45. Xuanyuan's Sudden Enlightenment, the Gourd Vine is Born

Tongtian's fingers lightly caressed the scabbard of the Qing Ping Sword, a flash of surprise in his eyes.

The Twelve Ancestral Witches also turned their heads in unison. Di Jiang sensed the familiar spatial Dao resonance emanating from Xuanyuan—it was even more profound than his own mastery as the Space Ancestral Shaman!

Everyone clearly felt Xuanyuan's aura climbing step by step.

The ultimate barrier of the fourth revolution of the Nine Revolutions Profound Technique, perfected at thirty-six layers, was shaken with a thunderous impact. A surge of formidable blood essence power erupted from the deepest part of his body—that single drop of Pangu Essence Blood—and finally merged with the Source Power of the Chaos Pearl.

"It's Father God's bloodline! Brother Xuanyuan is excavating his bloodline, using the convergence of laws to break through to the fifth revolution of the Nine Revolutions Profound Technique!"

Gonggong's eyes went wide.

"Brothers, our fourth brother is now excavating Father God's bloodline. We too can immerse ourselves in perceiving its changes, so that when we step into the Golden Immortal of the Origin realm in the future, we'll have more experience and foundation." Tongtian reminded them.

"Brother Tongtian speaks sense!"

"Good, let's do it!"

"Indeed, how could we waste such an opportunity? It's destined for secluded cultivation!"

The Twelve Ancestral Witches immediately rose, shifted their positions, and formed a circle centered on Xuanyuan.

Kuafu and Da Yi also drew as close as they could. Even Candle Dragon, as he perceived the convergence of time and space, felt wave after wave of insight surging in his heart.

Xuanyuan, lost in his wondrous state, was utterly unaware of the outside world. His mind was completely immersed in comprehending time and space.

The efficacy of the Enlightenment Tea allowed him to connect with the Time Great Dao and Space Great Dao, his comprehension efficiency advancing by leaps and bounds.

Meanwhile, the Dongting Biluochun, Five Needles Pine, and other innate spiritual roots kept his Dao Heart clear, his mind free of distracting thoughts, and his enlightenment greatly enhanced.

At this moment, the cultivation environment within Pangu Hall was so superior that even Dao Ancestor Hongjun's Purple Firmament Palace could not compare!

Deep within his Primordial Spirit, the Chaos Pearl emitted a hazy treasure light. A wisp of Chaos Source spread through his entire body along the law of bloodline, perfectly reflecting the "boundlessness" of space and the "beginninglessness" of time, continuously interweaving.

Xuanyuan's Ancestral Shaman True Form constantly radiated gold and silver light. The Chaos World Projection and the law of bloodline nourished each other, the fusion of space and time laws growing ever tighter. The opportunity for the fifth revolution of the Nine Revolutions Profound Technique was firmly grasped, and the Origin aura around him grew denser and denser.

At this moment, Xuanyuan was like a Chaos Dao seed about to break its cocoon. He only needed to complete his secluded cultivation to take that step and join the ranks of the Golden Immortals of the Origin!

And just as Xuanyuan achieved sudden enlightenment and seized the breakthrough opportunity, on Buzhou Mountain, as Dao Ancestor Hongjun's sermon concluded, a certain destiny was also ripe for emergence.

Of course, one must first be strong oneself. For Xuanyuan, no opportunity was greater than the improvement of his own cultivation...

"Boom!"

Atop Buzhou Mountain, amidst the sheer cliffs wreathed in Chaos Residual Qi, there came a day when a Seven-Colored Radiance shot up into the sky, illuminating hundreds of millions of miles of time and space.

Within the radiance, a vine coiled and stretched, its leaves gleaming with seven-colored spiritual light, its body bearing Innate Dao Patterns. On its branches hung seven gourds of different hues—purple-red, purple-gold, purple-black, purple-yellow, purple-white, purple-cyan, and purple-green. Each one was thick with dense Innate Spiritual Qi and entwined with layers of Innate Treasure Restrictions.

But as soon as the radiance rose, a hazy Innate Restriction materialized out of thin air, enveloping the gourd vine in an independent time-space.

To the living beings of the Primordial World outside the restriction, even if they were right there at that moment, as long as they were not destined, they would only see a flash of spiritual light. When they looked again, there would be nothing but bare cliffs.

Only those with destiny to the vine could perceive the existence of that space.

Moreover, for those without destiny, even if they could forcibly pierce through time and space, they could not shake the Innate Restriction connected to Pangu's spine!

Gonggong was able to angrily strike Buzhou Mountain because Heaven's will decreed it so, and because the Ancestral Witches were born from Pangu Essence Blood. When blood stained Pangu's spine, how could it not collapse?

Now, Hong Yun, who had just parted ways with Zhen Yuanzi and was heading back to Huoyun Cave, found himself relentlessly pursued by a black cloud all the way to the vicinity of Buzhou Mountain.

Looking closely, that was no black cloud—it was clearly a pair of enormous wings!

In the Northern Abyss there is a fish, its name is Kun. Kun's size—who knows how many thousands of miles? It transforms into a bird, its name is Peng. Peng's back—who knows how many thousands of miles? In its furious flight, its wings are like Clouds Hanging from the Sky!

