A group of little children sat in a circle. The Ji Family Great Power was kindly and gentle in his speech. These were all his descendants, so naturally, he would show them no harshness. It was precisely this kindness that had earned him the role of teaching the children their first lessons.
The Ji Family Great Power softly explained the mysteries of cultivation, covering every aspect of the Sea of Bitterness Secret Realm for the children. "Our seemingly insignificant bodies contain countless 'gates.' Continually opening these gates and discovering the 'true self' is what we call cultivation."
"It is the act of continually opening gates to achieve evolution."
"And all cultivation begins with the Wheel of Life."
"The Wheel of Life allows ordinary people to beget children and cultivators to nurture their own bodies. It is the very foundation of a cultivator."
The Ji Family Great Power broke the principles of cultivation into tiny pieces and fed them to the children, giving them a proper understanding of cultivation. "The reason the Bitter Sea is the first secret realm is that the Wheel of Life overlaps with an endless sea of suffering. The two are one, and only by separating them can you cultivate the Wheel of Life."
The Ji Family Great Power changed tack. "Do you know where the Wheel of Life is located?"
The little children all raised their hands. "We do! Three inches below the navel."
"Correct. You all know that the Wheel of Life lies three inches below the navel." The Ji Family Great Power smiled and nodded.
"But how do you open it up? How do you sense the Wheel of Life within those three inches? Once you find the Wheel of Life, how do you cultivate it?"
"These are all minor hurdles on the path of cultivation!" the Ji Family Great Power said earnestly.
A proud expression appeared on the Ji Family Great Power's face. "But you were born into the Ji Family of Desolate Antiquity, one of the most powerful forces in the entire Big Dipper."
"To you, these minor hurdles pose no problem. You can cross them swiftly, saving yourselves a great deal of time and pulling ahead of your peers."
"But do not become arrogant. Only after crossing these minor hurdles does true cultivation begin." The Ji Family Great Power's expression turned solemn. "In the initial stage of cultivation, you sense the Wheel of Life and separate it from the endless sea of suffering that obscures it."
"Communicating with the Wheel of Life then becomes much easier. Once you activate the Wheel of Life, your own potential truly begins to unfold. Vast amounts of life essence surge forth, resisting the Bitter Sea's erosion and extending your lifespan."
"When this life essence gathers together, a change in quantity brings about a change in quality. A spring is carved out within the Death Aura–filled Bitter Sea, connecting to the Wheel of Life. This is the Life Spring Realm."
"Once cultivation in the Life Spring Realm reaches a certain level, the life essence undergoes a qualitative change and gives birth to a streak of rainbow light. It provides cultivators with a path along which they can explore the other unknown human body secret realms. This is a difficult and lengthy process. During that exploration, the rainbow light may break, or it may reach its end and be unable to advance any farther."
"Thus, cultivators must condense the rainbow light again and again, continually refining it until it finally forms a divine meridian within the Sea of Bitterness that connects to the Other Shore, fully releasing the divine power within the Life Spring and Bitter Sea. This is the third stage of the Sea of Bitterness Realm-the Divine Bridge."
"During this process, cultivators may fall into the calamity of lostness because they cannot locate the Other Shore. Only unwavering conviction can pierce through the illusions and mist."
"At this point, the Divine Bridge Realm reaches perfection, and you can ride the Divine Bridge across the Bitter Sea."
The Ji Family Great Power's expression was solemn. "During this process, a person undergoes their first transformation, their first sublimation. Breaking their original shackles, they ride the Divine Bridge, transcend themselves, and reach the Other Shore, gazing toward the Dao Palace in the distance. This is the fourth stage of the Sea of Bitterness Realm-the Other Shore."
"Upon reaching the Other Shore, a cultivator's flesh, organs, and bones all wither into stillness, before undergoing a different kind of rebirth. Nine successive transformations remold them completely, like a butterfly breaking free of its cocoon."
