
But her opponent, the mirror "Chen Shouyue," was faster, her moves more fluid.
Its understanding and application of the Fist Technique’s essence were even more profound than the original.
After just three moves, Chen Shouyue was horrified to find herself already at a disadvantage.
Her opponent’s attacks always managed to cut off her path a split second faster, and its application of Power was more cunning and sharp, as if it could predict her every subtle movement.
’How can this be...’
Chen Shouyue was terrified. She gritted her teeth and pushed her Fist Technique to its absolute limit, her attacks growing ever more ferocious.
But after holding out for just over ten more moves, the mirror "Chen Shouyue" sent a fist piercing through her flurry of strikes, landing squarely on her shoulder.
BANG!
Chen Shouyue’s qi and blood roiled. Her vision went black as she was sent flying backward, crashing heavily into the void.
The instant she was hit, the surrounding white void shattered like a mirror and dissipated.
The Illusion Realm receded like a tide, and the scenery reverted to the training courtyard.
However, the sense of fragmentation lasted only a moment before an invisible force pulled her back up. The surroundings solidified once more, and the mirror "Chen Shouyue" reappeared before her.
Chen Shouyue’s face was deathly pale. She looked at this opponent, identical to herself, a terrified expression in her eyes.
That last punch had been merciless, filled with real killing intent.
Facing it again, she couldn’t help but feel a flicker of fear.
Just then, Chen Shouheng, who was in the middle of a fierce battle with his own mirror image, called out a reminder, "Shouyue, steady your Heart Spirit! It’s only your mirror image, it can’t really hurt you—"
Before he could finish, a sharp glint erupted in the eyes of the mirror Chen Shouheng. Seizing the opening created by his distraction, it threw a punch that shadowed his movement, broke through his defense, and slammed viciously into his ribs.
"Pfft!"
Chen Shouheng grunted, his body shuddering violently. A trickle of blood escaped the corner of his mouth as he was "knocked out" of the space.
But just as before, the moment he was about to exit, the invisible force pulled him steadily back in.
At the same time, another "mirror Chen Shouheng" with a perfect aura and in peak condition materialized before him.
Seeing this, Chen Shouheng’s eyes showed no sign of dejection. Instead, they burned with an even more fervent fighting spirit.
After the intense battle, nearly half of his Inner Qi and Power of Divine Sense had been depleted, yet the newly appeared mirror image was in perfect condition.
This disparity only fueled his fighting spirit further.
"Bring it on!"
He let out a low roar and lunged forward again, his moves becoming even more vicious and sharp.
Chen Shouye, in contrast, was still locked in a tedious exchange of offense and defense with his mirror image. Neither could gain the upper hand, and they were trapped in a prolonged contest of Inner Strength and willpower.
While the three siblings battled desperately against their "selves," Chen Li frowned.
Maintaining the Ruins Realm’s operation was consuming far more energy than he had anticipated.
A steady stream of Inner Qi poured into the Ruins Mirror.
As time went on, the consumption rate grew higher and higher.
To his surprise, however, as the Inner Qi in his Dantian dwindled at a visible rate, the restlessness of his Divine Embryo grew increasingly distinct.
’Breakthrough comes at the point of utter exhaustion. From extreme adversity comes rebirth!’
The thought flashed through Chen Li’s mind like a bolt of lightning.
So this was the opportunity he had been desperately searching for to break through to the Guiyuan Pass.
Only when the old strength is exhausted can new life be born from depletion.
’So that’s how it is!’
Chen Li continued to maintain the Ruins Realm, only dispersing the Ruins Mirror’s power when he sensed that all three of his children had exhausted their Inner Strength.
The figures of Chen Shouheng, Chen Shouye, and Chen Shouyue reappeared.
Each of them was pale, their backs soaked with sweat, and their auras were weak. This was especially true for Chen Shouyue, whose eyes still held a trace of terror and lingering fear.
"That is all for today."
Chen Li looked at his three children and instructed, "I have had an insight and must immediately enter a period of seclusion. You should all cultivate diligently and digest what you have learned."
After they agreed, Chen Li entered his private chamber without any delay.
Maintaining the Ruins Realm had consumed nearly half of his Inner Qi, leaving him with an unprecedented feeling of both clarity and restlessness interwoven in his heart.
This time, he could clearly sense that the moment for his breakthrough had arrived.
The arrow was nocked and had to be loosed.
Sinking his mind into his Dantian, Chen Li poured all the remaining Inner Qi from the meridians and Acupoints throughout his body into the Tuo Dragon Pearl.
As the Inner Qi in his body rapidly depleted, he suddenly felt his entire being lighten, as if a thousand-pound weight had been lifted. His limbs and bones felt completely empty.
At the same time, within his Divine Hall Acupoint, the Divine Embryo—long since nurtured to Perfection and growing restless—sensed the emptiness of his physical body and suddenly erupted with brilliant light.
No longer bound by any restraints, it seized absolute control of his physical body.
The Divine Embryo began to operate on its own, guiding Innate Primordial Qi into the meridians upon its surface, which had once been illusory but were now gradually solidifying.
