Chapter Sixteen: The Eighth Crystal of the Dao

Jiang Pingchuan held the "Omni-Law" in his hands, pondering for a while before finally opening the second page of the ancient scripture. In truth, he lacked the ability to open the last page—for he could not even see it. His body was already beginning to be bound by the laws of heaven and earth. Weighing pros and cons, Jiang Pingchuan decided to cultivate in accordance with the "Omni-Law."

Studying the second page carefully, Jiang Pingchuan found his memorization of the scripture growing ever more rapid. As he finished the first page, he felt a wind swirling in his palm. He watched as the second page of the ancient book slowly faded, and the third page emerged with new scripture. This ancient tome spoke of the proliferation of myriad beings and the journey of cultivation, containing countless paths and transformative arts. Different interpretations led to varied spells and techniques.

Jiang Pingchuan had no sense of how much time had passed. He heard the clear, lively calls of migratory birds outside the window, betraying the fullness of spring in the world beyond. The ancient, somber Scripture Pavilion exuded a faint, refreshing fragrance. Jiang Pingchuan kept his head down, still reading the ancient book in his hands, having memorized over ten thousand spells from its pages. He heard voices conversing outside the Pavilion—their tone warm and familiar.

"Master Yan, Pingchuan—has he not come out yet?" Jiang Pingchuan's dazed eyes gazed at the tightly shut door of the Scripture Pavilion. How he wished his two grandsons could still stay by his side as before. But now, Jiang Yulong had entered the forbidden grounds in the rear mountains for training, his fate unknown; Jiang Pingchuan had been studying and seeking enlightenment within the Pavilion for years and still had not emerged. Jiang Xingtian feared something might have happened to them. Having lost his son and daughter-in-law, he had failed even to care for their two children.

"Senior Jiang, eleven years have passed. By rights, Pingchuan should have left the Pavilion long ago. Is it possible there are hidden dangers within?" Yan Qingxia looked at Jiang Xingtian with helpless concern, his own brow perpetually furrowed. Jiang Pingchuan had entered the Pavilion eleven years before; yet at the tenth year, the doors had sealed, and now, as the eleventh year drew to a close, they remained closed.

"Master Yan, can you not ascertain the situation inside? Yulong still hasn't returned from the forbidden grounds. If Pingchuan suffers any mishap, how could I ever face Tianhao and his wife?" Jiang Xingtian looked at Yan Qingxia with earnest eyes.

"Alas, the Scripture Pavilion opens once every ten years, admits only one person at a time. If one does not exit, none may enter; the world is cut off, shrouded by laws, and cannot be probed." Yan Qingxia shook his head and sighed, his gaze brightening as he looked at the verdant tree in the courtyard, now over a dozen yards tall.

"Senior Jiang, while I cannot discern the Pavilion's internal state, this Enlightenment Spirit Tree can reflect it. Each year, it grows taller—a sign that someone inside is seeking enlightenment." Yan Qingxia observed the Spirit Tree's ongoing growth. Such a tree could only be nourished by the spirit of enlightenment, and its continued growth signified that someone within the Pavilion was indeed cultivating, generating the spirit which the tree absorbed as its source of vitality.

"So, Master Yan, as long as the Spirit Tree continues to grow, it means Pingchuan is still seeking enlightenment inside and is not in danger?" Jiang Xingtian looked at the tree, radiating an intense green glow; to him, it was as if the tree were his grandson Jiang Pingchuan himself. He stepped before the Pavilion's door, standing with his eyes fixed inside, feeling as though another pair of eyes within were also watching him.

Jiang Pingchuan raised his head to look at the Pavilion's door, seeing Jiang Xingtian's aged face, his hair and beard now snow-white, his eyes devoid of their former vitality, his wrinkled visage etched with worry. His finger bones resembled the barren peaks of Maoshan—dry, elongated, gaunt. Tears welled at the corners of Jiang Pingchuan's eyes; he could neither speak nor call out, only stare as the aura emitted by the "Omni-Law" enveloped him. He watched Jiang Xingtian sigh, caress the tightly shut door, and turn away.

That frail figure was far more stooped than it had been over a decade ago. Watching his grandfather slowly descend the ancient path, Jiang Pingchuan clenched his teeth and drew a deep breath. He heard his grandfather mention that his elder brother Jiang Yulong had yet to return from the forbidden grounds, and his heart grew heavy. After composing himself, Jiang Pingchuan accelerated his study of the "Omni-Law." He was determined to reach enlightenment and leave the Pavilion as soon as possible.

Jiang Pingchuan flipped through the ancient book ever more rapidly, intricate runes materializing around him in a matrix, encasing him layer by layer. When he reached the last page, he found no new scripture appearing. He closed the book, examining the verses on the back of the final page: "Three ranks for those who seek enlightenment through the Omni-Law: reading once and gaining clarity of mind marks the lower rank; reading twice and manifesting changes in the eyes marks the middle rank; reading thrice and attaining unwavering insight marks the upper rank." Jiang Pingchuan set the book aside and looked up at the character matrix floating before him—the symbols on the matrix matched those in the ancient book at his feet.

Jiang Pingchuan quickly located the contents of the first page within the matrix, finding only the first sentence on one rectangular wall. He continued to read, noting that the content below it was consistent with what he had seen before.

Yet, no matter how he tried, the symbols before him felt unfamiliar—he seemed to understand, yet not understand; he recognized the runes, but they were vague in his mind. Unable to comprehend the mysteries of the layered matrix, Jiang Pingchuan calmed himself and began to re-study its contents.

