After Li Cha finished preaching the Dao, the crowds outside Yun Hua Grotto-Heaven gradually dispersed. Most living beings departed carrying abundant insights and hopes for the future, but some, either stubbornly fixated or with nowhere else to go, chose spots in the valleys and forests around the grotto-heaven to build huts and settle down. Each day, they sensed the clear charm of the Tea Dao drifting from the grotto-heaven, hoping that one day they might gain the Patriarch's favor.
Li Cha did not drive them away. So long as they behaved themselves and did not disturb the grotto-heaven's peace, he allowed them to cultivate there. It could also be considered forging good karma for the Yunhua Lineage and preserving some peripheral sparks.
Among the disciples accepted during this preaching, aside from the thirty-six Nominal Disciples, the two newly accepted Personal Disciples pleased Li Cha the most.
One was Forget Worry, transformed from a mid-grade Innate Spirit Beast—the Moon Gazing Rhinoceros. Although her cultivation was only at Peak Golden Immortal and she had yet to enter Da Luo, her temperament was calm and gentle, naturally suited to the principles of "tranquility" and "harmony" within the Tea Dao. In particular, her rhinoceros eyes could clearly distinguish the qi of all things, granting her a unique talent for choosing water and discerning tea.
The other was Purple Spirit, transformed from a mid-grade Innate Spiritual Root—the Purple Void Ginseng. Her foundation was even deeper. Upon taking human form, she was already at Early Da Luo, with both the Human Flower and Earth Flower atop her head blooming to the ninth grade, her foundation firm and solid. She was lively and quick-witted, yet meticulous in thought, possessing exceptional comprehension when it came to the Tea Dao's variations and controlling the heat. She was a rare and promising talent.
As for the other Nominal Disciples, Li Cha paid them less attention. He uniformly passed down the foundational portion of the Primordial Chaos Great Dao True Scripture, bestowed upon each Personal Disciple a Tea Dao spirit treasure he had refined in his spare time, mostly high- or mid-grade Postnatal Spirit Treasures, then threw all teaching affairs and miscellaneous matters to the hardworking chief steward, Mo Ran, to arrange and manage.
Once all matters had been settled, Li Cha sat quietly within the Pure Silence Studio, and his mind naturally began comprehending the Great Dao. He knew well that establishing the Tea Dao, earning the Great Dao's recognition, and receiving boundless merit was by no means the Great Dao favoring him. The Great Dao was utterly impartial and would never act without reason.
The reason the Great Dao recognizes my Tea Dao is certainly not because of tea's flavor, but because of the supreme potential it holds to harmonize Yin and Yang, enlighten all beings, and promote harmony. Li Cha's mind was as clear as a mirror. The Great Dao hopes to use my hands and the power of the Tea Dao to guide the Primordial Wilderness toward a more balanced and promising future—to let the Heavenly Dao, Earthly Dao, and Human Dao advance side by side and support the world together, rather than allowing the Heavenly Dao alone to dominate as it does now, suppressing the Earthly and Human Daos. Only when the three Daos stand together can the Primordial Wilderness's origin be complete, allowing the world's rank to rise and escape its future fate of spiritual qi loss, degradation, and decline.
What an immense goal that was! It meant awakening the currently hidden Earthly Dao, freeing the sealed Human Dao, and allowing them to truly stand beside the Heavenly Dao as equals. The planning, methods, and grasp of timing this required, along with the karma and resistance involved, could only be described as defying heaven! Although Li Cha, at Peak Primordial Golden Immortal, already stood at the pinnacle of the Primordial Wilderness, he still felt somewhat powerless when it came to advancing such a grand scheme.
He could clearly sense that, relying on his profound understanding of the Tea Dao, his realm had already reached perfection. He possessed the foundation and comprehension necessary to challenge the Primordial Da Luo. Yet the Tea Dao had never been a path of drinking alone. Tea's essence lay in sharing, in exchange, in gaining recognition and resonance. Admiring oneself in solitude was never the true meaning of the Tea Dao.
This meant that he needed to spread the Dao throughout the Primordial Wilderness! He needed to scatter the seeds of the Tea Dao into every corner of the Primordial Wilderness, allowing more living beings to understand, accept, and even practice the spirit of the Tea Dao. Only by gathering immeasurable fortune and recognition could he use that as his foundation to break through the final barrier in one stroke and attain the Primordial Da Luo Dao Fruit of becoming a Dao unto himself!
By now, his disciples and the countless listeners from his two preachings had already completed part of the preliminary groundwork for him, accumulating an initial reputation and foundation. But it was far from enough! He needed to travel farther and let the fragrance of tea truly permeate the entire Primordial Wilderness.
With a clear goal in mind, Li Cha immediately began acting. The first thing he needed to do was prepare enough "seeds"—tea tree seeds.
Condensing tea seeds had long become second nature to him. After spending nearly a thousand years combining the Dao charm of his own origin with the vitality of the Primordial Wilderness's myriad trees, supplemented by wondrous creation arts, he finally succeeded in condensing hundreds of millions of basic tea seeds containing faint Tea Dao spiritual charm!
