The wonders of the Ren Water Grotto-Heaven far exceeded Li Cha's expectations. The Purple Firmament Tea Tree, radiant with countless streams of rosy light; the Innate Ren Water, utterly yin and gentle; and the Spiritual Charm Dao Marks naturally formed throughout the entire grotto-heaven, perfectly aligned with the water-element Great Dao—all of them were things he found hard to part with. Yet leaving disciples here to guard such a blessed land would be no different from a child carrying gold through a busy market. Covetous people might be drawn here, and if his disciples suffered losses because of it, that would be far from ideal.
But moving the entire place away was easier said than done. A Grotto-Heaven Blessed Land was not rootless duckweed. Its foundation was deeply embedded within the earth's spiritual veins, linked as one with the surrounding mountains, rivers, and earthly energy. Forcefully extracting it would require boundless magical power. With Li Cha's current cultivation, he could barely pull it out, but once the grotto-heaven lost the nourishment of its Earth Vein, its spiritual energy would eventually dissipate.
After considering it from every angle, the only permanent solution was to merge this grotto-heaven into the newborn world within the Chaos Pearl. That would preserve the grotto-heaven while allowing him to carry it with him, turning it into the foundation of his path. However, before accepting the grotto-heaven, he first had to stabilize the world inside. Although the space within the Chaos Pearl had taken on an initial form, its laws were unstable and Qiankun had yet to settle. It still could not bear a complete innate abode like the Ren Water Grotto-Heaven. Forcing the fusion would only damage both.
Advancing the world inside the pearl was already imperative. And the key lay in the five top-grade Innate Spirit Treasures of the Five Elements—the Five Spirit Pearls.
At that thought, a trace of reluctance rose in Li Cha's heart. Any one of the Five Spirit Pearls, if it fell into the Primordial Wilderness, would be enough to cause a bloody storm. They were true top-tier Innate Spirit Treasures, containing complete Five Elements Great Dao laws. Yet now he had to personally "sacrifice" them to nourish and complete the Chaos Pearl's foundation. Even though this had long been decided, when the moment came, his cherishing of spiritual treasures and the extravagant feeling of "destroying" top-grade treasures still lingered in his mind. If not for the Chaos Pearl, a Chaos Supreme Treasure with limitless potential, who in the Primordial Wilderness could possess such audacity and squander wealth so freely?
He let out a soft sigh. With a slight movement of his thoughts, the five spirit pearls emerged one after another from the depths of his primordial spirit, hovering before him. Five-colored radiance interwove, bathing the Ren Water Grotto-Heaven in flowing brilliance. The Dao rhythm of the Five Elements circulated naturally, forming a perfect diagram of Five Elements transformation.
Li Cha extended his hand and brushed his fingertips over the five spirit pearls one by one, feeling the gentle, intimate, yet slightly ignorant spiritual fluctuations they emitted. They seemed to sense their master's resolve and faint reluctance. Their radiance flickered softly, as though offering a final farewell, carrying a determination without regret.
"Enough. Helping me perfect this world is also where your fortune and Great Dao lie." Li Cha muttered, his gaze abruptly turning firm. He no longer hesitated. Drawn by his thoughts, the Chaos Pearl flew from between his brows and settled at the center of the Five Spirit Pearls, emitting hazy Chaos qi.
"Merge!"
Li Cha shouted softly. The magical power around him surged forth like a burst dam, and he even drew upon a wisp of Great Dao Merit to bless the process, ensuring nothing could go wrong. Answering the summons, the five spirit pearls began spinning rapidly around the Chaos Pearl. Their five-colored radiance grew increasingly brilliant until they finally transformed into five streams of purest origin energy, plunging toward the Chaos Pearl at the center like a hundred rivers returning to the sea!
Li Cha's Spiritual Sense followed them into the Chaos Pearl. In that instant, he "saw" a magnificent sight akin to World Creation:
The originally indistinct Chaos space shook violently. The power of the Five Elements' origins descended like five pillars supporting heaven! Azure qi rose in the east, evolving into an endless forest sea; white qi crisscrossed the west, condensing into towering golden mountains; crimson qi swept across the south, transforming into molten volcanoes; black qi spread through the north, giving rise to a vast ocean; and yellow qi settled in the center, raising an incomparably majestic giant mountain that connected heaven and earth!
