Chapter Sixteen: A Heavenly Immortal Wanders the Divine Mountain, Then Treasure Light Shakes the Primordial World / Chapter Seventeen: The Innate Gourd Vine, and the Gods of the Primordial World Are Astonished

The indifferent, majestic voice faded, and Hongjun's figure vanished from the high platform as silently as it had appeared.

Only then did the Three Thousand Red Dust Guests in the palace come back to their senses, one after another emerging from their states of enlightenment.

Some looked delighted, clearly having gained a great deal; some furrowed their brows, seemingly still puzzled by many things; others had flickering eyes, lost in thought.

A Sage's preaching was profoundly mysterious. How much one could comprehend depended entirely on one's personal affinity and understanding.

Everyone rose and respectfully bowed toward the high platform before beginning to leave Zixiao Palace.

The Three Pure Ones—Laozi, Yuanshi, and Tongtian—walked out side by side, each with a different expression;

Nuwa and her elder brother, Fuxi, followed close behind, seemingly discussing something;

Di Jun and Tai Yi walked side by side. Tai Yi looked excited, but an almost imperceptible gloom and murderous intent flashed through Di Jun's eyes. He clearly still had Ci Tie's death on his mind;

And then there were great divine power holders like Zhen Yuanzi, Hong Yun, and Kunpeng, each leaving the Sage's sanctuary with their own thoughts.

However, just as most of the figures had turned into streaks of light and were preparing to return to their respective sanctuaries to enter seclusion and digest what they had gained,

several tremendously powerful figures, after leaving Zixiao Palace, simultaneously turned their gazes toward the heart of the Primordial World—to Buzhou Mountain, which upheld the heavens and earth!

Among them were the Three Pure Ones, who had just finished listening to the Dao and seemed to have gained some insight!

There was also Nuwa, whose merits for creating humanity were complete and who seemed to be seeking further opportunities!

Even Di Jun and Tai Yi, with their minds set on the supremacy of the demon race, covertly glanced toward Buzhou Mountain after sensing the flow of the Primordial World's fortune!

Buzhou Mountain, formed from Pangu's Spine, stood at the heart of the Primordial World. It held not only Pangu Legacy, but also the densest innate spiritual energy and the most active laws of heaven and earth!

Some of these great divine power holders, having listened to the Sage's preaching, wanted to test what they had learned at Buzhou Mountain. Some hoped to find a Companion Spirit Treasure or an Innate Spiritual Root. Others were simply drawn to the aura of the Primordial World's ancestral vein...

In that moment, several streaks of light representing the Primordial World's most powerful beings shot through the air toward Buzhou Mountain!

Chapter Sixteen: A Heavenly Immortal Wanders the Divine Mountain, Then Treasure Light Shakes the Primordial World

The joy of breaking through stirred in Ao Chen's heart for a moment before he quickly calmed down.

He did not leave the stone grotto at once. Instead, he spent several thousand years carefully consolidating his newly attained Mythical Heavenly Immortal realm.

The vast Star River Universe slowly turned within him. He familiarized himself with his surging magic power, experienced his deeper mastery over the dimensions of space and time, and verified the many profound truths of the Great Dao Origin Scripture—Heavenly Immortal Chapter in his mind.

The Unique True Self Imprint anchored in the past radiated a steady light, answering the call of his present self from afar. It gave him a wondrous sensation of spanning past and present, eternal and imperishable.

Only when his realm was fully stabilized and his command of his own power had become seamless did Ao Chen slowly rise.

"Shutting myself away to study in isolation won't do forever. This is especially true of the Mythical Grand Unity Method. I need to understand the natural world and observe the myriad aspects of life before I can keep refining it and glimpse even greater heights."

He withdrew the restrictions around the grotto and stepped out, once again entering the vast pressure and dense Dao resonance of the Buzhou Mountain Range.

