Netherworld Cold Pool Tempering Dao Fruit, Green Lotus Nurturing Seed, Primordial Unity Born

Cold, bone-chilling cold, as if even thought itself was frozen.

Darkness, endless darkness, swallowing all light and sound.

Tongtian felt himself sinking, sinking towards an abyss so profound that even Reincarnation could not reach it. His Saint Body was already shattered, his meridians broken, and his Chaos magical power raged within him like a wild horse, each surge bringing tearing pain. Zhunti's palm strike, delivered from afar, contained not only Saint magical power but also a trace of the Buddhist intent of salvation and annihilation. It was like a festering wound, relentlessly eroding his Dao foundation and primordial spirit.

If not for the critical moment when inspiration struck, and he integrated the trace of Reincarnation Demon God aura he had plundered from Ksitigarbha into his fist intent, slightly blocking most of the power, and then used the Chaos Bead to withstand the initial impact, he would have been utterly annihilated by now.

Falling, as if without end.

Finally, he crashed heavily into a pool of liquid, chilling to the bone and viscous as paste. The terrifying impact caused him to spew another mouthful of golden blood mixed with internal organ fragments, his consciousness completely swallowed by boundless darkness.

Time lost all meaning here.

Perhaps an instant, perhaps a millennium.

In that absolute silence and darkness, only a faint, hazy point of light remained, like a candle in the wind, never extinguished.

It was the Primordial Dao Fruit within Tongtian's dantian, now covered in cracks and dim, its light gone.

Above the Dao Fruit, the small Chaos vortex that had been slowly rotating was now almost stagnant, as if it could collapse and dissipate at any moment.

However, precisely on the verge of complete disintegration, in the depths of this cold pool filled with extreme Netherworld Death Qi and ancient malevolent energy, a strange transformation was quietly taking place.

Threads of extremely pure, yet cold and dead Netherworld energy, as if drawn by an invisible force, spontaneously penetrated Tongtian's damaged Saint Body, seeping into his dantian and coiling around the about-to-shatter Primordial Dao Fruit.

This Netherworld energy, the power of the Underworld's origin, was supremely yin and frigid. For ordinary immortals and gods, it was a deadly poison, fatal upon contact. But for Tongtian, who cultivated the Dao of Chaos and encompassed all things, it became a potent medicine for survival, albeit a medicine with fierce toxicity and immense risk!

The Netherworld energy came into contact with the residual Chaos Qi within the Dao Fruit. Instead of merging, it clashed violently, like water meeting fire, annihilating each other!

Hiss! Hiss! Hiss! Tongtian's unconscious body convulsed violently. His skin would alternately freeze with black frost and then steam with gray Chaos mist, as if undergoing the torture of ice and fire. Each clash and annihilation placed immense strain on the Dao Fruit, and its cracks seemed to widen further.

Yet, miraculously, amidst this extreme destruction and pain, the almost stagnant Chaos vortex was forcefully stimulated by this external force and began to spin again, extremely slowly and with great difficulty!

It was like a grinding mill, starved to the extreme, instinctively and domineeringly grinding and devouring the incoming Netherworld energy!

The process was painful and slow, each rotation seeming to exhaust all its strength. But with every turn, a thread of pure new magical power, infused with the characteristics of both Chaos and the Netherworld, was refined. This magical power remained Chaos-based but gained a touch of the nine netherworlds' profound coldness and stillness, becoming deeper, more restrained, and more powerful!

This newborn magical power did not immediately repair the injuries but prioritized nourishing the Primordial Dao Fruit itself, which was on the verge of shattering. Like the finest silk threads, it painstakingly wrapped around and mended the cracks on the Dao Fruit.

Simultaneously, Tongtian's powerful yet wounded Saint Body was also undergoing changes. The endless Netherworld Death Qi and malevolent energy at the bottom of the pool continued to erode him, yet they were passively resisted, absorbed, and refined by the newly generated Chaos-Netherworld magical power. His bones, meridians, and flesh were forcibly shattered and reassembled in this cycle of destruction and rebirth, integrating a trace of Netherworld characteristics, making him better adapted to all extreme environments, including this land of deathly stillness deep within the Underworld.

