[Innate One Qi]
Deep within the apricot grove, dappled sunlight cast shadows.
True Person Southern Dipper lowered his eyes and calmly looked down at the tall, handsome young Daoist priest with a somewhat immature face.
This was the [Secret Transmission True Cultivator] that he personally selected and placed high hopes on.
He was once the most promising candidate to attain the [Primordial Heaven] realm, but due to the interference of Black Mountain, he missed the crucial opportunity to First Attainment it.
When fortuitous opportunity are snatched away and the road ahead is blocked, even if others are not disheartened, they will inevitably feel resentful.
However, even True Person Southern Dipper had not expected that this seemingly unassuming and even somewhat plain young man harbored a heart set on conquering the heavens.
Abandoning the safe [Primordial Heaven] path, they instead turned to the [Great Luo] path, which had devoured countless geniuses.
He silently gazed at Qi Yun, his eyes like a deep, still well, as if trying to see through the calm exterior to the restless and burning heart within.
Qi Yun felt the gaze, which seemed almost tangible, but he did not flinch. Instead, he lowered his head slightly, adopting a respectful posture, and awaited instructions.
After a long silence, True Person Southern Dipper made no comment on his choice, nor did he offer any encouragement or warning. He simply turned around slowly, lightly waved the emerald green bamboo staff in his hand, and said indifferently, "Come with me."
"Yes!"
Qi Yun responded and said no more, obediently following behind that hunched figure who seemed to hold up the world, his steps steady.
After passing several old apricot trees with unusual shapes, the scenery suddenly opened up before my eyes.
The sound of flowing water became clearer, and a verdant cliff several meters high came into view, with a silvery waterfall cascading down into a crystal-clear pool below.
However, the water of this waterfall was not the usual clear and transparent; instead, it had a bluish-gray hue that seemed to have been settled over countless ages.
As the water flows, a mysterious Daoist aura subtly permeates it, clearly indicating that it is no ordinary mountain spring.
"From this day forward, you shall begin your practice here."
The bamboo staff in True Person Southern Dipper's hand first pointed to the waterfall and pool that shimmered with a bluish-gray luster, and then the tip of the staff turned to the side.
There stands a stone tablet about the height of a person.
The stone tablet is entirely black with a smooth surface, and there are no words or patterns engraved on it, yet it naturally exudes an aura of vastness, antiquity, and the embodiment of the ultimate truths of heaven and earth.
"The Foundation Establishment method of [Great Luo] is found on this stone tablet."
True Person Southern Dipper's voice remained calm.
"[Supreme Dao Foundation], unparalleled in the world!"
Therefore, everyone's understanding of [Great Luo] is different.
The experience of those who came before you is not only useless to you, but may even become a hidden danger that binds and misleads you.
He paused, his gaze sweeping over the dark stone tablet.
"The inscription on this stone tablet is the most original and authentic version."
Neither increasing nor decreasing, neither biased nor partial.
Whether you can comprehend and understand it depends on your own Creation and ability.
Having explained all this crucial matter, True Person Southern Dipper took one last look at the young Daoist beside him who was curiously looking around at the waterfall, the pool, and the stone tablet.
The bluish-gray water reflected in his calm eyes, and the dark stone tablet was reflected in his focused pupils.
And those twenty-three prodigies who lingered here, only to leave in despair or perish—
It seems there's not much difference.
True Person Southern Dipper withdrew his gaze, no longer lingering. Holding his bamboo staff, he turned around with faltering steps and slowly disappeared into the depths of the apricot grove, leaving this world, which contained infinite possibilities and infinite dangers, to Qi Yun alone.
Qi Yun slowly walked to the waterfall and pool where clear gray water flowed.
Even before you get very close, you can feel an ancient aura emanating from the beginning of time.
This aura was pure and primordial, subtly resonating with the True Qi he had cultivated, yet it was worlds apart from it.
His expression tightened slightly, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes. He muttered to himself, "This is... [Innate One Qi]?"
The [Innate One] contained in the waterfall pool before him is not the same concept as the "Primordial Innate One Qi True Qi Innate One-Heart Art".
The True Qi he painstakingly cultivated was essentially nothing more than a replica that imitated and borrowed a trace of the true Daoist essence of [Innate One].
It is a "fake" product created through artificial means.
But what permeates the waterfall and pool before us is the genuine [Innate One] essence, born from heaven and earth!
The difference between the two is like that between ordinary roadside soil and the divine gold Creation by heaven and earth—they are completely incomparable, with an essential chasm between them.
"Could this be the Foundation Establishment Object needed to construct [Great Luo]?" Qi Yun stared intently at the bluish-gray water, unable to help but marvel.
"I had thought the Holy Sect had a deep foundation, but I never imagined it would be this strong!"
Such a quantity, such purity of [Innate One].
If the news were to leak, it would likely be enough to shake the entire cultivation world in the Northwest.
No, even the giants from far more distant lands are going crazy for it!
After a moment of reflection, he forced himself to suppress the shock in his heart and turned to walk towards the dark stone tablet standing to the side.