After entering the Mythical Heavenly Immortal realm, his resistance to Pangu's Pressure had greatly increased. The pressure that had once felt like a mountain was still heavy, but he could now withstand it with ease.

That allowed him to observe and comprehend the mysteries of this divine mountain more deeply.

He was no longer confined to one place. Like a true traveling scholar, he began wandering through the outer reaches of Buzhou Mountain.

At times, he paused beneath a wondrous tree that had endured for countless ages and gained spiritual awareness by absorbing Pangu Aura, contemplating its cycles of growth and decay and the natural course of the Dao;

at times, he lingered by the ruins of an ancient battlefield, experiencing the lingering, bitter baleful aura and unyielding will to fight;

and at times, he observed the Primordial World's strange creatures, struggling to survive beneath the pressure but each developing its own unique way of life...

In his eyes, everything in heaven and earth could embody the Dao and serve as nourishment for perfecting his own Mythical Grand Unity Method.

One day, Ao Chen was passing near a mist-shrouded valley, thick with spiritual energy. He was about to explore it and see whether it held an Innate Spiritual Root or a rare mineral deposit.

Boom!

Just then!

Without the slightest warning!

From deep within the valley, an incomparably brilliant and boundless Seven-Colored Treasure Light burst forth, as if it would illuminate the entire Primordial World!

The treasure light shot into the sky and pierced the highest heavens, dyeing the clouds on the horizon in brilliant colors!

Innate spiritual energy, concentrated to the extreme, spread in every direction like a tidal wave!

A vast, ancient, and profound Dao resonance, faintly tinged with the aura of Pangu Creates the World, instantly filled the area!

The power of this Dao resonance and treasure light was hundreds, even thousands of times more terrifying than the spectacle when the Kunwu Sword had appeared!

"Is this a top-grade Innate Spiritual Treasure? No! Could it even be... an Innate Supreme Treasure?"

Ao Chen paused, a thoughtful look appearing on his face.

To be honest, Innate Spiritual Treasures weren't all that useful to him.

No, it wasn't that they were useless. It was more that they weren't as useful to him as they were to others. At the very least, he wouldn't be so fanatical about them.

It wasn't that Ao Chen had an unusual state of mind. Rather, after studying the Kunwu Sword, he had discovered that the Mythical Grand Unity Method he cultivated didn't require many treasures.

Besides, the Mythical Grand Unity Method had such lofty aims that Innate Spiritual Treasures could still be of some use to him now, but Ao Chen estimated they would become scrap metal by the time he reached the peak of the True Immortal realm at the latest.

Once he severed his Three-Life Body—past, present, and future—and stood above the River of Time, his physical body would become a body of the Dao. At that point, Innate Spiritual Treasures would naturally be useless.

Still, that was all well and good, but he had yet to break through to True Immortal, and he hadn't even comprehended the True Immortal method. Naturally, he was no exception to the rule.

"Never mind. I have nothing else to do, so I may as well take a look."

"With such a commotion, plenty of powerful beings must have been drawn here. It's a good chance to see what the other great divine power holders are like."

"Besides, judging from the Kunwu Sword, Innate Spiritual Treasures contain Indestructible Spiritual Light, which has something in common with the True Immortal method I have in mind. I may as well collect a few more."

Without hesitation, Ao Chen used his Heavenly Immortal-level spatial ability. He took a single step and became a shadow that seemed to merge with space itself, heading toward the heart of the treasure light's eruption!

Ao Chen was fast, but someone else was faster.

By the time he reached the valley entrance, more than a dozen figures were already standing there, their forms barely distinct!

Every figure radiated an aura as profound as the sea and as vast as the heavens. Even Ao Chen couldn't help furrowing his brows!

The most eye-catching were three Daoists standing together.

The old man at the front had a full head of white hair and beard, a plain, ancient face, and a Shoulder Pole in his hand. His surroundings seemed utterly empty, yet he also seemed to have become one with the Great Dao of heaven and earth. He radiated the resonance of Non-action and nature, his depths unfathomable.

