Chapter 132: Breakthrough in Realm

Mo Wuhuan had long ago ordered a luxurious and comfortable room to be prepared specifically for Ye Zihan. As the current master of Nameless City, the Guardian Palace possessed the city's greatest wealth, and all its facilities were exceptionally lavish.

Ye Zihan did not particularly care about such things, but as the future foundation and headquarters for the Heaven-Defying Pavilion, it could not be too shabby. Therefore, he was quite satisfied with the Guardian Palace as it stood, considering plans to expand it later and establish it as the central hall.

Before beginning his cultivation, Ye Zihan specifically asked Phantom Concubine several questions. As a former powerhouse who had reached the peak of the Ten Directions realm, even though her strength was now greatly diminished and far from what it once was, her experience remained. The profound knowledge she possessed was something that even Ye Zihan’s two mentors, Hong Yan and Lan Yu, might not necessarily surpass.

After clearing up the doubts in his mind, Ye Zihan began to cultivate in order to break through to the middle stage of the Six Harmonies realm.

Cultivation realms are divided into: One Origin, Two Modes, Three Talents, Four Images, Five Elements, Six Harmonies, Seven Stars, Eight Trigrams, Nine Palaces, and Ten Directions.

One Origin is the beginning of heaven and earth, the origin of all things. It is the start of cultivation; as long as one possesses the Five Elements Origin Qi, one can begin to cultivate and condense One Origin Qi. Following this, One Origin transforms into Two Modes, where the Origin Qi splits into Yin and Yang. Then comes the Three Talents realm, where the Yin and Yang of the Origin Qi within the body converge to form the Three Talents of Heaven, Earth, and Man, residing in the upper, middle, and lower dantian, which correspond to the soul, heart, and abdomen, respectively.

The Four Images realm involves the further division of Yin and Yang into Greater Yang, Greater Yin, Lesser Yang, and Lesser Yin. One harvests these four forces of heaven and earth to integrate them into the Five Elements Origin Qi within the dantian. The Five Elements realm involves gathering the five elemental energies of heaven and earth to complete the Five Elements Origin Qi; this does not mean one possesses the five elements themselves, but rather serves as a supplement to one's power, as it does little to alter innate talent.

Consequently, people place immense importance on talent. Many are born destined to become powerhouses, while many others are born destined to remain obscure for their entire lives; this is an unchangeable reality.

Following the Five Elements realm is the Six Harmonies realm. "Six Harmonies" refers to the four cardinal directions plus heaven and earth.

At this stage, cultivation is no longer merely about the power and Origin Qi within the body’s dantian; it has ascended to the realm of soul cultivation—the perception of the surrounding space of heaven and earth. East, South, West, North, Heaven, and Earth constitute the Six Harmonies, which is space. In a broader sense, it refers to the universe itself. This is an extremely profound realm that requires high innate talent to perceive heaven and earth and draw upon their power for one's own use.

Once one reaches the Six Harmonies realm, every gesture carries the sensation of holding the world in one’s hands and commanding heaven and earth. This is the Six Harmonies realm's advantage over the Five Elements realm. Imagine, if one can control the power of heaven and earth, then one can surely control the power within an opponent, provided that one's soul strength and soul realm are superior to the opponent's.

Ye Zihan had broken through to the Six Harmonies realm quite inexplicably. Without the guidance of Hong Yan, Lan Yu, or others, even though he had fought many powerhouses at the Six Harmonies level, he did not truly understand what the realm was about. However, when Hong Yan and Lan Yu channeled their soul power into his, his strength—or more precisely, his soul realm—broke through to the Six Harmonies realm in a short period. In those fleeting moments, Ye Zihan clearly felt the true difference of the Six Harmonies realm, yet it remained an ineffable sensation. With these lingering doubts, he did not truly understand it until he sought counsel from Phantom Concubine.

Communicating with Phantom Concubine made Ye Zihan feel that a single conversation with her was worth ten years of study. Without the guidance of Hong Yan and Lan Yu, his cultivation during this period could be said to have taken many unnecessary detours.

Fortunately, everything had been peaceful, and no major problems or deviations in cultivation had occurred; otherwise, with the limited strength of Chen Yiyan and Yan Chen, they likely would not have been able to help him.

Luckily, having subjugated Phantom Concubine and gained the guidance of a powerhouse with such rich experience, Ye Zihan had resolved many of his ongoing issues and even gained an understanding of his future cultivation path.

The Six Harmonies realm is about the perception of heaven and earth, cultivating the soul to a sufficiently powerful level where one can anticipate an enemy’s moves in battle, quickly identify their flaws, and defeat them in one stroke, while also using the assistance of heaven and earth to strengthen one’s own attacks.

