Above the Five Elements Dao Palace, the sea of clouds churned and surged.
A thousand years passed in the blink of an eye for the mighty figures of the Primordial Wilderness.
Over these thousand years, Kong Xuan and the Golden-Winged Great Peng listened to Su Ming preach the Dao and benefited immensely.
Dao Rhythms circulated around their bodies, and compared with a thousand years ago, their auras had grown incomparably richer.
Kong Xuan stood out in particular. His foundation had always been profound, and the Five-Colored Divine Light behind him had grown increasingly brilliant and solid. Faintly, it seemed as though it might transform into a real world, swallowing and exhaling Primordial Chaos energy.
"Master, I feel... I've already touched that barrier." Kong Xuan's voice carried a hint of excitement. A thousand years of painstaking cultivation had surpassed the countless years he had spent searching before.
Su Ming slowly opened his eyes. There was no turning of the sun and moon in his pupils, nor the rise and collapse of galaxies—only a deep, boundless Primordial Chaos.
He glanced at Kong Xuan and said calmly, "Your Dao lies in the cycle of the Five Elements, in mutual generation and restraint, ultimately returning to unity. When you can completely fuse the five divine lights behind you into a single Chaotic Divine Light, that will be the day you prove the Primordial Unity Dao."
His words awakened one who had been lost in a dream.
Kong Xuan's entire body trembled, and a glow of enlightenment burst from his eyes. He bowed deeply. "Thank you for your guidance, Master!"
Su Ming gave a slight nod, then turned his gaze to the eager Golden-Winged Great Peng beside him.
"And you? Have you gained any insights?"
The Golden-Winged Great Peng scratched his head and said in a deep, booming voice, "Master, I feel like I've become even faster! Now, with a single thought, I can fly from the shores of the Eastern Sea to West Kunlun!"
Su Ming was rendered speechless, then laughed.
This Great Peng had a pure mind. His sole pursuit was the ultimate speed and strength.
"Not bad. Your Yin and Yang Qi have already reached a minor level of mastery. Once you completely transform this Yin-Yang power into wind and thunder and fuse it into your wings, you'll truly be able to roam the heavens and wander freely without limit."
After finishing his guidance for his two newly accepted nominal disciples, Su Ming rose to his feet.
Preaching the Dao for a thousand years had also been a process of sorting through what he himself had learned.
Now, his understanding of the Great Dao had reached an unprecedented height. He was only one step away from piercing through that final layer and entering an entirely new realm.
The time had come.
"I will enter seclusion for a period and attempt to break through to a higher realm. Guard the Daoist temple well and do not slack off."
Before his voice had even faded, Su Ming's figure disappeared from where he stood.
Kong Xuan and the Golden-Winged Great Peng exchanged a glance, both seeing shock in the other's eyes.
They had not sensed even the slightest fluctuation of space before their Master vanished into thin air.
What heaven-shaking, earth-shattering means!
Within the Small World formed from the Sea Calming Divine Beads.
Su Ming's figure appeared in the central hall of the Five Elements Dao Palace.
The Small World was no longer the barren place it had been when it was first created.
Five supreme-grade Five Elements Spiritual Veins coiled beneath the earth like giant dragons, and boundless spiritual energy washed through every corner of the world.
Green grass covered the earth, while immortal flowers bloomed. In the distance, mountain ranges rose from the ground, magnificent and precipitous, with waterfalls cascading among them like the Milky Way hanging upside down.
The entire world was filled with refreshing vitality and spiritual charm.
And all of this would rapidly evolve under a time flow ten times faster than the outside world.
Su Ming sat cross-legged on the Daoist Palace's meditation cushion. With a thought, five fruits shimmering with multicolored light floated before him.
They were precisely the Dao Fruits borne by the Innate Five Elements Spiritual Root he had found in the Five Elements Dao Palace!
The Geng Metal Dao Fruit radiated a sharp aura, as though it were an unparalleled immortal sword.
The Yi Wood Dao Fruit brimmed with life force, its emerald-green color so rich it seemed ready to drip.
The Gui Water Dao Fruit rippled like water, constantly shifting and changing.
The Li Fire Dao Fruit blazed with flames that scorched the void.
The Wu Earth Dao Fruit was heavy and unadorned, bearing all things.
Each Dao Fruit contained a complete law of the Great Dao of Five Elements. They were treasures powerful enough to drive even Quasi-Saint experts into a frenzy!
But in Su Ming's eyes, these five Dao Fruits were merely the nourishment he needed to break through to the Primordial Golden Immortal realm and condense the Chaos Five Elements True Body!
Without the slightest hesitation, Su Ming opened his mouth and inhaled.
