Innate Great Sage

In the Primordial World, years went uncounted.

In the blink of an eye, who knew how many tens of thousands of years had passed.

The Wei River surged onward, with countless living beings dwelling along its banks.

Within the Wei River Secret Realm.

The pavilions and towers had long since been restored to their original appearance.

In the medicinal gardens, Divine Demon Cultivators formed hand seals and chanted incantations, summoning wind and rain to gather spiritual rain and nourish the divine soil and spirit fields.

Within the Artifact Hall, burly cultivators swung spirit hammers forged from Divine Iron, tempering divine weapons.

There were also cultivators of the fire-element laws, breathing divine flames to refine piece after piece of Immortal Gold and divine ore.

Within the Pill Hall, ancient Daoists clad in blue robes embroidered with pill cauldrons on their sleeves sat cross-legged in midair. Before them stood crimson copper furnaces, into which they placed stalk after stalk of medicinal herbs.

Strands of vegetal fragrance lingered in the air, gathering into dragon-and-tiger pill qi.

Within the beast pens, three areas stood side by side.

Silver Spirit Fish shimmered with moonlight as they leaped and breathed within the excavated pools.

White cranes danced through the air, lightning gleaming from their wings, their gazes sharp and fierce.

Iron-armored rhinoceroses had bodies like white jade, with a single horn thrusting toward the heavens like flashing blade light.

All manner of spirit beasts bred and thrived within the beast pens.

Nearly one kalpa had passed.

This secret realm grotto-heaven had gradually recovered its vitality and vigor, no longer bearing the sight of broken walls and ruins from that day.

"It has been nearly a kalpa in the blink of an eye. When exactly will the Water Lord emerge from seclusion?!"

Within a palace, four Celestial Divine Demon Cultivators sat discussing the Dao.

Suddenly, one elderly man with an ancient, unadorned face looked toward the Water God Hall in the distance and softly asked this question.

Ever since Zhou Yuan had entrusted the Wei River Secret Realm to them that day and taught them methods of pill refining, artifact forging, beast taming, and cultivation.

The four Celestial Divine Demons had worked with trepidation, not daring to slack off in the slightest.

Only after nearly a kalpa of such efforts had the Wei River Secret Realm grotto-heaven gained its current flourishing appearance.

At the mention of the Water Lord, all the cultivators present fell silent.

That lord had defeated countless formidable foes and seized sole control of the Wei River Water Mansion. Everyone knew he was ruthless and decisive.

Even after nearly a kalpa, these Celestial Divine Demons still did not dare act the slightest bit presumptuously.

"Old Qingrong, could it be that, with the kalpa drawing near, you want to leave the Water Mansion?!"

The short, stout cultivator in dazzling golden robes glanced at him while toying with a white jade wine cup.

"Fellow Daoist Jinyuan, do not spout nonsense and slander me without cause."

Old Man Qingrong was a banyan tree that had attained the Dao. Mild-tempered by nature, he did not take Jinyuan's words to heart and explained:

"How could I wish to leave this Water Mansion?"

"The spiritual essence within the Wei River Water Mansion grows richer by the day. It is unknown how much better than this old man's former Daoist grounds."

"Moreover, the Water Lord's seclusion this time is surely for the sake of ascending to the Grand Unity Great Sage Realm."

"If I can serve beneath him and constantly listen to his teachings, would that not be better than being an unaffiliated cultivator?"

Old Man Qingrong's eyes flickered. He had even deeper considerations that he did not voice aloud.

Though he did not know this Water Lord's origins.

This Water Lord was clearly proficient in both pill refining and artifact forging. He had taught such methods to the few of them upon their first meeting, which showed his generosity.

Now that the Wei River Water Mansion had only recently been established and everything was awaiting renewal, joining it now would make him one of its founding elders.

He did not dare dream of the Grand Unity Great Sage Realm, but becoming a great cultivator of the True One Realm was practically guaranteed.

Upon hearing his words, the other three Celestial Divine Demon cultivators had all sorts of thoughts flash through their minds.

In truth, they shared the same thoughts.

After all, the Wei River Water Mansion was rich in resources. Throughout these years, cultivation resources such as pills had never once been in short supply.

Times had changed.

What had once been forced labor within the Wei River Water Mansion had now become a tremendous opportunity for them.

