Chapter 24

Since they wished to take the spiritual veins of the East to replenish the barren West, they had to bear the condemnation of countless people.

Jieyin and Zhunti exchanged glances and laughed heartily.

Within that laughter was both the joy of seeing Lu Tian rise to prominence and reveal the potential to contend for supremacy in the Primordial World;

and the relief that the Western lineage had finally found an heir and would no longer need to be sustained by them alone.

Though Lu Tian was still unable to give back to the West,

that day surely would not be far off.

Since you took form, tens of thousands of years have passed. Today, the clouds have finally parted.

Jieyin sighed softly and patted Lu Tian on the shoulder.

From now on, act freely. Your masters will support you.

Only one thing must be remembered—

your senior brothers' cultivation is still shallow. If you have the ability, I hope you will help them more.

He did not mention a single word about having Lu Tian repay the West.

With Lu Tian's current cultivation, merely gaining a foothold in the Primordial World was already no easy task.

If he were to shoulder the responsibility of revitalizing the West, it was still far too early.

As for Pharmacist, Maitreya, and the other three senior brothers, though they had entered the sect earlier, their cultivation was lacking.

They needed someone like Lu Tian to support them.

Lu Tian nodded solemnly. I understand.

He was not an unfeeling or ungrateful person.

The Western Teachings had shown him immense kindness. During this Blood Sea Trial, the resources Jieyin and Zhunti had poured into him, if divided equally among his fellow disciples, would have greatly advanced every one of them. Yet all of it had been used on him to repair his foundation.

What people feared was not poverty, but unfairness.

The five senior brothers had voiced no complaints, proving the depth of their bond as fellow disciples.

Lu Tian bowed to Jieyin and Zhunti. "Masters, after leaving the Blood Sea, I wish to travel east once more. Would that be permitted?"

Jieyin and Zhunti exchanged glances and nodded.

The West was ultimately poor in resources. Remaining here for too long would make breakthroughs difficult.

Only by heading east could he continue to improve.

With their protection, Lu Tian's safety was assured, so there was naturally no need to stop him.

Seeing their agreement, Lu Tian secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

If they had refused, things would have become troublesome instead.

On this journey east—

he would certainly visit famous mountains and great rivers, using the system's advantages to build up his foundation.

Jieyin and Zhunti believed he could not repay the West, but they did not know that he possessed the system and could support the entire Western Teachings in return.

In that case, let us depart.

Jieyin pressed a hand onto Lu Tian's shoulder, preparing to tear through space.

The Golden Immortals and True Immortals remaining on the Crimson Continent

were of no value to them.

The only purpose of those Asura Race members

was to serve as nourishment for Lu Tian's repaired foundation.

Now that his foundation had been restored, the Blood Sea Trial no longer held any meaning.

Who would ultimately seize first place would depend entirely on their own fortunes.

"Three fellow Daoists, please wait!"

Styx's voice transmission suddenly rang out.

Amid surging waves of blood, the old ancestor had already crossed the void and arrived.

He cupped his hands and smiled. "You are leaving on a long journey, so I came specially to see you off."

Yet his gaze remained fixed on Lu Tian.

Lu Tian returned the courtesy. "Greetings, Senior Styx."

Styx suddenly chuckled and produced an item with a turn of his hand, offering it to him. "Since you entered the Blood Sea Trial, we are fated. I shall give you this item. Though it is no supreme treasure, it has some wondrous uses."

The strange object resembled a placenta and pulsed with boundless vitality,

as though it were nurturing life.

"I obtained this by chance when I created the Asura Race.

"I studied it for many years without uncovering its mysteries.

"Today, I suddenly felt that it was fated with you, young friend.

"You may as well take it."

Lu Tian stared at the placenta, and his heart suddenly trembled.

Somewhere in the unseen, it seemed as though heaven's will had spoken—

this item

was something he had to obtain!

"Thank you for your generous gift, Senior Styx. I would be disrespectful to refuse."

Lu Tian accepted the lustrous placenta. A strange pulse traveled through his fingertips. He was secretly astonished—he had clearly only just seen this object for the first time, yet it caused his Purple Mansion to tremble, like an ancient sword dormant for countless years suddenly hearing a dragon's cry.

