Chapter 29

Sword light streaked across the heavens like a dragon, its fierce sword aura cleaving the void in two as the rift slowly closed.

This was an attack from the peak of the Taiyi Golden Immortal realm. Though his cultivation was only at the initial stage, its power rivaled that of a late-stage expert.

Rather than retreat, Lu Tian advanced, and the golden, wood, and water true qi within him erupted.

Though they had yet to form a cycle, the immense spiritual power already gave off astonishing might. With one step, he transformed into a hundred-zhang, two-headed vajra, his four arms holding the Moon Washing Blade, Plain Cloud Boundary Banner, Vajra Scepter, and stone rod respectively.

Taiyi Zhenren's pupils contracted sharply, and all traces of contempt vanished.

The Golden Brick swelled in the wind and crashed down upon him. In a flash, Lu Tian slashed at the moon with his blade, forcibly meeting the Yin Yang Sword. The Plain Cloud Boundary Banner unfurled like waves, and amid flowing golden light, it actually wrapped the Golden Brick tight!

In an instant, Taiyi Zhenren's offensive was completely shattered.

Pharmacist burst from the ground and flashed to Lu Tian's side to support him.

"Be careful. This man's moves are vicious and treacherous."

"When we fought, he seemed crazed, specializing in tactics that traded injury for injury."

Pharmacist's warning could no longer reach Lu Tian's ears. After just one exchange, he had already experienced how troublesome Taiyi Zhenren was—having just been intercepted, the old Daoist immediately unleashed Dao techniques from the flank to restrain him. At the same time, he recalled the Yin Yang Sword and, without another word, thrust it straight at Lu Tian's True Spirit. Sword radiance poured forth like a cascading galaxy, sweeping clean across the land!

Clang!

Blade light tore through the air like a new moon, severing the torrential sword aura. Lu Tian moved three arms at once: the Plain Cloud Boundary Banner bound the Golden Brick, while the Vajra Scepter and stone rod crashed down in the gap before Taiyi Zhenren could recover his breath!

Taiyi Zhenren suddenly inhaled, and his body expanded a hundred zhang. Under the divine ability of Dharma Heaven and Earth Manifestation, his giant hands grabbed left and right, forcibly clasping both Innate Spiritual Treasures!

Boom—!

The heavy strike drove half his body into the ground. Blood seeped from Taiyi Zhenren's lips, yet his expression remained composed. Lu Tian, on the other hand, hurriedly withdrew half a step. By the time he looked again, the Golden Brick had already broken free and returned to its master.

What a formidable body! Lu Tian was secretly alarmed. He had only coughed up blood after taking such a heavy blow head-on. The mastery of this Nine Revolutions Mysterious Technique...

Before his thoughts could finish, golden light suddenly flashed! The Yin Yang Sword pierced through the sky so quickly that even the Plain Cloud Boundary Banner reacted on instinct to defend itself.

Earth-Soaring Golden Light! Lu Tian instantly understood. This was a secret technique of the Chan Teachings, an art every direct disciple of the second generation had to learn!

Golden light flashed repeatedly, and the battle reversed in an instant.

Amid interwoven golden light, Lu Tian saw nothing but deadly killing intent. The edge of the Yin Yang Sword struck from every direction, making it difficult for him to fend it off.

The Plain Cloud Boundary Banner spread into a defensive barrier. Lu Tian barely blocked the assault, but he no longer had any ability to counterattack.

The Chan Teachings' secret arts truly lived up to their reputation...

He silently considered ** a countermeasure to the Earth-Soaring Golden Light technique. This move was truly troublesome; even his blade speed could not match it. Perhaps only after advancing to the Taiyi Realm could he see through it.

Unbeknownst to him, Taiyi Zhenren was also grumbling inwardly.

Where did this brat get so many treasures?!

When did the Western Teachings become so lavish? Could it be that the two Sages gave him their entire fortune?

It is actually one of the Five Directions Innate Banners!

Taiyi Zhenren secretly clicked his tongue. If this set of supreme treasures were gathered in full, it was said that none beneath the Sages could break it. It had now appeared in the hands of a mere Golden Immortal. Though Lu Tian could not unleash its full power, it had already left him helpless.

What shocked him even more was that the vajra suddenly sat cross-legged in the air, and a crystal-clear Twelve-Grade Lotus Platform appeared beneath him.

The Twelve-Grade Lotus Platform?!

As the lotus petals unfolded, a single droplet of water fell. The seemingly weightless drop flattened an entire mountain peak.

Primordial Heavy Water!

The heaviest substance between Heaven and Earth—one drop carried the force of ten thousand jun. Had Qianyuan Mountain not possessed such deep foundations, the entire mountain range would have collapsed long ago.

Then, a monstrous wave poured down and swept in all directions.

Though Taiyi Zhenren possessed Tongtian's evasion technique, he had no way to deal with the overwhelming heavy water and could only flee afar!

