A Trip to Kunlun, Taking Xuan Yang as a Disciple

Another hundred years passed, and East King Duke consolidated his cultivation at the mid-stage of the Zenith Heaven Golden Immortal realm.

The Chaos Bead flew out from his body and submerged into his Earth Flower. With the Pure Yang Sword in his Human Flower and the Chaos Bead in his Earth Flower—one a top-grade Innate Spiritual Treasure and the other an Innate Supreme Treasure—he had more than enough to stabilize the three flowers of his primordial spirit.

Feeling the surging Pure Yang Immortal Power within him, which was nearly twice as vast as it had been at the early stage of the Zenith Heaven Golden Immortal realm, he was confident that if he were to face the Candle Dragon from ten thousand years ago again, he could easily suppress him. With some effort, he could even manage to kill him.

From his arrival in the Primordial World until now, nearly one Yuan Hui had passed. Possessing supreme treasures, a top-tier dojo, and mid-stage Zenith Heaven Golden Immortal cultivation, the path of the Dao for East King Duke was bright indeed.

After a full ten thousand years, the gates of the Supreme Yang Dao Palace opened once more. Upon leaving seclusion, he rested for a while before departing Mount Fang Island again, this time heading directly toward the Primordial Continent.

The East Sea was vast beyond measure. Even with East King Duke's mid-stage Zenith Heaven Golden Immortal cultivation, deep immortal essence, and incredibly fast escape techniques, it still took him quite some time to cross it.

After several decades, he set foot on the Primordial Continent for the first time.

Traveling along the way, whether in the lands of the Four Seas or on the Primordial Continent, he noticed that the Innate Spiritual Qi between heaven and earth was now tainted with a trace of blood-red energy. Ordinary cultivators might not have noticed, but those with great divine abilities could already sense it.

East King Duke understood clearly.

The three Innate Tribes—the Dragon, Phoenix, and Qilin—had begun to expand aggressively. The struggle for the position of protagonist of the Primordial World had slowly begun. In the later stages, the three tribes would wage war against each other, with constant slaughter triggering the Heaven and Earth Calamity known as the Dragon-Han Tribulation.

The Calamity was exceptionally dangerous, but for a top-tier Innate Divine Being with great divine abilities like East King Duke, the impact would be minimal. He would not participate in the struggle of the three tribes, but the subsequent Dao and Demon Conflict triggered by the Calamity concerned his own path of the Dao, so it was necessary for him to make some plans.

However, it was still early before the Calamity truly erupted. East King Duke's arrival on the Primordial Continent this time was partly for travel, but he also had a specific destination in mind.

That was Kunlun Mountain.

Kunlun was a world-renowned immortal mountain in the Primordial World. Aside from Buzhou Mountain, it was the premier divine mountain, known as the Ancestor of All Mountains.

Many Innate Divine Beings originated from Kunlun. Of course, the most famous in later generations were naturally the Three Pure Ones, but East King Duke was not going there for these descendants of Pangu.

His destination was Western Kunlun.

He was searching for that Innate Divine Being who hailed from Western Kunlun: the Queen Mother of the West.

The two of them—one with the origin of Innate Pure Yang Qi and the other transformed from Innate Pure Yin Energy—were fated to be Dao Companions. Their Yin and Yang complemented each other, and their fortunes were linked. Moreover, the Queen Mother of the West was a crucial link in East King Duke's plan to attain the Dao.

East King Duke performed some divinations, confirmed the direction of Western Kunlun, and flew off.

Along the way, he encountered many living beings, but most were low-level cultivators. He didn't even meet many above the Golden Immortal realm, and some had not even transformed into human form.

It was to be expected; most high-level cultivators stayed in their own dojos to meditate in hopes of attaining the Dao. Unless they had achieved great success in their cultivation, they rarely traveled the Primordial World.

The landscape of the Primordial Continent was vastly different from that of the East Sea, and he was in high spirits throughout the journey.

Since Pangu created the world, the Primordial World had been flourishing, and Innate Beings had emerged one after another. Although countless Yuan Hui had passed, compared to the later eras where immortals were everywhere, the number of living beings was still small.

It was not like later generations where cultivators could be seen everywhere scavenging for spiritual items. Therefore, along the way, he was still able to collect some decent spiritual roots and materials.

On this day, while riding the clouds, East King Duke suddenly steadied the Dao lotus beneath his feet and let out a surprised exclamation as he looked down.

"Kid, let's see where you can run now!"

