The Great Desolation World, after that ancient-shaking first battle between the Witches and Demons, fell into an eerie calm.
Above the Heavenly Court, the Demon Clan drew in its wings and licked its wounds.
Dijun, Taiyi, Xihe, Changxi, Fuxi, and the other peak great powers all entered seclusion to heal, no longer concerning themselves with worldly affairs.
The Ten Demon Marshals led the remnants of their army, silently gathering strength and repairing the shattered palaces of the Heavenly Court.
At the foot of Buzhou Mountain, within Pangu Hall.
The Twelve Ancestral Witches had likewise suffered grave losses, their vital essence and blood severely depleted.
The Witch Clan gathered the remains of their fallen comrades and buried them in their ancestral lands, nourishing them with baleful qi.
Across the land, the Witch Clan tribes fell silent. Only their bone-deep hatred brewed soundlessly.
The other great powers of the Great Desolation—whether the Kunlun Three Pure Ones, Jieyin and Zhunti of the west, Minghe of the Sea of Blood, Zhenyuanzi of Wuzhuang Temple, or those innate sacred beings hidden from the world...
They had witnessed Pangu's Phantom's World-Opening Power and felt Dao Ancestor Hongjun's Saintly might that crushed all things.
Every one of them was profoundly shaken!
An unprecedented sense of urgency swept through the hearts of all great powers.
Seclusion!
Frenzied seclusion!
The Entire Great Desolation seemed to have pressed pause, sinking into an almost suffocating silence.
Only that invisible pressure, like a sword hanging overhead, drove all living beings to climb toward higher realms.
Kunlun Mountain.
Mists and rosy clouds scattered in splendor, while sun and moonlight shimmered.
A thousand ancient cypresses, ten thousand stalks of cultivated bamboo.
Strange flowers spread like brocade, and jade grasses breathed fragrance.
When immortal cranes cried, their calls shook the distant nine heavens; where auspicious phoenixes soared, their feathers gleamed with the light of five-colored clouds.
Upon one mountain peak stood an ancient Daoist temple, its plaque bearing three great characters in a flowing Daoist script: Xuan Yuan Temple.
Inside the temple's quiet room.
Dao Xuan sat cross-legged upon a Cloud Bed.
He wore a Blue Gauze Headband over a double knot hair bun.
He wore a pale yellow Daoist robe patterned with clouds, a Heaven and Earth Knot silk sash at his waist, and Cloud-Treading Boots on his feet.
His face was like Mutton Fat Jade, his bearing refined and handsome, his eyes bright and brows clear.
Pure Qi swirled around him. The phantom of the Top Three Flowers flickered above his head, while the Five Qi in the Chest churned and flowed.
He had already reached the middle stage of the Grand Unity Golden Immortal realm.
Though the late stage of Grand Unity seemed only a step away, it was in truth as distant as a heavenly chasm.
"Each level of the Grand Unity realm was a world apart..."
Dao Xuan murmured inwardly.
Over these three thousand years of secluded cultivation, he had comprehended the Heavenly Dao and sorted through everything he had learned.
The Nine Revolutions Profound Origin Technique circulated without rest, tempering his body and primordial spirit.
The Dao Rhyme of the Huang Ting Jing flowed through his heart as he comprehended the mysteries of the Great Dao.
Unfortunately.
The Grand Unity realm could not be broken through merely by painstakingly cultivating magical power.
It required a deeper understanding of the laws of heaven and earth, as well as one's own Great Dao.
Three thousand years passed like a white colt flashing by a crack in the wall.
Dao Xuan felt that his magical power had become purer, his primordial spirit more condensed, and his understanding of the Great Dao had deepened considerably.
Yet he remained one indescribable opportunity away from the threshold of the late Grand Unity stage.
His gains were few.
"Alas..."
Dao Xuan sighed softly and slowly opened his eyes.
Divine light was concealed within them, clear as a deep pool.
"It cannot be forced. It cannot be forced..."
