Time flowed on, and three thousand years passed in the blink of an eye.
Yuan Yan suddenly opened his eyes. Mysterious Great Dao ripples flowed within them. With a flicker of his body, he lightly stepped on several formation nodes, causing profound Dao rhymes to circulate.
"Break!"
Yuan Yan gave a low shout and pointed two fingers of his right hand forward. A beam of Yinyang Divine Light surged forth.
Buzz! The Primordial Formation spanning hundreds of millions of miles rippled like water before vanishing in an instant.
At the same time, the treasure protected by the Primordial Formation appeared before Yuan Yan.
It was an ancient mirror engraved with a Taiji Yin-Yang fish, cloud patterns, and the Eight Trigrams.
Immortal light flowed across the ancient mirror, brimming with Dao rhyme. The mirror was divided into two halves, one red and one white. The red side emitted a gentle crimson glow filled with vitality, while the white side shone with a frigid white light and overflowed with deathly aura.
"What a treasure!" Yuan Yan's eyes lit up. This mirror radiated an exceedingly profound Dao rhyme of Yin-Yang, life, and death, perfectly suited to his Great Dao.
Moreover, judging by its aura and Dao rhyme, it was at least a High-Grade Innate Spiritual Treasure. After climbing Mount Buzhou for tens of thousands of years, he had finally gained something worthwhile.
With a thought, Yuan Yan raised his hand and drew the ancient mirror into his grasp. He immediately extended his divine sense into it and initially branded it with his own True Spirit mark.
At once, Yuan Yan learned the origin, grade, and functions of the Innate Spiritual Treasure before him.
This mirror was the Yinyang Mirror, a High-Grade Innate Spiritual Treasure containing thirty-six Innate Divine Restrictions. It contained the Great Daos of Yin-Yang, life and death, Reincarnation, Karma, and more.
The Yin side of the Yinyang Mirror could fire white light that locked onto Karma. Whoever it shone upon would die. It specialized in destroying Primordial Spirits and True Spirits; even Great Firmament Golden Immortals would find it extremely difficult to resist without defensive spiritual treasures.
The Yang side could fire red light, bringing the dead back to life, healing Dao Injuries, and restoring the fleshly body, Primordial Spirit, and even the True Spirit.
If both sides were activated at once, it could further evolve the Life-and-Death Reincarnation Tribulation Light. Not only did it possess the abilities of both sides, but its power was several times greater.
"Could this Yinyang Mirror be the one Yuanshi Tianzun bestowed upon his disciple Chijingzi?" Yuan Yan guessed inwardly.
If that was true, then Yuanshi Tianzun should have obtained the Yinyang Mirror while climbing Mount Buzhou. But because Yuan Yan had been born early, he had snatched it first.
"Forget it. No matter what, this Innate Spiritual Treasure is mine now! Although the Yinyang Mirror's offensive power is far inferior to the Myriad Dao Primordial Gourd, its healing ability is a valuable addition for me. Moreover, comprehending the laws and Great Dao it contains will be immensely beneficial for evolving and perfecting my own Great Dao."
"I've only climbed Mount Buzhou for tens of thousands of years, yet I've already obtained such a treasure. Even if I stop forcibly resisting Pangu Pressure, I'll still need at least two or three Epochs to reach Mount Buzhou's summit. I wonder what treasures I'll obtain next?"
As he thought this, boundless anticipation arose in Yuan Yan's heart. He temporarily put away the Yinyang Mirror and continued climbing Mount Buzhou.
Several tens of thousands of years later, after advancing a considerable distance once more, Yuan Yan could no longer withstand the increasingly terrifying and dense Pangu Pressure.
If he wished to continue onward, he could only make use of his identity as an Innate Divine born from Mount Buzhou. He would have to stop actively drawing Pangu Pressure through his own Dao to oppose it, allowing Pangu Pressure to overlook him.
Sensing that he had reached his limit and that excess was as bad as deficiency, Yuan Yan did not stubbornly persist. He no longer actively drew Pangu Pressure with his own Dao.
Instantly, Yuan Yan's entire body felt lighter. The Pangu Pressure that had weighed upon his fleshly body, Primordial Spirit, Great Dao, and Innate Imperishable True Spirit suddenly vanished. Though it still existed within Mount Buzhou, it had ignored him!