The middle-aged Daoist beside him had a stern, meticulous expression and wore an Apricot Yellow Daoist Robe. Ten thousand golden lamps hung within the Auspicious Cloud above his head, dangling strings of luminous beads. He radiated righteous majesty, as if expounding heaven's laws and upholding the pure order of the jade statutes.

The young Daoist beside them was the most carefree and unrestrained. An ancient sword rested on his back, his gaze was sharp as a blade, and a fierce sword intent coiled around him, surging skyward as if to sever everything and destroy all things!

"These three... must be the legendary Three Pure Ones, right?"

Ao Chen's heart tightened. Each of the three had an aura that made him feel threatened!

Not far from the Three Pure Ones stood two figures whose auras were equally domineering and peerless.

One wore a golden Imperial Robe and a Flat Heaven Crown. He had a majestic face, and Great Sun Golden Flames seemed to burn in his eyes. Surrounded by boundless Stellar Force and imperial aura, he resembled an unrivaled sovereign who ruled over the stars!

The other was even more domineering. He held an ancient, chaos-wreathed bell in his hand. The sun, moon, and stars, along with Earth, Water, Fire, and Wind, swirled across its surface. Simply standing there, he radiated an invincible presence that seemed to suppress the Cosmic Realm and proclaim him the sole ruler!

"The demon race's Eastern Emperor Taiyi and Di Jun? What domineering auras!" Ao Chen immediately guessed their identities.

On the other side stood a pair of siblings whose auras were entirely different from each other, yet equally unfathomable.

The woman was breathtakingly beautiful, her bearing compassionate and sacred. She radiated a potent vitality of Creation, as if she were the mother of all things;

the man held an Ancient Zither, with Eight Trigrams Runes revolving around him. His eyes shone with wisdom, as if he could deduce the past and future.

"Nuwa and Fuxi?"

Farther away, a figure in a Blood-colored Robe stood alone atop a Blood Cloud. His face was gaunt, his aura cold and bloodthirsty, and two swords radiating a heaven-shaking killing intent hovered beside him. He was none other than the master of the Netherworld Sea of Blood!

There was also an old Daoist in an ochre robe, holding a Whisk and standing upon the earth. His aura was connected to the ley lines of the entire Primordial World. He appeared kind and honest, yet his depths were unfathomable.

He was speaking in a low voice with a Daoist beside him, who wore a bright red robe and had a kindly face, like a good-natured old man.

And in a corner, a figure was barely visible. The Daoist's aura was sinister, his gaze as sharp as a hawk's, and he coldly watched everyone present...

The Three Pure Ones, Di Jun, Tai Yi, Nuwa, Fuxi, Minghe, Zhen Yuanzi, Hong Yun, Kunpeng...

Ao Chen glanced around, surprise flashing in his eyes.

Good heavens, had nearly all the powerful beings from the front rows of Zixiao Palace come?

Just what kind of heaven-defying treasure had appeared in this valley?

As Ao Chen pondered this, the beings present turned their gazes toward him as well.

But the moment they sensed his aura, astonishment appeared on every face.

"A Heavenly Immortal?"

Chapter Seventeen: The Innate Gourd Vine, and the Gods of the Primordial World Are Astonished

A Heavenly Immortal was the lowest realm for living beings in the Primordial World at present.

In other words, there was currently no realm in the entire Primordial World lower than Heavenly Immortal.

If they had spotted a Heavenly Immortal somewhere else, the great divine power holders gathered here probably wouldn't even have raised an eyelid. Beings at that level were far too common in the vast Primordial World, as insignificant as ants.

But where were they now?

This was Buzhou Mountain! The mountain formed from Pangu's Spine, where the ancestral vein of the Primordial World lay!

The terrifying pressure that filled this place alone would leave an ordinary Golden Immortal struggling to walk, trembling with fear. Ordinary Heavenly Immortals could barely even approach!