He knew that cultivation required a balance between tension and relaxation.
Blindly sitting in meditation was not necessarily a blessing.
"Since my realm is difficult to break through, I might as well refine my treasures and strengthen my means of protecting the Dao."
With a thought from Dao Xuan, several streams of treasure light flew from his celebration cloud and hovered within the quiet room, radiating different divine glows that filled the chamber with shifting colors.
The first item.
Was a Banana Fan.
Its fan surface was divided into four colors—azure, red, white, and black—corresponding to the Four Symbols origins of Earth Water Fire Wind.
Treasure light flowed over it, and faint sounds of wind and thunder could be heard.
It was the Supreme-grade Innate Spiritual Treasure—the Four Symbols Banana Fan!
The second item.
Was an ancient seal.
Nine dragons coiled around its body, their scales and claws raised in lifelike detail.
The Dao patterns of the words "Myriad Treasures" were carved into the base, containing the supreme mysteries of commanding all treasures and suppressing fortune.
Its treasure light was heavy and restrained, its majesty deeply concealed.
It was the Supreme-grade Innate Spiritual Treasure—the Myriad Treasures Nine Dragon Seal!
The third item.
Was a ruler.
Mysterious Yellow Qi coiled around its body, Merit Golden Light flowed across it, and auspicious qi filled the air.
It measured heaven and earth and stabilized the cosmos.
It was the foremost postnatal merit treasure—the Heaven and Earth Mysterious Yellow Merit Ruler!
The fourth item.
Was a Twelve-Ranked Lotus Platform.
The lotus platform was flawless white. Pure World divine light flowed across it, radiating a pure Dao Rhyme that cleansed all evil and protected the primordial spirit and true soul.
It was the Supreme-grade Innate Spiritual Root—the Twelve-petal Pure World White Lotus!
The fifth item.
Was a perfectly round pearl the size of a dragon's eye.
Within it seemed to be phantoms of the Four Seas churning and ten thousand dragons roaring. It radiated vast, surging dragon might and innate water spiritual qi.
It was the Supreme-grade Innate Spiritual Treasure—the Ancestral Dragon Pearl!
These five supreme treasures were Dao Xuan's current greatest means of protecting the Dao.
Though he had already refined them to a preliminary degree, they were still far from the effortless state of answering his thoughts as readily as his own limbs.
The Ancestral Dragon Pearl in particular, obtained from the Dragon-Han Initial Tribulation, contained the Ancestral Dragon's origin and the fortune of the dragon race. Its mysteries were extraordinary.
"This is the perfect chance to refine them carefully and deepen my connection with them."
Dao Xuan settled his mind.
He first picked up the Four Symbols Banana Fan.
His divine sense entered it, while his magical power nurtured it, carefully comprehending the Four Symbols origin laws contained within.
The heaviness of earth, the violence of fire, the enduring flow of water, and the swiftness of wind.
Dao Rhyme flowed through his heart.
Refining treasures was also a process of comprehending the Great Dao.
A thousand years passed in the blink of an eye.
The Four Symbols Banana Fan's treasure light grew brighter, and its connection with Dao Xuan's mind became several degrees closer.
At the slightest movement of his thoughts, four-colored divine light flowed. Wind, thunder, water, and fire appeared faintly, and its power surpassed what it had once been.
Next came the Myriad Treasures Nine Dragon Seal.
This seal commanded all treasures and suppressed fortune, making its mysteries extraordinary.
Dao Xuan used his primordial spirit to communicate with the nine phantom divine dragons within the seal, comprehending the domineering Dao Rhyme of commanding all treasures and suppressing everything.
Another thousand years passed.
The Myriad Treasures Nine Dragon Seal hummed. The nine phantom divine dragons became increasingly solid, while the treasure light of the seal withdrew inward and its majesty deepened.
The Heaven and Earth Mysterious Yellow Merit Ruler came next.
As a supreme merit treasure, it was the smoothest to refine.
