The Three Immortals Return to Their Positions, the Divine Tree of Yingzhou

Everyone knew that the Ancestor Dragon was a powerhouse beyond the Great Arhat realm, ruling over the Dragon Tribe with absolute authority. East King Duke, no matter how strong, was still only a Great Arhat cultivator.

It was already baffling that when the Ancestor Dragon had come to challenge him earlier, East King Duke had not chosen to remain on his immortal island and use his formations to defend, but had instead left the island to confront him head-on.

There were those who called him reckless, and many who claimed he was courting his own death. Yet, to everyone's surprise, after a series of fierce battles in the starry sky, East King Duke had returned unscathed.

Having wiped out ten thousand members of the Dragon Tribe and slain Candle Dragon, it was clear that given the grudge between East King Duke and the Dragon Tribe, the Ancestor Dragon would not have let him off easily. Yet, after the battle in the starry sky shook the Primordial World, he had returned to Mount Fang Island in the East Sea.

Everyone watching the battle was left to speculate, but apart from the two of them, no one else knew the outcome of that fight.

East King Duke had intentionally lingered outside Mount Fang Island for a moment, wishing to announce his return to all the living beings of the four seas. After this campaign, he, the Supreme Yang Dao Lord who hailed from the East Sea, appeared even more mysterious.

On the other side, the Ancestor Dragon had returned to the Dragon Tribe Territory. Upon meeting Candle Dragon, the latter was utterly astonished.

"Brother, did you manage to capture that East King Duke?"

Having lost his original body and with his primordial spirit not yet fully recovered, Candle Dragon had been forced to remain in the Ancestor Dragon's Dao Palace, nourished by the Dragon Tribe's luck and countless Innate Spirit Liquids. He knew nothing of what had transpired in the outside world.

The Ancestor Dragon appeared calm; his Quasi-Saint composure was well-hidden, and outsiders could not discern his joy or anger.

"From this day forth, no member of my Dragon Tribe shall approach within one hundred thousand miles of Mount Fang Island in the East Sea. If you encounter any cultivators of the Supreme Yang Lineage, give them a wide berth."

The Ancestor Dragon's indifferent words left Candle Dragon in shock. To make such a concession clearly meant that he had failed to gain any advantage over East King Duke.

"Could it be that East King Duke is not just my Inner Demon, but will become the Inner Demon of the entire Dragon Tribe?"

Candle Dragon felt a profound sense of sorrow. The deep hatred of his destroyed physical body would likely never be avenged. Not only that, but he feared that from this day on, the Dragon Tribe would forever live under the shadow of the Supreme Yang.

"Candle Dragon, handle the affairs of the tribe well. Once I break through to the mid-stage of the Quasi-Saint realm, we shall make further plans!"

Inadvertently, the Ancestor Dragon revealed a hint of anger; clearly, he was not as calm as he appeared.

The opportunity to break through to the mid-stage of the Quasi-Saint realm seemed to be right before his eyes. Yet, what he never anticipated was that until the Great Tribulation erupted and the Dragon Tribe was forced off the stage of hegemony in the Primordial World, he would never achieve his wish. The three Innate Tribes, which had once shaken the Primordial World, did not escape the machinations of Heavenly Dao Karma.

But that is a story for another time...

"Welcome back, Master!"

As East King Duke returned to his Daoist sanctuary, his disciples and attendants hurried forward to pay their respects.

They were all beaming with joy, especially Qing Ling. The Dragon Tribe had been like a massive mountain pressing down upon her, but although her Master had not spoken explicitly, his return to the sanctuary was the best explanation: the threat of the Ancestor Dragon had likely been resolved.

After encouraging his disciples, East King Duke intended to enter seclusion to cultivate.

In his battle in the starry sky against the Ancestor Dragon, who was at the Quasi-Saint realm, neither had emerged victorious. However, he had relied heavily on the advantage of his spiritual treasures; if one were to speak only of magic power, he was still slightly inferior.

This battle had allowed him to understand his own standing, and the gains were not insignificant.

With East King Duke's current combat strength, although he could contend with the Ancestor Dragon, he was still far behind the likes of Luohu and Hongjun. He was also inferior to the legendary reincarnated remnants of the Chaos Demon Gods who claimed the titles of Ancestors—Old Ancestor Yin-Yang and Old Ancestor Qiankun—to say nothing of the brilliant and talented Great Immortal Yangmei, who would in the near future prove the Dao via Laws.

There was something he sought in the war between the Dao and the Demon, and he had to give it his all. However, having only recently broken through to the late stage of the Zenith Heaven Golden Immortal realm, making further progress to the peak of the Zenith Heaven was no easy task. One hundred thousand years was too long; he could only seize the day. Since it concerned his path to the Dao, no matter how difficult, East King Duke had to give it his best shot.

