The Guardian Arrives

Meng Chen did not immediately refine the Innate Spiritual Root. He wanted to wait for his Guardian to arrive.

Before coming to Kunlun Mountain, Meng Chen had already discussed it with Divine Lord Meng Zhang. Once he successfully joined the Chan Sect, Divine Lord Meng Zhang would send Meng Chen's Guardian over.

Even within the Chan Sect, Meng Chen still needed a Guardian. This would be even more necessary once that old scheming bastard Ran Deng joined the sect. Meng Chen had been spoiled by Divine Lord Meng Zhang, and his temper was not the best. He was unwilling to bow his head to Daoist Ran Deng.

However, Daoist Ran Deng was a Primordial Saint and had entered the Purple Cloud Palace. By the time he joined the Chan Sect, he already possessed the cultivation of a Great Luo Golden Immortal. Meng Chen would not be able to catch up to Daoist Ran Deng overnight.

Therefore, he needed to summon his Guardian.

With a Guardian present, Meng Chen would not need to lower his head to Daoist Ran Deng even when Yuanshi Tianzun was not around.

Meng Chen set up an incense table, lit a stick of prayer incense, and bowed toward the Eastern Lands. "Father, your son has successfully become Master Yuanshi's disciple. Please immediately send Azure Dragon Lord Cangwu here to help your son gain a foothold in the Chan Sect."

Not to mention that Meng Chen carried Divine Lord Meng Zhang's blood and was connected to him by bloodline. Even if he had merely been an ordinary person, as long as he invoked Divine Lord Meng Zhang's name in his heart, Divine Lord Meng Zhang would sense it.

With that bow, Divine Lord Meng Zhang, far away in the Eastern Celestial Pole, immediately "saw" Meng Chen's current situation.

The Eastern Celestial Pole was filled with forests of Divine Trees, every corner suffused with innate Dao rhythms. Many Dragon Clan members dwelled among the Divine Trees. Azure Dragons drifted through the void, periodically breathing out dragon breath to help the trees grow.

Some of these Azure Dragons had been plants that cultivated until they transformed into dragons. Some had formed from the spiritual essence of the Eastern Celestial Pole, while others had taken shape from the Calamity Fate of the Eastern Celestial Pole...

At the end of the day, the Azure Dragon Lineage and the Primordial Dragon Lineage merely looked alike and had both been granted the title of dragon by heaven and earth. In truth, the Azure Dragon Lineage and the Primordial Dragon Lineage could not even be considered the same race.

At the center of the Eastern Celestial Pole stood an incomparably enormous Innate Spiritual Root—the Azure Sky Divine Tree.

The Azure Sky Divine Tree was entirely verdant blue-green. Every leaf was a continent, every branch a starfield. The entire tree stretched between heaven and earth; it was practically a tree of the universe, a tree of worlds.

At the heart of the Azure Sky Divine Tree sat a middle-aged Daoist in a blue-green robe. His face was resolute, his features sharply defined, and endless majesty radiated from his expression. Above the heavens, he stood higher than heaven itself; below the seas, he was greater than the sea, as though he were the ruler of the world.

This man was Meng Chen's father, the master of the Eastern Celestial Pole, Divine Lord Meng Zhang, foremost among the Four Primordial Spirits.

After Meng Chen burned incense and prayed to him, he immediately received the message sent by his son. Learning that Meng Chen had successfully entered the Chan Sect, Divine Lord Meng Zhang revealed a gratified smile as well.

The status of a Sage's Disciple carried considerable weight. With Yuanshi Tianzun as his backer, Meng Chen would face virtually no obstacles in inheriting the position of Azure Dragon Divine Lord.

"Where is Cangwu?"

As Divine Lord Meng Zhang spoke, the Great Dao Laws of the entire Eastern Celestial Pole churned without end. Following Divine Lord Meng Zhang's will, they instantly carried his voice through every time and space in the Eastern Celestial Pole.

Roar!

A dragon's roar shattered the nine heavens. The previously clear sky was shrouded in auspicious clouds, and boundless dragon might seeped out from the rolling sea of clouds. A dazzling azure light exploded within them, revealing an Azure Dragon that blanketed the firmament and suppressed all heavens above Divine Lord Meng Zhang's head.

The Azure Dragon spiraled through the void, sweeping across endless time and space and pushing layers upon layers of space away like waves. Then, it transformed into a young Daoist in a dark robe. The young Daoist had a face like polished jade and long, glossy black hair, but his eyes were filled with the vicissitudes of countless years. He was Azure Dragon Lord Cangwu.