Dao Xuan nurtured it with his own Merit and Fortune. The Mysterious Yellow Qi and Merit Golden Light upon the ruler intertwined, and the Dao Rhyme of measuring heaven and earth grew ever clearer.
Another thousand years passed.
The Merit Ruler's light became gentle and warm. Dao Xuan could now unleash seventy to eighty percent of its marvelous ability to measure heaven and earth and stabilize the cosmos.
Last came the Twelve-petal Pure World White Lotus.
This lotus was a supreme defensive treasure, born of pure origins.
Dao Xuan's primordial spirit immersed itself in the Pure World divine light emanating from the lotus platform, cleansing his primordial spirit and comprehending the pure Dao intent of purifying all evil and protecting the true soul.
A thousand years of refinement.
The white lotus's brilliance flowed, its twelve lotus petals crystal-clear, and its defensive power rose to another level.
By now, all four heavy treasures had been refined to a greater degree of mastery.
Dao Xuan's gaze fell upon the final item.
The Ancestral Dragon Pearl!
This pearl had come into his hands by a strange stroke of fortune. Yet because the Ancestral Dragon origin within it was too domineering and did not fully align with Dao Xuan's own Great Dao, it had been refined less thoroughly than the others.
Dao Xuan picked up the Ancestral Dragon Pearl.
The pearl felt warm and smooth in his hand. Within it seemed to rage boundless water essence and roaring dragon souls.
He followed the same method, slowly pouring his divine sense and magical power into the pearl.
He comprehended the vast innate water spiritual origin, as well as the Law Fragments of strength left behind by the Ancestral Dragon.
The refinement process was rather sluggish.
The Ancestral Dragon origin was unruly. Though the dragon soul's will had long fallen silent, its remaining pressure still resisted the intrusion of outside power.
Dao Xuan was neither impatient nor rash. With painstaking persistence, he gradually wore it down, communicated with it, and refined it.
Just as the refinement deepened and his divine sense touched the depths of the Ancestral Dragon Pearl's core origin.
A sudden change occurred!
Buzz—!
Deep within Dao Xuan's primordial spirit, the fragment of the Chaos Bead that had remained dormant and slowly repaired itself suddenly began to tremble violently without warning!
A powerful yearning born of chaos, longing to be made whole, instantly surged into Dao Xuan's mind!
At the same time.
The Ancestral Dragon Pearl in his hand also erupted with unprecedented dazzling radiance!
Dragon roars rang out in succession, echoing through the quiet room!
The vast innate water spiritual origin and Ancestral Dragon will within the pearl seemed to have received some supreme summons. They became incomparably active, even... carrying an air of submission and allegiance!
"This is...?"
Dao Xuan's mind shook violently!
A bold thought flashed through his mind like lightning!
"Could it be... this Ancestral Dragon Pearl was actually formed from a fragment of the Chaos Bead?!"
The Chaos Bead was a Chaos Supreme Treasure. It contained a primordial world and possessed the supreme power to obscure heavenly secrets and form a chaos world of its own!
After it shattered, its fragments scattered throughout the Great Desolation, transforming into many Innate Spiritual Treasures.
By a fortunate coincidence, Dao Xuan had acquired one of them.
Now, this Ancestral Dragon Pearl had actually produced such a powerful resonance with the Chaos Bead fragment!
The possibility was extremely high!
"We'll know if we try!"
A sharp light burst from Dao Xuan's eyes!
He hesitated no longer.
With a thought, the Chaos Bead fragment deep within his primordial spirit instantly flew out!
The fragment was ancient and plain, gray and unremarkable, yet it emitted the most primal Chaos Qi.
Dao Xuan circulated all his magical power and carefully guided the Ancestral Dragon Pearl closer to the Chaos Bead fragment.
Buzz—!
The instant the two came into contact!
A wondrous phenomenon suddenly arose!
Within the quiet room, Five-Colored Radiance surged into the sky!
