Transcendence

Holding the statue of Holy Lord Emperor Guan, Huang Huai was filled with anticipation. He took one step forward, and when he reappeared, he was already in another world.

The once-dilapidated courtyard had changed dramatically. The weeds had long since been cleared away, and the broken doors and windows had been removed. The damaged parts of several rooms had clearly been repaired. It went without saying that the renovations had continued over the past few days.

Huang Huai appeared in the side room, where a statue of Guanyin Bodhisattva was enshrined, carrying the statue of Holy Lord Emperor Guan. He set it on the altar, then took incense and candles and offered incense to both Holy Lord Emperor Guan and Guanyin Bodhisattva.

After that, Huang Huai looked around the courtyard. Once he was sure no one was there, he closed the doors and windows and sat cross-legged before the altar.

Thin wisps of sandalwood incense drifted through the room. Huang Huai sat facing the altar, slowly calming his mind as he prepared to condense his True Spirit Primordial Spirit.

After only a few breaths, his mind was as still as water. With a mere thought, he could visualize either a White Bone form or the Taiji Diagram.

At Huang Huai's prompting, a finely detailed Taiji Diagram, its yin and yang endlessly revolving, took shape in his mind.

This time, Huang Huai had decided not to rely on the White Bone Visualization Method to condense his True Spirit Primordial Spirit. Instead, he would try using the Tai Chi Diagram Visualization Method.

Deep down, Huang Huai believed that compared with the White Bone Visualization Method, the supreme Visualization Methods passed down by the Daoist schools in the modern world were far superior.

The fact that Daoists in the modern world couldn't cultivate extraordinary power through Visualization Methods was due to the constraints of heaven and earth. It didn't mean the secret Visualization Methods of the Daoist schools were weak.

So this time, Huang Huai was going to give it a try. At worst, he would fail and need a few days to recover. Others might have to fail a dozen or even twenty times before they could condense a True Spirit Primordial Spirit. Why couldn't he? He had all the patience he needed to make a few attempts.

Besides, what if he succeeded? The quality of the Visualization Method directly determined the strength of the True Spirit Primordial Spirit one condensed.

Although the True Spirit Primordial Spirit's strength could also be improved through later cultivation, if he could get a head start from the beginning, why wouldn't he?

The immense Taiji Diagram revolved with yin and yang, seeming almost real. It was clear that Huang Huai had spent years visualizing it. At the prompting of his mind, the Taiji Diagram suddenly soared upward. In the next instant, Huang Huai felt his soul tremble. To his astonishment, he discovered that his consciousness had entered a mysterious place.

"So this is the Sea of Consciousness!"

A sudden understanding welled up inside him. Filled with curiosity, Huang Huai examined his state. His body radiated a gentle light, while above his head, a Taiji Diagram with yin and yang in constant motion suppressed the chaotic space in every direction.

The Sea of Consciousness was gray and boundless, like primordial chaos. Under the Taiji Diagram's suppression, a stable region had appeared within it, and the True Spirit Primordial Spirit he had condensed stood in its midst.

At a glance, the region seemed to span several miles. Huang Huai was delighted by this alone. According to the Xuan Yuan Casting God Method, under normal circumstances, a True Spirit Primordial Spirit condensed through the White Bone Visualization Method could use the spiritual power gathered by visualizing bones to suppress an area no larger than a few dozen zhang.

Huang Huai couldn't help looking up at the yin-yang Taiji Diagram, which radiated an aura of profound mystery. He quietly congratulated himself on choosing the Tai Chi Diagram Visualization Method for his Foundation Establishment.

It seemed that the White Bone Visualization Method and the Tai Chi Diagram Visualization Method truly differed by quite a lot.

Inside the Sea of Consciousness, Huang Huai was curiously sensing its wonders when a thought stirred in him. He instinctively looked toward one part of the sea. Suddenly, chaos surged. Beyond the area suppressed by the Taiji Diagram, the Sea of Consciousness seemed to boil, as if some sealed monster were about to break free.

Abruptly, an utterly pure stream of Incense and Fire Prayer Power surged out of the void in the Sea of Consciousness. The moment it appeared, it naturally flowed into Huang Huai's spirit. Even Huang Huai himself hadn't realized what was happening.

