Golden Lotus

Inside his own little world within his mind, Ye Guiying felt as though he was traveling in an endless space that was boundless and had no borders. Around him, all he could see were the countless stars that one could see from the ground during the night.

He was naked, as he floated forward in search of his Spirit. After floating around for a while, Ye Guiying sensed a tranquil and familiar aura that felt as though it was calling out to him. Turning in the direction of this strange aura, he moved forward in search of it.

Eventually, he reached the end, seeing a bright golden-green light. There was a huge ancient tree in front of him, radiating and full of life. The ancient tree gave off an incredibly bright golden-green light, as it stood tall and erect in the endless space.

The ancient tree had no leaves, nor did it bear any fruit. Only the tree branches, as well as its huge body, was there. As Ye Guiying approached the ancient tree, the tree branches moved. They stretched endlessly, slowly covering the entire space, as well as Ye Guiying. Suddenly, his vision blurred, as he woke up and found himself back in his village.

In front of his eyes, the number '10' could be seen. He didn't know what it meant exactly, but he knew that his Spirit Rank was high for his age after looking at the other children. The Spirit Hall representative was shocked to the core though, "An.. an Innate Full Spirit Power!" he muttered.

Fortunately, he could keep himself calm and composed in a short timeframe. What was an Innate Full Spirit Power? those who have already reached Rank 10 or even higher in Spirit Power are known as having Innate Full Spirit Power.

It is said that Innate Full Spirit Power is a talent only appearing once every 100 years. A person who has it is innately capable of attaining the highest Spirit Power as their cultivation rate is faster compared to others.

From his knowledge, there were very few individuals including the Spirit Pointeff of the Spirit Hall herself! But once he saw that Ye Guiying's Spirit was just a plant-type Spirit that looked even less than ordinary, he wasn't that shocked. Instead, he felt pity for the young boy who was a genius but had been born with a weak Spirit that was probably even worst than the Blue Silver Grass Spirit.

Even so, this young boy in front of him would be a good talent to train, even if he didn't reach an extremely high stage. As long as he found suitable Spirit Rings, he could still become strong in the future.

"Child, you are a true genius! If you didn't have this Tree Spirit, the chances of becoming a Titled Duoluo was incredibly high! It's very unfortunate that you are both blessed and unblessed at the same time." the man told the boy.

"Is it really that weak? Before it was incredibly bright and seemed powerful, now it just looks like a regular tree, that's weird. Not only that, I even sensed another aura near the ancient tree when I was looking around before."

Once the Spirit Awakening Ceremony ended, the Spirit Hall representative gave the children that would come with him to the Academy, three days to stay before they would leave. Nodding his head, Ye Guiying left immediately and headed home.

At home, Ye Guiying met his parents. They were both waiting for him, after doing some work out in the fields. "Father, the Spirit Hall representative said that I was born with an Innate Full Spirit Power, is it that great?" he asked his parents.

Hearing this, his parents were surprised. "Son, are you telling the truth?" Ye Futian asked his son. Both his parents became serious as they sat down with him. "I am, that's what he said. I saw that I awakened at Spirit Rank 10." he nodded.

"This…" his parents looked at each other. It seemed like they had a secret that they had hidden from their son. Ye Guiying could somewhat guess so, but he didn't say anything after looking at their expressions.

"Son, quickly tell me, what Spirit did you awaken?" Ye Futian asked. Standing back, Ye Guiying opened his right palm, as a Tree Spirit floated above his hand. The Tree Spirit seemed lifeless as if it were dead, but it gave one a peculiar feeling in which one couldn't quite make out.

His parents both saw this Tree Spirit and frowned. "What's wrong father?" Ye Guiying asked. It seemed like there was a problem with his Tree Spirit. But then again, neither his father nor mother had a Tree Spirit. His father hosted a Sword Spirit, while his mother hosted a Flower Spirit.

