"The mortal flesh and all spiritual constructs within are the foundation upon which cultivation is built. The quality of your foundation matters very much. It must be as good as possible to be able to transition to the True Immortal realm."
Da Hai raised his hand and created a water mirror. The image of a spiritual sea was visible within a diagram of the body of a fish. It then faded into that of a crab, a shark, a stingray etc. he showcased the 12 prime meridians to all those present, who in turn nodded in understanding.
"Once the Qi Sea is opened, the following flood of Qi necessitates the formation of the Spiritual Palace within it, in order to properly regulate the sudden influx of Qi. This is called Foundation Establishment. The Spiritual Palace shall serve as the second step in your path towards immortality."
Da Hai changed the diagram on his projection to showcase a theoretical Spiritual Palace. This was all knowledge he inferred from the Dao, for he had no experience regarding the mortal stages of cultivation. All realms signified the appearance of a new spiritual structure within the body.
"The Qi Sea then collapses in on itself, condensing into a solid mass of crystallised spiritual energy, the Golden Core. The Core Formation realm is defined by such a spiritual core, this is the elixir of life, enhancing the longevity of a cultivator. It is both rich in vitality and spiritually powerful. There are however grades of Golden Cores, only the highest quality spiritual cores can be classified as a proper Golden Core."
The image in the water mirror changed again. It showcased the spiritual core breaking apart, shocking many of those watching it. Those who were attempting to form one were listening intently. The Golden Core cracked and birthed a figure similar in appearance to the diagram of a human.
"Nascent Soul, condensed essence of a being. The very foundation of the universe is the essence of the Dao. Condensation of essence is crucial to commune with the Dao of the cosmos. Once your Golden Core is ready, it shall give birth to your condensed essence in a process called Nascent Birth. Take care to raise your Nascent Soul well, for it is tied to your cultivation," he paused. "Any questions?"
"Dare to ask," an old daoist with a Nascent Soul said. "Is it possible to form multiple Nascent Souls?"
"Theoretically, it is possible. However Nascent Birth only occurs once during cultivation. The creation of a second soul would also degrade the initial soul. However the process should be possible," he said.
No sooner had he finished speaking, a mackerel cultivator attempted to birth his Nascent Soul. He was attempting to follow the path of twin souls. However as soon as the second soul was born, he turned pale. Both of his souls were wrinkled and weak looking.
"And that is one of the consequences. You were reckless Bi Cha Mackerel," Da Hai lectured the reckless fish.
"Please," the fish in human form kowtowed. "Great ancestor, please show me how to fix my mistake," he begged.
"Your souls have already been born and are complete. What can I do to fix it? At most I could just overload your cultivation and send you to an early grave," Da Hai sighed in disappointment. "You were reckless. Perhaps out there in the wild there may exist herbs or treasures which could help you. But I know not of any such herbs or treasures."
Embarrassed and heartbroken, the fish turned around and left the hall. He had no face to show after that embarrassing display. The piranha and lobster cultivators who sat besides the mackerel breathed a sigh in relief. They silently thanked the mackerel for his sacrifice.
"Any other questions? No? Very well then. The next step is to directly commune with the Dao. The 3000 Great Daos which make up the foundations of the Universe are exalted and inaccessible, but the 108,000 lesser Daos are still within reach. They are remnants of the 108,000 lesser Chaos godfiends who perished during creation. All Daos can be summarised into three categories, auxiliary, elemental, and conceptual."
"The first involves Daos relating to techniques and skills such as fighting, fishing, swimming, building, etc. The second refers to natural phenomena visible to us, fire, water, the rain, clouds, lightning, earth, germination, etc. The third is the most abstract and quite rare, they include abstract concepts such as time and space, ying and yang. Mortals have a hard time conceptualising such Daos."
He showed the diagram again and revealed the 12 prime meridians. He zoomed in on them and showcased special Qi entering them.
"Because of your Nascent Soul, you can commune with the Dao, and by extension the natural Primordial Immortal Qi of the Primitive universe. You have to use the Immortal Qi to refine your meridians into immortal meridians so that they can handle and channel immortal Qi."
