Innate Dao Body

Barely half a cup of tea after Ye Jing left, a Daoist strolled over leisurely.

This Daoist was utterly slovenly, clad in a tattered robe with disheveled hair held up by nothing more than a chicken leg bone.

His beard was white, his mouth greasy, and in his hand he held a plump, oily chicken leg, tearing into it with relentless bites.

Arriving at the spot where Ye Jing had undergone his tribulation, the Sloppy Daoist sneered, "This tribulation-crossing fellow is quite cautious, I'll give him that."

"But this Daoist wants to see just what ability this man has, to make the heavens send down the Nine Tribulation Dragons!"

A radiant light shimmered over the Sloppy Daoist's body, and the rhythm of the Dao flowed in his eyes as he sought to glimpse a sliver of Heavenly Secrets, to see what the tribulation-crossing man had done to incur such a great calamity from the heavens.

Suddenly, the Sloppy Daoist seemed to see something utterly inconceivable. His pupils dilated sharply, and he stood frozen like a wooden post.

Then he fell into a frenzied state, muttering endlessly under his breath.

"Impossible, utterly impossible. The Sixth Heaven and Earth Cataclysm has only just begun—how could a Time Domain appear in this world?"

"This is the most powerful domain under heaven. Those who comprehend it are all prodigies who shake the ages. With the current evolution of heaven and earth, it's impossible to nurture such a genius!"

"Could it be that those few have reappeared in the world? But that's impossible too!"

"According to the guidance of Heavenly Secrets, those few only steal the final fruit when heaven and earth evolve to their utmost peak."

"Besides, even if those few lived a second life, they would be born in the resplendent Central Continent, not in this barren Great Li!"

The Sloppy Daoist stared at the lingering aura of the Time Dao Principle before him, sinking into deep thought.

After breaking through from the Innate Realm to the Grandmaster Realm, Ye Jing's strength underwent earth-shattering changes. Not only had he opened up the Time Domain, but he could also fly through the air.

At the Grandmaster Realm, one could soar through the skies. The journey that had taken an hour to arrive now took only the time it takes to burn a single incense stick to return.

Back at the Ye Manor, Ye Jing immediately went to his room, sat cross-legged, and adjusted his breath.

The nine Tribulation Dragons were terrifyingly powerful. Even with the Thirteen Swords of Heavenly Annihilation and the Indestructible Golden Body, it was nearly impossible for Ye Jing to endure them unscathed.

Fortunately, after cultivating the Indestructible Golden Body, his physical strength was immense, and he had used the Thirteen Swords of Heavenly Annihilation to sever four of the Tribulation Dragons.

Enduring the remaining five Tribulation Dragons only left his Qi and Blood churning, with no serious injuries. A morning of quiet meditation to regulate his breath would suffice.

"Ah! Young Master, I've broken through to the Qi Refining Second Layer!"

At dawn, as the sky began to lighten, Ye Jing was awakened by Qiuyue's startled cry.

He had barely opened his eyes when he saw Qiuyue rushing in, her face brimming with joy.

Qi Refining Second Layer! Hearing that Qiuyue had broken through to the Qi Refining Second Layer, Ye Jing's drowsiness vanished instantly. He leaped out of bed and went to her side.

"Qiuyue, circulate the Imperial Pole Dao Proving Scripture for me to see."

Qiuyue's words had truly startled Ye Jing. Yesterday, her Heaven-Defying Comprehension had already shocked him, but he never imagined her cultivation speed would be equally astonishing.

The Qi Refining Realm focuses on accumulating spiritual energy within the dantian.

Remember, this is the Age of Dharma's End, where the spiritual energy of heaven and earth is depleted. Unlike the Golden Prosperous Era, there are no heavenly treasures or rare wonders to boost cultivation.

In this Age of Dharma's End, ordinary disciples like Ye Jing can only enhance their cultivation by absorbing the sparse spiritual energy in the world.

But the spiritual energy in the world is so thin it's almost negligible. Thus, in this era, ordinary disciples cultivate at an excruciatingly slow pace.

Only those from noble families, great sects, or imperial bloodlines can set up spirit gathering arrays to speed up their cultivation.

Even Ye Jing, with his Heaven-Defying Comprehension, only advanced from the Qi Refining Fifth Layer to the Innate Realm in a single day. If this were the Golden Prosperous Era, with his Heaven-Defying Comprehension and his incredible speed at refining spiritual energy, he could probably go from the Qi Refining Fifth Layer to the Innate Realm in the time it takes to burn an incense stick.

But Qiuyue, without any system assistance, had gone from a powerless mortal to the Qi Refining Second Layer, matching his own cultivation speed. That was truly alarming.

Following Ye Jing's instructions, Qiuyue began circulating the Imperial Pole Dao Proving Scripture, cultivating right before his eyes.

The moment Qiuyue activated the Imperial Pole Dao Proving Scripture, Ye Jing clearly sensed a disturbance in the surrounding spiritual energy.

The spiritual energy around them seemed summoned, surging toward Qiuyue like a tide.

Though the spiritual energy of heaven and earth was thin, its sheer volume was immense. Soon, a clump of Spirit Mist enveloped Qiuyue.

Ye Jing's eyes were filled with shock. He hadn't expected that Qiuyue's mere cultivation could turn spiritual energy into mist.

Remember, with the spiritual energy of heaven and earth so scarce today, even cultivators might struggle to sense its presence without focused effort.

This shows just how depleted the spiritual energy of this era truly is.

And turning spiritual energy into mist—perhaps only the Supreme Spirit Gathering Array in the Great Li Imperial Family could achieve that.

Could Qiuyue be an Innate Dao Body? Watching the Spirit Mist form, a guess took shape in Ye Jing's mind.

In this world, some toil for a hundred years yet never step onto the path of cultivation, while others advance a thousand miles in a single day, even in their sleep.

These people possess special physiques—they are children of the Great Dao. The bottlenecks that are like unyielding boulders to ordinary prodigies simply don't exist for them.

Breaking through in cultivation is as easy as drinking water. The lofty peaks along the path of the Great Dao that are hard to climb are effortlessly reached by these children of the Dao.

As long as they don't fall midway, they are destined to become earth-shaking figures who stir the winds and clouds.

The Innate Dao Body is one such special physique.

Those with this physique are naturally attuned to the Great Dao. Any technique they learn, they master instantly, without any barriers at all.

Not only that, but she was also naturally attuned to spiritual energy, with all her apertures fully open, absorbing the world's spiritual energy at an astonishingly terrifying speed.

Those who possessed such a constitution cultivated at an extremely rapid pace, reaching heights in an incredibly short time that even peerless prodigies could never attain in a lifetime.

Throughout the River of Time, every appearance of an Innate Dao Body had marked a figure of earth-shaking significance.

Their talent was so astounding that they could hold their own even against ancient freaks of nature.

Legend has it that during the third Heaven and Earth Cataclysm, the world gave birth to an Innate Dao Body whose brilliance nearly eclipsed all the prodigies of that era.

The various traits Qiuyue was now displaying bore some resemblance to the Innate Dao Body described in the records.

However, the Innate Dao Body was exceedingly rare—even across six Heaven and Earth Cataclysms, it had only appeared three times, with historical texts offering little more than a few fleeting lines.

Ye Jing had only caught a glimpse of it in the annals and knew little about the Innate Dao Body, making it difficult for him to reach a judgment.