In the courtyard atop the central peak of the Five Elements Grotto-Heaven, a figure sat beneath the Enlightenment Tea Tree. Dao Music thundered around him as spiritual energy poured into his body like a tide.
Suddenly, the Dao Music faded, the resonance of the Dao dispersed, and the turbulent spiritual energy fell still.
The figure slowly opened his eyes. A sharp light flashed in them, then faded, leaving them calm and deep.
After a century in seclusion, his newly attained Golden Immortal cultivation had not only stabilized completely but advanced to the peak of the Early Golden Immortal Stage.
He shook out his sleeves, rose, and walked to the courtyard gate, which had been shut for a hundred years.
"Congratulations on your great progress, my lord!" Ziyu, the queen bee, had hurried over when the strange phenomena around the courtyard vanished. She bowed outside the gate, her voice trembling slightly.
Yellow Dragon nodded and looked her over. "Not bad. You've improved greatly and reached the peak of the True Immortal Stage. It seems you haven't been idle these past hundred years."
Then he asked, "Ziyu, has anything happened during that time?"
Ziyu hurried to answer. "Master—" Before she could continue, Yellow Dragon cut her off with a frown.
"Just call me 'my lord' from now on. 'Master' sounds awkward."
"Yes, Master... I mean, my... my lord."
With her new form of address, Ziyu continued. "My lord, everything in the grotto-heaven has been normal. Several decades ago, someone calling himself Xuandu came to visit you. You were in seclusion, so he left, saying he would return once you emerged."
She paused and glanced at Yellow Dragon. Only when his expression softened did she go on. "About ten years ago, an elderly man who said he was your senior brother also came by. When he learned you were still in seclusion, he asked me to give you this afterward." She carefully took out a green Jade Slip.
Yellow Dragon beckoned, and the Jade Slip flew into his hand.
With a sweep of his divine sense, Senior Brother Nanji's voice sounded in his mind. "Junior Brother Yellow Dragon, congratulations on breaking through the Golden Immortal bottleneck and attaining immortality. From now on, your lifespan matches heaven and earth's, and Great Luo lies within reach!"
"The three masters are now in seclusion, contemplating the path to sagehood, yet we disciples of the Three Pure Ones hardly know one another. Guangchengzi, Junior Brother Duobao under Martial Uncle Tongtian, Junior Brother Xuandu under Eldest Martial Uncle, and I have agreed to hold a Dao discussion gathering for the disciples of the Three Pure Ones at my Jade Pillar Grotto-Heaven. All our fellow disciples are invited. First, it will let everyone become acquainted and strengthen the bonds within our school. Second, we can sit together to discuss the Dao and test what we have learned against one another. I hope you will attend on time once you leave seclusion." The voice faded, and the Jade Slip dissolved into specks of pale light in Yellow Dragon's palm.
"A Dao discussion for the disciples of the Three Pure Ones... Senior Brother Nanji has a good idea," Yellow Dragon murmured. He had just emerged from seclusion and needed a little rest. He also wanted to learn what had changed in the Primordial World over the past century. The gathering was still about three years away, so there was no rush.
Yellow Dragon first inspected the Five Elements Grotto-Heaven. Then he used the Sweet Dew Technique to water every white lotus, Blood Red Date tree, Enlightenment Tea Tree, and other Immortal Herbs and Medicines several times over.
The white lotus had already formed a bud. Even so, it showed extraordinary signs, giving him great hope that it would become an innate spiritual lotus of recognized grade. Yellow Dragon paid it special attention, keeping it supplied with Sweet Dew for days on end.
The Blood Red Date trees in the rear orchard had grown for over a century and long since begun bearing fruit. Though they did not qualify as Spiritual Roots, their fruit was still rare: the trees flowered after three years, bore fruit after another three, and needed three more for it to ripen. Ziyu had picked and stored the fruit from the first two harvests.
As for the Enlightenment Tea Tree, it had grown several lengths taller. All the Dao Enlightenment Tea leaves it had produced remained on its branches, ready to be picked at any time.
For a full month, the Sweet Dew's life-giving power nourished every Spiritual Root and immortal plant in the Five Elements Grotto-Heaven, greatly strengthening their vital essence.
Some of the more promising immortal plants even showed signs that they might transform into Acquired Spiritual Roots.
When the plants stopped absorbing the life-giving power in the Sweet Dew, Yellow Dragon ended the technique. Time would take care of the rest; whether they succeeded did not matter much.
With everything in the grotto-heaven settled, he decided to visit Xuandu first.
Deep in Kunlun Mountain, Xuandu's abode stood on a small hill beside Three Purities Peak. It was simple: an old pine, a little stone house, and a spring that gave off spiritual energy. Dressed in a spotless white Daoist robe, Xuandu sat by the spring, gazing toward Three Purities Peak, where the Three Pure Ones were in seclusion. A jade pot and two jade cups rested beside him.
The laws of the Dao ebbed and flowed around Xuandu as his cultivation rose rapidly. He was already at the peak of the Mystic Immortal Stage, just one step from becoming a Golden Immortal.
A streak of golden light flashed across the sky and pierced the clouds. Yellow Dragon descended.
"Ha! Senior Brother Yellow Dragon, you finally decided to come out?" Xuandu looked up, unsurprised, and teased him as he poured tea from the jade pot. A faintly bitter aroma rose from it. "You really are diligent. You've been in seclusion ever since you arrived in Kunlun. You put me to shame."
He set a cup before Yellow Dragon. "Try some of my humble tea, Senior Brother. It tastes rather good."
Yellow Dragon sat down without ceremony on the stone stool opposite Xuandu and picked up the cup. It was warm and smooth to the touch. The tea tasted bitter at first, then sweet.
"Good tea," Yellow Dragon praised.
He set down his cup. "Xuandu, it's been over a hundred years. Your cultivation has improved, and so has your knack for teasing me?"
Yellow Dragon looked at him and sighed. "In little more than a century, you've reached the peak of the Mystic Immortal Stage. You're only one step from catching up with me. How could a dragon not be annoyed? I've cultivated painstakingly for over a hundred thousand years, yet I've made less progress than you have in a century."
Xuandu's smile faded a little. He took a sip of tea and looked toward the distant mountains. "I have powerful masters to rely on. You made your own way, Senior Brother. I still have a long way to go before I can compare with you."
Xuandu chuckled and said no more. He emptied the tea leaves from the pot, then turned to Yellow Dragon. "Senior Brother, we've had my bitter tea. Now bring out your Dao Enlightenment Tea. I haven't had any in over a hundred years, and I've missed it terribly."
Yellow Dragon shook his head at the pot Xuandu held out. He took out a jade box, opened it, and plucked three tea leaves from the top. After dropping them into the pot, he handed it back for Xuandu to brew. But Xuandu's eyes remained fixed on the jade box. With a helpless smile, Yellow Dragon tossed it to him, and Xuandu hurriedly caught it.
"Thank you, Senior Brother."
Xuandu brewed the fresh tea and refilled Yellow Dragon's cup. Facing the spring and the old pine, they drank Dao Enlightenment Tea and talked about the changes in Kunlun and their views on cultivation. Xuandu's words went straight to the heart of things. Yellow Dragon spoke less, but what he said was always to the point. Time slipped by unnoticed.
Yellow Dragon bade Xuandu farewell and returned to his own abode. Each day, he traveled back and forth between the Five Elements Grotto-Heaven and the Mysterious Yellow World Pearl.
At last, the day of the disciples' Dao discussion arrived. Yellow Dragon told Ziyu to look after their home, then mounted an Auspicious Cloud and headed for South Pole Immortal Elder's abode.
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