Longevity Mountain, Wuzhuang Temple
As soon as Randeng neared the area, the sight before him made him pause in surprise. Longevity Mountain, once a solitary peak rising above its surroundings, its spiritual energy held within, was long gone. In its place stood a vast mountain range, stretching tens of thousands of miles.
As far as the eye could see, dozens of peaks of all sizes had appeared from nowhere. Some were as steep as swords, others as level as platforms. Ridges rose one after another, wreathed in clouds and mist. Spiritual springs and waterfalls were everywhere, and exotic flowers and rare plants carpeted the land. It was a magnificent sight, worthy of an abode of immortals.
What surprised Randeng even more was that every newly formed peak was firmly occupied by a dense, powerful aura of a Taiyi Golden Immortal.
The auras varied in strength, but each was pure and stable, far beyond what ordinary rogue cultivators could manage. Dozens of Taiyi Golden Immortal auras interwove, forming an immense force that guarded all of Longevity Mountain as securely as a fortress.
It seemed that after returning from the West, Daoist Zhenyuanzi had also understood the use of the Earth Book and gathered a formidable force.
Noticing the aura of a Great Luo Golden Immortal flying toward Longevity Mountain, the Taiyi Golden Immortals immediately took notice.
One streak of light after another rose into the sky. Only then did Randeng realize that these Taiyi Golden Immortals were different from those he had encountered before.
Their auras were somewhat ethereal, and they seemed to be connected, in some unfathomable way, to the mountains beneath their feet.
The cultivator at their head spoke first.
"May I ask who you are, and what brings you to Longevity Mountain?"
"This poor Daoist is Randeng, a friend of Daoist Zhenyuanzi. I've come to pay him a visit. Sorry for the trouble; please inform him."
As he spoke, Randeng quietly unfurled his terrifying late-stage Great Luo Golden Immortal Spiritual Sense. Like an invisible net, it silently spread across the entire area within a thousand miles of Longevity Mountain.
Wherever his Spiritual Sense passed, every blade of grass and tree, every insect and beast, and even the flow of spiritual veins beneath the earth were clearly reflected in his mind.
After examining the area closely, Randeng immediately noticed something incredibly strange: the leyline cores of all these newly formed mountain ranges had vanished without a trace!
A mountain's leyline core was its foundation, like the root of a cultivator's cultivation. Once it was lost, the spiritual energy of the entire range would disperse, the mountains would collapse, and not a blade of grass would grow. It would become a dead land.
When someone had damaged Mount Sumeru's leyline core in the past, the mountain had collapsed and fallen into ruin in moments. Its spiritual energy had vanished completely, leaving it a wasteland.
Yet the mountains of Longevity Mountain before him defied all reason.
The ranges towered high, their spiritual energy so abundant it was nearly liquid. Spiritual birds flew through the mountains, auspicious beasts roamed, and thousand-year-old lingzhi and ten-thousand-year-old immortal herbs grew everywhere. The land brimmed with life and vitality, showing not the slightest sign of the desolation that should follow the loss of its leyline cores.
Confused and uncertain, Randeng followed the faint, mysterious connection between the cultivators and the mountains. He focused his cultivation and carefully sensed it. A moment later, he opened his eyes, realization and shock flashing in them.
The mountains' leyline cores had not disappeared. They had been forcibly refined and transferred into the cultivators' bodies!
"Th-this is actually the beginnings of the Divine Path?"
Randeng was stunned.
Extracting the authority over a stretch of land or a mountain, forcibly refining it, then bestowing it upon a chosen cultivator—making that cultivator the mountain's master, blessed by Heaven and nourished by its leylines. Wasn't this the very foundation of the Divine Path of legend? Using the earth as its foundation and the book as its warrant, appointing deities to rule over their domains!
No wonder the Primordial World's living beings would one day honor Zhenyuanzi as the Ancestor of Earth Immortals. This method was unprecedented, a true first beneath Heaven. To call him the Ancestor of Mountains and Rivers and the Lord of the Earth was only fitting!
With the supreme power of the Innate Spiritual Treasure, the Earth Book, Zhenyuanzi could gather the authority of any mountain or river in the Primordial World and appoint deities, creating one Earth Immortal after another to rule over their own ranges.
Their auras were so ethereal, likely because their strength came from the authority of the mountains they ruled. Their foundations were not stable.
