With the funding problem resolved, Lin Yan devoted the following days to nourishing the spores and dead wood with Soul Power. He no longer merely supplied Soul Power as simple nourishment, but tried to incorporate more of his perception and guidance of the breath of life. As he drove the Supreme Purity Breathing Technique to its utmost, his Soul Power grew increasingly pure and gentle, carrying a distinctive rhythm, like the breathing of life, as it slowly flowed into those tiny vessels of life.
Effort did not betray the diligent. On the seventh day of continuous nourishment, the Iridescent Withering and Flourishing Fern spore in the jade dish was the first to change. The somewhat dim iridescent patterns on its surface suddenly became vivid and bright, as though washed by rain. Then, beneath Lin Yan's surprised and delighted gaze, an exceedingly fine crack opened at the top of the spore. A tender green shoot, thinner than a strand of hair and tinged with an iridescent sheen, timidly poked its head out, radiating a faint yet unmistakably clear vitality.
It was as though this were a signal. Immediately afterward, the two spores in the earthenware pot and wooden box resonated in succession, each sprouting an equally tender shoot. Though the three shoots were small, the breath of life they released intertwined, forming a small field brimming with vitality. Even the air throughout that corner of the backyard seemed to grow much fresher.
Yet a change even more unexpected to Lin Yan occurred.
At the very instant the three spores sprouted and their breath of life reached a small peak, the silent piece of dead wood in the jade box beside them seemed to feel some powerful pull. The strand of life origin within it, which Lin Yan had nurtured day and night and which had already grown considerably stronger, suddenly began to fluctuate violently!
"Hum..."
A barely audible tremor came from within the dead wood. The crack on its surface that had once shown a pale golden sheen now blazed with golden light. It was no longer a faint thread, but flowed out like liquid, instantly enveloping the entire piece of wood. Bathed in that golden light, its gray-black, dry, cracked exterior actually became smooth and lustrous at a speed visible to the naked eye, as though spring had returned to dead wood, restoring its sheen.
The next moment, where the golden light shone brightest, right in the center of that crack, a tiny shoot of breathtaking emerald green stubbornly pushed through the seemingly hard wood, emerging slowly, yet with unwavering resolve!
Small as this shoot was, the vitality it contained was so immense it defied description. Unlike the tender vitality of the sprouting spores beside it, it carried an ancient, weathered, yet incomparably tenacious quality. Its appearance seemed to complete a rebirth spanning long ages, a miracle of life bursting forth from deathly stillness.
One withering, one flourishing.
On one side, ancient remains on the verge of death and extinction regained their vitality; on the other, sleeping seeds awakened to new life.
At that moment, within that tiny space, two utterly different yet identically rooted forms of life completed the succession and cycle of life. Withering was the end of flourishing, yet also the starting point of new life; flourishing was life in bloom, yet also held the fate of withering. Life and death, withering and flourishing, opposed yet depended upon one another, cycling endlessly to form life's most essential, most profound truth.
Lin Yan stared blankly at the wondrous scene before him, his mind wholly immersed in it. The Supreme Purity Breathing Technique circulating on its own within him seemed to enter a marvelous resonance with this rhythm of alternating withering and flourishing. The Soul Power flowing through his meridians sped up and slowed down by turns, as though it too were simulating the tides of life.
Countless thoughts crowded into his mind, then subsided into clear emptiness. His past confusion in cultivation and his reflections on the forms of life found a clear point of entry at that moment. He seemed to "see" plants cycling through the seasons, from tender shoots breaking through the soil to the splendor of luxuriant branches and leaves, then to the desolation of autumn winds sweeping away fallen leaves, before finally returning to the stillness of bitter winter, awaiting the next call of spring...
An indescribable understanding rose in his heart.
"Withering... flourishing..."
He murmured unconsciously, and his presence began to grow profound and mysterious. A faint, elusive quality spread outward from him. The fine sand beside him and the vessels to his left seemed to undergo an acceleration of time, developing slight traces of weathering, while several ordinary medicinal herbs to his right seemed to receive a trace of nourishment, their leaves unfurling a little.
This sudden enlightenment lasted a full two hours. When Lin Yan awoke from that mysterious state, a strange gleam interweaving the weathering of ages and new life flashed through his eyes. He felt that his spiritual power had improved significantly, and his control over Soul Power had become even more exquisitely precise. More importantly, he had gained a trace of understanding of life's essence.
Lin Yan slowly closed his eyes again, sinking his entire mind into his body to carefully experience the changes brought about by those two hours of sudden enlightenment.
Lin Yan tried to focus his mind on that mysterious state, recalling the tenacity of dead wood meeting spring and the freshness of sprouting spores, recalling the cyclical rhythm of life passing from prosperity into decline, then from death toward life. Gradually, an indescribable quality emanated from him once more. This time, he guided it consciously.
