When he opened his eyes, Li Yunhao found himself in a vast flower field, stretching as far as the eye could see. The flowers were of every shape and type, many of which he could tell for sure did not exist on Earth.
As he felt something falling and making contact with his body, he looked up, wondering if it was raining. However, what he saw was something entirely different. The sky was clear with only a few clouds, but it was indeed raining, though not the usual drops of water—what fell were beautiful petals coming down from the sky.
For a moment, Li Yunhao froze, mesmerized.
"How beautiful..."
He was sure he had never seen such a beautiful landscape in his life. A deep sigh of admiration escaped his lips; he felt like he could spend the rest of his life simply gazing at this flower field.
It didn't take long for him to snap back to reality, realizing there was a figure not far from him, apparently watering some flowers. Hesitant, Li Yunhao took short steps toward the figure, soon getting a clear view of it.
It was an elderly man with a kind appearance, carrying an equally kind smile on his wrinkled face. His gray hair was tied up in a bun on top of his head, and the falling petals arranged themselves on his head, giving him a slightly disheveled look. His clothing appeared simple but strangely immaculate, a white tunic with pink embroidery, and in one hand, he held a small watering can.
"So, you chose me..." The elderly man turned slightly, looking at Li Yunhao. His voice sounded almost like a melody, extremely calm and serene, and carried an almost tangible kindness.
"My name is Yu Hu Tao, known as the Gardener of the Eastern Sky Flower Field, or Immortal Lotus."
Li Yunhao tried to speak, but Yu Hu Tao raised his hand, interrupting him.
"Don't hurry, child. There is time for questions, but knowledge will come with time. Now, listen."
Yu Hu Tao gestured to the flowers around them, and images began to form in the air. "Each flower represents an element, an essential force. But look… it is not enough to cultivate them. Each must be nurtured with balance. A single petal may contain the power to create or destroy entire worlds."
Li Yunhao watched, fascinated, as Yu Hu Tao continued. "Growth comes from adversity, and balance is the key to true strength. Remember: what grows too quickly wilts early, and what never faces strong winds never becomes sturdy."
The old man's words were simple, but Li Yunhao felt there was a deeper meaning hidden behind them.
Yu Hu Tao smiled faintly. "Child, you will receive my blood and lineage. Your flesh and soul will be molded, and you will be transformed into my descendant. You will carry my legacy and inheritance."
Before Li Yunhao could ask anything, Yu Hu Tao raised his right index finger and pressed it against Li Yunhao's forehead. Immediately, Li Yunhao felt as though an almost infinite knowledge was infused directly into his mind.
In the next moment, the flower field seemed to disappear, and he found himself in a green field.
In that green field, something caught his attention. It was a small tree, bearing only a single flower on top. As he watched, the flower slowly bloomed, revealing a small, glowing pink fruit. The fruit ripened quickly, and as it cracked open, a baby emerged from within, floating in front of the tree.
Li Yunhao watched in awe as the baby grew at an alarming rate. From a newborn, it became a child, then a young man, a middle-aged man, and finally, an elderly figure sitting cross-legged in the void. The man's features were identical to Yu Hu Tao's, but there was something deeply different about his presence.
Li Yunhao's mind whirled as he gazed at the figure. A deep sense of reverence and admiration spontaneously arose within him. He felt a profound disdain for himself for daring to observe such a figure so directly and quickly averted his gaze. Moreover, the thought of kneeling before that being crossed his mind, only to be dismissed as the space around him began to change once again.
Li Yunhao found himself in an exposed land where the wind carried a fresh, unfamiliar scent. In front of him, something peculiar began to manifest. Several flower buds emerged from the ground as though time had accelerated in an instant. Each flower appeared to belong to a different species, and the air around them seemed to vibrate faintly, filled with an inexplicable energy.
A white lily bloomed first, spreading a silver mist around it. Shortly after, a scarlet peony appeared, pulsing with a subtle heat, as though it held an internal flame. A blue orchid gently glowed, and a golden jasmine emitted a soft chime, as if each petal were singing a celestial melody. In no time, the land had transformed into a spectacle of colors and fragrances, with flowers of all shapes and sizes blooming in perfect harmony.
Li Yunhao watched, fascinated, as each flower seemed to contain a fragment of the world—the heat of fire, the fluidity of water, the lightness of wind, and the solid immobility of earth. But there was something more. Some deeper connection that he could not see.
Suddenly, a voice echoed around him, soft but impossible to ignore. It was not just a sound; it was as though the world itself was whispering directly to his soul:
"In the heart of the world, a thousand forces bloom,
weaving the eternal cycle of creation.
