Jiang Yuebai broke out of the ice shell surrounding her, her consciousness gradually rising to scan her surroundings. She immediately noticed an ice-blue lotus flower in the darkness ahead of the lotus beneath her feet, emitting tendrils of cold white aura.

With a thought, Jiang Yuebai appeared on that lotus. Although it was not as large as the central lotus, that wasn’t the point. The point was that this lotus was entirely composed of cold ice, permeated everywhere with an ethereal blue.

The chill was bone-piercing, and Jiang Yuebai couldn’t help but have her jaw tremble. Upon careful examination, she saw the Ice Armor Beetle King and the Ice Soul Pearl embedded in ice at the very center of the lotus, now only half exposed.

The Ice Armor Beetle King was encapsulated within the Ice Soul Pearl, its beetle-like back armor shimmering with mysterious runes, a sign of its ongoing progression.

There were also flickering points of light beneath her feet. As Jiang Yuebai bowed her head and stepped back, she saw countless points of light undulating like breaths; they were all Ice Armor Beetles.

"What’s going on? Did the Ice Armor Beetle King give birth? When did it conceive? How come I didn’t know?"

Jiang Yuebai suddenly felt a bit of annoyance, as if her own cabbages had been plowed by pigs.

But upon thinking carefully, it didn’t add up. She hadn’t encountered any strange insects lately. If the Ice Armor Beetle King didn’t conceive on its own, something else must have caused it to spawn.

"The Ice Soul Pearl and... this Lotus Platform Cave Heaven?"

Jiang Yuebai had already named this place Lotus Platform Cave Heaven. Calling it a small world was too grand, as it was far from the level of a small world.

After some contemplation, Jiang Yuebai’s consciousness exited the Lotus Platform Cave Heaven and rummaged through her Storage Ring, finally taking out a millennium-old strange flower and placing it into the small world.

This time, Jiang Yuebai followed closely, seeing the Thousand-Year Red Feather Flower absorbed into the darkness as soon as it entered the Lotus Platform Cave Heaven.

A silent purple thunder flashed across, dispersing the darkness beside the central Lotus Platform, revealing a brand-new Lotus Platform, where the Thousand-Year Red Feather Flower took root.

Like wildfire spreading, a scarlet light extended outward from the center of the Lotus Platform. In no time, the entire Lotus Platform seemed forged by fiery flames, silently burning.

Yet the fire emitted no heat, instead integrating a kind of Life Qi.

Jiang Yuebai stepped onto the Lotus Platform, watching the Thousand-Year Red Feather Flower grow in the center, its Spiritual Energy and medicinal power rapidly absorbed by the Lotus Platform, sprouting many seedlings from the flames of the Lotus Platform.

"These seedlings aren’t real, are they?"

Jiang Yuebai attempted to pick them, and as soon as a seedling left the ground, it immediately transformed into Spiritual Energy and dissipated.

In that instant, Jiang Yuebai stood there, her hand extended in shock.

She seemed to sense a multitude of mixed auras just now, with Fire Spiritual Energy and Wood Spirit Qi being the most abundant, alongside some Water Spirit Energy. Water and fire were supposed to be incompatible, yet here, they fused in a special way.

What was that special way? It was like a rune, yet also like a restriction, indescribable and elusive.

Jiang Yuebai pulled a few more seedlings to experience this, watching as other seedlings quickly matured, sprouting red leaves and budding, finally blooming and withering, completing the process from seedlings to a mature Red Feather Flower, from blooming to decay.

"Isn’t this exactly what the Great Derivation Scripture describes about the origination, development, flourishing, decline, and extinction of all things? Could this Lotus Platform Cave Heaven assist me in deducing the origins of all things?"

The last Red Feather Flower was plucked, causing the original Thousand-Year Red Feather Flower to disappear from the center of the Lotus Platform, the flames atop the entire Lotus Platform gradually extinguishing, returning everything to darkness.

Jiang Yuebai still couldn’t grasp that special method of fusion, appearing ethereal and elusive. It would likely take thousands of Thousand-Year Red Feather Flowers being continually planted in the Lotus Platform for her to understand the key.

On the Cold Ice Lotus Platform, after a careful examination of the Ice Armor Beetles under the platform, Jiang Yuebai realized, just like the Red Feather Flowers, they were all fake.

She captured one and discovered its composition was a thousand times more complex than a Red Feather Flower; she couldn’t comprehend it with her current abilities. She wasn’t sure if it would affect the Ice Armor Beetle King, planning to extract it after its progression.

Returning to the central Lotus Platform, Jiang Yuebai keenly noticed the Wood and Fire Spiritual Energy on this land became denser, and the flame atop a nearby tree, nearly extinguished by heavy snowfall, grew more vigorous.

