Borrowing the Earth Book, the Dragon Clan Attacks the Mountain

After the Ginseng Fruit Gathering ended, the Innate Divine Saints no longer lingered, each returning to their own abode. Only Randeng remained on Longevity Mountain. Tongtian had originally wanted to stay as well, but Yuanshi dragged him back.

Before leaving, both the Three Pure Ones and Fuxi and Nuwa invited Randeng to visit Kunlun Mountain and Buzhou Mountain. Randeng agreed, saying he would pay them a visit once the Western earth veins had been restored.

Randeng, too, yearned for the newly formed Primordial Ancestral Vein born from Pangu's spine. It was said to be filled with countless opportunities, spiritual roots and spiritual treasures scattered throughout. Perhaps one or two of them were destined for him?

Once everyone had left, Hongyun saw that Randeng and Zhenyuanzi seemed to have important matters to discuss. Tactfully, he found a cliff somewhere in the Longevity Mountain range, lay down on it, and admired the scenery.

Randeng and Zhenyuanzi came beneath the Ginseng Fruit tree and casually laid down restrictions, sealing off the inside from the outside.

"Fellow Daoist, you can tell me now. What was the request you mentioned before? So long as it does not violate my Dao Heart, I will grant it."

Zhenyuanzi bowed to Randeng. Randeng's assistance that day had left him deeply grateful.

"Fellow Daoist Zhenyuanzi, I would like to borrow your Earth Book to repair the core of the Western earth veins."

Randeng told him truthfully. This matter would actually benefit Zhenyuanzi greatly as well, since he could use the Earth Book to claim a share of the merit. Yet the Earth Book was his supreme protective treasure, and Randeng was unsure whether Zhenyuanzi would lend it to him.

"Hahaha, I thought it was something serious. I would not feel at ease lending the Earth Book to anyone else, but lending it to Fellow Daoist Randeng is certainly no problem."

Zhenyuanzi still owed Randeng a Karma for the Earth Book receiving feedback and having its origin enhanced when Randeng repaired the Western earth veins. Naturally, he believed Randeng truly meant to mend the earth veins.

"Fellow Daoist, I have an unreasonable request. Might I accompany you to the West?"

Randeng was somewhat surprised. "Fellow Daoist, you wish to make a trip to the West with me?"

Longevity Mountain was a sacred mountain and treasured land, a blessed grotto-heaven. Why had Zhenyuanzi suddenly decided to go to his West?

"To be honest, this Ginseng Fruit Gathering has also reminded me that I cannot keep relying on the Earth Book's power to cower in one place. If my cultivation is insufficient, I cannot even control my own freedom."

Zhenyuanzi's gaze was profound, as though he were recalling Tai Yi's domineering manner that day, as well as Randeng's calm indifference after defeating him.

"Since heaven and earth bestowed the Earth Book upon me as my companion spiritual treasure, I should contribute to sorting out the Primordial World's earth veins. At the same time, I should seek my own Dao and raise my cultivation."

"Good! With Fellow Daoist holding heaven and earth in your heart, why worry that you will not attain the Primordial Unity!"

Randeng was not merely flattering Zhenyuanzi. If Zhenyuanzi truly devoted himself to restoring the earth veins, then when the Earth Dao revived in the future, he would at least have the position of a saint.

Moreover, with one more helper in the West, Randeng was naturally delighted.

Zhenyuanzi extended his palm. A gleam flashed from between his brows and fell into his hand, transforming into an ancient dark-yellow scroll. Upon it was painted a map of ten thousand mountains, while the earth-yellow Dao patterns spreading like a spiderweb represented the earth veins beneath the land.

Randeng accepted the Earth Book. Though he had not refined it, with Zhenyuanzi's consent, he could still wield seventy percent of its power.

The instant he held it, it was as though the entire earth had opened its embrace to him, seeking to merge with him. The workings of every Earth Vein Node throughout Longevity Mountain naturally surfaced in Randeng's mind.

No wonder Zhenyuanzi lay flat in his later years. With the Earth Book in hand, even saints could not kill him, or else they would incur the loathing of heaven and earth.

With no threats left in the Primordial World, coupled with the later death of his friend Hongyun over the Purple Qi, he gave up striving and quietly became the Ancestor of Earth Immortals.

