Ten Thousand Years in Seclusion
Chapter 16:The Tenth Dao Platform

Chapter 16: Chapter 16:The Tenth Dao Platform

Deep within the sea of true essence, that faint glimmer trembled.

At first, it was no larger than a firefly.

But in the blink of an eye, it expanded violently.

Boom!

The nine incomparably solid Dao Platforms trembled simultaneously, releasing a deep, resonant hum.

Before Qi Tian could react, the glimmer broke through the sea and slowly rose between the nine Dao Platforms.

A hazy silhouette emerged.

It was another Dao Platform.

Yet unlike the other nine, which were solid and majestic, this one was shrouded in mist.

Its entire structure was formed from intertwined streams of flowing spiritual light, illusory and ethereal, as though it might disperse with the slightest breeze.

And yet—

it remained firmly suspended above the sea, facing the nine towering platforms from afar.

Qi Tian’s heart shook violently.

His pupils contracted.

"This... what is this?!"

He stared at the faintly visible tenth Dao Platform, his mind roaring.

Everyone in the cultivation world knew that the number of Dao Platforms formed during Foundation Establishment was an unchanging measure of one’s foundation.

One to three platforms represented an ordinary foundation. Such cultivators would struggle their entire lives to glimpse the path toward the Golden Core realm.

Four to six platforms represented exceptional talent. Such individuals could become elite disciples of sects and possessed hopes of forming a Golden Core.

Seven to eight platforms represented the aptitude of a heaven’s chosen. The great holy lands would compete to recruit such cultivators, and they were destined to become figures capable of shaking an entire region.

And nine...

Nine Dao Platforms represented the supreme foundation.

A talent possessed by one among countless millions.

The ultimate limit dreamed of by countless cultivators.

The complete perfection recognized by the Heavenly Dao since ancient times.

Since the beginning of recorded history, no one had ever heard of a cultivator forming a tenth Dao Platform during Foundation Establishment.

Nine was the absolute number.

Nine was the boundary of the Heavenly Dao.

Yet now...

Inside Qi Tian’s dantian, a tenth Dao Platform was floating before him.

Qi Tian felt his throat tighten.

A thousand thoughts surged through his mind.

Could it be...

Had he truly broken the limit that had existed for countless ages?

He gazed at the ten Dao Platforms before him.

Nine solid.

One illusory.

They reflected upon each other, forming a sight that defied all understanding.

Suddenly, a thought flashed through his mind.

Could this be the reason why, after ten thousand years of secluded cultivation, he had remained stuck at late-stage Foundation Establishment and had never been able to take that final step?

The root of the problem...

had always been here.

Such an anomaly was not the first time he had encountered something beyond common understanding.

Back then, his natural aptitude had been ordinary.

When he first established his foundation, he had only condensed six Dao Platforms—barely enough to be considered exceptional.

Later, through a twist of fate, he entered an ancient secret realm.

After surviving countless dangers by a thread, he encountered an unparalleled opportunity and obtained a supreme cultivation scripture:

The Essence-Returning True Origin Scripture.

Following its methods, he refined his foundation day and night.

When his sixth Dao Platform was finally completely stabilized...

a seventh Dao Platform unexpectedly emerged from the depths of his dantian.

At that time, Qi Tian had been overjoyed.

Seven Dao Platforms.

He had already stepped into the ranks of heaven’s chosen.

He calmed his heart and continued tempering it relentlessly.

He polished the seventh Dao Platform until it became flawless.

Yet just as it reached perfection, the eighth appeared.

When the eighth became solid, the ninth emerged once more.

Nine Dao Platforms.

That was Supreme Foundation Establishment.

At that time, he had already been capable of challenging early Golden Core cultivators across realms.

Even he could not imagine how powerful he would become after forming his Golden Core.

But for the ninth Dao Platform, he had exhausted every effort.

For three entire years, he painstakingly refined it.

Yet there was always that final trace missing.

It refused to reach perfection.

With no other choice, he went to Mount Qingya and entered a death seclusion, seeking a breakthrough.

Who could have imagined...

that one seclusion would last ten thousand years.

Now, the nine Dao Platforms had finally become completely solid.

He had thought the path ahead was finally open.