Without Pangu Pressure suppressing him, Yuan Yan climbed Mount Buzhou much faster.
Before even two Epochs had passed, he was about to reach Mount Buzhou's summit.
However, Yuan Yan suddenly paused, stopped walking, and headed toward the front right.
Ten years later, following an unseen pull, Yuan Yan arrived near an utterly unremarkable pool of water.
The moment he arrived, an incomparably mysterious Great Dao fluctuation rippled outward like water, revealing a realm gate.
"What is this?" Yuan Yan was slightly startled. However, after his Primordial Spirit connected with heaven and earth and deduced it for a while, he understood.
The Primordial World stood at an extremely high level and had birthed many Innate Spiritual Treasures and Innate Spiritual Roots.
However, Innate Spiritual Treasures and Innate Spiritual Roots could not be born from nothing. Not only did one or several Great Daos need to resonate to varying degrees and condense Primordial Origin, but there also needed to be a place rich in Innate Spiritual Qi and Dao Rhyme Spiritual Essence to serve as a birthing ground.
Such birthing grounds were generally known as Cave Heavens and Blessed Lands. Blessed Lands were where the spiritual apertures of Innate Earth Veins lay, while Cave Heavens were Small Worlds.
For example, his birthplace, as well as the birthing grounds of the Innate Spiritual Treasures and Innate Spiritual Roots he had obtained while climbing Mount Buzhou, were all spiritual apertures of Innate Earth Veins. They could all be called Blessed Lands.
What he had encountered now, however, was the entrance to a Cave Heaven. The Cave Heaven's main body was not on Mount Buzhou, but in the Infinite Void.
Furthermore, Cave Heavens and Blessed Lands were not as he had originally believed, with Cave Heavens being superior to Blessed Lands. There was no strict hierarchy between them. Cave Heavens were not necessarily better than Blessed Lands, nor were Blessed Lands necessarily inferior to Cave Heavens. Their relative standing mainly depended on their individual grades.
For instance, his birthplace was one of the core spiritual apertures of Mount Buzhou's Ancestral Vein. It could be considered one of the finest Blessed Lands in the Primordial World, and likely few Cave Heavens in the Primordial World could compare to it.
"A great opportunity!" Yuan Yan rejoiced inwardly.
Although there was no strict superiority between Cave Heavens and Blessed Lands, Yuan Yan could tell from the profound Dao rhyme emitted by this Cave Heaven that it was anything but ordinary. The Innate Spiritual Treasure or Innate Spiritual Root nurtured within would not be ordinary either. It was highly likely to be a Supreme-Grade Innate Spiritual Treasure or a Supreme-Grade Innate Spiritual Root.
The profound Dao rhyme it emitted far surpassed that of the Blessed Land that had birthed the Yinyang Mirror. Thus, the Innate Spiritual Treasure or Innate Spiritual Root nurtured within should naturally far exceed the Yinyang Mirror as well.
The Yinyang Mirror was a High-Grade Innate Spiritual Treasure with thirty-six Innate Divine Restrictions. Other than a Supreme-Grade Innate Spiritual Treasure or a Supreme-Grade Innate Spiritual Root, nothing else could surpass it.
Moreover, this Cave Heaven was of a high grade, so it was naturally qualified to become his Daoist sanctuary.
As for his original birthplace?
Although it was also a fine location for a Daoist sanctuary, and he had made some arrangements there so no one could easily intrude and seize it, Mount Buzhou was no ordinary place. It would become the center of the future Calamity of Witches and Demons, and the Witch Clan would occupy Mount Buzhou. After the Calamity of Witches and Demons, Gonggong would even smash Mount Buzhou apart.
If he established his Daoist sanctuary on Mount Buzhou in the future, trouble would surely be endless.
But making this Cave Heaven his Daoist sanctuary would be different. Although its entrance was on Mount Buzhou, its main body was not. It was actually located in the Infinite Void. Even if Mount Buzhou collapsed, it would not be implicated.
Once his cultivation realm became sufficient, he could even completely change this Cave Heaven's entrance within the Primordial World.
The unseen pull and sense of opportunity grew stronger and stronger. Yuan Yan did not hesitate. He immediately evolved a formation at the entrance to conceal it and the Great Dao fluctuations it emitted, then stepped through the realm gate.
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