Yingzhou was one of three stones which once floated amongst the Chaos Sea. When Pangu opened the Primitive World, these three stones fell into the infant Primitive World. In the process they transformed into three celestial mountains, constantly roaming the oceans of the primitive world.
Penglei, Yingzhou, Fangzhang, all of them impossible to track, outside of the Heavenly Dao but exist within it. Each island possessed their own secrets, which would make even the richest of cultivators salivate. Each mountain was also an incredible treasure in and of themselves.
Due to its immense power, Da Hai stayed on Yingzhou for many years, refining the mountain until it belonged to him completely. He had long conquered the unique naturally-forming formation on the island which produced fierce illusions.
The mental test had allowed his dao-heart to be strengthened beyond his previous resolve. Bit by bit Yingzhou submitted. The mountain and the Fusang tree eventually accepted Da Hai as their master.
With the refinement in process, Da Hai could already steer the island. Within the central area of the East Sea where his former resting place lay, the Celestial Mountain appeared.
Upon the mountain, surrounding the Fusang tree, an enormous palace was constructed using the ambient primordial Qi. Da Hai did not want his home to look shabby. Having been to the Pangu Temple, he used the aesthetic he'd observed there to create a palace of his own.
What resulted was many kilometres in size, with a giant main hall decorated in blue, silver, gold, and green. Statues of sea life were present alongside pillars holding up the ceiling which depicted a lotus pond. An elevated platform several kilometres long was built within the main hall, taking up half the available space. A soft set of cushions lay there, the personal seat of Da Hai.
Tens of thousands of years later, the process was finally done. Da Hai's control over Yingzhou became absolute. He rested in his true form within the palace, sleeping. He felt that although Yingzhou was peaceful, it lacked any inhabitants other than himself.
It was a shame, as he rather liked commotion. Da Hai looked out towards the East Sea. He'd spend thousands of years in seclusion and now he decided to catch up on the news.
Da Hai had not interfered with the East Sea since the end of the Shenni War. Thousands of years later, many from the older generation of immortals had finally died of old age.
Despite what the name will have you believe, immortals weren't eternal. Prior to the Golden Immortal realm, all beings lacked the Dao fruit which bestowed longevity, their lifespan is ultimately finite.
The maximum lifespan of any creature is a single Yuanhui, and that is assuming they reached the apex of Heavenly Immortal level, with two crowns formed and the seed of the third laid. Such geniuses were truly rare among the innate creatures.
Thus far, only their chieftains and mighty warriors of the various tribes had reached the Heavenly Immortal realm. Many immortals getting on in the years had sadly passed away. Da Hai wondered if those crabs living on his lotus all those years ago were still alive.
The East Sea wasn't different from the rest of the world. It was not without conflict. Various sea tribes vied for dominance on the ocean floor, causing several wars. Some tribes had even gone into a succession crisis when their leader died, resulting in civil wars.
An example of the latter was surprisingly in the Sea Turtle clan who were known for their cowardly temperament. The Boiling Crab clan had also invaded deep into Chill Song Dolphin clan's territory while they in turn called for their ally, the Colossal Shark clan to help out.
It wasn't an ideal time to be alive, Da Hai had noticed. The East Sea had no true leader to govern them like the West Continent. In fact none of the other regions had true leaders.
Hongjun was too exalted for that role. The North Continent was in shambles. The South was an enormous gathering of innate creatures far surpassing any other region. With a majority of innate gods dead, the geopolitical landscape was quite diverse with the numerous innate creature tribes.
In fact it was wrong to call them innate anymore. Many of them had experienced natural births and were now classified as post-natal creatures. Da Hai could see young children playing around.
It was a rather odd sight. He observed a crab family, where the mother was a True Immortal elder of the clan while the father had yet to transcend his tribulation. However due to their high cultivation they had obtained Dao bodies (human forms). Their children, with little cultivation, were little crabs running around.