The Innate Primordial Qi surged, and wherever it passed, the meridians grew clearer. One by one, the once-dim Acupoints were lit up in sequence, like stars in the night sky.
After sitting in meditation for an unknown length of time, the final meridian and last Acupoint within the Divine Embryo were also filled with Primordial Qi, reaching a state of ultimate fullness.
Success came naturally, and the barrier broke on its own.
The Divine Embryo, sitting cross-legged in the void, suddenly opened its eyes.
Immediately after, a stream of energy as thick as a little finger and condensed as if it were tangible separated from the Divine Embryo. It traveled along the Bridge of Heaven and Earth and returned to the Dantian Qi Sea in Chen Li’s physical body.
Primordial Qi!
The Spirit Realm Seventh Level, the Guiyuan Pass, was achieved.
The moment the stream of energy appeared, Chen Li’s entire Heart Spirit trembled violently.
He could clearly perceive the fundamental, world-spanning difference between the two.
Inner Qi was like smoke or mist, but this strand of Primordial Qi was as heavy as mercury, and within it, countless, infinitesimally small golden runes flickered in and out of existence.
The power contained in this single, small strand of Primordial Qi far surpassed the total sum of all his previous Inner Qi.
At this stage, the Divine Embryo had been completely transformed. It could now truly be called a Primordial Spirit.
The very moment the Primordial Spirit stabilized, a familiar system prompt sounded, right on cue, deep within Chen Li’s mind.
[Congratulations to the Host for breaking through to the Spirit Realm Seventh Level, the Guiyuan Pass. Reward distributed: Cyan Lotus (Living Creature).]
’What’s this?’
Chen Li was stunned, and his consciousness sank into the system.
"A living creature?"
He was greatly surprised.
The Cyan Lotus was a common plant in the world, but the suffix "Living Creature" made it seem highly unusual.
With a thought, he checked its description.
Cyan Lotus (Living Creature): Nurtured before the dawn of creation, formed from a wisp of innate life force between Heaven and Earth. Possesses the unfathomable, profound powers of purification, derivation, and creation. Growth potential unknown.
’The dawn of creation? Innate life force?’
This string of words made Chen Li’s heart pound.
This was no ordinary treasure. Its origins were likely terrifyingly grand.
With a slight shift of his intention, he retrieved the Cyan Lotus from the system space.
A palm-sized, spectral image of a lotus, verdant all over and with its bud yet to bloom, appeared. It was so lifelike he could even feel a faint but incredibly pure fluctuation of life force from it.
It was warm and smooth to the touch, feeling like neither jade nor wood. Its petals were tightly closed, and its leaves looked succulent enough to drip water, exuding a refreshing, heart-lifting fragrance.
Chen Li pondered for a moment, then his Primordial Spirit emerged from his body. Cradling the Cyan Lotus, it once again entered the inner world of the Tuo Dragon Pearl, a world now almost depleted of Primordial Qi and utterly desolate.
A gray sky, a barren land, and Primordial Qi so thin it was almost imperceptible.
The Primordial Spirit gently placed the Cyan Lotus on the lifeless, ochre-colored ground.
A strange scene occurred!
The Cyan Lotus’s roots, as if alive, began to writhe on their own, burrowing into the soil that should have been incapable of nurturing any life.
Immediately after, the Inner Qi that Chen Li had previously poured into the pearl was slowly drawn toward the Cyan Lotus, converging upon it.
The Cyan Lotus swayed slightly, its brilliance flowing. The tightly closed flower bud unfurled by a minuscule degree.
It was actually beginning to grow, albeit extremely slowly, in this dead world?
Chen Li was astounded. His Primordial Spirit hovered to the side, observing quietly for a long time.
However, he couldn’t yet fathom what great use this Cyan Lotus had, or to what extent it could grow.
With that, his Primordial Spirit returned to his main body.
Having successfully stepped into the Guiyuan Pass, formed his Primordial Spirit, and generated Primordial Qi, his strength had undergone an earth-shattering transformation.
His gaze was already set on the eighth level of the Spirit Realm: the Dharma Aspect Pass.
The so-called Dharma Aspect wasn’t as simple as one might imagine—merely enlarging one’s Primordial Spirit and manifesting it externally to fight enemies.
The "Fa" in the name means Law.
The "Xiang" means Manifestation.
It refers to a Practitioner using their own Primordial Spirit as a mirror to reflect the fundamental principles governing the operation of all things in Heaven and Earth, and then integrating those principles into the origin of their Primordial Spirit.
This "Aspect" does not have a fixed form; rather, it is the embodiment of one’s comprehension of a certain Law of Heaven and Earth.
This level was no longer just about resources, but more about comprehension—an enlightenment regarding the nature of Heaven and Earth and the principles of all things.
As long as one could comprehend a trace of the world’s principles, brand it upon their Primordial Spirit, and manifest the corresponding "Dharma Aspect" characteristic, they would be considered to have entered this level.
However, the Laws of Heaven and Earth were ethereal and difficult to find, making comprehension exceedingly difficult.
It could not be achieved through sheer hard work alone; it relied more on chance and innate comprehension.
’I can’t rush this.’
Chen Li muttered to himself, suppressing the impulse to immediately enter seclusion to seek enlightenment.