"Do so and you can be considered a Saint of the Earth. From then on you must forge the inner cosmos. Countless stars in the body that resemble the starry skies are all the minor meridians which add additional capacity for channeling immortal Qi."
"Once you have refined all meridians in the body, the inner cosmos is complete. If you are on this step then congratulations, you are now halfway to immortality. Now take your insights in the 108,000 lesser Daos and illuminate yourself into them. Success in just any one is necessary to draw in the Immortal Tribulation."
Da Hai waved his hand and showed them an image of the five elements.
"Tribulation tempers your body and prepares the Immortal physique. This allows for an intimate connection to the Dao. Use this understanding to draw in the Five Element Qis of Creation. The Wuxing, fire, water, earth, metal, and wood, each is represented by a luminary star as well as a natural force from which life arose. Your bodies are created from a template made from the five elements. Now you must draw in the true Heavenly Five Element Qi."
Da Hai waved his hand and the mirage disappeared, "Now that the basics are out of the way. Let's begin the real sermon." When he spoke, everyone below the Immortal realm stood and respectfully bowed. They then proceeded to leave the great hall, for they knew this lesson was not for them and they couldn't stay.
"Dao is the centre of the cosmos, the beginning and the end. The contradictory elements defined by the Taijitu. There exists 3000 Great Daos birthed by the remnants of the mightiest of Chaos godfiends. They serve as the supporting base at the core of the universe, holding up the Heavenly Dao. The East Sea is rich in the Daos relating to water, the sea, the weather, life, and myriads of transformations of the turbulent yet calm waves."
Da Hai truly began his lecture on Dao. He did not discuss his own Dao of Distant Seas but rather talked about all his inference on the 3000 Great Daos. He spoke of the intricacies of each one, and how it related to the universe.
Of course, Da Hai only spoke briefly on Daos he wasn't familiar with. As a Great Principle Chaos Immortal with his own unique Dao Path, the 3000 Great Daos were unnecessary for him. He could infer their details directly and used this knowledge to impart his lecture. Of course, any casual insight he spoke about was a significant boost to those listening.
Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.
Those especially talented, like the Colossal Shark Ancestor, Mosasaur Ancestor, Plesiosaur Ancestor, and Rapid Turtle Patriarch were making quick progress. Each of them could sense the cusp of the Golden Immortal realm drawing nearer and nearer.
For those with a lesser aptitude, at the True and Profound Immortal realm, they were becoming more and more enlightened, allowing them to detect and cultivate in the five elements. As Da Hai spoke, he began focusing on the Daos relating to the sea. He began speaking about more intricate, more abstract details that slowly transcended their realm of understanding.
About 30 years into the lecture, many Profound Immortals appeared, while a smaller minority reached the Heavenly Immortal realm. About 50 years later, many had reached the peak of Heavenly Immortal. Then Da Hai's words became weird.
What he spoke about became so abstract, so otherworldly that those listening could scarcely understand. They could occasionally only understand a word or two, but that was it. They could tell Da Hai was explaining the many Great Daos of the sea in detail, but they couldn't even comprehend those explanations.
About 100 years later, things stopped making sense entirely. Only the super geniuses like Colossal Shark Ancestor still understood bits and pieces. Among those foreign masters, a seagull was the only one who could compete.
At 200 years, many felt their heads hurt at Da Hai's speech. Yet they could also feel more connected than ever to the Dao. Their Dao realms were rapidly improving with every one in a million words they caught. Soon, Da Hai stopped talking.
Da Hai spoke on the Dao for 500 years, illuminating the countless masters of the East Sea. "I have imparted my knowledge of the Dao to you. Anything more is up to your creation. However, heed my warning, every Dao you create is unique, as such only you can follow it successfully. If you wish another to cultivate your Dao, they will forever be trapped." Without elaborating further Da Hai's figure disappeared from the great hall.
"You may leave now, the sermon is over. You are, however, not allowed to attempt the Golden Immortal tribulation on Yingzhou. Please leave," he commanded.
All those previously seated got up and cupped their hands. They saluted the floating 12 Petals White Lotus in deep respect and reverence. "Many thanks to Great Teacher Da Hai," they said.
