Shrouding the Heavens

Chapter 39: Wheel of Life

“All living things have a place from which they came from and within our human bodies there is also such a place, where all our vitality stems from. It contains all the qi essence within our body and is known as the origin of life or also known as the wheel of life.” Elder Wu Qing Feng calmly explained.

“Where is the wheel of life located?” Pang Bo asked.

“Just below the naval.” Elder Wu Qing Feng pointed below his navel: “It’s position is the perfect point that separates the upper body from the lower body.”

Ye Fan was surprised and immediately thought of the golden ratio within the body which tallied with the position mentioned by the elder. From the bottom of the feet to the crown of the head, the ratio proportions are 0.618 and was separated by a line. This was known as the golden line that divides the human body and the navel happens to be right at the point. This type of human body was perfect in terms of structure and proportion.

There were many golden ratio points within the human body and these points were precisely where the important parts of the body were located. In comparison the largest golden ratio point within the body, below the navel, did not seem as important.

At this moment hearing elder Wu Qing Feng say the wheel of life was actually located there and contained all the qi essence within the body, Ye Fan felt enlightened that perhaps the body’s most important golden ratio point was really the “place where all living things originated from”.

The wheel of life was not a single point but rather a region and based on what elder Wu Qing Feng said its centre was below the navel and the region was a circle around it. The region was the the size of a palm and all the essence in the body was stored here.

Elder Wu Qing Feng was stern and earnest as he stressed: “The Wheel of life; the common people birth children, the Daoist birth one’s self. This is the cultivator’s basic fundamentals.“

Based on what elder Wu Qing Feng said the wheel of life was where the spring of divine energy was located. If cultivators wanted to step onto the path of immortals it would all begin from there.

“Throughout the lives of mortals their wheel of life is constantly drying up. The passing of each year would leave a mark on the wheel like the growth rings on the tree. When the human body is in its final years the wheel of life would have been full of scars from the passing of time and at that time the wheel of life would thoroughly disintegrate.”

“How many marks are there on our wheel of life?”

Ye Fan and Pang Bo were originally youths in their twenties and now they appeared to be eleven or twelve. Their body had gone through an astonishing change and actually reverted back further to their youth.

“There are eleven marks on your wheel of life.”

Hearing this conclusion Pang Bo opened his mouth and loudly laughed. Compared to their classmates who had lost their youth, what happened to his body seemed to defy heaven’s will and he pointed at Ye Fan: “What about him? He’s the same as me right?”

Wu Qing Feng had already known about Ye Fan’s physique but he still thoroughly inspected and found that the conclusion was similar to that of the other elders. Ye Fan’s wheel of life was absolutely silent, his sea of bitterness was as hard as divine metal, as stable as a rock, firm and unshakable without any way of establishing the fundamentals.”

“His physique is very special and can’t be seen through. I can’t tell exactly how many marks there are but I surmise that it should be similar to you.” Having said this elder Wu Qing Feng had a weird expression as he said: “Blood Essence so vigorous like that of a river dragon, if only he could cultivate…… what a pity.”

Ye Fan and Pang Bo finally understood what was the wheel of life but still had many queries in their hearts.

“The wheel of life is the foundation of cultivators and if we reach the cultivation levels of legends and protect the wheel of life’s sparkle and translucence, without scars or marks as though one had just been born, there would be a chance to become an immortal.”

“Is becoming an immortal very difficult?”

“The immortals referred to by mortals are only cultivators who can fly in the sky. Whether the real immortals mentioned in the legends really exist is difficult to confirm. Based on what I know, for the past thousands of years in the boundless eastern badlands there hasn’t been anyone who became an immortal. It may be that only the people within the sacred grounds, archaic aristocratic families that have been around since ancient times or ancient demons would know some truth.”

“Venerated elder, are you trying to shatter our conviction. We are currently on the beginnings of the road of cultivation but you tell us that immortals may not be real, this is simply such a huge mental blow.”

“The flowers of spring will not live past autumn, the winter cicadas will not get through winter, mortals don’t live past a hundred years. If they could live for several thousand years and break the heavenly principles, they can be considered in a sense an immortal.”

