"A... Chaos Ancient God who attained the Dao before Great God Pangu?"
Zhao Gongming's lips trembled, his mind buzzing.
"Then hasn't he... lived for countless ages? Perhaps even the Heavenly Dao can't control him!"
He stared blankly for a moment, then shuddered. If that was true, what had he been doing just now if not courting death?
"I actually... shouted at a being like that?"
Regret surged through him. Have I gone mad?
Even so, Zhao Gongming gritted his teeth and used a broken branch to haul himself unsteadily to his feet.
Though badly injured, his spirit remained unbroken, and defiance still glimmered in his eyes.
"I can't just leave like this..."
"No matter who he is or where he came from, I... have to find out."
Sunlight finally pierced the clouds and spilled across the mountains. Mist draped the slopes like silk, turning them into an immortal paradise.
Zhao Gongming staggered toward the ancient willow once more.
He stumbled with every step. Pain tore through his body as though it were splitting apart, yet he pressed on.
From afar, the ancient Willow Tree remained lush and green, its curtain-like branches swaying gently in the breeze.
And that figure still lay in the wicker rocking chair, his face serene, as though none of the world's turmoil had anything to do with him.
Unlike the night before, the full extent of the Daoist grounds now lay revealed in the morning light.
Zhao Gongming's heart jolted. His eyelids twitched wildly.
"This... this is..."
He stood rooted to the spot, feeling as though he had entered another world.
The place seemed like a vast natural formation. Every inch of earth, every whisper of wind, even each blade of grass and stone held the principles of the Great Dao.
The plants flourished without withering. The spring water was sweet and clear. Birds and beasts alike brimmed with intelligence and showed no fear of strangers. They even bowed silently toward the Daoist, as though paying homage!
And that Daoist was the center of it all.
He resonated with heaven and earth. All things bowed before him.
Leaning on a dead branch, Zhao Gongming hobbled onward.
Suddenly, an overwhelmingly rich fruity fragrance washed over him.
Zhao Gongming drew an instinctive breath. The fragrance surged into him like dragons and serpents. In an instant, it felt as though a clear spring had washed through every part of his body. Warmth stirred in his blood, and even his badly damaged immortal body began to heal. Beneath his skin, torn meridians knitted themselves back together!
"This... this is..."
Zhao Gongming's pupils contracted. He jerked his head up.
Ahead of him lay an immense orchard.
Spiritual mist curled through it, and auspicious light rose into the air.
Ancient trees stood tall as dragons, their jade-like branches and leaves radiating boundless innate Dao resonance.
Zhao Gongming froze, his eyes wide.
"The Ten Innate Spiritual Roots!"
He practically stumbled into the orchard, forgetting his injuries as he rushed among the trees.
"Th-this is the Innate Gourd Vine?! One, two, three... heavens, there are ten of them!"
He stood before the vines, eyes bulging with shock and wild delight.
The vines wound like dragons, crystalline from end to end. Seven-colored light flowed over them, and gourds of different colors hung from every branch, spilling spiritual radiance.
"Only one of these existed in the Primordial Wilderness. It was a divine plant from before heaven and earth were formed. It bore seven gourds—red, orange, yellow, green, cyan, blue, and purple—and every one of them held world-shaking power!"
Zhao Gongming murmured as he hurriedly recalled where the seven gourds had ended up.
The red one was the Nine-Nine Soul Scattering Gourd, obtained by Hong Yun.
The gold one was the Monster Summoning Gourd, which fell into Nuwa's hands.
The yellow one was the Immortal Slaying Gourd, obtained by Lu Ya. Later, Zhao Gongming himself had died in a surprise attack by that very gourd.
The green one was taken by Primordial Lord of Heaven.
The cyan one went to Sect Master Tongtian.
The blue one was in Dao Ancestor Hongjun's hands.
The purple one, also called the Purple Gold Gourd, was taken by Grand Supreme Elder Lord.
As for the sole Gourd Vine, Nuwa had used it to create humanity, after which it became a Merit Supreme Treasure.
