Before Shangqing Palace, the enormous white-jade Dao-discussion platform shimmered with flowing radiance.
Lu Yuan sat high upon the chief Cloud Platform, gazing down below. Before him lay magnificent scenery, the flourishing spectacle of a Dao lineage bursting forth. A warm current immediately flowed through his heart, and an gratified smile unconsciously touched his lips.
This was precisely the visage of the Jie Sect he had hoped for—full of vitality and sharpness, not the smoke-choked, miasma-ridden mess described in later legends.
With a light sweep of his sleeve, a spiritual fruit enveloped in gentle emerald radiance silently appeared, its Dao rhythm of life nearly solidified into substance, hovering above the center of the altar.
"Fruit of Life!"
Startled cries surged like rolling tides. Feverish gazes instantly converged upon it, and the breaths of the Shangqing Palace disciples in the hall caught.
For tens of thousands of years, the name "Tree of Life" had long circulated within the Jie Sect. Yet the Tree of Life was a Top-grade Innate Spiritual Root, producing merely forty-eight Innate Spiritual Fruits in an entire epoch!
It could heal wounds upon the Great Dao and contain Life Origin. Even Daluo Golden Immortals and mighty Quasi-Sages dreamed of obtaining it—let alone the Shangqing Palace disciples present, most of whom were Heavenly Immortals, Golden Immortals, and Taiyi cultivators.
Upon the Cloud Platform, the slightly plump Daoist Duobao clapped and laughed, his round face filled with boundless emotion. "Junior Brother Qingxuan, what a grand gesture! What a grand gesture!"
A tremor lay hidden in Saint Mother Jin Ling's bright eyes. "Junior Brother Qingxuan's action is not simply a generous gift—it is truly an expectation."
Beside her, Saint Mother Wudang was tranquil as water while Saint Mother Guiling was weighty as a mountain. Yet even these two could not help feeling