The long years of cultivation passed by like fleeting moments. For spiritual masters, time was but an insignificant speck. Within the world of the Creation Furnace, nine years had elapsed. Li Xuan, as still as an ancient monk in meditation, was covered in dust.
Boom!
On this day, accompanied by a thunderous roar, a blinding spiritual light erupted from Li Xuan. His robes billowed, and the dust instantly scattered. Li Xuan's eyes, which had been slightly closed, now opened.
Above his head, a vortex swirled, within which floated a staggering forty-nine thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine star spiritual beads. The star spiritual beads shimmered, and the dim heavens and earth were illuminated as if it were midday.
"Nine years, and to reach such a level. No wonder my two sisters recommended you so highly; you are indeed extraordinary. Yet, you've stopped here. Have you encountered a bottleneck?"
The stir Li Xuan was causing immediately caught the attention of Lin Yunyun, the mistress of the Creation Furnace. Upon observing, a hint of astonishment flickered in her beautiful eyes.
The Divine Transformation Realm. The initial stage involved transforming the spiritual power of one's own sea of qi into star spiritual beads, built upon prior accumulations.
After stimulating one's potential, the subsequent path was to continuously expand the area of one's spiritual mansion to accommodate more star spiritual beads.
Generally speaking, once the number of star spiritual beads reached around fifty thousand, one could enter the Qualitative Change Realm. Of course, this was for ordinary spiritual masters. The required number also depended on the foundation laid by the spiritual master in the initial stages.
Take Li Xuan, for instance, or Grand Venerable Lin Yi; both possessed a 'three-nine' foundation, thus requiring a number of star spiritual beads far exceeding that of ordinary individuals. When Li Xuan broke through to the intermediate stage of the Quantitative Change Realm, he, like Grand Venerable Lin Yi, had accumulated a full one hundred thousand star spiritual beads.
It was thanks to the blessed ground of the Creation Furnace that he had gained an additional twenty thousand star spiritual beads.
The accumulation within the Qualitative Change Realm required even more star spiritual beads to advance further. This was not a simple doubling of previous accumulations. The threshold for the Divine Transformation Realm was at least five hundred thousand star spiritual beads.
In other words, Li Xuan was now only a single step away from the Divine Transformation Realm.
"I'd heard before that five hundred thousand star spiritual beads could touch the threshold of the advanced Divine Transformation Realm. But my intuition tells me that if I break through now, something will be missing. Did I forget something?"
Li Xuan pondered with a slight frown. During his previous cultivation, as he was about to condense the five hundred thousandth star spiritual bead, his heart had suddenly trembled inexplicably.
That feeling had instantly caused Li Xuan to stop.
However, after a moment of thought, Li Xuan still could not pinpoint what he was missing.
"It seems I must go to the furnace heart to investigate." After a while, Li Xuan shook his head, stood up, and looked towards the depths of the Creation Furnace.
Having made up his mind, Li Xuan's figure moved swiftly, heading towards the furnace heart.
Along the way, Li Xuan sensed the presence of other disciples, but he did not stop to observe. In such a precious place, it was undoubtedly a waste of time.
"So, he's encountered a bottleneck," Grand Venerable Lin Yunyun murmured softly as she watched the screen. The next moment, a gleam of surprise appeared in her eyes: "Could it be that, like Brother Yi, he's touched upon that particular opportunity?"
Grand Venerable Lin Yunyun clearly remembered that when Grand Venerable Lin Yi was advancing to the Divine Transformation Realm, he had triggered a 'Mysterious Mansion Returning to Origin.'
The so-called Mysterious Mansion Returning to Origin was a mysterious space accessible only to spiritual masters with a 'three-nine' foundation. Within it, one could be closest to comprehending the heavens and the earth.
This process was called divine soul enlightenment.
Although spiritual masters could gain insights during divine soul comprehension, having such an opportunity at the Divine Transformation Realm was considered heaven-defying. And now, Li Xuan's actions undoubtedly made Grand Venerable Lin Yunyun extremely excited.
Judging by Li Xuan's current cultivation trajectory, he would undoubtedly become the second Grand Venerable Lin Yi in the future. This was incredibly good news for the Tianyi Domain.
