In one of the western mountains called Mount Hua Lian, Zhao Li was sitting on its summit in a meditative pose, refining his Dantian roots and trying to heal his injuries.
The reason the mountain names had a Chinese or Korean character was due to the nature of their inhabitants. The inhabitants of the mountains consisted of 90% Gu Masters or Dantian Refiners (normal), and the rest were Qi/Aura or Mana users. However, Qi users were mostly Orc barbarians and goblins, and dark elf mana users. There were a few humans who used mental and physical strength and lived in the mountains for several reasons. Qi/Aura users were nomadic mercenaries, and Mana users stayed in flat areas due to the nature of their abilities, which had a wide range and could not be used in mountains due to the risks. As for refiners in general, mountains were considered places rich in primordial Qi and springs of life that helped them refine their Dantian roots or deepen their cultivation and fill their primordial sea through spirit stones found near springs of life.
While Zhao Li was training to refine his Dantian roots, he felt his power increase significantly and became capable of using his strength again. Zhao Li's rank had risen from Low Outerverse to Beyond Outerversal, even though it wasn't even zero point zero zero zero one percent of his true power when he was with Alessandra and the spirit of Ji Yao Li in one body. However, he was very satisfied. After days of training to refine and strengthen his spiritual roots, his power and authority over this world became greater and greater with time.
One day, a chaotic aura began to spread like a giant flood in the sky. He then opened his eyes, and they appeared in the shape of two bottomless abysses. Zhao Li's power was immense, and with his absolute control over several concepts such as the concept of chaos, death, luck, destiny, probability, causality, death, and end, he was able to control them even more than before. He let out a deep sigh as he looked at the world from the summit of Mount Hua Lian, speaking in a calm tone filled with the absolute tranquility and power he had gained after centuries of refining his Dantian roots and healing his injuries. Zhao Li's ability to possess Dantian roots and a primordial sea at the same time was a trump card to double his cultivation.
The existence of someone who possessed Dantian roots and a primordial sea at the same time was extremely rare. Having it in the body of one of Zhao Li's ten children was rarer than rarity itself, as they were terrifyingly talented to a very great degree.
"The world is truly vast, but I am confined within just an ordinary world. What a pity. How will my lineage view the world... Haaaaaa!" A sigh escaped Zhao Li's mouth unconsciously. The future was like a river whose direction was unknown, sometimes west, sometimes east. He knew in his heart that no matter how intelligent, brilliant, unconventional, and profound his descendants were, they would still be superficial in their thoughts about power and existence. Zhao Li's lineage aspired to reach the rank of Sovereign Ruler among Konwers and Rank 9 Gu Masters, and Refiners at the transcendent layer to become divine entities according to their Buddhist beliefs. Mana users would become entities of rank: MA∞. Mana users and Qi/Aura users reaching the Outerverse level. Their thinking was confined to even higher levels, where they could only control the ordinary world, or a number of ordinary worlds and their creation. Controlling the realm of imagination was something they wouldn't do even in their dreams. They revered those with these ranks and those below them, considering them to have superficial minds and thinking. My peers were equivalent to powerful Sovereign Rulers within their own imaginary worlds only. Outside, they were insects not even worthy of being servants to many non-human rulers of imagination. That is why his sigh carried some sadness and pity for his descendants, but he was aware of one thing: he would kill many of his descendants when they manifested every thousand years. Zhao Li died every time he surpassed a thousand years by one year. This happened in natural cases when he did not fight Alessandra.
After several minutes of contemplation of the world, Zhao Li stood up and headed towards the house he had built on the summit of Mount Hua Lian three years ago. As Zhao Li was heading towards his house, he heard the voice of a little girl calling him. He then turned his gaze and found a girl with silver hair like moonlight and eyes of the same color. That girl was stunningly beautiful, with milky white skin, wide silver eyes, and slightly pink lips. She was a marvel of beauty. This child was called the Empress of the Barren Moon, the second daughter of Zhao Li, after the Emperor Sun Bright. Zhao Li's children were called uniquely embodied, and also Divine Emperors of 10. This naming convention was only found among Gu Masters who followed Buddha. As for Muslims, they called them Divine Blessings of 10. The Empress of the Barren Moon, who was 6 years old, jumped towards Zhao Li, who then caught her and placed her in his arms with a small smile on his face. After a few seconds, the features of the Empress of the Barren Moon turned to annoyance. She lightly hit Zhao Li's chest, puffing out her cheeks to express her displeasure. "Father, you are too late. You haven't been home for two months. My brother Zhao Bing and I were worried about you." Her voice was filled with deep worry and sadness to the point of tears falling from her eyes as she buried her face in Zhao Li's chest. He patted her back, smiling faintly on his face.
