Lord Wanshouyuan—the Daoist name of the Ginseng Fruit Tree avatar—left the bounds of Longevity Mountain. His green Daoist robes stirred without a breeze as his figure became a swift, ethereal streak of green light.
This was the Innate Evasion Technique, powered by essence of Yi Wood. His destination was clear: Mount Buzhou, the elusive center of the Primordial Continent.
According to fragments of memory from his true body, Zhenyuanzi, Buzhou Mountain had formed from Great God Pangu's spine. It was not merely the pillar supporting heaven and earth, but also a place where boundless powers of creation had gathered when the Primordial Wilderness first opened, harboring countless opportunities.
Innate spiritual roots whose awareness had just begun to awaken, Innate Spiritual Treasures concealing profound mysteries, and even great Dao insights left behind when Pangu opened heaven and earth might all lie scattered within this mountain.
A vague intuition also suggested that the first living being of the Primordial Wilderness to reach Buzhou Mountain's summit through their own strength might stir unseen fortune and receive an additional gift from Pangu or the Great Dao itself.
Such a prospect was of vital importance to Zhenyuanzi and his avatar, who urgently needed to increase their strength and lay plans for the future.
The Primordial Land was boundless, its mountains and rivers spanning billions of miles. Though the Innate Spiritual Qi pervading it was dense, it also created invisible resistance. Chaotic, unsettled chaos energy streams that had existed since heaven and earth were opened occasionally swept across it as well.
Though Lord Wanshouyuan propelled his evasion light with the cultivation of a Primordial Unity Golden Immortal and traveled at tremendous speed, on the vast scale of the Primordial Wilderness, he still felt as though he had journeyed for untold years.
The sun, moon, and stars revolved in succession overhead. Below him, verdant forests gave way to barren deserts, followed by immense marshes and deep chasms, with no end in sight.
He remained wholly focused, constantly adjusting his course as he sensed the increasingly distinct, magnificent summons rising from deep within the earth's veins—the lofty, weighty aura unique to Buzhou Mountain.
At last, after flying for an unknown length of time, he saw a sight on the distant horizon that could have shaken any living being of the Primordial Wilderness.
A divine mountain of indescribable grandeur and immensity stood between heaven and earth.
Its slopes were a mysterious blue-black, ancient and desolate. Steep and towering, they pierced the clouds, as though they truly held up the entire sky.
Dense Innate Spiritual Qi and chaos energy streams that had yet to fully disperse wreathed the mountain, forming countless brilliant, aurora-like veils that seemed to coil like dragons and serpents.
Even from an immense distance, a vast, majestic, heavy aura swept toward him, inspiring boundless awe.
This was Buzhou Mountain, formed from Pangu's spine—the heavenly pillar of the Primordial Wilderness!
Though immeasurable ages had passed since Pangu opened heaven and earth, though time had flowed and all things had flourished, the Pangu pressure lingering upon this divine mountain seemed eternal, without the slightest weakening.
It was the supreme majesty of the creator, a manifestation of the pinnacle of strength. Vast and terrifying, it shook heaven and earth, making even the surrounding space seem stagnant and heavy.
Ordinary birds could scarcely cross it. Those with weaker cultivation might not even be able to approach before the invisible pressure crushed their souls and shattered their Dao bodies.
Lord Wanshouyuan, too, felt a chill of apprehension, his eyes filled with utmost gravity and heartfelt admiration.
He gradually slowed his evasion light. The closer he came, the clearer and heavier the pressure grew, bearing down from every direction like tangible seawater.
It made the protective green light of Yi Wood around him ripple faintly, and even the circulation of his magical power slowed involuntarily.
"Great God Pangu truly deserved to be the creator who opened heaven! After so many ages since his death, with only this mountain formed from his spine remaining, his pressure is still so fierce and vast. Truly worthy of reverence and wonder!"
Lord Wanshouyuan murmured his admiration, his voice filled with awe toward that supreme power.
Guiding his evasion light, he finally landed at the immensely broad foot of Buzhou Mountain.
Looking up, he saw the mountain rise into the blue heavens, its summit utterly beyond sight. Only clouds and mist around its waist and myriad rays of rosy clouds were visible.
Here, the Pangu pressure had reached an extreme intensity. Even the air seemed viscous, every breath laden with crushing weight.
The barrier of magical power circulating automatically around him hummed faintly, constantly counteracting the terrifying force that filled every inch of space.
Lord Wanshouyuan took a moment to regulate his breathing and adjust to the conditions at the mountain's foot.
Then he made a decision. With a thought, the hazy green glow of protective magical power around him receded like a tide. He deliberately dispelled it, drawing it entirely back into his body.
In an instant, the ocean-like expanse of Pangu pressure that his magical power had kept at bay bore directly upon his flesh without restraint!
Buzzz!
It was as though an invisible mountain had suddenly settled upon his shoulders, or the weight of the entire Primordial Land had gathered here.
Lord Wanshouyuan's body sank slightly. His bones and joints gave the faintest creaks, the natural response of flesh under enormous pressure.
He drew a deep breath. Even the air entering his lungs felt exceptionally heavy, with the solidity of mountain stone.
He took his first step, planting his foot firmly upon Buzhou Mountain's rock, which was harder than divine iron and held a faint trace of Pangu's aura.
His foot fell with a dull thud.
It was not the stone shifting, but the vibration produced as his body contended with that pressure.
He no longer used even a trace of magical power. With nothing but this Dao body, transformed from the Innate Spiritual Root Ginseng Fruit Tree, he resisted the vast pressure originating from Pangu.
In truth, Lord Wanshouyuan had not chosen to climb on foot and dispel his magical power merely to show reverence or inflict needless suffering upon himself.
He had a deeper purpose, drawn from precious knowledge in the memories of his true body, Zhenyuanzi—to use the omnipresent Pangu pressure on Buzhou Mountain to temper and hone his flesh!
There were countless paths of cultivation in the Primordial Wilderness, but regardless of the path, a powerful body was always the foundation, a precious vessel that carried magical power and nourished the primordial spirit.
For Zhenyuanzi in particular, who aspired to wield earth authority, the connection between his body and the earth was crucial.
Though the Ginseng Fruit Tree was an innate spiritual root brimming with vitality, it was not renowned for the sheer toughness of its physical form.
Great God Pangu, however, had used Prove the Dao with Strength. The might of his flesh had been unsurpassed throughout Chaos, beyond anyone's reach.
Even though his body had become all things, the pressure remaining on Buzhou Mountain, formed from his spine, was still the finest invisible furnace in existence for tempering the body.
Every step was a hundred times harder than it would have been on ordinary ground.
The pressure in the air seemed to become tangible heavy water. It bore down not only from above but surged from every side, seeking to hinder his every movement.
He could clearly feel pressure scraping across his skin like a blunt blade. His flesh trembled faintly beneath it, and his bones endured continuous tempering. Even the magical power circulating on its own through his meridians seemed to grow a little more condensed under its compression.
Lord Wanshouyuan adjusted his breathing, his steps slow and resolute.
He carefully observed the changes in pressure upon every inch of his body, feeling it penetrate every opening and collide and mingle directly with his cells, his sinews and bones, and his very essence.
The process was arduous and even somewhat painful, but he could clearly sense that beneath this extreme pressure, his body was undergoing an exceedingly subtle yet continuous transformation.
Under the tempering pressure, his once-gentle, abundant wood vitality became more resilient and melded more deeply into his flesh, allowing his Dao body, already endowed with boundless vitality, to begin evolving toward greater toughness and strength.
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