In terms of natural abundance, the Southern Great Earth was certainly no match for the Eastern Land or the Central Land, but it was still far more prosperous than the Western Land.
The Volcano of Immortality, the Phoenix Race's ancestral home, was formed by a continuous chain of volcanoes as numerous as the stars in the sky. It occupied most of the Southern Great Earth.
As a result, the innate Bing Ding Qi here was exceptionally dense. Medicinal herbs and spiritual plants of the Bing Ding Fire element could be found everywhere in the mountains, greatly benefiting beings who cultivated the Path of Fire.
Even a lean camel was bigger than a horse.
Though the Phoenix Race had suffered a heavy blow during the Dragon-Phoenix Calamity, after the Kalpa Tribulation swept through the Primordial World and reshuffled the board, no great divine power dared provoke them recklessly in this era.
Among the great divine powers who had emerged in this period, even Laozi and Yuanshi, whose origins were exceptionally strong, had only reached the realm of Grand Unity Golden Immortal.
The Phoenix Race, however, had an ancient powerhouse from the same era as Candle Dragon, just like the Dragon Race. Moreover, the Phoenix Race kept a low profile and did not compete for opportunities in the Primordial World, so even fewer people went looking for trouble with them.
Aside from the Phoenix Race, whose foundations were formidable and whose members lived in seclusion, other great divine powers also emerged in the Southern Great Earth as the Witch-Demon Tribulation drew near.
After leaving the Eastern Land, Xuanyuan and Tongtian traveled together through the Southern Great Earth.
They rode the spatial bridge fashioned from the Primordial Measure Heaven Ruler, skimming past the graceful peaks of Zhu Ling Cave Heaven and crossing the scorching lava on the outskirts of the Volcano of Immortality.
One day, as they passed over a desolate stretch of mountains, they spotted a deep ravine hidden among the cliffs below, shrouded in mist.
The air rising from the ravine was no ordinary spiritual energy. It was poisonous gas and miasma with a dark green sheen. When it touched the rocks along the ravine walls, it corroded them into tiny holes, while even the surrounding plants had withered.
Amid the endless poisonous gas and miasma, Xuanyuan keenly sensed a faint trace of Earth Vein Essence Qi.
Earth Vein Essence Qi was formed by Earth Vein Power accumulating over countless years. It was a potent supplement for Lesser Witches, Great Witches, and even Ancestral Witches who absorbed Earthly Fiend Tainted Qi, helping them advance in the Nine Revolutions Profound Technique and strengthen their bodies.
"Big Brother, there may be an opportunity in the ravine that could make your Ancestral Shaman True Form more complete."
Xuanyuan's eyes flickered. Space-Time Dao Patterns flowed around him, forming a wondrous barrier that kept out the miasma, and he entered the ravine first.
"If that's true, we can't let it pass us by!" Tongtian's eyes lit up at his words.
Though they were both Primordial Golden Immortals, he and Xuanyuan were in different circumstances.
Xuanyuan had broken through inside Pangu Hall, with the advantage of time, place, and circumstances. Nourished by the Pangu Blood Pool and endless Earthly Fiend Tainted Qi, he had completed the thirty-seventh stage of the fifth turn of the Nine Revolutions Profound Technique as soon as he broke through.
Tongtian, however, had broken through on Phoenix Perch Mountain. He had not been nourished by Pangu Blood Qi.
Though he could draw Earthly Fiend Tainted Qi from the Earth Veins, the process was far too inefficient, nowhere near as favorable as the conditions in Pangu Hall. Thus, he had only broken through the bottleneck and begun circulating the thirty-seventh stage of the Nine Revolutions Profound Technique. He had not even fully stabilized his cultivation yet.
"Whoosh!"
Xuanyuan led the way, with Tongtian close behind. Holding the Qing Ping Sword, Tongtian cleaved through the dense miasma ahead with waves of Innate Sword Qi, and the two followed the source of the Earth Vein Spiritual Rhyme deeper into the ravine.
The farther down they went, the thicker the miasma became. The surrounding rock walls were covered in poisonous moss, and the occasional venomous insects that had bred there—still without spiritual awareness—were reduced to nothingness beneath the Innate Sword Qi.
When they reached the bottom of the ravine, the scene before them suddenly changed.
The depths of the earth opened into a vast space. In a natural cavern, clear Spiritual Liquid had gathered into a pool, its surface shimmering with a radiant glow that illuminated the surroundings like daylight.
Above the pool, several hundred exotic flowers bloomed in silence. Their petals were pale gold, their edges wreathed in faint Grand Unity Pure Qi, and their stamens held pure Vitality Power—a stark contrast with the surrounding poisonous gas.
"They're Flowers of Grand Unity. Those young fellows from the Witch Ancestor Tribe are in for a blessing."
Tongtian probed with his Spiritual Sense, then shook his head with a smile.
Flowers of Grand Unity could replenish the Essence, Qi, and Spirit in the three flowers above a Grand Unity Golden Immortal's head. They greatly benefited one's cultivation and potential, and were treasures that could be found only by chance.
