"Just what kind of dangers are hidden in the act of promotion? There's no precedent to follow. It's hard to grasp the key point. If danger exists, where does it come from? This is giving me a headache."
Yi Tianxing couldn't help but shake his head, silently sighing to himself.
The Eternal Continent — all its natural laws and rules — were unfamiliar to everyone.
Village, Town, City, Royal City, Imperial City, Sacred City, Divine City, Heavenly Court.
This was the process of evolving from a small power into a grand, top-tier force. No matter the leap — from village to town, or town to city — each was a fundamental transformation, a massive breakthrough for the faction involved.
The impact of such a breakthrough was immeasurable.
Especially for a city built upon Fate Energy — this wasn't an ordinary settlement. It wasn't something anyone could casually point at and call an "ancient city." While it might appear so to ordinary people, such a structure lacked the ability to gather Fate, or to manifest strange and mystical powers.
But a City of Fate, once it became a true city, was a Celestial City — one capable of wielding unfathomable might.
No ordinary city could compare.
That's why mundane cities could be built at will, but a true Celestial City could not be created so easily.
In such a promotion, there had to be hidden taboos or dangers. Otherwise, why would that lingering sense of danger continue to gnaw at him? Especially if that danger would only emerge once the promotion began.
Unfortunately, on the Eternal Continent, there was likely no intelligence regarding such events from other villages. The world was still too fragmented, communication was difficult, and news barely traveled — it was as if each village lived in isolation.
That had its pros and cons. It allowed for growth, but made sharing knowledge nearly impossible.
Even if someone had already promoted their village to a town, they wouldn't understand the underlying mysteries. One could only face it alone.
"Looks like I'll need to wait a bit longer. I'll strengthen my cultivation and the village's foundation first. I can't let all the effort Xuanhuang Village has put into building up its strength be ruined on a whim. There are over ten thousand humans here."
Yi Tianxing took a deep, meaningful look at the Fate Pool.
Promotion could happen at any time.
If he wished, he could start it now. But the danger that might accompany it was still shrouded in mystery. This wasn't something that could be approached recklessly.
This involved the fate of everyone in Xuanhuang Village — over ten thousand lives. He couldn't afford a hasty decision.
This wasn't the old days when he had nothing and could gamble everything. Now, he bore responsibility for the entire village, for every citizen under his rule. He had to move steadily — not rashly.
"There's still time. I can continue to grow stronger. The village is transforming daily, our strength improving with each passing day. The craftsmen at Tiangong Pavilion are working on new types of weapons. Once successful, the military's strength will rise again."
Yi Tianxing suppressed his curiosity toward the unknown danger.
There was no point in fixating on it now. Besides, as long as he didn't initiate the promotion, the village wouldn't level up. Holding off wasn't necessarily a bad thing.
Leaving the Fate Pool, Yi Tianxing returned to his meditation chamber.
"I have to reach the fourth level of the Divine Sea Realm. Only by becoming stronger can I face all possible threats."
Over the past few days, he had already fully opened his Ren and Du Meridians. These two channels were even harder to open than the previous six meridians. Still, with his deep foundation, he broke through them with ease.
In that moment of breakthrough...
All his meridians connected, forming a vast network throughout his body. The circulation of true energy accelerated dramatically, flowing without obstruction. It felt as though shackles had been completely shattered.
Now, with a mere thought, he could send true energy anywhere within his body in an instant.
With the Ren and Du Meridians fully opened, Yi Tianxing could enter the fourth level of the Divine Sea Realm at any time. However, he had been continually tempering his meridians, reinforcing his foundation.
The Divine Sea Realm: Qi Gathering, Divine Spring, and Sea Transformation, three stages with a total of nine levels.
The process of gathering true energy, unblocking the twelve principal meridians, and opening the Eight Extraordinary Meridians all fell under Qi Gathering. Once the Ren and Du Meridians were opened, it marked the end of that stage.
Beyond that lay the Divine Spring.
This was once referred to as the Innate Realm — a level that could let one roam the world with boundless combat strength.
