The nascent Dao Bell rose and sank in the Bitter Sea, nourished by the divine power of the Life Spring. It rotated slowly, emitting a faint glow.
Li Qingshan regulated his breathing for a while, recovering some of the divine power and mental strength he had expended.
The immense sense of power brought by the perfected Sea of Bitterness Secret Realm filled his entire body, but he did not lose himself in it.
The road ahead was long, and the Dao Palace Secret Realm lay before him.
The Dao Palace cultivates the five organs and contains the five gods. They correspond to the five elements and form the core of divine power's circulation and the sustenance of life.
Li Qingshan immersed his thoughts in the Dao Palace Scroll of the Sun True Scripture. Its profound verses washed over his mind like a golden waterfall.
The heart belongs to fire, the liver to wood, the spleen to earth, the lungs to metal, and the kidneys to water. The five elements cycle, generating and restraining one another, their mysteries without end.
He drew a deep breath, and the dense essence Qi of heaven and earth in the cave stirred once more, forming a tiny vortex.
The first step: the Heart Divine Treasury!
The heart belonged to fire, and the Sun True Scripture was the most yang and unyielding method under heaven, perfectly suited to the nature of heart fire!
Almost the instant he circulated the method, guiding the brilliant Solar Sacred Force and a vast amount of essence Qi toward his heart-
Boom!
A muffled yet majestic sound of the Dao thundered from within his chest!
His heart began to pound violently. Every beat was strong and powerful, like a heavenly drum being struck, its sound shaking the land in every direction!
Crimson divine flames instantly enveloped his entire heart, tempering it!
The Heart Divine Treasury burst open in an instant, almost entirely without resistance!
A scorching, vigorous energy, brimming with boundless vitality and vigor, surged from the depths of his heart!
At that moment, he felt the circulation of his Qi and blood accelerate sharply, his life force growing ever more vigorous,
and his spirit and will seemed to have been tempered as well, becoming hotter and more concentrated.
The Heart Divine Treasury was complete!
Moreover, because his cultivation method and its nature matched perfectly, it reached perfection the instant it was opened!
His heart was like an eternal divine furnace, burning fiercely and supplying endless power and heat.
Hum.
The instant the Heart Divine Treasury reached perfection, the next Divine Treasury, the Lung Divine Treasury, which was generated by it in the cycle of the five elements,
seemed to feel some powerful pull and stimulus, and gave a yearning hum of its own accord!
Good! All in one go!
Sensing the change, Li Qingshan did not hesitate. He immediately guided a portion of the Solar Sacred Force and the essence of heart fire
toward his lungs with overwhelming force, following the method in the scripture!
Clang!
This time, it was not a muffled sound of the Dao, but an exceptionally piercing clang, like a divine sword being drawn from its sheath!
His lungs shook, and countless fine, incomparably sharp currents of white-gold Qi arose on their own, frenziedly tempering both lungs.
Every breath became incomparably long and deep, and the amount of essence Qi he inhaled and exhaled increased once more.
His lungs seemed to have transformed into two peerless heavenly swords hidden within his body. Their sharpness radiated through him, slicing the air with hissing sounds.
The Lung Divine Treasury had opened! And it was swiftly advancing toward perfection!
Li Qingshan put aside all distractions and immersed himself completely in cultivation.
Kunlun's essence Qi was inexhaustible, and brilliant Solar Sacred Force poured down, providing him with the firmest support.
His body seemed to have become a bottomless pit, and also a great furnace, frenziedly refining the energy around him,
opening one treasure trove of life after another within his body.
On the sixth day, the Liver Divine Treasury opened!
It belonged to wood and governed vitality and the free flow of Qi.
The instant it opened, immense vitality burst forth, and Li Qingshan felt his recovery and endurance undergo a qualitative leap.
His blood surged without rest, as though imbued with new vigor.
A green light flashed in his eyes, and his vision seemed to grow clearer and sharper.
On the seventh day, the Spleen Divine Treasury opened!
It belonged to earth and governed transport and transformation. It was the source from which Qi and blood were generated and the foundation of acquired life.
When this treasury opened, Li Qingshan felt his efficiency at absorbing, transforming, and using energy reach a whole new level.
His physical body was further strengthened, the density of his muscles and bones increased, and his physique grew stronger.
A profound sense of weight and the capacity to bear all things emanated from his spleen.
On the eighth day, the Kidney Divine Treasury opened!
It belonged to water and governed the storage of essence and the reception of Qi. It was the foundation of innate life.
This treasury was the most crucial, closely bound to the origin of life.
The instant it opened, Li Qingshan felt a current of innate essence, frigid yet brimming with boundless vitality, surge from both kidneys,
mingling with and complementing the essence Qi of life gushing from the Life Spring!
His vigor became inexhaustibly abundant.
His lifespan once again increased significantly!
With that, all five organ Divine Treasures had opened!
But this was not the end.