"Nothing, it's great that you awakened your Spirit, you must prepare to leave for the Academy in three days." his mother replied. "Ah, wait. When I awakened my Spirit, I also sensed another one. Is it possible to awaken twin Spirits?" he asked them.

Both his parents immediately looked at him again. "What?! Son, you aren't kidding this time are you?" his father asked. "No, I'm serious. Look." Ye Guiying nodded. On his left palm, a golden Sword with a strange shape floated above his palm.

Now, both his hands had a different Spirit each. It seemed like Ye Guiying had obtained his father's Sword Spirit as well, only, it was a little different. There was a circular shape around the handle, which his father's didn't.

"Son. You must never show anyone your Dual Spirits. It's incredibly rare, and if you do, you will be in danger and may even lose your life. You want to stay alive and see father and mother again right? If you do, only show your Tree Spirit." his father reminded him with a stern expression that Ye Guiying had never seen before in his life.

"En. I promise I won't show anyone my Sword Spirit." Ye Guiying nodded. "Good, go outside and play around, or do some work if you want since there are still a few days before you go, do what you want." his mother told him. Nodding his head, Ye Guiying left his house as his parents remained behind to talk.

Once Ye Guiying had left a safe distance, his parents talked amongst each other. "Dear, it seems our son awakened Dual Spirits, not only that, they are both mutated. He inherited your Sword Spirit, and my mother's Ancient Tree Spirit." his mother said.

"En. I didn't think our son could be so talented, that rascal. It seems like we must return, otherwise, he will be in danger. We can no longer stay here." his father replied. Suddenly, a powerful aura erupted within Ye Guiying's house, and nine Spirit Rings appeared behind Ye Futian's back.

Purple, Purple, Black, Black, Black, Red, Red, Red, Gold were the order of Spirit Rings that appeared behind him. His features also changed, becoming more handsome and sharp at the same time.

As for his mother, nine Spirit Rings were also released. Purple, Purple, Purple, Black, Black, Black, Black, Red, Red. Her features also changed and became much more beautiful and ethereal like a goddess. It turns out, both of Ye Guiying's parents were extremely powerful Titlted Duoluo's! His father also had a 1 million year Spirit Ring as his final Spirit Ring!

Of course, Ye Guiying didn't know this. While his parents were talking at home, he had long gone out into the forest in the back of his house. He had promised to visit at the same time last night, and it was still early, so he didn't enter the cave.

Instead, he wandered around the forest, where it was relatively safe and free from Spirit Beasts. Of course, he also didn't know that the reason why Spirit Beasts didn't approach this remote village was because of two Titlted Duoluo's in his very home! They had set up a powerful shield that protected the village from harm, reinforcing the previous shield that was here already.

******

Inside the forest, Ye Guiying walked around in the bushes. Now that he had awakened his Spirits, he could cultivate Spirit Essence and aim to become a powerful Spirit Master. Being born with Innate Full Spirit Power, Ye Guiying had a headstart compared to other children his age. Not only that, but he would also cultivate much faster than regular children and adults alike!

This was an advantage that only those born with Innate Full Spirit Power could possess. Long ago, his parents had taught him how to cultivate his Spirit Essence. They taught him a technique called the Ancient Mandate technique.

It was a breathing exercise that his parents used and taught him. Of course, Ye Guiying didn't know that it was special and that very few people in this world cultivated the technique. His parents had also told him to keep the name of the technique a secret and only cultivate in front of people he could trust.

Taking notice of this, he didn't dare to spill the beans of this technique when he learned it. Now, he had awakened his Spirits, he could finally use this Ancient Mandate technique to cultivate his Spirit Essence and work towards becoming a Legendary Titled Duoluo!

Sitting with his legs crossed in a lotus position, Ye Guiying gently placed his hands on his knees and closed his eyes. Following the steps of cultivating the Ancient Mandate technique, he could feel every cell and fiber in his body absorbing the Spirit Essence in the air. He felt as though he had countless holes in his body that devoured all kinds of energy coming his way.

