Ancient Secrets: Flame Mountain and Weak Water

As the birthplace of the Archaic Divine Path, Mount Kunlun was known as the Home of All Gods. After the decline of the Divine Dao, the immense fortune of the Immortal Dao had also settled here.

Near West Kunlun, Xuan Yin encountered quite a few Rogue Cultivators. Though his cultivation was low, when those cultivators saw the Upper Clarity Lotus Crown atop his head and sensed the aura of the Shangqing Lineage he gave off while flying, they knew he was Sage Tongtian's disciple and did not dare do anything to him.

After an unknown amount of time, Xuan Yin arrived at a strange place. Weak Water surrounded the area, while the fires of Flame Mountain blazed on the other side.

"What formidable Weak Water!"

Looking at the many skeletons at the bottom of the Weak Water, Xuan Yin did not act rashly. Instead, he took out the As-You-Will Golden-Rod Staff, intending to temporarily turn it into a bridge.

Not even a goose feather could float upon this Weak Water. It also possessed a strange restrictive force and corrosive power; ordinary immortals simply had no ability to cross it.

Moreover, the Weak Water could erode even a Golden Immortal's Three Flowers and Five Qi. Should one unfortunately fall into it, they would likely lose all their divine abilities.

"Why make things so troublesome?"

Seeing Xuan Yin preparing to build a bridge, Xuan Shuang, the Water Kirin, immediately appeared. She chuckled. "Mere Weak Water only poses some threat to Beings below Grand Unity! When a kirin travels, Weak Water retreats!"

Rumble!

As Xuan Shuang spoke, the Weak Water surrounding Flame Mountain immediately parted to both sides, exposing a broad riverbed wide enough for Xuan Yin to pass through.

Yan Lin also ran out and laughed. "Our Kirin Clan is the nemesis of this Weak Water! Back then, this Weak Water could even be considered an asset of our Kirin Clan. Unfortunately, it can now be taken and used by anyone!"

As he spoke, he could not help shaking his head, as though reminiscing over those glorious days, the days when he had followed First Kirin in conquering all directions.

Xuan Yin's interest was immediately piqued, and he took the initiative to ask further. He was also quite curious about the Dragon-Han Great Tribulation and the history before the rise of the three races.

Yan Lin sighed upon hearing this. "In ancient times, our Kirin Clan governed the Earth Origin Great Dao. Together with the Dragon Race, which governed the Water Origin Great Dao, and the Phoenix Race, which governed the Fire Origin Great Dao, we were all overlords of the Primordial World! First Kirin, Ancestor Dragon, and Primordial Phoenix all harbored grand ambitions of ruling the Primordial True Realm!"

"The Phoenix Race was still manageable. Though they commanded the avian races, their strength was about equal to that of the Kirin Clan. The Dragon Race, however, was the strongest of the three races!"

"Furthermore, in the Four Seas, the Water Origin Great Dao was incomparably dense. Ordinary kirin would be suppressed by the Water Origin Great Dao as soon as they entered the Four Seas!"

"But Heaven and Earth gave rise to yin and yang together. The Dragon Race excelled in water, yet also feared water. Thus, in the far west, Weak Water emerged, capable of corroding a true dragon's Dao body!"

Xuan Shuang continued, "First Kirin had intended to use the Weak Water against the Dragon Race, but he never expected the Dragon Race to join forces with the Phoenix Race and strike the Kirin Clan first. The Kirin Clan suffered devastating losses, and First Kirin had no choice but to have Huang Lin lead part of the clan to Fenglin Continent to temporarily avoid disaster! The Weak Water controlled by the Kirin Clan was also turned by First Kirin into the Abyss of Weak Water, serving as a barrier protecting Fenglin Continent!"

In truth, after the Dragon-Han Calamity, the Kirin Clan had not gone extinct. They still retained quite a number of clansmen. One portion followed King Chi Lin into the Kirin Ancient Realm, while the other went to Fenglin Continent.

After the calamity, the Kirin Clan voluntarily withdrew from the world. Yet many newly risen cultivators coveted the Kirin Clan's various treasures.

Even much of the hundred thousand li of Weak Water surrounding Fenglin Continent had been taken away. The Weak Water Nuwa took was now the Heavenly River in the Nine Heavens, while the portion Queen Mother of the West took was what Xuan Yin saw before him.

"Can I take some of this Weak Water?"

After listening to Xuan Shuang and Yan Lin's explanation, Xuan Yin became interested. Weak Water that could restrain the Dragon Race and that even Nuwa Sage and Queen Mother of the West had taken must certainly be an extraordinary treasure.

"Ahem!"

Yan Lin immediately coughed lightly. "The Weak Water here belongs to Queen Mother of the West. Young Friend should not set your sights on it, lest you become entangled in needless karma. If Young Friend is interested in Weak Water, I can take you to collect some near Fenglin Continent in the future!"

