Golden Ao Island.
Xuan Qing sat cross-legged within his cave abode, silently drawing in vital energy and merging it into the "Mountain River Cauldron." A small lump of "Pure Yuan Soil" instantly manifested within the cauldron's inner world.
Though he was still a Grand Unity Golden Immortal, his physical body, mana, and primordial spirit had all reached the Daluo level. Naturally, refining the "Mountain River Cauldron" would not take much time.
Just as Yinglong had described, this spiritual treasure possessed the marvelous ability to transform "Innate Spiritual Qi" into "Pure Yuan Soil" and "Tianyi True Water."
However, it was limited to water-element and earth-element spiritual qi!
"This Pure Yuan Soil is formed from solidified earth-attributed Innate Spiritual Qi. It is exceptionally suitable for planting spiritual vegetation, only slightly inferior to Nine Heavens Breathing Soil!"
"And that Tianyi True Water contains boundless Power of Creation. Whether used to nourish the physical body and primordial spirit or cultivate Innate Spiritual Roots, it has unimaginable benefits. It is only slightly inferior to Three Lights Divine Water!"
At that moment, Xuan Qing's soul of a "farmer" erupted. Without hesitation, he transplanted all the Immortal Herbs and Spiritual Medicines he had collected into the Minor World within the "Mountain River Cauldron."
As the Primordial World developed, Innate Spiritual Qi had gradually grown thin. Once Buzhou Mountain collapsed in the future, Innate Spiritual Qi would further degenerate into acquired spiritual qi.
By then, many Innate Spiritual Roots and spiritual plants would certainly be affected.
This was the trend of the age!
There was nothing he could do to change it.
However, with the "Mountain River Cauldron," he could prepare for a rainy day, gathering vast quantities of innate spiritual medicines in advance and attempting to plant and cultivate them himself.
He had learned Taiqing Laozi's art of Elixir Refining, and spiritual medicines were indispensable. If they were harvested without restraint, innate spiritual medicines might vanish entirely.
This reminded him of the last time he had returned to Kunlun Mountain and seen it dug completely bare by some newly initiated Jie Sect disciples.
"Spiritual roots are scarce. If they could be cultivated ourselves, how could something like that happen?"
Within the Primordial Wilderness, many cultivators were accustomed to taking from heaven and earth. They did not understand moderation, much less possess a specialized Way of the Spiritual Farmer for cultivating spiritual roots and immortal medicines. Xuan Qing felt that this was precisely where his opportunity lay.
If he could establish and perfect the Way of the Spiritual Farmer, then setting aside any merit it might bring to heaven and earth, he would no longer lack all manner of innate spiritual medicines when refining elixirs in the future!
With that thought, Xuan Qing immediately used the "Mountain River Cauldron" as a foundation to create an Other Self Incarnation dedicated to studying the habits and cultivation requirements of various innate spiritual medicines.
As for refining the Yellow River Water Vein and seeking the Huai River Water Vein, there was no need to rush.
The Witch and Demon Clans were powerful now. As a mere Grand Unity Golden Immortal, he was better off keeping a low profile.
In any case, with Yinglong's promise, the Fortune of the Yellow River Water Vein would be his sooner or later.
Meanwhile, he began comprehending the various Innate Divine Thunders contained within the "Innate Thunder Pool." He intended to turn all those divine thunders into part of his foundation.
Although he could wield those thunders with the aid of the "Innate Thunder Pool," unless he fully mastered them, he would never be able to advance further on the Great Dao of Thunder!
Cultivation knew not the passage of time. In the blink of an eye, one yuanhui had passed. Xuan Qing had completely mastered all the Innate Divine Thunders within the "Innate Thunder Pool" apart from the Purple Firmament Divine Thunder. His comprehension of the Great Dao of Thunder had also advanced by leaps and bounds, and he could break through to the Great Golden Immortal through the Dao of Thunder at any moment!
However, his foundation lay in the Dao of Refinement, and he had no intention of breaking through via the Great Dao of Thunder.
Besides that, his comprehension of the Great Dao of Plague and Pestilence and the Great Dao of Fire had also improved by leaps and bounds. The former was because he had completely absorbed King Pan's inheritance, while the latter was due to his breakthrough in the Way of Incense and Fire.
Incense and fire were also fire!