A thousand streaks of auspicious mist sprayed purple haze, while ten thousand rays of auspicious light rolled red rainbows!
Dragon roars resounded across Fangzhang Immortal Island, piercing straight beyond the nine heavens!
It was as though ten thousand dragons were paying homage and welcoming their supreme sovereign!
The Ancestral Dragon Pearl erupted with unprecedented light. Its body began to soften and deform, like flowing mercury.
Meanwhile, the Chaos Bead fragment was like a greedy black hole, wildly devouring and fusing with the origin light transformed from the Ancestral Dragon Pearl!
A vast, ancient, desolate Chaos Dao Rhyme that embraced all things began to spread!
Dao Xuan held his breath and concentrated, using all his power to guide the fusion process.
At the same time, his primordial spirit immersed itself within it, comprehending the supreme Dao Rhyme of Chaos Primordial and the evolution of all things!
This fusion was not a simple addition.
Rather, the Chaos Bead fragment was drawing upon the origin of the Ancestral Dragon Pearl, restoring the Law Fragments and structure it lacked!
The innate water-element origin contained within the Ancestral Dragon Pearl, along with the Ancestral Dragon's Law Fragments of strength, perfectly aligned with certain fundamental rules of the Chaos Bead's "world evolution"!
Time lost all meaning amid this mysterious fusion and comprehension of Dao rhythm.
Dao Xuan's mind was completely immersed.
No one knew how much time had passed.
Perhaps an instant, perhaps ten thousand years.
The dazzling radiance and dragon roars within the quiet room suddenly receded!
All phenomena vanished.
Only a bead, far more solid than before, with its radiance contained within and Chaos Qi swirling around it, quietly floated before Dao Xuan.
Chaos Qi flowed across the bead's surface, where faint phantoms of the Four Seas rose and fell, and dragon-shaped Dao patterns flickered into view.
The aura it emitted was deeper and vaster than before!
The Chaos Bead!
It had been restored to a considerable extent!
Though it remained far from being a complete Chaos Supreme Treasure, its power and the Chaos Dao rhythm it contained were more than ten times stronger than that previous fragment!
At the very instant the Chaos Bead's restoration was complete!
An incomparably pure and vast force from the Chaos Origin surged back like a burst dam!
It instantly flooded Dao Xuan's limbs and bones, washing over his body and nourishing his primordial spirit!
Boom—!
Dao Xuan felt his primordial spirit roar!
The Top Three Flowers above his head suddenly solidified, blooming with dazzling Dao radiance!
The Five Qi in the Chest surged and roared like five divine dragons, charging straight toward the crown of his head!
The late-stage Grand Unity bottleneck that had plagued him for thousands of years, like an impassable chasm...
Under the nourishment of this pure and vast Chaos Origin!
Melted away soundlessly like spring snow!
Everything fell into place!
A wave of mana several times stronger than before, more complete and unhindered, erupted from Dao Xuan's body!
Late-stage Grand Unity Golden Immortal!
He had succeeded!
Dao Xuan slowly opened his eyes.
A flash of Chaos Qi passed through them before they returned to clarity.
Feeling the surging mana within him and his clearer understanding of the laws of heaven and earth, he could scarcely contain his joy.
An unintentional act had borne fruit... I merely refined a magic treasure, yet I obtained such a tremendous opportunity!
With a thought from him.
The Chaos Bead, its radiance concealed within, fell into his hand. It was as warm and smooth as jade, connected to his mind and as easy to wield as an arm.
With another thought.
The Chaos Bead flashed and instantly hid deep within his primordial spirit, its aura completely gone. Even a Saint would likely struggle to detect its presence without deliberately calculating for it.
With this bead, the Great Dao is within reach!
Dao Xuan rose to his full height.
Pure Qi swirled around him, and Dao rhythm seemed innate to his being.
He stepped out of the quiet room and entered the main hall of Xuan Yuan Temple.