Ye Fan and Pang Bo understood what the elder was trying to say. From the day that cultivators stepped onto the path of immortals and began cultivating they had already surpassed being normal humans. Experts could live for up to several thousand years, breaking heaven’s rules. Although they could not become immortals in the end, their struggles in life were not in vain as they had already broken heaven’s rules and changed their destinies.

“Actually, I haven’t really denied the existence of immortals. Rather, I feel that we can’t fathom that world.”

Thereafter, Ye Fan and Pang Bo continued their questions and the elder patiently answered their questions.

“I’ve heard so many people mention the sea of bitterness. What exactly is it?”

“That is the endless sea of bitterness that shrouds the wheel of life.”

“What do you mean?” Ye Fan and Pang Bo did not understand.

“When cultivators reach a certain cultivation level, within the small palm sized wheel of life there is an actual world where the sea of bitterness is borne from and it exists together with it.

“Could you please explain more thoroughly what is the relationship between the wheel of life and sea of bitterness? They also seem to be at the same place.”

“The sea of bitterness and wheel of life coexist. To be more precise, the sea of bitterness has submerged the wheel of life and besides the passing of time wearing the wheel of life, the sea of bitterness also slowly nibbles away at it.”

“So that’s why there’s the saying of withstanding the sea of bitterness?”

Elder Wu Qing Feng nodded and said: “That’s right, the fundamentals of all cultivators starts from the wheel of life. One of the goals of all cultivators is to withstand the sea of bitterness.”

Ye Fan and Pang Bo were shocked and said: “Based on what you said, the sea of bitterness is endless and drowns the wheel of life. How can we possibly withstand it completely?”

“That’s right, there is no end to enduring it and even expert cultivators with astonishing talents that live for several thousand years or even over ten thousand years can only turn to dust.” Elder Wu Qing Feng had an expression of anticipation as he said: “According to legend, the real immortals have to completely withstand the sea of bitterness and turn it into an oasis of life, one drop of it would be enough to give life to the dead and give flesh to mere bones.”

“Ai, that’s only in the legends. Whether immortals really exist is still a big question.” Pang Bo sighed as he said: “I think you should tell us things that really exist.”

“There is no end to withstanding the sea of bitterness and if cultivators want to live a prolonged life they cannot be confined within the sea of bitterness.” Elder Wu Qing Feng had radiant lights shining out of his eyes as he continued: “Creating life within the sea of bitterness, brewing a vigorous and thriving life force within the emptiness. Develop the spiritual veins, building the overhead bridge and understanding the other shore. This is the end of the sea of bitterness. ”

Ye Fan contemplated for a while and felt that he still did not understand as he asked: “The sea of bitterness submerges the wheel of life, the two can be said to coexist. If we develop a spiritual bridge and reach the other shore to escape from the sea of bitterness, doesn’t that mean that we also escape from the wheel of life? Isn’t that where the fundamentals of a cultivator are? Can we simply escape from it?”

Upon hearing this elder Wu Qing Feng nodded in appreciation as he said: “I’ve said that the wheel of life is the fundamentals of a cultivator. It is where all the fundamentals are found but I’ve never said that besides it there are no other areas.”

Pang Bo’s eyes grew larger as he asked: “There’s still something else?”

“If you want to be an immortal, only cultivating the wheel of life is insufficient. The spiritual bridge would allow one to surpass the sea of bitterness and connect to other mysterious crucial areas within the body……”

“Could it be that there isn’t only one wheel of life? There are others…… or it could also be said that within the human body there are several things akin to the wheel of life?” Ye Fan was astonished.

“If you want to be the expert at the summit of the world, cultivating the wheel of life to its extremes would be sufficient. However, if you want to become an immortal, simply cultivating the wheel of life would be far from sufficient.” Having said this, elder Wu Qing Feng shook his head because even he did not know if immortals truly existed. He then continued: “Even peerless talents that cultivate their entire lives would find that cultivating the wheel of life is ample and have endless benefits. Wanting to cultivate spiritual veins, building the overhead bridge and reaching the other side of the shore to attain a prolonged life is not that simple. You two shouldn’t look too far ahead and remember that a firm foundation is the basis for all of this and is the most important!”

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