Styx's intentions were obvious. He merely wished to plant a thread of Karma with the Western Teachings.

The lord of the Blood Sea had always excelled at calculation. Trading a useless object for the favor of a future supreme expert was indeed one of his usual methods. Yet the attraction emanating from the placenta in Lu Tian's hand grew stronger and stronger, causing even the tranquil heart he had cultivated for many years to ripple.

"Good! You are a hundred times better than that coy Xuandu!" Styx clapped his hands and laughed loudly, his scarlet sleeves billowing like waves. "This object is fated with you. Keeping it in this old ancestor's hands would only be a waste."

Before his words had even faded, overwhelming bloodlight wrapped around his figure and vanished into the void. Jieyin and Zhunti had stood silently watching all along. Only now did they turn probing gazes toward the object in Lu Tian's hand.

"I sensed that this object conceals some mystery." Lu Tian rubbed the natural Dao patterns on the placenta with his fingertips. "If I can refine it..."

He suddenly closed his eyes and entered meditation, chaotic mist rising around him. A hundred years in the dream world passed in the blink of an eye. When he opened his eyes again, his normally calm face showed shock.

"Chaos Embryo Cloth!"

The moment those four words left his mouth, the Dao hearts of the two Saints shook violently. The Seven Treasures Wonderful Tree in Zhunti's hand rang without wind, while the Twelve-grade Golden Lotus in Jieyin's palm flickered unsteadily.

"What did you say?" Jieyin asked in a lost voice. Ripples spread across the Golden Wheel of Merit behind his head. "Repairing one's foundation is already defying the heavens, and now you can actually..."

Zhunti suddenly pressed a hand onto his junior brother's shoulder. His saintly gaze pierced through the chaos beyond the thirty-third heaven—there, a cluster of newly formed pure and turbid qi echoed the beating placenta in Lu Tian's palm from afar.

Lu Tian was claiming that he could continuously evolve his own foundation through devouring. The news was simply horrifying!

Since the birth of the Primordial World, no one had ever heard of anyone forcibly improving their own foundation. Even what Lu Tian had done before had merely made up for innate deficiencies.

Repairing flaws and evolving through devouring were entirely different matters!

That was precisely why Jieyin and Zhunti were so shocked—what Lu Tian had said went beyond all common sense and was difficult for them to comprehend.

If news of repairing one's foundation spread, it would be enough to shake the entire Primordial World.

But if the ability to evolve through devouring were exposed...

Even Saints would find it difficult to resist its temptation!

Just imagine—if the Three Pure Ones had a chance to further elevate their foundation as Pangu's orthodox descendants, reaching the level of Chaos Demon Gods comparable to Great God Pangu, how could they possibly remain unmoved?

Faced with such an opportunity, even the three of them would likely struggle to remain calm!

Jieyin and Zhunti knew this well. The Three Pure Ones appeared detached from worldly affairs now only because there was nothing in the Primordial World worth fighting over.

But if something valuable enough appeared, so-called saintly dignity would not be worth considering at all.

A secret art capable of evolving one's foundation was absolutely worth tearing all decorum apart for!

"Disciple, are you certain of this?"

Jieyin rarely lost his composure as he asked Lu Tian solemnly.

If this were true... even if the Western Teachings had to cultivate the Demonic Path, what of it!

Lu Tian knew how significant this was. Mere intuition would not convince them, so he simply sat down cross-legged and verified it on the spot.

Jieyin and Zhunti reacted swiftly, joining forces to sever this region of spacetime from the Primordial World.

Even if some great expert attempted to trace time backward, they would discover that all traces of the three men's conversation had been completely erased.

Still not reassured, the two created a small universe and sent Lu Tian into it.

Once they had ensured that nothing could go wrong, Lu Tian began devouring the placenta in his hand.

Just as Styx had said—

this item truly shared a destined connection with him!

The moment he began to devour it, Lu Tian felt every cell in his body tremble in resonance...

An unprecedented sense of exhilaration swept through his entire body. It was a wondrous feeling Lu Tian had never experienced throughout his long years.

As the absorption continued, a thousand years quietly passed.

Vigorous life force surged and churned within him, as though every cell contained a Pangu opening heaven and earth, thoroughly purifying the impurities within his body and leaving it clearer than ever before. His flourishing aura of life nearly burst through his flesh.