"Don't worry, my daughter, Zhao Minghua. Don't worry, your father is very strong."
The names Zhao Li gave his children were just titles given to them because of their bodies. However, the bodies of Zhao Li's children, whom he had fathered, were different from the bodies of Zhao Li's children that people obtained over time. Their bodies were stronger. They possessed both the Divine Emperor body and supportive Dantian roots. This means Zhao Minghua had the body of the Empress of the Barren Moon and the Dantian roots of the Empress of the Barren Moon as well. In addition, she was Beyond Outerversal in level. However, she was not immortal, being just a body. Zhao Li's children were born in completely different ways. Zhao Bing and Zhao Minghua were born from Zhao Li's eyes. The rest of his children were born from parts of his body. Therefore, they did not have souls, but their children would have souls, but they would be weaker than Zhao Li and his children, and the same applied to their bodies.
Zhao Li walked towards his house with steady steps. A faint voice reached his ears, a voice familiar to him.
"Aren't you going to wake up yet, Zhao Li?"
Zhao Li ignored the voice, knowing it was not the right time. He decided to continue his way back home. As soon as he arrived, Zhao Li noticed that his son, Emperor Sun Bright Zhao Bing, was cultivating his Emperor Sun Bright Dantian roots to balance them with his primordial sea for purer energy. Despite being Beyond Outerversal, even imaginary worlds had their own will, called the will of the Mother of Heaven or the will of the mother of wills of heaven. It was so powerful that it could subjugate entities of Beyond Outerversal rank and above up to Boundless rank. The will of the Mother of Heaven could subjugate them easily. Therefore, Zhao Li's children had to cultivate their Dantian roots and primordial sea regularly to maintain stability between them. A faint smile appeared on Zhao Li's face as he looked at his son Zhao Bing, muttering in a low voice with a hint of the future: "It is not necessary to be a Gu Master to become a refiner, and it is not necessary to be immortal to be a refiner."
His words stemmed from his wisdom and long experience. He knew that some of his lineage would claim that only a Gu Master or someone with Dantian roots could be a refiner, and this is what happened over successive eras. Many conflicts occurred between Gu Masters and Immortals for this reason, and it led to the development of Konwers and Mana users by exploiting their wars to gain land and build empires, kingdoms, and countries over the years. However, this did not mean the absence of giant and great sects like the Sun sect, Song sect, and Yao Teng.
Then Zhao Li placed Zhao Minghua on the ground and gently patted her head. "You have to train to refine your Dantian roots and your primordial sea."
Zhao Minghua lowered her head with slight annoyance and went to her brother Zhao Bing, Emperor Sun Bright, to begin refining. Zhao Li's gaze was calm, filled with reverence. The Gu of Wisdom, Perseverance, Law, and Destiny were all there. The Gu of Wisdom and Perseverance were on his right, and the Gu of Destiny and Law were on his left. Their gazes were calm, with slight smiles on their faces as they looked at Zhao Li. Zhao Li was unique to them. Although their ages exceeded thousands of years, they were helpless before Zhao Li. He was wiser than the Gu of Wisdom, understood the laws better than the Gu of Law, was more persevering than the Gu of Perseverance, and manipulated destiny more than the Gu of Destiny. This made them unable to escape Zhao Li's grasp. They had to wait for his death to be free. There were less than 400 years left until Zhao Li's death, so they just had to be patient. But Zhao Li's smile held many secrets about the future fate of the Gu of Wisdom, Perseverance, Law, and Destiny. Therefore, they were patient and did not want to incur Zhao Li's enmity due to his ability to crush them easily, which they were aware of. After 200 years, Zhao Li had ten children, and they had reached maturity and begun to roam the earth.
Zhao Li's facial features were as calm as the surface of a lake reflecting the light of the full moon. He looked at the sky. Zhao Li maintained his youth because he found the Gu of Longevity of a Thousand Years, increasing his age. However, the period he would spend before being reincarnated was longer, and this applied to Alessandra as well because their lives were connected. This greatly annoyed the Gu of Wisdom, Perseverance, Law, and Destiny, but he ignored it.
One day, Zhao Li decided to do something he had left for a long time.
"The promised day has come. I never imagined I would meet her after more than 800 years since we parted. Although we have crossed paths several times, we have avoided confrontations." His tone was calm with a slight hint of worry.
Alessandra was at the same level of power, equal to him in everything. He then decided to head towards the place where he was born, feeling that he would meet her there.