That was still not enough. He then had the Pure Spirit Tea Tree, which had already developed intelligence, contribute over a thousand high-quality origin tea seeds. The various Spiritual Tea Trees in the grotto-heaven, propagated by his descendants, also contributed anywhere from dozens to hundreds of tea seeds each. Thus, both the quantity and quality of tea seeds in his possession reached an astonishing level.
After making all preparations, Li Cha summoned Mo Ran before him and solemnly instructed him:
"Mo Ran, your master intends to travel the Primordial Wilderness and spread the Dao in all directions. My return date is uncertain. Within the grotto-heaven, you will oversee all affairs. Lead your junior brothers and sisters in cultivating well, refining their tea arts, and guarding our estate."
"This disciple obeys Master's command! I will not fail Master's trust!" Mo Ran knew the responsibility was immense and gave a solemn response.
Li Cha nodded, then selected several disciples to accompany him: Shi Qing, his steady and dependable eldest disciple; Qing Xuan and Lianyi, both skilled in tea arts; the newly accepted, lively, and clever Purple Spirit; and Forget Worry, who was gentle by nature and could serve as their mount.
Outside the grotto-heaven, Forget Worry let out a deep, low roar. Moonlight flickered around her body as she revealed her true form—a Moon Gazing Rhinoceros of extraordinary bearing, nearly a hundred zhang tall, white as jade from head to toe, with a single horn on her brow bearing natural crescent-moon divine patterns! She shrank herself to several zhang in size, just enough for them to ride comfortably.
Li Cha and his disciples drifted down onto Forget Worry's broad, steady back. Forget Worry stepped upon the clouds on all four hooves, carrying the master and disciples as they began this journey through the Primordial Wilderness, scattering tea seeds and spreading the Dao.
According to Li Cha's plan, they would first travel east, then roughly follow the order of east, west, south, and north to traverse the Primordial Wilderness. Whenever they encountered mountains, they would plant tea; whenever they encountered waters, they would sow Dao charm; whenever they met living beings with affinity, they would explain the essence of the Tea Dao. If four thousand years proved insufficient to cover the entire Primordial Wilderness, they would return to the grotto-heaven before Hongjun's third preaching ended. Time was long, after all, and they could continue the unfinished journey in the future.
Time quietly passed during their travels, and in the blink of an eye, a hundred years had gone by.
During those hundred years, the master and disciples set foot upon many famous mountains, great rivers, secluded valleys, and hidden realms of the east. At times, Li Cha would preach briefly in spiritually beautiful places, drawing local living beings to stop and listen. At other times, he would casually enlighten several spiritual veins and improve the environment. They also gained quite a few Innate spiritual materials and Postnatal Spirit Treasures along the way, all of which he bestowed upon his disciples. As for the tea seeds containing Dao charm, they had scattered more than a million of them, quietly spreading across the eastern lands like sparks of fire.
One day, the master and disciples arrived at a perilous mountain range rich in water vapor, where rivers converged. The cliffs on both banks were as sheer as if carved by blades, while rushing waters smashed against reefs with thunderous roars. The air was saturated with dense Water Spirit qi.
Li Cha was just about to have Forget Worry stop so he could inspect the feng shui of the area and see whether it was suitable for planting Spiritual Tea Trees.
Suddenly, a towering column of water erupted from the depths of the surging river! A mysterious aura accompanied by the vast pressure of Early Da Luo exploded outward, churning the entire river into raging waves and changing the color of wind and clouds!
"Master! Look at the center of the river!" Purple Spirit cried out, immediately pointing at the disturbance.
Li Cha's Spiritual Sense spread over the scene like mercury spilling across the ground. Within the soaring water pillar, a figure was battling against the current and waves, roaring toward the heavens! It resembled an ape, its entire body crimson red, its limbs long and slender. Its pair of arms in particular seemed to contain strength capable of holding up the heavens. Most peculiar were its eyes: its left eye flickered with black light that saw through the Netherworld, while its right eye flowed with white radiance that glimpsed the future. The Dao charm around its body was faintly linked to the water veins of the Primordial Wilderness, yet it also carried an unyielding arrogance that respected neither heaven nor gods.
"The Red-Bottomed Horse Monkey!" A sharp glint flashed through Li Cha's eyes as he immediately recognized the foundation of this Innate God-Demon. This was one of the Four Spirit Monkeys of heaven and earth, formed from one quarter of the Chaos Demon Ape's origin, innately mastering Yin Yang and the Dao of water!
So it was born here... Li Cha's heart stirred. According to his knowledge and deductions, the Red-Bottomed Horse Monkey should not have been born at this time and place. Its destined trajectory had unexpectedly shifted because of the wings stirred by him, this "butterfly."
Looking at the crimson divine ape in the river's turbulent waves, freely releasing its origin power with an aura already at Early Da Luo, Li Cha's lips curved into a meaningful smile.
"Come, let's go take a look."
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