23. Another Excursion, This Time to the Three Immortal Islands in the East Sea

After Gou Mang and Houtu broke through, the other Ancestral Witches had gained less than they had, but they had all benefited in some way.

Di Jiang, however, had gained far more from studying the Space Law and exploring his bloodline than he had from the Ginseng Fruit. After discussing the Dao with Xuanyuan for ten thousand years, he went into seclusion to cultivate.

Based on Xuanyuan's assessment, Di Jiang should reach Grand Unity Golden Immortal Perfection by the time he next emerged from seclusion.

That was a much faster rate of growth than before.

It was worth noting that powerful cultivators like Zhen Yuanzi, Laozi, Yuanshi, and Zhun Ti were all still only Mid Stage Zenith Heaven Golden Immortals.

After discussing the Dao with Di Jiang, Xuanyuan had also made great gains in the Space Great Dao, and the Chaos World Projection had grown even more powerful.

After the discussion, he had no plans to leave Pangu Hall, so he stayed with Tongtian and focused on refining several treasures.

Generally speaking, a Grand Unity Golden Immortal could fully refine the restrictions of Low-grade and mid-grade Spiritual Treasures. But refining high-grade and Top-grade Spiritual Treasures completely required the greater strength of a Primordial Golden Immortal or a Quasi-Saint.

As for Supreme Treasures...

Primordial Grand Unity Golden Immortals could fully refine Innate and Houtian Supreme Treasures. But even they were powerless against a Chaos Supreme Treasure like the Chaos Pearl, which possessed fifty Great Dao Restrictions.

Time flowed like water, and once poured out, it could not be gathered again.

In the blink of an eye, 129,600 years had passed in the Primordial World—a full Eon.

"That should be enough. The Primordial World has only just begun, so this is the best time to seek opportunities. By the Investiture of the Gods Calamity, obtaining treasures will be much more difficult."

That day, Xuanyuan opened his eyes. Great Dao Laws of Yin Yang, the Three Powers, the Four Symbols, the Five Elements, Thunder, and Space swirled around him, and his Xuanyuan Nascent Soul had grown slightly stronger.

During this full Eon of secluded cultivation, he had refined twenty-four restrictions on the Primordial Measure Heaven Ruler—the limit of what a Grand Unity Golden Immortal's magic power could handle.

As for the Chaos Pearl, since it was a Chaos Supreme Treasure, its Great Dao Restrictions could be refined more easily than Heavenly Dao Restrictions. He had refined only two more, bringing the total to ten.

The newly acquired White Tiger Token and Three Treasures Jade Ruyi were different. After initially refining them, he had placed them inside the Chaos Pearl to anchor the Chaos World's foundations. They required no further effort.

The Qiankun Bow and Zhentian Arrow were unusual treasures, so they were a different matter.

He had also planted the Seed of Creation in the Chaos World, where it was absorbing Chaos Qi.

"Fourth Brother, you're out of seclusion?"

Sensing Xuanyuan's movement, Tongtian also awoke from his cultivation.

He had four treasures to refine: the Purple Lightning Hammer, Fishing Drum, Qing Ping Sword, and Coiling Dragon Flat Crutch. They were all Top-grade Innate Spiritual Treasures. He had focused on the last two, which he had only recently acquired. Though he had not refined all twenty-four restrictions on them, they were more than sufficient for a Grand Unity Golden Immortal.

"Stillness eventually gives way to movement. Long periods of secluded cultivation can help us refine more treasure restrictions, but they do little for our cultivation or our understanding of the Laws."

"Elder Brother, I'm thinking of going out to travel. What do you think?"

Xuanyuan rose from his cushion and glanced at the Twelve Ancestral Witches, who were still in seclusion. He had no intention of disturbing them.

"If Fourth Brother is going traveling, then I'll naturally go with you. But where are we headed this time?" Tongtian agreed without hesitation, then asked.

Traveling with Xuanyuan was far more carefree than staying on Kunlun Mountain.

Besides, Tongtian no longer much enjoyed spending time with his two elder brothers.

"We've already traveled through the Western Land and Central Land. We've been in the world for more than ten Eons, yet we've never seen the Primordial World's Four Seas. Let's head to the East Sea."

Xuanyuan had clearly planned this already.

At this time, aside from Buzhou Mountain, the East Sea held more treasures than anywhere else.