The stone tablet's surface was smooth as a mirror, jet black and shiny, reflecting its own image and the faint light of the distant waterfall.
Qi Yun focused his attention and examined the stone tablet closely, even releasing his Divine Sense to scan it in detail, but he discovered that there were no words or patterns on the stone tablet.
Not even the slightest scratch could be detected.
It stands there silently, like a natural, uncarved stone, seemingly mocking those who come after it trying to gain something from it.
Qi Yun stood with his hands behind his back in front of the stone tablet, motionless, as if he had turned into a stone statue.
Time passed slowly, and the only sound in the apricot grove was the gentle murmur of the waterfall washing over the pool.
After a long while, he finally let out a long, slow breath, which carried a barely audible rustle in the silent forest.
Gazing at the despair-smooth surface of the stone tablet, Qi Yun's lips curled into a smile that was hard to decipher—a smile that was hard to tell if it was helplessness or excitement. He murmured softly, as if speaking to himself, "The start—is hellish difficulty."
There was no guidance, no experience, and even the "problem" itself was hidden behind an endless fog.
The only thing we have is this empty stone tablet.
"Alright, then let me, Qi, see just how difficult this legendary [Supreme Dao Foundation] really is!"
Qi Yun did not rush to sit cross-legged; he simply stood with his hands behind his back in front of the monument, his posture as upright as a pine tree.
At first, he only looked at it with his naked eye.
His gaze was like a knife, meticulously scraping every inch of the stone tablet's surface, leaving no possible minute bumps or unevenness unnoticed.
Color differences.
Yet the stone tablet remained as flawless as black jade, reflecting his determined figure and the swaying shadows of the apricot grove behind him.
Several hours later, he slowly closed his eyes.
Divine Sense, like the gentlest of tendrils, spread out from the Ancestral Aperture Sea of Consciousness consciousness, carefully enveloping the entire stone tablet.
This time, what he "saw" was no longer a simple material structure.
Instead, it attempts to perceive the inherent "principle" within it, to sense the subtle, imperceptible flow of the Daoist rhythm that may exist.
Time flows silently, the sun rises and the moon sets.
The apricot blossoms bloomed and faded, leaving a faint fragrance on his shoulder.
His brows furrowed at times and relaxed at others.
In his Divine Sense perception, the stone tablet was no longer an empty void.
It seems to have transformed into a "chicken egg" at the beginning of time, containing infinite possibilities and representing absolute silence.
Occasionally, in that extreme silence, a barely perceptible "ripple" would pass through his Divine Sense, like a stone thrown into an ancient well, stirring up a barely perceptible ripple.
But that feeling was fleeting, too fast for him to grasp, let alone understand.
He tried countless methods.
Using his own "Innate One Qi Heart Method" to activate it, his True Qi approached the stone tablet, but it remained motionless, like a mud ox sinking into the sea.
He tried to visualize the various Law Technique he had learned and resonate with them, but the stone tablet remained indifferent and unresponsive.
He even used a trace of the peeping power of "Blood-Guided Profound Mysteries," but all he got in return was a sharp pain in his Divine Soul. The stone tablet remained standing, but the backlash made his face turn pale for a moment.
This stone tablet seems to isolate itself from all worldly laws and reject all known paths.
I don't know how much time has passed; maybe a day, maybe a month.
Qi Yun remained standing with his eyes closed, but his aura gradually changed.
He no longer used his Divine Sense to "scan" it, but instead slowly dispersed it, like a thin mist, gently enveloping the stone tablet.
In that state of complete absorption, a sudden "thump—"
The sound didn't just ring in his ears; it was a Daoist voice that resonated deep within his Divine Soul, seemingly originating from the primordial chaos, exploding without warning!
Qi Yun shuddered violently and suddenly opened his eyes!
Before him, the once smooth, mirror-like black stone tablet remained unchanged.
However, in his "perception," countless intricate and unimaginably complex Daoist scripts appeared on the surface of the stone tablet, seemingly woven from the very trajectory of the Dao itself.
These traces of the Dao are not static; they are constantly being born, dying, flowing, and reorganizing, demonstrating the evolution and changes of the Great Dao, and the rise and fall of all things.
In Qi Yun's pupils, the vast, boundless, and ever-changing sea of invisible Dao traces was reflected.
His face turned pale instantly, and fine beads of sweat appeared on his forehead.
Just "viewing" and understanding this most superficial information almost overwhelmed his Qi Refining Ninth Layer Divine Soul.
But his eyes shone with an unprecedented light, a shock and extreme excitement at glimpsing the highest truth.
Understood.
The original version of the [Great Luo] Foundation Establishment Method is not meant to be "read".
It is for "observation" and for "printing"!
Visualize the trajectory of this Great Dao, and imprint it upon your Divine Soul.
Then, use yourself as paper and all laws as ink.
Within the framework of this trajectory, draw out your own unique [Great Luo Myriad Laws]!
"I see----"
He murmured to himself, his voice trembling slightly, yet unwavering.
Without further hesitation, he steadied his trembling Divine Soul and once again immersed his entire being in it.
His path to enlightenment.
Now, it truly begins.