Three Gather Again

In the Primordial World, the cultivation and magic power of living beings are not entirely determined by their realm, but primarily by their physical bodies.

Magic power is, simply put, a form of energy, and the physical body is its vessel. A sufficiently powerful body can fully contain magic power that transcends one's current realm.

This is why the Ancestral Witches, who possess powerful physical bodies, can wield strength at the level of a Quasi-Sage despite not having reached that realm, sometimes even erupting with power greater than that of an ordinary Quasi-Sage.

In a sense, one's innate foundation is essentially their true form and physical body.

If the true form is powerful enough, one might possess cultivation and magic power far exceeding their realm even before undergoing the tribulation to take human form.

As long as the realm is sufficient, it is not surprising for one to become a Mysterious Immortal, a Taiyi Loose Immortal, or even a Golden Immortal immediately upon successfully passing the tribulation.

Shi Mo is the best example. Like him, or powerful figures with resounding names in the Primordial World such as Hongyun and Zhen Yuanzi, it is impossible for them to be mere Heavenly Immortals after taking human form and then slowly cultivate to improve.

Only those with average innate foundations need to take it one step at a time, matching their cultivation and magic power to their realm, as only a sufficiently high realm can control the corresponding magic power.

During the first sermon at Purple Heaven Palace, besides teaching the profound and mysterious Great Dao, Hongjun mainly explained the classification of cultivation realms in the Primordial World and the methods for advancing them.

The words of the Great Dao, which were like a manifesto of the universe, allowed Shi Mo to understand the mysteries of the Dao he had realized from a higher perspective, and his realm advanced to the level of a Daluo Golden Immortal as naturally as water flowing into a channel.

Conversely, the classification and advancement methods of cultivation realms held little meaning for Shi Mo, just as they held little significance for the other powerful cultivators who went to listen to the sermon at Purple Heaven Palace.

However, Hongjun still spoke of them specifically, clearly intending to use their mouths to spread the knowledge and achieve the goal of teaching all living beings in the Primordial World.

After the cultivation session ended, Shi Mo could not spare the time to continue sorting out and repairing the Western Continent's ley lines. He left dozens of Earth-Core Fire Dragons to slowly clear the blockages and quietly returned to Nine Tripod Iron Fork Mountain to enter seclusion and stabilize his realm.

Several years later, Shi Mo, who was sitting in meditation on a jade platform inside his cave dwelling, seemed to sense something. He opened his eyes, rose, and went outside, only to see Zhen Yuanzi and Hongyun arriving together.

"Brother Zhen Yuanzi, Brother Hongyun." Under Shi Mo's warm greeting, Zhen Yuanzi looked somewhat embarrassed and ashamed.

"Brother Shi Mo, an incident occurred at my Longevity Mountain previously, and I had to rush back. I left you alone to clean up the mess of the Western Continent's ley lines and caused you to miss the opportunity to listen to the sermon at Purple Heaven Palace. It is truly..."

Shi Mo replied, "So that was it! Since Brother Zhen Yuanzi had matters to attend to, I naturally have no reason to blame you. Besides, repairing the Western Continent's ley lines was a task I took upon myself; if problems arose, it was only right that I resolve them."

"By the way, Brother Zhen Yuanzi, what exactly happened before? Why were you in such a rush to leave?" Shi Mo immediately asked with curiosity.

Before Zhen Yuanzi could speak, Hongyun said indignantly, "It was that detestable Minghe! He took advantage of the fact that Brother Zhen Yuanzi left for Longevity Mountain. He must have been coveting Brother Zhen Yuanzi's Ginseng Fruit Tree."

Shi Mo was speechless, secretly thinking to himself, Do you think everyone is like you, only knowing how to eat?

"Hey, Brother Shi Mo, didn't you miss the sermon at Purple Heaven Palace? How has your cultivation improved so much all of a sudden?"

Hongyun then looked at Shi Mo in astonishment. "I only reached the realm of a Daluo Golden Immortal because I had the opportunity to listen to the sermon at Purple Heaven Palace. Your current cultivation realm is actually no weaker than mine!"