As it happened, in the Primordial World, Grand Unity Golden Immortals were not only divided by the strength of their cultivation, but also by the extent of their potential.
The so-called Three Flowers Gathering at the Crown referred to blossoms whose grade was determined by a cultivator's aptitude. One grade was the lowest, while nine was the highest.
The grade of the blossoms represented a cultivator's potential and talent.
Grand Unity Golden Immortals whose flowers bloomed from the first to the third grade had the least potential and not the slightest chance of proving Dao Hunyuan.
Those whose flowers bloomed from the fourth to the seventh grade had a certain degree of potential and could become powerhouses at the level of Primordial Golden Immortal.
Those whose flowers reached the eighth grade were all top powerhouses in the Primordial World, with extraordinary talents.
And if nothing went wrong in their cultivation, those whose flowers bloomed at the ninth grade had a chance—however slim—of becoming Primordial Grand Unity Golden Immortals.
The Twelve Ancestral Witches, Laozi, and Yuanshi had all emerged as Grand Unity Golden Immortals, with their flowers blooming at the ninth grade and the greatest potential.
Of course, after undergoing several transformations, Xuanyuan and Tongtian had already surpassed the ninth-grade limit. They stood above the ninth grade, their origins on par with those of Dao Ancestor Hongjun, Old Ancestor Five Elements, Shi Chen Daoist, and the other Demon Gods.
Flowers of Grand Unity could lay a solid foundation in the realm of Grand Unity Golden Immortal. By the time a cultivator reached the Grand Unity Golden Immortal realm, their flowers would bloom at a higher grade.
However, the Flowers of Grand Unity were of no use to Xuanyuan and Tongtian now.
They could take them back for Kuafu and Da Yi to develop the Witch Ancestor Tribe, or keep them to reward disciples when they established a school and founded a lineage in the future.
Either way, they were fine treasures.
"Big Brother, compared to the Flowers of Grand Unity, this pool of Earth Vein Spiritual Liquid seems far more suited to you."
Xuanyuan's attention was not on the flowers. He raised a hand and pointed at the pool of Spiritual Liquid.
Earth Vein Spiritual Liquid was formed when vast quantities of Earth Vein Essence Qi gathered, compressed, and liquefied. For Tongtian at this stage, it was just the supplement he needed.
"Fourth Brother, you truly have abundant good fortune." Tongtian laughed heartily, delighted. He was about to collect the Flowers of Grand Unity and then refine the Earth Vein Spiritual Liquid to complete his Ancestral Shaman True Form.
"Hiss!"
Xuanyuan and Tongtian had only just collected the Flowers of Grand Unity when a piercing insect cry suddenly rang out from the ravine behind them.
The poisonous gas and miasma that had been swirling through the ravine suddenly went out of control, churning wildly like ink dropped into clear water. The dark green mist condensed into grotesque insect shapes and rushed toward the cavern where the two stood. A revolting stench of decay filled the air, and strange black patterns spread across the ground like a spiderweb.
A figure rose into the air, riding the miasma. Countless tiny insects swirled around him, each giving off a poisonous aura.
"Gu Dao Pan Wang?" Xuanyuan merely sensed his aura and divined the secrets of heaven. He had already figured out most of the newcomer's origins.
The newcomer wore a Bone Spike Crown and a dark purple Daoist robe patterned with insects. One half of his face was covered in Insect Armor, making him exceptionally ugly. He was none other than Pan Wang, a great divine power who had returned from listening to the Dao in Purple Heaven Palace.
Pangu was the first to be born, and when he died, his body transformed. His breath became wind and clouds, his voice became thunder, his left eye became the sun, and his right eye became the moon... The insects in his body, touched by the wind, transformed into the common people.
Aside from the great divine powers born innately, all beings of the Primordial World had been brought forth by Pangu's myriad insects.
Pan Wang had been nurtured in the Southern Great Earth. Though he called himself the Medicine Ancestor, he was in fact most skilled in the Art of Poison and Gu. He had transformed from a Gu Worm among the Great Dao Insects at the time of Pangu's fall, making him the first Gu Worm in the world.
Gu Arts belonged to the Heretical Path among the Three Thousand Great Daos and the Eight Hundred Side Gates. They could be used to command countless poisonous creatures, or to unleash strange divine powers such as Jian Tou curses. They were even more bizarre than the Devil Dao passed down by Luohu.
It was a twist of fate.
Because the Twelve Ancestral Witches, Tongtian, and Xuanyuan had not gone to Purple Heaven Palace to hear the Dao, they were not among the Three Thousand Purple Heaven Guests. That gave Pan Wang, a left-path great divine power who had been fated to miss the sermon, a sliver of opportunity. It was truly a case of fortune returning after reaching its lowest ebb.
Not only had he gained a great deal from listening to the Dao, but after leaving Purple Heaven Palace, he had also found a segment of an insect's feeler in the boundless Chaos, one that dated back to before the World-Opening Calamity. After refining and devouring it, he had now reached Grand Unity Golden Immortal Perfection.
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