Cultivation Prodigy
Yaan stood atop the deck of a wooden boat, as it calmly floated down the stream of rainbow-coloured water. This stream was one of many offshoots from the 1st of the 9 rivers that flowed into and out of the Cosmic Ocean Star Systems…Cosmic Ocean.
The Cosmic Ocean Star System was unlike anything Yaan had ever seen, and honestly, he felt dubious about even calling this place a 'star system'. Sure, there were many stars in this place…floating through the giant cosmic ocean, and along the 9 cosmic rivers.
This stars system was unique, in that mortal life could not exist throughout the entire region. There were no moons or planets in this star system, only life-stars, and 12 gigantic Solar Planets within the centre of the Cosmic Ocean, circling around a terrifying vortex of spatial water in a never ending perpetual orbit.
Cosmic Ocean Star System was the most peaceful star system of all, it was a place used by powerful cultivators to seek refuge when they wanted to cultivate in peace, without being bothered by others. Technically, this star system was the Divine Court's territory, but they only really bothered with the centre of the star system, where they ruled over the 12 Solar Planets, and the vortex that held this entire spacial region in place.
The vortex within the centre of the star system was known as the Primordial Ocean Vortex, it was the largest known Primordial Treasure, so large that it was responsible for holding this entire star system together, and creating a land of peace for reclusive cultivators.
When Yaan recognised the woman, seated in meditation in the centre of this simple wooden boat, he understood right away why she had chosen to leave her old life behind, seeking a life of solitude and peace in a simple stream, away from the main ocean.
'Xuqi Laila…' Yaan though with a silent sigh.
He remembered this girl. Back when he had lived in the Southern Continent, not long before he was dragged to the Blood Plane, he had participated in the Xuqi Sect's entrance examination. The final test was the Tower of Mortal Dao, a construct created by the Divine Court and given to their subsidiary groups, such as the Xuqi Dynasty, to train and test future generations of Foundation Step cultivators.
Yaan had taken first place in that trial, but he remembered Xuqi Laila even to this day. She was the genius of the Xuqi Dynasty, and the greatest prodigy of all non-bloodline cultivators that he had ever met.
He wasn't particularly surprised to find that not only was this reclusive and cultivation-obsessed girl still alive, but she had even reached the Dao Immortal Realm.
After examining her closely, Yaan's eyes lit up.
'This girl could have reached the Transcendent Realm long ago, but she chose not to, because she is seeking the path of dao heart ascension! Her chances of success…are actually not bad…'
Xuqi Laila had left an impression on him back then, simply because she cultivated only for the sake of cultivation. She cared only about cultivation, her speed as an orthodox Qi refiner was beyond any other cultivator that Yaan had ever met. Her talent was unparalleled, and her devotion to cultivation itself was at the point of total obsession.
Most importantly, her dao heart…was the heart of cultivation.
How could someone like this possibly be ordinary?
Even after the Divine Stairway was destroyed, Xuqi Laila didn't care. She had never intended to follow the usual path of transcendence, she aspired to ascend via her dao heart, and for that, the destruction of the Divine Stairway actually benefitted her future prospects!
It was impossible to say whether or not she would succeed, but it was certainly possible.
After examining her Dao Soul, Yaan came to the same conclusion that he had reached after analysing Ji Suzu - her Dao Soul shared some sort of similarity with Ji Suzu, Zue Yin, and the Primordial Demon sisters.
However, the more that Yaan saw, the more he felt like the truth lay within one conjecture, rather than the other.
In terms of dao comprehension and enlightenment, he really didn't see how all these women could have comprehended the same thing, they were all too different after all. Most importantly, he could not find any traces of shared enlightenment within the Dao Souls of Zue Yin, Ji Suzu and Xuqi Laila.
Rather than their enlightenments, Yaan had noticed a different similarity between these women.
They all valued their cultivation, first and foremost…they were all true dao seekers.
This was the core principle that Yaan had seen through within the Primordial Sage, too. He wasn't sure about the Primordial Spirit, but Yaan also believed that the Primordial Asura was something of a dao seeker herself.
"Could it be that the Primordial Sage created various clones, then placed them throughout my life, as a way to better understand and comprehend my own dao…?" He couldn't help but wonder.
When Yaan examined Ji Suzu, he simply left her be. That girl could cultivate by herself in any environment, she was focussed on the dao of dreams, so her progress would be smooth so long as she could remain in a deep slumber without being disturbed.