"But right before me... ten of them are planted in neat rows in this orchard?!"
Zhao Gongming's breath caught. He swallowed hard, and the muscles in his face began to twitch.
"Fuck, this isn't just a miracle... this defies heaven itself!"
Before he could dwell on it, his gaze swept to the side, and his heart lurched again.
"Holy shit, is that... a Yellow Middle Plum?!"
He hurried over to the ten immortal trees. Their trunks were ancient, their branches swayed, and inscriptions of the Great Dao appeared naturally on every leaf. Jade-like fruit gleamed among them, giving off a heady fragrance, while the spiritual energy of heaven and earth gathered around their roots.
"Ten Yellow Middle Plums! Fourth among the Ten Innate Spiritual Roots! You couldn't find even one in the Purple Firmament Palace... How... how is this possible..."
Zhao Gongming walked faster and faster, his eyes bloodshot, as though he had wandered into an illusion.
"And the Innate Five-Needle Pines... the Wind Thunder Immortal Apricots... ten of each, too..."
He was utterly numb!
He stood frozen, as though struck by lightning, unable to speak.
The spiritual energy around him was so dense it threatened to burst even a Grand Unity Golden Immortal like him. The air also carried the primal fluctuations of the four innate elements: earth, water, fire, and wind.
Zhao Gongming began to tremble, his voice hoarse.
"Just whose abode... have I, Zhao Gongming, stumbled into?"
"The Ten Innate Spiritual Roots, which even a Saint might not possess, are growing here in rows like radishes and cabbages?!"
The young Daoist sleeping beneath the willow came to mind, and a chill ran down his spine.
"If he isn't a Saint, how could any of this be possible?"
"But even a Saint couldn't possess divine plants like these... He's... beyond a Saint! Is he an ancient giant god from the chaos, a peerless being who attained the Dao before Great God Pangu?!"
Zhao Gongming could no longer contain himself. He slapped his own face hard.
"I'm a complete fool! I dared talk back to a Senior like that! I was asking to die!"
"I, Zhao Gongming, am no more than a firefly, yet I dared compete with the Senior's moonlike radiance!"
His breathing settled. Not a trace of arrogance remained in his eyes—only reverence and devotion. He slowly withdrew his power, straightened his robes, and walked step by step toward the ancient Willow Tree, like a mortal approaching a sacred mountain in worship. Repentance filled his gaze.
But then!!!
He had taken only a few steps when a terrifying wave of baleful energy slammed into him. The world seemed to darken in an instant. Winds howled, the ground shook, and Zhao Gongming stumbled, nearly falling to his knees!
"What is that?!"
He snapped his head up and looked ahead. In an instant, his blood ran cold!
The valley beyond the orchard was piled with corpses. Black scales and silver horns lay among bare dragon bones, while baleful energy surged toward him like a tide.
Every corpse stretched ten thousand zhang, fearsome even in death. They were all remains of Chaos Demon Dragons!
Ten, a hundred, a thousand... there were more than a hundred thousand!
Zhao Gongming's pupils shrank, and his throat went dry. "This is... the Chaos Demon Dragon race?! They were all wiped out here?!"
He trembled all over, hardly able to believe his eyes.
"What kind of terrifying being could exterminate the Chaos Demon Dragons and pile their corpses into mountains?!"
"Every one of these Chaos Demon Dragons must have been at Great Perfection of the Primordial Golden Immortal realm!"
"Hiss... and there are over a hundred thousand of them here!"
"That Senior... just what realm has he reached?"
Zhao Gongming could say no more. His knees gave way, and he dropped to the ground with a thud. His mind went blank save for one thought screaming through it.
"I thought my master Tongtian was already a peerless genius, unrivaled in all his splendor!"
At that thought, a shadow crossed his eyes. Then he looked toward the young Daoist beneath the ancient Willow Tree with burning fervor.
"But now I see my master Tongtian isn't even worthy of carrying this man's shoes!"
Before you continue