After Azure Stone gained sentience, he learned of the price Hong Yuan had paid for him. Though he did not know why he was burdened by so much Causality, he knew that without the senior before him, he would likely never have developed sentience in his lifetime.
Hearing this, Hong Yuan nodded in satisfaction.
Looks like a polite, good child.
His Root Foundation was decent, and he had good manners.
Hong Yuan liked children like this best.
So Hong Yuan gave a slight nod and asked Azure Stone, "What is your name?"
Azure Stone gently swayed his true body, seeming somewhat hesitant. After a moment, he said softly, "I... do not... have a name yet."
The smile on Hong Yuan's face deepened slightly. He said slowly, "If you do not mind, shall I give you one? Would you be willing?"
"I am willing. Thank you, Senior."
Hong Yuan pondered briefly before slowly speaking. "When you were born, you were entangled in Causality, with no day upon which you could undergo Form Transformation. But that has now passed. From this day onward, you shall be called Fu Xiao, meaning the moment when darkness ends and light approaches."
"I also hope that, like this name, you can have a brand-new beginning!"
Fu Xiao's Primordial Spirit trembled, and he spoke in a voice as thin as a thread. "All right! Fu Xiao thanks you, Senior!"
His words were filled with gratitude and excitement.
He had a name!
Hong Yuan smiled and waved his hand. "Do not call me Senior anymore. To be honest, I will not hide it from you. You and I share a Master-Disciple Bond. Are you willing to take me as your master?"
Upon hearing this, Fu Xiao hurriedly replied in fearful reverence, his tone carrying irrepressible joy and deep respect.
"Fu Xiao... is willing. Greetings, Master!"
"Good. In that case, from this day forward, you shall be my eldest disciple!" Hong Yuan was also quite delighted. Although the Great Dao Merit in his hands had diminished considerably this time, he had gained a highly talented eldest disciple.
Besides, even if his Great Dao Merit was gone, did he not still have Great Dao Dad?
If he pried a little from between the Great Dao's fingers, would he not have more again?
With Fu Xiao's Root Foundation, though he could not compare to a Chaos Demon God, he was in no way inferior to Luohu and the others.
Even the Three Pure Ones did not possess a Root Foundation as formidable as this disciple of his.
As long as he cultivated diligently, becoming a Primordial Origin Golden Immortal would be well within reach.
Fu Xiao had never expected that by taking a master, he would become the eldest disciple.
This filled him with even greater surprise.
Yet alongside that surprise, he also felt a trace of pressure.
Although he did not know who his master truly was, he knew that Great Dao Merit was not something just anyone could possess.
Especially not in such vast quantities.
If he had not known that Great God Pangu had already fallen, he would have nearly thought his master was Great God Pangu himself.
After hesitating for a moment, Fu Xiao softly asked, "Master, this disciple still does not know your honored name..."
Hearing this, Hong Yuan began to explain unhurriedly.
"Your master is named Hong Yuan. The people of the Primordial Wilderness all call me the Dao Venerable. I am also Great God Pangu's biological younger brother, so I can be considered half the master of the Primordial Wilderness."
Upon hearing Hong Yuan's words,
Fu Xiao was utterly dumbfounded, his Primordial Spirit seeming to tremble without end.
Great God Pangu's... biological younger brother?
Half... the master... of the Primordial Wilderness?
Heavens, what kind of master had he taken?
Hong Yuan calmly suppressed the excitement within Fu Xiao's Primordial Spirit.
"You need not feel too much pressure. The first thing you must do is undergo Form Transformation."
"Judging by your current condition, it should not take long for you to undergo Form Transformation. Cultivate well. Your master is greatly looking forward to your future performance."
Although Fu Xiao had only just developed sentience, he had accumulated enough over the years, and he had also absorbed a portion of the Great Dao Merit.
Naturally, he would not need as much time to undergo Form Transformation and be born into the world as others with powerful Root Foundations.
Hong Yuan estimated that it would probably take only a few Kalpas.
Hearing Hong Yuan's words, Fu Xiao gradually calmed down.
"Fu Xiao will certainly not disappoint Master's expectations."
Thus, in the days that followed, Hong Yuan did not leave in haste. Instead, he broke down his understanding of the Time Law and explained it to Fu Xiao in detail.
Since Fu Xiao had absorbed a portion of Shi Chen's origin, his understanding of the Time Law already far surpassed that of ordinary people.
Under Hong Yuan's guidance, Fu Xiao gained increasingly deeper insights into the Time Law.
Before even undergoing Form Transformation, his cultivation had already reached the Grand Unity Golden Immortal realm.
Within Yang Mei's Dojo, Yang Mei, who had cultivated for nearly three hundred Yuan Hui, suddenly opened his eyes.
Thanks to the Heavenly Dao Merit that had descended earlier, Yang Mei had not only completely recovered from his previous injuries, but his cultivation had also broken through to the peak of the Primordial Origin Golden Immortal realm.
Feeling his own power, Yang Mei sighed. "I have finally broken through to the peak of the Primordial Origin Golden Immortal realm. Facing Shen Ni should be much easier now."
Then, with a flash, Yang Mei vanished from where he stood.
Within Mount Sumeru, Luohu seemed to sense something and immediately put away the fragment of the Jade Plate of Creation in his hand.
Not long after Luohu put away the Jade Plate of Creation, Yang Mei appeared on Luohu's Mount Sumeru.
Luohu frowned and shot Yang Mei a displeased glance. "Shouldn't you, Yang Mei, be properly recovering? What have you come here for?"
But as soon as he finished speaking, Luohu looked at Yang Mei in surprise.
"You broke through to the peak of the Primordial Origin Golden Immortal realm?"
Yang Mei smiled, lightly stroked his long beard, and said rather smugly, "Just luck. Fellow Daoist Luohu, your cultivation speed has not been slow either. You broke through to the late stage of the Primordial Origin Golden Immortal realm in such a short time!"
Yang Mei was also somewhat astonished. Luohu's cultivation speed was actually this fast, only a fraction slower than his own at most.
After all, Yang Mei had previously eaten quite a few fruits from Chaos Spiritual Roots in Fellow Daoist Hong Yuan's Dojo.
Judging from the extent of their origin recovery, Yang Mei was considerably stronger than Luohu.
Seeing the faint surprise on Yang Mei's face,
Luohu merely snorted coldly.
Was Yang Mei the only one allowed to have a good relationship with Hong Yuan?
He, Luohu, was not doing badly either. Hong Yuan had not only given him two Falling Flower Immortal Fruits, but also a fragment of the Jade Plate of Creation.
At this thought, Luohu suddenly froze.
Come to think of it, Hong Yuan did not seem quite so irritating after all.
But he did not reveal these thoughts. Instead, he looked at Yang Mei impassively. "Is there any news from the Fierce Beasts?"
Yang Mei lightly shook his head. "Fellow Daoist Luohu, you also know that under the influence of the Kalpa's energy, it is impossible to deduce anything useful. Unless we can reach the strength of Fellow Daoist Hong Yuan. But there is no need to think too hard to know that many fell in the previous battle. The Fierce Beast race is busy absorbing Grievance and Fiendish Energy, preparing to break through their realms."
"This old Daoist does not care about the others. The only one I care about is Shen Ni. His cultivation was already at the peak of the Primordial Origin Golden Immortal realm before. If he breaks through to the Primordial Origin Golden Immortal realm, then even if all of us joined forces, we would likely be no match for him with a single hand."
Before you continue