As for why legends from his previous life claimed that top-tier Innate Divines like the Three Pure Ones, Di Jun, Taiyi, Nuwa, and Fuxi had all been Great Firmament Golden Immortals the moment they took form and were born, he did not know either.
But he guessed that perhaps they had not immediately entered the world after taking form, instead cultivating to the Great Firmament realm before emerging, thus misleading others. Or perhaps there were other reasons.
"I have already developed intelligence and become a Golden Immortal. I will definitely change my Fate, take form and enter the world before then, and not be dismembered!"
Yuan Yan encouraged himself once more, then immersed all his focus into the Primordial Inheritance and Primordial Origin.
As he sorted through and comprehended the Primordial Inheritance, he also comprehended the laws and Great Dao contained within the Primordial Origin, gaining insight into the Yin-Yang Law and Five Elements Law. At the same time, he breathed in and out Innate Spiritual Qi and Dao Rhyme Spiritual Essence, continuously strengthening his Primordial Soul and Primordial True Spirit under the nourishment of his Golden Immortal Law Dao Fruit.
At the same time, he did not forget to control the Primordial Gourd Vine, no longer sending Primordial Origin to the seven Innate Gourds and reducing their supply of Innate Spiritual Qi and Dao Rhyme Spiritual Essence.
If he continued sending Primordial Origin to the Innate Gourds, then once too much had been transferred, his main body might wither and die just as it had along its original Fate.
Even if it did not wither, its grade would decline, causing the status of his foundation after taking form to fall.
And if he continued using all the Innate Spiritual Qi and Dao Rhyme Spiritual Essence absorbed by the Primordial Gourd Vine to nourish the seven Innate Gourds, his own cultivation would certainly be affected.
He was already worried that he did not have enough time! Naturally, he could not allow the Innate Gourds to affect his cultivation.
In fact, if the Innate Spiritual Qi and Dao Rhyme Spiritual Essence absorbed by the Primordial Gourd Vine had not far exceeded his cultivation needs, he might even have stopped nourishing the seven Innate Gourds altogether.
Time was never counted in the Primordial World. Yuan Yan immersed himself in enlightenment and cultivation, and as time passed, rich Law Dao Rhymes gradually gathered around him, profound and ineffable, wondrous beyond words. They rendered the land for hundreds of millions of miles around him divine and sacred, with countless extraordinary phenomena appearing.
Thirty Epochs later!
Boom! Deep within Yuan Yan's Sea of Consciousness, his Taiyi Golden Immortal Dao Fruit blossomed. Boundless, indestructible immortal light stretched endlessly, Law aura filled the air, and its pressure blanketed heaven and earth for hundreds of millions of miles.
Even now, if not for the Primordial Formation guarding the Primordial Gourd Vine, which blocked and suppressed it, that terrifying and vast Law aura would surely have spread outward and shaken an even broader region.
"Hahaha..." Yuan Yan could not help bursting into laughter, feeling utterly exhilarated.
He had cultivated in seclusion for thirty Epochs, a total of three to four million years—far longer than the entire history of humanity on Earth in his previous life.
He had finally comprehended dozens of laws, including the Yin-Yang Law, Five Elements Law, Chaos Law, Creation Law, Destruction Law, Slaughter Law, Space Law, and Time Law, to perfection, while gaining at least an initial grasp of all Three Thousand Laws.
At last, this had nurtured his Taiyi Golden Immortal Dao Fruit to its limit, allowing him to break through to Taiyi Golden Immortal Perfection.
He had finally met the requirements to take form and enter the world. At last, he could take form, see this world for himself, and no longer remain trapped here alone!
It was only because he had immersed himself in comprehending Laws, while his Primordial Spirit and true spirit were nourished by them in incomparable comfort, that he had nearly lost all sense of time.
Otherwise, if he had lived alone for three or four million years without anyone to speak to, he truly might have gone mad.
With that thought, Yuan Yan willed it and attempted to take form and enter the world.
But suddenly, Yuan Yan's expression changed drastically. "Impossible! How could this happen?"
He had clearly sensed the opportunity to take form and enter the world, yet it was like the moon reflected in water or flowers in a mirror—visible, but impossible to grasp.
It seemed as though something was restricting him. He simply could not follow that opportunity and take form.
