His unusual reaction—and the aura that suddenly surged from him, echoing the Four Symbols Plantain Tree—did not escape Lord Wanshouyuan or Zhenyuanzi's true body.
Understanding and relief flickered through Lord Wanshouyuan's eyes. He nodded slightly.
The profound yellow glow of Zhenyuanzi's true body rippled. A calm, gentle divine thought, tinged with a knowing smile, reached Hong Yun's heart:
"The Great Dao has revealed itself, and your destined affinity has taken shape. I see your Qi Flow answering this tree, your origins resonating with it as though you sprang from the same source. This tree belongs with you. Such is heaven's will, and such is your good fortune."
Hong Yun jolted out of that mysterious resonance. Delight first swept across his face.
Then immense hesitation and disbelief replaced it. He hurriedly waved his hands, his voice rising with emotion:
"How... how could I accept this, Fellow Daoist Zhenyuanzi? This is an Innate Spiritual Root, precious beyond measure—a great opportunity you obtained only after countless hardships, from a Xiantian Restriction on Buzhou Mountain!
"It may even serve some vital purpose tied to the Fortune of your Book of the Earth and Ginseng Fruit Tree! How could I steal what you cherish and accept such a lavish gift?"
How precious was an Innate Spiritual Root? There were only a handful in the entire Primordial Wilderness.
Each contained one or more complete Great Dao Laws. Any great power would fight madly over such a peerless treasure, even if it meant unleashing a bloodbath.
And Zhenyuanzi was offering it to him without hesitation, as though it were nothing? The gift was too great. Hong Yun's heart raced; he did not dare accept it.
Zhenyuanzi's divine thought came again, still gentle, but with an unquestionable candor and sincerity. Behind it lay the deep friendship they had shared for countless ages:
"Fellow Daoist Hongyun, why stand on ceremony? For me, this tree would merely add a little to what I already have.
"For you, it aligns with your Great Dao and will make you stronger still. It could lay your Dao Foundation and show you the path ahead. Its value to you is beyond measure.
"We have been together since the first stirrings of our awareness. We watched the Primordial Wilderness change and passed countless ages side by side. Our bond has long since grown beyond ordinary friendship between fellow cultivators. We are nearly brothers and companions on the path.
"If this one possession can advance your cultivation and bring your Great Dao within reach, then that is its greatest value to me. Why would I begrudge it?
"After all these years, do you still mean to draw a line between what is yours and what is mine?"
His words were calm and gentle, yet they struck Hong Yun's heart with the weight of Mount Buzhou.
Hong Yun stood frozen. Emotions surged through him, and an indescribable warmth rose from the depths of his Primordial Spirit and spread through every part of him.
His nose stung, and his throat tightened. For a moment, he could not speak.
Countless fragments of memory rose in his mind.
He remembered when, countless ages ago, he had been a cloud of inborn red vapor, drifting in bewilderment above the summit of Longevity Mountain. The warm, solid, quiet Wutu essence below had often sent out comforting, guiding thoughts to dispel his confusion.
He remembered how, in the years that followed, Zhenyuanzi had expounded the Dao to him day after day, patiently breaking down the obscure Ultimate Truths of the Great Dao. Zhenyuanzi had helped him develop awareness, find his path of cultivation, and reach where he stood today.
He remembered the trial that had descended when he took human form. Zhenyuanzi had immediately summoned the full power of the Earth Fetal Membrane and drawn on Longevity Mountain's boundless Earth Vein Qi to protect him, holding nothing back.
Now, just after Hong Yun had broken through to Da Luo thanks to an opportunity brought by his dear friend's true body, Zhenyuanzi was giving him an Innate Spiritual Root that suited him so perfectly...
This friendship was too great a gift. Hong Yun did not know how he could ever repay it. He hardly felt worthy of accepting it.
He looked at the Four Symbols Plantain Tree, its light flowing in harmony with his aura.
Then he turned his awareness to the silent, utterly dependable profound yellow glow—Zhenyuanzi's true body—which had always guarded this place like an ancient mountain.
In the end, all his thoughts and feelings became a deep bow. He bent at the waist, his voice trembling and catching despite his efforts to steady it:
"Fellow Daoist Zhenyuanzi... I, Hong Yun, will carry this gift in my heart and never forget it. If ever you need me, I will face death ten thousand times without hesitation!"
He knew Zhenyuanzi's nature. To keep refusing would only put distance between them and spurn his friend's Heart of Sincerity.
He would remember this friendship, higher than the heavens and deeper than the earth. When the time came, he would give everything he had to repay it.
The glow of Zhenyuanzi's true body flickered, conveying a calm thought: Between us, this is only natural. Think nothing of it.
Hong Yun straightened and took a deep breath, forcing down the emotions surging within him.