The essence of his life was transforming. He even developed the illusory feeling that he could shake the entire Primordial World, nearly losing himself in that unreal sense of power.

"Wake up!"

Zhunti's shout boomed like a great bell, shaking Lu Tian's soul. He abruptly awoke and looked inward, only to discover that every cell had become as crystalline as fine jade, flowing with glazed radiance. Even his every gesture naturally emitted a refined fragrance that refreshed the mind.

"This is..."

Lu Tian examined himself in disbelief. At this moment, he was like a masterpiece crafted by heaven itself, so perfect that he hardly seemed real. Even when he had completed his foundation before, he had never felt this way.

He hurriedly checked his true body. The Purple Bamboo was overflowing with vitality, its roots becoming even more luxuriant, and new branches had grown from its original nine sections.

"A Chaos Demon God-level foundation?"

This discovery left Lu Tian utterly stunned. This evolution had allowed him to step halfway into the domain of Chaos Demon Gods, the level of life occupied by supreme beings such as Hongjun, Yang Mei, and Pangu.

If he could completely absorb this placenta, he should be able to fully ascend into a Chaos Demon God, right?

Looking at the placenta in his hand, of which he had absorbed only a tenth after a thousand years, Lu Tian had no choice but to stop. His current strength could no longer keep pace with the rate at which his life level was rising. Forcing himself to continue might cause unforeseen changes.

"Master, I truly can continue evolving."

His voice trembled uncontrollably as he spoke. Even he was shocked by the terrifying secret art he had grasped by chance. If this art spread, the number of powerful experts in the Primordial World would multiply several times over.

Only now did he truly understand the meaning of saint-level comprehension. Jieyin and Zhunti's gazes burned with ever-growing anticipation.

"Wonderful! Wonderful!"

Zhunti clapped his hands in delight, completely losing the dignity of a Saint. He resembled an ordinary man whose family had just produced the top scholar, ecstatic beyond measure.

"The prosperity of our West is close at hand!"

Jieyin remained silent for a long while before speaking only this sentence.

The vague and distant prospect of the West's prosperity had finally revealed a glimmer of dawn.

That hope rested entirely upon Lu Tian!

Wasn't the Demon Heart Swallowing Heaven Scripture not only Lu Tian's opportunity, but also the West's turning point?

If every member of the Western Teachings could improve their foundations like Lu Tian and transform into top-tier experts, would revitalizing the West not be easy?

Seeing his two masters so delighted, Lu Tian could not help but smile.

He said softly, "Masters, the Demonic Path is not the proper path of our West."

Since Luohu had already been defeated, there was no need to follow the path of a loser. I will not present this Demonic Path inheritance to you two.

The method for revitalizing the West should be forged by us through another path.

He understood what Jieyin and Zhunti were thinking.

After speaking, Lu Tian condensed two points of spiritual light at his fingertips and sent one into each of Jieyin and Zhunti's palms.

"These are the devouring secret art and the Demon Heart secret art. The two complement each other, and neither can be lacking."

"Only, this Demon Heart art..."

"will require the two masters to make some modifications."

Jieyin and Zhunti accepted the spiritual light and smiled at each other.

"It is fine for you alone to cultivate the Demon Heart secret art, but it would indeed be inappropriate to spread it widely among the disciples."

"We will modify it ourselves, as long as your senior brothers can rise to greater heights."

Jieyin's voice could not conceal his excitement.

"This is the key to the West's revival!"

Lu Tian smiled and nodded.

He had originally worried that the Western Teachings would abandon the increasingly established Buddhist Dao and turn instead toward the demonic sect.

One had to know that the Buddhist Dao was the future great trend and the true path toward revitalizing the West.

Looking at Jieyin and Zhunti, who rejoiced for him and his senior brothers, Lu Tian smiled once more.

Perhaps this was what it meant to feel that one belonged.

After the master and disciples had rejoiced, they returned to serious matters.

Jieyin pondered for a moment. "Though this secret art was offered to the sect by you, we cannot accept it for nothing."

"However, this secret art is extraordinarily precious. Finding something of equal value... is truly difficult, so we can only wrong you."

Lu Tian was briefly startled, then smiled. "I will abide by Master's decision."

The Western Teachings were not without objects of equal value.