Moreover, when Xuanyuan planted the Seed of Creation, the spiritual aura of the Creation Green Lotus had given him a hint: the Twelve Petaled World-Purifying White Lotus lay in the East Sea, and was destined to be connected to him.

Of course, the hint had been unnecessary. Xuanyuan already knew the Twelve Petaled World-Purifying White Lotus was on one of the Three Immortal Islands in the East Sea.

"True enough. We haven't seen the Primordial World's Four Seas yet. Let's go take a look." Tongtian had no objections.

And so the brothers left Kunlun Mountain again and flew toward the East Sea.

Though they had a destination in mind, they were in no hurry. Everything they saw along the way revealed the Dao. Traveling through the Primordial World and studying the myriad things of Heaven and Earth and the natural world could benefit Xuanyuan greatly, even if he gained nothing else.

The Chaos World could take shape as a complete world, and the Primordial World was an excellent model.

Although Xuanyuan and Tongtian did not use the Primordial Measure Heaven Ruler to tear through space and travel directly, their Late Stage Zenith Heaven Golden Immortal magic power still let them reach the shore of the East Sea after only thirty thousand years of travel.

"Fourth Brother, we've reached the East Sea. Should we travel wherever we please, or pick a direction?"

Looking out over the boundless sea and feeling its vigorous water-element spiritual energy, Tongtian paused in surprise.

"When Father God opened Heaven and Earth, five Chaos Fragments fell into the East Sea and became five immortal islands, corresponding to the Five Elements and the five directions of Heaven and Earth. But by now, only three islands should remain."

"The Three Immortal Islands hold treasures and opportunities. Next, we'll follow the currents of the East Sea and search for the islands that have yet to emerge." Xuanyuan explained.

The Three Immortal Islands of this era were not San Xiao's Three Immortal Islands from the Investiture of the Gods Calamity. They were Penglai, Yingzhou, and Fangzhang.

After the Witch-Demon Tribulation, the Three Immortal Islands became widely known. But even among powerful cultivators, few knew that there had once been five.

Far beyond the eastern shores of the Bohai Sea, billions upon billions of li away, lay a great chasm—a truly bottomless valley known as the Return to Ruins. The waters of the eight directions and nine regions, along with the Milky Way's flow, all poured into it, yet it neither rose nor fell. Within it stood five mountains: the first was Dai Yu, the second Yuanqiao, the third Fanghu, the fourth Yingzhou, and the fifth Penglai.

Fanghu was Fangzhang.

The Return to Ruins lay beneath the East Sea. But the two immortal islands Dai Yu and Yuanqiao had sunk into it during the Dragon-Phoenix Calamity, or perhaps even earlier, during the Fierce Beast Calamity.

Beneath each of the five immortal islands were three Golden Ao, fifteen in all. They took turns carrying the islands as they roamed the East Sea.

At the Beginning of Heaven and Earth, one of the Hundred Innate Races was the Dragon-Kin Giant Clan. To divine the secrets of Heaven, they fished six Golden Ao out of the East Sea and used their shells to question Heaven's will. The two islands lost their supports and were swept into the Return to Ruins by Chaos Residual Qi and Space-Time Turbulence.

The five immortal islands had never emerged. Carried by the Golden Ao, they drifted aimlessly through the East Sea, while Innate Restrictions concealed them from Heaven's secrets and karmic ties. Even most powerful cultivators could not divine their whereabouts.

Yet they had happened to come face-to-face with the Dragon-Kin Giant Clan. Perhaps fate had willed it.

After that, however, there had been no sign of the Dragon-Kin Giants in the Primordial World. Had they gone extinct?

"Five Chaos Fragments from when Father God opened Heaven and Earth? Then there must be treasures on the islands." Tongtian's eyes lit up, but he did not ask how Xuanyuan knew.

As far as he was concerned, Xuanyuan had learned this either from the memories of creation within his Nascent Soul or from the Primordial Measure Heaven Ruler. There was no need to probe further.

And so the brothers ventured deep into the East Sea, stopping now and then to sense the shifting currents or use the Primordial Measure Heaven Ruler to detect disturbances in space.

The Golden Ao carried the Three Immortal Islands as they drifted constantly across the East Sea. Though the islands had no fixed location, the Golden Ao's movements would inevitably cause subtle changes across the boundless sea.

Those changes appeared in the shifting currents.

"Hm? A celestial phenomenon? Could a treasure be emerging?"

That day, Xuanyuan and Tongtian stood side by side above the East Sea. The sea breeze carried a salty tang, and surging waves churned beneath their feet.