And a deeper transformation was occurring within his primordial spirit.

In his unconscious state, Tongtian's consciousness seemed to sink into a boundless ocean of Chaos, or perhaps he had fallen to the very bottom of Reincarnation. Countless chaotic, fragmented memories from different eras and beings surged towards his True Spirit like a tide. These were scattered images of otherworlds from Ksitigarbha's memories, terrifying whispers from the depths of Reincarnation suppressing demon gods, and the endless deathly intent and resentment accumulated in this cold pool since the dawn of the Great Desolation...

This jumble of information was enough to shatter the primordial spirit of any Grand Unity Golden Immortal, driving them to madness.

But Tongtian's primordial spirit, at its core, was still Saint-level! Though severely wounded, its status remained!

As the Chaos Dao Fruit began its slow recovery, a point of inextinguishable spiritual light deep within his primordial spirit independently shone, arduously sorting, suppressing, and absorbing the chaotic information flow. It was like panning for gold in sand, immensely painful, yet passively tempering the resilience and inclusiveness of his primordial spirit, making it more capable of withstanding the impact of Chaos and the unknown.

[Detected host in a state of deep transformation, energy extremely depleted. Emergency protocol automatically activated. Consuming all reserve contribution points to exchange for 'A wisp of Primordial Chaos Green Lotus Essence' and begin infusion.]

The System, which had been silent for a long time, finally spoke again, making the greatest intervention within its authority!

A faint yet incomparably pure essence, containing infinite vitality and creation, as if from the very beginning of creation, quietly emerged from the void and merged into the slowly rotating Chaos vortex in Tongtian's dantian!

This wisp of essence was like a precious spark thrown into dying embers!

Buzz! Nourished by this wisp of Primordial Chaos Green Lotus Essence, the struggling Chaos vortex suddenly accelerated severalfold! Its efficiency in devouring and refining Netherworld energy skyrocketed!

The cracks on the Primordial Dao Fruit began to heal at a visible rate, slow but incredibly firm! The color of the Dao Fruit gradually shifted from dull gray to a restrained, subtly vibrant dark gray, and extremely fine, natural patterns resembling lotus petals even began to appear on its surface!

The newly generated Chaos-Netherworld magical power became increasingly potent, beginning to nourish his entire body and systematically repairing the horrific injuries. Broken bones were reshaped, acquiring a faint metallic sheen and Netherworld coldness; severed meridians were reconnected, becoming wider and tougher, capable of bearing greater power; damaged internal organs were nourished, regaining new vitality.

Tongtian's aura, from being on the verge of death, began to steadily climb, bit by bit!

In his unconscious state, he unconsciously circulated the techniques of the Primordial Unity Scripture, guiding this new, more powerful force through great circulation cycles within his body.

With each cycle, his Saint Body grew stronger, his magical power became more condensed, his primordial spirit became more lucid, and his connection with the Chaos Dao Fruit grew tighter!

The long-stagnant bottleneck of the mid-Quasi-Saint stage, under this state of breaking and then establishing, integrating Netherworld Death Qi and Green Lotus vitality, began to loosen and crumble!

Who knows how much more time passed. When the last crack on the Primordial Dao Fruit completely healed, when the last trace of Zhunti's Buddhist annihilation intent was crushed and devoured by the Chaos vortex, when the magical power within him flowed like a mighty river, even emitting roaring sounds.

Tongtian's eyes snapped open! His pupils were no longer purely chaotic; his left eye contained the birth and death of Chaos, while his right eye held the Reincarnation of the Nine Netherworlds, two utterly different Dao rhythms perfectly blended within his gaze, unfathomably deep!

A majestic aura, far surpassing his previous strength, erupted from his body involuntarily! Boom! The entire Netherworld cold pool boiled! The viscous black water was pushed aside, forming a massive vortex!