Da Hai narrowed his eyes. Although a lot of breeding was going on, he noticed an issue. There were a lot of mortal creatures below the Immortal realm who were not cultivating.
Da Hai lowered his heads and divined the truth. It turned out that they didn't know how to cultivate. A few tribes had invented rudimentary exercises but they were ineffective and could only raise their cultivation slightly.
Mortal cultivation was not like immortal cultivation. Cultivation for Immortals was simple, they illuminated themselves into Dao, the workings of the universe naturally. From there they merge the five elements, birth the three splendours, rip themselves out of the river of destiny, form the primal unity, and create the Dao fruit.
The key factor was Dao. Mortals lacked the intimate connection to Dao that immortals possessed. As such mortals must forge their bodies and souls into immortal ones. They'd also need to condense essence, the nascent soul and the pure understanding into the workings of the universe, the Dao.
For many postnatal lifeforms, they were born with a nascent soul already formed. This meant that in theory, they could cultivate further albeit clumsily. However, some were born without one, some even without any cultivation at all.
Hence these tribes pushed for the development of techniques, methods to cultivate further. Da Hai frowned, he was a native of the ocean and the fact that they were struggling didn't quite sit well with him.
He did not mind conflict, those drove progress and had very little to do with him. He was not the peace loving benevolent guru who wished for salvation upon all beings. He was empathetic but ultimately selfish person. However Da Hai could sense them crying out at their unfortunate fates of not being born immortal and the curse of short mortal lives. Such tears touched his heart, made him compelled to lend aid.
"Inhabitants of the East Seas, I am Da Hai of Yingzhou. I have revealed the location of my home to you. I will be holding a sermon a thousand years from now. Whatever you gain from it is up to you," he announced.
The reason he picked a thousand year was due to the sheer size of the East Sea. These living beings were not like him, they couldn't cover vast distances in little time. They had to travel for a long time.
Even for those who are immortal, this trip could take centuries under the current climate. Sea creatures have a natural affinity to water and hence superior swimming speed compared to their flying speed. Since Da Hai was in the ocean, they could reach him much faster.
"Those words, this is the great immortal," an elderly sea cucumber exclaimed. An elderly stingray beside him was also jumping in excitement.
These two were lucky to be born at the Immortal realm due to their nature as those of the second generation. It seemed that cultivation affected the power of their children. The first generations produced True Immortal children, they in turn produced children who weren't immortals, and so on.
They quickly rounded up their families and sped for Yingzhou.
Across the East Sea, Da Hai's announcement was heard everywhere. Many clans were excited, they halted their wars and immediately headed for Yingzhou.
Above the ocean water, at the centre of the East Sea sat Yingzhou. This celestial mountain was hidden from the world by a veil of illusions. However, since Da Hai announced its location, many creatures knew where to look.
Over the years, vast schools of fish swam towards the central area of the sea. Troops of shrimps, manatees, stingray, sharks, whales, turtles. Even the elusive Mosasaur clan had made an appearance along with their rivals, the Plesiosaur clan.
'With the Great One's insight, I can surely promote to the legendary Golden Immortal realm,' this thought was shared by both ancient patriarchs of the Mosasaur and Plesiosaur.
As more and more tribes sent their members, news also leaked into other oceans. In the fourth century of Da Hai's announcement, the South Sea and what little remained of the North Sea caught wind of the lecture.
Instantly, the sea clans of those areas made a mad dash to hopefully arrive before the deadline. Even the avian clans who lived by the sea were interested and hurried to Yingzhou.
Hundreds of years later, a large gathering of Heavenly Immortals, Profound Immortals, and True Immortals found their way to the heart of the East Sea. Giant birds, insects, and pterosaurs had arrived as well.
"Where is it? Where is Yingzhou?" a nervous dolphin called out, "Were we lied to?" Some had similar sentiments while others glared at him for fear of insulting the Great One.