Xuqi Laila was different. Firstly, she would definitely benefit from a superior environment where she could better comprehend dao and its mysteries. Secondly…compared to Ji Suzu, Yaan actually felt that Xuqi Laila might be able to succeed, ascending to the Divine Step and becoming a Heart Empyrean!
Any chance to bring such a huge potential over to his side was something that he couldn't simply ignore. And besides…
If he could observe the ascension of such an individual, perhaps, he would be able to finally understand exactly why these women all shared such similar fates…and why they had all appeared, one after the other, throughout the course of his life.
The tipping point was when Yaan finally confirmed something else…
The similarity in the fates between these women, was not just a connection they shared with each other. Whatever it was within their fates that made them so similar, was itself fated to be drawn towards him.
In essence, any individual who shared this similarity, was, for whatever reason, fated to come into contact with him at some point, in some way.
The more of these fates that Yaan explored, the more of the less intense fates that he became aware of. He could feel those that he had met, those that he hadn't met but had still influenced his life, and those he had met…but had long since died.
At first, he was just intrigued by this matter, but now, he noticed one such extinguished fate.
"Flora…" Yaan muttered, letting out a melancholic sigh.
His mortal wife, Flora, his mortal wife from his mortal life as the blind man 'Des'…also shared this same similarity in her fate.
This feeling of his entire life and fate being manipulated by some unknown cause, left Yaan feeling determined to uncover the plot behind it all.
His dao was the dao of fate. He did not pursue the fate that this world used to manipulate his life, but the fate that he wanted to create for the world. However, if he wanted to change the fate of this world, he needed to understand the current fate of this world, because otherwise, how could he ever replace it with his own? If he didn't understand the fate that continued to manipulate the course of his life, how could he ever overcome the world's fate, how could he ever understand the truth of fate's mysteries; how could he ever succeed in his ambition, rewriting the fate of this world as he saw fit?
The more he looked around, examining the various threads of fate, the more Yaan was able to identify the end of these threads, just by observing them. Since he had been unable to do this before now, clearly, he had already deepened his understanding of fate.
"Not just Flora…Elia…and June…so many of the women in my life, both alive and dead, share a unique quality in their fate, a quality that affects the flow of karma and draws us together…"
In the end, Yaan sighed and shook his head. For now, he would deal with Xuqi Laila.
With a single thought, Yaan stopped hiding himself, revealing a trace of his aura into Xuqi Laila's mind. He was gentle and not overly forceful, but her eyes still shot open and she stared forwards, clearly on guard against him.
When she recognised him after staring in silence for a few moments, her eyes widened, but she quickly calmed herself and hid her emotions.
No, she didn't just hide her emotions, her emotional state genuinely returned to its former tranquility. Yaan wasn't suppressing her with his aura, but he also wasn't hiding his strength, so this was extremely impressive.
This girl's heart was truly free from worry. That said, she clearly wanted to continue living and cultivating, more than anything else…
"Are you going to kill me, World Demon Yaan?" She asked directly, making Yaan chuckle at her unexpected bluntness.
"No, I have no reason to kill you. Actually, I want to recruit you, Xuqi Laila."
"So you remember me…" She smiled slightly, then suddenly stood up, bowed her head and clasped her hands. "I accept, teacher!"
Yaan smiled wryly and quickly corrected her.
"I'm not taking you on as a disciple. I just appreciate your talent and want to nurture you into an Empyrean. Have you heard of the Paradise Sect?"
When she shook her head, Yaan wasn't surprised. This girl had been cultivating alone for thousands of years now, she had no contact with the outside world. Yaan planned to read her memories with his cultivation body after taking her back to Rainbow Mountain, but just discerning the general course of her life was easy enough after examining her karma and fate.
Perhaps he would do the same with Ji Suzu, if he saw the need in the future. With his Divine Step psyche path cultivation, this would be easy enough.
The Sage could read the memories of any being below the Divine Step thanks to her Sea of Consciousness that overlapped with the entire world. Yaan's Sea of Consciousness was restrained to his cultivation body, but he could still use his Divine Sage Power to directly read the thoughts of any being below the Divine Step, so long as they were within the range of his aura.
His conversation with Xuqi Laila was short and to the point. After explaining about the Paradise Sect, and promising her the optimal cultivation environment within Rainbow Mountain, she immediately agreed, without a trace of unwillingness.
This girl was a recluse and avoided danger wherever possible, but when such a terrific opportunity presented itself, she wasn't afraid of taking the risk for the sake of her cultivation.
After all, Xuqi Laila just wanted to cultivate.