The Creation Jade Disk had given him two benefits: first, the Chaos Demon God Mark, and second, Qi of the Great Dao.
The Chaos Demon God Mark was, as the name suggested, the primordial mark of a Chaos Demon God. It contained the supreme inheritance they had received from the Great Dao, with each mark representing a path that surpassed the Hunyuan Realm.
If a living being of the Primordial World obtained a complete Chaos Demon God Mark, they wouldn't even need to fully comprehend its mysteries. They would only need to refine it to attain the realm of a Primordial Daluo Golden Immortal, impervious to the tribulations of ten thousand kalpas.
That was right. To the living beings of the Primordial World, every complete Chaos Demon God Mark was equivalent to a wisp of Grandmist Purple Qi.
The difference was that Grandmist Purple Qi allowed one to become a saint, while a Chaos Demon God Mark allowed one to attain the Hunyuan Realm. Each had its own strengths and weaknesses; neither could be called superior.
Earlier, after the Creation Jade Disk had devoured the demonic power contained in the Savage Dragon's lingering remnant, a mark resembling both a dragon and a serpent had appeared on its surface.
That was a Demon God Mark, belonging to one of the three thousand Demon Gods: the Dragon-form Demon God.
Unfortunately, the demonic power contained in the Savage Dragon's remnant had been too scant. After the Creation Jade Disk absorbed it, the mark that appeared was merely a faint shadow, less than one ten-millionth of the complete mark.
Thus, the help it offered Jiang Yuan was limited. There was no chance he could rely on it to become a Primordial Daluo Golden Immortal.
Qi of the Great Dao was, as the name suggested, supreme power originating from the Great Dao, possessing the quality of eternal indestructibility. Once it appeared, it would exist forever; no force could erase it.
For any living being, including a Chaos Demon God, this was the ultimate means of preserving one's life.
As long as one entrusted their True Spirit to it, no matter how terrifying the calamity they faced—even if their body and soul were utterly pulverized—they would not truly die. At worst, they would be sealed away.
That was assuming they did not possess much Qi of the Great Dao. If they had enough, they could even forge an Eternal Body.
Then they would truly be undying and indestructible. Even if Great God Pangu appeared again, he would be hard-pressed to harm their body in the slightest.
It sounded outrageous, but it was true. Of course, though it was true, achieving it was extremely difficult.
The tiny amount of demonic power the Creation Jade Disk had just absorbed was nowhere near enough to let it generate Qi of the Great Dao.
According to Jiang Yuan's calculations, only when it manifested a complete Chaos Demon God Mark could the Creation Jade Disk generate a wisp of Qi of the Great Dao.
And getting the Creation Jade Disk to manifest a complete Demon God Mark would be no easy feat.
He would either have to find flesh and blood containing a Demon God's essence for it to devour, or refine a primordial Fierce Beast at the level of a mighty cultivator.
Even then, success was not guaranteed. At best, he could be sure it would manifest at least seventy or eighty percent of the mark. With good luck, one attempt would suffice. With bad luck, he would need to try several times.
That sounded difficult, but put another way, all it took was slaying one or two primordial Fierce Beasts at the level of a mighty cultivator to obtain a complete Chaos Demon God Mark and, with it, claim the Hunyuan Dao Fruit.
Could that really be called difficult? No—it was actually quite simple. After all, claiming the Hunyuan Dao Fruit was far harder than slaying primordial Fierce Beasts at the level of a mighty cultivator. The difference was at least a hundredfold.
If the mighty cultivators of the Primordial World learned there was such a shortcut to attaining the Hunyuan Realm, wouldn't they go mad with delight?
Each of these two benefits was greater than the last. Faced with such temptation, how could Jiang Yuan possibly resist?
And these were merely the benefits the Creation Jade Disk had given him while it was being repaired. They did not include the advantages it would bring him once it was fully restored.
He mustn't forget that Jiang Yuan was the Creation Jade Disk's master. The more completely it was restored, the greater the boost it would give him. Didn't that count as a benefit too?
Taken together, all these benefits made it well worth Jiang Yuan's risking everything and doing whatever it took to restore the Creation Jade Disk.
It was true that Jiang Yuan was still weak. He couldn't stand against either the flesh and blood of a Chaos Demon God or a primordial Fierce Beast at the level of a mighty cultivator.
But if he couldn't deal with them, couldn't he deal with their descendants? As descendants of Chaos Demon Gods, the other Fierce Beasts were bound to contain demonic power, even if it was faint.
Faint or not, accumulation led to transformation; even streams could join to form an ocean. As long as he killed enough Fierce Beasts, he might yet be able to gather a complete Demon God Mark.
Of course, that alone probably wouldn't be enough. So Jiang Yuan had another method: continue to condense the Ancestor of Fierce Beasts Dharma Form, draw out the awakening remnants of their consciousness, and devour them.
The demonic power within the remnants of an Ancestor of Fierce Beasts was sure to be stronger than that of ordinary Fierce Beasts.
With both methods pursued in tandem, if he still couldn't condense a complete Demon God Mark, then he could only say he wasn't fated to do so and should not force the matter.
Once he had made his plans, Jiang Yuan continued cultivating. Restoring the Creation Jade Disk was a massive undertaking, and he would likely have to spend his entire life completing it.
So there was no need to rush. He would focus on improving his cultivation first. Only by growing stronger could he reduce the risks involved.
After the Savage Dragon Dharma Form came the Innate Azure Emperor Dharma Form, which was even easier for Jiang Yuan to condense.
He had barely cultivated this Dharma Form at all. Simply compiling the Primordial Spirit Herb Canon had naturally given him the ability to condense it.
This made Jiang Yuan realize that there were many paths to cultivation. Sitting in meditation and laboring over it wasn't the only way—in fact, it was the least efficient.
Compiling books, traveling, and discussing the Dao were all forms of cultivation, and they were more efficient than painstakingly cultivating in seclusion.
"Manifest!"
At a thought from Jiang Yuan, Creation Primordial Qi swirled around him, transforming into the myriad grasses of the Primordial World, which surrounded him on all sides.
Though formed from Qi, every spirit herb looked lifelike and radiated abundant vitality, indistinguishable from the real thing.
"Condense!"
Taking a deep breath, Jiang Yuan fused the myriad grasses manifested around him into one.
The next moment, abundant vitality surged forth and brilliant azure light flowed. The phantom of an emperor clad in azure robes and wearing a crown stepped out, standing tall behind Jiang Yuan.
The Wood Emperor Azure Emperor, ruler of plants and trees—the Innate Azure Emperor Dharma Form was complete!
After silently sensing the power of the Innate Azure Emperor Dharma Form and fully adjusting to it, Jiang Yuan put it away and continued condensing a new Dharma Form.
After the Azure Emperor Dharma Form came the Star Lord Dharma Form. This one wasn't difficult either. Like the remaining Creation Dharma Form, all he had to do was drink plenty of Three Lights Divine Water.
As for the final one, the Profound Yellow Dharma Form, that was even simpler. He only needed to drink Profound Yellow Liquid, refine Profound Yellow Crystal, and absorb some Profound Yellow Merit to condense it in an instant.
Time flew by. After roughly five thousand years, Jiang Yuan finally condensed all Seven Great Dharma Forms.
It had been five thousand years for him, but only fifty years had passed in the outside world. After all, before entering seclusion, Jiang Yuan had used the History Book to slow the flow of his time a hundredfold.
"Seven Great Sacred Dharma Forms, and the cultivation of a Third Heaven of Heavenly Immortal!"
Waking from his seclusion and sensing the realm he had attained, Jiang Yuan couldn't help but smile.