Randeng returned to Mount Sumeru and saw that Jieyin and the others were all looking at him in confusion.
Jieyin spoke first. "Senior Brother Randeng, what exactly happened? Why did you insist on forming an alliance with the Dragon Clan?"
"That's right, Senior Brother Randeng. We're in a time of prosperity. Wouldn't it be enough to wait quietly for the West to gradually regain its strength?"
Zhunti couldn't make sense of Randeng's thinking, especially since the Primordial World was so peaceful at present.
"Many Innate Divine Saints haven't yet reached the Great Luo realm, so peace can still be maintained. But once someone reaches the Primordial Golden Immortal realm, they'll surely want to use the fortune of the Primordial World to break through to Hunyuan Grand Unity. Then another great tribulation will follow."
Randeng knew how the Primordial World would develop in the future, and he was well aware of the destructive power of the Witch-Demon Tribulation.
The others nodded after hearing him out.
"So our priority now is to help you reach the Great Luo realm as soon as possible, while doing our best to gather talent in the West and prepare to establish a sect."
Before long, Randeng planned to accept an invitation to visit Buzhou Mountain and Kunlun Mountain. He would seek opportunities there and use those ancestral mountains to gain a better understanding of the Law of Earth.
"I've only just taken form, and I was about to travel the world anyway. Leave the task of gathering talent to me."
Zhunti volunteered. He cultivated the Law of Karma and needed to travel far and wide, witnessing the causes of all beings and understanding their consequences.
"The leyline network in the West has only just revived. I'll continue tending to it. The work will benefit my cultivation, and once it's done, I should return to Longevity Mountain."
Zhenyuanzi spoke up, volunteering to take charge of tending the newly formed leylines. The main reason was that Randeng, Jieyin, and Zhunti were one body, while he himself had yet to join the West. He was already grateful that Randeng had entrusted the leylines to him.
That left Randeng and Jieyin to remain on Mount Sumeru and consolidate their cultivation.
After the others left, Randeng carved out a cave abode at the heart of Mount Sumeru's leyline network, where he could better comprehend the Law of Earth.
Although his cultivation had reached the middle stage of the Great Luo realm, his magical power had yet to catch up.
He planned to head east once his cultivation had stabilized at the middle stage of the Great Luo realm.
Silence settled over the cave. A steady stream of increasingly concentrated spiritual energy flowed into Randeng's body. The Jade Void Glazed Lamp on his shoulder flickered faintly, and the Eternal Spirit Flame within it danced, constantly refining the spiritual energy around him.
In terms of spiritual energy quality alone, Randeng's cave abode was already on par with Zhenyuanzi's Longevity Mountain.
Seclusion was always a lengthy affair, and time was the least valuable thing in the Primordial World. During that period, Randeng emerged once to inscribe lotus seeds for the Dragon Clan members sent by the West Sea Dragon Clan.
Randeng also met Ao Yuan's Dao companion, who turned out to be merely a dragon at the early stage of the Taiyi Golden Immortal realm. No wonder Ao Yuan feared that she wouldn't survive the burning of Karmic Power.
Forty thousand years later, Randeng finally raised his magical power cultivation to the middle stage of the Great Luo realm. His cultivation was now completely stable, and his understanding of the Law of Earth had reached thirty-six percent.
Only then did Randeng understand that after forming a Great Luo Dao Fruit from one law, it became easier to resonate with and comprehend a second law.
In truth, the quickest way was to use merit to comprehend the laws. If the laws were the Heavenly Dao's underlying code, merit was an administrator's authority: the more merit one had, the greater one's authority and the easier it became to comprehend the laws. But the greater the merit, the more deeply one became bound to the Heavenly Dao.
Randeng was now ahead of all the other Innate Divine Saints, so he wasn't yet in a hurry to advance his realm. Still, using so much merit merely for a defensive divine ability seemed like a waste.
He raised a hand, summoning the Green Lotus Treasure Banner. White vapor hung in the air around it, and golden light blazed in all directions. Since the treasure served as the foundation of Mount Sumeru's protective formation, it couldn't be moved lightly. And since Randeng had to inscribe lotus seeds for the Dragon Clan every fifty thousand years, he might as well leave a clone here to handle such minor affairs.
Randeng recalled the Method of Severing the Three Corpses that Hongjun had taught him and modified it slightly. He didn't need to use it to break through a realm; simply creating a clone was easy enough.
