At Longevity Mountain, inside Wuzhuang Temple.
Nourished by the Innate Xutu Great Formation over countless years, this place had long since become extraordinary.
When Chaos Energy Streams from the outside reached it, the formation transformed them into auspicious, tranquil vapors. These mingled with incomparably pure Innate Earthen Energy, forming a dense, almost tangible haze of Profound Yellow Qi.
Visions of Golden Lotuses Sprouting from Earth, overlapping mountain ranges, and dragons and serpents rising from the land emerged from the Earth Dao Resonance. They were wondrous beyond measure; every breath held an opportunity to comprehend the Dao.
At the formation's core, a halo of Profound Yellow Qi about ten feet across floated in silence. Dense and vast, it radiated boundless Earth Dao Resonance and vitality. Its light was gentle yet profound, as though an endless world lay within.
This was Zhenyuanzi's true form—the Essence of Innate Earthen Energy.
Though the time had not yet come for him to take shape, his aura was immense and unfathomable. His cultivation had reached the peak of the Primordial Unity Golden Immortal realm. He was only one step from the Da Luo Dao Fruit, yet that step was a gulf between heaven and earth.
Before the halo sat Daoist Hongyun, cross-legged and intent. He wore a crimson Daoist robe, and his handsome face carried an easy, carefree air.
To either side, the young attendants Qingfeng and Mingyue sat straight-backed, holding their breath as they listened, entranced and afraid to miss a single word.
Zhenyuanzi was explaining to them how Earth's Profound Virtue bore all things, along with the essentials of cultivation. His voice came not through speech but directly through pulses of divine sense. In clear, incisive terms, he expounded the mysteries of the Kunyuan True Scripture and Heaven and Earth Law.
When he reached the subtlest points, the Earth Veins throughout Longevity Mountain resonated and trembled faintly. The surrounding Innate Spiritual Qi, so dense it seemed liquid, responded to the Earth Dao Resonance.
It gathered of its own accord into dazzling golden lotuses. They bloomed in midair, then quietly vanished back into spiritual qi, their cycle unending as Earth Dao Resonance filled every inch of space.
Just as the lecture reached its most wondrous point and everyone was immersed in the Dao Realm, something changed!
A streak of green light flashed in, faster than thought could follow. It passed unhindered through the outer Innate Great Earth Formation, which could withstand even the attacks of a Da Luo Golden Immortal.
As though it were part of the formation itself, it fell like a meteor into the temple's heart. The light withdrew, revealing Lord Wanshouyuan's upright figure.
His aura was deep as the sea. Though he had deliberately restrained the fluctuations of his Da Luo Golden Immortal power,
the invisible pressure born of his ascent to a higher level of life still spread like a tide. Zhenyuanzi's lecture stopped abruptly, and the golden lotuses blooming and vanishing in the air froze.
"Fellow Daoist, you're back!" Hong Yun was the first to recover from his surprise. Genuine delight lit his face; he could clearly sense the startlingly powerful aura that now set Lord Wanshouyuan apart.
Qingfeng and Mingyue hurriedly rose from their Cattail Hassocks and bowed respectfully. Excitement and awe colored their voices. "Greetings, Master!"
Lord Wanshouyuan gave Hong Yun a slight nod in greeting, then turned his gaze to the Profound Yellow mass of Essence of Innate Earthen Energy.
He and Zhenyuanzi were one, born of the same source. A bond deeper than words connected them. They needed no pleasantries; that close, invisible link formed in an instant, and nothing more needed to be said.
"This journey yielded much. I'll share it with my true form."
Lord Wanshouyuan wasted no words. He sat cross-legged directly before the Essence of Innate Earthen Energy and closed his eyes, his expression solemn.
In the next instant, green light flashed between his brows. A stream of divine sense, condensed to its utmost and carrying a vast torrent of information, surged forth like a river bursting its banks. Yet it remained under perfect control as it flowed unhindered into the halo of Profound Yellow Qi.
Hong Yun sat nearby, while Qingfeng and Mingyue stood to either side.
