Pangu's Regret, the Lotus Blooms into the Mixed Realm Golden Immortal

The storms over the East Sea had dispersed, and a green rainbow tore through the heavens.

Clad in flowing Daoist robes, Li Changsheng kept his spiritual energy restrained, his aura steady and profound. In the blink of an eye, he crossed endless seas and mountains, returning to the long-missed Zhou Mountain Daoist Sanctuary.

This place had remained tranquil for eternity, its Dao aura vast and boundless. It had fallen silent after the creation of heaven and earth, with only Pangu's remaining supreme will guarding it year-round, suppressing the Primordial World's origin. It was the most stable and unshakable sanctuary in all heaven and earth.

At the center of the sanctuary, Pangu's hazy and majestic phantom stood quietly, unchanged through the ages, overlooking all living beings of the Primordial World.

Sensing Li Changsheng's return, Pangu's phantom slowly turned his gaze, his indifferent eyes sweeping lightly over him.

Noticing that Li Changsheng's foundation had surged and his Dao foundation had become several times more solid, that he had already undergone a complete transformation, Pangu felt a trace of surprise. Yet he said nothing and did not ask about Li Changsheng's experiences in the East Sea.

After countless ages of change, he had long seen through the opportunities of heaven and earth. The fortunes encountered by juniors were simply commonplace in cultivation.

Li Changsheng cupped his hands in salute. His mind calm, he was just about to report the gains from this secret realm.

Then, with a thought, he recalled the one-of-a-kind supreme Chaos spiritual root in his possession. After a brief consideration, he raised his hand and gave it a light wave.

A streak of verdant light flew out from the origin secret realm. A World Tree sapling as tall as a man quietly floated in the air, its branches and leaves trembling softly as wisps of Chaos Dao aura silently spread forth, carrying an innate supreme status between heaven and earth.

The instant this sapling appeared!

Pangu's phantom, which had been as still as an ancient well and unchanged for eternity, suddenly froze!

Those indifferent, boundless eyes locked tightly onto the World Tree sapling. For the first time, ripples of endless turmoil rose within his eternal state of mind.

The Dao aura throughout the Zhou Mountain Daoist Sanctuary instantly came to a halt, and the air became silent to the extreme.

Pangu's phantom remained silent for a long, long time. Then an ancient, desolate sigh slowly echoed between heaven and earth.

"Time and fate..."

Four short words contained the regrets of eternity and concealed the secrets behind the creation of heaven and earth.

Li Changsheng's heart jolted. He stood solemnly and quietly waited for what would follow.

The events of the creation of heaven and earth in the distant past were the Primordial World's greatest secret. Even as the reincarnation of the Primordial Chaos Lotus, he knew very little of those hidden truths.

After a moment, Pangu's weathered voice slowly rose, recounting an ancient past unknown to all.

"Before the creation of heaven and earth, I searched throughout the Chaos universe, desperately seeking a World Tree seed."

"I already knew that the great undertaking of creating heaven and earth defied the heavens and would inevitably suffer the backlash of the Great Dao, bringing boundless tribulations upon me."

"It was said that the World Tree could stabilize heaven and earth, steady the Great Dao, and bear countless worlds. Had I obtained this spiritual root to stabilize the upheaval of creation, I could have safely passed the great calamity of creation, remaining unharmed and undying, enduring within Chaos."

"Sadly, though I traversed every corner of Chaos, I found nothing in the end."

As his words fell, endless regret and loneliness lingered over Mount Zhou.

Li Changsheng's mind shook violently, his thoughts roaring!

He had never imagined that the invincible Pangu of eternity had once possessed an opportunity he could not obtain!

If Pangu had found this World Tree seed countless ages ago and kept it at his side while creating heaven and earth—

With a supreme spiritual root suppressing heaven and earth, stabilizing the Great Dao, resisting the backlash of the Heavenly Dao, and dispelling the calamity of creation—

Pangu would not have exhausted himself unto death, nor would he have transformed into all things!