They were using their spiritual senses to perceive the changes in the currents when the sky suddenly began to shift violently, without warning.

A moment ago, it had been broad daylight, dazzlingly bright. Then, in the blink of an eye, night descended like a vast black curtain. Stars glittered, and the moon shone with a cold light.

But after only a few breaths, sunlight broke through the darkness, and the sea was bright once more.

The cycle repeated, dazzling and mysterious, a phenomenon unlike any ordinary change in the weather.

The brothers looked up. A scarlet sun blazed in the sky, and nearby, a bright moon hung high, radiating a cool glow.

The sun and moon shone together, illuminating one another, yet remaining distinct and undisturbed—a strange and magnificent sight.

Tongtian stared intently at the sky, brow furrowed and eyes gleaming as he pondered.

A moment later, his eyes lit up as if he had realized something, and he cried out, "I see! A powerful cultivator is imitating how Father God transformed his eyes into the sun and moon, hoping to cultivate a pupil technique that embodies the Taiyin Eye and Sun Eye!"

Xuanyuan was startled by his words, and immediately knew who the powerful cultivator here was.

After the Dragon-Phoenix Calamity, the Dragon Race had withdrawn to the Four Seas. But even a weakened camel was still bigger than a horse. As the former rulers of Heaven and Earth, the Dragon Race still had powerful cultivators among its ranks.

With day and night alternating in the blink of an eye, the powerful cultivator had to be Candle Dragon.

"Xuanqing Xuanyuan here. This is my elder brother, Upper Pure Tongtian. May we meet you, fellow Daoist?"

Putting the thought aside, Xuanyuan saluted and called out toward the sky.

His clear voice echoed across the East Sea.

"Rumble!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the surrounding space began to quake violently. An immensely powerful pressure spread from the void, as if invisible hands were squeezing the world around them.

Then a scarlet light appeared in the space above them. It grew brighter and brighter, illuminating the entire East Sea.

A huge figure slowly emerged from the light. Its body was scarlet, as if engulfed in flames, and it stretched for a thousand li, like a crimson mountain range spanning Heaven and Earth.

Its eyes were like the sun and moon, radiating a strange light filled with boundless majesty and mystery. The aura around it was far stronger than Xuanyuan and Tongtian's.

"I am Candle Dragon. Greetings, fellow Daoists."

Candle Dragon's body swayed, and he transformed into the Innate Dao Body of a man. He nodded slightly to Tongtian and Xuanyuan.

As a powerful cultivator from the Dragon-Phoenix Calamity Era, his cultivation naturally surpassed that of Xuanyuan and Tongtian, who had only emerged into the world a little over ten Eons ago.

He had not yet reached the Primordial Golden Immortal Realm like Ancestral Dragon, but he had attained Grand Unity Golden Immortal Perfection and was only one step away from the Primordial Golden Immortal Realm.

"Since fate brought us together, why don't we spar, fellow Daoist Candle Dragon?"

Xuanyuan smiled faintly, eager to test himself against him.

Although Candle Dragon cultivated a pupil technique involving the Taiyin and Sun, the Dao he followed was not the Great Dao of Yin Yang, but the Time Great Dao of the flow of time.

Xuanyuan had discussed the Dao with Zhu Jiuyin, the Ancestral Witch of Time, but his understanding of the Time Great Dao was still in its infancy.

A spar with Candle Dragon would let him experience the power of the Time Law firsthand. It could help him learn from another's strengths to overcome his own weaknesses.

"You want to spar with me?" Candle Dragon frowned.

He had never liked fighting. Even during the Dragon-Phoenix Calamity, he had rarely taken action. As a result, he had not accumulated much killing intent or Calamity Qi, and had emerged unscathed as one of the Dragon Race's few remaining powerful cultivators.

Xuanyuan's request to spar as soon as they met had caught him off guard.

"Indeed. We can learn from another's strengths to overcome our own weaknesses. If I'm not mistaken, you're imitating how Father God Pangu transformed his eyes into the sun and moon, aren't you?"

"To be frank, I've gained some insight into the Great Dao of Yin Yang myself. A spar could help you cultivate your divine ability."

Xuanyuan explained with a smile.

He was not an especially combative person. It was simply that powerful cultivators who cultivated the Time Great Dao were so rare that he could not help being eager for a match.

"In that case, I have no objection to a spar."

Only then did Candle Dragon nod.

