The Heaven and Earth Mysterious Yellow Exquisite Pagoda carried the Three Pure Ones millions of miles away before finally stopping. Once they landed, Taiqing Laozi put away the Spiritual Treasure, and all three wore grim expressions.
Since their emergence, they had rarely traveled the Primordial Continent. Yet, bearing Pangu's lingering might, they had always moved through the Primordial World without hindrance. The Three Pure Ones were among the Primordial World's top Innate Divine Demons, Great Supernatural Beings among the Great Luo Golden Immortals. Their auras were linked, and even the now-powerful Three Innate Tribes dared not provoke them lightly. They had never suffered such a loss before.
"Eldest Brother, just what is East King Duke's origin? He possesses so many Innate Spiritual Treasures, and each one seems extraordinary. We Three Pure Ones have the merit of the Great Dao on our side—could we really be inferior to him? What kind of profound fortune does he enjoy?"
Even Tongtian, whose temperament was usually cool and detached, couldn't help speaking. His expression was full of disbelief.
Taiqing Laozi looked solemn. After a moment's thought, he said,
"Using the Mysterious Yellow Power of the Exquisite Pagoda, I sensed that East King Duke also seems to possess merit. He must be no ordinary being. As for his origin, great power seems to conceal his primordial spirit, and I cannot divine it."
Seeing his two younger brothers dispirited, Taiqing spoke again. "Primordial, Tongtian, there's no need to take this to heart. We Three Pure Ones are Pangu Orthodox, and our merit benefits Heaven and Earth. The impartial Heavenly Dao will surely favor us. We need only remain calm and wait for our Destined Affinity."
Over the course of ten thousand years, East King Duke and his companions weren't the only Innate Divine Demons to travel around Buzhou Mountain. Just as East King Duke and the Three Pure Ones were battling with magic, in a formation within a valley tens of millions of miles away, a female cultivator awoke from meditation.
A sudden feeling stirred within her. She tried to divine its cause, but everything remained hazy. Still, joy welled up in her heart for no reason. It was as if Heaven's will were guiding her toward a certain place, where a Destined Affinity of the utmost importance awaited her.
After some thought, she rose with resolve and set off in the direction of the guidance.
Though she had always been calm by nature, she now felt a little impatient. She flew onward without pause, and the faint joy in her heart slowly became a tremor in her primordial spirit.
The closer she came, the stronger the tremor grew. It seemed to come from her very Origin Aura. She couldn't suppress it—and, instinctively, didn't want to.
After flying for more than ten years, she finally landed atop an unnamed mountain. Her gaze turned toward the distance. On the summit of another peak, a hundred miles away, stood a lofty figure facing the wind. Across the deep valley, their eyes met. No words passed between them, yet it was as though their hearts understood one another.
Slowly, their Origin Auras drew together of their own accord, intimately familiar, and gradually merged.
At that moment, a memory appeared in her primordial spirit.
Within the great formation, that lofty figure sat cross-legged before a mass of Pure Yin Energy, slowly expounding the Great Dao. He spoke for ten years, then a hundred... He continued for a full five hundred years before stopping.
"Once you've completed your transformation, Fellow Daoist, you may visit my Mount Fang Island in the East Sea!"
At that very moment, those words seemed to ring right beside her ear.
East King Duke had journeyed here, and the female cultivator a hundred miles away wore a plain robe and flowing skirt, her long hair fluttering in the wind. Her transcendent bearing and incomparable beauty defied description.
His heart surged. One glance, and ten thousand years seemed to pass. At last, he had met the one destined by Heaven.
They gazed at each other for a long while. Then, as if by unspoken agreement, they drifted down to the foot of the mountain and slowly walked toward one another.
When they were close, East King Duke spoke calmly. "Fellow Daoist Queen Mother of the West, you've come."
"Mm, I've come. Fellow Daoist East King Duke, sorry for the wait!"
East King Duke gently waved his hand. "It's nothing. Seeing you is all that matters."
Though this was their first meeting since completing their transformations, their Heaven-ordained bond left no trace of unfamiliarity between them. Instead, they felt an intimate closeness.