"The fire burns and consumes,
the earth embraces and sustains.
The wind dances and spreads,
and the water flows, connecting all.
"From roots to sky, the cycle endures.
Distinct colors, intertwined destinies,
each petal, a law; each flower, a path_
"He who understands the flower field,
comprehends the fabric of the universe."
Li Yunhao felt a chill run down his spine. There was a hidden depth in these words, as if they were the key to something vast and unfathomable. For a brief moment, he felt as though he could grasp the meaning behind them, but a primal instinct held him back. It was as though the world itself was warning him not to go any further; that it was too dangerous for him.
Before he could process more, the space around him began to change once again. The meadow vanished, and he was enveloped in yet another mysterious scene.
He was now in a sea of clouds. The clouds covered his feet and the sky above him. As before, his eyes were immediately drawn to the sight of a lotus flower.
This time, the lotus had fully bloomed. Each petal of the lotus was a different color, bringing an array of hues to that flower. And each petal seemed to contain something mystical and mysterious behind it. One radiated a fiery heat with small flames emerging from it, a crimson red; another had purple sparks circling it; one emitted a cold air that seemed to freeze the air; one appeared to distort vision when looked at, and many others with the most varied effects and reactions.
Li Yunhao felt mesmerized by the lotus, his body inert and his eyes glued to it. Suddenly, a voice came from somewhere he couldn't tell—no, more precisely, it seemed to come from everywhere. The space around him seemed to whisper in his ear.
_"The lotus blooms like the heavens,_
_its petals echo an endless cycle._
_"The flame consumes, and in the void, there remains the cold._
_The cold hardens, and from the ice, water emerges._
_The water flows, feeding the spark,_
_and the spark awakens the flame._
_"Thus, the cycle completes._
_Every end leads to a new beginning,_
_woven by the lotus of the heavens."_
Though the words sounded like simple phrases, Li Yunhao felt an immense flow of information behind them that could be accessed with more concentration. He didn't dare try to access this flow, however, a deep urge held him back from delving any deeper. That urge warned him, conveying that he had heard enough, and if he tried to learn more, something very bad could happen.
The space around him changed once more.
Again, he found himself in the flower field. Yu Hu Tao, who had been pressing his finger to Li Yunhao's forehead, withdrew his finger and looked at him with eyes as deep and calm as the waters of a lake.
"Uh..." Suddenly, Li Yunhao felt his vision blur and an extreme heat course through his entire body, stopping at his head. More disoriented than when he first entered the dark place where the light figure appeared, he placed a hand on his head. Then, a deep pain came, a pain far greater than anything he had ever felt in his life.
"AAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!"
Li Yunhao fell heavily to the ground, pressing his head with both arms in a futile hope of easing the pain. The sensation felt like a thousand nails being hammered into his head at once. His body convulsed, and he rolled from side to side in the flower field.
"I have granted you the methods to use two Immortal Arts created by me. The Immortal Lotus, the technique that earned me one of the titles for which I am best known. And the Celestial Lotus, a work of my later years when I reached the peak of my cultivation. I couldn't grant you the full Celestial Lotus, as it would drive you mad—or worse, kill you—but even this mitigated version should be useful in the early stages. I have also granted you some other methods belonging to me that may help you in whatever place you will fall." Yu Hu Tao's voice was calm and gentle, as if he were unaware of the pain Li Yunhao was enduring.
"AHHHHH! UAAHHHH!"
"My head! My head! It hurts so much!"
The pain was so intense that his body thrashed uncontrollably. He wanted to shed tears and pour a million curses onto this old man, who appeared gentle but was actually a devil in human disguise.
"I didn't give you any basic cultivation manual or the like because I'm not sure which 'heaven' you will fall into. I could even provide you with an infinite number of them, which you could choose from depending on the environment you end up in. But the risks of your soul scattering or you becoming a fool are too great for that."
Yu Hu Tao approached his fallen body, forcefully pulling his arm, and placed a ring with a lotus flower engraved on top onto his right index finger.
"AHHHHHHHH!!"
"Once you begin your cultivation, you will naturally be able to access the ring I gave you and return to this place. Until then, child. Observe, learn, and cultivate. In the field of cultivation, as in life, the journey is more important than the destination. I will be waiting for you when you can enter this place again. Now, go. Your path awaits."
Before Li Yunhao could say anything, Yu Hu Tao raised his watering can, and an explosion of light enveloped him. The voice of the light figure echoed in his ear moments later.
"You will be dispersed across different realms. Survive and grow. I wish you all the success in the world."
And then, the light was once again swallowed by darkness. Li Yunhao felt his brain being torn apart and lost consciousness.