The vast flood swallowed the mountains.

That golden streak of evasion light traveled farther and farther away before finally disappearing into the depths of the clouds.

Seeing Taiyi Zhenren retreat, the gloom between Lu Tian's brows eased somewhat.

Though, during the Investiture of the Gods calamity, the Chan Teachings' Twelve Immortals had an utterly miserable record—

The Three Maidens of Sanxiao set up the Nine-Bend Yellow River Formation and actually defeated them all **, even cutting away the Three Flowers on their Crowns.

Yet across the Primordial World, these Sage disciples remained outstanding among those of the same realm.

For Lu Tian to force Taiyi Zhenren back with Golden Immortal cultivation was already no easy feat.

After all, his opponent had received a Sage's personal teachings, and his Dao techniques were exquisite.

Without the support of so many spiritual treasures, the victor of this battle would still have been uncertain.

At this point, the Golden Immortal realm could be considered the pinnacle.

What was there to be ashamed of?

Fortunately, the Taiyi Realm was close at hand.

When they fought again at the Mystic Gate **, he would settle the matter properly.

A sharp glint suddenly flashed in Lu Tian's eyes.

Since taking form, he had endured countless tribulations, which had long forged his Dao heart into stone.

Though he had recently displayed his edge, he had not lost his clarity.

"Senior Brother, I'll gladly accept the Nine Dragon Fire Cover."

With a wave of his hand, Lu Tian recalled the heavy water filling the sky and sent his voice into the distance.

Pharmacist stepped through the void and arrived, gazing at the nine dragon shadows dimmed by the heavy water's washing. He said wistfully, "This treasure is fated with Junior Brother. Your senior brother lacks such fortune."

Though the nine crimson dragons looked dispirited, it was not because the spiritual treasure was weak, but because no one controlled it.

Originally, he had been the first to discover this opportunity...

Shaking his head, he stopped dwelling on it.

His skills were inferior. This was only proper.

Had it been someone else, they might have resorted to some tricks.

But since it had been obtained by a fellow disciple, he accepted it wholeheartedly.

Lu Tian formed a hand seal, and the nine dragon shadows abruptly froze.

As immortal power surged, the crimson dragon phantoms scattered, revealing their true form—

Nine red-gold swimming dragons coiled together into a cover, their mouths spewing Samadhi True Fire. This was the true form of an Innate Spiritual Treasure.

"Please trouble yourself, Senior Brother **."

Lu Tian spoke directly.

Once he refined the Kunyuan Dao Robe and this Fire Cover, advancing to the Taiyi Realm would come naturally, so there was no need for formalities.

Such a fire-element supreme treasure was precisely the perfect aid for tempering fire-element true qi.

Pharmacist nodded, setting up a barrier formation around the area. He sat in command **, casting techniques for Lu Tian **.

Lu Tian once again cast a concealment art, completely hiding himself. The power of the Nine Dragon Fire Cover and the Kunyuan Dao Robe continuously flowed into his body, helping him refine fire- and earth-element spiritual energy. Once the Five Qi in his Chest fully merged, it would be time for him to advance to the Taiyi Golden Immortal realm.

This seclusion lasted six hundred years. In the eighty-fourth year, all the senior brothers were summoned by the two Sages, Jieyin and Zhunti, to hear the Dao and help them break through their realms. Lu Tian alone had Jieyin personally set up a protective grand formation for him—he had gathered the Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures to challenge the Taiyi Realm so quickly that even a Sage was amazed.

After three hundred and sixty-two years passed, Taiyi Zhenren rode a cloud to Kunlun's Jade Void Palace. He kept the matter of his defeat at Lu Tian's hands a closely guarded secret. When he discovered that the Western Teachings' ** had gathered at Kunlun but Lu Tian was nowhere to be seen, his suspicions deepened. Thereafter, he cultivated with even greater diligence, becoming the Chan Teachings' most hardworking ** and earning Yuanshi Tianzun's deep appreciation.

In the snow season of the six hundredth year, the mountain where Lu Tian stayed had become a world clad in silver, while not a speck of dust touched his body. That day, tribulation clouds pressed down from above, and divine lightning from the nine heavens struck one bolt after another. Lu Tian neither dodged nor evaded, allowing the lightning to temper his body—the second level of the Profound Comprehension Heart Method was using heavenly lightning to forge his golden body. Lightning coursed through his meridians, each arc bringing his flesh and bones closer to perfection.

The body-tempering effect has surpassed my expectations... The corners of Lu Tian's lips rose slightly. When the final tribulation lightning dissipated, the strength of his physical body had doubled. With a casual motion, he drew upon the remaining lightning force, and a ten-thousand-zhang peak in the distance was instantly blasted to pieces. This was the thunderous destructive might granted by the origin of Creation-Destruction Bamboo. At this point, his Taiyi Golden Immortal Dao Fruit was complete.

