The mysteries of the human body were endless. If cultivators did not wish to remain trapped within the Sea of Bitterness and wanted to explore the other secret realms of the body, they had to strengthen the Sea of Bitterness.
Only by cultivating a Heavenly Vein, spanning above the Sea of Bitterness and leading toward the Other Shore, could they lay the foundation for escaping this predicament. This was the Divine Bridge Realm, an exceptionally crucial stage.
But once the Heavenly Vein grew and stretched across the void, where exactly did it need to extend to reach the Other Shore? Some people spent their entire lives unable to see through the illusion, trapped at this end of the Divine Bridge and unable to cross the Sea of Bitterness. This was the calamity of getting lost.
At its worst, one's five senses could be deprived and spiritual perception completely lost, leaving one a useless person without knowledge or sensation. It was most terrifying.
Most cultivators encountered fog blocking their path when condensing a Heavenly Vein and attempting to break through the Divine Bridge. It was relatively mild at first, but when they sought to break through to the Other Shore, it became incomparably severe. This was not merely cultivation in terms of realm; it was also a journey of questioning one's heart, one that cleansed both body and mind.
During this process, both the physical body and spirit ascended. Only when the divine and the shell became one, breaking through shackles, transcending oneself, returning to one's origins, and finding one's foundation, could the Divine Bridge arrive like a rainbow and force a successful crossing of the Sea of Bitterness. This was the fourth realm of the Sea of Bitterness Volume—the Other Shore!
"Calamity of getting lost, questioning the Dao Heart, touching upon cultivation in the Divine Bridge Realm... So my Dao Heart has already reached the Divine Bridge and touched the threshold of that realm?"
Lin Xian fell into thought. After firming up his heart, he became even more certain of his path.
He had come from the mortal world and would head toward the Immortal Realm.
This was called mortal Immortal Cultivation.
It was both his advantage and his disadvantage.
In the Golden Great Era, kings of every race rose together, yet few could break the shackles of their constitutions and charge into the higher Sage Realm.
The same was true for superior constitutions. It was simply that the bottleneck they faced was the higher Great Saint Realm and the Quasi-Emperor Heavenly Pass.
This was a watershed that blocked ninety-nine percent of all constitutions in the world.
That was why the Great Universe had such a saying.
After entering the Great Saint Realm, no constitution or bloodline was the most important thing anymore. Of those who could reach that point, which one was ordinary? Every one of them possessed something exceptional!
There was no strongest method and no supreme constitution, only the strongest people.
To break into the Quasi-Emperor stage, one could only rely on oneself.
Rely on oneself—but rely on what?
As Lin Xian pondered deeply, his heart suddenly stirred, and he remembered a saying.
[Ancient legends say that the Mortal Body is the foundation.]
Then what was the foundation?
System 10086 assisted him once more, like an external optical brain, providing a deduction.
The Mortal Body was the foundation, not the strongest!
The foundation was not combat power, but realm.
Combat power was water, while realm was a bucket. Only when the bucket grew larger could it hold more water.
Before the Emperor Pass, the kings of all races paled into insignificance. Only a handful of top-tier constitutions could continue onward, and it was precisely at this stage that the Mortal Body began to display its true strength.
While the Emperor's Sons were still troubled by the confinement of their fathers' imperial laws, and Sacred Bodies and Overlord Bodies lamented their inability to pass the Emperor Tribulation, Mortal Bodies were already advancing all the way, cultivating at incredible speed and plucking the fruit of attaining the Dao.
On the path to attaining the Dao, one step ahead meant staying ahead every step of the way.
If the Chaotic Body was ten thousand and could resonate with the Myriad Dao, then the Mortal Body was one and could bear every Great Dao.
The Mortal Body was weak and had nothing to rely on, but it also had no restraints or shackles that needed to be severed. It could bear the Myriad Dao in the shortest time and attain the Dao to become an emperor.
There could only be one Emperor Throne. Once a Mortal Body attained the Dao, it became a Great Emperor.