"How is it, Fellow Daoist? Does it feel as if you are the earth veins, and the earth veins are you? Quite the sense of security, isn't it?"

Seeing Randeng lost in thought, Zhenyuanzi assumed he had momentarily immersed himself in the Earth Book's divine abilities.

"Fellow Daoist truly has excellent fortune. With this treasure, you are innately invincible."

Zhenyuanzi and Hongyun were both people of profound blessed fortune. It was rare indeed that the two could become friends.

"Hahaha, better to act today than wait for another day. Fellow Daoist, let us depart at once."

Now that he had a goal, Zhenyuanzi was even more eager than Randeng.

"Then do you not need to make arrangements for Longevity Mountain?"

Randeng asked. Every time he left Spirit Vulture Mountain, he had to seal off the mountain-protecting grand formation.

"No need. With Hongyun here, he will naturally take care of things."

Zhenyuanzi shook his head. Hongyun was even more familiar with certain places on Longevity Mountain than he was.

The two bade Hongyun farewell, raised their escape lights, and flew westward.

"I wonder how Jieyin and Zhunti have been managing the West. Have they done as I instructed?"

Randeng longed to return, and he could not help worrying over the West's condition. Before leaving, he had left the Green Lotus Treasure Banner and several Low Grade Innate Spiritual Treasures with the two for protection. There were no particularly powerful living beings in the West, so there should be no problem.

Randeng did not stop, heading west all the way. Bolstered by his Great Luo cultivation, he soon arrived in the Western region.

The moment he entered the West, Randeng noticed that it differed from when he had left.

The Killing Intent and Karmic Energy had already diminished to a nearly imperceptible level, while the spiritual energy could now be absorbed normally. Many races he had never seen before had even appeared across the surface, likely having migrated from the boundary between east and west.

Randeng was greatly gratified, and he decided that once he returned to Mount Sumeru, he would properly reward Jieyin and Zhunti.

"Fellow Daoist, thanks to you, the West has recovered very quickly. Some of the smaller earth vein cores have already been restored. Once the earth vein core is repaired, it likely will not be long before everything returns to normal."

Zhenyuanzi had expected to see a shattered Western land, but what he found exceeded his expectations. Though the earth vein network had not been adjusted and the methods used to repair the earth vein cores were somewhat crude, they had already reached the point of functioning on their own.

"Fellow Daoist overpraises me. After I left, it was actually my two Junior Brothers who managed the West. This is all their credit."

Randeng now understood Yuanshi's feelings. Hearing someone praise Jieyin and Zhunti made him exceedingly happy as well.

Yet before he could rejoice for long, Randeng discovered that the earth veins grew more severely damaged the closer they came to Mount Sumeru.

"Something is wrong. I clearly instructed Zhunti to use the grand formation to repair the earth veins around Mount Sumeru as well. How could this be?"

Randeng felt a trace of unease. Zhunti in this life had not yet strayed onto the crooked path, and he still respected Randeng. It should not be like this.

"Fellow Daoist, something is amiss. These earth veins were deliberately damaged only recently."

Zhenyuanzi was, after all, an expert in earth veins. With a slight sweep of his senses, he detected traces of several lingering auras clashing upon the land.

"How can there still be the aura of the Dragon Clan?!"

The Dragon, Phoenix, and Qilin tribes still held sway at this time, and the Innate Divine Saints were all familiar with the three tribes.

"The Dragon Clan! Could it be the Dragon Clan that hunted Tongtian that day?"

In his urgency, Randeng took Zhenyuanzi with him and repeatedly used the Heaven-Measuring Ruler to tear through the void, rushing toward Mount Sumeru.

The sight that greeted them upon reaching Mount Sumeru made Randeng's fury blaze.

"Dragon Clan, how dare you?!"

Outside Mount Sumeru's grand formation, three four-clawed yellow dragons circled through the air. Two of them continuously spat out divine abilities, destroying the Earth Vein Nodes around Mount Sumeru, while the other shouted provocatively at those within the formation, "Jieyin, come out and surrender obediently, or we'll destroy all the earth veins outside Mount Sumeru again. It's not as if my Dragon Clan cares about this little bit of Karmic Power!"

Through the formation, Randeng saw that Jieyin had already broken through to the peak of the Primordial Unity Golden Immortal realm. Yet his aura was utterly listless, as though he had been drained dry; even his cultivation realm was on the verge of collapse.