Using the Green Lotus Treasure Banner as its core, Randeng carefully severed a wisp of his Spiritual Sense and sent it, together with the power of his merit, into the magic treasure. At the same time, the Netherworld Ghost Fire and the Eternal Spirit Flame appeared, one gray and one gold. He rapidly formed hand seals, repeatedly imprinting new restrictions onto the surface of the Green Lotus Treasure Banner.
Another thousand years passed. A huge sphere of gray and gold flames hovered before Randeng, and a faint, distinctly living presence emanated from within.
"After a thousand years, I've finally refined my first clone."
Randeng opened his eyes, a hint of delight in them. The clone had the Green Lotus Treasure Banner as its core, and he had infused it with some of his merit. Its aura had already reached the peak of the Taiyi Golden Immortal realm, though it couldn't wield the power of laws.
He brought two fingers together and made a slight cutting motion. The huge ball of flames immediately split in two, revealing a plain-looking Daoist dressed in green lotus robes.
"I'll call you Daoist Qinglian from now on."
With a thought, Randeng descended through the wisp of his Primordial Spirit that remained inside Daoist Qinglian.
Daoist Qinglian opened his eyes, inspecting his body before looking at Randeng's true form. The sensation was truly strange.
"Good. This way, the clone can stay underground and serve as the core of the formation. I'll send down my Spiritual Sense every fifty thousand years to inscribe lotus seeds for the Dragon Clan."
Randeng's Spiritual Sense returned to his own body in an instant. "Still, nothing compares to the solidity of the Great Luo Golden Immortal realm and the understanding of the laws."
Randeng didn't linger. He flashed out of the cave abode and explained the arrangements to Jieyin and Zhunti, telling them to go to his underground cave if anything came up so they could inform his clone.
The two agreed. Jieyin had already reached forty-nine percent understanding of the Annihilation Law and was on the verge of breaking through to the Great Luo Golden Immortal realm.
Randeng gave them the remaining Ginseng Fruits, then brought out the Primordial Chaos Heaven Measuring Ruler and flew east.
Every immortal mountain in the Primordial World had a true name. Back when Randeng had controlled the Earth Book, he had recorded the names of the mountains with true names, so he wouldn't have to search blindly for the right places again.
But he didn't head straight for Kunlun Mountain or Buzhou Mountain. Instead, following his memory, he flew toward Wuyi Mountain.
The Enlightenment Tea Tree!
It was one of the famous Innate Spiritual Roots of later generations. Though it wasn't among the Ten Great Innate Spiritual Roots, it was still an extremely rare top-grade Innate Spiritual Root.
There was also the Innate Exotic Treasure, the Treasure Dropping Golden Coin. It could knock down any treasure below the Innate Supreme Treasure level, except weapons. The only drawback was that using it consumed fortune.
It might have been rather useless to others, but Randeng had vast amounts of merit and could use that in place of fortune.
Riding the Primordial Chaos Heaven Measuring Ruler, Randeng spent a hundred years flying before finally reaching his destination.
Before him lay a magnificent paradise. Its peaks soared into the clouds, clear springs flowed in abundance, and rare plants and herbs were scattered everywhere.
Randeng released his Spiritual Sense to search all of Wuyi Mountain and discovered someone he hadn't expected.
She wore a dark yellow robe. Her face was dignified, her skin as white as cream, and a hint of compassion showed between her brows. The Daoist aura of the Law of Earth surrounded her, making Randeng feel inexplicably close to her.
If Randeng wasn't mistaken, she was Houtu, an Ancestor Witch.
The moment Randeng noticed Houtu, she turned to look in his direction as well.
"May I ask which fellow Daoist is here? I am Houtu, an Ancestor Witch."
Houtu's voice was clear as she called out to Randeng.
Randeng flashed before Houtu and clasped his hands in greeting. "Randeng of the West greets you, fellow Daoist."
A hint of surprise appeared in Houtu's eyes.
"Fellow Daoist Randeng?"
Randeng was a little puzzled as well.
"You know me?"
A smile touched the corners of Houtu's lips as she replied softly,
"Word has spread that you defeated Tai Yi and bested Taishang at the Ginseng Fruit gathering."
Randeng understood. There were many Innate Divine Saints in the Primordial World, but only a handful of them were top-tier. Most had attended the Ginseng Fruit gathering, so it was only natural that word of his exploits had spread.