At the same time, the Silent Sun Fruit Tree sent over an incomparably affectionate divine thought.
After Jiang Yun had preached the Dao for ten years, its spiritual intelligence had greatly matured, and it was filled with gratitude and dependence toward him.
Jiang Yun nodded in satisfaction and rose to his feet.
"The baleful aura in this secret realm has dissipated, and its deathly aura has been exhausted. It cannot endure for long."
"I will first transplant you into a spiritual treasure. Cultivate and comprehend the Dao properly from now on. Do not slack off."
With that said,
Jiang Yun waved his sleeve and carefully transplanted the Primordial Spirit Root, along with the earth vein beneath it, into the Mountain River Pearl.
"This matter is settled!"
Jiang Yun put away the Zenith Heaven Baleful Corpse. With a flicker of his figure, he finally left the secret realm.
Outside the secret realm, atop Changyang Mountain.
Great Witch Xiang Liu had been waiting for a long time. When he saw Jiang Yun emerge, a trace of delight flashed through his eyes.
Jiang Yun did not waste words. He directly took out Xingtian's sealed head and handed it to Xiang Liu.
"I did not fail my mission."
"Good!"
Xiang Liu took the head, utterly overwhelmed with excitement.
Jiang Yun then took out Kuafu's Staff and returned it as well.
"Senior, I am returning this item too."
Xiang Liu was instead taken aback and asked in confusion,
"Little Daoist, what do you mean by this? Since this item was given to you, keep it. It may save your life in a critical moment."
Jiang Yun merely shook his head slightly, his expression calm.
"Senior, one thing is one thing."
"My reward for this transaction was that drop of Great Witch Blood Essence. It did not include Kuafu's Staff."
"Moreover, this Witch treasure was left behind by Great Witch Kuafu. It holds great significance for you and for the Witch Race. This junior would not dare covet it."
All things in the world were bound by karma!
Jiang Yun had acted as an intermediary in exchange for a drop of Great Witch Blood Essence!
That meant their karma was settled, and neither owed the other anything!
If he accepted the staff as well, he would instead owe karma.
The Witch Race had once been an ancient race that fought the Demon Race for dominion over heaven and earth. Such karma was not something Jiang Yun's small frame could bear.
Those who cultivated should steel their hearts and restrain their desires.
Only then could their Dao hearts remain flawless, giving them hope of reaching the Great Dao.
If one remained greedy, disaster would surely follow!
Xiang Liu was stunned at first, then threw back his head and laughed!
"Hahaha! Good! Good! Good!"
He said "good" three times in a row, his gaze toward Jiang Yun filled with approval!
"A precious treasure lies before you, yet your heart remains unmoved!"
"Little Daoist, you possess such talent and comprehension, as well as such steadfastness of heart. You truly are extraordinary!"
"In the Primordial World of the future, there will surely be a place for you, Jiang Yun!"
Xiang Liu put away Kuafu's Staff, then solemnly took out the drop of Great Witch Blood Essence and handed it to Jiang Yun.
"My Witch Race owes you a favor!"
"I must return to the Witch Race at once and rebuild Brother Xingtian's body!"
"Little Daoist, if you have the chance in the future, be sure to come find me in the Northern Primordial Border. I will treat you to the finest wine of my Witch Race!"
Jiang Yun accepted the blood essence and cupped his hands with a smile.
"This junior sees Senior off!"
Xiang Liu said no more. He tore open the void, stepped into it, and vanished.
After Xiang Liu left, Jiang Yun stood atop Changyang Mountain and began taking stock of his gains from this journey.
Middle-grade Xiantian Spiritual Treasure: Great Sun Purple Sun Mirror!
High-grade Xiantian Spiritual Root: Silent Sun Fruit Tree!
Three Nine-Thousand-Year Purple-Patterned Immortal Peaches!
Ninety-one Baleful Corpses!
Among them were eighty-one Late-stage Golden Immortals!
Nine Mid-stage Taiyi Golden Immortals!
And one terrifying being that had only just entered the Grand Unity Golden Immortal realm!
Not to mention the intangible goodwill of Haotian, as well as the friendship of the Witch Race!
"A bountiful harvest!"
"This haul... was an absolute killing!"
Jiang Yun suppressed the excitement in his heart and turned his gaze toward the Silent Sun Fruit Tree that had just been transplanted into the Mountain River Pearl.
"Merit, Karmic Power..."
"Rewarding good and punishing evil, the cycle of the Heavenly Dao!"
