Ahaan, who had lost consciousness, lay on platform ,completely unaware as his body began to undergo subtle yet terrifying changes.
The talisman that had entered between his brows had already fused with his soul, and now this mysterious talisman was quietly controlling the destruction and rebirth of his body.
Though his mind had blacked out from the overwhelming pain, the agony still lingered on his small face—his brows tightly knitted, his jaw clenched, his expression twisted as if he were trapped in a living nightmare.
Inside his body, the true transformation began.
First, his bones started to crack. One after another, they shattered from within, as if invisible hammers were smashing them to dust. At the same time, new bones formed in their place. These new bones shone with a dark violet light, and along their surface countless golden ancient inscriptions slowly appeared, as though someone were carving them stroke by stroke.
His flesh, his muscles, every part of his body was being destroyed. Wherever something collapsed, a new, stronger form immediately grew in its place.
On the platform, Ahaan's unconscious body shivered violently. His entire frame trembled under that hell-like pain. Even in that unconscious state, his small hands curled into tight fists and his teeth ground together, as if he were desperately trying to endure the uncontrollable agony.
Slowly, after this terrifying cycle of breaking and rebuilding, his body began to reform completely.
But the body being rebuilt now was no longer the same as before.
Golden runes emerged one after another across his skin, flickering like tiny stars. A vast, ancient aura poured out from his body, spreading through the great hall. Ahaan, lying on the central platform, shone like a bright star in endless darkness. Under the pressure of that ancient aura, it felt as if the entire pagoda itself was bowing down before him.
His dreamy-colored hair glowed even more brilliantly, and his whole body radiated an intense light, as though he were being reborn from ashes.
Eventually, the transformation came to an end.
Ahaan lay on the platform, his breathing weak but steady. Then, without a sound, his figure slowly began to turn faint and transparent. Little by little, his body started to disappear from the platform.
At the same time, the entire pagoda dimension around him also began to change.
The enormous hall, the seven gates, the countless rooms and stone tablets—everything started to blur and twist. The vast space began to shrink, folding in on itself until it condensed into a single streak of light. That streak of light flew straight toward the center of Ahaan's brows.
The mysterious dimension compressed itself and entered into the talisman that had lodged between his brows and connected to his soul. The pagoda world completely merged into the talisman.
In the next instant—
Ahaan's body reappeared on the same large golden stone block on the mountainside where he had been sleeping the previous night, before he vanished.
Only now, the ancient pagoda dimension no longer existed outside. It was hidden within him—sealed inside the talisman between his brows.
---
Meanwhile, in Vrindavan Village, in the courtyard of Chief Mahendra's house, many people were seated. All of them were looking toward Chief Mahendra, who was immersed in meditation, quietly waiting for him to wake.
Not long after, Chief Mahendra slowly opened his eyes. Rising from his meditation platform, he looked at the group and spoke to the young man who seemed to be their leader.
"Aarav, did you find any trace of Ahaan?" Chief Mahendra asked.
Aarav, who had been watching the Chief, replied with a heavy expression, "I'm sorry, Chief. We didn't find any trace of Young Master."
Anxiety flashed across Chief Mahendra's old face. He shook his head slightly, sinking into his thoughts.
An old man sitting on a nearby chair had been watching everything in silence. When he saw the worry on Chief Mahendra's face, he slowly stood up. Anger burned in his eyes as he looked at Aarav and the others.
"With such a large group, and you still failed to notice that a child was secretly following you into the forest?" the old man said harshly. "You all call yourselves protectors of the village, yet you couldn't even sense a five-year-old boy behind you. Shame on all of you!"
Aarav, Deputy Leader Rohan, and the other members of the Beast Hunter group lowered their heads in shame.
Chief Mahendra, still tense, turned toward the old man and said, "Elder Ramphal, don't blame them too harshly. We cannot put all the responsibility on them. It was my mistake. I am the one who taught that naughty child concealment techniques. Of course they couldn't sense him easily. If anyone must be blamed, then blame me."