Lu Tian immediately felt countless divine abilities arise within him. Compared to before, his cultivation had undergone a complete transformation!

He remained seated in meditation, his aura surging around him like rivers.

Five-colored radiance of gold, wood, water, fire, and earth revolved before his chest. As they generated and restrained one another, they burst forth with boundless spiritual charm. Immortal glow shone from his body, sending layer after layer of ripples through the void.

Wonderful!

A long howl shook the clouds around him into turbulence.

This was a transformation in the essence of life—

From an ordinary Golden Immortal Dao body to a Body of Five Elements Origin, the difference was like that between clouds and mud.

Though this outer shell had not changed, the world within had already been reforged.

When he had slain the Asura Taiyi in the past, he had needed to exhaust the other's Five Elements Origin before he could win.

The reason was that Taiyi Realm experts had long transcended the restraints of flesh and blood:

A drop of blood could become a vast sea, and a grain of dust could give rise to mountains and rivers.

Every inch of flesh contained the cycle of the Five Elements. So long as even a trace of vitality remained, they could use Heaven and Earth Spiritual Energy to reconstruct their Dao bodies.

And this was merely the introductory profundity of the Taiyi Realm!

Lu Tian stretched his limbs, sensing the Chaos Power surging within him as golden light flowed in his eyes.

If he fought Taiyi Zhenren again now, he could determine victory or defeat with a flick of his fingers.

But another matter required attention first—

He lightly tapped his knuckles, calculating the heavenly timing. Once he finished regulating his breath, he transformed into a streak of light and headed straight for Kunlun.

Less than eight hundred years remained until the Mystic Gate Grand Gathering. He had to hurry.

He traveled and stopped along the way, resting briefly whenever he encountered a spiritual mountain or blessed land. In the blink of an eye, four hundred years passed.

Suddenly, he stopped atop a cloud, sweeping his Spiritual Sense toward a place two thousand li away. A subtle smile appeared on his lips.

After wandering the Primordial World for tens of thousands of years, he had finally found traces of humanity!

As he watched a newly formed tribe in the mountain valley drilling wood to make fire, ripples suddenly rose in the river of his memories. Those Primordial World legends from his previous life were the foundation that had allowed him to gain a foothold in this world.

Had he not known of opportunities in advance, he would never have crossed the eastern and western lands, much less survived that True Immortal tribulation back then.

At times, he also thought of that age of steel jungles, but such longing vanished in an instant—

After all, if he had truly wanted to find humans during these tens of thousands of years, he would have encountered them long ago.

Previously, Lu Tian could barely protect himself and had no energy to spare, much less to form ties with humanity.

Moreover, humanity had no strength to help him either. Rash contact would have benefited neither side.

Since he had encountered them by chance this time, there was no harm in taking a look.

His Spiritual Sense swept across the area, and he instantly understood the disturbance ahead—

A human tribe of roughly one hundred thousand people was collapsing in panic as it migrated.

The source of the calamity was a cat demon at the Golden Immortal realm.

The demon was in no hurry to use divine abilities. Instead, like a cat playing with mice, it occasionally swept away several people and enjoyed the sight of humans fleeing in terror.

It had also set up an illusionary barrier, trapping the hundred thousand people as though in a spiderweb. No matter how they charged about, they could not escape the death cage it had drawn.

Lu Tian lightly tapped his toes and slipped into a rift in space.

He understood humanity's current situation well:

The Primordial Humans Created by Nuwa had long since dwindled away. Though their descendants now multiplied rapidly, life was difficult, and few could cultivate to the Golden Immortal realm.

Fortunately, the Sage's name offered them faint protection. Powerful races such as the witches and demons regarded them as ants, beneath their disdain to slaughter. Instead, this gave lowly minor demons room to run rampant.

To avoid disaster, humans migrated year after year.

Their footprints spread farther and farther, eventually covering the Primordial World and even reaching the shores of the Eastern Sea.

Perhaps...

A dark gleam flickered in Lu Tian's eyes.

Though the few decades of memories from his previous life were insignificant compared to tens of thousands of years of cultivation, the bond of blood still remained.

He had lacked the strength in the past, but now he had the Western Teachings behind him. Since he had gained the foundation to settle himself in this world, perhaps...

A thread of golden light condensed at his fingertips.

He was not someone overflowing with compassion.

The demon race's Witch Slaying Sword calamity would descend sooner or later. When that time came, blood would flow like waves, and it was not something he could reverse.

His intervention now—

Was truly a move to seize humanity's fate.

Human fate was of utmost importance. Even the Sages needed to borrow its power; otherwise, why would the Three Sects spread their teachings among humans?

If that were not the case, why would they go to such lengths to arrange the journey for scriptures during Journey to the West?

Humanity was the key to the Sages' game!

It could even be said that humanity was the foundation of the Sage sects, and outsiders would never be allowed to lay a hand on it.