Arriving at Mount Sumeru

Jiang Yun used his spiritual sense to control the 365 acupoints across his body. Star power surged out from the acupoints, flowing through the Twelve Meridians and Eight Extraordinary Meridians to connect and link together.

The moment the acupoints connected, light blazed from every one of them. The Lesser Heavenly Cycle Star Formation activated, and in the blink of an eye, a massive half-body Star Dharma Form enveloped his figure, standing tall upon the earth.

Against a single Fierce Beast—especially one with so little threat—Jiang Yun didn't use the full power of his Dharma Form. He only activated the first stage, the half-body form. This was the result of years spent refining the Star Dharma Form.

The first stage of the Star Dharma Form could manifest half a body to protect him. Though it lacked legs, preventing free movement and offering poor defense against attacks from underground, it still greatly enhanced his offense and defense. The second stage would manifest a complete body, placing him at the center of the form. Attacks from all directions could be blocked, and he could move freely, with far greater flexibility and even stronger offense and defense than the half-body stage. The third stage, the ultimate form, built on the second. With the full support of the Lesser Heavenly Cycle Star Formation, the Dharma Form became tougher and more resilient. It evolved into a three-headed, six-armed form. Star power condensed into a star weapon for each arm, which could also be replaced by Innate Spiritual Treasures, vastly expanding the form's attack power and range.

The Demon Ape was stunned by the sudden appearance of the massive half-body Dharma Form. It wasn't until it spotted Jiang Yun's figure inside that it snapped back to its senses. Its entire body radiated a terrifying Fiendish Qi, bones cracking, muscles bulging, and a savage glint flashing in its pupils.

It let out a deafening roar and lunged ferociously at Jiang Yun again.

Seeing the Demon Ape flying toward him, Jiang Yun showed no panic. He wanted to test the attack and defense of this physical Dharma Form.

As the ape's fist came down with a full-powered strike, Jiang Yun, brimming with battle intent, met the attack head-on. He controlled the Dharma Form to throw a punch back.

The moment their fists collided, the Demon Ape's momentum halted. Then, the force from the impact pushed it stumbling backward. Its fist cracked under the star power's assault.

Jiang Yun didn't stop. The Dharma Form's arm swung like a chain, smashing violently at the Demon Ape while also cutting off its retreat.

After several blows, the ape was covered in wounds. The damage from star power was nothing to scoff at. Unable to withstand the Dharma Form's attacks head-on, the Demon Ape could only dodge nimbly. Trapped within the reach of the form's arms, it was like a sparrow caged in a net.

As the arms closed in, the space to dodge shrank. The Demon Ape missed a dodge and finally had one leg caught.

Jiang Yun gripped the ape's calf. Ignoring its frantic struggles, he swung it up and slammed it into the ground.

With a loud crash, a massive ape-shaped crater appeared in the earth. Dust flew everywhere. The Demon Ape was dazed and disoriented. Before it could even howl, it felt itself being dragged up again, then lifted and dropped, lifted and dropped...

After dozens of rounds like this, he finally hurled it away with all his strength. It tumbled across the ground for several hundred meters before finally stopping.

The Fierce Beast's internal organs were ruptured, its bones broken. Blood poured from its mouth. It struggled for a long time to stand but couldn't manage it.

Seeing this, Jiang Yun decisively formed a hand seal. Using the Dharma Form, he struck with a Star Seal, delivering a finishing blow. When the dust settled, only the corpse of the Fierce Beast remained on the ground.

After thoroughly killing the Demon Ape, Jiang Yun had scratched his itch for a good fight.

This small trial had strengthened his grasp of his own abilities and greatly improved his sense of battle timing. Still, he knew this was just a small milestone on his path of cultivation. He needed to keep training, to keep raising his strength, so he could survive the great calamities to come.

Mount Sumeru Range, an unnamed peak.

"Swish, swish, swish~!"

Jiang Yun's figure flickered and appeared there.

Over a thousand years had passed since his fight with that Demon Ape in the Secluded Valley.

