"What use are you to me if ten thousand years pass in the blink of an eye?"
Xie Fang's retort left Zhen Yuanzi speechless. After pondering for a long while, Zhen Yuanzi finally asked awkwardly, "Then what does Senior mean?"
"How about this? I won't take advantage of you."
Xie Fang spoke as though he were considering the matter. "You can water the Three Lights Divine Water here, and I can even give you a share of the Yellow Middle Plum and Peaches. But you'll have to serve under me for ten kalpas!"
"What? Ten kalpas?!"
Zhen Yuanzi was stunned. He hadn't expected Xie Fang to make such an outrageous demand. "Senior, ten kalpas is a long time. I need to cultivate too..."
"Of course. I never said you couldn't cultivate. I can even help you with your cultivation. You surely understand how precious the Three Lights Divine Water is. I'm letting you water them with it as you please. What more is there to say?"
Xie Fang looked perfectly justified. "Surely you didn't think you could cultivate freely on my blessed immortal mountain and use the Three Lights Divine Water as you pleased without giving me anything in return?"
"This..."
Choked into silence, Zhen Yuanzi stammered for a long while before finally saying, "But ten kalpas is far too long..."
"Cultivators spend tens of thousands of years in seclusion at a time. Ten kalpas will pass in the blink of an eye. Besides, if I really wanted to take it by force, I could simply erase your consciousness."
As soon as Xie Fang finished speaking, Zhen Yuanzi immediately said, "Zhen Yuanzi pays his respects to Master."
As the saying went, a wise man knew when to yield. The moment Xie Fang said that, Zhen Yuanzi knew he had no chance of resisting. He might as well give in without delay.
"Good. In that case, find a place to cultivate."
Xie Fang nodded, then flicked a Yellow Middle Plum and a Peach toward him. "I won't treat you unfairly. It's up to you to decide how you'll repay me."
"Yes. Thank you, Master."
Zhen Yuanzi accepted the Yellow Middle Plum and the Peach, then, with a bitter expression, picked the Ginseng Fruits from the Ginseng Fruit Tree and handed them to Xie Fang.
All thirty Ginseng Fruits, without a single one missing.
After leaving Mo Wu and Zhen Yuanzi to cultivate on Mount Fangzhang Island, Xie Fang didn't immediately begin Refining Penglai. Instead, he went straight to the last blessed immortal mountain, Yingzhou Island.
As the last of the immortal mountain islands, Yingzhou Island was naturally covered in exotic flowers and plants. But that wasn't Xie Fang's purpose. He headed straight for its very center.
A peaceful aura greeted him in the central area, and Xie Fang's soul suddenly grew still.
Xie Fang took a deep breath, then focused his gaze on a small sapling radiating that peaceful aura.
"It stabilizes the soul and speeds up the absorption of Spiritual Qi. Could this sapling be the legendary Enlightenment Tea Tree?"
Just as its name suggested, the Enlightenment Tea Tree, though inferior to Innate Spiritual Roots like the Yellow Middle Plum, had remarkably powerful effects!
It could help people comprehend the Dao, stabilize their souls, and accelerate their cultivation!
Legend had it that cultivating beneath the Enlightenment Tea Tree would not only multiply one's cultivation speed, but also prevent the danger of cultivation deviation!
"The soil on Mount Fangzhang Island seems better suited to growing spiritual roots. Mo Wu and Zhen Yuanzi are there, and I've also brought in the Three Lights Divine Water. I might as well transplant the Enlightenment Tea Tree there too..."
After deciding, Xie Fang immediately moved the Enlightenment Tea Tree. Then he returned to Yingzhou Island, found its responsive Stone Stele, and refined it!
Ten thousand years later, a rumbling shook the air. Yingzhou Island had been successfully refined!
Without pausing, Xie Fang returned to Mount Fangzhang Island, found its control Stone Stele, and continued refining it!
Another ten thousand years passed. Amid a rumbling roar, Mount Fangzhang Island was successfully refined!
At last, he had refined all three immortal islands, and the Ten Directions Sky Covering Great Array obeyed him as readily as his own arm!
"Could that kid Mo Wu still be cultivating?"
When Xie Fang had refined Penglai Island earlier, Mo Wu had come out to congratulate him right away.
Of course, Xie Fang had also put the island away then, causing Mo Wu to fall into the water and wake up. But this time, refining Mount Fangzhang Island had caused just as much commotion, yet Mo Wu was nowhere to be seen.
Just then...
Boom—
A terrifying thunderclap rang out!
In the distance, lightning flickered across the sky as thunderclouds gathered and swirled, rapidly drawing together!
"That's the Grand Unity Tribulation Lightning!"
Xie Fang wasn't unfamiliar with the sight. After all, he had once been a Grand Unity Golden Immortal himself.
The thunderclouds were gathering above a mountain valley. Xie Fang vaguely remembered that the valley was where Mo Wu had chosen to cultivate.
"I wonder if that kid can withstand it..."
After a moment's thought, Xie Fang decided he couldn't leave Mo Wu to face it alone. With a slight shift of his body, he appeared above the valley.
"Come on!"
At that moment, a mighty roar rang out. Mo Wu, his entire body wreathed in flames, raised his head and bellowed!
Then he stamped all four hooves and charged straight into the thunderclouds.
"Holy shit, that kid's insane! He's planning to take it head-on!"
Xie Fang was a little surprised.
The strength of a heavenly tribulation was directly proportional to one's innate potential. Mo Wu's tribulation couldn't compare to the one Xie Fang had endured back then, of course.
But Mo Wu's cultivation was far lower!
If he survived the lightning tribulation, Mo Wu could attain the Grand Unity Dao!
If he failed, his body would perish, his soul would scatter, and he would be utterly destroyed!
Who would've thought this kid had the courage to take on the tribulation head-on!
Boom—
As thoughts raced through Xie Fang's mind, the first bolt of divine lightning came crashing down with boundless power!
Mo Wu cried out in agony, and the aura around him weakened noticeably. Even so, he managed to withstand the bolt.
And after withstanding it, he completely absorbed the lightning. The strength of both his body and Primordial Spirit surged!
That was the advantage of a Five Elements Physique: it could absorb tribulation lightning of any attribute.
Though Mo Wu's Primordial Spirit and body had grown stronger, the first bolt had still left him badly wounded and listless.
Xie Fang pondered for a moment, then flicked a Ginseng Fruit toward Mo Wu.
"Mo Wu, eat this and focus on surviving the tribulation!"
The Ginseng Fruit's benefits went beyond granting longevity. It contained an immense amount of Spiritual Qi, making it ideal for replenishing one's strength during a tribulation.
As Mo Wu was his steed, Xie Fang naturally wouldn't be stingy.
"Thank you, Master!"
At Xie Fang's words, Mo Wu immediately opened his mouth, and the Ginseng Fruit shot straight into it!
In an instant, Spiritual Qi surged forth, healing Mo Wu's wounds.
Before the fruit's Spiritual Qi had been completely absorbed, Mo Wu gritted his teeth, activated a secret technique of the Kirin Clan, and stamped all four hooves against the air to face the remaining bolts of lightning!
Rumble—
Another bolt of tribulation lightning struck!
Boom!
Boom!
Boom!
Bolt after bolt roared like maddened lightning serpents, radiating terrifying power as if they meant to destroy the heavens and earth!
At last...
Before long, as the bolts of tribulation lightning struck one after another, the terrifying spectacle gradually settled into silence.
And Mo Wu finally attained the Grand Unity Dao!
Before you continue