Sketching Mountains, Rivers, Sun, and Moon

"My Sea of Potential... seemed to have dried up. Was this not its original state?"

Inside the great black cauldron, the projection of the Sea of Potential grew ever more imposing, but to Di Yi, this was merely an outward display. Within the true Sea of Potential, there was nothing at all, only silence.

The few things there, such as the hazy mountains, rivers, sun, and moon, beasts, insects, and fish, had only just come into being. They were indistinct, gained through his experiences rather than present from the outset.

"That's right. My body is ailing, so my Sea of Potential ought to be ailing too. In its current state, it's as good as 'dead' and needs to be reshaped." Di Yi pondered this and soon understood, deducing the cause of the problem.

Still, he did not consider this a problem. As long as the Sea of Potential remained, even if it was "dead," he could reshape it. With an instinct like true understanding within him, nurturing it anew would be no trouble at all.

He acted the moment he made up his mind.

Di Yi began to move. He stabilized the hazy mountains, rivers, sun, and moon, beasts, insects, and fish, using the power of true understanding to brand them into the Sea of Potential. Like raising a towering building from level ground, he carefully "splashed ink" within the silent sea.

Boom!

For a moment, a flood of light shone from the area between Di Yi's brows and his forehead. These were the primordial mysteries of true understanding, erupting with waves of tsunami-like sound as their dazzling light enveloped everything inside the great black cauldron.

As the dazzling light radiating from the primordial mysteries of true understanding grew stronger, lightning flashed and thunder roared within the cauldron.

Moreover, the lightning and thunder within the cauldron resonated with those in the dark clouds outside, stirring ten thousand streams of divine splendor.

"My essence, qi, and spirit were rising..." As he continued "splashing ink," Di Yi gained a tangible understanding of the Sea of Potential. Comparing it with the knowledge in his memories, he came to a profound realization of what thought, consciousness, and the infinitely vast spiritual world truly were.

If the body was the soil that nurtured blood, flesh, and qi, then the Sea of Potential was the soil that nurtured cognition, spiritual perception, and soul light-a place that fostered the self's infinite possibilities.

It was highly malleable. With careful tending and cultivation, it could reach a scale equal to all things in heaven and earth, mountains and rivers, stars and space, and the Dao and principles of nature.

In other words, this was a world with the potential to unite all directions above and below, all ages past and present. It was the truth of nature, the reality of the universe, and the expression of the fruits of all perception.

"The boundless sea... If it reached its utmost limit, would I myself become the equivalent of all space and all time?" Di Yi murmured. He felt that his original Sea of Potential must have reached this boundary, only for everything to have come to nothing because of some upheaval.

This was not a wild guess. Rather, he vaguely sensed something, giving rise to a strange train of thought and a conviction that came naturally.

Of course, although this conviction had arisen, he felt that it already belonged to the past. He halted that strange train of thought, refusing to let it influence him.

After all, his Sea of Potential was now depleted, with nothing left in it. However powerful he had once been, the past was still the past.

Boom!

Suddenly, a change occurred in the area between Di Yi's brows and his forehead. A pattern appeared there, as though a gate had opened through which he could commune with heaven, earth, and nature.

For a moment, the sounds of waves and tsunamis that only he had been able to hear and sense rang out clearly within the great cauldron.

At the same time, the waves and tsunamis projected as clearly as a painting inside the cauldron all flowed into that pattern. Accompanied by bursts of lightning and thunder, they caused violent transformations within the Sea of Potential.

Where Di Yi had "splashed ink," mountain after mountain could be seen rising from the ground, vast lake after vast lake surging into shape, and star after star studding the heavens.

As they appeared, white light flashed in an instant, like lightning dancing through the air. It shattered the haze, leaving that place mysterious and unfathomable.

"Was this the Sea of Potential?" Di Yi gazed at the brilliantly shining mountains, rivers, sun, and moon, shimmering with divine splendor. After calming his mind and focusing his spirit,

he felt an indescribable sense of ease in his thoughts. Moreover, he could clearly sense a strange power within that mysterious, unfathomable place, continuously interacting with the carvings on the great cauldron and drawing invisible motes of light into his body and his Sea of Potential.

Rumble...

The changes did not end there. From the places where the haze had been shattered, peals of thunder erupted, and dazzling lightning interwove with the brilliantly shining mountains, rivers, sun, and moon that shimmered with divine splendor.

For a moment, the entire place blazed, dazzling white light filling every corner with extraordinary brilliance.

This process continued for a long time. Eventually, the dazzling lightning slowly subsided, while the sounds of waves and tsunamis Di Yi heard gradually softened as well.

"This..." Di Yi felt his essence and qi flourishing, and his control over his body had become much more fluid. At the same time, he had gained an entirely new source of power, one that came from those mountains, rivers, sun, and moon.

He had the vague feeling that he had opened a gateway connecting him to heaven and earth. He had undergone a sublimation from the inside out and was now completely different from his former self.

The most obvious difference was that he believed he could now wield the power of treasured arts and runes, just like Shi Yunshan and the others.

Moreover, because of this sublimation from within, he discovered that the hidden ailments in his body were actually repairing themselves. Although the progress was incredibly slow, almost imperceptible, the tendency was there nonetheless.

"Ha ha ha!" Di Yi was overjoyed. His purpose in coming to this world and leaving that place which formed a world unto itself had been to find a way to heal himself.

He had never expected this experience to bring him so many pleasant surprises. Looking back all of a sudden, he realized that the means to heal himself had been right beside him all along.

"I originally only wanted to experience this medicinal bath, but now... I can't let it go to waste." Di Yi pondered, then immediately began to act, using the power of true understanding and his Sea of Potential to absorb the creature's blood and the essence of its five internal organs.

For a moment, his entire body shone brilliantly, submerged in the light of divine radiance.

"Chief, I feel like that cauldron... is going to explode." In the clearing at the entrance to Stone Village, a villager watching over Di Yi's medicinal bath hurried to find the old chief and told him that a new change had occurred in the great cauldron.

"What?" The old chief's eyes widened. He followed the villager to the clearing at the entrance to Stone Village and looked anxiously at the great black cauldron handed down by their ancestors.

The great black cauldron at the village entrance could be seen continuously absorbing the spiritual energy between heaven and earth as flames enveloped it.

At the same time, streak after streak of holy light swept outward, shaking the entire clearing and triggering distortions in the surrounding space, neither great nor small.

The area seemed to twist, as though viewed through fire, producing a bizarre splitting effect.

Boom!

Not long after the old chief arrived at the village entrance, a powerful aura erupted from the great cauldron. It was a surging fluctuation of divine radiance, its dazzling light seemingly capable of illuminating all the heavens.

"This..." The old chief swallowed. The great black cauldron jolted about alarmingly, as though it really might explode.

"Chief, what should we do? Judging by this commotion, if it really explodes, Stone Village won't be able to withstand it." More and more villagers arrived after hearing the disturbance, but none dared approach. They stood at a distance instead.

"Don't panic. An artifact handed down by our ancestors won't be destroyed so easily," the old chief said, soothing everyone's fears. "But to be safe, we'd better all leave the village for now."

Hearing this, everyone in Stone Village nodded. They were just about to turn back to their homes to prepare when they heard the great black cauldron suddenly erupt into violent motion. It leaped into the air, and then... exploded.