This old man was actually Chief Mahendra's close friend, and he was also the previous leader of the Beast Hunter group.
Chief Mahendra then turned his gaze toward the direction of the Northern Wilderness and said slowly, "Tonight, I will enter the forest myself to search for Ahaan. All of you must remain in the village. Guard the northern border well, and do not leave the village undefended."
Aarav, whose head had been bowed, suddenly raised it. With a respectful yet firm tone, he said, "Chief, our Beast Hunter group will definitely go with you to search for Young Master. He disappeared because of our carelessness. Please allow us to atone for this."
Hearing this, a trace of comfort appeared in Chief Mahendra's heart. But he still shook his head and said, "Aarav, you don't need to come. You must stay in the village and protect it from the beasts."
Aarav clenched his fists. "I'm sorry, Chief, but this time I cannot follow that order. Our Beast Hunter group will absolutely support you in searching for Young Master Ahaan."
He turned to his deputy. "Deputy Leader Rohan, you will remain in the village with Squad One and Squad Two. Guard the village and the northern boundary. I will accompany the Chief into the Ancient Forest."
Rohan nodded immediately. "Understood, Leader."
Chief Mahendra watched them silently for a moment. Finally, he sighed softly and said, "Very well. You may come with me. Elder Ramphal, you will also accompany us."
Elder Ramphal nodded in agreement, his expression still stern. The air in the courtyard grew heavy, filled with worry—for the missing child, and for the dangerous night that was approaching.
---
On Mount Meru, a child had been lying on a stone platform for a long time. Slowly, his eyelids trembled and began to open. His face was covered in sweat, as if he had just escaped from a terrible nightmare.
Ahaan woke from his unconscious state. Bit by bit, his awareness returned, and he looked around, slightly dazed.
Was everything I saw… just a dream? he wondered.
Before he could think further, he finally noticed his own body.
His skin had become fair and smooth, like icy jade. The dreamy colors in his hair and eyes had deepened, becoming even more striking than before. Ahaan felt as if his body had become lighter, yet at the same time filled with strength. His features looked clearer and more refined. His overall physical strength had increased, and his height had grown slightly.
Ahaan was shocked.
He glanced around. The white mist that had previously shrouded the eastern region of the mountain was now completely gone.
So… it wasn't a dream. The thought echoed again in his mind. Very soon, he understood that everything that had happened was real.
He sat down in the lotus position. To confirm his guess, he closed his eyes and began to meditate, focusing on his Sea of Soul.
His consciousness sank inward, and he entered his Sea of Soul.
Inside, he saw it clearly: an incredibly ancient and powerful talisman floating in the center of his soul sea. Even after seeing it with his own eyes, he was still slightly shocked by its presence.
Ahaan moved closer to the talisman and reached out. The moment his hand touched it, the talisman pulled him inside.
In the next instant, Ahaan found himself standing in a vast, pitch-black hall. Many small chambers were arranged around him like silent sentinels.
He soon arrived before the first chamber. As he approached, the door slowly opened on its own.
When Ahaan stepped inside, he saw a stone tablet floating in the air. As he walked up to it, his gaze fell on the ancient inscriptions carved on its surface. He reached out and touched the tablet.
The stone tablet immediately began to shine with bright light.
In that moment, a stream of information rushed into his mind.
Ahaan felt as if his head would explode from the pain and the overwhelming flood of knowledge. His brain throbbed violently, but he endured it. After some time, the transmission finally ended.
When it was over, Ahaan was expelled from the talisman and returned to his Sea of Soul, and then to his normal consciousness. Sitting once again on the stone platform, he focused on the information imprinted in his mind.
He saw the title of the technique:
Ancient Vital Essence Purifying Technique.
It was a cultivation technique.
