Just as Li Tianwei thoroughly altered the qi-gathering method of the Heavenly Origin Dao Foundation Method according to his own understanding,
the surging spiritual qi began to stir restlessly.
Metal's sharpness and edge, wood's vitality and growth, water's nourishment and tolerance, fire's frenzy and destruction, earth's heaviness and vastness...
Under Li Tianwei's Fission Qi Gathering Method, the spiritual qi of the five attributes collided and struck against one another exactly as he had envisioned.
In an instant, one became two, two became four...
The Five Elements naturally generated and restrained one another. Under such explosive manipulation, the spiritual qi of the five attributes kept growing stronger.
The spirit-gathering formation around this Sword Tablet had originally been prepared by Bai Muxu for disciples attempting Foundation Establishment in a Hundred Days, and it was also where the spiritual qi was densest within the Lingxu Sacred Land.
Thus, under Li Tianwei's manipulation, the Five Elements spiritual qi merged and underwent fission, the energy within continually erupting.
Amid the turbulence and fission of spiritual qi, a streak of golden light tore across the sky above Tianmen Peak. A phenomenon emerged, followed by an ancient towering tree brimming with dense vitality, rising to prop up the heavens...
Yet this spectacle was only the beginning. Above the blue sky, a vast cerulean hue blossomed across the clear heavens, as though the sky had turned into an ocean—and it still was not over.
High in the clear sky, a blazing sun emerged, like a Golden Crow descending into the world, its aura of destruction and grandeur hanging upside down.
Finally, heaven and earth exchanged places. The land hung inverted in the sky, and an aura of heaviness and vastness surfaced.
Five kinds of heavenly phenomena shone down upon Tianmen Peak. It seemed as though a heavenly stairway extended downward from above; a hundred birds paid homage to the phoenix, dragons and phoenixes cried out in unison...
"Quick, look! What is that?"
At this moment, many people in the Lingxu Sacred Land noticed the anomaly at Tianmen Peak. They raised their heads one after another and saw the heavenly phenomena appearing overhead.
"Ahhh! This is... a phenomenon, a heavenly phenomenon..."
"Could some supreme treasure of heaven and earth, or some spiritual medicine, be coming into being there?"
"I remember that's Tianmen Peak... Is Peak Master Bai undergoing tribulation?"
The Five Elements phenomena continued to emerge, leaving the people of the Lingxu Sacred Land full of doubts. Many disciples and elders in secluded cultivation were also alarmed by the commotion.
On Tianmen Peak, Bai Muxu had originally been waiting anxiously. He remembered that when he cultivated the Heavenly Origin Dao Foundation Method, it had taken only two hours. Yet ten hours had already passed since Li Tianwei climbed to the summit—longer than any disciple he had ever taken in.
Bai Muxu could not help wondering whether the Heart-Questioning Stairway had made a mistake. How could someone with Li Tianwei's aptitude possibly reach the top? Or had something happened to him?
Even so, Bai Muxu still remembered his own words: he had given Li Tianwei a hundred days to establish his foundation.
Therefore, he would not drive Li Tianwei away during those hundred days. It was only a pity that Li Tianwei was not the person he needed.
Just as Bai Muxu sighed regretfully, the disturbance from the summit reached below. The Five Elements heavenly phenomena descended, while the violent unrest of spiritual qi told of something extraordinary happening atop the peak.
"What did he do up there...?!"
Seeing the movement at the summit, Bai Muxu's eyes widened as he stared upward in disbelief.
"A phenomenon like this would only appear when an immortal artifact came into being. No, there is another possibility..."
At that moment, Bai Muxu seemed to think of something. He lowered his head and pondered for a while.
"If it isn't an immortal artifact, then he has cast off the old and brought forth the new, changing something in heaven and earth—something capable of leading an era. That is why such blessings have descended."
The more Bai Muxu thought about it, the more plausible it seemed. Otherwise, how could such phenomena possibly appear?
"It seems my disciple truly will become an extraordinary figure."
Bai Muxu could not help thinking.
Very soon, because of the Five Elements phenomena, several streaks of light cut through the skies over the Lingxu Sacred Land, and several figures appeared at Tianmen Peak.
After appearing, the figures slowly descended beside Bai Muxu.
"Junior Brother Bai, what is going on?"
Since this was Tianmen Peak's territory, those who had arrived could not simply force their way up.
"It is a commotion caused by my newly accepted disciple. Truly shameful! I have disturbed my senior brothers' secluded cultivation."
Bai Muxu smiled as he spoke to the people before him.
Hearing Bai Muxu say this, they immediately extended their divine senses upward. Finding that the disturbance on the summit was indeed exactly as Bai Muxu had said, they looked at him with some envy.
"If I'd known, I would have competed with you for him."
True Lord Lanyu of Yunxiao Peak could not help saying.
Bai Muxu's face was unable to conceal his delight as he cupped his hands toward the peak masters and elders before him.
"Senior brothers, elders, please help me conceal this phenomenon!"
"Since Junior Brother has asked, how could we refuse?"
With that, everyone rose into the air and shot straight into the clouds. Each took up a position, spiritual qi surging as their hands formed various seals.
A tide of spiritual qi howled past, stirring ripples. The entire world swayed, as though a curtain had fallen from the heavens to cover it all. The original Five Elements phenomena melted away between heaven and earth.
At that very moment, a long, profound voice came from the depths of the Lingxu Sacred Land.
"The five-element spiritual resonance descended from heaven and triggered these phenomena. The elders of the Sacred Land have joined forces to subdue it. Disciples and elders, do not neglect your cultivation. Disperse!"
The lingering voice echoed throughout the Lingxu Sacred Land.
"Farewell, Holy Master..."
Those within the Lingxu Sacred Land who had been disturbed by the phenomena clasped their hands and called out in unison after hearing the voice.
After Bai Muxu and the others concealed the phenomena, they heard the Lingxu Holy Master's voice and understood that he clearly did not want outsiders to learn the reason behind it.
"It seems our Lingxu Sacred Land can prosper for several thousand more years."
Several elders stroked their beards and smiled as they looked toward the summit of Tianmen Peak.
As for Li Tianwei, who had caused such an enormous disturbance, he had no mind to consider what was happening outside.
At this moment, he had already fallen into a predicament where he could neither advance nor retreat. His Fission Qi Gathering Method had indeed succeeded.
Yet it was precisely because of this Fission Qi Gathering Method that the spiritual qi had become extraordinarily violent. The energy contained within was terrifyingly rich; although it was clearly smaller than before, it seemed as though it had been compressed hundreds of times over.
Li Tianwei had a feeling that if he forcibly drew this spiritual qi into his body, there would be only one outcome: he would be burst apart by this violent spiritual qi.
"No, if it keeps undergoing fission, it'll explode."
Li Tianwei sensed the current state of the spiritual qi. The reason he could maintain it was mainly because he had used fission on the spiritual qi. The spiritual qi of the five attributes inherently generated and restrained one another, allowing them to offset and guide each other, but at the same time, they were also continuously compressing.
That was what made it truly terrifying.
"Should I try absorbing some?"
Though the voice in his mind told him that absorbing it would mean death, Li Tianwei also possessed an irresistible confidence: this spiritual qi might be like this for ordinary cultivators.
But he possessed a Heavenly Spirit Root, a true protagonist's talent. It seemed he might not be unable to bear it.
At that thought, Li Tianwei immediately felt the wrinkles in his brain smooth out.