After that battle, Jiang Yun had returned to his familiar rhythm. He repaired damaged Spirit Veins along the way, nurtured plants back to life, and cleansed Vengeful Souls and filth. He'd also run into several Fierce Beasts and Demon Beasts, fighting dozens of battles. His divine abilities had been further refined, his combat experience enriched, and his fighting spirit and willpower greatly tempered. All in all, he was now a seasoned warrior.

Though his face bore the marks of hardship, his eyes were filled with resolve. He was full of energy and high morale, no longer the green and inexperienced youth from the Spirit Bamboo Valley Dao Field.

Mount Sumeru sat among the peaks of the Mount Sumeru Range, at the heart of the Western Land.

Once, the Western Land had been incredibly prosperous, but it was destroyed by Demon Ancestor Luohu. Back then, Luohu set up the Immortal Slaying Sword Formation, connecting many of the Western Spirit Veins. When the War of Immortals and Demons ended in his defeat, Luohu triggered the formation to self-destruct, blowing up countless Spirit Veins. Fortunately, Mount Sumeru was the Western Ancestral Vein, protected by a great formation and blessed by fortune. It wasn't too badly affected, preserving some vitality for the West.

Now that Jiang Yun had arrived at the Mount Sumeru Range, he was a bit stumped. Mount Sumeru was guarded by a great formation and obscured by the Heavenly Dao. Ordinary people couldn't deduce its location through heavenly calculations.

Just as Jiang Yun reached the Mount Sumeru Range, inside a Grand Hall with green tiles and golden bricks, two figures sat at the head of the hall, solemn and dignified. Golden lotuses of spiritual energy bloomed throughout the hall.

Suddenly, one of them felt a stir in his heart, as if pulled by some force. He opened his eyes, coming out of meditation. He pinched his fingers and calculated the heavenly secrets for a moment.

"Oh? Is this the destined bond of master and disciple?" the figure muttered. The other figure beside him seemed to hear and ended his meditation as well.

"Zhunti, my brother, I am moved by the Heavenly Dao and feel a connection. I've calculated a master-disciple bond. I wish to go out and seek my disciple. You stay and guard the hall until I return. What do you think?"

The one who had received the heavenly insight was Daoist Jieyin, one of the masters of Mount Sumeru. The other figure beside him was his brother, Daoist Zhunti. The two had been born together on Mount Sumeru, shared the same temperament, and sworn brotherhood. Since Jieyin had achieved Form Transformation first, he became the elder brother.

"Brother, go ahead. May you find a worthy disciple and return soon," Daoist Zhunti replied with a smile.

With that, Jieyin left the hall and headed straight out of Mount Sumeru.

Meanwhile, on the other side, Jiang Yun, unable to deduce anything, decided to wander through the Mount Sumeru Range and cast a wide net.

Thanks to the Merit and Fortune he'd earned over the past thousand-plus years repairing Spirit Veins and wiping out Fierce Beasts, he was lucky enough to find a hidden cave on a mountain ridge. Inside, he harvested a Mid-grade Innate Spiritual Root, the Gengjin Grape, and a low-grade Innate Spiritual Treasure, a string of Buddhist Prayer Beads.

Finding the Gengjin Grape was pure luck. As he searched this area, a sudden bloodline resonance stirred within him. From a distant ridge came a faint, elusive pull of bloodline attraction.

It was this bloodline pull that led Jiang Yuan all the way there, eventually uncovering the hidden cave.

It turned out this Spiritual Root was also born from the same Heavenly Pillar Tree origin as him. However, the grapevine had interacted with the Gengjin Qi among the Five Energies during its evolution, eventually producing this Gengjin Grape.

Jiang Yun, on the other hand, was a Cloud Bamboo purely transformed from the Heavenly Pillar Tree's origin. After his soul possessed it and awakened his intelligence, he was fortunate enough to awaken his innate Devouring Evolution ability.

As long as Jiang Yun devoured enough of the same origin's Spiritual Root essence, his true body would gradually evolve. One day, he could become a new Chaos Spiritual Root, the Heavenly Pillar Tree.