Deep within the Sleeping Foothills grand formation, Ying Zhuan sat cross-legged. The black fire around him flickered unsteadily, and beneath its refining flames, the precious materials before him had already gathered into a single mass, gradually transforming into the outline of a tall human figure.
There was more than one road to the higher realm. Countless cultivators had pressed forward one after another with hearts set on seeking the Dao, trying again and again, building upon the foundations laid down by those before them and continuing onward. That was how so many paths had come to exist for others to follow.
Yet such a gate leading to the higher realm usually offered only one chance.
Thus, unless one possessed immense confidence in oneself or truly outstanding talent, most could only follow the methods of their predecessors. The price of opening a path alone was simply too great. If one succeeded, all was well; if not, one's Dao career was at an end.
But it was different here. What had come here was merely a reflected body, which meant there was one more chance to try. Many immature ideas could have their flaws removed, their impurities dissolved, and be polished into something more mature and stable than before.
Ying Zhuan looked toward the seal Zhang Yu had established within the Seal of the Great Dao. This time, as he climbed the Dao, he had decided not to use the seal Zhang Yu had established. Yet those seals were not without meaning; they still gave him something to study and draw upon.
But without such a seal, there was one greatest problem to resolve. If a cultivator wished to pursue the Upper Layer, there had to be a ladder for climbing the Dao.
Zhang Yu relied on the Great Dao Seal, while