Hearing the words "Father God Pangu," he had also guessed Xuanyuan's origins.

After the Dragon Race withdrew to the Four Seas, Candle Dragon had remained in secluded cultivation in the East Sea. But that did not mean he knew nothing of what was happening in the Primordial World.

The story of Laozi and Yuanshi becoming four through the One Qi Transforming into Four Pure Ones on Kunlun Mountain had spread among the powerful cultivators as they traveled about.

Xuanyuan and Candle Dragon faced off above the East Sea, and the winds and clouds changed color.

Towering waves surged beneath them, but an invisible pressure forced them to stillness in midair, like an ink painting frozen in place.

Candle Dragon's scarlet body coiled across the sky, its thousand-li form obscuring half the heavens. The sun and moon revolved in his eyes, and crimson light surged around him like flowing magma, radiating a heart-stopping aura.

"Fellow Daoist Xuanyuan, I'm ready!"

Candle Dragon's deep voice seemed to carry the echoes of ancient times, making the void tremble.

Xuanyuan's expression was solemn. Daoist rhythms flowed around him as he formed hand seals and called out, "Then make your move. Yin and Yang are the source of Taiji—go!"

In an instant, the Great Dao Laws of Yin Yang swirled around him. Yin and Yang Qi converged wildly between Heaven and Earth, forming a huge Yin Yang Fish diagram before him.

Black and white light shone together, radiating a mysterious and powerful aura.

"Rumble!"

Candle Dragon's eyes flashed. Sun and moonlight shimmered, and a beam of light burst forth, filled with the boundless Power of Time. Space shattered inch by inch wherever it passed, and the flow of time grew chaotic.

And so the two powerful cultivators clashed above the East Sea.

Xuanyuan was a Late Stage Zenith Heaven Golden Immortal, one level below Candle Dragon in cultivation. But after manifesting his Ancestral Shaman True Form, which stood 129,600 zhang tall, he was not at a disadvantage.

Neither wanted to damage their relationship, and so neither used any treasures.

Candle Dragon did not activate the Top-grade Innate Spiritual Treasure Fire Essence Candle, which he held in his mouth. Xuanyuan did not bring out the Houtian Merit Supreme Treasure Primordial Measure Heaven Ruler. They simply exchanged Laws and divine abilities.

"Fourth Brother is even stronger than I am."

Watching from a distance, Tongtian could not help sighing as Xuanyuan fought Candle Dragon to a standstill.

His Fourth Brother had emerged into the world only a little over ten Eons ago, and already he could fight an ancient powerful cultivator like Candle Dragon.

The spar lasted forty-nine days. In the end, both sides gained something, and they parted on equal terms.

"Fellow Daoist Xuanyuan, since you wish to understand the mysteries of time, I'll give you a drop of my essence blood. It contains a little of my insight into time."

After they had exchanged their insights, Xuanyuan and Tongtian were about to take their leave. Candle Dragon thought for a moment, then forced out a drop of blood from his heart. It became a scarlet pearl, which he guided with his spiritual sense toward Xuanyuan.

As he forced out the drop of blood, nine powerful, ancient auras flashed briefly in the unfathomable waters below.

"This... Thank you for your generosity, fellow Daoist. I'll accept it."

Xuanyuan paused for a moment, discreetly glanced beneath the East Sea, then accepted the gift.

The Dragon Race's foundations were indeed formidable. Even in decline, it still had nine powerful cultivators besides Candle Dragon.

If he had guessed correctly, they were Ancestral Dragon's Nine Sons.

The Dragon Race still had some strength left. Later, when Dong Wang Gong established the Immortal Court in the East Sea, they would probably join it and become his allies.

"Hahaha, there's no need to thank me, fellow Daoist." Candle Dragon laughed heartily.

The Dragon Race was in decline. Though Candle Dragon disliked fighting, he still had to think of his clan.

Xuanyuan had an extraordinary origin and could fight him to a draw despite being a Late Stage Zenith Heaven Golden Immortal. It was worth building a good relationship with him.

Perhaps he could help the Dragon Race one day.

"Farewell, fellow Daoist Candle Dragon. When your cultivation is on the verge of advancing, you can come to Kunlun Mountain or Buzhou Mountain to discuss the Dao. You may find an opportunity there."

Before leaving, Xuanyuan still offered a word of warning.

Candle Dragon could succeed by proving the Dao through Law. But if he tried Severing Three Corpses, he would fall into the same trap again.