"Hahaha! I was wondering which Great Power had come to my Longevity Mountain. It's Daoist Randeng! It's been so long. Please, come in!"
As Randeng pondered, a hearty, familiar laugh rang out from within Longevity Mountain's formation.
Right behind it came Hong Yun, dressed in a red robe. He, too, cupped his hands toward Randeng.
"Greetings, Daoist Randeng!"
"It's been a long time, both of you. Longevity Mountain has become more magnificent than ever."
Randeng teased them. As expected, both Zhenyuanzi and Hong Yun had broken through to the early stage of the Great Luo Golden Immortal realm. They were only a step away from the middle stage.
"How could it compare to you, Daoist Randeng? Every time we meet, I can't see through your cultivation. As for the Earth Immortal Path I've been tinkering with, I was inspired by you—using the Earth Book to gather the authority of mountains and rivers."
Though Zhenyuanzi had a deeper understanding of the Law of Earth than Randeng, Randeng's ideas were unrestrained and unconventional, giving him plenty of inspiration.
It was only after breaking through to the Great Luo Golden Immortal realm and gaining greater control over the Earth Book that Zhenyuanzi could begin to realize his original vision of establishing an Earth Immortal lineage.
Randeng followed Zhenyuanzi and Hong Yun into Wuzhuang Temple. On the way, Zhenyuanzi also told Randeng about the shortcomings of the Earth Immortal lineage as it currently stood.
Because of the influence of a mountain's size and the power of its leylines, it was extremely difficult to break through to the Great Luo Golden Immortal realm through the mere gathering of a mountain's divine authority. As a result, most of the cultivators Zhenyuanzi had recruited were those with poor aptitude who had little hope of breaking through to Great Luo.
The three sat cross-legged. A young attendant came forward and brewed them spiritual tea. It wasn't as good as his Enlightenment Tea, but it had its own distinct flavor.
"Daoist Zhenyuanzi, has anything major happened in the Primordial World during the three thousand years since Saint Hongjun attained the Dao?"
Randeng finally asked the reason he had come.
Zhenyuanzi looked a little surprised.
"Have you been in seclusion for all three thousand years?"
A great many events had taken place during that time. One didn't even need to leave home to hear about them.
"I have. When I emerged, I found the Primordial World had changed considerably. It almost reminded me of the heyday when the Dragon, Phoenix, and Qilin tribes were all around."
Randeng nodded, not mentioning that he had spent the past several thousand years in the primordial chaos.
"No wonder you don't know what's been happening in the Primordial World. You're right, it does resemble the days before the Dragon-Phoenix Tribulation. The myriad tribes are flourishing, and life is abundant."
Zhenyuanzi sighed with emotion. Hongjun's ascension to sainthood had acted like a catalyst. Taiyi Golden Immortals were emerging everywhere, and several Great Luo Golden Immortals had appeared as well.
"Then what's the Demon Clan been up to?"
Randeng asked about the Demon Clan, the matter he cared about most. The other tribes' enthusiasm was probably just preparation for the Sermon at Purple Cloud Palace.
"A thousand years after Saint Hongjun attained the Dao, the Demon Clan announced its existence to Heaven and officially established itself. It has four Great Luo Golden Immortals and more than a dozen Taiyi Golden Immortals, with its influence spread throughout the northeastern part of the Primordial World."
Zhenyuanzi recalled the intelligence he had gathered on the Demon Clan. He controlled the Earth Book, and many of the Primordial World's mountain masters were in contact with him, so he had many sources of information.
"Has the Demon Clan really had no clashes with other forces?"
Randeng found it hard to believe that the Demon Clan had been so well behaved.
Zhenyuanzi thought for a moment before answering.
"Other than occasional friction with the Witch Clan during its expansion, I haven't heard of it clashing with anyone."
"I did hear from a few Daoist friends in the east that several peak Taiyi Golden Immortals from the tribes around the Demon Clan had mysteriously disappeared."
Hong Yun suddenly interrupted. He had many friends and loved traveling throughout the Primordial World.
Randeng's eyes gleamed.
"That's it. The Demon Clan has only just been established. It wouldn't dare openly target Great Luo Golden Immortals. That makes Taiyi Golden Immortals their targets."
Now that he understood the Demon Clan's strength and intentions, Randeng had a plan.