Haotian turned his gaze to a black stone stele beside the pool.

The stele stood three zhang tall, its surface entirely engraved with Chaos Runes—this was the core control stele of Penglai Immortal Island.

Only by refining this stele could one command the island's formations, spirit veins, and even mobilize its earth vein power to defend against enemies.

He walked up to the stele, extended his right hand, and pressed it against the surface.

The cultivation of a Late Golden Immortal of the Origin, along with the power of the Chaos Origin, slowly infused into it, his divine sense delving deep along the runes on the stele.

The stele trembled slightly, and the runes gradually lit up, establishing a connection with Haotian's divine sense.

He could clearly sense the island's earth vein layout, formation nodes, and even control the flow of spiritual energy upon it.

As millennia passed, the runes on the stele grew brighter and brighter, until finally they resonated fully with Haotian's divine sense.

At that moment of resonance, a wondrous sense of control surged through his entire body.

It was as if he had merged with the entire island—every inch of earth vein pulsing, every wisp of spiritual energy flowing, even the growth state of every spiritual herb, all vividly presented in his sea of consciousness.

"Conceal the island with a single thought." He moved his mind, his fingertips forming a simple hand seal.

The previously exposed Penglai Immortal Island was instantly shrouded in a layer of pale blue spatial barrier.

The barrier blended perfectly with the surrounding East Sea surface; unless deliberately probed, even a Golden Immortal of the Origin passing by would only take it for an ordinary stretch of sea.

Next, he shifted his intent, and the hidden Chaos Concealment Array on the island activated silently.

The array patterns merged into the sea mist, completely isolating the island's aura, suppressing even the fluctuations of its spirit veins to a minimum.

"To achieve such omniscience and omnipotence..." Haotian marveled inwardly, but did not indulge in this feeling of control.

He understood clearly that this was merely a temporary authority granted by the island's core, not the power of his own Great Dao; over-reliance would only hinder his cultivation progress.

He quickly composed himself, turned, and looked at Jade Pool beside him.

"Junior Sister, since we've taken control of the island, let's take a stroll and see what other treasures Penglai Immortal Island holds."

Jade Pool smiled and nodded, and the two walked side by side, strolling along the island's spirit stream.

The sights along the way drew frequent exclamations of wonder from Jade Pool. In the crevices of roadside rocks, spirit-light-glowing ores were embedded—fine materials for forging spiritual treasures.

On the ancient trees in the forest, crystalline spirit fruits often hung in sight.

Though not borne by an Innate Spiritual Root, they still contained pure spiritual energy.

Even the soil beneath their feet carried a faint innate aura, perfect for nurturing spiritual herbs.

What delighted them even more was the abundance of spiritual treasures.

As the two walked to various parts of the island, they would occasionally discover treasures.

These treasures came in sword forms, shield forms, jade pendant forms—a rough count put them at several hundred.

Haotian picked up a sword-shaped spiritual treasure, his fingertip brushing across the blade, sensing the law fluctuations within.

"Most of these are low-grade Innate Spiritual Treasures, a few are mid-grade, and those five over there are high-grade Innate Spiritual Treasures."

"Was the early Primordial Wilderness truly this bountiful?" Jade Pool picked up a jade pendant treasure, her eyes full of surprise—though she had seen many spiritual treasures while cultivating at Jade Capital Mountain, she had never encountered so many at once.

Haotian nodded, but inwardly he pondered.

The legacy of the Heaven-Opening had not yet dissipated, spirit veins were at their peak, so Innate Spiritual Treasures were naturally common.

But later, during the Witch-Demon Hegemony and the frequent kalpas, most of these treasures would be destroyed or lost.

In later ages, not to mention Innate Spiritual Treasures, even Houtian Spiritual Treasures would become rare.

His expression unchanged, he raised his hand and summoned a stream of Chaos Airflow, condensing it into a temporary treasure vault.

The vault was formed from Chaos Air, pitch-black all over, with a built-in defensive formation to prevent the leakage of treasure auras.

Together, the two gathered the treasures from the valley into the vault, one by one, then continued searching the island.

Every mature spiritual herb and exposed spiritual material—whether it was the Innate Vermilion Fruit for alchemy, the Chaos Refined Iron for forging treasures, or the Heavenly Pattern Stone for carving array patterns—was carefully collected into the vault.

As he gathered, Haotian calculated: "These spiritual materials and herbs will be useful for alchemy and artifact forging later."

