Half a month later.
Above Stone Village, Shi Yi sat suspended in the air, his nine volcanic crater-like Heavenly Passages ceaselessly absorbing the energy of the heavens and earth. They blazed like nine scorching suns, radiating boundless light and heat. Combined with the actual sun in the sky, it was as if ten suns hung in the firmament, casting an overwhelming brilliance.
Fortunately, Shi Yi's nine passages only resembled suns in form, not in essence. Otherwise, Stone Village—perhaps the entire Great Wilderness—would have been scorched to ashes.
Yet, his act of hovering mid-air and summoning his nine passages baffled everyone in Stone Village. Even Liu Shen couldn't discern what Shi Yi was attempting.
This wasn't her fault.
Shi Yi was employing principles from the Daoist philosophies of his previous life on that azure planet, seeking to unlock the Tenth Heavenly Passage—a feat that typically demanded a life-or-death gamble. Daoism emphasized tranquility and non-action, shunning violence as a primary path. In contrast, this world's cultivation philosophy was rooted in battle—endless fighting and killing, seeking breakthroughs through the crucible of combat.
This was Liu Shen's blind spot. She was accustomed to slaughter, having struck fear into foreign realms, and found her own breakthroughs in battle. The concept of serene, non-competitive Daoist thought was beyond her grasp.
If she could truly comprehend and integrate these foreign philosophical principles, perhaps even breaking through to become an Emperor from a King wouldn't be impossible. But for now, Shi Yi was only beginning to apply these Daoist ideas from his past life, and Liu Shen couldn't yet glean profound insights from him.
Still, she sensed that Shi Yi was treading a unique path. While he cultivated the Original True Solution, he infused it with his own ideas—not creating a new cultivation method, as he lacked the genius for that, but blending elements from the Daoist theories of that azure planet into the foundation of the True Solution.
"The Original True Solution's Divine Guidance Chapter is the supreme cultivation method of this world, but it primarily teaches the application of runes," Shi Yi mused. "It's the foundation of this world, like written language—simple in itself, not inherently profound. Thus, cultivators here advance best through combat, honing themselves in battle, finding their own Dao amidst life and death, blood and fire, to achieve sublime transcendence."
He carefully recalled the contents of the Divine Guidance Chapter etched on the bone tablet, allowing torrents of wild, surging heaven-and-earth energy to pour into his body through his nine passages.
At the same time, he fully activated his Double Pupils, analyzing frame by frame the memories of his past life—including Daoist maxims he'd only glanced at casually, never committing to memory. This was no surprise. Just as he could glimpse the Qilin Step technique through the Fire Qilin's true blood, his Double Pupils allowed him to dissect and recall every person, event, or object he'd ever seen, even those he'd barely noticed.
"Yuan, Two Polarities, Three Talents, Four Images, Five Elements, Six Harmonies, Seven Stars, Eight Trigrams, Nine Palaces, Ten Directions—the Heavenly Passage Realm subtly aligns with these mysteries, yet remains distinct," Shi Yi murmured. "To break through to the Tenth Heavenly Passage by brute force is impossible unless I gamble my life, hoping to seize the fleeting chance in a moment of mortal peril."
He slowly opened his eyes. Behind him, his nine passages glowed ever brighter, and at their center, a faint, ethereal Tenth Passage flickered, half-real, half-illusory, as if it might materialize at any moment. Despite half a month of channeling vast amounts of heaven-and-earth energy through his nine passages, the Tenth remained intangible.
"But breaking through this way would likely leave me understanding only the surface, not the deeper principles," he reflected. "It'd be like a ferocious beast using its innate precious technique without comprehending how it works."
At that moment, a spark of realization dawned. His Double Pupils blazed brighter, and the nine passages circling behind him seemed to pulse with new life. The vague outline of the Tenth Passage at their center grew slightly more solid, as if beginning to transition from illusion to reality.
This progress was no coincidence.
Cultivators in this world relied on exhaustive trial and error, pushing their bodies to the limit, even embracing the terror of life-and-death crises to force a breakthrough to the Tenth Heavenly Passage. But Shi Yi approached it differently—he used his mind, like a codebreaker searching for a key to unlock the gate of the Tenth Passage effortlessly.
As his mind churned in a storm of ideas, aided by his Heavy Pupils, fragments of Daoist theories from his past life—texts he'd only skimmed out of curiosity—began to surface from the depths of his soul. One by one, Daoist maxims echoed in his mind, as if actively guiding him to manifest the Tenth Passage.
___
"One Yuan is chaos, the primal beginning. From One Yuan, all things renew. The boundless heavens have no limit, birthing the infinite. Space is the cosmos, time is eternity. All things have a source and an end, all matters have a beginning and a conclusion. To know their sequence is to approach the Dao."