In the valley below, three cultivators with fierce, malevolent expressions surrounded a young cultivator dressed in red robes.

"I have already yielded the Jade Spiritual Fruit root to you. What more do you want? Do you truly intend to kill me?"

The young cultivator's Daoist robe was tattered and stained with blood; he appeared to have already suffered heavy injuries.

"Hand over the Innate Spiritual Treasure, and we may spare your life. Otherwise..."

The three opponents had already closed in.

"The Spiritual Treasure is my companion object; it is absolutely impossible for me to hand it over to you."

The young cultivator held a crimson, pagoda-shaped spiritual treasure in his palm, his tone firm.

Upon seeing the spiritual treasure, the three men's eyes immediately filled with greed. They exchanged a glance and let out a sharp shout.

"Then go to hell!"

They each unleashed their spells and attacked.

Although he possessed an Innate Spiritual Treasure, he was, after all, fighting three against one. The young cultivator soon found himself struggling to parry, falling into a disadvantage.

After only seven or eight rounds, the opponent's long-blade spiritual treasure came flying toward him. Seeing that he was about to die under the blade, the young cultivator wore an expression of despair.

Just as he was about to close his eyes and await death, his vision blurred. A figure suddenly appeared before him. Before the long-blade spiritual treasure could even touch him, it flew backward, instantly losing all its spirituality.

This figure was naturally East King Duke. He would not usually care about four Profound Immortals fighting, but he had appeared this time because he recognized the young cultivator's true form; it was actually of the same origin as his own.

"We are cultivators of the Kirin Clan. This person stole our clan's treasure, and we are under orders to capture him. Fellow Daoist, step aside quickly and do not bring ruin upon yourself."

These three were merely lowly Profound Immortals and naturally could not discern the depth of East King Duke's cultivation. They only felt his aura was profound and knew he was not someone they could defeat, though they merely guessed he might be a Golden Immortal powerhouse. The three assumed that by bringing up the Kirin Clan, they would scare him off.

However, East King Duke did not even hold the Dragon Clan in high regard, so why would he care about the Kirin Clan? Furthermore, the three tribes were on the verge of inciting a war, which would trigger a Great Calamity. The cultivators of the three tribes had already entered the calamity and were no longer favored by the Heavenly Dao.

He flicked his finger gently, and a streak of Pure Yang Energy flew out. Before the three minor Profound Immortals could react, they were reduced to dust.

The young cultivator, having escaped death, was struck with terror.

He hurriedly knelt to the ground.

"Junior Xuan Yang pays respects to Senior. Thank you, Senior, for saving my life."

"Rise. There is no need for such formalities."

Xuan Yang stood up respectfully, but suddenly, a thought occurred to him, and he knelt down once more.

"I am but a minor immortal from the wilderness, lacking refined teachings and having no path to seek the Dao. I implore Senior to take me in as a disciple and pass down the Great Dao, so as to fulfill my earnest heart in seeking the Dao."

East King Duke was taken aback. After a brief moment of contemplation, he performed a quick calculation with his fingers, and his heart filled with surprise. He had originally harbored no intentions of taking on a disciple, yet he had not expected that the minor cultivator he had saved on a whim truly shared a karmic bond of master and disciple with him.

This Xuan Yang's origin was actually quite good, and furthermore, they shared the same source. Taking him as a disciple would be quite fitting.

Thus, he spoke, "Very well. You are a manifestation of Innate Yang Fire, which makes you of the same source as me. There is indeed a karmic bond of master and disciple between us, so I shall accept you as my disciple."

"Disciple greets Master!"

Xuan Yang kowtowed.

East King Duke nodded slightly.

"Your master is East King Duke, a Zenith Heaven Golden Immortal of Mount Fang Island in the East Sea, known by the Daoist title Supreme Yang Dao Lord. Upon entering my sect, you become the first disciple of the second generation of the Supreme Yang Lineage. You must embody the heart of Heaven above and cultivate virtue below, striving to attain the Zenith Heaven realm at an early date."

"Disciple will strictly follow Master's decree."

At this moment, Xuan Yang was overcome with wild joy. When East King Duke had wiped out the three Qilin tribe cultivators with a mere wave of his hand earlier, he had known that the person before him was a senior with profound cultivation. That was what had prompted his move to seek apprenticeship.

He had essentially taken a gamble. He had originally thought this senior might be a Golden Immortal powerhouse, but he had never expected that he was truly a Great Divine Being. One had to know that Zenith Heaven Golden Immortals were not easily seen, let alone being accepted into their sect.