After absorbing that stream of pure Incense and Fire Prayer Power, Huang Huai felt as if he had swallowed a potent tonic. Even his manifested True Spirit Primordial Spirit swelled, and the yin-yang Taiji Diagram above his head expanded with it. Chaos receded in every direction, opening up a much wider region.

The change happened in an instant. By the time Huang Huai came to his senses, understanding had dawned on him, and he knew where the sudden stream of Incense and Fire Prayer Power had come from.

Not long ago, the Emperor Lord Xuan Yuan had sent him a dream transmission using an imprint within the Jade Ruyi. Ordinarily, whatever the outcome, that imprint should have returned to the Jade Ruyi. But Holy Lord Emperor Guan had sliced the Emperor Lord Xuan Yuan's imprint to pieces, and that imprint had been manifested from Incense and Fire Prayer Power.

Once the imprint was destroyed, what remained was pure Incense and Fire Prayer Power. Naturally, that power had been suppressed within the Sea of Consciousness.

Now that Huang Huai had condensed a True Spirit Primordial Spirit to guard his Sea of Consciousness, the Incense and Fire Prayer Power naturally flowed into his spirit.

Relieved, Huang Huai was also delighted. After absorbing that stream of Incense and Fire Prayer Power, he could feel his spiritual power had more than doubled. If he had relied on hard cultivation, it would probably have taken him a year or even longer to reach this level.

With a thought, his consciousness returned to his body. Huang Huai opened his eyes and immediately felt that everything before him had brightened, as if the whole world had suddenly become clearer.

Huang Huai knew full well that this was because condensing his True Spirit Primordial Spirit had greatly increased his spiritual power, making his five senses extraordinarily keen.

"So I've successfully entered the ranks of the extraordinary!"

Understanding dawned in Huang Huai's heart, and joy rose within him. He'd had confidence in himself, but he hadn't expected to condense a True Spirit Primordial Spirit on only his second attempt and complete the first step of Foundation Establishment in the Xuan Yuan Casting God Method.

"With this aptitude, would I count as a little genius in another world?"

Of course, he knew the truth of the matter all too well. Although this was only his second formal cultivation attempt, he had already spent more than a decade immersed in visualization. His foundations were solid beyond compare; all he had lacked was the method for condensing a True Spirit Primordial Spirit.

Huang Huai let out a breath of stale air. Looking at the statues of Holy Lord Emperor Guan and Guanyin Bodhisattva on the altar, he smiled and murmured, "Gather the True Spirit, stabilize the Sea of Consciousness, strengthen the spirit, open the Divine Court, invite a god into the body!"

He rose to his feet, confidence shining on his face. "The next step is to open the First Divine Court and invite a God or Devil into my body. From then on, the power of Gods and Devils will be my own. Extraordinary might will be mine, my lifespan will increase dramatically, and I'll no longer be mortal."

After checking the sky outside, Huang Huai stepped forward and picked up the statue of Holy Lord Emperor Guan. As the mysterious portal opened, he disappeared from sight.

He returned the statue of Holy Lord Emperor Guan to the side hall, then went back to his quarters. Instead of lying down for a sound sleep, he sat cross-legged and used the Visualization Method to temper and strengthen his spiritual power, building up enough strength to open the Divine Court.

Before he knew it, the night had passed. When the melodious morning bell rang, Huang Huai opened his eyes. A glimmer flashed through them, an outward sign of his surging spiritual power.

"Huh, I have to say, even after sitting cross-legged for so long, I don't feel uncomfortable at all. In fact, my whole body feels warm. Could this be the powerful spiritual energy nourishing the body, as the Xuan Yuan Casting God Method mentioned?"

Putting his thoughts aside, he left the courtyard with a smile on his face. It was clear how good his mood was.

Whenever Huang Huai saw one of his senior brothers, he greeted him first. Seeing the genuine joy on his face, they teased him, "Xiao Jiu, even if your aunt and Xiao Shan are coming to visit you in the next couple of days, you don't have to be this happy."

Huang Huai paid their teasing no mind. He couldn't exactly tell his senior brothers that he was so happy because he had condensed a True Spirit Primordial Spirit and had officially embarked on the path to wielding extraordinary power.