Chapter Thirty-Nine: The Wheel of Life

  "All things have a place of origin, and in the human body, there is also such a place, which is the root of life vitality, storing the essence of the whole body, called the Life Source Wheel, or the Wheel of Life." Old Man Wu Qingfeng spoke slowly with a calm tone.

  "Where is this Wheel of Life?" asked Pong Bao.

  "Below the navel." Old Man Wu Qingfeng pointed to his own navel with his hand and said, "The position it is in is precisely the most perfect dividing point between the upper and lower body."

  Ye Fan was slightly surprised, and suddenly thought of the golden ratio of the human body, which coincided with the position mentioned by the old man. The dividing line from the sole to the top of the head, with a proportion of 0.618, is called the golden ratio of the human body, and the lower abdomen is exactly at that position, making this body structure ratio the most aesthetically pleasing.

  In fact, there are many golden section points in various parts of the human body, and these local section points are extremely important to the body. In comparison, the largest golden section point of the human body - the lower abdomen, appears not so important on the surface.

  At this moment, hearing Wu Qingfeng say that it is the wheel of life, where the essence of human life is stored, suddenly a gleam of light flashed through Ye Fan's heart, and perhaps the most important golden ratio point of the human body is indeed "the birthplace of all things".

  The Life Wheel is not a point, but an area. According to Wu Qingfeng's lecture, it takes the lower abdomen as the center and forms a circle with a diameter of about the size of a palm, which is where the essence is stored.

  Wu Qingfeng emphasized solemnly and seriously: "The wheel of life, ordinary people rely on giving birth to children, while Taoist practitioners rely on giving birth to their own bodies, which is the foundation of a cultivator."

  According to Wu Qingfeng's words, the wheel of life is where the source of divine power lies. If a cultivator wants to set foot on the path of immortality, everything must start from here.

  "An ordinary person's life, the wheel of life is constantly drying up, and each year leaves a mark on it, just like the annual rings of a tree. When the body finally ages, the wheel of life has been engraved with the scars of years, and at that time, it is the moment when the wheel of life completely collapses."

  "Can you tell me how many marks our life wheel has left at this moment?"

  Ye Fan and Pang Bo were originally in their twenties, but now they have both transformed into the appearance of eleven or twelve year olds, undergoing this astonishing change of rejuvenation.

  "Eleven marks have been left on the wheel of your life."

  Upon hearing the result, Pang Bo suddenly burst out laughing, and compared to those classmates who had lost their youthful vitality, what happened to him was truly against the heavens. Afterwards, he pointed at Ye Fan and asked: "And him? Shouldn't he be the same as me?"

  Wu Qingfeng had already known Ye Fan's physique, but still carefully examined it and came to a conclusion similar to what others had said. Ye Fan's wheel of life was extremely quiet, his bitter sea was as hard as divine iron, stable like a rock, unshakeable, and fundamentally impossible to open up.

  His physique is extremely special, can't see through, can't tell how many scars there are, I suppose it's similar to yours. As he said this, Wu Qingfeng's old face showed a strange expression, saying: "Vital energy and blood are flourishing, simply comparable to a dragon elephant, if only he could cultivate... what a pity."

  Ye Fan and Pang Bo finally knew what the wheel of life was, but there were still many doubts in their hearts.

  "The wheel of life can be said to be the foundation of a cultivator. If one reaches the legendary realm, keeping the wheel of life crystal clear, without scars or marks, always like new birth, perhaps there is a chance to ascend to immortality."

  "Is it very difficult to become an immortal?"

  "What the mortal world calls an immortal is just a cultivator who can fly and escape. As for whether the true immortals of legend exist, it's hard to say. From what I know, in the vast and boundless Eastern Wastes, not one person has become an immortal in thousands of years. Perhaps only those sacred lands, or ancient families that have been passed down since the ancient times, or some ancient demons, know some truth."

  "Elder, you are destroying our faith. We were just about to cultivate, and yet you tell us that immortals may not exist. This is a real blow to people."

  "Spring flowers do not last beyond autumn, cold cicadas do not survive winter, ordinary people's lives do not exceed a hundred years. Even if they were to live for thousands of years, it would be considered a breach of the natural order, and yet in some sense, it could also be considered a kind of immortality."