They saw Lord Wanshouyuan and Zhenyuanzi's true form tremble at the same time. Between them rushed an immense, complex flood of thoughts containing countless images, insights, emotions, and even fragments of Great Dao Law. It passed and mingled at a speed beyond time.
The Earth Dao Resonance around them fluctuated violently. Visions arose one after another: now green light shot into the sky, now Profound Yellow Qi surged. It was as though both were undergoing a fierce transformation.
Zhenyuanzi's true form, the Essence of Innate Earthen Energy, received, analyzed, and absorbed all the memories and firsthand insights Lord Wanshouyuan sent him at astonishing speed:
At the foot of Buzhou Mountain, the hardship and resolve of his first steps, when he had endured the ever-present, ever more terrifying Pangu Pressure with nothing but his Dao body;
The unexpected discovery of an innate restriction halfway up the mountain, the painstaking effort of comprehending the profound Xiantian Four Symbols Great Array, and the delight of finally obtaining the Four Symbols Plantain Tree, an Innate Spiritual Root;
During the climb, the agony of pushing his body to the brink of collapse again and again, then breaking through under that crushing pressure through the Wood Scripture and sheer indomitable will, until he reached the middle stage of the Da Luo Golden Immortal realm;
At the summit, the sudden change in pressure, the shock of facing Pangu's vast, unyielding will and the countless traces left by the Great Dao at the dawn of creation, and the elevation of his Dao Realm;
The instant he reached the top and stood above the Primordial Wilderness, looking down upon heaven and earth with every other peak beneath him, as his power matured naturally and he stepped into the Da Luo Dao Fruit;
And his greatest gain, one that could shake the entire Primordial Wilderness: the discovery and painstaking collection of three drops of Pangu Jade Marrow, including the purest power of World Creation at its source within them—a power that made his soul tremble even as he yearned for it...
There was also the astonishing encounter on his descent, in a little-visited cave on the mountain's far side, where he had found the Nine-Clawed Golden Dragon formed from Pangu's last wisp of vital energy and a considerable amount of Mysterious Yellow Merit Qi...
Every experience, every danger, every insight, every gain—
all of it entered the depths of Zhenyuanzi's sea of consciousness as though he had lived through it himself. Every detail, every moment of fear, every flash of understanding, every rise and fall of emotion passed to him perfectly, without the slightest loss, becoming his own most precious experience and deepest foundation.
Sharing memories and insights between two beings of the same origin accomplished far more than any explanation or teaching of techniques could.
Without spending a moment of his own time or effort, Zhenyuanzi had perfectly relived Lord Wanshouyuan's entire journey to Buzhou Mountain and gained every insight from it. Its value was beyond measure!
Boom!
As that vast store of memories and insights fully merged with him—above all, the enlightenment and baptism of the Great Dao at the summit, and the touch upon his origins brought by the Pangu Jade Marrow—the bottleneck that had held Zhenyuanzi at the peak of the Primordial Unity Golden Immortal realm shattered like a wall beneath an invisible hammer!
Innate Earthen Energy poured toward him from the Earth Veins of Longevity Mountain, setting the entire mountain range rumbling.
His aura surged higher at a visible pace. He broke through the once-unyielding barrier and entered a new realm, vaster and more powerful, its mysteries beyond words!
Da Luo Golden Immortal!
At last, Zhenyuanzi, the Essence of Innate Earthen Energy, had attained the Da Luo Dao Fruit! He had stepped beyond the Three Realms and escaped the Five Elements!
Though his true form remained the Essence of Innate Earthen Energy and the time for him to take shape had yet to arrive, his very nature had been transformed. His power was boundless, his divine sense reached to every corner of heaven and earth, and his understanding of the Way of the Great Earth had risen to an unprecedented height, almost becoming one with it!
The halo of Profound Yellow Qi around him grew denser, brighter, and deeper. As its light shifted, countless miniature mountains, rivers, and stretches of land seemed to arise and vanish within it, holding endless creation and power.
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