Jieyin's First Disciple

Jiang Yun simply branded the Buddhist Prayer Beads with his spiritual imprint and stored them away.

The Buddhist Prayer Beads were made of 108 precious beads, each radiating a faint luster. As the beads were rolled and turned by his fingers, they struck one another and produced a series of ethereal sounds, as if they could purify the mind and dispel worldly distractions. Every gem on the bracelet had a different color, ranging from elegant jade green to deep violet and then to warm orange-yellow, like the most harmonious arrangement of colors on a palette.

Aside from calming the mind, the Buddhist Prayer Beads also possessed considerable power when used to attack. However, compared with the other spiritual treasures in his possession, their effects were not exactly negligible, but they were barely better than nothing.

Jiang Yun examined the Gilded Grapevine in the cave. Seeing that many grapes had ripened, he harvested them all first. Drawn by their shared origin, he felt an intense desire to devour the vine. Spiritual roots possessed sentience. The instinct of the Gilded Grapevine sensed the danger, and its vines began to tremble incessantly as its branches and leaves curled inward.

For Jiang Yun, he only needed to devour part of the Gengjin Grape's origin to make up for the missing genetic information. He did not need to consume it all, just as with the genetic information of humans in his previous life. If human technology could one day repair the defects in the gene chain, humanity would evolve. Likewise, so long as he could complete the information inherited from Jianmu within his own origin, he would be able to complete his evolution once he had sufficient energy.

In this life, he was also an Innate Grass and Wood Spirit, a being favored by the Heavenly Dao. There were very few beings that could develop intelligence, so he should cherish his fellow kind even more.

He activated his innate divine ability and drew out a portion of the Gengjin Grape's origin. Once he had taken roughly half, he stopped. Having lost half its origin, the Gengjin Grape's grade fell to the lower-grade innate level. The unripe grapes he had not harvested earlier also shriveled one after another, their essence flowing back into the vine itself. Even so, the entire vine began to wither and turn yellow, looking severely malnourished.

Seeing this, Jiang Yun hurriedly took out a small mass of Three Lights Divine Water and sent it all into the Gilded Grapevine. It immediately absorbed part of the Three Lights Divine Water, and its previously withered, yellow vines and leaves returned to their original state, becoming even greener and more vibrant.

However, the lost origin could not be replenished immediately, and its fallen grade would not recover in a short time. Still, with the nourishment of the remaining Three Lights Divine Water inside the spiritual root, combined with the innate spiritual root's inherent property of indestructible spiritual light, it could eventually recover given enough time.

After finishing these tasks, he set up a simple warning formation in the cave. He then found a suitable spot beneath the Gilded Grapevine, sat cross-legged, and began refining the spiritual root's origin within his body.

Cultivation knew no years.

No one knew how much time had passed. On this day, Jiang Yun finally refined all the spiritual root's origin he had absorbed into himself, and much of the missing information was restored. At a certain moment, he felt a shackle within his body shattered by a surge of pure power. The restoration of his missing origin had broken through the restriction on his Root Foundation, elevating it.

Just like that, he quietly advanced from a lower-grade spiritual root to a middle-grade one within the cave.

Although all Innate Beings possessed the potential to prove the Dao and reach the Grand Luo Golden Immortal Realm or even surpass it, the deeper one's Root Foundation, the greater the chance of success. Whether in comprehension, destiny, or fortune, those with a stronger foundation always held greater advantages.

Some people struggled with all their might to reach Rome, while others were born there. Ordinary Innate Beings like Jiang Yun could only reach the Golden Immortal Realm upon completing Form Transformation, whereas beings with top-grade innate Root Foundations, such as the Three Pure Ones, Nuwa, and Dijun, became Grand Luo Golden Immortals the moment they completed Form Transformation. The difference between them was more than ten thousandfold.

The improvement of his Root Foundation made him very happy. He casually stored the Gilded Grapevine inside his Inner World, then put away the warning formation and left the cave.

After determining his direction, he headed toward the depths of the Mount Sumeru Range.

