Clarity settled over Zhenyuanzi. Without hesitation, he stepped forward and stopped before the jade platform.
No words or probing were needed. At a thought, his vast, refined Peak Great Luo Golden Immortal mana flowed toward the Central Wuji Apricot Yellow Banner, gentle and steady as a stream.
He did not force his mana into it. Like a wanderer returning home, it carried a deep longing and the purest Earth Element Origin Aura as it lightly touched the sleeping treasure.
The instant his mana touched the banner, something changed!
Hummm!
A low, immense hum rose from within the Apricot Yellow Banner. It was not resistance, but the joy of a sleeping giant awakened by someone dear.
The entire banner erupted with dazzling Profound Yellow Divine Light, bathing the heart of Penglai Immortal Island in radiance.
Dense Earth Dao Charm spread like something tangible, blending seamlessly with the Innate Earthen Origin Qi surrounding Zhenyuanzi.
The light did not dazzle. It was warm and substantial, as though the entire space had solidified into pure Wu Tu Essence.
The patterns of mountains and rivers on the banner seemed to come alive. Peaks rose, rivers surged, and Earth Veins coursed through them, resonating with the ground beneath Zhenyuanzi's feet and the Primordial Wilderness's vast network recorded in the Book of the Earth within his sea of consciousness.
He seemed to "see" countless invisible channels spreading outward from Penglai Island, connecting to the Ancestral Veins of the Primordial Wilderness's main continent and the earthly apertures beneath the Four Seas. They even faintly echoed the Power of Stars Above the Nine Heavens.
The earth was not isolated. It was one vast, intricate, living network.
The Mysterious Yellow Beaded Tassel hanging from the flagstaff swayed without wind, scattering drops of pure Wutu Essence Qi. Like the sweetest Nectar of the Gods, they flowed willingly into Zhenyuanzi's mana, nourishing his origin and strengthening his Dao Foundation.
The refining had begun. But this was no ordinary refinement of a magical treasure.
When he had refined the Twelve-petal Pure World White Lotus, he had needed to penetrate its defenses layer by layer, advance step by step, and even overcome its instinctive resistance. This time, the process was almost unbelievably smooth.
The Central Wuji Apricot Yellow Banner seemed to have waited for him all along. It opened every restriction at its core, accepting his Primordial Spirit Imprint and the nourishment of his mana without reservation. This was not conquest, but reunion; not possession, but union.
Zhenyuanzi's Primordial Spirit Power entered every inch of the Apricot Yellow Banner and every Rune within it, like a wanderer returning home without a single obstacle.
His awareness followed the flowing patterns of mountains and rivers and rose and fell with the hanging Mysterious Yellow Beaded Tassel. He "saw" a lotus leaf fall from the Chaos Green Lotus at the dawn of World-Opening. Laden with boundless Chaos Energy Stream, it settled at the center and held the fragile new Primordial Wilderness together before finally becoming this divine banner.
In that scene, Chaos had yet to divide. Violent Earth, Water, Fire, Wind raged everywhere. Only a point of Profound Yellow Light stood at the center like a Sea-Calming Needle, calming the turbulent energies and allowing them to settle, gradually forming solid earth.
He "heard" the mighty pulse of the newly formed Primordial Land: Earth Veins roaring like dragons, mountains standing firm as stone, and all things coming to life. It was the heartbeat of the earth, a lullaby for life.
He "felt" the deepest truths of the earth—"Great Virtue Carrying Things," "utter weight and stillness," and "nurturing all things without contention"—revealed to him in their purest, most fundamental form.
They were no longer abstract concepts. They became tangible Runes of law, flowing rhythms of energy, and a profound will that embraced all things.
This was more than a treasure acknowledging its master. It was a long-awaited reunion with the Great Dao, a deep merging at the level of their origins. The Apricot Yellow Banner was like a lost half of Zhenyuanzi's own origin, finally returned to him.
Zhenyuanzi immersed himself completely in those unparalleled revelations.
His understanding of the Way of the Great Earth soared, deepened, and transformed at a pace he had never known. Mysteries that had once eluded him—the limits of "bearing," the true meaning of "stability," the secrets of Earth Veins, and the source of "vitality"—suddenly became clear.
Countless flashes of insight burst through his sea of consciousness. The obstacles he had encountered while studying the Book of the Earth fell away one after another.
He felt as though he had become the Primordial Land itself. Beneath his feet lay not Penglai Immortal Island, but the boundless expanse of the Primordial Wilderness.
Deep beneath the crust, he felt searing magma surging like hot blood. It was the most primal life force, the source of the earth's power.
He sensed billions of Earth Veins extending and intertwining through the body of the Primordial Wilderness like meridians. They drew in Chaos energy, nourished mountains and forests, and linked the Four Seas to every distant land. They were the lifelines of the Primordial Wilderness.
He came to understand that the weight of mountains was more than an accumulation of matter. It was the gathering of laws, a symbol of power and majesty;
the flowing grace of river valleys channeled and released the earth's power, embodying Harmony of Hardness and Softness; the breadth of plains was the height of acceptance and support, a cradle where countless beings thrived; and the depths of abysses held the mysteries of Return to the Hidden and new life, both the end and the beginning of energy's cycle... Every secret of the "earth" opened to him without reserve in that profound union.
He understood now that the Way of the Great Earth was not limited to weight and defense.
Its power to "bear" meant embracing all things, receiving every river, and serving as the final resting place of Karma and Karmic Force.
Whether it was the joys and sorrows of living beings or the world-shaking might of great cultivators, all eventually fell upon the earth, which silently bore, dissolved, and absorbed them.
Its "stability" was the foundation that anchored Qiankun, the steadfast pillar amid raging currents, and the ground on which all things grew.
Without the earth's stability, the heavens would collapse, the seas would rage, and all order would crumble.
Its power to "nurture" was the beginning of creation, the source of life, and the soil of Reincarnation.
All things were born from the soil, grew upon it, and ultimately returned to it. The earth was both the beginning and end of life's cycle. Its "Return to the Hidden" was the end of all things and the beginning of new life, the key to the circulation of energy and the turning of laws.
Death was not the end, but a return to the source, becoming nourishment for new life. The earth was the pivot of that cycle.
The Central Wuji Apricot Yellow Banner was the embodiment of the Way of the Great Earth, the supreme symbol of authority over the laws of "earth"!
It could do far more than defend. It could connect to Earth Veins, command the earth's power, perform Suppression of Destiny, regulate Earth Qi, and even influence the course and arrangement of the Primordial Wilderness's Earth Veins to a degree.
To wield this banner was to hold a share of authority over the Primordial Land.
Amid such a profound union with the Great Dao, the refining unfolded as naturally as water following its course.
Zhenyuanzi's Primordial Spirit Imprint fit perfectly into the Apricot Yellow Banner's Core Restriction, like a key made for its lock.
No world-shaking phenomenon erupted. Only a deep, quiet sense of completeness spread through him.
The dazzling Profound Yellow Divine Light gradually drew inward. Rather than shining outward, it now dwelled within the banner and flowed between it and Zhenyuanzi, forming a stable, powerful bond.
The Earthen Energy Essence around the jade platform grew warmer, while the spiritual energy at the island's core became denser and more substantial.
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