Within his world inside his mind, Ye Guiying was surrounded by a dense pack of Spirit Essence that could be seen in every single direction. No matter where he went, he could only see and feel his body absorbing a large amount of Spirit Essence, and converting it into another source of energy that stayed within his body.

Soon, Ye Guiying found that he couldn't absorb anymore Spirit Essence from the atmosphere, instead, the amount he had sucked up stayed within his body to be slowly soaked up over time. This meant that he wouldn't need to cultivate until the energy within him ran out. It was essentially cultivating just by living his life!

Though, currently, he felt that the energy wasn't moving anywhere. After racking his brain for a while, he believed that maybe it only worked at night time and not during the day or night. Even so, it was great, he could have a good night's sleep instead of cultivating during the night.

Soon, he opened his eyes and realized that more than half a day had gone by. He even skipped lunch and stayed in the forest to cultivate. Looking around, it was already time for him to keep his promise and enter the cave to meet the golden lotus.

Inside the cave, Ye Guiying made his way into the familiar cave, he quickly made his way, arriving inside the deepest parts of the cave, where the golden lotus was awaiting his arrival.

There, he didn't need to enter the lakewater, as the golden lotus bloomed and waited for him. When he arrived, he noticed that the golden lotus was feeble, and its light was dimming, hugely contrasting to the powerful light it gave off just the night before.

"What's wrong?! Why are you dying again?!" he shouted. He quickly ran up to the golden lotus and kneeled next to it.

"Child, you are here at last. Thank you for taking care of me these past two years, my life has come to an end. I am glad that I could meet you during my final moments." the lotus told him, its voice getting dimmer and dimmer.

"No! Don't die!" Ye Guiying cried. Even though it was the second time it had spoken to him, he had treated the golden lotus as his best friend, he had spent two years with it everyday, taking care of it and talking to it.

Now, the golden lotus was dying, Ye Guiying was extremely sad, tears dripped out of his eyes uncontrollably. "Do not cry child, all life must come to an end some day, it's just that my time is now. I will leave you with a gift before I go, think of it as me once I am gone." it told him, as its voice finally diminished for good.

The golden lotus shone brightly, as it slowly turned into particles that disappeared in Ye Guiying's arms. The golden particles didn't leave, but instead entered Ye Guiying's body.

Instantly, he felt a burning sensation throughout his body, it wasn't strong; but he felt uncomfortable. Soon, he felt cool as though he was inside the lakewater that he jumped into everyday. The golden particles entered his body, and seeped into one of his Spirits.

Suddenly, the Tree Spirit was brimming with life. A powerful Nature Energy bloomed, as a golden ring suddenly forced itself into the tree. The Tree Spirit didn't resist, as it allowed the golden ring to assimilate into itself, making it flourish and more powerful.

A while later, the Tree Spirit began to lose its powerful Nature Energy, as it returned to being a regular tree. The only difference was, now, there was a golden Spirit Ring that occupied Ye Guiying's 1st Spirit Ring slot!

The golden lotus had parted, but turned itself into Ye Guiying's 1st Spirit Ring willingly. It was also extremely weak, and couldn't harm him even though it was incredibly old. Furthermore, his Tree Spirit easily took in the golden lotus without any trouble.

Therefore, Ye Guiying wasn't in any pain or agony even though his 1st Spirit Ring was one that was a 1,000,000 Year Spirit Ring!

Eventually, Ye Guiying opened his eyes, as he felt a familiar energy flowing within his body. He smiled as he knew what the golden lotus meant when it gave him a 'Gift', it was as though it was always by his side from now on.

After a while, Ye Guiying got up and looked around at the cave for the last time. Since the golden lotus was no longer here, this place would be a precious memory for him. Even if he returned, it would be many years in the future. Turning around, Ye Guiying left the cave without any regrets and smiled on the way home.