"We are eternally grateful to the saint of Yingzhou, the Great Master of the Seas," they all kowtowed and soon all left.
"We must build an altar to the Great Teacher when we return," Colossal Shark Ancestor commanded his subordinate sharks. "I will attempt the Golden Immortal tribulation and enter secluded cultivation for a thousand years. When I come out, I expect to see a place of worship for the great saint of Yingzhou."
Those subordinate sharks bowed to their ancestor in respect. Their clan had managed to acquire 400 Heavenly Immortals in an instant, thousands of Profound Immortals and tens of thousands of True Immortals. Countless others were also attempting the tribulation soon.
Other clans such as the mosasaur, plesiosaur, pteranodons, dolphins, sea turtles, seagulls, stingrays, manatees etc all reached the same decision. They were determined to all build altars of worship to their teacher.
Back on Yingzhou, Da Hai who coiled upon one of the Fusang tree's branches munched on spiritual mulberry fruits. He was playing with a mysterious profound golden glittering light in his claws.
The mysterious power of heavenly merit, a perceived form of luck in the world, or simply good fortune. The Heavenly Dao had deemed Da Hai's attempt to help living beings progress as a deed of great merit and saw fit to reward him.
Da Hai played with the merit for a while, learning as much as he could. This reward mechanic of the Heavenly Dao was quite interesting. Merit was like a currency that buys one of three things: good fortune, enlightenment and cultivation.
Good fortune allows for good things to happen to you. Da Hai thought of the protagonists in stories he'd read. Merit acts good fortune, basically their plot armour. Miraculously surviving impossible injuries and getting away from dangerous situations, Discovering long lost secrets and powerful treasures, all can be accomplished by good fortune, paid for by merit.
Merit could also help in cultivation. It upgrades the grade of spiritual palace, spiritual cores, and Nascent Souls. It makes forming internal spiritual structures easier. It makes everything easier and faster to cultivate.
The last important exchange was Dao enlightenment. With enough merit, one can be forcefully pushed into the Great Unity Golden Immortal realm. Da Hai assumed this is the limit, as all realms afterwards necessitates the creation of a new, original Dao. Merit at most can only enlighten someone to a complete version of one of the 3000 Great Daos and help form the Primal Unity.
Da Hai sighed, if only further cultivation was as easy. According to novels, you just have to consume the merit, and poof, you're a Saint of the Great Dao. He laughed mockingly, the most merit can do for him is open a window to Pangu's understanding of the Dao. He'd have to do the rest himself.
Nevertheless this was still extremely helpful. Da Hai rested on the branch and began silently cultivating. He didn't plan to leave for at least another 10,000 years.
South Seas, Deep Ocean Palace.
Si Hai sat on a sea throne decorated with numerous treasures and statues depicting himself fighting against the former beast emperor Shenni. Many years after the war, he had recruited many sea tribes of the North, West and South under his wing to form his own empire in the four seas.
Si Hai smirked triumphantly. In the early days, he was convinced by Hundun to join Shenni. He was promised a lot of benefits. Luckily he jumped from that sinking ship. Being a survivor and someone who knew Shenni's territory, he managed to gain a lot of goodies along the way.
Since then he had conquered the north and south seas. The west sea was also held by him, albeit on a tenuous treaty with the devilish Dao. The eastern sections of the North and South seas were also not very pleased with his rule. The north especially suffered from Shenni and remembered him well.
The East Sea however was where he'd done little in terms of progress. He was planning to slowly take over it as well, and soon. After all, it was his divine given right, his name does mean Four Seas after all.
Si Hai played around with the harpoon in his hand when a shrimp minister rushed into the throne room.
"Your majesty, your majesty, I have news from the East Sea," he cried, catching Si Hai's attention.
"Oh? Do tell," he motioned for the shrimp to continue. What he heard sent him into confusion, rage, and disdain.
"Form the armies," he commanded the generals in the throne room. "March for the East, it seems a little snake needs a lesson in humility."
"Your majesty, will we be taking all three armies as well?" A sea snake general asked.
"Unnecessary, with the strength of our foe only the southern army is enough," the self-styled Emperor of Four Seas marched out of his palace, harpoon in hand in the direction of the East Sea.