Kunlun Mountain.
Beneath the Jade Void Palace, a lush, emerald-green bamboo-shaped Spiritual Root stood quietly amid a haze of Clear Qi.
It was the first Innate Merit Spiritual Root in the world, born after Pangu created the heavens and the earth: the Purifying Mystic Bamboo. Its birth brought immeasurable merit for purifying the world's Malevolent Qi, and it had been cultivating silently beneath the Jade Void Palace on Kunlun Mountain ever since.
"Whew... I'm finally about to break through. One step closer to my goal."
Within the Purifying Mystic Bamboo, Xuanqing's consciousness slowly stirred. He murmured to himself.
Xuanqing had once been a person from another world. An accident had returned his soul to heaven and earth, and when he opened his eyes again, he had become the first Innate Spiritual Root in the Primordial World to be created from the world's spiritual energy.
Xuanqing had neither panicked nor lost his composure. Once endless years became the norm, every emotion seemed superfluous.
He quickly accepted his new identity and instinctively began breathing in the purest Innate Spiritual Qi in the world. He had already been cultivating for ten thousand years since his transmigration.
What's more, Xuanqing discovered that, thanks to his merit in purifying the world, he had been born with Double Merit Fortune!
What an astounding gift. Since Pangu created the heavens and the earth, Fortune Merit had been fixed and unalterable for all, from the Three Pure Ones down to the birds and beasts. Yet from the moment Xuanqing was born, he had broken this rule of heaven and earth!
With this confidence, Xuanqing quietly set himself a short-term goal: taking human form.
Only by taking human form could he truly walk across the perilous land of Honghuang and seek the Great Dao. Only then would he be able to survive the countless Tribulations to come.
"Now that the Dragon-Han Calamity has passed, the spiritual energy of heaven and earth has yet to dissipate, and spiritual treasures are everywhere. This is the perfect time to take form and enter the world."
"Besides, beneath the Jade Void Palace on Kunlun Mountain is the place with the richest spiritual energy in all of Honghuang. If no Spiritual Root or spirit beast here has managed to break through to the True Immortal realm and take form, perhaps I can be the first!"
And if he could keep being the first to break through, heaven and earth would continue granting him merit. With his Double Merit Fortune on top of that, the reward would be beyond measure!
At the thought, Xuanqing's divine sense focused sharply. The magical power within him surged together, forming a vortex that hammered relentlessly against the barrier to the next realm.
He was just one step away from the True Immortal realm.
As Xuanqing continued drawing in the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, the spirit plants and spirit beasts around him swayed, seemingly displeased that he was absorbing all the surrounding energy and monopolizing it.
But Xuanqing couldn't concern himself with that now. In the chaotic Primordial World, strengthening himself was the top priority.
Boom!
A muffled sound exploded deep within Xuanqing's primordial spirit.
The barrier to the Celestial Immortal realm shattered, and boundless spiritual energy poured in, frantically washing over his roots and leaves.
Every inch of the Purifying Mystic Bamboo's body grew more crystalline under the force, mysterious Dao Patterns flowing across it.
His gift of Double Fortune Merit now revealed its unparalleled power.
As his realm broke through, an invisible force of purification spread from him across the entire Kunlun mountain range.
The Malevolent Qi in the mountains was washed away. Countless plants and spirits seemed to have received its blessing, their minds growing much clearer.
Since Xuanqing was the first Spiritual Root to break through to the True Immortal realm, the Heavenly Dao took notice and bestowed Mystic Yellow Merit.
Yet the Merit Golden Light falling upon Xuanqing was twice as dense as that bestowed upon ordinary living beings.
The golden light merged into his essence, giving his already verdant bamboo leaves a faint, noble golden hue.
The hostility of the Spiritual Roots and spirit beasts that had been displeased with Xuanqing began to fade. Some even voluntarily gave up part of their spiritual energy for him to absorb.
They seemed to finally understand: if Xuanqing managed to take human form, they might receive some merit too. Even the smallest trace of merit was worth far more than ten thousand years of arduous cultivation.
