The bottleneck that had plagued countless Heavenly Immortals, trapping some for their entire lives, shattered beneath the peerless power of Zhao Gongming's Innate Spiritual Root and the Innate Level Shangqing Immortal Method!
There was not the slightest resistance. It was as if a thin sheet of paper had been effortlessly pierced!
A force of magic far purer and more than ten times mightier than what he had possessed as a Heavenly Immortal burst forth from his Dantian Sea of Qi! It was no longer liquid, but had taken on a translucent, semi-solid crystalline appearance. Every drop contained enough power to level mountains and cleave peaks.
Golden Immortal! Achieved!
At the moment of his breakthrough, Zhao Gongming felt his very level of existence undergo a world-shaking transformation. His immortal body grew tougher, his soul more substantial, and his lifespan surged to an immeasurable extent. His connection to the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth grew closer, too. It seemed that with the slightest movement, he could draw upon a trace of the power of its laws.
[Beep! The host's cultivation has advanced. You have broken through to Early Golden Immortal. Reward: 1,000 Primordial Points.]
[Current Primordial Points: 4,200.]
Zhao Gongming slowly opened his eyes. A brilliant golden light flashed through them, illuminating the stone wall before him.
He clenched his fist, feeling the surging, oceanlike power within him, and was overcome with joy!
This was true power! The foundation that would let him survive in this cruel Primordial World!
He was one step closer to escaping the fate that had been set for him!
Yet at the very moment he broke through, deep within Jin'ao Island, atop Purple Ganoderma Cliff, inside Biyou Palace—the ancient, weathered hall that seemed to have existed since time immemorial—
Sect Master Tongtian, seated cross-legged upon his cloud couch, abruptly opened his eyes. His gaze seemed to pierce endless space, pass through mountains, rocks, and formations, and come to rest on the secluded cave where Zhao Gongming was.
"Oh?"
A soft exclamation, edged with surprise, rang through the spacious hall.
"Primordial qi... This child was once formed from a wisp of breeze between Heaven and Earth, making him an Innate Being. Yet he was born too late and was ultimately limited by an acquired spiritual root. I never expected him to return from acquired to innate today. How interesting..."
Sect Master Tongtian's lips curved into a faint, approving smile.
Among the countless disciples beneath him, there were many with exceptional aptitude. But those who could reverse their acquired nature and return to the innate state on their own, then break through to Golden Immortal, all within a hundred years of joining his sect, were exceedingly rare.
With a quick calculation, he understood what had happened, and his smile deepened.
"With such fortune, he is destined to become a pillar of my Interception Sect. Attendant."
His voice was not loud, yet it rang clearly beyond the hall.
Soon, a delicate-looking boy hurried inside and bowed respectfully. "What does my lord command?"
"Go. Summon the Outer Sect Disciple Zhao Gongming to Biyou Palace to see me."
"I obey, my lord." The boy bowed, then turned into a streak of light and flew down the mountain.
In the cave, Zhao Gongming had just stabilized his cultivation and was preparing to press on, gather five thousand points, and evolve his spiritual root to the mid-grade level.
Suddenly, his heart stirred. He sensed an aura rapidly approaching from outside the cave.
He immediately drew in his magic power, withdrew the formation, and furrowed his brow.
"Who is it?"
Before he could get up to investigate, a clear voice came from outside the cave. "May I ask if the person inside is Senior Brother Zhao Gongming?"
Zhao Gongming's heart tightened. He walked out of the cave and saw a boy in Daoist robes standing outside. The boy's aura was not strong, but he carried the distinctive Daoist resonance of Biyou Palace.
"I am Zhao Gongming. Greetings, Junior Brother. May I ask why you've come looking for me?" He cupped his hands in salute, his mind racing. Could his breakthrough have alerted the higher-ups of the sect?
The boy returned the salute with a smile. "There's no need for formalities, Senior Brother. I am one of the Water-Fire Boys who attend my lord. My lord has commanded that you go at once to Biyou Palace on Purple Ganoderma Cliff to see him."
My lord? Sect Master Tongtian!
Zhao Gongming's heart leaped, and an indescribable mix of excitement and unease surged through him.
A Saint had summoned him!
He took a deep breath, suppressing his churning emotions, and said respectfully to the boy, "Sorry for the trouble, Junior Brother. Gongming will go with you at once."
With complicated feelings, Zhao Gongming followed the Water-Fire Boy through the clouds and mist, eventually landing on the legendary Purple Ganoderma Cliff.
The moment he set foot there, a boundless Sword Intent swept over him. It was not fierce; instead, it brimmed with the vitality of World Creation and the creation of all things, shaking him to the core.
Guided by the boy, he entered Biyou Palace, where an immeasurable Daoist resonance filled the air.
The great hall was vast and imposing. A mighty figure sat cross-legged on a cloud couch atop the dais, clad in a blue Daoist robe. His features were impossible to make out, and billions of strands of Sword Light swirled around him, as though he had become one with the Great Dao.
One glance was enough to make Zhao Gongming feel as if his soul would be assimilated by that supreme Daoist resonance.
This was the leader of the Interception Sect, Shangqing Lingbao Tianzun—the Saint Tongtian!
"Your disciple Zhao Gongming pays his respects to Master! May your holy longevity be boundless!" Not daring to show the slightest disrespect, Zhao Gongming immediately prostrated himself and performed the most respectful of bows.
"Rise."
A calm voice rang out, yet it carried the supreme might of Heaven.
Zhao Gongming rose respectfully and stood with his hands at his sides, not daring even to lift his head.
Sect Master Tongtian's gaze, deep as primordial chaos, fell upon him, as if it could see through him from body to soul, from past to future.
Under that gaze, Zhao Gongming felt that none of his secrets could remain hidden. Even the soul he had brought from a later age and the system in his mind trembled faintly.
Yet Sect Master Tongtian's gaze lingered only briefly on his pure primordial aura and stable Golden Immortal cultivation before he nodded in approval. "Good. You have been under my tutelage for less than a century, yet you have shed your acquired nature, returned to the innate state, and broken through to Golden Immortal in one bound. Your temperament, comprehension, and fortune are all exceptional."
Hearing this, Zhao Gongming finally felt the weight lift from his heart. He hurriedly replied, "This disciple is unworthy of such praise. It is all thanks to Master's teachings and the abundant spiritual energy of Jin'ao Island."
Sect Master Tongtian smiled without confirming or denying it. He turned his palm over, revealing a string of twenty-four precious pearls that gleamed with Five-Colored Radiance.
The moment they appeared, waves of surging tides seemed to echo throughout Biyou Palace. The Daoist resonance of the laws of the Great Dao of Water filled the hall to the utmost.
"These are the Twenty-Four Sea-Calming Divine Pearls, an innate spiritual treasure containing the Origin of the Great Dao of Water. I grant them to you for your protection."
Sect Master Tongtian spoke again. With a gentle push, the string of pearls transformed into a streak of light and hovered before Zhao Gongming.
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