A realization stirred within his heart.
"Xiantian Spiritual Roots are rare treasures of heaven and earth. In the unseen order, they have their own destined fate!"
"If the opportunity has not arrived, then even if it stands right before one's eyes, one will be unable to notice it!"
"What kind of figure is Haotian? The Great Celestial Worthy of the Three Realms, ruler of the Heavenly Court, wealthy beyond measure! He suppressed Xingtian here, so how could he have failed to discover this High-grade Xiantian Spiritual Root?"
"There is only one reason!"
"It is because I have slain demons and vanquished devils along the way, accumulating Merit to protect myself!"
"Furthermore, I was already near the Silent Sun Fruit Tree. Only then did I gain a faint trace of perception through the Heavenly Derivation Art!"
A sharp light burst from Jiang Yun's eyes!
"Merit! Opportunity! Neither can be lacking!"
"In my actions from now on, accumulating Merit must also be among my highest priorities!"
Having understood this, Jiang Yun felt his Dao heart grow increasingly firm.
He simply decided not to leave in a hurry and temporarily settled down on Changyang Mountain.
Inside the cave abode, Jiang Yun sat cross-legged.
He first took out a Nine-Thousand-Year Purple-Patterned Immortal Peach and swallowed it in one bite!
Boom—!
In an instant, unimaginably vast pure spiritual energy and life essence exploded within his body!
Jiang Yun immediately circulated the Grand Mystery Boundless Immortal Art, frantically refining the medicinal power!
At the same time, he split his focus in two!
He summoned the Great Sun Purple Sun Mirror and began using the power of his Primordial Spirit to refine the Xiantian Divine Restrictions within it!
No years were counted in the Primordial World.
To cultivators, time was the least valuable thing.
In the blink of an eye, twenty years passed with a snap of the fingers!
On this day!
Rumble—!
Above Changyang Mountain, the winds and clouds changed color!
Endless heaven-and-earth spiritual energy gathered, forming a terrifying spiritual energy vortex!
Inside the cave abode, Jiang Yun abruptly opened his eyes!
Peak Mysterious Immortal! Achieved!
The three Nine-Thousand-Year Immortal Peaches had finally all been refined!
"The next step is to attain the Golden Immortal Dao Fruit!"
Jiang Yun slowly clenched his fist. Feeling the magical power within him, several times more abundant than it had been twenty years ago, he nodded in satisfaction.
"Once the Golden Immortal Dao Fruit is formed, I will completely escape the Five Declines of Heaven and Man and enjoy an immeasurable lifespan. Only then will I truly have the foundation to stand firm in this Primordial World!"
In terms of strength, Jiang Yun had successfully refined thirteen of the twenty-six Xiantian Divine Restrictions within the Great Sun Purple Sun Mirror! Refining a Xiantian Spiritual Treasure was fundamentally the process of comprehending the profound laws contained within a trace of Innate Undying Spiritual Light. The deeper one's understanding of the spiritual treasure, the easier it was to refine. Moreover, the divine ability Jiang Yun had previously created, Purple Sun True Fire, had an origin similar to that of the Great Sun Purple Sun Bell!
With Heaven-Defying Comprehension assisting him, his refinement had proceeded at incredible speed, shortening the time required by at least several times.
He could now wield it as easily as his own limbs and unleash its power!
What remained was merely a matter of steady effort.
"With my current overall strength, if I set up the two great formations and combine them with ninety-one Baleful Corpses..."
Jiang Yun's eyes brimmed with confidence!
"Even against a great expert who has only just entered Daluo, is fully conscious, and uses every method at his disposal, I can contend with him completely, perhaps even... suppress him!"
His strength had advanced by leaps and bounds!
Jiang Yun rose and left seclusion. After determining his direction, he continued traveling toward the center of the Primordial World.
In the blink of an eye, another ten years passed!
On this day, Jiang Yun was riding the clouds when his expression suddenly changed, and he looked into the far distance.
At the end of heaven and earth, an immense mountain range appeared, so enormous that no words could describe it!
The mountain range was at least a million zhang high, piercing straight into the heavens as though it would punch a hole through the sky itself!
It stretched boundlessly, with no end visible at a glance!
"This... this is..."
Jiang Yun's mind shook violently!
"The Heavenly Pillar, Mount Buzhou!"
More precisely, it was the remaining half of Mount Buzhou after Ancestral Witch Gonggong had smashed it apart following the War of Witches and Demons!
Before you continue