Ever since he had taken form, Yuanshi had always looked down on Tongtian and lectured him. Laozi had never shown it openly, but his air of Supreme Non-action still left Tongtian feeling rather despondent.
Yuanshi had taken form with one-tenth of the Heaven-Opening Merit and reached the Mid Stage Zenith Heaven Golden Immortal realm, while Tongtian had taken form with less than half that merit and reached only the early stage. Faced with such an unequal comparison, even Laozi, their eldest brother, had remained neutral...
Sometimes, saying nothing was already a statement in itself.
Now, being able to surpass the two brothers who loomed over him like mountains—even if only in the way of thunder—greatly heartened Tongtian. The pent-up resentment in his heart dissipated, and his Dao Heart grew clearer.
Even his Grand Unity Magic Power flowed with greater ease.
"Congratulations, Elder Brother, on your improvement."
Xuanyuan smiled faintly and cupped his hands.
"Ah, if not for Fourth Brother accompanying me to Buzhou Mountain, how could we have encountered one opportunity after another?"
"By the way, Fourth Brother, you still don't have a suitable treasure. Why don't we split up and search the mountain? That way, we can find you a protective spiritual treasure sooner. Otherwise, I won't be at ease with you traveling through the Primordial World."
Tongtian waved a hand, then spoke with a serious expression.
In his eyes, his Fourth Brother was the one who needed looking after most.
They were both early-stage Grand Unity Golden Immortals, but Xuanyuan had no treasure to protect himself and had never shown any powerful defensive divine ability. He was probably among the weakest early-stage Grand Unity Golden Immortals, wasn't he?
That wouldn't do!
Calamity Qi was growing denser throughout Heaven and Earth, and a great tribulation was about to begin. It wouldn't be safe for Fourth Brother to go without a treasure to protect himself and aid his cultivation.
"Elder Brother is right. Let's do as you suggest and search in two different directions."
Xuanyuan had no objections.
Buzhou Mountain held many treasures. In all the vast Primordial World, only the undiscovered Three Immortal Islands overseas could rival it to any degree.
At once, Xuanyuan and Tongtian went their separate ways, one heading upward and the other downward.
At the peak of Buzhou Mountain, Chaos Residual Qi surged like ink. The lingering might of Pangu, who had fallen long ago, had become invisible Strong Winds, slicing the void into countless tiny fissures.
At this time, Buzhou Mountain was no place an ordinary living being could approach.
The pressure from Pangu's fallen spine alone would leave the weak unable to take a single step. As for the Strong Winds stirred up by the Chaos Residual Qi and the chaotic spatial fissures, only Grand Unity Golden Immortals had even a sliver of a chance to protect themselves.
Xuanyuan stepped upon Profound Clarity Qi. As Dao Rhythms and laws flowed around him, he enveloped himself in the phantom of the Yin-Yang Lightning World, attempting to withstand the void fissures capable of shredding Golden Immortals.
"As expected of Great God Pangu. Even after countless ages, his lingering might can still twist Time and Space."
Xuanyuan formed a hand seal, intending to investigate the flow of the mountain's ley lines.
"Crack..."
Yet the Grand Unity Magic Power that burst from his fingertips turned barren the instant it touched the mountainside, then crumbled inch by inch.
Looking up, he saw chaotic-colored Dao patterns flowing across the mottled rocks. They were the imprints of laws left behind when Pangu opened Heaven and Earth. Every line held the mighty power of creation.
Buzhou Mountain was covered in its own law patterns. It was a treasure in its own right, but the time was not yet ripe.
The Kalpa Tribulation had not yet erupted. Even a Saint could not move Buzhou Mountain now.
Only when Gonggong, the Water Ancestral Witch, flew into a rage during the Witch-Demon War and crashed into the mountain, toppling this pillar of Heaven, would Yuanshi benefit and be able to refine the Sky-Turning Seal, a Houtian Supreme Treasure no less powerful than an innate treasure.
That was also what later earned Guang Chengzi his infamous title of "Saintess Slayer."
But this had nothing to do with Xuanyuan for now. Even though he was also one of the Four Pure Ones, born from Pangu's Primordial Spirit, he still couldn't merge his magic power with Buzhou Mountain, let alone refine it and take it away.
"I was being greedy. The Creation Green Lotus, the Gourd Vine, the Banana Tree... These spiritual roots haven't emerged yet, and their fortune is concentrated in Buzhou Mountain. Its might and weight are supreme; I can't move it."
Unable to move Buzhou Mountain, Xuanyuan changed his goal. He tried to find the Twenty-Four Petaled Creation Green Lotus, but never did.
He also searched for other spiritual-root treasures, such as the Chaos Gourd Vine and the Earth, Water, Fire, and Wind Banana Tree, but came up empty.
"Forget it!"
"It seems the time isn't right. These spiritual roots won't appear yet."