The grass on the ground had grown half an inch taller, and the water in the pond had also increased.

Jiang Yuebai sat down on the ground, white snow falling all around her.

She suddenly wondered if the more types of all things the Lotus Platform Cave Heaven absorbed, would this central land become more real, eventually transforming into a true Secret Realm or even a small world?

At that point, could her body also enter this space?

"Wait, wasn’t this Lotus Platform’s refining method contained within the Five Elements Returning to Truth Skill? And the derivation of all things was described in the Great Derivation Scripture. How could the two aspects complement each other so well?"

It’s as if the Great Derivation Scripture was a calculation scripture, while the Lotus Platform was the abacus necessary for studying this scripture.

The Lotus Platform refines Five Elements Essence Qi, extracting the Five Elements Origin to birth a small world, all processes mentioned in the Five Elements Returning to Truth Skill.

Does this mean... the Five Elements Returning to Truth Skill lineage also came from Ancestor Lu Xingyun, rather than being obtained by Wuwei Mountain Man at the Wind and Cloud Meeting’s Maze Secret Realm?

The more Jiang Yuebai thought about it, the more confused she felt, suspecting there might be significant ties between Wuwei Mountain Man and Lu Xingyun.

To uncover the specifics, one would need to reach the Upper Realm to find Wuwei Mountain Man for answers.

No matter the case, with this Lotus Platform, studying the Great Derivation Scripture would become much easier.

Upon reaching this conclusion, Jiang Yuebai promptly exited the Lotus Platform Cave Heaven and located Lii Jiuchuan outside the Quiet Room in the ship’s cabin, inviting him back to tightly seal the Quiet Room.

"Master, has a small world formed within your Five Elements Glazed Tower?"

Lii Jiuchuan smiled and shook his head, "Not yet. The Five Elements Essence Qi in my tower hasn’t accumulated enough to extract the Five Elements Origin. I certainly don’t have your luck, having acquired a piece of Heavenly Stone."

"Heavenly Stone?" Jiang Yuebai wondered; was the five-colored bead actually a Heavenly Stone?

Lii Jiuchuan nodded, "A Heavenly Stone is the core origin of a whole realm, only produced when a realm perishes or collapses, extremely rare."

"Master, bring out your Glazed Tower. Let me try to pass a thread of the Five Elements Origin to you; it should only take a little to trigger the Five Elements Essence Qi transformation, which won’t affect me much."

Being of the same lineage with her Master, researching this path together would be faster than her fumbling alone. Throughout this journey, her Master enlightened her on the Five Elements Path, undoubtedly deserving her repayment when she was capable.

Lii Jiuchuan, eyebrows raised in surprise, as the Five Elements Origin was extremely precious, was astonished by her willingness to share with him.

Jiang Yuebai hurried him, "Hurry up, or I’ll change my mind in a few moments!"

Lii Jiuchuan felt a bit awkward as having a disciple give him the Five Elements Origin felt somewhat inappropriate for a master.

Ahem~

Lii Jiuchuan coughed into his fist, slightly flushed, and summoned his Five Elements Glazed Tower onto the table, pretending to observe the outside movements.

Jiang Yuebai squinted; why was this reaction identical to that of True Monarch Fuyi? Why were their faces so thin-skinned?

Jiang Yuebai shook her head, summoning her Lotus Platform, eyebrows becoming tense while channeling the Five Elements Origin Qi into the Glazed Tower.

Rumbling!

The Lotus Platform Cave Heaven vibrated incessantly, the central Lotus Platform shrinking slightly, five rays of colorful light emanating from within.

The Glazed Tower leaped off the table like a starved beast, eagerly devouring the five rays of colorful light.

Jiang Yuebai sensed that her master’s Glazed Tower had some Spiritual Wisdom, no longer a mere Magic Treasure, indicating her master likely experienced a fortuitous encounter as well.

The Glazed Tower yearned to absorb more, but Jiang Yuebai swiftly retrieved her Lotus Platform, maintaining strict moderation.

At this moment, the Glazed Tower shone brilliantly with five-colored light. Lii Jiuchuan hurriedly retracted it into his body, visibly tense with difficulty enduring.

"Master, partition the Quiet Room; you can head inside for closed-door cultivation, while I rest outside."

Lii Jiuchuan did not refuse, knowing the Glazed Tower was undergoing a monumental change resembling the opening of chaos, requiring earnest secluded cultivation.

"Thank you for your effort."

The ship’s cabin Quiet Room was divided. Outside, Jiang Yuebai sat idly, studying the Artifact Refining Jade Scroll she obtained from the little rogue dog.