Lingering Fear

As Di Kun descended the mountain, his mind churned like a stormy sea. What he had seen and heard in his previous life, and what he had experienced in this one, intertwined like tangled threads, leaving him with the feeling of seeing flowers through fog—unclear and uncertain. After all, Di Kun was not one of the Chaos Gods and Demons, nor had he yet reached their heights. His understanding of many matters was like glimpsing a leopard through a tube: fragmentary and superficial. What was the truth behind Pangu Opens the Heavens? Why had the Chaos Gods and Demons sought to stop Pangu Opens the Heavens?

After all, the history of later generations was like a mirror carefully polished by the victors. Did it conceal secrets unknown to others? Were his guesses correct? How should he walk the road ahead? Too many questions shrouded Di Kun's heart like fog, without answers.

Yet for now, he could only feel his way forward like a blind man touching an elephant, taking one step at a time. Fortunately, this insight was like a golden key, allowing Di Kun to break free from the prison of his past-life notions and see a far broader world. Otherwise, he might have remained trapped in this whirlpool of thought, only to end up plotting until all came to nothing.

Di Kun shook his head hard, as though trying to fling away those stray thoughts like irritating flies. There was no use thinking too much now. Besides, he had come to Mount Zhou for the sake of his own plans, for this concerned the Great Dao of Di Kun and the others. He gradually slowed his pace and, like a devout believer, began communicating with the Earth Vein nodes one by one, preparing to complete what remained unfinished.

During this process, Di Kun also gradually stopped pouring all his attention into the Earth Veins. Instead, like a curious child, he began contemplating heaven, earth, and nature, examining this world from an entirely new perspective. His understanding underwent a complete transformation. Before he knew it, Di Kun's Dao charm surfaced like ripples, spreading into the surroundings. In this process, he seemed able to see the laws between heaven and earth flowing like a murmuring stream. He also sensed that, in certain places, the laws had become tangled like a mess of hemp, even obstructing the evolution of heaven and earth.

Unconsciously, Di Kun used the Earth Veins connected to him to alter those places, making them fit heaven and earth more closely, like finely carved jade. He even had a subconscious sense that these altered areas had become more pleasant and harmonious, like flowers bathed in a spring breeze.

As he communicated with the Earth Veins and borrowed their power to change what he deemed unreasonable, Di Kun advanced about a third of the way before the space between his brows suddenly trembled, jolting him awake from his insight.

After awakening, Di Kun did not take any action. Instead, he stood where he was and carefully reflected on the realizations from this cultivation session. This situation was unusual. In the past, he had always focused on the Earth Vein nodes and had instead neglected the Mountains and Rivers, causing Di Kun and the others to miss the changes occurring there.

As Di Kun carefully pondered, his expression became somewhat dazed and strange. He scratched his head. "I have always wrestled with the Earth Veins, yet I never knew such creation existed among these Mountains and Rivers! It rather resembles the feng shui I heard of in my previous life. Could it be that I have narrowed my own path?"

Di Kun silently pondered, I spread the Earthly Dao throughout the world. I should have focused on communicating with the Earth Veins, changing the environment, and influencing heaven and earth with my own Dao. Yet I neglected the effects upon heaven and earth themselves. If I ultimately caused the natural circulation of heaven and earth to become obstructed, would I not, as the Ancestor of the Earth Dao, bear an immense burden of Causality?

At this thought, Di Kun felt as though he had fallen into an ice cellar, cold sweat streaming down his body. Fortunately, the Earthly Dao had not been spread for long, and the Ferocious Beast Tribulation had arrived, leaving everyone with no time to cultivate. Otherwise, it might truly have been too late for regret! By then, let alone seeking transcendence, it would already have been a blessing if he did not perish under the backlash of heaven and earth's Causality!

"Indeed, I was too presumptuous. I knew only one side of the matter and not the other, which led to this outcome. Fortunately, I awakened quickly this time and have not yet caused a grave mistake. Otherwise, the consequences would have been unimaginable! Moreover, my own Dao is still incomplete, even overly one-sided. I only knew that the Earthly Dao existed beneath the land, yet never deeply considered that the land itself was also part of it. The Earthly Dao nurtures all living beings and buries all living beings—this is the true nature of the Earthly Dao! Had it not been for this unexpected gain, I fear even my seat as the Ancestor of the Earth Dao could only have been handed over to another!"