"Two Polarities are Yin and Yang. All things embrace Yang and carry Yin. One Yin, one Yang—this is the Dao. From chaos, Yin and Yang emerge. Clear qi rises to form the heavens, turbid qi sinks to form the earth. Yang at its peak births Yin, Yin at its peak births Yang—thus, the Taiji of Yin and Yang."
"Three Talents are Heaven, Earth, and Man. Yin and Yang qi give rise to Heaven and Earth, and Heaven and Earth nurture Man. From these come the Three Talents: the Way of Heaven, the Way of Earth, and the Way of Man. The Three Talents are Heaven, Earth, and Man; the Three Luminaries are Sun, Moon, and Stars."
"Four Images arise from the Two Polarities, which birth the Four Images: Lesser Yang, Greater Yang, Lesser Yin, Greater Yin."
"Four Images are the four divine beasts: Azure Dragon of the East, White Tiger of the West, Vermilion Bird of the South, Black Tortoise of the North."
"Each divine beast has its spirit and attribute: Azure Dragon is Wood, White Tiger is Metal, Vermilion Bird is Fire, Black Tortoise is Water—together, Earth, Water, Fire, and Wind, encompassing all things in the world."
"Five Elements are Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, and Earth, embodying Benevolence, Wisdom, Trust, Righteousness, and Propriety—the virtues."
"There are Five Origins: Origin of Nature, Origin of Spirit, Origin of Qi, Origin of Emotion, Origin of Essence. All things in the cosmos reside within the Five Elements."
"Six Harmonies are Body, Heart, Intent, Qi, Essence, and Spirit."
"Body aligns with Heart, Heart with Intent, Intent with Qi, Qi with Essence, Essence with Spirit, and Spirit with the Void. These are the six spirits of man, indispensable."
"Man has six desires: Life, Death, Ear, Eye, Mouth, Nose."
"Seven Stars are the Big Dipper: Tian Shu [Greedy Wolf], Tian Xuan [Great Gate], Tian Ji [Fortune], Tian Quan [Literary Song], Yu Heng [Integrity], Kai Yang [Martial Song], Yao Guang [Army Breaker]."
"Man has seven emotions: Joy, Anger, Worry, Thought, Sorrow, Fear, Shock."
The Daoist chants resounded, shaking his soul. Seven of the nine passages behind Shi Yi began to tremble violently, mirroring the quaking of his soul, as if undergoing an unimaginable transformation.
"Eight Trigrams: Qian, Kun, Kan, Li, Zhen, Gen, Xun, Dui."
"Qian is Heaven, Kun is Earth, Kan is Water, Li is Fire, Zhen is Thunder, Gen is Mountain, Xun is Wind, Dui is Marsh."
"The Pre-Heaven Eight Trigrams: Qian in the South, Kun in the North, Li in the East, Kan in the West, Dui in the Southeast, Zhen in the Northeast, Xun in the Southwest, Gen in the Northwest."
"Man has eight gates: Rest Gate, Life Gate, Injury Gate, Block Gate, View Gate, Death Gate, Shock Gate, Open Gate."
As the eighth chant reverberated, eight of Shi Yi's passages quaked as if on the verge of collapse. Beneath his feet, a Pre-Heaven Eight Trigrams Formation materialized, instantly enveloping Stone Village.
Over time, the formation showed no signs of receding. It expanded relentlessly, stretching across the entire Cangmang Mountain Range before halting its outward spread.
This astonishing phenomenon even reached the Ninth Heaven, catching the attention of the golden giant claw and the little red bird, who had been battling for two years. They turned their curious gazes toward the Cangmang Mountains, where Stone Village lay.
Liu Shen, too, observed the spectacle, her confusion deepening. Wasn't Shi Yi trying to break through to the Tenth Heavenly Passage? Why did it seem like he was re-forging his nine existing passages instead? And with such a staggering display?
What kind of passages was he shaping?
___
"Is Yi Gege even human? We're all in the Heavenly Passage Realm, but in front of him, I feel like an ant!" one villager exclaimed.
"Exactly! There's always a gap between experts in the same realm, but this gap—it's just too outrageous!"
"Yi Gege is amazing!" Hu Niu cheered, her eyes sparkling with pride.
"Hu Niu, your Yi Gege is indeed impressive, casually cultivating and causing such earth-shaking phenomena," another youth teased. "But I'm not half bad myself, you know."
"Get lost!" Hu Niu snapped, glaring.
"So fierce! I bet your Yi Gege won't settle for just one woman. When he leaves you behind—"
Hu Niu's glare silenced him, but the village buzzed with awe and whispers, all eyes on the extraordinary figure above.
_
If you want to support me and read advanced 100+ chapters and also other stories: patreon.com/Caluem