They found a quiet place and sat facing each other, talking.
Queen Mother of the West told him what had happened after her transformation.
Ten thousand years after East King Duke finished preaching at Western Kunlun, Queen Mother of the West had successfully completed her transformation. Like him, she was a top-tier Innate Divine Demon, and had reached the Zenith Heaven Realm as soon as she transformed. She then spent tens of thousands of years cultivating in her Dao Field, until, not long ago, a mysterious guidance sent her to Buzhou Mountain.
That was how they had finally met.
"Fellow Daoist, thank you for preaching to me all those years ago. It saved me tens of thousands of years of effort."
East King Duke smiled faintly and shook his head. "Between us, there's no need for thanks!"
They talked for ten years before finally falling silent.
Afterward, they began traveling around Buzhou together. They spent a full thousand years exploring, and though they encountered no further Destined Affinities, neither of them minded.
"Dong Hua, once we leave Buzhou, where shall we go?"
"Tai Zhen, how about returning with me to my Dao Field on Mount Fang Island in the East Sea?"
Over the past thousand years, the two had grown very close and now addressed each other by their Dao Names.
Queen Mother of the West agreed without hesitation. "Good!"
East King Duke then brought out the twelve-grade Yin-Yang Dao Lotus and took Queen Mother of the West back with him.
Several hundred years later, the two arrived in the East Sea Region. Faced with its vast waters and magnificent scenery, Queen Mother of the West, who had come from the Primordial Continent, felt her spirits lift.
Many more years passed before they finally reached Mount Fang Island.
"Dong Hua, is this your Supreme Yang Dao Field?"
Mount Fang Island was a blessed place, teeming with Spiritual Items and Spiritual Roots. Immortal birds sang everywhere, and auspicious beasts often came to pay their respects. The spiritual energy was so dense it was nearly liquid—richer even than that of her Dao Field at Western Kunlun. Queen Mother of the West couldn't help marveling.
Especially when they reached the summit of Supreme Yang Mountain, she was astonished by the Yellow Middle Plum, which radiated a mysterious aura and bore fragrant immortal fruit beneath its canopy, as well as the pool of Three Lights Divine Water and the miraculous Yin-Yang lotus platform within it.
"This truly is a blessed land, an unparalleled Grotto-Heaven."
East King Duke smiled faintly. "If you like it, you can stay for a while."
"Gladly!"
Queen Mother of the West agreed with delight.
The two entered Supreme Yang Palace, and East King Duke summoned Xuan Yang, Qing Ling, and the two young attendants.
Seeing an unfamiliar female immortal of peerless beauty beside their master, the disciples were overcome with curiosity.
"Come and meet your Tai Zhen Martial Aunt."
The disciples hurried forward to pay their respects. Queen Mother of the West greeted them in turn. East King Duke's two disciples were courteous and virtuous, and she was quite pleased with them. Naturally, she gave each of them a few small gifts.
After the disciples left, the two stepped out of the Dao Palace. Using her own spiritual materials, Queen Mother of the West personally crafted an elegant Dao Palace. She named it Pure Yin Palace and placed it beside Supreme Yang Palace.
The interior of Pure Yin Palace was more carefully arranged than that of Supreme Yang Palace, and it took her quite some time to finish. Once it was complete, Queen Mother of the West invited East King Duke over. They chatted for a while, then began discussing the Dao.
Queen Mother of the West had completed her transformation only a few tens of thousands of years earlier and was still at the early stage of the Great Luo Golden Immortal Realm. However, because she had heard East King Duke preach before her transformation, her foundation was already solid. Although they each merely expounded their own Dao, a hint of Yin-Yang Harmony had already begun to emerge between them.
After only a hundred years, Queen Mother of the West felt she was on the verge of a breakthrough.
When their discussion of the Dao ended, Queen Mother of the West suddenly asked, "Dong Hua, your Origin Aura is Pure Yang Energy, but from what I can see, the path you follow now seems no longer to be the Path of Pure Yang?"
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