Though all five Divine Treasures had opened, he still had to bring them to perfection and establish a cycle of the five elements, generating one another without end, before he could be considered to have achieved great attainment in the Dao Palace Secret Realm!
Li Qingshan held his breath and focused, circulating the supreme profound method of the Sun True Scripture's Dao Palace Scroll with all his might.
Heart fire forged and tempered divine power, supplying the entire body;
lung metal purified and descended, gathering essence Qi, its sharpness unmatched;
liver wood ensured free flow, brimming with vitality and harmonizing Qi and blood;
spleen earth transported and transformed, nourishing all things and strengthening the foundation;
kidney water lay dormant, nurturing the origin and nourishing the five organs.
The divine power of the five elements flowed between the five Divine Treasures. At first, it was somewhat sluggish, and there were even occasional clashes.
But under the supreme guidance of the emperor's scripture and the precise control of Li Qingshan's powerful divine sense, it quickly found a point of balance
and began its initial cycle!
Lin, bing, dou, zhe, jie, zu, qian, shu, xing...
Faintly, a Great Dao Heavenly Sound seemed to emerge from his body. It was not a real sound, but the roar of the laws of the Dao!
Divine light in five colors-red, white, green, yellow, and black-flowed endlessly between his five organs, forming a perfect cycle!
The five Qi in his chest converged upon the origin!
Immense essence Qi of life and divine power gathered in his chest, as though about to give birth to something.
At last, all five Divine Treasures trembled at once, radiating boundless light!
The five-colored divine light and vast essence Qi did not burst forth. Instead, they slowly withdrew, each returning to the depths of its Divine Treasures.
Faintly, a blurred little figure could be seen sitting cross-legged within each of the five organs, each with a solemn, dignified aspect,
radiating a majestic, sacred presence like five innate deities standing guard within his body!
The Dao Palace Secret Realm had reached perfection!
Rumble!
The instant all five Divine Treasures reached perfection and the divine power of the five elements formed a perfect cycle for the first time, creating the state of "five Qi converging upon the origin" within his chest, an extraordinary change suddenly occurred!
A mysterious sound of the Dao beyond ordinary cultivation perception rang out, not through his ears, but directly in the depths of his life's origin and soul.
It was not a single sound, but a sound of the Great Dao formed by three utterly different voices chanting scripture, all sharing the same root and origin and resonating with one another:
The first chanting voice was filled with the vicissitudes of time, as though flowing from far upstream on the long river of time.
It was low and slow, carrying a trace of regret and remembrance, as though recalling a glory that had passed and recounting the sediment and accumulation of the "past."
This was the voice of the Departed Self, corresponding to the settled past. It was where the foundation of cultivation lay, symbolizing the karmic ties and accumulation of a previous life.
The second chanting voice was vast and majestic, like thunder exploding in the present, filled with a powerful force that was real and unillusory and governed the present.
It was impassioned and forceful, every syllable stirring the boiling five-colored divine power within Li Qingshan, representing the peak and mastery of the "present."
This was the voice of the Present Self, corresponding to the true present. It was the ultimate manifestation of power in this life, commanding all the Qi and blood and laws throughout the body.
The third chanting voice was ethereal and elusive, like an omen from the boundless future, containing infinite possibilities and projections.
It shifted constantly, seeming both present and absent, yet guided the direction of the road ahead, expounding the changes and hopes of the "future."
This was the voice of the Dao Self, corresponding to the unsettled future, a revelation of potential and the direction of evolution.
The Departed Self, the Present Self, the Dao Self!
Three selves of past, present, and future coexisted, chanting scripture at once!
This was no simple echo. It was because life, upon entering the profound level of perfection in the Dao Palace Secret Realm,
had stirred the supreme rules of the Great Dao concerning time and existence in the unseen, thus revealing this world-shocking phenomenon!
Boom!
As the chanting of the three selves resonated, Li Qingshan felt his comprehension, already extraordinary in this world, rise in an instant to an unimaginable level.
The obscure subtleties of the five elements generating and restraining one another and the circulation of divine power suddenly became clear to him, as plain as the lines on his palm!
His understanding of the Dao Palace Scroll of the Sun True Scripture soared wildly. Many crucial points that would originally have required painstaking effort to comprehend now became clear one after another.
The five blurred deities newly born within his organs also seemed to grow a little more solid under the baptism of this sound of the Great Dao, their spirituality increasing slightly.
The sound of chanting seemed to be sorting through the gains and losses of his past cultivation, bolstering the great power of his present breakthrough, and projecting the direction of his future path of the Dao!
Its wondrous uses were endless. Though it had only just begun to reveal itself, he had already benefited immeasurably!
Only after a long while did the profound sound of the Great Dao slowly subside, withdrawing into the depths of his five organ Divine Treasures.
Li Qingshan understood that this profound state of the three selves coexisting had been activated. It would continue to play a role in his future cultivation, helping him see through the fog and reach straight for the origin of the Great Dao.