  Ye Fan and Pang Bo understood the old man's intention, a cultivator embarked on the path of immortality, from the day he started cultivating, he had already transcended mortals. The strong can even live for thousands of years, breaking the rules of heaven and earth, even if they ultimately cannot become immortals, it is not in vain that they have struggled in this life, after all, they have broken through the shackles of heavenly reason and changed their fate.

  "Actually, I didn't completely deny the existence of immortals, maybe we just can't touch that world."

  Next, Ye Fan and Pang Bo continued to ask questions, and the old man patiently explained to them.

  "What is this 'sea of bitterness' that people always talk about?"

  "That is the endless sea of tribulations shrouding the wheel of life."

  "What does it mean?" Ye Fan and Pang Bo were both puzzled.

  "After reaching a certain realm, the Master's life wheel, which seems to be the size of a palm, is actually like a true heaven and earth inside, born with the sea of suffering, coexisting with it."

  "Could you elaborate on this? The Wheel of Life and the Ocean of Suffering seem to be in the same place. What is their relationship?"

  "The sea of suffering overlaps with the wheel of life, or more precisely, the sea of suffering has submerged the wheel of life. Not only are the years grinding away at the wheel of life, but the sea of suffering is also slowly devouring it."

  "So, is there such a thing as crossing the sea of suffering?"

  Wu Qingfeng nodded and said, "That's right. A cultivator's everything is rooted in the wheel of life. One of the purposes of cultivation is to cross the sea of suffering."

  Ye Fan and Pang Bo were shocked, saying: "According to what you said, the sea of suffering is boundless, drowning the wheel of life. How can this be purified?"

  "Yes, the suffering is endless, so even if a powerful and talented cultivator were to live for tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands of years, they would still eventually turn into nothing but a handful of yellow earth." Wu Qingfeng's expression turned bitter, but then he revealed a look of longing, saying: "Legend has it that a true immortal must completely transcend the sea of suffering and transform it into a fountain of life, with just one drop being enough to bring flesh and blood back to dry bones."

  "Alas, that's just a legend after all. Whether immortals really exist is still a question." Pang Bo sighed and said, "Why don't you tell us about something that actually exists?"

  "The sea of suffering is endless, but to attain a long life, a cultivator must not be trapped in the sea of suffering." Wu Qingfeng's eyes shone brightly as he said, "To be reborn in the sea of suffering, to ferment and burst forth with new life in the desolate stillness, to cultivate the divine pulse, to offer sacrifices and complete the heavenly bridge, to reach the other shore, and arrive at the end of the sea of suffering."

  Ye Fan pondered for a moment, feeling somewhat perplexed, and asked: "The sea of suffering submerges the wheel of life, can't the two be said to be intertwined? Cultivating the divine bridge to reach the other shore and escape the sea of suffering, isn't that equivalent to escaping the wheel of life? Isn't that the fundamental pursuit of cultivators? Can one truly distance themselves from it?"

  Wu Qingfeng nodded in approval and said, "I've said before that the Wheel of Life is the foundation of a cultivator, where all roots lie, but I never said there's nothing else outside of it."

  Pang Bo's eyes widened suddenly and he said, "What else?"

  "Wishing to become an immortal, merely cultivating the wheel of life is far from enough. The divine bridge is the crucial link that spans the sea of suffering and connects to other secret realms of the body..."

  "Could it be that there's not just one wheel of life, but others as well... or perhaps, within the human body, there exist multiple wheels of life similar to this one?" Ye Fan was extremely astonished.

  "To become the strongest in the world, it's enough to just polish the wheel of life to its extreme. But if you want to become an immortal, just polishing the wheel of life is far from enough." Wu Qingfeng shook his head as he said this, because even he didn't know if immortals really existed. He continued: "Even if one is a rare talent in a lifetime, it's enough to just polish one wheel of life, and you'll be able to enjoy endless benefits. Wanting to cultivate the divine meridians, establish the heavenly bridge, reach the other shore, and obtain an extremely long life isn't that easy. You must remember, don't be overly ambitious, only by laying a solid foundation can you achieve the most critical part!"