"Stockpiling more will not only boost our own cultivation but also, when the Heavenly Court is established, serve as rewards for subordinates."

Just as they finished collecting the herbs from one spirit field, a peculiar fragrance drifted into their noses.

Haotian followed the scent and saw, in a corner of the field, several unremarkable herbaceous plants.

Some had serrated leaves tinged with pale green, others bore dark red fruits shaped like small granules, and still others had thick roots with brownish patterns.

These plants were not of high grade, yet Haotian's eyes suddenly lit up.

Because their appearance was almost identical to the Sichuan Peppercorn, Star Anise, cinnamon, and Bay Leaf seasonings from his past life on Earth!

He stepped forward, carefully plucked a serrated leaf, and placed it in his mouth, chewing lightly.

Spicy with a hint of numbing—it was exactly the taste of Sichuan Peppercorn!

He picked up another dark red fruit, crushed it, and sniffed—a rich aroma burst forth, identical to the scent of star anise.

"Real seasonings!" Haotian's heart surged with joy.

Having crossed over into the Primordial Wilderness for over ten thousand Yuanhui, he had hardly ever tasted proper food, aside from occasionally eating some Innate Spiritual Fruits.

Though spiritual fruits were refreshingly sweet, eating too many inevitably grew tiresome.

Now, with these seasonings in hand, he could recreate the delicacies of his past life—an immense delight for someone who had long yearned for the flavors of the mortal world.

"Senior Brother, what are you looking at?" Jade Pool, seeing him staring blankly at a few ordinary spiritual herbs, approached with curiosity.

Haotian smiled and waved her over, then plucked the other seasoning herbs as well.

"Junior Sister, look—these spiritual herbs may not be high in rank, but they are rare treasures."

He condensed a wisp of Chaotic Qi at his fingertip and casually shaped it into a dozen transparent spatial bottles.

The bottles, solidified from Chaotic Qi, contained their own internal space, capable of preserving items for a long time.

Then, he activated the techniques of the Primordial Heart Sutra, ground the Sichuan Peppercorn into a light red powder, and sealed it in one spatial bottle.

He broke the star anise and cinnamon bark into small pieces, storing each in separate bottles.

He also squeezed a ginger-like spiritual herb into a paste and poured it into a corked spatial bottle.

Soon, a dozen spatial bottles were filled with various seasonings, their rich fragrance spreading through the air.

Jade Pool couldn't help but wrinkle her little nose, staring at the bottles with curiosity. "So fragrant, Senior Brother—what is this?"

"Some seasonings that can make food taste even better."

Haotian put away the spatial bottles and said with a smile, "But I won't go into detail now. It's time for us to return to the Purple Firmament Palace."

"Counting the time, over seven thousand years have passed since we left. There are only a little over two thousand years left until Master's next lecture. It's time to go back."

"Go back?" Jade Pool paused, then seemed to remember something and nodded. "Alright, but what about these seasonings..."

"Once we're back, I'll make you hotpot." Haotian gave a mysterious smile. "I promise that once you've tasted it, you'll never forget that flavor."

Though Jade Pool didn't understand what hotpot was, she trusted Haotian's words without question.

Her senior brother never lied to her, and seeing his mysterious expression, this hotpot must be something incredibly delicious.

She nodded obediently and helped Haotian reinforce the formation of Penglai Immortal Island.

Haotian took charge of activating the core formation patterns, completely concealing the island within the mist of the East Sea.

Jade Pool, meanwhile, summoned the Pure World White Lotus, using its defensive laws to protect the island's perimeter, preventing the formation from being triggered accidentally.

Once the formation was set, the two stepped onto the Myriad Heavens Auspicious Cloud.

The cloud transformed into a streak of light, breaking through the surface of the East Sea, skimming over the mountains and rivers of the Primordial Wilderness, and racing toward the Purple Firmament Palace in the chaos.

Along the way, Jade Pool kept glancing at the spatial bottles in Haotian's hand, her eyes full of anticipation.

Haotian, meanwhile, was mentally planning how to refine a broth base from spiritual meat back home and pair it with the seasonings gathered from Penglai, determined to let his junior sister taste this time-spanning, delicious hotpot.

Perhaps feeling that the speed was still a bit slow, after spending several hundred years reaching the border of chaos, Haotian simply activated his token, and the two transformed into streaks of light, returning to the Purple Firmament Palace.