Li Yuan floated in absolute silence at a depth of thirty thousand meters.
Before starting his journey to the surface, he felt the need to understand the environment that had been his place of cultivation for four thousand years. With his consciousness now fully awake, Li Yuan began to spread the passive effects of his Ganjing realm.
A hundred-meter radius.
A safe distance for exploration without worrying that his passive effects would spread too far. Within that boundary, Li Yuan began a deep sensing of everything around him.
The Heart of the Planet
Warmth.
The first thing that surprised him was the temperature of the water. At a depth of thirty thousand meters—far deeper than any known ocean trench—the water felt slightly warm. Not a stinging heat, but a gentle, calming warmth.
This is close to the Earth's crust.
Li Yuan realized that he was at a very unique point on the planet. A depth that had never been reached by any living creature, a place where the layer of water met the geological foundation of the Earth itself.
The heat he felt came from the planet's core—primordial energy that was billions of years old, radiation from the beating heart of the Earth, still full of magma and incredible pressure.
This is the deepest point on Earth.
Through his Ganjing sensing, Li Yuan felt the geological structures beneath him. Rocks that had been compressed for eons, minerals that had formed under unimaginable pressure and temperature, layers of sediment that held the planet's very long history.
But what was most surprising was what he didn't find.
There are no living creatures at all.
Within his hundred-meter sensing radius, Li Yuan did not feel any life. No fish, no microorganisms, no form of life, no matter how small. Not even the bacteria or archaea that could usually live in extreme conditions were here.
Absolute biological silence.
This was different from the spiritual silence he sought in his cultivation. This was a silence of absence—a total absence of biological processes, of metabolism, of the growth and reproduction that usually filled every corner of the planet.
Maybe the pressure is too extreme.
Li Yuan considered the physical conditions at this depth. The water pressure at thirty thousand meters would crush even the most resilient forms of life. The combination with the warmth from the Earth's crust might create a truly hostile environment for all known forms of life.
Or maybe there's another reason.
Li Yuan expanded his sensing, trying to feel for any traces of life that might have existed in the past. Through his Memory Understanding, he tried to catch the resonance of creatures that might once have lived at this depth.
Nothing.
It was as if this place had always been a dead zone, an area that had never been touched by life since the Earth was formed.
And maybe that's why this place was perfect for cultivation.
Li Yuan began to understand why his intuition four thousand years ago had led him to this exact depth. It was no coincidence that he chose the most isolated place on the planet, a place that would not be disturbed by other life and would not disturb other life with the passive effects of his cultivation.
Like a natural cultivation chamber.
Here, Li Yuan could meditate for thousands of years without worrying about affecting an ecosystem or disturbing other creatures. His passive effects, which usually needed to be tightly wrapped, could be a little more relaxed because no one would be affected.
But it also means there's nothing I can learn from interacting with other life.
Li Yuan felt the pros and cons of this total isolation. On one hand, it provided perfect security and peace for internal exploration. On the other hand, it lost the opportunity to learn from the diversity of life that could enrich his understandings.
Maybe that's why cultivation can't be done in isolation alone.
The balance between solitude for introspection and interaction for growth is essential in spiritual development. Four thousand years of isolation had provided depth, but now it was time for breadth through re-engaging with the living world.
The Conversation with Water
Li Yuan used his Water Understanding in the Wenjing realm to communicate with the water consciousness around him.
"Have you ever carried life here?" he asked the water.
"Never," the water replied with a slightly sad tone. "This depth is too extreme. The warmth from below, the pressure from above, the isolation from life—all of it creates a barrier that biological existence cannot penetrate."
"But you can live here."
"We are not life in the same sense," the water answered. "We are a different consciousness—we don't need metabolism, we don't need reproduction, we don't need growth in a biological sense. We exist as awareness, not as organisms."
Li Yuan contemplated that difference. Water consciousness, like his own spiritual consciousness, could exist in conditions that were impossible for biological life. They operated on a different level of existence.
Like a spiritual realm that coexists with the physical realm but is not limited by its limitations.
Li Yuan extended his sensing further, trying to feel the unique characteristics of this extreme depth. The immense pressure had created a density of water that was almost like a solid. The warmth from the Earth's crust had created small currents that moved in a very slow and predictable pattern.
This is an environment that is stable in its extreme.
There was no variability, no surprise, no sudden change. Everything moved in a rhythm that had been established over geological timescales.
Perfect for long-term meditation, but lacking stimulation for dynamic growth.
Li Yuan began to understand that the choice to leave this depth and return to the surface was correct. He had gained what he could from extreme isolation. Now it was time to seek challenges and opportunities that could only be obtained from interaction with a diverse and dynamic environment.
But I will carry the memory of this peace.
The thirty-thousand-meter depth would always be a reference point for absolute tranquility in his consciousness. When he faced the chaos and complexity of the surface world, he could remember the profound silence that existed at the heart of the planet.
Li Yuan slowly began to move upwards, leaving behind the dead zone that had been a sanctuary for a profound transformation. The water around him moved to facilitate his ascent, creating a gentle but steady current.
"Thank you for the silence," Li Yuan whispered to the deep. "For the space to grow without distraction, for the stability to explore the deepest questions, for the isolation that taught me about the value of connection."
With gratitude for the extreme environment that had facilitated a spiritual breakthrough, Li Yuan began his journey toward the levels of life—where complexity and diversity awaited to provide different but equally valuable lessons.
The journey from depth to surface, from isolation to interaction, from contemplation to engagement, had begun.