While Li Ping was conversing with Master Yin, the dark-haired youth who had comprehended a path to the Hunyuan Golden Core on his own saw his life signs rapidly diminish. Ultimately, he completely lost the aura that a living being ought to possess.
Yet he was not dead.
The dark-haired youth still sat there quietly, the spiritual energy within his body circulating spontaneously.
Majestic, arcane.
"A pity he couldn't hold on. He has been thoroughly assimilated by the grotto-heaven's consciousness, losing his sense of self," Master Yin sighed deeply, his face filled with regret. "His original strength was too frail, and his chosen target was ill-suited. Had he chosen that slightly smaller grotto-heaven beside it, he might have been spared."
Li Ping's gaze also rested upon the dark-haired youth, lingering for a long time.
"What is his name?"
"Qu Wentian."
"A good name. However, there is still one thing I do not understand," Li Ping's voice echoed in the cavernous secret chamber. "At the Foundation Establishment realm, can one truly seize the fortune of a grotto-heaven? That vanished grotto-heaven was named Yuanhuang. Although it did not appear particularly large from Great Qi, the scale of Yuanhuang was still equivalent to nearly half of the Great Qi pocket world..."
"Perhaps the boy was exceptionally gifted," Master Yin replied after a long silence, unable to formulate any other explanation.
"You must understand that people differ from one another. Some feats that seem utterly impossible to us are mere trifles in the eyes of others. Though the path to the Hunyuan Golden Core blazed by Qu Wentian is destined to be walkable by only a tiny minority, it has given me inspiration."
Master Yin looked at Li Ping, his expression turning solemn. "You are right. If we wish to completely dismantle the dominance of Chuanfa's new method, our new new method is destined not to be a niche, arduous path.
"Back then, the reason Chuanfa's cultivation path could spread across the entire Xuanhuang Realm like wildfire in an instant, persisting ceaselessly beneath the suppression of the Ten Sects and ultimately supplanting them, was precisely that it had virtually no barrier to entry. Cultivation accessible to everyone—that is what the new new method ought to embody.
"I've given it some thought: the reason Qu Wentian could break through his realm upon the foundation of establishing the foundation with oneself was that he seized the fortune of a grotto-heaven world. By deduction, the fortune of a world must be the most critical factor for the Hunyuan Golden Core."
Master Yin spoke faster and faster, his demeanor growing excited.
"No reliance on external items, accessible to all for cultivation, the fortune of a world...
"Synthesizing these three prerequisite conditions reveals a glimpse of what the truly ideal Hunyuan Golden Core looks like!"
With a wave of Master Yin's hand, phantom faces of youthful children materialized before the two of them.
"Seizing the fortune of a world is not for the sake of the fortune itself, but for the evolution of that fortune. To ordinary people, a world's fortune is profound and incomprehensible, something that can only be forcefully claimed through devouring—becoming part of oneself to be comprehended slowly thereafter.
"Yet, if there were a Saint Teacher who could instruct them personally, teaching their own insights into the evolution of a world's fortune in exhaustive detail, one by one...
"In my view, even young children could grasp the Dao!" Master Yin stated with conviction.
Seeing the skepticism in Li Ping's eyes, he added, "The method of establishing the foundation with oneself—how intricate and unimaginable does it appear to outsiders? Yet in the eyes of the children I teach, who have been exposed to it since youth and believe it to be the only cultivation method in existence, it is not so difficult to learn. Especially once the first among them succeeded in establishing the foundation with oneself, it was as if a bottleneck was shattered, and successful candidates appeared one after another.
"It was true for establishing the foundation with oneself, and so it is for the Hunyuan Golden Core.
"What is more, the new new method ought to vary from person to person. Emulating the evolution of a world within one's own body to achieve Hunyuan does not necessarily require chasing absolute perfection. After all, worlds are large or small, and cultivators' innate talents and potential vary. Bringing one's own latent potential into full play is already enough...
"The only thing needed is: where can we find such a Saint Teacher? One whose understanding of the world has reached the pinnacle, and who is willing to selflessly and patiently share their insights with others..."
As Master Yin spoke, his gaze drifted toward the Destined Holy Emperor before him.
"Though I am willing to serve as a teacher to the realm, alas..." Li Ping paused slightly. "My own comprehension of the Dao of the world is insufficient. How could I teach others?
"In my view, throughout the entire Xuanhuang Realm, the only one qualified to be this teacher is probably Heavenly Venerable Chuanfa. Are we to have Chuanfa rebel against himself?
"Fellow Daoist, you must ponder your path to the Hunyuan Golden Core more thoroughly."
Master Yin was powerless to refute him, a glimmer of unwillingness and bewilderment flickering in his eyes.
Li Ping had come in high spirits, but returned disappointed.
Leaving Master Yin behind, he returned alone.
He properly reassured Daoist Baihua, who had rushed over believing that the Xuanhuang Realm had been attacked by the Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals and was searching for enemies.
Moreover, he rewarded her with some Golden Source Power as a commendation.
As a crystallized form of pure cultivation base, Golden Source Power was an immense tonic for Baihua, who was a pure energy body.
Baihua first expressed her gratitude and then solemnly absorbed it.
"Eh? Fellow Daoist, what you gave this time..."
After ingesting the Golden Source Power, before Daoist Baihua could finish a complete sentence, her voice turned into an incredulous gasp.
"Why is it so dense?
"It's almost like...
"Source Power Essence?!"
Daoist Baihua looked at Li Fan in utter shock.
Her glazed body grew more dazzling and solid at a speed visible to the naked eye.
Lingering injuries accumulated over years slowly mended. Even the faint, lingering connection with the fishing pond—which had never dissipated since her capture and subsequent escape—seemed washed away by the Golden Source Power until it was negligible.
Correspondingly, as Daoist Baihua looked at the Faceless Holy Emperor before her, his unfathomable figure slowly imprinted itself upon her heart.
Li Ping offered no explanation, leaving Baihua with only an enigmatic silhouette.
*Could he already be so close to the realm of a True Immortal?*
*How is that possible?*
Baihua was gripped by sheer astonishment, yet the surging Golden Source Power within her, holding power far transcending the mundane, seemed the best proof of her suspicion.
...
As an avatar, Li Ping's realm naturally had not surpassed that of the true body.
He remained at the Nascent Soul realm, and virtually all of his combat strength derived from the imperial fortune of the Great Qi Holy Dynasty; his own strength was pitifully weak.
The reason he could produce golden energy essence infinitely close to Source Power Essence was precisely due to a special group of people.
Beneath the Holy Emperor Throne, deep underground.
It was pitch-black, devoid of a single ray of sunlight.
Yet here lived a group of people, completely unaffected.
Aside from their daily routine, their most important task was to pray toward stone statues of the Holy Emperor.
Chapter 1190