Breakthrough to Golden Immortal

Within the Five Elements Grotto-Heaven, the primordial spiritual energy grew ever denser under the gathering of the Five Elements Grand Array, while the laws became increasingly active.

Yellow Dragon placed the enormous Purple Jade Beehive, along with the entire swarm, upon Spirit Herb Peak—a mountain covered in immortal grasses and spiritual herbs, where the spiritual energy was at its richest.

To that end, he specifically carved out a vast cavern halfway up Spirit Herb Peak.

The moment the Purple Jade Bee Queen left the hive, dense primordial spiritual energy—so thick it seemed impossible to disperse—washed over her, mingled with the fragrance released by countless rare immortal grasses, spiritual herbs, and blossoms.

Her compound eyes, only just awakened to intelligence, instantly shone with startling brilliance as she greedily "gazed" upon the strange flowers and exotic herbs flowing with spiritual light across the mountainside—this was simply the immortal paradise of her dreams!

Though Kunlun Mountain had no shortage of strange flowers and exotic herbs, countless living beings inhabited the entire mountain. Many immortal grasses and spiritual herbs already had owners; even approaching them was forbidden to her swarm, let alone gathering pollen and brewing honey.

But here, everything belonged to her master—and thus, to her. Not only could she and her clan brew premium spiritual honey far surpassing that of the past, but her own cultivation speed would surely advance by leaps and bounds!

Yellow Dragon stood with his hands behind his back, pointing at the vast, boundless Grotto-Heaven teeming with life. His voice was calm, yet carried unquestionable authority. "From this day forth, all daily tending of the immortal grasses, spiritual herbs, spiritual roots, and spiritual plants within this Five Elements Grotto-Heaven, as well as the gathering of nectar and pollination, shall be entrusted to your clan. Should there be even the slightest mishap..."

"Please rest assured, Master!" The Purple Jade Bee Queen immediately beat her wings, sending back a clear and resolute thought. "Gathering nectar, spreading pollen, tending and cultivating spiritual plants—these are the innate gifts and instincts of the Purple Jade Bee clan! We shall not fail your trust!"

Having received her promise, Yellow Dragon said no more. The Bee Queen's two jade-purple antennae swayed nimbly, spiritual light gleaming in her eyes. She raised her head and released a string of strange buzzing sounds containing a particular rhythm and message.

Like a silent command, the buzzing instantly spread throughout the entire hive.

The enormous swarm, which had been somewhat lost amid the drastic change of environment, immediately began operating like the most precise of machines.

One group of worker bees flew in orderly fashion toward the depths of the herb fields, weaving busily through seas of brilliantly colored flowers. Another group, like specks of purple starlight, flew separately toward lotus pools brimming with spiritual energy, orchards heavy with spiritual fruits... They swiftly adapted to their new surroundings and began carrying out their duties.

Yellow Dragon stood atop the peak, watching those streams of purple-jade light—like diligent sprites—flit, labor, and adorn this vibrant Grotto-Heaven painting in perfect order.

He gave a slight nod, a trace of satisfaction flashing through his eyes.

With these hardworking Purple Jade Spirit Bees handling the trivial affairs of the cave abode, his Five Elements Grotto-Heaven not only gained even more vitality, but also spared him countless hours of care. At last, he could devote himself more fully to cultivating his own Great Dao and nurturing other spiritual roots.

Within the courtyard of the cave abode, beneath the Enlightenment Tea Tree.

Beneath the faint radiance cast by the Enlightenment Tea Tree's swaying branches and leaves, his Primordial Spirit was no longer an ethereal phantom. It was enveloped and tempered by dense Dao resonance.

A warm, jade-like golden sheen shone from the core of the Primordial Spirit. Its form became ever more solid and resilient, while countless mysterious golden runes appeared and vanished across its surface, flowing and imprinting themselves upon it.

At the same time, Yellow Dragon's physical body formed a wondrous resonance with his transforming Primordial Spirit.

Vast, pure Five Elements primordial spiritual energy began converging upon him, continuously pouring into his body. The Yuanshi Golden Canon began revolving at high speed, as though an invisible furnace had been opened within him, refining Yellow Dragon's entire cultivation and Great Dao together.

