Living beings were born of Heaven and Earth, so deep down, they all shared a faint connection with them. Through special means, they could communicate with Heaven and Earth.
That special means was the Sacrificial Dance—the Heaven-Sacrificing Dance.
Aside from the Sacrificial Dance, another power could communicate with Heaven and Earth: the power of faith. The trouble was, Su Ye wasn't a Sacrificial Spirit, and his strength was far too weak to offer up a great quantity of faith.
Were there any other methods?
He didn't know...
Right.
Heavenly Passage.
Su Ye's eyes lit up. A Heavenly Passage was a bridge between living beings and Heaven and Earth, so naturally it could draw in the power of Heaven and Earth and empower its owner.
Rumble.
One Heavenly Passage after another appeared in the sky, surging with vast amounts of life essence. At the same time, an immense heavenly might descended.
Under that boundless might, Su Ye felt as though he were the only True God in all creation, the master of Heaven and Earth, able to suppress everything beneath the heavens.
But it was only an illusion—a mental distortion brought on by the power of Heaven and Earth.
Besides, though a Heavenly Passage was powerful, he wasn't the only one who possessed one. And Heavenly Passages were fragile; they could be pierced with ease.
"Using a Heavenly Passage as the core to communicate with Heaven and Earth won't work. It's too fragile, especially against beings stronger than me."
"If one Heavenly Passage won't do, what about two, three... or ten?"
"Fuse the Ten Heavenly Passages into one, and turn them into a Unique Heavenly Passage?"
"If I already have a Unique Heavenly Passage, why bother cultivating the Great Dream Lotus Technique? I could just smash them with my Heavenly Passage and crush them by sheer force."
Su Ye kept mulling over the possibilities, considering all kinds of viable methods. He thought of using Precious Bones or magical artifacts, but quickly rejected each idea in turn.
If he used a Precious Bone as the core, wouldn't that just be a precious artifact?
As for using a magical artifact...
A magical artifact.
Su Ye's expression shifted as an idea came to him. A flash of light appeared in his hand, and the Ruyi Jingu Bang materialized. He looked down at the staff.
The core of the Ruyi Jingu Bang was the Totem Pillar. Though it wasn't a magical artifact, it weighed a hundred thousand jin and could grow or shrink at will.
But that was all. It had no other mysterious powers.
Just then, Su Ye recalled the spiritual world God Emperor Qimu had created with the Totem Pillar. Could he learn from that?
He could use the Ruyi Jingu Bang as the core.
Though the Ruyi Jingu Bang couldn't communicate with Heaven and Earth, it contained its own world—and that world was no weak thing. If he couldn't draw upon the world outside, he could draw upon the Inner World instead. With its help, he could perfect his Treasure Art.
The Totem Pillar belonged to him now, so naturally everything inside it belonged to him as well. There was nothing wrong with using his own things.
With that thought, Su Ye didn't hesitate any longer. He formed one Primal Source Rune after another and inscribed them onto the Ruyi Jingu Bang.
He wasn't trying to inscribe them on the Totem Pillar itself, but on the layer of metal around it.
The Totem Pillar's body was made of bronze and covered in countless mysterious patterns. It was already a deadly weapon, but with his strength as it was, he couldn't possibly refine it—let alone inscribe runes onto it.
Though he couldn't inscribe them on the Totem Pillar, he could put them on the outer layer of metal. And he had left a spiritual imprint in the Divine Temple inside the Inner World, which would still let him turn the Ruyi Jingu Bang into a powerful magic treasure.
Hum.
As Su Ye continued to inscribe the Primal Source Runes onto the Ruyi Jingu Bang, it radiated dazzling light, stirring a resonance with Heaven and Earth.
The Inner World.
Fairy Menglian, who had been cultivating outside the Divine Temple, suddenly opened her eyes. She sensed the fluctuations outside and furrowed her brows. Then she murmured, "That fellow really does dare to do anything."
"He's using the Totem Pillar as the core to construct a spiritual domain. That really is a method. The Totem Pillar contains a whole world, and that world holds an immense amount of power. It's just..."
Fairy Menglian gazed at the boundless sea of energy before her, her expression grave. But this time, she didn't go out to stop him. After all, that fellow had even dared to spy on the mysterious Divine Temple behind her and leave a spiritual imprint there. What wouldn't he dare to do?
Beneath the boundless sea of energy...
There was a special region, a small world filled with an even denser sacred power. At its center stood a Little Willow Tree, not very tall—more like a sapling. Its leaves were crystalline, and rosy light shimmered around it.
The Little Willow Tree stirred. Rays of rosy light rose into the air, carrying one mysterious rune after another. They blended into the void and disappeared.
The outside world.
The Totem Pillar grew brighter and brighter. The patterns that had lain dormant on it seemed ready to awaken, as if they were about to unfold into a domain of their own.
"Suppress."
Su Ye gave a soft shout. What he wanted to form was a spiritual dream domain, not to activate the Totem Pillar's own domain.
Yet the Totem Pillar shone brighter still, and it didn't reject the Primal Source Runes he had just inscribed. Instead, it drew them into itself.
Seeing this, Su Ye's expression shifted.
He had meant to inscribe the runes on the outer metal, not on the Totem Pillar itself. But now they were being inscribed directly onto the pillar.
Su Ye didn't know whether this was a good thing or a bad one.
But he couldn't change it now. He could only see it through to the bitter end.
Before long, all thirty-six Primal Source Runes had been successfully inscribed onto the Totem Pillar.
He had originally planned to condense them into a single Origin Rune, but his abilities were limited. Thirty-six was the most he could manage; he couldn't compress them any further.
Once the thirty-six Origin Runes had been inscribed, Su Ye felt his connection to the Totem Pillar grow much clearer. He could draw on the power within it more easily—but at the same time, the pillar could draw on his power, too.
Not just could. It had already started.
Feeling energy drain from his body, Su Ye's expression darkened. But soon, his face settled.
He hadn't gone into this without considering the possible consequences.
And he had done it anyway.
The strange power had only drained some of his strength, not too much. In return, he could clearly feel his connection with the Totem Pillar growing stronger.
"Nurture through Heaven and Earth."
Su Ye sensed a spiritual message transmitted to him by the Totem Pillar.
The Totem Pillar had an ancient origin. It was likely a relic of the Immortal Ancient era. But the world had long since moved on from that ancient age. Heaven and Earth had changed, and to adapt to this new world, it needed to merge with it and comprehend its new laws.
Just like the Ancient Immortal World.
The laws of Heaven and Earth within the Ancient Immortal World differed from those outside. Any living being who left it had to readjust to the outside world—let alone an object from that era.
"So the Totem Pillar really does have a spirit inside it. I was right when I sensed it last time."
Su Ye murmured to himself. He didn't investigate further; his strength was too weak for that. Besides, that being didn't seem to want to harm him.
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