Incense smoke curled through the hall, where statues of the Three Pure Ones were enshrined.
Dao Xuan straightened his Daoist robe and respectfully bowed to the statues.
Then he summoned an auspicious cloud, left Fangzhang Immortal Island, and headed straight for Taiqing Palace on Kunlun Mountain's main peak.
Within Taiqing Palace.
Laozi still sat upon the Cloud Bed, his aura ethereal, as though he had become one with the Dao.
He wore the Nine Heavens Cloud-Piercing Crown, his features ancient and unadorned, three wisps of long beard flowing freely.
He wore a plain black Daoist robe that moved without wind.
Dao Xuan entered and bowed.
"Your disciple Dao Xuan greets Master."
Laozi slowly opened his eyes. His gaze was warm, as though it could see through all things.
His eyes fell upon Dao Xuan, and he nodded slightly.
"Late-stage Grand Unity, with a firm foundation and rounded Dao rhythm. Good."
"By fortune, this disciple achieved a breakthrough. I came especially to report it to Master and seek guidance on difficulties in cultivation," Dao Xuan said respectfully.
Dao Xuan took the opportunity to raise several questions regarding mana circulation and law comprehension at the late Grand Unity stage.
Laozi answered them one by one, concise and incisive, each answer pointing directly at the Origin of the Great Dao.
Dao Xuan listened with rapt attention, and many obstacles in his cultivation suddenly became clear.
"The Great Dao is formless, yet gives birth to heaven and earth. The Great Dao is emotionless, yet governs the sun and moon.
"The Great Dao is nameless, yet nourishes all things. You have now reached the late Grand Unity stage. You must comprehend your own Dao and seek the opportunity of the Primordial Unity. Yet do not be impatient. It requires steady effort and insight into nature."
Laozi offered this final guidance.
"This disciple shall heed Master's teachings!" Dao Xuan said with wholehearted conviction.
Laozi nodded faintly, said no more, and closed his eyes once again in meditation.
Knowing his master's temperament, Dao Xuan bowed once more and withdrew from Taiqing Palace.
Having made a breakthrough and received his master's guidance, Dao Xuan's Dao heart was clear and bright.
Stillness had reached its limit, and movement arose.
I have remained in immortal mountains too long, untouched by the dust and smoke of the mortal world. It is time to return to the primordial world, witness the changes of heaven and earth, and verify what I have learned.
Having made up his mind, Dao Xuan acted.
He descended Kunlun Mountain.
He arrived at Qilin Cliff at the foot of the mountain.
With a clear whistle.
From the cave dwelling beneath the cliff, a stream of five-colored auspicious light shot forth!
It was the Five Spirit Qilin!
After tens of thousands of years apart, the beast was even more magnificent than before.
Behold it:
Its proud horns concealed auspicious light, and its body was clad in five-colored jade scales.
Its jade claws hung like white hooks, its silver scales danced like gleaming mirrors.
When it moved, auspicious clouds formed beneath its feet; when it roared, its voice shook the beasts into terror.
It was truly an immortal's mount, extraordinarily divine and wondrous!
Upon seeing Dao Xuan, the Five Spirit Qilin affectionately rubbed against his Daoist robe and let out a joyful low cry.
"Old friend, come with me and walk the mortal world once more!"
Smiling, Dao Xuan mounted the qilin's back.
The Five Spirit Qilin stepped upon auspicious clouds with all four hooves, carrying Dao Xuan away from Kunlun's immortal mountains and toward the vast primordial land.
At this time, upon the primordial land.
Several tens of thousands of years had passed since that earth-shaking opening battle.
Relying on their formidable reproductive abilities and their advantage as children of the earth, the Wu Clan had recovered their strength quickly.
Wu Clan tribes dotted the land like stars.
Though they had not returned to their former prosperity before the war, signs of vitality had reappeared.
There were Wu tribes:
Nestled against mountains and rivers, with stone houses standing in clusters.