Yet unexpectedly...

the tenth Dao Platform had appeared as well.

Qi Tian’s expression became complicated.

He took a deep breath and forced down the countless thoughts surging within him.

Slowly, he closed his eyes.

His divine sense settled.

And from his throat, he softly spoke four words:

"Essence-Returning True Origin Scripture... rise."

The instant the words fell—

the aura around him changed completely.

The spiritual energy inside the room suddenly became violent.

Like raging waves, it surged toward him from every direction.

The second-order Spirit Gathering Array suddenly erupted with dazzling white light.

The array patterns rose from the ground, trembling violently.

The six low-grade spirit stones in his hands began to dim at a visible rate.

Their spiritual energy poured out like a great river, flowing into his meridians.

And from within Qi Tian’s body...

an indescribable aura slowly awakened.

Ancient.

Boundless.

Carrying the profound weight of the primordial chaos before the creation of heaven and earth.

Vast and overwhelming.

It spread throughout the entire room.

True essence surged like raging dragons, roaring along the meridian pathways prescribed by the Essence-Returning True Origin Scripture.

Qi Tian turned his divine sense inward, guiding the vast sea of true essence within his dantian into a blue-gold torrent that crashed toward the illusory tenth Dao Platform.

Hum—

The tenth Dao Platform trembled gently.

Like a bank of mist caught in a violent gale, it shook violently, as though it might collapse at any moment.

Qi Tian’s heart tightened.

He immediately slowed the flow of true essence, reducing the raging torrent to a gentle stream as he carefully guided it around the platform.

Yet the phantom platform was like a bottomless abyss.

The stream of true essence poured into it without a sound, swallowed completely without stirring even the slightest ripple.

Every last trace of true essence vanished into it.

The illusory Dao Platform grew only a fraction brighter, yet remained as insubstantial as ever, as though it could dissipate at any moment.

"...It’s even worse than the ninth."

Fine beads of sweat appeared across Qi Tian’s forehead.

Back then, the ninth Dao Platform had also been like a bottomless pit.

At least he could feel it gradually filling, gradually growing.

But this tenth one...

It was as though it were feeding an endless void.

No matter how much true essence he poured into it, everything disappeared without a trace.

Refusing to believe it, Qi Tian gritted his teeth and drove the Essence-Returning True Origin Scripture to its limit, drawing upon every reserve within the sea of true essence in his dantian.

Above the sea, the nine crystal-like Dao Platforms lit up simultaneously.

Resonating with one another, they transformed into nine streams of azure radiance, continuously channeling incomparably pure origin true essence toward the center.

Only then did the phantom platform finally begin to change.

It started to rotate slowly.

Like an ancient well disturbed by a falling stone, ripples spread across its surface.

Where those ripples passed, faint, almost transparent lines gradually emerged upon the platform’s illusory foundation.

They were the Foundation Veins of a Dao Platform—

the unmistakable sign that it was beginning to transform from a phantom into something tangible.

But the process...

was agonizingly slow.

Qi Tian could clearly feel it.

Every additional trace of solidity demanded exponentially more true essence than the last.

If condensing the first Dao Platform had required only a ladle of water...

then the tenth was nothing less than a bottomless well.

At last, the phantom of the Tenth Dao Platform ceased trembling.

At the very base of the platform, a patch no larger than a palm finally solidified. No longer ethereal, it took on a substance deeper than jade, heavier than black iron, as though forged from something far older than either.

Upon its surface, an ancient rune gradually emerged.

It belonged to no script known in the present age. Its strokes twisted like coiling dragons, carrying an aura that seemed to predate even antiquity itself.

Qi Tian drew in a long, ragged breath. Cold sweat streamed down his forehead.

He had solidified barely one tenth of one percent of the Tenth Dao Platform.

Yet it had exhausted every last drop of True Essence within him.

The six low-grade spirit stones in his hands had long since crumbled into fine gray dust.

The nine Dao Platforms remained as stable as ever, but the boundless Sea of True Essence surrounding them had been all but emptied. It would take a long time before it recovered.

"Interesting..."

Qi Tian wiped the sweat from his brow and broke into a grin, flashing a row of white teeth.

"Looks like I’m going to be busy for a long while."