The dragons of the Azure Dragon Lineage all tended to look young, even those Dragon Clan elders who had been born during the Beast Calamity.

"Greetings, Divine Lord!"

Divine Lord Meng Zhang did not look at Azure Dragon Lord Cangwu. Instead, he turned away, clasped his hands behind his back, and instructed, "The Crown Prince has successfully become the disciple of fellow Daoist Yuanshi. Go to Kunlun Mountain and obey the Crown Prince's commands."

Upon hearing this, Azure Dragon Lord Cangwu's face lit up with joy. "For the Crown Prince to become a Sage's Disciple is a blessing for our Dragon Clan. Rest assured, Divine Lord. I will certainly assist the Crown Prince well and help him attain the Great Dao at an early date."

"Mm, go. From this day onward, you are this lord's disciple."

Divine Lord Meng Zhang spoke.

Azure Dragon Lord Cangwu's eyes filled with disbelief. Only after a moment did he react, and he became as excited as though he had been injected with adrenaline.

"Thank you, Master!"

Without Divine Lord Meng Zhang's cultivation, he could never have reached the realm of Hunyuan Golden Immortal. Yet even after becoming a Hunyuan Golden Immortal, he still could not be considered Divine Lord Meng Zhang's disciple.

But now, Divine Lord Meng Zhang had accepted him into his lineage. To him, this was an immense honor.

If before, he had been going to Kunlun Mountain to help the Crown Prince of the Azure Dragon Lineage, now he would be helping his own junior brother.

The status of junior brother was surely more valuable than that of Crown Prince. A Crown Prince was merely a superior, while a junior brother was family. The two could not be compared at all.

Within the Boundless Tree Sea, Meng Chen quietly waited for his Guardian's arrival. He was in no rush. He was an immortal, with endless time and endless life to wait.

The Primordial Wilderness was simply too vast, millions upon millions of times more immense than the starry sky above. Between the Eastern Celestial Pole and the Primordial Wilderness continent lay the Abyss of Ending Law, where Daoist arts were forbidden. Even a Hunyuan Golden Immortal could not arrive the moment he set out.

Cultivation required patience. Those without patience were destined to achieve nothing.

One day, two days, three days...

Three days later, the skies above the Boundless Tree Sea finally began to shift, clouds gathering and dispersing. Meng Chen knew that his Guardian had arrived.

Whoosh!

A streak of azure light plunged down and landed before Meng Chen. Then, Azure Dragon Lord Cangwu's figure emerged from the light.

"Cangwu greets the Crown Prince!"

The moment Azure Dragon Lord Cangwu appeared, he bowed to Meng Chen.

Although Meng Chen had not been born long ago, he still knew Azure Dragon Lord Cangwu. Azure Dragon Lord Cangwu was one of the Four Dragon Lords under Divine Lord Meng Zhang, an old Dragon Clan minister who had survived the Beast Calamity and the Dragon-Han Initial Tribulation alongside Divine Lord Meng Zhang.

"I will be troubling you from now on, Senior."

Meng Chen hurriedly returned the bow.

Before a Hunyuan Golden Immortal, he did not dare put on airs. Whether in seniority or prestige within the Dragon Clan, he was far inferior to Azure Dragon Lord Cangwu.

Azure Dragon Lord Cangwu smiled. "Junior Brother, you are too polite. I have now entered Master's lineage. Protecting Junior Brother is my duty."

Azure Dragon Lord Cangwu could not wait to reveal that Divine Lord Meng Zhang had accepted him as a disciple. He had waited far too long for this day.

"Really? Then congratulations, Senior Brother!"

Meng Chen's eyes filled with delight as he offered his sincere congratulations.

In the Primordial World, the most reliable relationship was that between master and disciple. The saying that master and disciple were like father and son was no empty phrase.

After the two exchanged pleasantries for a while and confirmed their relationship as fellow disciples, Meng Chen finally said, "Junior Brother intends to refine an Innate Spiritual Root. I will trouble Senior Brother to stand guard for me."

Azure Dragon Lord Cangwu's expression turned solemn. "Junior Brother, rest assured. Senior Brother will not allow anyone to disturb you."

With his Guardian present, Meng Chen could finally set his mind at ease and focus wholeheartedly on refining the Innate Spiritual Root.