In the valley of Fangzhang Immortal Island, Haotian merely glanced toward the Demon Clan's starry sky before withdrawing his gaze and closing his eyes again.
Kunpeng's breakthrough to the Mid Quasi-Saint realm was nothing more than a minor episode in the grand tides of the Primordial Wilderness to him.
After all, no matter how much the Demon Clan stirred things up, they could not threaten him. There was no need to pay them excessive attention.
His fingers formed another hand seal, and the Primordial Heart Sutra began to circulate.
Chaos Spiritual Energy surged into his body like a tide, slowly enveloping the massive core boulder of Fangzhang Immortal Island.
The earthy yellow spiritual radiance on the boulder gradually resonated with Haotian's aura. Spiritual Qi from every corner of the immortal island began gathering in the valley, forming a Spiritual Energy Vortex.
Jade Pool stood beside Haotian and summoned the Twelve-Petal Pure World White Lotus, shrouding him in the Purification Law to prevent outside auras from interfering with the refinement process.
Chaos Spiritual Energy circulated over the core boulder of Fangzhang Immortal Island.
As the final golden rune from Haotian's fingertips entered it, the boulder abruptly erupted with a gentle earthy yellow glow before slowly merging into his primordial spirit.
In an instant, the veins of the entire immortal island clearly appeared within Haotian's mind.
From the Innate Spiritual Veins winding through the depths underground to the growth of every spiritual herb on the surface, even the particles of Spiritual Qi drifting through the air seemed to obey his will.
With a thought, a spiritual spring somewhere on the island automatically gushed forth, nourishing the exotic flowers by its banks. With another thought, the rocks at the edge of the valley silently closed together, forming a natural barrier.
"It took over a thousand years, but I finally refined it completely." Haotian opened his eyes as the Space Law around him slowly receded.
Jade Pool leaned closer, her eyes full of delight. "Senior Brother, we can strengthen the defenses now, right? With the Enlightenment Tea Tree here, we cannot afford the slightest mistake."
Haotian nodded slightly. "Yes. This time, we'll set up a double-layered formation foundation. I'll combine the Space Law with the Green Lotus Banner's defenses to establish a maze formation."
"Once an enemy intrudes, they'll fall into a spatial loop and be unable to find the core valley."
"You can then use the Ren Water Spiritual Qi from the Four Seas Bottle to add a layer of water-cloud barrier outside it. It can conceal the immortal island's aura while also blocking surprise attacks."
As his words fell, Haotian raised a hand and summoned the Green Lotus Treasure Color Banner.
The banner unfurled, its green lotus patterns flowing through the air and giving off a faint purifying radiance.
Jade Pool immediately took out the Western Cloud Realm Banner, Ren Water Spiritual Qi surging around her.
Faint white cloud vapor drifted from the bottle, intertwining with the green spiritual radiance of the lotus banner.
Haotian formed the formation seals from the Primordial Heart Sutra, and countless light cyan Space Runes flew from his fingertips into the formation's central nodes.
He had created these runes by combining the Space Law with the Dao of formations. They were far more difficult to break than ordinary formation patterns of the Primordial Wilderness.
He also took out several grains of Nine Heavens Breathing Soil and scattered them at the formation's core.
The life force of the Breathing Soil instantly seeped into the formation foundation, making its somewhat thin formation patterns grow solid and weighty. The entire formation was finally complete.
As the formation activated, the green lotus patterns and white cloud vapor entwined into a double-layered barrier that enveloped all of Fangzhang Immortal Island.
The cloud vapor in the barrier's outer layer slowly flowed, completely concealing the immortal island within the East Sea.
Space Runes flickered in the inner layer. Anyone who touched it without permission would be swept into endless spatial corridors.
Jade Pool reached out and touched the barrier. A gentle defensive force flowed against her fingertips, and a faint smile appeared on her face.
Although this formation differed from that of Penglai Immortal Island in certain respects, it was not inferior to Penglai Immortal Island's in the slightest.
Moreover, like the grand formation of Penglai Immortal Island, it still had considerable room for improvement.