Ahaan had heard about cultivation arts from his grandfather. He knew that cultivation arts were extremely important for any cultivator. The higher the rank of the cultivation art, the more precisely and efficiently a cultivator could gather and refine Qi within their body.
Cultivation arts and battle skills were divided into ranks:
Foundation Rank, Profound Rank, Spirit Rank, Earth Rank, Immortal Rank, Heaven Rank, and Divine Rank.
Ahaan was sure that the technique he had obtained from the talisman must be of a very high rank. He clearly understood how ancient and mysterious this talisman was, so the techniques inside it definitely could not be ordinary. However, he still did not know its exact rank.
Even so, he was extremely excited. His long-cherished dream was finally about to begin.
He had always dreamed of the day he would start cultivating. He had always hoped that his grandfather would one day allow him to cultivate. But no matter how much he begged, his grandfather had always refused.
Now, fate had given him another path.
Taking a deep breath, Ahaan carefully went through the Ancient Vital Essence Purifying Technique in his mind. Then, following its instructions, he began to circulate the Spiritual Qi—Hiranya Qi—around him.
---
In this world, cultivation realms were divided into three great categories:
Mortal Realms → Immortal Realms → Divine Realms.
The Mortal Realms consisted of:
1. Body Tempering Realm
2. Qi Condensation Realm
3. Spiritual Platform Realm
4. Golden Core Formation Realm
5. Soul Refinement Realm
6. Nascent Soul Realm
After these came the Immortal Realms.
Between each major realm, there were a total of nine stages, and each stage was divided into four minor levels: Low, Middle, High, and Peak.
The Body Tempering Realm itself was divided into nine stages:
1. Juxi
2. Meridian Opening
3. Chakra Awakening
4. Pigu Purification
5. Dingli Consolidation
6. Pixue Cleansing
7. Tongxuan Realm
8. Zongshi Refinement
9. Zhizun Perfection
Ahaan, fully immersed in cultivation, began his first serious attempt.
Time passed unknowingly. After four hours of cultivation, Ahaan had already reached the Juxi Stage.
In the Juxi Stage, cultivators mainly purified their blood and meridians and learned how to properly circulate Qi.
But Ahaan did not stop there.
Lost in his cultivation state, he continued to circulate Qi according to the technique. Soon, he broke through to the second stage, Meridian Opening. Still, he did not stop. After some more time, he reached the Peak of the third stage, Chakra Awakening.
Only then did he withdraw from cultivation.
Ahaan slowly opened his eyes. He had no idea how much time had passed since he started, but he could clearly feel the changes inside his body.
He discovered that all 108 meridians and his seven chakras were slightly different from those of ordinary cultivators. They felt broader, tougher, and more active. His cultivation speed was clearly far faster than normal.
He was stunned.
He had seen cultivators in his village spend months just to break through a single stage of Body Tempering. Yet he had advanced through three stages in only a few hours. If this news were to spread, many cultivators would be shocked to death—and the fact that all of this had been done by a five-year-old child would be even more terrifying.
Ahaan realized that this was definitely related to the talisman and the changes it had brought to his body.
His shocked expression slowly turned into pure joy. He almost wanted to jump up and shout.
But he forced himself to calm down.
Ahaan knew he absolutely could not tell anyone about this—not even his grandfather. He had heard many stories about gods and immortals killing each other just to obtain an ancient treasure. If his secret were exposed, powerful cultivators might come for him, and they would kill him without hesitation.
He thought it through carefully and decided to bury this secret deep in his heart.
He also noticed that the amount of Qi in his body was much greater than that of normal cultivators at the same stage. Rank 1 beasts, which had been a terrifying threat to him just yesterday, now seemed like nothing. With his current physical strength alone, he was confident he could kill a Rank 1 beast.
Ahaan felt incomparably happy.
Normally, even most Body Tempering Realm cultivators at the third stage would not be able to do such a thing. In this, Ahaan was a true exception.