The five Dao Fruits transformed into five streaks of light and instantly entered his mouth.
"Boom!"
In an instant, five terrifying energies that were entirely different yet shared the same origin exploded inside his body!
The berserk Geng Metal energy attempted to tear his meridians apart inch by inch!
The immense vitality of Yi Wood frantically spawned new flesh and blood, trying to burst him apart!
The soft and yielding power of Gui Water sought to freeze his spirit!
The scorching force of Li Fire tried to burn away his internal organs!
The heavy power of Wu Earth attempted to suppress him completely and turn him into stubborn stone!
The powers of the Five Elements mutually generated and restrained one another!
At this moment, the Five Elements inside his body fell into chaos and collided wildly, forming a terrifying destructive force capable of annihilating a Grand Unity Golden Immortal in an instant!
If it had been any other cultivator—even a Quasi-Saint personally arriving—the only outcome before such a terrifying energy eruption would have been the destruction of their Dao and the end of their life!
But Su Ming's expression remained as calm as an ancient well.
"Do you really think mere Five Elements power can disturb my Dao Heart?"
With a thought, the Nine Revolutions Primordial Art rumbled into motion within his dantian's sea of qi!
The phantom of Pangu's Dharma Idol suddenly opened its eyes!
A Primordial Chaos aura far surpassing the Five Elements and standing above the myriad Daos of Heaven and Earth swept outward!
"Refine!"
Su Ming shouted in a low voice as Primordial Chaos Dao Rhythm descended and suppressed everything.
The originally berserk Five Elements energy instantly became docile before this aura, as if it had encountered its natural nemesis. An invisible force pulled at it, shattering and reassembling it!
Time flew by in this Small World at ten times the speed.
One year in the outside world was ten years here.
One hundred years in the outside world was one thousand years here.
One thousand years in the outside world meant ten long thousand years had already passed here!
Within the Daoist Palace, Su Ming's figure had long since been submerged beneath the dense Five Elements Dao Rhythm and Primordial Violet Qi.
Ten thousand years of tempering, ten thousand years of refinement!
The immense energy contained in the five Dao Fruits had long since been completely absorbed by him, transforming into the supreme nourishment for the seventh revolution of the Nine Revolutions Primordial Art.
Under the tempering of Primordial Chaos energy, every inch of his flesh and every particle of his body shone with immortal radiance, as though he had been forged from glazed divine metal, impervious to countless tribulations!
His spirit had grown to an inconceivable level. With a single thought, it could cover the entire Small World and perceive every minute detail.
Only the final step remained!
"Break!"
A roar rang out in Su Ming's heart!
Rumble!
A terrifying aura beyond description surged into the sky from within his body, instantly sweeping across the entire Small World!
In the heavens, the winds and clouds changed color, while earth, water, fire, and wind boiled!
Beneath the earth, the five giant spiritual-vein dragons simultaneously let out heaven-shaking roars, as if they were worshiping their king!
The indestructible barrier between the Grand Unity Golden Immortal and the Primordial Golden Immortal was smashed apart by his fist in an instant, like dead wood being broken!
Primordial Golden Immortal!
He had done it!
An unprecedented sense of power surged into his heart.
At this moment, Su Ming felt that with a single thought, he could recreate Heaven and Earth and reshape the universe!
The world in his eyes had also become completely different.
He could clearly see the complete laws of the Great Dao in the void. They were like interwoven threads forming the framework of the entire world.
This was the Primordial Golden Immortal: once one proved the Dao, it remained proven forever; one leaped beyond the Three Realms and no longer belonged to the Five Elements, coexisting with the Heavenly Dao and remaining imperishable through countless tribulations!
However, there was not the slightest joy on Su Ming's face.
The breakthrough was only the beginning!
Without pausing at all, he divided his mind into five parts and formed incomparably profound hand seals.
"Using my essence blood as the guide, and the Great Dao of Five Elements as the foundation, condense the Chaos Five Elements True Body!"
"Come forth!"
At his command, five drops of essence blood containing his source power flew from his fingertips and floated before him.
At the same time, he activated the five supreme-grade spiritual veins deep within the Earth Vein of this Small World!
"Roar—"
Five heaven-shaking dragon roars resounded throughout the world.
Five energy dragons formed from the purest source spiritual energy burst from the ground, surged into the Five Elements Dao Palace, and poured separately into the five drops of essence blood!
Buzz, buzz, buzz!
The five drops of essence blood radiated dazzling light and began to expand and evolve at a visible speed.
First, bones condensed. Then meridians emerged, followed by flesh and blood, facial features, and limbs...
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