Di Kun sighed inwardly, lingering fear rising in his heart. This disaster has turned into a blessing. If this had not allowed me to see clearly, and I had continued down the old road, then let alone attaining Mythical Grand Unity, it would have been a blessing just to achieve a Grand Unity Dao Fruit! If I only awakened to this realization then, who knew how much time I would have wasted? After all, a Grand Unity Dao Fruit is one's own Dao. If I discovered my errors only after achieving the Dao, I would likely have no choice but to dissolve into the Dao or press onward stubbornly. If even I believed my own Dao was wrong, my Dao heart would shatter, and there would likely be no possibility of further progress.

Slowly and carefully, Di Kun exhaled a mouthful of Turbid Qi, as though releasing all the tension and fear in his heart along with it. He silently rejoiced that he had escaped disaster, but he also warned himself that, when walking this vast land in the future, he had to observe more carefully and comprehend more deeply. This experience had taught him that even the most insignificant detail might conceal tremendous danger.

Thinking back on all he had experienced since coming to this world, Di Kun could not help feeling a wave of lingering fear. He had always lived in a state of anxiety, terrified that one careless misstep would cause him to vanish without rhyme or reason. It was precisely because of this that, when he thought of hiding within the Earth Veins, he had chosen this place without hesitation.

Moreover, the various speculations and discussions by netizens in his previous life about the Primordial Wilderness, along with the descriptions of Earth Veins, water veins, and the like in many novels, had all led Di Kun to believe that the Earthly Dao was relatively safe. He had even once believed that sorting out Earth Veins and water veins was something beneficial to heaven and earth. Yet it was precisely these subconscious notions that had nearly placed him in mortal danger.

Di Kun shook his head and stopped thinking about those frightening matters. After all, it was not too late yet. He still had a chance to make up for his mistakes. The urgent matter was to determine what exactly had caused the disturbance between his brows.

Di Kun closed his eyes and focused his mind, following the faint disturbance between his brows to sense the direction it indicated. Gradually, he seemed to catch some subtle clues. He then slowly stepped forward and headed in that direction.

With every step he took, the disturbance between his brows grew increasingly intense, as though something important was waiting for him to discover it.

He did not know how long he walked. Di Kun only felt as though he had crossed endless darkness and void. Finally, he sensed that something ahead seemed to be blocking his path. He slowly opened his eyes, focused his gaze, and could not help sucking in a sharp breath—in front of him stood an enormous and mysterious Innate Formation!

This Innate Formation emitted a powerful aura that made his heart tremble. Its energy fluctuations surged outward without end like raging waves. Di Kun stared at the formation, unprecedented shock rising in his heart. He discovered that this Innate Formation was far more powerful than any he had encountered before. The Creation Qi permeating it was so dense that it nearly condensed into substance, shrouding the entire formation like thick clouds and mist.

A thought suddenly flashed through Di Kun's mind, and he immediately thought of the Twenty-Fourth Grade Primordial Jade Lotus within Mount Zhou. That was a legendary Innate Spiritual Root, possessing endless Creation Dao charm. If such a powerful Innate Spiritual Root were not present, this Innate Formation likely would not contain such dense Creation Dao charm!

This discovery delighted Di Kun. Although he still did not know why this Innate Formation had appeared here, there was no doubt that it was an exceedingly rare stroke of fortune for him. Even if he could not take the Twenty-Fourth Grade Primordial Jade Lotus away, as long as he could comprehend this Innate Formation and further contemplate the jade lotus itself, it would surely provide immense help to Di Kun's cultivation.

Thinking this, Di Kun closed his eyes without hesitation, calmed his heart, and focused entirely on comprehending this Innate Creation Array. His mind gradually immersed itself within it, sensing the fine strands of Creation Dao charm in the array, as though he had entered a world filled with mysteries and profound wonders.

Setting everything else aside, just the things Zhou Jun had done deep within the Earth Veins would likely yield twice the result with half the effort if he had the aid of this great array! Di Kun silently pondered, his anticipation for this Innate Formation growing ever stronger.