This Great Divine Power hunting down Hong Yun was none other than Kunpeng, who had emerged from the Northern Sea of the Primordial World. Upon taking form, he had inherited a wisp of Chaos Residual Qi and cultivated the Great Dao of Water and the Great Dao of Wind.

Kunpeng's figure flickered in and out of sight in the air, his sharp shout splitting the void: "Hong Yun! In the Purple Firmament Palace, you ruined my opportunity for no reason and planted a bitter fruit between us. Today, I'll scatter your soul and take your life in recompense!"

Hong Yun was not skilled in combat. Knowing he was in the wrong, he dared not talk back and could only flee with his head down, his cloud aura churning.

But how swift was Kunpeng's speed?

In his fury, pursuing over a long distance, he was even a bit faster than Hong Yun!

In the blink of an eye, he closed in. His claws, wrapped in the Water Law and Wind Law, struck at Hong Yun with murderous intent.

Seeing this, Hong Yun was greatly alarmed. Not daring to face it head-on, he urgently mobilized all his mana, transforming into a mass of crimson cloud aura. Using the cloud layers atop Buzhou Mountain as cover, he fled wildly.

But his fortune was deep, and his fate was not yet spent.

In his panicked flight, he stumbled and broke through an invisible barrier, instantly falling into the special time-space outside the gourd vine.

The surrounding killing intent vanished. As he steadied himself, he found himself in a space thick with Innate Spiritual Qi.

That vine, bearing seven gourds, stood right before his eyes!

"This is... the Gourd Vine among the Ten Great Top-grade Innate Spiritual Roots?!"

His Spiritual Sense swept over the vine. Hong Yun was both shocked and overjoyed. He hurried forward, and the moment his fingertip touched that purple-red gourd, it transformed into a stream of light and flew into his hand on its own.

The purple-red gourd was nine inches and nine tenths high, weighing four taels and nine maces. It felt warm in his hand, with faint starlight flowing within.

Upon sensing it, he found it contained endless Stellar Sand—clearly a treasure aligned with the source of his Great Dao of Clouds.

As the first red cloud between heaven and earth, Hong Yun's Great Dao of Clouds was very special—a fusion of water, fire, and wind.

This purple-red gourd would later be refined by him and named the Nine-Nine Soul Scattering Gourd, ranked among the top-grade innate treasures. The Stellar Sand within would be transformed into Soul Scattering Red Sand, capable of dissolving blood and soul, extinguishing spirit and true spirit—truly insidious and deadly.

"One gourd alone is a Top-grade Innate Spiritual Treasure. If I were to pick all seven gourds and assemble them into a set, wouldn't that be comparable to an Innate Supreme Treasure? At that time, even though This Poor Daoist is not skilled in combat, I would still have a means to protect myself and uphold the Dao!"

Putting away the Purple-Red Gourd, Hong Yun's heart stirred. He reached out again to pluck the neighboring Purple Gold Gourd, but the moment his fingertip touched the gourd's skin, he was repelled by an Innate Restriction, and a sharp sting spread through his palm.

He tried the other gourds one after another, and all were the same. His heart immediately understood.

"So it is that only this Purple-Red Gourd is destined for me. The rest are beyond my reach. Very well—having obtained a Top-grade Innate Spiritual Treasure, I should be content."

Hong Yun let out a soft sigh, knowing that one cannot force fate. At present, Kunpeng was still hunting him.

And now that he had taken the Purple-Red Gourd, he was being rejected by this time and space, and the force of rejection was growing stronger by the moment. He could not afford to linger here any longer.

"Shua!"

Without further hesitation, Hong Yun departed. As soon as he left, the Innate Restriction sent him hundreds of millions of miles away. After discerning his direction, he immediately fled toward Longevity Mountain.

He could only obtain one gourd, but his close friend Zhen Yuanzi was also deeply blessed by fortune and was destined to obtain one as well.

Hong Yun thought to himself.

As luck would have it, no sooner had Hong Yun left than Zhen Yuanzi arrived at the foot of Buzhou Mountain using the technique "Shrink the Ground to Inch." Not sensing the presence of Xuanyuan or Tongtian, and having heard that his close friend was being hunted by Kunpeng, he was anxious to go protect him and did not linger.

He calculated the celestial mechanisms with his fingers. Since Kunpeng had no treasure to shield himself, it did not take long for Zhen Yuanzi to locate him, and he immediately gave chase.

As one Great Divine Power after another returned to the Primordial Wilderness, the world once again grew lively.

After Hong Yun, Tai Yi was also fated to have a connection with the Gourd Vine. He took away the Purple-White Gourd, and later had Di Jun come, but Di Jun could not find the way in—that stretch of time and space was no longer accessible.

In the blink of an eye, ten thousand years passed like flowing water. Even to Great Divine Powers, it was but a snap of the fingers.

On this day, within Pangu Hall, the Chaos Residual Qi suddenly stirred restlessly.

"Shua!"

Xuanyuan's eyes snapped open in seclusion. Gold and silver light swirled in his gaze. His left eye reflected the surging scene of the River of Time, while his right eye manifested the spinning image of a vortex of space.