His reading speed increased, and he gradually confirmed that much of the content was similar to what he had seen in the ancient book. Yet, he discovered many subtle differences—places he had hurriedly overlooked. As he looked again, the matrix began to rotate.

The first layer rotated slowly clockwise, the second faster counterclockwise, the third again clockwise and swifter, and so on up to the ninth layer, beyond which Jiang Pingchuan could see no characters—only a curtain of light emitting a whirring sound. Jiang Pingchuan began to silently recite the Star-Eye Technique, a spell designed to help one find the path in dreams. He had noticed its mention in the "Omni-Law," though the cultivation method was not recorded there.

By coincidence, the golden characters he had long ago imprinted in his mind turned out to form the cultivation method for the Star-Eye Technique. Jiang Pingchuan activated his internal energy, his eyes shifting to a faint purple, reflecting the matrix’s characters. He easily reached the fifth layer; at the sixth, his eyes felt discomfort—dry and swollen.

Gritting his teeth, he finished the sixth layer, quickly shutting his eyes as hot tears rolled down his cheeks. He stood, squinting at the surrounding matrix, which began to vanish—one layer, two, three, all the way to six. The seventh layer suddenly appeared before him. Jiang Pingchuan glanced at it, spat a mouthful of blood, and staggered backward, his spirit waning.

A dark red fissure split his pupils. Jiang Pingchuan steadied himself, closed his eyes, and began to channel his cultivation method. He did not know why he could not see the seventh layer—it was not just that its speed was too great, but his body seemed fundamentally incapable of containing the content of the seventh and subsequent layers.

He closed his eyes, guiding the energy within his body—an energy he had generated upon his first reading of the "Omni-Law." It was transparent, drifting in his energy sea. Jiang Pingchuan directed it throughout his body, feeling as though he were bathed in a cool current. Within, he sensed the flow condensing into a single droplet, falling onto his Dao field. The parched field grew more vibrant as the droplets accumulated, a gentle stream flowing within.

He felt the transparent stream congeal above the flow into a crystal prism—utterly colorless, barely visible. Jiang Pingchuan recognized this as his first Dao crystal, an indicator of a cultivator’s realm in the primordial world.

Dao crystals were categorized as green, blue, and gold; legends spoke of rare geniuses who refined purple crystals. In the Qi Refinement realm, one could only refine green crystals; the realm was divided into six stages, allowing for up to six green crystals. Crystals that were smooth, flawless, and evenly lustrous were considered superior, granting their bearers strength beyond ordinary cultivators at the same stage.

Examining his colorless, lustreless transparent crystal, Jiang Pingchuan’s heart skipped a beat. He suspected his perception was flawed and tried again, only to confirm his disappointment—he truly had only a single transparent crystal, perfectly smooth and sharply defined, pure and unblemished. The more he looked, the more he felt this supposedly ordinary crystal was anything but. Jiang Pingchuan steeled himself.

"No matter what you are, you will henceforth be my Dao crystal. I will cultivate you to fruition—command!" With eyes tightly shut, Jiang Pingchuan mobilized all his energy to impact the gentle stream, which transformed into liquid, circulating through his Dao field. Gradually, a second transparent Dao crystal appeared above the field.

Once the second crystal fully took shape, the process did not end—third, fourth, fifth, and sixth crystals all manifested in succession, forming a hexagon hovering above the Dao field. The gentle stream continued to gather his summoned energy, which surged forth to join the flowing current.

Jiang Pingchuan sensed the six transparent Dao crystals spinning within him, never ceasing, never settling, as if awaiting something. He, too, waited—he waited for his six crystals to stabilize so he could cross from Qi Refinement into Foundation Establishment in one leap. He had read of cultivators who refined seven Dao crystals at this stage, though such tales belonged only to the ancient books.

He ceased to dwell on it, turning his palm to reveal a golden command character behind him. His aura suddenly grew fierce, the wild energy flooding his body, whipping the gentle stream into a surging wave that crashed against the six Dao crystals hovering above his Dao field.

The six crystals endured the onslaught, the parched Dao field covered by liquid energy. The crystals spun rapidly, then abruptly halted. Jiang Pingchuan spat blood, the outline of a seventh Dao crystal forming amid the six. Alarmed, he steadied himself, guiding the turbulent energy into his Dao field. The seventh crystal gradually materialized above the others.

This miraculous seventh Dao crystal was larger than the previous six, its transparency flickering with halos of light. Jiang Pingchuan felt it stabilize and exhaled deeply.

He stood, opened his eyes, and looked at himself, then burst into wild laughter. He had broken through to the seventh Dao crystal in the Qi Refinement stage—an accomplishment only recorded for a few mighty beings in ancient texts. He activated the Star-Eye Technique, gazing at the trembling seventh layer of the matrix. His technique, empowered by the Dao crystal, was now vastly superior to his pre-crystal state.

"So this is the power of the ultimate Dao crystal," Jiang Pingchuan murmured, staring at his hands, still unable to believe he had refined a seventh Dao crystal.

Suddenly, he spat blood, darkness enveloping his sight, and he sensed the faint outline of an eighth Dao crystal forming beside the seventh. Shocked, Jiang Pingchuan felt his body turn cold.

Could it be that his transparent Dao crystals were so inferior that it took eight to match those with six green crystals? He sat cross-legged and tried to use an attack spell from the "Omni-Law," determined to test whether his transparent Dao crystals were truly as mediocre as he feared.