The mysteries of the Dao Palace Secret Realm far exceeded imagination! This was not merely an increase in power, but a profound transformation and elevation in his understanding of the "self"!
A powerful presence erupted uncontrollably from Li Qingshan's body!
The light screen of the formation set up at the cave entrance flickered violently, almost shattering!
Xiaobai had long since shrunk into a corner in fright, jade-green eyes filled with awe and fear,
trembling as he watched Li Qingshan, whose entire body was shrouded in five-colored divine light, like a deity.
Li Qingshan quickly restrained his presence, and the terrifying phenomenon slowly withdrew into his body.
He opened his eyes. Five-colored radiance cycled through them before finally settling into calm, leaving only a gaze deeper than before.
He gently clenched his fist, feeling the seemingly endless divine power surging and roaring within him,
and the feeling of flawless perfection and immense strength coming from his internal organs.
"Is this the power of a perfected Dao Palace?"
He casually threw a punch, not using his full strength, merely testing it.
Bang!
The air exploded with a sonic boom. The wind from his fist struck the cave wall several zhang away, leaving a deep fist mark!
Its power was astonishing!
And that was merely a casual physical blow.
If he infused it with divine power and used a profound technique, its power would be unimaginable!
"And some divine abilities seem to have emerged as well."
Li Qingshan stirred his thoughts.
He raised his right index finger and focused his mind on the Heart Divine Treasury.
Hiss!
An exceedingly fine, nearly transparent crimson flame sprang from his fingertip, flickering and dancing.
The flame did not burn anything around it, but it gave him the feeling that it could temper divine power, burn away inner demons, and forge away impurities.
"Heart Fire Tempering."
He then tried the Lung Divine Treasury.
Holding two fingers together like a sword, he made a gentle stroke.
Whoosh!
A fine but incomparably sharp white-gold current of Qi shot through the air, cutting it with a piercing sound,
and left a scratch on the distant stone wall.
"Lung Metal Sword Qi."
Though they were still exceedingly weak, these were nascent divine abilities that had naturally emerged after the Dao Palace reached perfection and the five elements formed a cycle!
As his cultivation deepened, the power of these divine abilities would become incomparably terrifying.
Li Qingshan nodded in satisfaction. He had gained a great deal from this breakthrough.
He turned his gaze to Xiaobai, who was still trembling in the corner, and could not help laughing.
"Did I scare you?"
He withdrew all his presence, becoming like an ordinary mortal, and beckoned.
Xiaobai hesitated for a moment, but slowly slithered over,
rubbing his little head against Li Qingshan's finger and conveying feelings of grievance and fear.
"All right, all right. I'll be more careful next time."
Li Qingshan soothed him, then condensed a ball of life essence Qi even purer than before,
which even contained a faint trace of five-element essence, and fed it to Xiaobai.
Xiaobai immediately forgot his fear and happily absorbed it,
his body swelling slightly at a speed visible to the naked eye, his scales becoming ever more crystalline,
and the two little jade horns on his head seeming a little more prominent.
"Looks like you've benefited quite a bit too, little fellow."
Li Qingshan smiled.
After feeding Xiaobai, he once again immersed his mind in the Bitter Sea.
The Dao Palace had reached perfection, his divine power had surged, and his divine sense had grown stronger still.
It was time to continue tempering the Dao Bell.
He had only given it a preliminary shape before, and had not even managed to inscribe Dao runes on it.
Now that his strength had greatly increased and his understanding of the Great Dao had deepened, perhaps he could try drawing upon the Five Elements Divine Runes born when his Dao Palace reached completion to give the bell some preliminary tempering and nourishment.
He gazed at the small crimson-gold bell rising and sinking in the Bitter Sea.
With a slight movement of his thoughts, the five divine treasures that had just settled down hummed faintly once more.
In his heart, liver, spleen, lungs, and kidneys, the five indistinct, illusory deities seemed to open their eyes at the same time.
Five fine Divine Markings, each a different color and containing a different profound truth of the five elements,
flowed out of the divine treasures, following an arcane path through the Bitter Sea as they slowly wound toward the embryonic Dao Bell.
"Hiss."
The Divine Markings made a faint sound as they touched the bell.
The Dao Bell trembled gently, and the rough crimson-gold sheen on its surface seemed to come a little more alive,
as it slowly began to absorb the Dao principles and energy contained within the Divine Markings.
The process was slow, a task of patient, painstaking work.
But Li Qingshan had plenty of patience.
Only by slowly nourishing and tempering it with his own Great Dao could he forge an invincible Dao weapon best suited to himself.
The cavern fell quiet once more.
Only the faint light of the circulating Five Elements Divine Runes remained, along with the nearly inaudible hum the Dao Bell made as it absorbed the Divine Markings.
Li Qingshan sat cross-legged within, his appearance solemn and dignified.
The five organs held five gods; the five elements turned without end.
The Dao Bell bore the Dao's resonance, awaiting the heavens for its first peal.
Ten days of secluded cultivation in Kunlun, and his Dao Palace had reached completion!