After a few more days of restlessness, the thousand year deadline arrived. On the dawn of the 1001st year, mystical transparent clouds emerged from the centre of the ocean. A rumbling sound was heard, driving the creatures back in alarm.
Yingzhou appeared out of the sea. Da Hai who sat at the heart of his palace called out, "As promised, the lecture will begin soon, make your way to my palace and I shall proceed."
Excitedly, the army of cultivators raced towards Yingzhou. Many took human form due to the ease in sensing Dao laws. Others who were unable to, remained in their natural forms, flying through the air.
They were all mesmerised by the environment of Yingzhou. The Qi here was so dense that it felt intoxicating. Many of them even felt woozy. Unknown to them, Da Hai was personally restricting the primordial Qi of this place. This was because the purity of Qi in Yingzhou would have overloaded the cultivation bases of weaker cultivators otherwise. Those beneath the True Immortal realm would have likely exploded.
Da Hai prepared some notes on his scales. Picking them out, he practiced a little while waiting for the rest to arrive. He needed to take care when lecturing, as these creatures were much, much weaker than him. He could easily destroy their minds and drive them insane by accident while talking about the profundities of the Dao.
Of course this only applied to the various mortal creatures. Da Hai read the flash cards again, some described his insight into the Dao, others described the foundation that needed to be forged for the crossing the immortal tribulation. All of them were important tidbits and notes relating to cultivation.
Gradually, his true form disappeared leaving a giant version of his human form. He looked much older than before, appearing to be in his mid-twenties with a short goatee pointing down like an arrow. His hair was loose and flowing freely in the air. He sat above the 12 Petals White, looking like a majestic deity.
Da Hai's eyes glowed with Dao-essence, his aura became unfathomable. This was all done to keep up appearance, of course. It would be really embarrassing if they all found him lazily lying down on cushions.
The various creatures were appropriately awed when they arrived inside the great hall. They all bowed to Da Hai.
"Greetings, Great One. Congratulations on your victory," they announced.
"Please be seated," Da Hai said calmly.
Then, hundreds of thousands of cultivators sat down, filling the great hall to the brim. Of course many more were stuck outside due to the sea of people already inside the hall. Many of those outside were mortals. Seeing this Da Hai projected his voice.
"My sermon is open to all who have come. I shall first explain the foundations of the mortal realm to those struggling with cultivation. However, my sermon on the Dao will be fatal to those unprepared. As such, only those who have formed their Nascent Soul may listen to it. If you have formed your Nascent Soul during my first lecture, then you may also listen with them," he said.
The many cultivators nodded, this seemed fair to them. Though many selfish individuals were a little impatient, they wanted to improve to the Golden Immortal realm, not listen to teachings for lesser creatures.But no one was foolish enough to protest.
"From the beginning of creation, living beings have existed. From mighty chaos godfiends of the Chaos Sea, to innate gods of the Primitive World. All those born innately are Xiantian lifeforms. Born of the world, with cultivation and a deep understanding of the Dao."
"For those below, you are considered mortal. Post-natal lifeforms with flesh made of the five elements. Your foundation is shaky and unstable, some may even lack the ability to channel Qi."
"On the road of cultivation for mortals, you must first open the meridians of the body. These meridians are connected by Qi vessels in your innards. You should first detect the natural Qi of the world, breathing in the Qi, and learn to circulate the Qi. I'm sure many of you have already discovered this."
"Twelve Prime Meridians exist within all living beings, followed by eight Extraordinary Meridians. However, only twelve are necessary to open the Qi sea. In the process, you will open the upper dantian, the third eye which detects the spiritual energy of the world, the middle dantian, the heart which allows for storage of Qi within the body, and finally the lower dantian, where you will open the Qi sea which will serve as the foundation of cultivation."
On and on, Da Hai explained his knowledge of the mortal foundational realms. As he explained, people practised along with his words. Eventually, they began breaking through in their cultivation.