If Pangu had endured, the entire structure of the Primordial World would surely have been utterly rewritten. There would have been no great Dragon-Phoenix Tribulation, no struggle for supremacy between the shamans and demons, no saints fighting over the Dao. The ages would have been completely different!

At this thought, Li Changsheng was filled with complicated emotions and endless sighs.

Creation was unpredictable, and the Heavenly Dao unfathomable. Sure enough, all things in this world had their destined course.

Suppressing his churning thoughts, Li Changsheng slowly composed himself.

What had happened across the ages was already settled dust. No amount of lamentation held any meaning.

What mattered most now was to thoroughly refine the Creation Demon God's origin that he had obtained this time, realize this opportunity, and advance his own cultivation!

His swift return to Mount Zhou this time had been a deliberate decision.

The Creation Demon God had been one of the foremost among the three thousand Chaos Demon Gods. His foundation was unfathomably deep, and his methods strange and unpredictable.

Even though he had been dead for countless ages, no one could guarantee whether his origin concealed lingering contingencies, hidden curses, or secret soul imprints.

If Li Changsheng rashly refined it within the East Sea secret realm and triggered some strange hidden danger, the consequences would be unimaginable.

But Pangu's supreme will presided here, suppressing all Daos, subduing gods and demons, and exterminating evil!

With Pangu's Dao aura as a safeguard, no matter what mysteries or contingencies the Creation origin concealed, it could not stir up the slightest wave. There was absolutely no room for error!

No longer needing to worry about any danger, Li Changsheng sat cross-legged at the center of the sanctuary.

His mind sank into complete stillness. With a thought, that mass of clear verdant light—the core origin of the Creation Demon God—slowly floated before him.

The origin was warm and weighty, its Dao aura vast. Even after being sealed for countless ages and nourishing the World Tree sapling, its remaining foundation was still boundless, far surpassing the origins of ordinary innate supreme treasures.

Each of the three thousand Chaos Demon Gods controlled an ultimate Great Dao.

The Creation Demon God was the supreme existence who wielded the pinnacle Dao of Creation. He ranked extremely high among the three thousand Demon Gods, with a profound origin and deep Dao foundation, far beyond ferocious beasts and demon gods.

Even this remaining portion of his origin was still a supreme opportunity for Li Changsheng, enough to transform him completely and allow him to cross the shackles of his realm!

Buzz—!

A soft Dao chime rang out, and green light filled the sky.

Li Changsheng hesitated no longer. Guided by his mind, the endless Creation origin transformed into countless streaks of green light and surged into his limbs, meridians, and primordial spirit.

The instant the origin entered his body, massive amounts of obscure, profound, and ancient insights into the Dao of Creation poured madly into his sea of consciousness like a breached river!

Countless truths of the Great Dao from the Chaos era, mysteries of creation, and laws of life and death unfolded layer upon layer in his mind with absolute clarity.

The doubts, bottlenecks in the laws, and cultivation shackles accumulated during his thousand years of Dao comprehension all melted away at this moment!

His comprehension of the laws of Creation was no longer a matter of slow refinement and incremental progress.

Instead, it surged forward by leaps and bounds, rising madly at an unimaginable, terrifying pace!

Outside, Pangu's phantom quietly watched Li Changsheng's transformation.

Deep within those indifferent eyes hid a trace of almost imperceptible relief and expectation.

The will he had left behind in this world was already scarce, and the Dao aura of his remnant body was gradually fading. His remaining time in the Primordial World was running out.

He had devoted everything to arranging the Primordial World and protecting the Green Lotus Dao Body, all to wait for Li Changsheng's growth.

Only when this inheritor of the Primordial Chaos Lotus rose swiftly, grasped the supreme Great Dao, and stabilized heaven and earth could he truly depart in peace.

