The key to reaching the Divine Transformation stage lay in one thing: opening up a Sea of Primordial Soul within the sea of consciousness.
By the time one reached the Mahayana stage, the Yuányīng would disappear entirely,
replaced by a higher life form born within that boundless inner sea.
After the Sea of Primordial Soul was formed, it would keep expanding through the Unity and Tribulation stages, until it could finally contain the birth of the true Primordial Soul.
To open that sea, nothing mattered more than the strength of one's soul.
By using that power to carve out a Sea of Primordial Soul within the sea of consciousness, and letting it spread and devour everything until it completely replaced the old sea, one would have truly stepped into Divine Transformation.
The first attempt always came with a vision. The larger and purer the sea, the more breathtaking the vision.
Ordinary disciples would see nothing but a tiny pond above their heads. Those slightly better might manifest a lake. As for geniuses, their lakes might bloom with ethereal lotus flowers, or even illusions of spirit beasts playing on the surface.
But according to legend—
True peerless prodigies could open up a Sea of Primordial Soul so vast that it looked like an endless ocean, stretching beyond sight.
People said that was what a real Sea of Primordial Soul should be. Yet in all the countless cultivators across the realms, not one in ten million could reach that level of talent.
Even someone like Jin Yu was already considered heaven's favored.
In the Holy Land, he stood among the best of his generation. But when he and the others broke through to Divine Transformation, their Seas of Primordial Soul were, at best, large lakes with a few minor visions.
Then what about Yun Jin?
If she succeeded in opening hers, what kind of vision would appear?
That was one of the truest ways to measure a cultivator's innate talent.
Everyone's gaze began to flicker with anticipation.
Under normal circumstances, cultivators broke through in secret chambers, shielding the phenomena from outside observers.
But this time...
Yun Jin had chosen to break through in front of everyone, clearly with no intention of hiding anything.
Was she just that confident in herself?
Or did she simply not care?
At that moment, no one had any interest left in tasting the spiritual fruits. Every gaze remained fixed on Yun Jin.
Yun Jin had already begun the final charge forward.
Unlike others, there was still a soul golden core lying dormant in her sea of consciousness.
Without hesitation, Yun Jin shattered it outright.
The soul core exploded, releasing a surge of immense soul power.
Under normal conditions, such an event might have caused chaos within her consciousness.
But right now...
This was exactly the power she needed to carve open her Sea of Primordial Soul.
Yun Jin immediately gathered the scattered energy, pulling it inward, condensing it at a single point within her mind.
The power compressed more and more, until finally—bang—it detonated.
In the next instant...
A brand new space emerged within her sea of consciousness.
This was the Sea of Primordial Soul.
No sooner had it been born than it began to expand wildly across her sea of consciousness.
Eventually, it occupied a full third of the space before slowly stabilizing.
Tian Po Sword, bonded to Yun Jin by contract, could sense every change occurring in her mind. For a moment, he was completely speechless.
To occupy a third of her consciousness right at the start...
This was the level of a cultivator in early Unity stage.
Tian Po Sword suddenly recalled how Yun Jin had managed to absorb every single fragment of the Primordial Domain into her soul without issue.
His spiritual form trembled faintly.
Could his Young Master actually be... the reincarnation of an Immortal?
Otherwise, how could anything about her make sense?
With the Sea of Primordial Soul fully formed, Yun Jin still kept her eyes closed.
Above her head, a manifestation had already appeared.
Jin Yu and the others stared, unable to hide the shock in their eyes.
Hovering above Yun Jin was a boundless ocean that seemed to swallow the entire space.
And if that wasn't enough...
Countless phantom beasts flickered across the ocean surface, riding the roaring waves. Just looking at them gave the onlookers a heavy, suppressed feeling in their chests.
They all knew.
This wasn't an illusion.
They were all peak Divine Transformation cultivators.
And yet...
Yun Jin's freshly born Sea of Primordial Soul had already surpassed theirs.
In terms of soul strength, they were no match for Yun Jin?
In that moment, these proud sons and daughters of heaven felt a crushing sense of defeat.
When they had first received the task involving Yun Jin, most of them had viewed her with condescension. Even if they treated her politely, deep down they never considered her an equal opponent.
After all...
Disciples of the Holy Lands only saw other Holy Land disciples as true rivals. But ever since entering this secret realm, Yun Jin had shocked them again and again. And now, at this very moment, even Jin Yu had a look of despair cross his face.
Jin Yu had always aimed for Cang Li. He believed that as long as he worked hard, one day he could catch up to someone like Cang Li. He had faith in that path. He had never doubted it. The heart of a sword cultivator was built for forging ahead.
But now...
Facing this ocean-like sea of consciousness, overwhelmed by its oppressive might...
Jin Yu broke.
Even Cang Li had never made him feel this way.
Senior Brother Cang Li was powerful, but there was always a logical reason behind his strength. It could be understood.
But Yun Jin?
Her strength made no sense. She broke every rule of cultivation.
You couldn't explain how she did it.
If someone else told you such things were possible, you'd assume they were exaggerating or lying.
But Yun Jin had actually done it.
Was this... the gap between him and a true genius?
The great hall fell into silence.
The Four Holy Lands.
Everyone stared at the scene before them—Yun Jin's sea of consciousness, a vast ocean that stretched endlessly—unable to say a word.
The younger disciples were even more devastated than Jin Yu and the others. They had clawed their way up, defeating countless opponents to qualify for this mission.
They thought that outside the Holy Lands, all others were mere ants. Yet in a remote corner of a small kingdom like Canglan, someone like Yun Jin had emerged, a walking anomaly that defied reason.
She had just entered Divine Transformation, yet her aura had suppressed even the peak-stage Divine Transformation senior brothers and sisters.
What kind of monster was this?
From Kunlun Sword Sect, someone spoke in a worried voice. "Sect Master... Jin Yu seems to have taken a heavy blow."
They didn't understand how Yun Jin could possibly achieve such things either. But they could still barely hold it together.
Jin Yu and the others, however, were different. They were her peers, and they were here in person. The impact would hit them much harder.
He feared that Jin Yu and the rest might never recover from this.
Ji Wusi only smiled, his expression calm. "It doesn't matter. Destruction is sometimes necessary for new growth. This world is vast beyond imagination. If they can come to understand that now, this journey will not have been wasted."
From now on...
Yun Jin would become their inner demon.
If they could overcome it, they would see a new world.
If not, they might fall into mediocrity.
But after all...
No one can remain invincible forever. That is the heart-devil every cultivator must learn to conquer.