"That makes sense!"

Xuan Yin was quite receptive to advice. He did not want to inexplicably become entangled in karma with Queen Mother of the West.

However, though he did not take any Weak Water, he did collect several true dragon skeletons. These true dragons had possessed Golden Immortal cultivation in life, and their remains carried a trace of Immortal Golden Nature. They could be used to forge artifacts, though it was unknown why they had perished here!

It was a bargain for Xuan Yin.

Those who did not fear Weak Water presumably had no interest in these true dragon skeletons, while those who feared Weak Water had no ability to retrieve them from it.

After crossing the Weak Water came Flame Mountain. It was said to have been formed when a Phoenix Race cultivator at the Grand Unity realm underwent Dao Integration after suffering grave injuries.

These flames were no ordinary flames either, but the legendary Phoenix True Fire.

Seeing Xuan Yin's excited expression, Yan Lin took the initiative to say, "This is where a Grand Unity cultivator underwent Dao Integration, so it should have little to do with Queen Mother of the West in terms of karma!"

He then personally acted, drawing out a trace of Phoenix True Fire origin from the earth veins. Using Grand Unity-level divine sense, he also found several pieces of Phoenix Blood Red Gold beneath Flame Mountain that could be used for artifact forging!

Both of these items were blessings formed due to that Phoenix Race Grand Unity cultivator's Dao Integration. Beings above Grand Unity naturally would not care for them, but for Xuan Yin, a True Immortal, they were exactly what he needed.

Xuan Yin did not stand on ceremony!

After expressing his thanks, he directly put away the True Fire origin and Phoenix Blood Red Gold.

With Yan Lin present, passing through Flame Mountain was naturally no problem. Riding Rainbow Light, Xuan Yin soon arrived at the legendary Xuanpu.

There were no shortage of exotic flowers, rare grasses, immortal herbs, and divine medicines here. There was also an Immortal City stretching for a thousand li, with twelve jade towers, but nearly all of it had owners.

Most of those cultivating here were female immortals under Queen Mother of the West's protection.

If he traveled several million li farther west, he would likely see Queen Mother of the West's palace.

Xuan Yin had no interest in Queen Mother of the West. His destination was the highest point of Mount Kunlun, the legendary place from which the Great Emperor had ruled the Primordial World.

It was also where he had undergone Dao Integration.

This Great Emperor had been born even before the Dragon, Phoenix, and Qilin Races. He was known as Cang Li Shi, cultivated the Divine Dao, and was the Heavenly Emperor among the Archaic Three Sovereigns. During the Beast Calamity, he had once fought a great battle against Beast Emperor Shen Ni.

However, the flaws of the Archaic Divine Path were all too obvious. The stronger a cultivator became, the more easily they underwent Dao Integration. After his battle with Beast Emperor Shen Ni, Cang Li Shi suffered grave injuries and ultimately had no choice but to undergo Dao Integration!

This Heavenly Emperor opened the Nine Heavens and unified the innate Divine Dao, laying the foundation for the cultivation methods of later generations. It could be said that he had rendered great service to all beings of the Primordial World.

Therefore, whether the Three Pure Ones Sages or Queen Mother of the West, when they established their Dojos on Mount Kunlun, they deliberately avoided Cang Li Shi's former Dojo.

The cultivation system of the Primordial World had not been achieved overnight, but had evolved generation by generation.

Before Pangu opened the Primordial World, Chaos Demon Gods were born as Primordial Grand Unity Golden Immortals who governed a Dao. Naturally, they would not ponder so-called realms.

In fact, the title Primordial Grand Unity Golden Immortal was something later cultivators forcibly bestowed upon those Chaos Demon Gods.

For example, the Eight-Nine Arcane Arts, the protective doctrine of the Mystic Gate, was not Pangu's inheritance at all. Rather, it was a cultivation art the Three Pure Ones Sages comprehended by observing Pangu's Dao Body, integrating the Immortal Dao system, and gaining insight from it.

The Wu Clan's Nine Revolutions Arcane Arts was the same. It was likewise a supreme body-tempering art created by the Twelve Ancestral Witches after observing Pangu's Dao Body.

If Pangu and those Chaos Demon Gods truly left behind any inheritance, it would be better described as their application of the Laws of the Great Dao and the imprints of their spirit!

The cultivation methods of today were all developed after the opening of the Primordial World, through generation after generation of cultivators comprehending the Laws of the Great Dao.

At the dawn of ancient times, who passed down the Dao?

No one!

Everyone had to explore it for themselves.

The innate Divine Dao, the Archaic Divine Path, the Path of Grand Unity Limitlessness, the method of Primordial Unity, the Method of Severing the Three Corpses... only then came the systematic Immortal Dao of today.