"Could my Primordial Inheritance be wrong? Or is the Primordial Gourd Vine half a grade higher than other Supreme-Grade Innate Spiritual Roots, requiring me to cultivate to the Great Firmament realm before I can take form?" Yuan Yan suspected inwardly.
But then Yuan Yan gently shook his head, dismissing the thought.
The moment he considered continuing his cultivation and reaching the Great Firmament realm as quickly as possible before taking form, an ominous premonition arose in his heart. It seemed that if he truly did so, he would never again have a chance to take form.
What kind of being was he? A top-tier Innate Divine at Taiyi Golden Immortal Perfection. Such a feeling would not arise without cause. This was a sudden intuition, a warning from his Dao Heart. It could not be wrong.
"What exactly is going on? I cultivated to Taiyi Golden Immortal Perfection and sensed the opportunity to take form, so why can't I take form and enter the world? And why can't I continue cultivating, reach the Great Firmament Golden Immortal realm, and take form then?"
"Could it be that I am truly destined to nurture the seven Innate Gourds, then wither and perish after the Three Pure Ones and the others pluck them away? Is that why the Heavenly Dao has bound me and prevented me from taking form?"
Thinking of this, Yuan Yan grew incredibly frustrated!
"No, impossible. That should not be the reason. Otherwise, how could I have received the Primordial Inheritance and been bestowed the name Yuan Yan by heaven and earth? Moreover, my spiritual intuition is also telling me that this is not the reason!"
"Then why is it?"
After pondering for a long time, Yuan Yan suddenly had a flash of inspiration and recalled the many Primordial World novels he had read in his previous life.
Some of those novels seemed to mention that Supreme-Grade Innate Spiritual Roots were too powerful and bore the origin of heaven and earth. If they took form from their entire main bodies, they would exceed the limits of heaven and earth, which heaven and earth would not permit. If they wished to take form, they could not do so using their entire main bodies.
For example, Zhunti's main body was the Primordial Gengjin Bodhi Tree, a Supreme-Grade Innate Spiritual Root. He had to sever a portion of his main body before he could take form, and after taking form, he refined the remaining portion into the Dao-bearing supreme treasure, the Seven-Wondrous Treasure Tree.
There were also legends that Zhen Yuanzi's main body was the Ginseng Fruit Tree, and that he had taken form from the first batch of Ginseng Fruits combined with a portion of the Ginseng Fruit Tree's Primordial Origin. Of course, some also said that Zhen Yuanzi had taken form from Primordial Wutu Essence.
"That's right! That must be the reason!" Yuan Yan was immensely excited!
The moment he formed this thought, his Dao Heart trembled, and his sense of the opportunity to take form and enter the world grew even stronger.
"But if that is the case, how should I take form? Should I sever part of the Primordial Gourd Vine's main body and take form from it, or use one Innate Gourd to take form?"
Yuan Yan hesitated inwardly.
But after hesitating only briefly and glancing at the Innate Gourds on his main body, Yuan Yan understood that he had no choice at all.
Over these thirty Epochs, in order to cultivate to Taiyi Golden Immortal Perfection and take form as quickly as possible, and to ensure the quality of his foundation after taking form, he had stopped the Primordial Gourd Vine from sending Primordial Origin to the Innate Gourds.
As for Innate Spiritual Qi and Dao Rhyme Spiritual Essence? He had still given them some, because he could not use so much himself. Other than what he needed, he gave all the remainder to the seven Innate Gourds.
Furthermore, considering that he would need powerful treasures at his side after taking form, and that quality mattered more than quantity, he gave the vast majority of the Innate Spiritual Qi and Dao Rhyme Spiritual Essence to the first Innate Gourd. He also influenced the first Innate Gourd's gestation and evolution, making the Great Dao contained within it compatible with his own.
The Innate Spiritual Qi and Dao Rhyme Spiritual Essence given to the other Innate Gourds could only ensure that their vitality would not be cut off and that they might still grow if given the chance in the future. As for their growth rate? It was practically nonexistent.
But without receiving Primordial Origin, the first Innate Gourd's growth had slowed rather than increased compared to before. The Primordial Origin it contained was now only middling even among High-Grade Innate Spiritual Treasures.
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