He had just crossed two mountain peaks when a person suddenly appeared before him. Jiang Yun had sensed no spatial fluctuations; the newcomer seemed to have been standing there all along.

The newcomer wore an expression of hardship and suffering, naturally exuding an aura of compassion for all living beings. His gaze was gentle as he quietly studied Jiang Yun for a while.

At the first sight of the figure ahead, Jiang Yun's heart gave an involuntary jump. His divine sense swept over the man, yet he could not detect his aura. He could only see him with his eyes.

This person's cultivation is far beyond mine. I wonder whether he is friend or foe!

"May I ask why Senior has suddenly come here? What business do you have with this junior?" Jiang Yun remained secretly alert as he asked in an unruffled tone.

The newcomer was none other than Daoist Jieyin, who had followed the Heavenly Dao's guidance and come in search of the destined bond between master and disciple. He had appeared suddenly and then scrutinized Jiang Yun for a while precisely to assess him. After all, this was to be his first disciple and the first disciple of the two brothers. He needed to treat the matter with caution.

He did not panic when faced with trouble, and his mind was steady. On top of that, he radiates pure qi and an Aura of Merit. He is a rare man of blessed virtue.

His Late Golden Immortal cultivation is not weak, and he seems to have cultivated his physical body as well. A rare Dual Cultivation of Dharma and Body practitioner. More precious still, he has earned the favor of the Western fortune and is naturally close to me, the Lord of the West.

After secretly investigating him, Jieyin heard Jiang Yun's question and revealed a smile. The atmosphere between them immediately eased.

"You need not be alarmed. I am the Lord of Mount Sumeru, Daoist Jieyin!"

"Earlier, I received guidance from the Heavenly Dao that a master-disciple bond had appeared. I followed the resonance of that destiny here to accept a disciple. Would you be willing to take me as your master?" Jieyin asked directly.

His luck had truly arrived, and nothing could stop it. He had only just come to Mount Sumeru to seek a master, and the master had already come looking for him. When faced with such a fortunate opportunity, even a second's hesitation would make someone an idiot.

Jiang Yun hurriedly performed the formal ceremony of prostrating himself before his master and said, "This disciple Jiang Yun pays respects to his teacher!"

"Good! Good! Good!" Jieyin said happily, unable to stop smiling.

"Come back to Mount Sumeru with me first. Your martial uncle is waiting. I will explain the other matters to you in detail then."

As he spoke, he activated his divine ability and brought Jiang Yun with him as they fled toward Mount Sumeru.

The speed of a Grand Luo Golden Immortal was indeed extraordinary, especially that of an exceptional figure like Jieyin. In less than half a month, they arrived at the foothills of central Mount Sumeru.

Looking up, they saw a towering mountain standing between heaven and earth. Its slopes were majestic, its peaks and valleys winding, and its summit pierced the clouds. At the foot of the mountain, vast and ancient primeval forests stretched endlessly into the distance. Spiritual beasts moved among the towering ancient trees, while divine birds soared through the sky. Under the sunlight, countless rays of rosy light shone down, golden radiance illuminating the continuous mountain ranges with a captivating brilliance, as if they were under the protection of the gods.

Halfway up the mountain, waterfalls poured down from the cliffs like the Heavenly River cascading from the heavens, producing a thunderous roar that shook the ears. Water crashed below, and mist filled the surroundings, occasionally revealing rainbows in a dreamy, illusory scene. Streams wound through the landscape, their murmuring waters mingling with the fragrance of wildflowers blooming among the mountains, making one's heart feel open and refreshed.

At the summit, amid swirling clouds and mist, one could sometimes glimpse the phantom traces of immortals. Cranes cried out, mixed with the calls of apes and deer, creating a captivating scene. Winds rolled and clouds parted, while the cloud layers surged like waves, as if the freest souls in heaven and earth were frolicking.

The beautiful scenery here was beyond counting and difficult to put into words. It truly deserved to be called the Western Ancestral Vein—a wondrous, mysterious pure land.