Just as the four Divine Demon Cultivators present lamented the unpredictability of the world.

The entire secret realm suddenly shook.

Old Man Qingrong and the other three exchanged looks before soaring into the sky.

They saw ten thousand rays of rosy light appear in the skies of the secret realm as the Great Dao of Water Element evolved endless phenomena.

There was a sea merging with the sky, raging waves crashing against the shore, the heavenly river flowing in reverse, and rivers churning.

Then, infinite laws condensed into three illusory flowers of the Great Dao.

The entire Wei River Secret Realm seemed to awaken in an instant.

It was filled with boundless joy and excitement.

Spiritual energy tides surged, and a fine drizzle began to fall over the secret realm.

The rain of spiritual energy nourished all things.

As all living beings bathed in the spiritual rain, a feeling of gratitude rose involuntarily within their hearts.

Old Man Qingrong caught the spiritual rain falling from the void and sighed:

"The Three Flowers on the Crown have bloomed. The honored god has already attained Grand Unity."

"Once the laws are perfected, the Three Flowers Gathering at the Crown will form a Great Dao fruit."

He brushed at dust that did not exist on his Daoist robe and smiled at his three colleagues.

"The Water Lord has already attained the Grand Unity Great Sage Realm. He should emerge from seclusion soon."

"Let us first organize the Water Mansion's affairs from these past years for his review."

The other three Celestial Divine Demons nodded in agreement.

The Wei River Water Lord had now become a true Grand Unity Great Sage.

Even within the Zhou Tian Universe, he could be considered a high god.

Thus, their desire to pledge themselves to him grew even stronger.

Naturally, they had to perform well.

So they might enter the Divine Lord's good graces.

Within the underground palace of the Water God Hall.

Zhou Yuan sat cross-legged.

Three illusory Dao flowers slowly turned above his head, emanating an indescribable Dao rhythm.

Streams of spiritual energy and laws intertwined into a cloud bed.

Spirit treasures floated above the cloud bed, their precious light resplendent.

"Three Flowers Gathering at the Crown is but illusion; the clouds beneath one's feet are not real either."

Zhou Yuan spoke softly, and a profound aura naturally spread throughout the chamber.

"After the fruits of more than a hundred thousand years of cultivation, I finally understand the profundity of Grand Unity."

Zhou Yuan sensed the Water Element Laws between heaven and earth, his heart filled with emotion.

Before the Grand Unity Great Sage Realm, cultivators of the Turbid Fiend God-Demon Path merely cultivated techniques. At the Grand Unity Great Sage Realm, however, they began exploring the Great Dao and had already stepped onto the path of attaining the Dao.

The Water Element Laws were merely rules dispersed throughout heaven and earth by the Great Dao of Water Element. As these various rules gathered, they condensed into three illusory Dao flowers.

"Water is the cycle of all things."

"In the heavens, it becomes currents of heat and cold, monsoons and cold currents."

"Upon falling to earth, it becomes the waters of Rivers, Lakes, and Seas, the water veins of all lands."

"To all living beings, it is a component of the Dao body and the origin of the Great Dao."

Sparks of wisdom flashed within Zhou Yuan's primordial spirit.

The Three Flowers were illusory because the Dao itself was still illusory.

As Zhou Yuan's comprehension of the Water Element Laws deepened.

The illusory Three Flowers would naturally gradually become real.

"And when the Three Flowers transform from illusion into substance, a Water Element Dao Fruit will be born."

Thus, Innate Dao Lords were those who had attained the Dao.

They had plucked the fruit-position of their corresponding Great Dao.

They had already obtained the corresponding authority within their respective Great Daos, transcending their predetermined dimensions.

"The Great Dao is arduous; one can only strive onward."

Zhou Yuan sighed softly.

If not for the Myriad Dao Book's aid, his heaven-defying comprehension, and the Water Ancestor's legacy, which had allowed him to inherit the Water Element divine position of exceedingly high status, attaining the Grand Unity Great Sage Realm within a single kalpa would have been nothing but wishful thinking.

"Becoming an Innate Great Sage is not difficult, but every Innate Dao Lord is a ruler of the Dao, a true apex figure of the Primordial World."

"To attain the Dao and become an Innate Dao Lord, I will need to plan carefully."

Zhou Yuan's gaze was deep, black-and-white mysterious light flickering between his brows.