Cliff-Sea Dao-Seeking

The Black Cliff Ancient Sea churned with waves that soared to the heavens, its howls unceasing.

From its deepest reaches came what seemed to be the long, lingering roar of an ancient whale, curling around their ears as though they had returned to primordial times.

Xu Fei walked to the cliff's edge, his hands clasped behind his back. His deep gaze stretched over the distant sea as he said in a low voice, "Now that both your innate foundations have fully formed, it is time to seek the Dao and open your apertures. Are you prepared?"

"Father, if someone is completely blocked in every aperture, is there still any possibility of cultivation?" Xu Ling Sha bit her lip and asked pensively.

Hearing this, Xu Wei Dao said, "Sister Ling Sha, if every aperture is blocked, the spiritual energy of heaven and earth cannot enter the body. Naturally, cultivation would be impossible."

"Even an ordinary mortal with the poorest innate foundation can open at least one aperture after cleansing their marrow and purging their meridians. Since four years ago, every year on the Third Day of the Third Month, you two have used spiritual spring water to bathe and crown yourselves, cleansing your marrow and purging your meridians. How could you possibly be blocked in every aperture?" Xu Fei said calmly.

Prince Wu'an's Residence was no ordinary household. Xu Fei was a king of different surname in the Great Yin Dynasty. The residence held countless Daoist texts and scriptures, as well as an innate spiritual spring.

Including Xu Yan and Xu Ling Sha, Prince Wu'an had nine children in name. From childhood onward, they had consumed no small amount of precious medicines to nurture their innate foundations and meridians.

Other than Xu Yan and Xu Ling Sha, the remaining seven had already opened their apertures and charged through their meridians, their talent far from ordinary. They now cultivated in the various Daoist academies and lineages throughout Great Yin. Xu Wei Dao in particular had been making quite a name for himself in Great Yin. Not only had he claimed third place in both the civil and martial rankings of the Dragon Gate Examination, he had also earned the favor of the Celestial Master of the Dragon-Tiger Dao, who had personally come to Prince Wu'an's Residence at the beginning of the year to take him as a disciple, drawing the envy of countless others.

"Still your heart and focus your mind. When seeking the Dao, do not allow stray thoughts to arise. Silently recite the aperture-opening formula and draw the spiritual power of heaven and earth into your body." As soon as Xu Fei finished speaking, he curled his palm and made a grasping motion. His magical power surged forth like roaring rivers and rushing torrents.

Towering waves rose from the sea, and the cliff-sea was instantly shoved back hundreds of zhang.

Several enormous, ancient blue stones stood off the shore, their surfaces carved with dense primordial Dao patterns. These were the Cliff-Sea Dao-Seeking Ancient Stones. It was said that they dated back to the recent ancient era, and Great Yin's ancient records stated that many ultimate masters of the human path had comprehended the Dao here.

"Go." Xu Fei swept his hand.

Xu Yan and Xu Ling Sha rose into the air, borne aloft by an invisible force of magical power as they flew across.

Xu Yan landed steadily upon a blue stone and sat cross-legged. In an instant, a startling chill entered his body and shot straight toward the crown of his head. He felt wholly refreshed, his spiritual platform clear and empty, his divine consciousness seeming ready to soar into the sky.

He closed his eyes, resting his hands naturally upon his knees. Emptying his mind, he silently recited the aperture-opening formula.

"One breath divides into Yin and Yang; the Four Images suppress the Eight Wastelands. Earthfire boils the vast sea; cloud-script writes heaven's chapters. The spirit returns to Kunlun Ruins; qi locks down Penglai Isle. The heart attests to the glazed realm; the body transforms into a map of mountains and seas..."

It was an aperture-opening formula familiar even to yellow-mouthed children of the Great Yin Dynasty, passed down for tens of thousands of years. Xu Yan had long since memorized it by heart.

At the beginning of the Great Dao lay the origin of cultivation. One first had to cleanse the marrow and purge the meridians, shedding the mortal body.

Afterward came opening the apertures and charging through the meridians, allowing the spiritual veins to reach directly to the dantian. Upon achieving mastery, one could enter the Human Realm, known in history as the Five Realms of the Mortal World: [Qi Expulsion, Spirit Bridge, Profound Treasury, Carefree Wanderer, Red Dust Traveler]. Once all five realms were cultivated to perfection, if one possessed sufficient talent and encountered a fortunate opportunity, one might attain the realm of a terrestrial immortal—the pinnacle of the human path, invincible beneath heaven.

Ancient Dao sounds echoed by his ears as Xu Yan's mind sank into every corner of his sea of consciousness, examining himself inwardly.