A hundred years passed in the blink of an eye. Xuanyuan withdrew the phantom of the Yin-Yang Lightning World and let out a helpless sigh.
"The Twenty-Four Petaled Creation Green Lotus, the Chaos Gourd Vine..."
These Innate Spiritual Objects would have to wait for the Kalpa Tribulation to turn and Pangu's Residual Might to dissipate before they had a chance to emerge.
Shaking his head, Xuanyuan prepared to find Tongtian and travel through the Primordial World.
Just then, the Primordial Measure Heaven Ruler, dormant in his primordial spirit for ages, suddenly burst with countless streams of purple light. The mountain-and-river symbols engraved on its body began to move like living things.
In the next instant, a purple beam as thick as a finger shot from the space between his brows, piercing layer after layer of Chaos Residual Qi and concealing Pangu's Residual Might as it pointed straight toward an unremarkable spatial fissure deep within Buzhou Mountain.
At a glance, this fissure was indistinguishable from the countless other fine spatial cracks.
Even Xuanyuan, with the primordial spirit of a Grand Unity Golden Immortal, could detect nothing unusual after carefully probing it.
"There's a chance!"
Still, he chose to trust the Primordial Measure Heaven Ruler.
This Houtian Merit Supreme Treasure contained the mysteries of the Space Great Dao and could precisely detect minute spatial fluctuations, piercing through the Chaos mist and illusions.
Its sudden reaction surely meant it had discovered a hidden realm or some special space.
Within the Primordial World, some treasures formed their own spaces as they were nurtured, protected by Innate Restrictions. Before they were ready to emerge, they were difficult to find, let alone open.
"Go!"
The Primordial Measure Heaven Ruler flew out of Xuanyuan's primordial spirit and landed in his hand. Its Dao Rhythms surged, and the phantom of the Yin-Yang Lightning World blossomed around him. He poured vast Grand Unity Magic Power into the ruler, activating the restrictions within the treasure.
"Boom!"
"Crack!"
The Primordial Measure Heaven Ruler hummed like a bell, and the collision with the void rang out with the music of the Great Dao. The Profound Yellow Merit Light flowing across its body suddenly blazed brighter.
"Break!"
Xuanyuan shouted. Gripping the ruler in his right hand, he swung it with all his might. The Primordial Measure Heaven Ruler turned into a streak of light, and the divine characters "Measure Heaven" on its face unleashed endless purple Qi. Wherever it passed, space crumbled inch by inch like old brocade.
In the next instant, wrapped in Heaven-Opening Merit, the Primordial Measure Heaven Ruler forcibly tore open a passage leading to an unknown space.
"I wonder what opportunity lies within."
Xuanyuan didn't hesitate. Holding the supreme treasure, he stepped straight into the passage.
With the Chaos Supreme Treasure Chaos Pearl and the Houtian Merit Supreme Treasure Primordial Measure Heaven Ruler at his side, he was invincible from the outset.
If he encountered a danger he couldn't withstand, he could simply escape into the Chaos Pearl and wait until Buzhou Mountain was toppled by Gonggong before coming out.
After passing through countless layers of Chaos Residual Qi and a barrier woven from Pangu's Residual Might and the laws of Time and Space, Xuanyuan's eyes suddenly brightened.
An ancient secret realm suspended within a spatial interstice slowly appeared before him. At its very center was a pool measuring only fifty zhang in length and width, and four zhang and nine chi deep, shrouded by an Innate Restriction.
"Could this be Pangu Jade Marrow?"
Using the Primordial Measure Heaven Ruler's ability to see through illusions, Xuanyuan looked through the restriction and saw the liquid inside the pool.
It was neither a solid substance nor pure energy, but a special Chaos Spiritual Liquid between reality and illusion. It was white-gold throughout, its surface flowing with the law patterns left by the Chaos Supreme Treasure Sky-Opening Axe when it had created Heaven and Earth, along with the faintly visible imprint of Pangu's Heaven-Opening.
Pangu Jade Marrow had formed after Pangu fell while creating Heaven and Earth. It was the essence of Pangu Essence Blood and Chaos Qi, blended together and then tempered by the laws of Heaven and Earth over countless ages.
It shared the same origin as the Twelve Ancestral Witches, formed from Pangu's Essence Blood, and the Four Pure Ones, formed from Pangu's Primordial Spirit. However, it had no affinity for taking form and no spark of life. It was a lifeless object.
In truth, this treasure was far more precious than the so-called Three Lights Divine Water and the water in the Eight Treasures Merit Pool, and its effects were even more powerful.
Xuanyuan was about to break the Innate Restriction when he reconsidered, stepped back outside, and prepared to bring Tongtian in with him.
Pangu Jade Marrow had many uses, but its most basic function was to strengthen the body and improve one's talent and potential for cultivating the flesh, producing an effect similar to an Ancestral Witch Body.
Before you continue