"What?!" Li Xue and Yu Ming were both struck by the sheer absurdity of the coincidence. It was almost too perfect—Yu Ming’s realm lacked the fire attribute, and the fragment Li Lin possessed happened to be fire-attributed.
"Can these two be fused together?" Li Xue suggested. She felt that if magic treasures could be merged, this was certainly worth a try.
Yu Ming retreated to his small cottage and began scouring his collection of ancient records. Three days later, he emerged, his face alight with excitement. He addressed Li Xue and Li Lin, "I found a method for fusion! Moreover, once fused, this space will become fixed and stable. The original divine artifacts will then serve as the gateways to this place."
"Then what are we waiting for? Let's try it immediately!" Li Xue said, her own excitement mounting. "It’s better to have a fixed space than to let the spiritual energy wither away. Besides, without the divine artifacts, no one else will be able to enter."
Yu Ming and Li Lin each began practicing the technique recorded in the archives, known as the Five Elements Fusion Art. It consisted of three hundred and fifty-six complex hand seals, and mastering them was a time-consuming endeavor.
The three of them first returned to the sect to report to their respective elders, preparing for a period of meditative seclusion. For cultivators, seclusion was a common occurrence, lasting anywhere from a few years to several decades or even centuries. Once they returned to the Dream Manor, the following days were dedicated to Yu Ming and Li Lin’s work; Li Xue remained on the sidelines to act as their protector. Seeing that the fusion would not be completed anytime soon, she began tending to the fields of spiritual herbs.
Ten months later, the scenery within the Dream Manor suddenly shifted. First came wind and rain, followed by the roar of thunder and the flash of lightning. Such natural forces had never existed here before; the realm had always been a place of perpetual, peaceful daylight.
"Is the fusion beginning?" Li Xue murmured, her heart trembling at the display of power.
"Mother, return to the sect first. Things might become volatile during the fusion!" Li Lin’s voice rang out beside her ear.
Li Xue composed herself and sent a telepathic message to her son and Yu Ming, urging them to proceed with caution. She performed a hand seal and vanished, returning to Chonghua Hall to patiently await their emergence.
The wait was not as long as she had feared. Five months later, Li Xue received a summons from Li Lin. She stepped through the spatial fluctuations and arrived back in the Dream Manor, only to be startled by what she saw. The realm was filled with nothing but gray elements; the mountains were white, and the water was a murky, sunless dark.
"Mother, put this on, then sink your consciousness into it to perceive and refine it!" Li Lin appeared by her side and slipped a five-colored ring onto her finger.
Li Xue immersed her consciousness into the ring. At first, there was only a vast, hazy gray, but then black and white appeared. Slowly, she shifted her hand seals, utilizing her five-attribute spiritual roots to integrate the five elements into the space. As the chaos first opened, it divided into Yin and Yang, then evolved into the Five Elements, and finally, all things began to grow.
*Is this... the evolution of a world?* A sense of profound enlightenment washed over Li Xue. Beside her, Li Lin and Yu Ming were also performing hand seals, slowly refining the rings in their hands. As they struck seal after seal, the realm underwent a transformation. The earth turned a rich brown, the trees became vibrant green, the water cleared into a deep azure, and animals began to appear. Gradually, it became a world filled with the fragrance of flowers and the songs of birds.
Eight months later, the three of them opened their eyes simultaneously. They looked at one another and shared a knowing smile.
"From now on, this place has become a small world," Yu Ming sighed with emotion. His Chen family had finally unlocked the secret of the Realm.
"Indeed. And only the three of us possess the gateways to this small world," Li Lin added, equally moved.
"I’m going to carve out a cave dwelling here and call it Notre-Dame!" Li Xue announced excitedly.
"No," Li Lin disagreed immediately. "Mother, haven't you always said you never want to be a 'Holy Mother'?"
"Uh, true. I definitely don't want to be a 'Holy Mother'—a brainless do-gooder who can't tell right from wrong and ends up dead without knowing why." Li Xue lowered her head in thought. "Then let's call mine the Snowy Whisper Pavilion. Li Lin, yours can be the Ethereal Abode, and Yu Ming, yours shall be the Ming Heart Residence."
Li Lin and Yu Ming were momentarily speechless. *Are women simply born with a passion for naming things?* However, they both felt these names were acceptable, so they let her have her way.
Currently, this small world was only about the size of a small valley. This was because their cultivation levels were far too low, and they lacked Five-Element Source Stones to serve as an energy supply. Had it been created by an ancient powerhouse, it would have been at least as large as the entire Mangyun Mountain cultivation world. Nevertheless, the three were immensely satisfied and began to establish their respective dwellings.
A few days later, Li Xue’s Snowy Whisper Pavilion was meticulously arranged. From now on, this would be her true, most secure home. Soon, Li Lin and Yu Ming’s dwellings were also completed. For Foundation Establishment cultivators, excavating a simple cave dwelling was easy, and they already had everything they needed stored within their spatial bracelets.
Li Xue and Li Lin released the Purple Orioles to roam freely within the space. The two small birds were delighted; the spiritual energy here was perfectly suited for the cultivation of spirit beasts.
Finally, Li Xue decided to give the entire small world a name. Her arrival in this world felt like Zhuangzi’s dream of the butterfly, so she named it the Dream Realm. Li Lin and Yu Ming had no choice but to agree.
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Ascended Without Me: Cultivating with a Genius Son | Chapter 65 | The Birth of a World | Novela.app | Novela.app