His body emitted a low hum. Beneath his skin was no longer the texture of flesh and blood, but a flawless, pure, immortal treasure-light containing divine splendor, as though he had been forged from the toughest divine metal.

Under the double tempering of Dao resonance and energy, every dragon bone in his body rang with the clear chime of gold striking jade, transcending the boundaries of life. His blood surged, heavy as mercury and suffused with a faint golden radiance; every drop contained terrifying vital essence and fragments of newly condensed Great Dao laws.

An aura of golden indestructibility was born from the deepest reaches of his life, spreading from this body undergoing transformation. It drew upon and answered the immortal spiritual light radiated by the Primordial Spirit above his head, converging and merging amid the light and shadow of the Enlightenment Tea Tree's branches and leaves.

The Primordial Spirit and physical body resonated!

Beneath the Dao resonance cascading from the Enlightenment Tea Tree, the laws of the Great Dao became even clearer. The immortal spiritual light of the Primordial Spirit and the immortal aura of the physical body achieved an unprecedented harmony and resonance.

The light of the Primordial Spirit nourished the body like sweet rain, hastening the growth of its immortal substance; the vast qi and blood and origin essence fed back by the body, meanwhile, supported the Primordial Spirit's gathering of immortal spiritual light like an unyielding cornerstone.

The immortal Dao resonance emitted by both blended together like water and milk within the curtain of Dao-mark light cast down by the tea tree, forming a miniature, nearly solidified "immortal domain."

When essence, qi, and spirit reached the peak of their resonance, the laws of the entire Five Elements Grotto-Heaven gave a faint tremble! The Enlightenment Tea Tree stirred without wind, every leaf sounding out a clear Dao chime, as though praising this moment.

Buzzz—!

There was no earth-shattering phenomenon—only a low roar that seemed to arise from the root of the Great Dao itself, sounding from within Yellow Dragon's body! His seated form suddenly burst forth with immortal golden light!

This golden light was pure, sacred, and eternal, carrying the ultimate truth of undying immortality. In an instant, it scattered the surrounding mist of spiritual dew and illuminated every branch and leaf of the Enlightenment Tea Tree until they shone bright and clear!

The golden light did not spread outward in destruction, but gathered inward toward the essence of immortality.

In that instant:

Within his sea of consciousness, the Primordial Spirit, tempered and nourished by Dao resonance to the utmost limit, completely solidified, becoming a golden Primordial Spirit flowing with immortal aura!

At the Primordial Spirit's brow, the mark of a Golden Immortal Dao Fruit—containing all his lifetime of Dao cultivation and comprehension of laws—emerged in blazing splendor like a rising sun!

His physical body simultaneously completed its final leap of life. From this day onward, his lifespan would be equal to that of heaven.

The Dao resonance cascading from the Enlightenment Tea Tree began to fade. Beneath the tree, the immortal golden light slowly receded.

Yellow Dragon slowly opened his eyes. Within them, scenes of heaven and earth opening, living beings evolving, and all things arising and perishing seemed to flash past before finally settling into profound calm.

His body was immortal, his lifespan equal to heaven's; his Primordial Spirit was undying, enduring through the ages. He, Yellow Dragon, had transcended the mortal limits of lifespan and officially stepped into the realm that existed alongside heaven and earth—the Golden Immortal realm!

For a time, the immortal grasses and spiritual herbs in the Five Elements Grotto-Heaven's herb fields swayed wildly. Their rate of absorbing spiritual energy increased severalfold, and their treasure-light grew even more radiant.

The young white lotus shoots in the lotus pool gently unfurled, their white light brightening.

The Blood Red Dates sapling abruptly shot up another stretch, crimson radiance flowing around it. The Enlightenment Tea Tree rustled more loudly, and its Dao patterns grew clearer.

Within the hive atop Spirit Herb Peak, the Purple Jade Bee Queen suddenly raised her head. Spiritual light flared in her eyes, filled with reverence and delight. The entire swarm ceased gathering nectar at once, beating their wings in neat unison toward the quiet chamber on the main peak and releasing strange buzzing calls.

With Golden Immortal cultivation, and with Nuwa and the Three Pure Ones to rely on, when he went out into the world, others would at the very least have to address him as "Fellow Daoist"—rather than sneering, "You ant, courting death."