They crossed the seemingly plain Mountain Gate of Wuzhuang Temple, which subtly accorded with heaven and earth ultimate truth.
The newly arrived creatures—immortal cranes, descendants of sacred beasts, kirin, and black tortoises alike—all stopped in their tracks, as though an invisible force had seized their minds. Even their breathing unconsciously stilled.
The sight before them was utterly unlike any blessed land they had imagined or visited. It was a shock that reached straight to their origins and shook their souls.
The first and most dazzling sight was the enormous being coiled at the very center of the courtyard, almost filling their entire field of vision—a Nine-Clawed Golden Dragon whose whole body blazed with the xuanhuang golden light of immeasurable merit!
The dragon's winding body was not stiff like a lifeless object. Instead, it possessed a strange, tremendous vitality, as though it might soar into the sky at any moment.
Each dragon scale was as large as a millstone. The naturally formed patterns upon them seemed to flow slowly, constantly drawing in and releasing the spiritual qi of the heavens. The dragon might they radiated was as vast as an abyss, yet carried an air of majestic righteousness.
This dragon might was not deliberately released. It was the natural pressure of the dragon's very existence, making the Azure Dragon descendant, whose blood carried an inherited reverence for the Dragon Clan, tremble involuntarily. The other creatures, too, instinctively wanted to bend their knees and prostrate themselves. It was the shudder brought on by an absolute gulf in the level of their existence.
"This... this is..." All eighteen of the Nine-Headed Lion's eyes widened, and all nine of its imposing heads lowered at once. Its voice trembled with disbelief. It could sense that even a trace of the aura emanating from this Golden Dragon was purer and nobler than that of its clan's most ancient elder.
Zhenyuanzi stood to one side, his austere face betraying no emotion, as though the being coiled in the courtyard were merely an ordinary ornament. He spoke calmly, his gentle voice reaching every creature's ears with perfect clarity:
"This is no mortal creature. It took form from Father God Pangu's final breath of origin aura when he exhausted his strength and fell after opening heaven and earth, mingled with immeasurable world-opening merit and xuanhuang mother qi.
"Although circumstances have kept it from developing a complete spark of spiritual intelligence, it remains a peerless treasure unique throughout heaven and earth, bearing a portion of the imprints of world-opening."
Those few words exploded like thunder in every creature's heart! Pangu's Legacy! World-opening merit! Xuanhuang mother qi!
They might only have encountered these terms in fragments of their most ancient inherited memories. These were the source of the Primordial Wilderness's creation, the foundational powers that formed this world, supreme existences spoken of in legend!
And now, they appeared so tangibly before their eyes. The ancient, boundless, righteous, and majestic aura within that golden light could not be faked.
For a time, the gathered beasts' hearts reeled. Their gazes upon the Golden Dragon brimmed with indescribable awe and astonishment, as though they were beholding a living epic of world-opening.
Only after their minds had recovered somewhat from the shock of the Nine-Clawed Golden Dragon could they carefully examine the rest of Wuzhuang Temple's courtyard.
That look brought yet another wave of astonishment. To one side of the courtyard stood a wondrous Plantain Tree, graceful and upright.
Its trunk had the warm luster of green jade, and it bore only four enormous leaves, each displaying a distinct hue of origin: azure, red, yellow, and blue.
The four leaves moved without wind. As they swayed slowly, they visibly drew the four kinds of innate primal qi—earth, water, fire, and wind—to circulate, collide, and mingle among the branches and leaves. Together, they formed a subtle yet stable Four Symbols cycle, resonating with the five-element spiritual qi that permeated the courtyard and unfolding endless mysteries.
That incomparably pure four symbols power stirred the blood of the four sacred beast descendants who had been called forward—the Azure Dragon, Vermilion Bird, White Tiger, and Black Tortoise—filling them with an overwhelming sense of kinship and longing.
Beside the Four Symbols Plantain Tree, another spiritual root drew every gaze—a climbing Gourd Vine. Its lush green tendrils looked as though they had been carved from the finest emerald, while spiritual light flickered through the veins of its thick leaves.
Most striking of all were the seven gourds hanging from the vine. They differed in size and slightly in shape, but each shone with a treasure's luster and possessed a naturally formed Dao resonance:
The Red Gourd glowed all over like burning sunset clouds. Flowing-cloud patterns flickered in and out of view across its surface, and its aura was both scorching and ethereal;
The Orange Gourd had a rich, warm hue, giving an impression of steadfast reliability like the earth itself, as though it could bear all things;
The Yellow Gourd concealed its sharpness within. Faint sounds of clashing metal issued from it, and its keen aura seemed capable of cleaving the void;
The Green Gourd possessed the most tremendous vitality, as though it contained an entire spring. With every breath, one could feel the joy of growing plants;
Tiny eddies of wind formed spontaneously around the Azure Gourd. Wreathed in mist, it carried a Dao resonance of freedom and change;
The Blue Gourd was enveloped in water vapor, its surface seemingly covered by a flowing film of water. The faint sound of tides rising and falling could be heard;
The Purple Gourd was the most mysterious, its hue deep and profound. Occasionally, a thread of lightning flashed across its surface and vanished, while it radiated a heart-quivering aura in which destruction and new birth intertwined.
Seven gourds, seven colors, seven Dao resonances—like seven brilliant stars adorning the emerald vine, they formed a scene of unfathomable wonder.
The entire space within Wuzhuang Temple was, moreover, a world unto itself.
Innate wu tu essence qi, so dense it had almost become tangible, enveloped every creature like a warm womb, making them feel firmly grounded and peaceful at heart;
At the same time, a fresh, vibrant current of wood qi, brimming with vitality, flowed from Lord Wanshouyuan and the other spiritual plants in the courtyard. Like a gentle stream, it coursed through and mingled with the wutu essence qi.
Here, these two auras, seemingly so different in nature, had achieved perfect balance and coexistence.
Creatures cultivating here could feel the earth's weighty support and draw upon its endless strength, while also bathing in abundant vitality to nourish their souls and comprehend the Dao of growth. With every breath, even their magical power seemed to refine and increase on its own.
As the gathered beasts immersed themselves in this unimaginable sanctuary for cultivation, Zhenyuanzi spoke again, breaking the silence:
"Having entered my gate, you share a bond of fate with me. From this day onward, you may freely enter and leave the inner and outer courtyards of Wuzhuang Temple and cultivate in this blessed land."
As his words fell, he gently swept his sleeve. Several slender yet concentrated streaks of earthen-yellow spiritual light shot forth, sinking precisely into the Cinnabar Field of every newcomer present.
The beasts felt a slight tremor within their seas of consciousness. A profound formula became clearly imprinted there, explaining how to sense, identify, and safely pass through the key nodes of the Innate Great Earth Formation surrounding Wuzhuang Temple, as well as how to use the formation's aura to conceal themselves and avoid the prying eyes of outside enemies.
The formula was not complicated, yet it went straight to the principles governing the formation's core operation. Without Zhenyuanzi's personal instruction, no outsider could ever have found the way in.
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