"For an Other Shore cultivator, every transformation is a tremendous sublimation."
At this point, the Ji Family Great Power paused. "Use the Divine Bridge to reach the Other Shore and gaze toward the Dao Palace. After that come the three major realms of Four Extremes, Dragon Transformation, and Immortal Platform. For now, I will only mention them without going into detail, lest you reach for heights beyond your grasp."
Qin Tian sat among the little children, listening to every word and absorbing it bit by bit. He combined it with his own understanding to deepen his foundations.
Qin Tian's understanding of the Sea of Bitterness grew ever more profound, and he became increasingly certain that the idea in his mind could be realized.
The nine transformations of the Other Shore!
Qin Tian drew a deep breath. This is the first transformation within this cultivation system.
The nine transformations alone can strengthen my innate essence, but they cannot put any distance between me and others.
Qin Tian's expression was complicated. I transform, but so does everyone else. And the transformations of divine bodies and sacred bodies are even more dramatic. Their gains in combat strength and every other aspect will clearly be greater.
Perhaps I could... try adding something else during the nine transformations of the Other Shore. Qin Tian's expression grew shadowed as he recalled how Huang had first pioneered a new system and formed the Sea of Bitterness Secret Realm.
The slightest lapse in attention would have allowed the Yin-Yang Qi to blast Huang into dust, yet Huang had persisted, opening countless gates within his body and thereby constructing the Sea of Bitterness Secret Realm.
The secret realm method had, in fact, begun with these gates of potential.
It was known that once every gate of potential had been opened, a mortal body would transform into the strongest physique.
If he deliberately opened most of the gates surrounding the Sea of Bitterness Secret Realm, perhaps he could release a portion of that strongest physique's potential ahead of time.
The nine transformations of the Other Shore...
Qin Tian's eyes darkened. Humans always unleash unprecedented potential when caught between life and death.
But before that, I must cultivate the Sea of Bitterness anew. Qin Tian lowered his head to look at his own Sea of Bitterness.
The dazzling Divine Bridge forged from divine source essence was incomparably radiant. Crossing to the Other Shore on it was a simple matter.
But compared to the Bitter Sea and Life Spring, which had already been refined into a unified whole and established a balance of yin-yang conversion, the Divine Bridge and Other Shore were inferior by far.
As the first secret realm, every minor secret realm within the Sea of Bitterness Secret Realm was crucial.
Qin Tian's first two secret realms and his last two secret realms had been forged using different scriptures.
This left the secret realms poorly connected to one another, and flaws would always arise in the circulation of divine power.
Moreover, the last two secret realms had been cultivated using only a Great Power's scripture, leaving their potential incompletely developed. Both the Divine Bridge and the Other Shore displayed differing degrees of weakness and were utterly unable to match the first two secret realms. Whenever too much divine power flowed into them, the Divine Bridge would sway and the Other Shore would become unstable.
This frequently caused problems in battle, keeping his combat strength from rising.
If this continued, it would inevitably hinder Qin Tian's future ascent into the domain of "Divine Restriction."
Once his decision was made, Qin Tian naturally did not hesitate.
The Other Shore, from which he could gaze toward the Dao Palace, gradually faded, breaking apart inch by inch. The once-brilliant Divine Bridge also collapsed, snapping into several sections before turning into pure essence that fell into the Bitter Sea.
The Life Spring formed from the Wheel of Life no longer gushed with life essence. Death Aura seeped into it until it finally crumbled, and the Wheel of Life concealed itself once more within the boundless Death Aura.
The Life Spring was gradually submerged by the Bitter Sea, intertwining with it and becoming one again. Finally, the Bitter Sea sealed itself, turning into hard divine iron.
The energy that had originally constructed the secret realms flowed into Qin Tian's limbs and bones, nourishing his innate essence.
Qin Tian's aura gradually dwindled as well, and he became an ordinary person once more.
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