Quasi-Saint, late stage! And not just any ordinary late-stage Quasi-Saint! His magical power was exceptionally pure and profound, his Saint Body incredibly resilient and peculiar, his primordial spirit unyieldingly inclusive, far surpassing peers, even touching the threshold of peak Quasi-Saint!

More importantly, his Primordial Dao Fruit had undergone a fundamental transformation through this tempering, integrating Netherworld characteristics and nourished by Green Lotus essence! It had become more stable, deeper, with infinite potential! It had even formed a subtle connection with the Underworld's Reincarnation.

Tongtian slowly raised his hand, feeling the surging, roaring, and obedient new power within him. A flicker of joy and enlightenment flashed in his eyes.

"Misfortune is the foundation of fortune, this saying is not false," he murmured, his voice carrying a trace of weariness from having faced life and death. "Netherworld Death Qi, Chaos Green Lotus, Yin and Yang, Life and Death, all are for my use. This is the true meaning of the Primordial Unity Dao!"

With a slight movement of his mind, a wisp of magical power flowed from his fingertip. It was no longer purely gray but possessed a deep, light-devouring dark gray hue, containing both the vastness of Chaos and the stillness of the Nine Netherworlds. Its power was far more terrifying than before.

"This place is not suitable for lingering," Tongtian retracted his aura, his gaze sweeping over the surroundings at the bottom of the pool. The commotion from his breakthrough had been considerable, likely attracting the attention of some beings.

Just as he was about to leave, his gaze was suddenly drawn to a faint dark glint flashing at the bottom of the pool. He reached out and grasped, a suction force emanating from his hand. A fist-sized, irregularly shaped, pitch-black metal fragment, incredibly heavy and exuding an ancient, weathered aura, fell into his hand.

The fragment felt cold to the touch. Faint, indecipherable, alien patterns, not belonging to the Great Desolation system, remained on its surface, along with a destructive aura extremely similar to that of the One-Eyed Demon God and the Otherworld Remnants in Ksitigarbha's memories!

"This is..." Tongtian's pupils contracted. "An item from another world?! It actually fell to the bottom of this Netherworld cold pool?!" He instantly realized the value of this object! This might be a crucial clue for researching that other world!

Without hesitation, he immediately put the fragment away. Just then, an anxious, familiar divine sense fluctuation cautiously permeated down from above the cold pool: "Master! Is that you? Are you alright?"

It's Saint Mother Wudang!

Tongtian's heart warmed. His figure flickered, transforming into a shadowy silhouette, and he instantly shot out of the Netherworld Cold Pond.

At the edge of the pond, Saint Mother Wudang sensed Tongtian's completely different, more powerful, and profound aura. Seeing that his clothes were torn but he was full of spirit, she was overjoyed and wept, "Master! You've finally woken up! You scared this disciple to death!"

"It's nothing, I just had a realization," Tongtian soothed, his gaze sharply scanning their surroundings. "This place is not suitable for lingering. Let's talk as we go. How long was I unconscious? What's the situation outside?"

Wudang quickly replied, "You've been unconscious for three days. The Underworld is on high alert right now. People from the Western Teachings and Chan Teachings are searching for you like mad. Especially the Western Teachings; it's said that Saint Zhunti is furious. Empress Pingxin secretly sent a message, telling us to leave the Underworld as soon as possible."

"Three days is enough," a cold light flashed in Tongtian's eyes. "Let's go. It's time to leave this Nine Netherworld. Some debts need to be settled slowly."

His gaze seemed to pierce through layers of the Netherworld, looking towards the Great Desolation land.

His cultivation had greatly increased, all hidden dangers removed, and he had even obtained clues from another world.

A Hidden Dragon in the abyss would eventually have its day to soar!

The path of Primordial Unity had been reborn from the brink of death, and the road ahead was clearer than ever.

The storm would rage even more fiercely with his return!