Two Grand Venerables in one domain. The mere thought was enough to stir immense excitement.
At the furnace heart, a stone disk approximately a hundred meters in diameter rotated slowly. As Li Xuan arrived, he was somewhat surprised to find no disciples in the furnace heart.
"This is for the best, much quieter," Li Xuan smiled, then stepped directly onto the stone disk and walked to the center.
Boom!
As soon as Li Xuan sat down, a roaring sound erupted. The rotation speed of the entire stone disk instantly increased, eventually becoming so fast that Li Xuan's figure was difficult to discern. In a flash of lightning, the stone disk and Li Xuan's figure vanished.
"Indeed, he is someone beyond observation." Grand Venerable Lin Yunyun, seeing this from the void, shook her head with a wry smile.
The reason Li Xuan couldn't see other disciples in the furnace heart was that Grand Venerable Lin Yunyun had already moved them away. Her purpose, naturally, was to verify if Li Xuan had indeed triggered that stage.
The result, however, turned out to be like this, but it also indirectly confirmed Grand Venerable Lin Yunyun's conjecture.
How could the enlightenment of the Great Dao be witnessed by others?
In the boundless void, Li Xuan sat cross-legged on the stone disk, his eyes closed.
The sky was filled with shimmering stars, shining brightly.
Visually, the expanse seemed boundless.
The light of these stars, as if guided, converged into Li Xuan's body. Chants of Sanskrit resonated, like celestial music in Li Xuan's mind.
Within Li Xuan's spiritual mansion, the world was expanding outwards at a visible rate. In just the time it took for a single stick of incense to burn, the world within Li Xuan's spiritual mansion had expanded fivefold. The original forty-nine thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine star spiritual beads now felt much more spacious.
As time passed, the myriad stars in the sky began to change. Countless stars connected, and scenes unfolded. Li Xuan's closed eyes opened at some point, filled with a look of confusion.
Within the paintings, there was an endless, dark abyss. In the abyss, ink reflected black light like a mirror.
Within the paintings, there was a vast, azure, pure white sky. In the sky, there was no wind or rain, still as a stagnant pool.
Within the paintings, there were brilliant stars filling the sky. Amidst the stars, they were dazzling and magnificent, like a prairie fire.
Within the paintings, there were bustling figures. Among the crowd, heads were packed tightly together.
…
Each painting, though seemingly ordinary, seemed to be missing something intangible. Li Xuan's furrowed brow deepened, and the confusion in his eyes intensified.
Time flowed on, and the scenes disappeared only to be replaced by new ones. One after another, they cycled endlessly.
At some unknown time, Li Xuan's body erupted with resplendent spiritual light. The paintings that existed and had vanished now froze in the boundless void. Li Xuan, who had been sitting on the stone disk, now stood up. The confusion in his eyes receded, replaced by his original calm composure.
"God said, 'Let there be light,' and there was light."
"But I feel that just having light is not enough."
"This world also needs spirit."
As his words fell, Li Xuan raised his hand and flicked his finger, releasing a beam of spiritual light. It instantly dispersed, shooting towards each of the paintings.
In the dark abyss, a dazzling beam of sunlight suddenly appeared, instantly revealing the bottom.
In the pure white sky, a gust of wind was suddenly heard. Then, white clouds began to drift slowly.
Among the stars filling the sky, a new moon suddenly rose. The stars instantly dimmed, and in the next moment, they began to flicker with starlight, as if in a dance.
Among the bustling crowds of the Great Dao, a shout rang out, and the figures all began to move. Some to the left, some to the right, some forward, some backward.
…
With the injection of Li Xuan's spiritual energy, each painting became filled with vitality. And in the boundless void at this moment, a colossal eye slowly opened. In its gaze, Li Xuan was as tiny as an ant.
"Heaven's will is benevolent; it grants you spirit!"
An ancient, heavy voice echoed, and the paintings, within these words, all transformed into spiritual light floating in mid-air.
In the next instant, streams of spiritual light flowed, then surged towards Li Xuan's body in unison.
Li Xuan's body floated, motionless as if asleep.
Boom!
After the spiritual light entered Li Xuan's body, it all surged towards his spiritual mansion. In a mere breath, the fiftieth millionth star spiritual bead was condensed. One, then another…