Once they had enough time in the future, they could slowly refine it further. For now, it was more than sufficient.
"Let's go, Junior Sister. The grand formation has been set up. We can take a look around now." Seeing Jade Pool's smile, Haotian spoke with a light chuckle.
Jade Pool nodded gently. Just as the two were preparing to properly explore Fangzhang Immortal Island—
A gentle voice suddenly rang out in their minds, carrying a familiar Dao Rhythm.
"Disciples Haotian and Jade Pool, return to Purple Cloud Palace first. Your master has matters to instruct you on."
It's Master! Both of them were startled. Haotian frowned slightly, then quickly understood.
The time for Purple Cloud Palace's third sermon was drawing closer. Master was likely preparing to merge with the Dao.
Although he knew that merging with the Dao would not pose any danger, the thought that they would no longer be able to meet as freely as they did now still brought a trace of sorrow to his heart.
But he quickly suppressed it and reached out to take Jade Pool's hand. "Let's go. Master has summoned us, so it must be important."
Though Jade Pool was puzzled, she obediently nodded.
Haotian took out the Purple Cloud Token bestowed by Hongjun and infused it with Spiritual Qi. The token bloomed with golden light, and a Space Fissure opened before them.
After passing through the fissure, the familiar sight of Purple Cloud Palace came into view. The high platform remained as before, Dao Rhythm filled the air, and Hongjun sat upon a cushion, looking at them warmly.
"Master!" The moment Jade Pool saw Hongjun, she immediately rushed over and clung to his sleeve like a spoiled child.
"Did you suddenly call us back because there's something fun to do?"
Hongjun smiled and stroked Jade Pool's hair before turning his gaze to Haotian. "No rush. Disciple, the hotpot you made last time was quite novel."
"Why not make some other mortal delicacies today? Your master would also like to try some different flavors."
"Yes, Master." Haotian agreed and took out various utensils from his Storage Spiritual Treasure.
There was a chopping board made from Chaos Spirit Wood, Jade Bottles containing Spiritual Fruit Sauce, Innate Spiritual Pepper powder, and various other Seasonings.
These were all ingredients he had prepared for cooking. He had just finished setting them out—
When Hongjun raised a hand and waved, two figures appeared out of thin air within the hall.
They were demon beasts that had only recently developed intelligence, their bodies wrapped in vast amounts of Karmic Debt.
"Such wretches are useless alive. They shall serve as ingredients."
A flash of golden light shot from Hongjun's fingertips, and the Mountain Demons instantly lost their breath, turning into two clean bodies of flesh.
Understanding his meaning, Haotian cleaned the bodies, chopped them into pieces, then took out syrup made from Spiritual Fruits and began making sweet and sour ribs.
He took another portion of the meat, added spiritual pepper powder and sauce, and began stewing Braised Pork.
A rich fragrance soon filled the hall, sweet and savory with a hint of spice, carrying a fuller depth than hotpot.
"It smells so good!" Jade Pool had long been unable to resist. Once Haotian brought the first plate of Braised Pork to the table, she picked up a piece with her jade chopsticks. It melted in her mouth.
The tenderness of the spiritual meat and the sweetness of the sauce spread across her tongue. Her eyes immediately lit up. "Senior Brother, this is even tastier than hotpot!"
Hongjun also picked up his jade chopsticks and slowly sampled a piece of sweet and sour ribs.
The clean sweetness of the syrup wrapped around the firm meat, adding a touch of worldly warmth to his state of mind that had long been immersed in Dao Rhythm.
He smiled and nodded. "Not bad. Though these delicacies provide no nourishment of Spiritual Qi, they carry the warmth of human life and can ease the dullness of one's Dao Heart. They are indeed rare."
Because the ingredients were plentiful, the meal lasted for several hundred years.
Only after all the ingredients had been eaten did Hongjun ask about Haotian's cultivation progress.
Haotian answered truthfully, "This disciple has already stabilized his cultivation at the peak of the Primordial Origin Golden Immortal realm."
"I am now trying to see whether I can touch the threshold of the Primordial Grand Unity Golden Immortal realm."
Before you continue