Totems towered overhead, while baleful energy lurked faintly in the air.
Wu warriors either had faces like red dates, thick curling beards, and huge axes in hand; or faces black as the bottom of a pot, crimson hair and fangs, with bone spears on their backs.
Their blood and qi were vigorous, and their shouts shook the mountains and forests.
There were also great Wu traveling abroad:
Some rode savage giant beasts, their bodies like mountains and their baleful energy piercing the sky.
Others strode upon the earth, covering a thousand miles in a single step and shaking mountains and rivers.
Wherever they passed, all beasts lay low, and demonic miasma retreated.
Though the Demon Clan ruled the Heavenly Court and commanded the stars.
The land below still belonged to the Wu Clan.
The Dao Ancestor's decree that "the Wu govern the earth, and the demons command the heavens" restrained both sides from launching an all-out war.
Yet that bone-deep hatred had long since fused into their blood and marrow.
Small-scale conflicts, like magma beneath the earth, had never ceased beneath the calm surface.
Dao Xuan rode the Five Spirit Qilin through the mountains and rivers of the primordial world.
At times, he saw Wu tribes hunting savage beasts, their baleful energy soaring into the sky.
At times, he saw Demon Clan squads gathering spiritual materials, demon clouds sweeping overhead.
Whenever the two sides met on a narrow path, a single disagreement often led to weapons drawn and blood spilled.
Dao Xuan merely watched from afar and did not interfere.
His heart was like a Bright Mirror.
This was the lingering aftermath of the tribulation, with karma intertwined.
To involve himself rashly would only invite karmic burden.
Why make laborers torment fellow laborers? Why should the little ones below pay with their lives for the grudges of the big shots above?
Dao Xuan shook his head and sighed softly as he rode the qilin away.
He displayed the awareness of a mere onlooker enjoying the drama of the primordial world.
His purpose in this journey was clear.
First, to verify what he had learned and comprehend the Dao of heaven, earth, and nature.
Second, to see whether he could find more opportunities. After all, the path to restoring the Chaos Bead remained very long.
The Five Spirit Qilin traveled at great speed.
One day, they arrived at the coast of the East Sea.
Behold:
Misty waves stretched endlessly to meet the Milky Way, while enormous billows rolled on to connect with the earth's veins.
The rising tide thundered like spring lightning; water flooded the winding bays like fierce winds sweeping through midsummer.
Immortal mountains appeared faintly in the distance, and islands were scattered like stars.
Dao Xuan was about to find an immortal island to rest upon and comprehend the Dao of water origin.
When he suddenly heard waves of mana and shouted cries from the sea ahead.
Mixed within them were dragon roars and... the Wu Clan's distinct, violent baleful energy!
"Oh? Have the East Sea Dragon Clan and the Wu Clan come into conflict?"
Dao Xuan raised an eyebrow slightly.
Since the Dragon-Han Initial Tribulation, the Dragon Clan had long declined and retreated into the Four Seas.
And now they had actually clashed with the Wu Clan, the overlords of the land?
With a thought from him, the Five Spirit Qilin understood. The auspicious clouds beneath its feet turned, and it silently approached.
Above the sea ahead.
Several true dragons revealed their hundred-zhang dragon bodies, their scales grim and gleaming, claws and fangs bared as they battled seven or eight Wu warriors.
The Wu warriors were led by a great Wu.
His face was blue as indigo, his hair red as cinnabar, with a huge mouth full of fangs.
He wore a helmet made from the bones of some unknown beast, crude leather armor, and wielded a Xuanhua Great Axe.
Baleful energy surrounded him, and his blood and qi burned like a furnace.
He was clearly a mid-stage great Wu expert!
The Wu warriors behind him were equally fierce, wielding bone clubs and stone spears as they besieged the true dragons.
On the Dragon Clan's side, their leader was a red dragon, its scales blazing like fire and its dragon might extraordinary. It had already reached the peak of the Golden Immortal realm.
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