Inside Three Pure Ones Hall, Jade Void Palace.
The sound of the Dao drifted ethereally, and Clear Qi arose on its own.
Seated on a Cloud Bed, Yuanshi Tianzun abruptly opened his eyes, which had remained closed in meditation for many years.
His gaze seemed to pierce through the many halls and look toward the area beneath the Jade Void Palace.
"Hm?"
A soft exclamation broke the hall's eternal silence.
Beside him, an old man holding a horsetail whisk, his aura calm and mild, as though he had merged with the Great Dao, slowly opened his eyes as well.
"Second Brother, what has disturbed you?" Taishang Laojun's voice was neither sorrowful nor joyful, as placid as water.
Yuanshi Tianzun furrowed his brows slightly, scanning the pure and mighty aura below with his divine sense.
"A living being below has just broken through to the True Immortal realm."
"Living beings break through every moment in Honghuang. What's so unusual about that?" On the other side, a young Daoist in a green robe, a soaring sword aura between his brows, grew interested. He was Tongtian Cult Leader.
Yuanshi Tianzun said solemnly, "The unusual thing is its origins... It's not only the first Spiritual Root in the world to break through. Heaven and earth have also granted it twice the merit given to ordinary living beings!"
At these words, both Taishang Laojun and Tongtian Cult Leader showed unmistakable surprise for the first time.
"Twice as much?" A glint flashed in Tongtian Cult Leader's eyes. "Elder Brother, are you certain?"
Taishang Laojun lightly waved the horsetail whisk in his hand and began his own divination. After a moment, he slowly nodded. "It is just as Second Brother said. This Spiritual Root has purified heaven and earth, and it bears great Fortune Merit. Its breakthrough just now attracted merit, far more than its peers... Even I have never heard of such a thing!"
The attention of the three Pangu Orthodox, the future Heavenly Dao Sages, was now entirely fixed on Xuanqing beneath the Jade Void Palace.
Such talent, such origins, such Fortune Merit—it was the perfect candidate to receive the Dao.
"This child is fated to be with me. He should join the Jade Pure lineage." Yuanshi Tianzun was the first to react, immediately addressing his two brothers.
Yuanshi himself valued origins above all else, and Xuanqing's origins perfectly matched every requirement he had for a disciple.
Tongtian Cult Leader laughed and rose to his feet, immediately objecting.
"Elder Brother, you're mistaken! A fine disciple like this should be shared by all. His spiritual energy is abundant, his vitality flourishing. He perfectly suits my Interception Sect's doctrine of 'seizing a thread of vitality.' He should become my disciple!"
Taishang Laojun glanced at his two arguing brothers and merely said, "The Dao follows nature. Let things take their course."
Even so, Taishang Laojun smiled inwardly. He found himself thinking much the same thing as his two brothers.
"Heh..."
The three exchanged glances.
Whoosh!
A startling sight appeared above the Jade Void Palace. Three divine sense avatars shot skyward, racing toward the foot of Kunlun Mountain.
"Just as I thought. Being the first to break through to the True Immortal realm really does bring down merit."
"That means as long as I'm the first Spiritual Root to break through into each new realm, I can keep receiving merit from heaven!"
Thanks to the double merit, Xuanqing had broken through straight to the peak of the True Immortal Mid-stage.
Alarmed, Xuanqing hurriedly stabilized his realm and began taking stock of his situation.
He was now a mid-stage True Immortal, with no cultivation method, no spiritual treasure, no backer, and not even a fellow Daoist to talk to.
Sigh... My situation is clear enough. My foundations are solid, but I lack the means to protect myself.
Xuanqing thought to himself that he needed to find a reliable backer as soon as possible and learn a true Orthodox Xuanmen cultivation method.
Just then, three immensely powerful auras came hurtling down from the mountaintop. The Spiritual Roots around him immediately wilted in terror, and Xuanqing couldn't help but feel his heart pounding.
"Talk about speaking of the devil..."
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