The four poles were established, and the center stood firm! The Five Elements gave birth to one another, beginning their cycle! The Chaos qi at the edge of space was forcibly pushed away by the power of the newborn world, retreating again and again. The space inside the pearl expanded madly at a visible rate, becoming more than ten thousand times wider in the blink of an eye! The outlines of mountains, rivers, and streams began to emerge. The clear and turbid in the sky gradually separated. Although there were still no sun, moon, or stars, the alternating radiance of the Five Elements had already formed a vague concept of day and night.
What delighted Li Cha even more was that he clearly sensed the Chaos Pearl's Innate Restrictions, which had become impossible to budge after he refined the twenty-fourth layer, actually beginning to loosen. They showed signs that they could be refined further! The growth of the world's origin had, in turn, reduced the difficulty of refining the supreme treasure itself.
An opportunity could not be missed! Li Cha immediately transmitted his voice to Shi Qing, who was standing guard. "Shi Qing, your master needs to enter seclusion for some time and reshape the world within his treasure. Unless it is a matter of life and death, do not disturb me."
After sending the message, Li Cha immediately sat cross-legged beneath the Purple Firmament Tea Tree, tightly closed his eyes, and devoted all his focus to the Chaos Pearl. On one hand, he observed the supreme mysteries of the Five Elements evolving within the pearl and Qiankun settling into place. On the other, he circulated his cultivation method, guided his magical power, and began refining the Innate Divine Restrictions, which had become clearer yet even more profound.
Time passed quietly during his seclusion. Within the Chaos Pearl, the twenty-fifth, twenty-sixth... layers of restrictions were overcome one by one. With every layer he refined, Li Cha's control over the Chaos Pearl deepened, and his ability to influence the evolution of the world within grew stronger. The world became increasingly stable, and vitality gradually began to emerge.
Three thousand years passed in the blink of an eye.
Li Cha slowly opened his eyes. Within them seemed to flicker scenes of Chaos first opening and worlds being born and destroyed. The aura around him grew ever deeper and more restrained. At this point, he had refined thirty-six layers of the Chaos Pearl's Innate Restrictions, once again reaching a bottleneck beyond which he could not continue. The world within the pearl had also long since transformed beyond recognition. Its Five Elements foundation was solid, its space vast enough to contain countless living beings, and although its spiritual energy did not match that of a top-tier grotto-heaven, it was comparable to renowned mountains and great rivers outside. It had become a Grotto-Heaven Blessed Land capable of sustaining its own cycle and supporting the cultivation and survival of living beings!
"Master, you're awake." Lianyi, who had been guarding nearby all this time, immediately broke into a delighted smile when she saw Li Cha awaken. Over the past three thousand years, she had faithfully followed his orders, taking turns with the other disciples to stand guard without the slightest slackness.
"Mm." Li Cha nodded slightly, his divine sense instantly sweeping across the entire former Ren Water Grotto-Heaven region. "Nothing happened, did it?"
"Reporting to Master, everything is well. It's just... Junior Brother Wu Zhiqi has been unable to endure the loneliness. He often runs out to spar with those strange beasts of the Primordial Wilderness and Demon Clan experts." Lianyi reported helplessly.
Li Cha smiled calmly. "No matter. That is simply his nature. As long as he has not suffered any serious injuries, let him do as he wishes." Calculating with his fingers, he found that fewer than eight hundred years remained until the third Preaching the Dao ended. It was time to return to Yun Hua Grotto-Heaven.
However, before leaving, there was one final matter—and the most important one at that: moving the entire Ren Water Grotto-Heaven into the Chaos Pearl!
Li Cha rose to his full height and took a single step, arriving outside the grotto-heaven and hovering above the deep pool. His gaze was as sharp as lightning as he surveyed the Ren Water Grotto-Heaven below, tightly connected to the Earth Vein.
"Rise!"
With a low shout, his voice shook the surrounding lands. The vast magical power within him, as boundless as an ocean, erupted without reserve! His immense power plunged underground like two giant hands, carefully enveloping the entire Ren Water Grotto-Heaven. The earth began to tremble faintly, the pool water surged backward, and the surrounding mountains gave off deep rumbles. This was not destruction, but a Great Divine Ability akin to transplanting a tree, stripping the grotto-heaven from its original environment.
"Rumble—!"
The enormous roar alerted Wu Zhiqi, who had been wandering outside, along with Shi Qing and the others keeping watch around the perimeter. They all transformed into streams of light and rushed back. The sight before them left them dumbfounded: Li Cha was using supreme magical power to forcibly pull the entire Ren Water Grotto-Heaven out of the earth's spiritual veins, raising it slowly into the air! The grotto-heaven's Innate Restrictions flickered with radiance as they intertwined and contended with Li Cha's magical power.