Within a dark, boundless void, he saw thirty-six dim and lightless apertures, floating high in the sky like stars and exuding an immense pressure.

Just as expected. I was born with every aperture blocked. Xu Yan took a deep breath and tried hard to calm himself.

Having read extensively, he naturally understood his own innate foundation well. Even before his innate foundation had fully formed, he had already deduced that he was not one born with spiritual apertures.

The human body contained thirty-six apertures. Those of exceptional talent could be born with every aperture open, while those with poorer talent might have only a few open. Yet those born with every aperture blocked were exceedingly rare in the world.

Opening apertures after birth required an enormous expenditure of effort. The resources required to open each additional aperture nearly doubled, and the process was exceptionally difficult.

In less than half an incense stick's time, activity had already begun on the blue stone where Xu Ling Sha sat.

Blazing heavenly fire emerged around Xu Ling Sha's body, and vast spiritual radiance burst forth. Cracks like volcanic craters appeared all around her, while powerful spiritual energy shook the sea into violent turbulence, sending spray flying everywhere.

Xu Fei and Xu Wei Dao, standing on the shore, changed expressions in surprise.

"This is..." Xu Fei said, visibly taken aback.

"The Five Elements Dao, a Heavenly Fire spiritual aperture. Sister Ling Sha truly possesses extraordinary talent." As Xu Wei Dao spoke, spiritual power flashed through his eyes as he examined Xu Ling Sha. He then smiled and said, "And she was born with thirty-one open apertures. Congratulations, Foster Father!"

"Good, good." Joy that he could not conceal filled Xu Fei's eyes as a smile touched his lips.

Among the thirty-six apertures, every nine opened apertures marked a dividing line. At most, nine could be opened after birth. Beyond that, the resources required and the difficulty involved were harder than ascending to heaven, and the chance of failure was extremely high. Once an aperture shattered, one's Dao path would be ruined beyond repair.

Thus, the more spiritual apertures one possessed from birth, the better one's talent and innate foundation naturally were.

The two then shifted their gazes to Xu Yan.

He remained utterly motionless, like an old monk in meditation. An incense stick's time had already passed, yet there was not the slightest movement from Xu Yan's side. Only the sound of waves gently lapping against the blue stone could be heard.

Xu Fei's brows furrowed slightly, while Xu Wei Dao's expression darkened as well.

Even a mortal with exceedingly poor talent could open one aperture from birth after cleansing their marrow and purging their meridians. Yet there was one exception: those with "formless apertures."

"Foster Father, Little Brother Yan..." Xu Wei Dao asked, seeming to have guessed something.

"Back when his innate foundation had yet to form, there were already signs of formlessness. I never expected it to truly be so. What a pity—Yan'er's comprehension is extremely high." Xu Fei gazed at Xu Yan, seated upon the blue stone, with a complicated expression. He said calmly, "There are many academies in Great Yin. Yan'er is not lacking in talent in that regard. If he can place on the literary rankings in the Dragon Gate Examination two years from now, becoming an official would also be a way out."

Xu Wei Dao knitted his brows tightly and let out a sigh.

In this world beneath the four seas, the immortal Dao flourished. If one's own cultivation were too weak, one feared they would find every step difficult.

Xu Yan's divine consciousness sank into his body. Looking at the thirty-six spiritual apertures, dark beyond compare as they floated in the high heavens like stars, he felt utterly stifled.

He tried many times, using the aperture-opening formula to draw upon the vast spiritual power of heaven and earth in the cliff-sea and strike at his spiritual apertures. Yet it was like an ant trying to shake a great tree—he could not stir them in the slightest.

"There is too little spiritual power of heaven and earth. At this rate, I simply cannot open an aperture." Xu Yan furrowed his brows. He was wholly focused and had already done everything he could to use the aperture-opening formula to draw spiritual power and assault his apertures, but it was still useless.

The first aperture above his head, the Baihui Aperture, was like a black hole, devouring all the spiritual power of heaven and earth that he drew in.

Half an hour passed before a trace of spiritual radiance finally appeared within the dim Baihui Aperture. Yet it was only a trace, like the glow of rotten grass. Trying to use it to disperse the turbid qi in the spiritual aperture and open it was nothing more than a fool's dream.

On the other side, Xu Ling Sha had already opened her eyes and was brought back to shore by Xu Fei.

"Father, Xu Yan..." Xu Ling Sha clutched the hem of her dress, her beautiful eyes looking toward Xu Yan on the blue stone with faint concern.

"I will handle it properly. Let us return." Xu Fei patted Xu Ling Sha's shoulder and said softly.