This acquired thought, combined with Suiren Shi's Suiren Fire, brought unimaginable benefits to refining all kinds of Innate Divine Fire and tracing the origin of the Great Dao of Fire.
Suiren Shi had even used it to create an illusory Incense and Fire Great Luo Heaven upon the Suiming Tree, meant to house the true spirits of fallen humans.
Now, reincarnation had not yet been established. After cultivators perished, they could not be reborn, only returning to nothingness or existing as "ghosts," depending on the circumstances.
When humans died, they became ghosts. When ghosts died, they became 𫆏. When 𫆏 died, they became xi. When xi died, they became yi. When yi died, they became wei. When wei died, they became formless.
Just like Old Ancestor Panwang back then, even after dying, remnants of his thoughts had lingered between heaven and earth.
Only a small portion of these beings could retain their consciousness. Most would be eroded by Calamity Qi or baleful qi, becoming resentful spirits that knew only destruction and slaughter.
"Incense and fire!"
"Yin virtue!"
Xuan Qing seemed to realize something. "The Way of the Heavenly Immortal was established by my teacher and two martial uncles, while the Way of the Earth Immortal was established by Zhen Yuanzi. Why can't I establish the Way of the Ghost Immortal?"
The founder of a Dao would receive immense Fortune in the unseen. Becoming a quasi-sage would merely be a matter of time.
If he could gain the recognition of the Heavenly Dao, he might even obtain Heavenly Merit.
He did not possess Houtu's capacity to transform herself into reincarnation and illuminate the path ahead for all beings. Yet through his comprehension of the Way of Incense and Fire, he had vaguely glimpsed a Way of the Ghost Immortal. Rooted in "incense and fire" and "yin virtue," it could give those fallen "ghost souls" that had not yet been eroded by baleful qi a chance to live a second life.
"To become a venerable and found a lineage, it all depends on this!"
Xuan Qing knew that in the future, there would be five orthodox immortal paths: heaven, earth, human, divine, and ghost.
Yet now, aside from the Way of the Heavenly Immortal and the Way of the Earth Immortal, the other three immortal paths had not only failed to form complete systems, but even their fundamental concepts had yet to take shape.
And this was his opportunity!
He left Golden Ao Island once more and began traveling through the Primordial Wilderness, searching for an opportunity to establish the Way of the Ghost Immortal.
One day, he saw a skeleton in the wilderness, and inspiration instantly struck him. "To establish the Way of the Ghost Immortal, I must first become a ghost myself!"
Xuan Qing did not wish to die. He had merely understood the key to establishing the "Way of the Ghost Immortal."
With that thought, he immediately separated out a strand of Other Self Spiritual Light and attached it to the skeleton, attempting to absorb the Nether Qi between heaven and earth to increase its cultivation.
He came to an ancient battlefield, a trace left behind by the Dragon-Han Calamity.
Slowly, using the skeleton as its foundation, yin energy as blood, baleful qi as flesh, and supplementing it with the Dao of Creation, he constructed a new body for this Other Self Incarnation.
He formed meridians, a dantian sea of qi, and a mud pellet palace for himself, allowing that speck of Other Self Spiritual Light to rapidly grow stronger.
He sensed his strength gradually increasing, yet he could not help shaking his head.
"Not right!"
"A method of cultivation must be universal. How many cultivators can comprehend the Dao of Creation as I have and construct a suitable physical body for themselves?"
Boom!
The physical body he had painstakingly constructed exploded in an instant. Only a speck of Other Self Spiritual Light remained, drifting helplessly through heaven and earth like a remnant soul.
After an unknown amount of time, this strand of Other Self Spiritual Light fell into a gorge filled with deathly qi. Within the gorge were only countless remnant souls and "Nether Grass"!
This strand of Other Self Spiritual Light attached itself to a stalk of "Nether Grass," beginning to experience the withering and flourishing of vegetation, intending to nurture a trace of life within desperate circumstances.
"Nether Grass is condensed from the utmost deathly qi, yet extreme yin gives rise to yang. Amid endless deathly qi, it takes the form of vegetation that symbolizes vitality!"
"Interesting!"
"Truly interesting!"
This strand of Xuan Qing's Other Self Spiritual Light could not help becoming immersed in the indescribable creation of heaven and earth. From death came life, and it comprehended the true essence of life and death, yin and yang.
What was death?
And what, then, was life?
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