Seeing that Zhen Yuanzi beside him also looked curious, Shi Mo couldn't help but laugh. "You could say it was a blessing in disguise. I tried to stabilize those chaotic and violent ley line forces and earth fires, and in the process of re-sorting the ley lines, I gained some insights, which allowed my realm to improve so quickly."

"Two brothers, please, come inside and sit!" Shi Mo said with a smile, inviting Zhen Yuanzi and Hongyun into the cave dwelling and sitting down at a black stone table.

Around the stone table, which was half a zhang in diameter, were six round stone stools that Shi Mo had specially refined and crafted.

Since it was a cave dwelling, it had to have a bit of a homey feel; even if there wasn't much furniture, there had to be a place to sit.

If he weren't afraid it would look awkward, Shi Mo would have even made himself a stone or jade bed. Considering he mainly sat in meditation and didn't need to sleep, he gave up on the idea.

If he really wanted to have a good sleep, he could just go to the main spiritual vein beneath Eight Treasures Peak; it would be much more comfortable and relaxing.

"Eh? These peaches..." Hongyun suddenly noticed a plate of fresh peaches among the three fruit plates on the stone table. He picked up a fist-sized, bright red peach and examined it. "Flat Peaches? Why are they so small?"

"They aren't true Flat Peaches. They grew on a peach tree that sprouted from the peach pits I scattered on Eight Treasures Peak. Trees that grow in a few hundred years and peaches that grow in a few decades naturally cannot compare to true Flat Peaches," Shi Mo laughed.

As Shi Mo was speaking, Hongyun had already taken a bite, his eyes brightening. "Hmm, the taste is not bad! Although it cannot compare to the Ginseng Fruit, it is much better than some of the other ordinary spiritual fruits I have eaten."

"It is quite good!" Zhen Yuanzi also picked one up to taste, then nodded slightly.

"If these peaches are this delicious, how tasty must the real Flat Peaches be?" Hongyun said, becoming even more greedy. "By the way, Brother Shi Mo, has that Flat Peach tree on your Eight Treasures Peak borne fruit yet?"

Shi Mo shook his head and smiled. "It hasn't even blossomed yet!"

"Sigh, it seems I won't be able to eat any this time," Hongyun said, tasting the spiritual fruits in the other two jade plates. He couldn't help but remark, "Hmm, even these Vermilion Fruits are more delicious than the ones I've eaten before! Brother Shi Mo, this Nine Tripod Iron Fork Mountain of yours is truly a great place; even ordinary spiritual fruits grow to be so delicious here."

"If Brother Hongyun likes them, you can take some more for the road. I have quite a few peach trees on Eight Treasures Peak, and they bear even more fruit," Shi Mo said with a smile.

Hongyun laughed as well. "Haha, Brother Shi Mo is truly generous, unlike Brother Zhen Yuanzi, who is so stingy—he's so tight-fisted even when I eat a few of his Ginseng Fruits."

"My Ginseng Fruit Tree only bears thirty fruits at a time, and it takes ten thousand years to bear fruit once!" Zhen Yuanzi said helplessly.

While chatting and laughing, they brought up the sermon at Purple Heaven Palace. Under Shi Mo's curious questioning, Hongyun told him about many of the powerful cultivators at Purple Heaven Palace whom he was familiar with.

"Di Jun, Donghuang Taiyi—are you very familiar with them?" Hearing Hongyun mention these two, Shi Mo couldn't help but ask in surprise.

Hongyun was noncommittal. "They're alright, I suppose. The two of them have great ambitions; they want to establish something called the Monster Clan and even invited me to join, but I refused."

Shi Mo became even more speechless. He never expected that Hongyun would have such dealings with the brothers Di Jun and Donghuang Taiyi, especially since, later on, Di Jun and Donghuang Taiyi would be the primary culprits behind Hongyun's death!

However, without a conflict of interest, it was understandable that they would try to win over Hongyun, who lived a free and unfettered life.

It was just that their different personalities destined them to never be on the same path.