As for the Seven Stars realm, it involves using powerful soul power to harvest the energies of the seven stars—Tianshu, Tianxuan, Tianji, Tianquan, Yuheng, Kaiyang, and Yaoguang—from the void to temper the soul source, and then transforming that soul source into soul fire, which is the Eight Trigrams realm.

As for the even higher realms, Ye Zihan did not ask. He was only at the Six Harmonies realm; thinking too far ahead would distract him and affect his breakthrough.

With his goals and methods clear, Ye Zihan quickly entered a meditative state. His entire being seemed to become ethereal, as if he had returned to the first time he met Hong Yan and Lan Yu, when they helped him unlock the Eight Gates Seal and taught him to attempt cultivation for the first time, instructing him to first cultivate his soul realm and perceive every object around him.

Ye Zihan felt his current situation was much like that, only his realm had risen to a higher level. This time, he was not just perceiving simple things like butterflies, flowers, or trees.

This time, he was perceiving—Heaven and Earth!

What is Heaven and Earth? The space we inhabit is a place of heaven and earth, but "Heaven and Earth" is not merely the space we inhabit. What is Heaven? That which is above the earth is Heaven! What is Earth? That which is below the heaven is Earth!

Ye Zihan continuously used his understanding of the universe to perceive heaven and earth, integrating his mind into them. As he kept making contact and gaining understanding, it was as if heaven and earth themselves possessed wisdom and could communicate.

A human is, in themselves, a piece of heaven and earth; each person’s existence is a small world. Within this world, centered on the self, one spreads outward, and everything—whether related or unrelated, people, events, or objects—forms various subtle connections and changes with oneself, whether actively or passively. When a person is born, such a piece of heaven and earth is born. When a person dies, that piece of heaven and earth dies as well.

Ye Zihan felt a very subtle sensation. Originally, he was only trying to integrate into heaven and earth, but gradually he discovered that through constant communication and perception, his soul was slowly growing stronger.

He seemed to be situated in a brand-new world, where colorful sprites—like five-hued spirits—constantly entered his soul, causing it to expand significantly.

"This is Fire Origin Qi, this is Water Origin Qi, and there are the other three of the Five Elements... could these be the Five Element Spirits of heaven and earth?"

Ye Zihan speculated. The human body is divided into the five elements, and the soul is the same. If a person possesses Fire Origin Qi, their soul can perceive the Fire Element Spirits within the heaven and earth while meditating on the space. Just as the physical body absorbs Origin Qi, the soul can absorb these spirits to strengthen itself.

The feeling of the soul constantly expanding was truly wonderful. Ye Zihan stopped thinking about these issues and focused entirely on absorbing these Five Element Spirits. He was like a starving man who had not eaten for years, suddenly seeing a feast laid out before him; he rushed forward without hesitation.

In Ye Zihan's room, the space became saturated with Five Elements Origin Qi, which flowed continuously into his body. This was inextricably linked to his soul perception; those Five Element Spirits entered his body as if they were joyful, living things.

"As expected of a heaven-defying person who has opened all five elements; truly terrifying."

Phantom Concubine, who was nearby, was also meditating and absorbing the Five Element Spirits to strengthen her soul. She had been absorbing them perfectly well when she suddenly felt her ability to attract them weaken significantly. Upon checking, she realized that Ye Zihan had begun to perceive heaven and earth. His terrifying Five Elements talent was so great that even the spirits around her were being drawn away.

Phantom Concubine gave a bitter smile and simply gave up on this efficient method, switching to her own soul-cultivation techniques. Although it was slower, she had no other choice when faced with Ye Zihan’s overbearing approach; she certainly couldn't compete with her own master.

"Ah, that feels great!" After a night of cultivation, Ye Zihan finally woke up and stretched. He felt incredibly comfortable, especially his spirit, which felt far more replenished than before. His entire body was filled with a thick, potent energy, giving him an urge to let loose and have a grand battle.

"Finally broke through to the middle stage of the Six Harmonies realm!" Ye Zihan said happily. Throughout the night, he had perceived all five types of elemental spirits simultaneously, making his absorption rate five times faster than that of a soul cultivator with a single attribute. Furthermore, because the five elements cycle, attract, and restrain one another, the speed of his soul cultivation was more than ten or twenty times faster than that of other single-attribute cultivators.

Even Phantom Concubine, a former peak Ten Directions powerhouse, could not compete with him for the spirits, let alone anyone else. Fortunately, Yan Chen and Chen Yiyan had only just reached the Six Harmonies realm and were far enough away from Ye Zihan’s room that they were not affected.

"It’s about time. I wonder how those geniuses are gathering?" Ye Zihan walked out of his room and found Yan Chen and Chen Yiyan. After much effort, both had successfully broken through to the early stage of the Six Harmonies realm.

Only Mo You, still fast asleep in Ye Zihan’s sleeve, seemed to remain at the peak of the Five Elements realm.