As the unceasing Creation origin washed over his body, nourished his primordial spirit, and tempered his Dao foundation—

The dormant true body of the Primordial Chaos Lotus within Li Changsheng's dantian finally welcomed an entirely new transformation!

The tightly closed Green Lotus bud, which had never bloomed, rapidly swelled, filled, and unfurled beneath the nourishment of endless Creation origin.

The textures of its petals were tempered layer by layer. Dao patterns flowed across them in radiant splendor, containing the boundless Great Dao of vitality.

Boom!

An invisible roar of Dao aura resounded through his mind.

The Creation Green Lotus, dormant for eternity, finally trembled lightly, slowly unfurling as it bloomed its first green petal!

Utmost pure and boundless power of Creation instantly swept through the entire Zhou Mountain Daoist Sanctuary, filling every corner of heaven and earth.

Endless vitality spread forth, all Daos bowed, and the laws of the heavens trembled.

The Green Lotus bloomed, and the Dao Body transformed!

Li Changsheng's realm of Dao aura also welcomed an ultimate breakthrough!

Twenty percent, thirty percent, forty percent, fifty percent!

In merely a few breaths, the laws of Creation he had painstakingly cultivated for so long crossed several shackles at once, firmly reaching fifty percent mastery of the Great Dao of Creation!

With more than half of the laws perfected, his Dao foundation underwent a complete transformation, and his foundation surged severalfold!

The next moment, the barrier of his realm shattered with a crash!

Rumble—!

An invisible storm of advancement swept around him, and the resonance of the Heavenly Dao rang throughout the Primordial World!

The shackles of Great Luo perfection were completely broken. His cultivation leapt forward, and his foundation ascended!

Mixed Realm Golden Immortal!

Li Changsheng broke through in an instant, firmly stepping into the realm of the Mixed Realm Golden Immortal!

His combat power, physical body, primordial spirit, and foundation in the laws all underwent an ultimate transformation. He had truly entered the ranks of the Primordial World's foremost mighty beings!

Endless power filled his entire body. Every gesture he made carried Mixed Realm Dao aura, enough to suppress a region of heaven and earth!

The surge of power brought by his explosive breakthrough was too vast. Massive amounts of remaining Creation origin continued to pour into his body without end.

Violent energy flooded his meridians and flesh, filling him with an intense sensation of swelling. He had already reached the carrying limit of his current body and Dao foundation.

Li Changsheng remained steady-minded. He forcibly suppressed the urge to continue breaking through and decisively halted the refinement.

One could not swallow more than one could chew; cultivation forbade reckless haste.

His mind was incomparably clear.

This refinement had used less than half of the Creation Demon God's origin.

The greater remaining portion of that incomparably rich supreme origin remained pure and condensed, sealed within his Dao foundation.

Stopping here was not due to a bottleneck, but because he had deliberately preserved this opportunity!

His Dao path had long been decided. He would not follow the mediocre path of the Primordial World's saints, whose Heavenly Dao was fixed and rigid.

The path of sainthood was constrained by the Heavenly Dao, shackled in countless ways, with a fixed upper limit. It was absolutely not the ultimate pursuit of his Primordial Chaos Lotus Dao Body!

Once he stabilized his Mixed Realm Golden Immortal cultivation, tempered his Dao heart, and solidified his foundation, he could draw upon the remaining Creation origin once more and naturally charge toward a higher realm—the Mixed Realm Great Luo Golden Immortal!

At that time, the foundation of his Great Dao would surely transform once more, transcending the shackles of the Heavenly Dao and carving out a supreme Dao path belonging solely to the Primordial Chaos Lotus!

Green light endured within the Zhou Mountain Daoist Sanctuary, and its Dao aura remained unceasing.

Having broken through to the Mixed Realm Golden Immortal, Li Changsheng sat where he was with his eyes closed, consolidating his gains.

Shen Ni would not be able to escape this time!