Time flowed, the sun and moon rotated, and the Supreme Yang Dao Palace remained closed for tens of thousands of years. On Mount Fang Island, everything remained as it was, yet within the Four Seas and across the Primordial World, it seemed as if a great event was brewing.

After the Battle of the Starry Sky, the Dragon Tribe seemed to have quickly regained the confidence of the Primordial overlords. They ruled over the Four Seas and, aside from keeping a respectful distance from Mount Fang Island, they remained locked in constant warfare.

Under the constant manipulation of that "great hand" in the West, the conflicts between the Three Innate Tribes deepened. Each of the three parties had their frictions, but since the Dragon Tribe was powerful, they still managed to suppress the other two.

The scale of the fighting grew larger and larger. Perhaps they were just waiting for a catalyst to erupt into total war.

Beyond the Three Innate Tribes stirring up the winds and clouds, as the world evolved, the Primordial World produced many talented individuals. Occasionally, Great Supernatural Beings would enter the world and reveal their powers.

For instance, the Three Pure Ones of Pangu on Kunlun Mountain were blessed with merit, possessed noble status, and wielded extraordinary magical arts. The three brothers moved with their auras connected, traveling the Primordial World with the demeanor of high-level masters who had attained the Dao.

Then there was Old Ancestor Hongyun, an Innate Divine Being from Huoyun Cave Beyond the Heavens, who traveled the Primordial World, making friends everywhere and leaving behind a reputation for kindness.

There was also Old Ancestor Kunpeng, who hailed from the Northern Darkness—a Peng in the sky and a Kun in the sea—as well as that pair of brother and sister Great Supernatural Beings on Buzhou Mountain, and so on...

After more than thirty thousand years of seclusion, a streak of Supreme Yang light flew out from Mount Fang Island. Without concealing his form, he flew across the East Sea.

Half a year later, he stopped over a stretch of sea. It was none other than the Supreme Yang Dao Lord, East King Duke.

"This is the place."

Within his own Dao field, his Primordial Spirit had sensed an opportunity descending, so he had come directly.

He probed carefully with his divine sense and found that the area was indeed unusual. With a guess already in mind, he employed a technique to break the restrictions. After several years, an immortal island appeared on the surface of the sea. He used his Pure Yang Sword to pierce the formation and entered.

"Indeed!"

The Three Immortal Islands of the East Sea—Penglai, Fang, and Yingzhou. Before this, only Penglai and Fang had appeared. From this day on, all three immortal islands had finally manifested.

That was right; this island was Yingzhou of the East Sea, which shared the same fame as East King Duke's Mount Fang Island.

With Yingzhou revealed and the three immortals back in their places, the moment he stepped onto the island, as the master of Mount Fang Island, he clearly felt his Dao body become refreshed. The three immortals shared the same origin; this was the luck of the Three Immortal Islands of the East Sea descending upon him.

This harvest alone made the trip worthwhile.

East King Duke was in high spirits as he explored Yingzhou. The island was similar in size to Mount Fang Island and held no shortage of opportunities. In just a few years, he had obtained a treasure: a mid-grade Innate Spiritual Treasure in the shape of an umbrella, named the Xuanyuan Pure Umbrella. When unleashed, it could scatter pure, clean spiritual light and possessed impressive defensive capabilities.

At East King Duke's current level, such a spiritual treasure was of little use to him; at most, it could be bestowed upon a disciple. However, the wonders of Yingzhou Island were not limited to this one Innate Spiritual Treasure.

When he reached the center of the island, he encountered something that made his heart tremble violently.

A divine tree stood straight and tall, unimaginably massive—it would take ten thousand people to encircle it. It radiated light and was brimming with vitality, seemingly possessing the power to absorb murky energy and purify the world, yet it had neither branches nor leaves.

It resembled a pillar supporting the heavens; its base towered ten thousand feet high, and its top pierced directly into the void, with no end in sight.

As East King Duke cast his divine sense into the divine tree, his eyes immediately burned with fervor.

"The Sky-reaching Jianmu Divine Tree!"

Growing in the center of Yingzhou Island was none other than this spiritual root. The Jianmu was a chaotic anomaly; after falling into the Primordial World, though it did not rank among the Ten Great Innate Spiritual Roots and bore neither flowers nor fruit, its utility was in no way inferior to the Yellow Middle Plum or its peers.

Some of its miraculous properties even far surpassed those of any other spiritual root.

With this Jianmu Divine Tree, East King Duke might just have a chance to scheme for that great merit of later ages.