The process was extraordinarily slow and consumed a tremendous amount of magical power. Fine beads of sweat appeared on Li Cha's forehead, but his gaze remained resolute. With his right hand held aloft, he drew the entire grotto-heaven into his palm little by little.
Once the grotto-heaven had completely broken free from the Earth Vein's pull and floated above his palm, Li Cha turned over his left hand. The Chaos Pearl appeared, emitting Chaos spiritual light that absorbed all things.
"Merge!"
He slowly brought his hands together, carefully pushing the Ren Water Grotto-Heaven, which had shrunk countless times in size in his right palm, toward the Chaos Pearl. The instant they touched, dazzling radiance burst forth and the Space Laws fluctuated violently. Like a drop of water entering the sea, the grotto-heaven began to be swallowed and accepted by the Chaos Pearl bit by bit.
This step tested not only magical power, but also precise control over the Space Laws and the origin of the world. Li Cha maintained that posture, his mind highly focused as he guided the fusion of the two spaces, not daring to make the slightest mistake. And that persistence lasted for one hundred and eight years!
When the Ren Water Grotto-Heaven had completely merged into the Chaos Pearl and perfectly blended with the original world, the blinding light gradually faded. Li Cha let out a long breath. Even with his magical power, unrivaled in the current age, he felt unprecedented weakness. His breathing was slightly hurried, and his face had turned somewhat pale.
Compared with the gains, the price he paid was negligible. As his Spiritual Sense entered the Chaos Pearl, he immediately felt earthshaking changes. The space inside the pearl expanded again, and the concentration of spiritual energy soared. In particular, water-attributed spiritual energy became exceptionally rich due to the fusion of the Ren Water Grotto-Heaven and Innate Ren Water. What delighted him even more was that the world origin added by the grotto-heaven's fusion had actually loosened the Chaos Pearl's incomparably solid thirty-seventh restriction!
The most interesting sight appeared in one corner of the world inside the pearl. The hundred-zhang Purple Firmament Tea Tree and the slightly shorter yet vibrantly spiritual Pure Spirit Tea Tree had been placed in a valley with the richest spiritual energy. Sensing the presence of their own kind, the branches and leaves of the two Innate Spiritual Roots stirred without wind. Their tender branches lightly touched, transmitting innocent and friendly spiritual fluctuations understood only by themselves. The two little fellows had become friends.
With a thought, Li Cha took out a set of jade tea ware, drew forth the newly born Innate Ren Water inside the Chaos Pearl, and picked several tender leaves from the crown of the Purple Firmament Tea Tree. Leisurely, he brewed a pot of tea. For the time being, he did not plan to continue refining the pearl. Refining the Chaos Pearl's restrictions took thousands of years at a time, and it would be far too regrettable if seclusion made him miss the great drama following Hongjun's Preaching the Dao.
Within the lustrous white jade cup, the tea was a deep yet clear violet-gold. The rising tea vapor was no longer merely fragrant; it also carried the unique warmth and liveliness of Innate Ren Water. Unlike Enlightenment Tea, with its myriad flavors, Purple Firmament Tea was sweeter and richer. Upon first entering the mouth, its bitterness was extremely faint and its astringency nearly imperceptible. Then a surging sweetness welled up from beneath the tongue, vivid beyond measure, as though it contained the rhythm of life itself. After swallowing it, what remained in the mouth was not a strong fragrance, but a mellow, lingering aftertaste that nourished the throat, tongue, and soul. Its effects were even more remarkable: calming the mind, restoring magical power, healing injuries, dispersing blood stasis, all with gentle and enduring efficacy.
After slowly finishing a cup of hot tea, Li Cha felt a warm and vast spiritual current rise from his abdomen, swiftly circulating through all four limbs and every bone, nourishing his depleted meridians and slightly weary primordial spirit. In only a short while, his greatly consumed magical power and mental strength had recovered to their peak state, even showing faint signs of improvement.
The unique tea fragrance spread through the air, long since making several disciples itch with anticipation. Lianyi, Shi Qing, Wu Zhiqi, and even the newly joined Baxia could not help gathering around, staring eagerly at the teapot in Li Cha's hand.
Seeing this, Li Cha could not help smiling. With a wave of his hand, he took out several more jade cups and poured each of them a cup. Even Baxia received one. He carefully held the jade cup, incomparably tiny compared to his enormous true body, between his claws and drank the tea containing tranquil power in a single gulp. His huge dragon eyes revealed incomparable intoxication and gratitude.
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