Le Tu stared from a distance at Kao Dao Ji as he spoke of his plan with his disciples.
"Even if it was not his intention, in a way, he's coming to achieve my goals.
To create a place where humans and variant kind live together…"
He stared intently at the disciples and their solemn expression as he explained another detail.
"Usually, such actions would bring a tremendous response, whilst their actions can be suppressed.
Their thoughts cannot.
Even if they would not outright kill each other in sight, the discrimination would remain almost as strong.
Tiny acts of pettiness and unacceptance would plague their entire lives. Not to mention that once the figure of authority keeping everything together dies, the whole thing falls apart.
And yet..."
He sighed.
"By giving proper justifications, he can destroy the voices of discontent. Even if they still do not enjoy it, they may be more willing to tolerate those humans.
Not to mention that those marriages will bring several families together..." A complicated expression appeared on his face, whilst the plan did not sit well with him.
He could already imagine the positive impacts such actions would bring in the long run.
"A gentleman judges by deeds, not by motives. Besides, even if Kao Dao Ji did this partially out of self-interest, he could only think of such a plan because it's him.
Other Variant Humans would never allow such a thing to occur inside their apertures." As he pondered this, his heart finally settled.
He closed his eyes, briefly, and he reconsidered his plans.
How could he create a great cause for everyone to follow, a lofty goal that could unify the people of the myriad races together?
Suddenly.
Kao Dao Ji flickered towards him.
He stared at Le Tu with a tiny smile on his face.
"Did you enjoy the show?" He spoke with his hands behind his back and with a mischievous smile.
Yet despite his expression, he remained on guard.
Was Le Tu truly fine with his actions?
But as he noticed the hesitant expression on his face, his worries settled.
Kao Dao Ji laughed heartily.
As he patted his shoulder.
Le Tu woke up to reality.
"Sorry, I was just thinking." He replied awkwardly, subconsciously, he lowered his head.
But then raised it slightly to stare at Kao Dao Ji.
"Anyway. We should get going, right?"
Kao Dao Ji nodded.
The two flew towards the white skies above.
Unlike the world outside, there was not a singular sun.
But instead, there were thousands upon thousands of tiny stars decorating the skies.
As well as billions of dandelions flowing everywhere.
Reflecting the sun's shine, and dancing together in a beautiful symphony.
There were even precious butterflies that flew towards them, opening their tiny mouths to devour them.
The scene looked like that of paradise itself.
Amidst such a scene.
Kao Dao Ji was staring at Le Tu, who was pressing his two hands together.
As he gritted his teeth, a tiny stone was created.
Unlike most, this one was completely round, almost perfectly spherical; it had a grey tone and an even surface.
He passed it towards Kao Dao Ji, who caught it with one hand.
Or so he thought.
As he made the motion to grab it, his body was pushed backwards several meters.
"Wooah...I knew it would be heavy, but not this much!" Kao Dao Ji muttered, in an instant, the force he applied upon the stone multiplied tenfold.
And he regained his grip.
Then.
He took a deep breath from his mouth.
Tides of steam rapidly flowed towards the stone, which in turn had its own reaction.
As if a hidden mechanism had been triggered, a pulling force appeared out of nowhere.
Even Kao Dao Ji's cheeks were slightly pulled towards the stone, whereas the surrounding tides of steam began to spin even faster still.
They were rapidly being compressed within.
Followed by which Kao Dao Ji began to inject even more steam, its rotational force expanded.
And the clouds were rapidly pulled.
While this happened, the weight of the whole turned heavier and heavier.
Even Kao Dao Ji began to feel some of the strain, as he decisively tossed it towards the Heavens.
And then.
It was set alight!
A tiny sun rapidly took shape.
The surrounding 'stars', looked utterly dim and powerless.
And so, they began to get pulled by the sun itself.
Kao Dao Ji observed this indifferently; those True Sun Flowers had outgrown their use.
And so, they rapidly dissipated into nothingness.
Of course, once this happened, he lifted his hand.
With a simple gesture, he decreased the output of light of the 'sun' by around 90%.
Its previous potency was no longer required and was beginning to turn into a burden on the ecosystem, followed by which.
Le Tu and Kao Dao Ji acted together.
[What the earth grants!] The core of the 'sun' immediately reacted.
[The sky shows us the light!] The effect of the core in the sun began to spread towards the remainder of the 'sun.'
And so.
The scene of the white sun turning completely green took hold; its beautiful shine immediately resonated with the surrounding organisms.
Whilst it was not perceptible just yet, the sun's effect would speed their growth, increase their vitality, and even improve the moods of anything within its range.
Kao Dao Ji and Le Tu, who were at the epicenter, felt this even more deeply.
As they felt a warm sensation in their muscles.
A part of them wanted to simply lie and rest near the sun and go to sleep, yet.
They still had more work to do.
The duo kept flying through the skies, replacing the previous True Sun Flowers with green suns.
If one were looking at the scene from outside, one would see the white-blue skies being slowly replaced by green, like a blank canvas.
In his curiosity, Kao Dao Ji looked at the ground beneath his feet.
Whose colors, too, had changed.