He did not rush to draw the Four Symbols Plantain Tree into his body and refine it. Instead, he made a choice more in keeping with the Great Dao.
He walked up to the spiritual root and sat cross-legged before it. Reaching out, he gently touched its four leaves, each of which held a different Origin Power, as tenderly as he might touch a beloved treasure. He closed his eyes and felt the vast, powerful, yet intimately familiar Natural Dao Rhyme within them.
"Since this spiritual root and I share a destined affinity, I'll let it continue growing here in the Spiritual Aperture."
Hong Yun looked up at Lord Wanshouyuan and Zhenyuanzi's true body, his gaze clear and resolute.
"This place lies at the heart of Longevity Mountain's Spiritual Veins. Your Wutu Essence Qi nourishes it as well, making this the best place for it to grow.
"From now on, I'll come beneath this tree whenever I contemplate the Dao. I'll stay by its side, breathe alongside it, and study how its Four Symbols Origin unfolds naturally.
"As our spirits meet and understanding grows between us, I may grasp its essence more deeply than I could by forcing it into my body and refining it. That would benefit my Dao Foundation more, too, and honor what it is as an Innate Spiritual Root."
Approval deepened in Lord Wanshouyuan's eyes. He nodded and smiled:
"Well said. You have grasped the heart of the natural Dao. A spiritual root has a spirit and a path of its own.
"Forced refinement may grant you its power quickly, but it could damage that spirit and rob you of the truth in its natural development. That would be killing the hen for its eggs.
"Keeping it company and contemplating its Dao Rhyme, so that you both benefit, is the way forward. A wise choice, my friend."
Hong Yun settled beneath the Four Symbols Plantain Tree, closed his eyes, and cleared his mind. He immersed his spirit completely in communion with the root's Dao Rhyme.
He no longer deliberately circulated his cultivation art. Instead, he let the powers of Earth, Water, Wind, and Fire flow freely within him, entering a wondrous resonance with the plantain tree's four leaves.
Gradually, a small but extraordinarily pure and substantial domain of Four Symbols Law formed around the tree, covering several yards.
Red clouds bearing the nature of fire and wind, damp swirls of Water Vapor, and a steady earthen-yellow glow intertwined. Together they played out profound visions of the dawn of chaos, the division of yin and yang, the settling of the four symbols, and the birth of all things.
Within the domain, Hong Yun's form grew faint and indistinct. His aura aligned ever more closely with the plantain tree's, until they seemed to merge into one.
His Primordial Spirit roamed a sea of Four Symbols Law. Barriers that had long hindered his cultivation fell away, and his understanding of the Great Luo Realm deepened at an unprecedented pace. Without his noticing, his cultivation steadily advanced.
Lord Wanshouyuan kept watch nearby. Seeing Hong Yun enter such deep contemplation and settle into such natural harmony with the Four Symbols Plantain Tree, he felt deeply gratified.
Their journey to Buzhou Mountain had yielded far more than expected, with consequences that would reach much further.
His true body had perfected its foundation and greatly strengthened its reserves;
His dearest friend, Hong Yun, had found a treasure perfectly suited to him, and the way ahead now looked bright;
And as an incarnation, Lord Wanshouyuan's own cultivation had risen with them. The strength of the Longevity Mountain Lineage had quietly reached an entirely new level. The future held promise.
He gazed into the distance, as though he could see past Wuzhuang Temple's wards and through layers of space to the sweeping, turbulent Primordial World Situation ahead, with all its hidden calamities.
With enough strength, perhaps they would one day be able to protect all they cherished amid that surging tide—and change a few things they might otherwise have regretted.
The two bright young attendants, Qingfeng and Mingyue, stared wide-eyed at the newcomer, a "little tree" that shone with four different colors. They were curious, but awed.
Then they looked at Master Hong Yun, who seemed to have become one with the tree, Dao Rhyme swirling around him. They obediently kept quiet so as not to disturb him and simply stood guard nearby. Now and then, they curiously absorbed a wisp of Four Symbols Dao Charm that drifted their way. It left them feeling refreshed, and their cultivation slowly grew without their noticing.
Peace and quiet returned to Wuzhuang Temple.
Only the new Four Symbols Plantain Tree stirred. Its leaves swayed gently as the powers of Earth, Water, Wind, and Fire circulated endlessly, echoing Daoist Hongyun as he sat beneath it contemplating the Dao. Together, they revealed the Great Dao's mystery and harmony.
Zhenyuanzi's true body hovered silently, steadfast as an ancient stone. It continued gathering strength as it awaited the day it would finally take human form.
Lord Wanshouyuan remained at its side, a loyal guardian and fellow cultivator, protecting the peace and opportunity they had won with such difficulty.
And so a hopeful new chapter of cultivation quietly began atop Longevity Mountain. In the Primordial Wilderness, years passed uncounted. Only the Great Dao endured, and friendship remained.
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