A Great Emperor's invincibility was not mere talk. Even a Chaotic Body that had yet to attain the Dao had fallen at the hands of a Heavenly Venerable, much less other constitutions that had yet to attain the Dao.
This was the path of the Mortal Body: using realm to crush others!
"In this Lifetime, I am not an immortal." Lin Xian smiled faintly. He had completely comprehended his Dao Heart, and his theory was perfect.
In this Lifetime, he was destined to be ordinary. Everything he did was merely to charge with all his strength into the Great Saint Realm, then burn a dazzling immortal flower amid prosperity, achieve Ultimate Sublimation, and touch the Forbidden Domain of mortalization into immortality.
The Quasi-Emperor Path was when the Mortal Body truly bloomed with brilliance.
All the fog before him dispersed. Lin Xian was still Lin Xian, but much of that otherworldly aura had withdrawn, bringing him closer to the ordinary and making him increasingly simple and unadorned.
"Not an immortal..." Xu Xiang panted, feeling his breathing grow smoother and his complexion turn rosy and radiant. Realizing that this was the final stage of a deathbed rally, his expression became serene. "But I think you are an immortal."
"Why?" Lin Xian asked, puzzled yet somewhat curious. "Did Xu San and Xu Si tell you?"
Xu Xiang did not answer. He merely asked, "You know Awu's identity, so you should be able to guess that her appearance does not change and that she possesses Immortality, right?"
"Yes, I know." Lin Xian nodded, then his expression went blank, his eyes tranquil as a lake.
What was so remarkable about Immortality? Just a few days ago, he had even seen the Ultimate Sublimation version of Feng Baobao—the Ruthless Emperor.
"That is Immortality." Xu Xiang sighed. "How could an ordinary person remain so calm upon hearing of Immortality? Back then, those Otherworlders went mad over the Immortal Secret."
"Could it be because I possess noble character?" Lin Xian smiled teasingly without blushing or missing a beat. "Not everyone seeks Immortality. Some cultivators seek only clarity of mind. What they seek differs, and so do the paths they walk."
"Where we meet, one is either immortal or sage; sitting quietly, we discuss the 'Huangting Scripture.'" Xu Xiang recited it twice, then smiled in relief. "Indeed, indeed. No wonder President Zhao said you were not the Great Sage, Equal of Heaven. You were the Bodhi Patriarch."
"President Zhao?" Lin Xian raised his head and looked out the window. Hearing the sound of helicopter rotors, he could not help muttering, "He came quickly."
"No."
An aged voice suddenly sounded within the room. Beneath the bedding on Xu Xiang's hospital bed, a phone vibrated as it spoke. "I'm here. I've always been here."
The blanket was lifted, and the screen lit up. It was the phone number of Zhao Fangxu, chairman of Nadutong.
"You were here, so why didn't you say anything?"
Lin Xian's face darkened. This had truly been a waste of his time and feelings.
"If an immortal has not asked, how would a mortal dare to speak?"
Voices sounded simultaneously from outside the door and from the bed. A white-haired elder who looked kind and approachable yet carried an imposing presence walked in. Behind him came the brothers Xu San and Xu Si, along with a team of Otherworlders moving in perfect order.
"Baobao..." The Xu brothers immediately became anxious upon seeing Feng Baobao and were about to rush in.
However, Zhao Fangxu stopped them. He waved his hand and said, "You do not have the authority to hear what comes next. Go stand guard outside."
"No authority?" Xu Si's expression changed. He was the person in charge of a regional division. Even directors' secrets were things he could learn a little about, yet now he did not have the authority.
What exactly had happened to Baobao?
Under Zhao Fangxu's solemn gaze, heavily armed Otherworlders took control of the hospital ward, forming the first line of defense. Though there was only one line, it was as impregnable as a fortress.
In this world, firearms were not frightening, nor were Otherworlders. But Otherworlders who knew how to use firearms were terrifying.
In the entire Inhuman World, only Nadutong possessed such authority.