It looked almost like swamp water.
Kao Dao Ji was deeply fascinated by the view.
But he also had a faint feeling.
Whilst still staring at the seas, he said.
"Le Tu. You who are a Grandmaster…Could you tell me how exactly one become a Grandmaster?"
Le Tu paused.
"A Grandmaster is one who understands the height of their Dao, whose experience is such that they can achieve the magnificence of other Paths through their own…" He turned his head and stared at Kao Dao Ji, somewhat puzzled.
"But you should know this already, you are a Quasi-Grandmaster yourself.
If you are asking for something deeper.
Well…From my perspective, you already took the most difficult step.
To be able to mimic a path, no matter how shallow, already means that there was a change within you.
Is only a matter of time until you become a Grandmaster in full.
For example, in my case, I was only able to mimic Metal at first. I kept experimenting over and over, and before I even realized it. I had become a Grandmaster."
Then he shrugged.
"Of course, this is not always the case; some people get stuck in this state for a few decades. And require external inspiration to break through, others grind their way, remaining a Master for centuries before realizing they had the accumulation all along and become a Grandmaster in one go.
Others, however, merely walk in a road that they know, if pushed deep enough, will enable them to become Grandmasters."
Then he stared at Kao Dao Ji.
"Do you believe you have found such a road?" He asked curiously.
"It's just a hypothesis, but I believe that the Extremities of my Dao are deeply connected with several other Daos. I have a feeling that if I master Extreme Yin, I will become a Grandmaster, but I am not sure."
Le Tu smiled.
"What is there to doubt? You seem to be on the right way."
But then Kao Dao Ji's expression suddenly flickered.
"Oh shit! He is getting here…" Kao Dao Ji suddenly muttered.
He glared at Le Tu.
"Quickly go and hide at the bottom of the sea and tell Uru Hong Jing to do the same!" He urged.
Le Tu's expression changed.
He nodded solemnly.
…
Uru Hong Jing had a solemn expression on his face.
Ahead of him lied a massive construction, like a graveyard.
But unlike tombs, their 'opening' was made of glass.
It was easy to see through them.
And one could see countless beasts, humans, and variant humans resting soundly.
Uru Hong Jing opened one of the lids.
He raised his hand towards the face of a middle-aged man, and then.
He plucked the eyes in one swift motion.
Several intense lights flickered as the fresh eye rapidly turned into a Rank 3 Gu.
A sense of euphoria appeared in Uru Hong Jing's face.
He glared at the man and took a tiny spherical object.
Whose surface felt like that of glass.
The glass was painted on its surface to vaguely resemble an eye. Uru Hong Jing forcefully added that tiny crystal inside the eye.
Then injected a minute stream of Primeval Essence onto it.
Once he did, tiny veins appeared surrounding the crystal.
Those veins palpitated intensely more than a hundred times per minute.
Had one been there to witness it, one would see how, in a matter of a few days, the veins would rapidly cover the fake eye and produce a real one.
Turning an illusion into reality, such was one of the peaks of Ocular Path.
However, he merely closed the lid and walked towards another person.
Like this, he reaped over three thousand eyes.
"What a shame. If only I had become Shung Mia Yin's master, I could have easily attained the perfect supply of eyes…" He sighed helplessly, whilst there were a few Desolate Beasts inside his aperture, they were ultimately inferior.
After all, eyes were a reflection of a person's soul, and whilst Land Spirits no longer had a soul. They used to harbor one, and a very powerful one at that.
Moreover, an obsession was, in a way, an even purer source than that of ordinary humans.
And while inferior in several aspects, they were also easier to use for the refinement of Gu.
"I wonder how effective Kao Dao Ji's eyes would be?" He wondered to himself.
But suddenly.
He widened his eyes as he saw the signal.
Immediately, he left.
He dived deep under the sea, whereas Kao Dao Ji wore the most natural smile he could manage.
With a simple gesture, he opened his aperture.
"To what do I owe you the pleasure, Kao Yu Hun?"
But Kao Yu Hun's expression differed a bit from his; instead, he stared tongue-tied at his aperture, completely baffled.
"Why is your aperture green?" He tilted his head as he muttered this in utter confusion.
Kao Dao Ji laughed awkwardly.
"Ah? That. Well…I just had some accomplishments regarding Cloud Path. If the Supreme Clan Leader is interested, I would not mind selling them." He explained nonchalantly.
"But it will cost. A lot." He rubbed his fingers as he emphasized the last point.
Kao Yu Hun stared at the greedy Land Spirit.
"Why does he always derail everything. Every time I come to meet him?" Kao Yu Hun thought before regaining his sharpness.
"Anyhow…" He coughed awkwardly.
"I came here to bring you some important news. For starters…" He handed a tiny book.
Where some of their newer insights regarding Soul Path were being shared.
Kao Dao Ji greedily took those notes and began to read them.
Rapidly engraving the knowledge onto his memory, whereas Kao Yu Hun waited patiently for several minutes.
"What about the rest?" He asked calmly.
Kao Yu Hun sighed before adding.
He handed another note.
"Judge for yourself…"
Kao Dao Ji's pupils widened.