But Divine Spring was special.
Some believed that once the Ren and Du were opened and one could sense and absorb Heaven and Earth energy, thus regenerating true energy endlessly, they had entered the Innate Realm.
However, Yi Tianxing knew the truth: even in the Qi Gathering stage, once the Divine Sea was opened at the navel, one could already draw energy from the world. That wasn't the essence of the Innate.
The true mystery of Divine Spring lay elsewhere.
Condensing the Divine Spring was no simple feat.
Without proper legacy or guidance, most cultivators wouldn't even understand how to break through. And this step was critical — and not without difficulty.
Sitting cross-legged on a prayer mat, Yi Tianxing took a deep breath. Confidence flickered in his eyes as he focused inward, into his Divine Sea.
He activated the Heavenly Dragon Imperial Scripture ("御龙天经") and began visualizing the Primordial Dragon Diagram of the Four Seas.
His entire mind sank into the image of the ancestral dragon — as if he himself was that dragon.
Whoosh!!
The ancestral dragon suddenly opened its eyes, gleaming with overwhelming majesty. With a thunderous dragon's roar, it burst out of the Divine Sea and entered the vast network of meridians.
There, the spiritual energy of Heaven and Earth had transformed into multi-colored river-like streams, flowing endlessly through his body.
The ancestral dragon plunged into the river, swiftly swimming through the currents. Wherever it passed, mysterious dragon patterns appeared in the riverbanks of the meridians, widening and reinforcing them.
The dragon continued its journey through his entire body, then let out another roar before diving into the Kidney Meridian of the Foot Shaoyin.
It flowed downstream, eventually arriving at the sole of the left foot.
Roar!!
With joy, the dragon opened its mouth and sucked fiercely toward an empty space.
Whoosh!!
From the void, a cloud of chaotic mist was forcibly drawn out, coalescing into a vague phantom spring, flickering and unstable — ready to vanish at any moment.
This was the essence of the Yongquan (Springing Fountain) Point. Its true origin.
Yes — this was the origin of the Yongquan Acupoint, located on the sole of the foot — highly valued in cultivation. The foot represented the Earth, and Yongquan's meaning lay in groundedness and absorbing Earth energy.
More importantly, Yongquan was a Life Aperture — an Innate Aperture, present in every cultivator. But it remained dormant unless properly awakened through Fate Aperture cultivation methods.
Humans had two feet — hence two Yongquan apertures.
This time, what the ancestral dragon had drawn out was the origin energy of the left Yongquan Aperture.
This was origin power. If extracted, the aperture could never again be awakened — as its origin would be gone.
In the Divine Spring stage, the goal was to lead this origin energy into the Divine Sea and condense it into a Divine Spring.
But here lay the true difficulty: moving this origin force.
Yongquan was deeply tied to the earth. Moving its origin meant fighting against the pull of the Earth itself.
Like trying to drag a massive boulder into the sky — the higher you went, the stronger the resistance. As if a magnetic force kept tugging it back.
Overcoming this required an incredibly strong will.
True energy wouldn't help — only pure willpower could resist the pulling force. If the will faltered, the origin would snap back and return to its position.
And this wasn't a process that could be restarted — it had to be done in one go.
This was the gateway. The test. If your will wasn't strong enough, you had no right to ascend to a higher level of power.
Roar!!
The ancestral dragon clutched the mist-like origin energy in its mouth, like biting down on a dragon pearl. With a flick of its tail, it rushed back toward the Divine Sea.
"As expected, it's not easy. This pull is intense — like a kite string trying to drag me back. It's a tug-of-war, a test of will. The pressure is immense."
The ancestral dragon was Yi Tianxing — his spirit and will fully integrated with it.
And in this trial, no true energy could be used. Only his willpower, embodied in the ancestral dragon, could carry the origin to the Divine Sea.
At first, it seemed manageable. But as the distance from the Yongquan point increased, the pull intensified, trying to drag him back.
Every inch forward became a trial of endurance — a pure battle of the mind.