He "saw" almost imperceptible ripples seem to arise in the air within a radius of roughly one foot around him. Within this tiny area, two utterly opposing presences coexisted in a delicate balance. On one side was the intent of "withering," imbued with decline and extinction; on the other was the intent of "flourishing," filled with vitality and burgeoning growth. They were not sharply divided, but slowly circulated like the yin-yang fish, transforming into one another and forming a miniature, dynamic field of cyclical withering and flourishing.
This looks like the yin-yang fish of the taiji symbol, yet it's different... Is this what I comprehended? Understanding dawned in Lin Yan's heart. It stems from the rhythm of life itself, opposing yet unified. For now, I'll call it "Withering and Flourishing Intent."
He extended a finger and lightly pointed at a green plant within the Intent's range. When he inclined his will toward the "withering" side, the plant's leaves slowly turned yellow and withered. When he shifted his will toward the "flourishing" side, the plant began to grow verdant again. But this change was extremely slow. Had Lin Yan not been directing it, he would not have been able to sense the change at all.
At present, the Withering and Flourishing Intent's range was too small and its effects too weak to directly affect an opponent in actual combat. It would even have little effect on a slightly sturdier ordinary person.
"It seems this Intent is still only a newly sprouting seed. I'll need to keep deepening my understanding and nurturing it to make it stronger." Lin Yan was not discouraged; instead, he was filled with anticipation. He knew clearly just how immense the potential of a power that directly touched the level of rules was.
Then a thought flashed through his mind like lightning: On the Douluo Continent, I don't seem to have ever heard of anything called "Intent." A Soul Master's strength is primarily reflected in their Soul Power Level, the power of their Soul Skills, their Soul Bones, and... domains!
Domains! The word made Lin Yan's heart give a sudden leap.
As far as he knew, within the world of the Douluo Continent, domains were exceedingly rare and powerful abilities. Usually, only top-tier Martial Souls, high-grade Soul Bones, or divine inheritances could bestow them. Once unleashed, a domain could alter the rules within a certain area, greatly strengthening its user while weakening or even suppressing opponents. It was a decisive power capable of determining the course of battle.
"Though my Withering and Flourishing Intent is weak now, its essence seems to achieve something similar to a domain through different means! Both create an environmental field favorable to oneself." Light flickered in Lin Yan's eyes. "The difference is that common domains mostly provide one-sided strengthening or weakening, such as the intimidation of killing aura in the Divine Slaughter's Domain, or the sacred purification of the Angel Domain. But the core of my Withering and Flourishing Intent lies in 'cycles' and 'transformation.' It has both the declining power of 'withering' and the strengthening effect of 'flourishing.' Used properly, it might offer even more variations than a single domain, impossible to guard against!"
This discovery left him tremendously excited. If his deduction was correct, then what the Douluo Continent called domains were actually a form of Intent as well. It was simply that the people of the Douluo Continent had not deeply explored its potential.
"Moreover," Lin Yan said as he sensed the circulation of Soul Power within him, "the improvements this Withering and Flourishing Intent brings me have already begun to show."
He circulated the Supreme Purity Breathing Technique and discovered that the Soul Power flowing through his meridians seemed to carry a trace of the rhythm of withering and flourishing. During cultivation, the efficiency of Soul Power condensation and conversion had improved slightly. More importantly, the Soul Power itself seemed to have become more "tenacious" and "full of vitality." This meant that his ability to sustain combat and recover would both improve as his Intent grew. This improvement was internal and foundational, far more precious than learning a powerful Soul Skill.
He turned his gaze once more toward the piece of dead wood and the newly sprouted Iridescent Withering and Flourishing Ferns. Now, in his perception, these two were no longer merely unusual plants, but his "teachers" in comprehending the Dao. The dead wood passed from death toward life, and the spores from sleep to wakefulness. They themselves were demonstrating the truest Dao of withering and flourishing.
In my future cultivation, beyond steadily raising my Soul Power Level and tempering my body, what matters more is deepening my understanding and control of this Withering and Flourishing Intent, Lin Yan planned inwardly. I need to observe more plants growing and withering, experience the changes of the cycling seasons, and even... comprehend the mysteries between life and death.
He walked over to the jade box and carefully cradled the piece of dead wood, which had already grown an emerald-green shoot, in his palm.
"Since this Intent was born because of you, I'll begin nurturing it with you." Lin Yan smiled slightly and circulated the Supreme Purity Breathing Technique once more. Pure, gentle Soul Power, carrying his newly comprehended sense of withering and flourishing, slowly enveloped the dead wood and the three newly sprouted Iridescent Withering and Flourishing Fern seedlings.
This time, the nourishment of Soul Power no longer merely supplied energy. It seemed more like a resonance, an exchange. The seedlings' vitality responded joyfully, and the ancient life origin within the dead wood also seemed more active. Lin Yan could feel that, as he nourished them, his understanding of the circulation of withering and flourishing was deepening bit by bit. Though the range of that newborn Intent domain had not expanded, it seemed to have become more substantial and fluid.