Primordial Gourd Vine

Primordial World.

Suddenly, one day, the heavens and earth changed color, and trillions of laws resonated and shone.

An ancient, desolate voice rang out from Beyond the Thirty-Three Heavens, piercing myriad worlds and reaching deep into the souls of every living being:

"I am Hongjun. Today, I have attained the Dao. A hundred years from now, I shall expound the Great Dao in the Purple Cloud Palace, deep within Chaos. All living beings of the Three Realms and Six Paths who are fated to attend may come and listen."

As soon as his voice fell, flowers rained from the heavens, and Golden Lotuses Springing from the Earth.

An immense golden light of merit descended, while purple qi surged eastward for three hundred million li, shrouding the entire Primordial World.

The myriad races of the Primordial World all prostrated themselves, knowing that the greatest opportunity in the heavens and earth had arrived.

Yang Xuan listened in a daze, four words slowly emerging in his mind.

Hongjun had joined with the Dao!!

I really did reincarnate into the Primordial World, but why did I become the Primordial Gourd Vine?!

That's right, the very same Primordial Gourd Vine whose gourds were divided among the Sages after Hongjun's second lecture.

Listen to the Dao, listen to the Dao!

Could you at least let me move?!

He lowered his head—or at least, he would have, if a vine had a head.

Seven gourd blossoms of different colors grew along a winding vine.

Most remarkable of all, layers of chaotic qi swirled around each blossom, nurturing seven different divine abilities.

His memories came rushing back like a tide.

In his previous life, he had been an ordinary office worker. During his annual leave, he'd gone for a stroll through an antiques market and casually bought this red-skinned gourd from a stallholder.

The stallholder had claimed it was an antique from the late Qing dynasty. It had cost him eight hundred yuan.

He'd taken the man's word for what it was, but hadn't believed the joke. He'd simply liked the look of it and bought it.

Who could have guessed that, on the day of the car accident, blood would run from his temple and seep into the gourd's markings?

Then a flash of light, and the world spun around him.

When he woke again, he had become a vine on Mount Buzhou.

His consciousness had remained muddled for who knew how long. The sun and moon had risen and fallen countless times. Only today, when Hongjun joined with the Dao and the heavens and earth responded, did the immense power of creation wash over all living beings, break through his confusion, and restore the memories of his previous life.

"I'm doomed!"

Yang Xuan wailed inwardly.

He had been an avid reader of web novels in his previous life and had read plenty of stories set in the Primordial World.

He knew better than anyone what fate awaited the Primordial Gourd Vine.

This spiritual root had been born on Mount Buzhou, formed from Pangu's Spine. Rooted in the backbone of heaven and earth, it had drawn in chaotic qi and innate spiritual energy, nurturing itself for countless kalpas.

One of the Ten Great Innate Spiritual Roots, it had a grand reputation, but the fate of this Gourd Vine was truly unfortunate.

According to the usual course of events in the Primordial World, it would blossom during the first lecture.

At the second lecture, it would bear fruit.

Seven gourds of different colors—red, orange, yellow, green, cyan, blue, and purple—each an Innate Spiritual Treasure.

And that was that.

The seven gourds would be divided among the seven strongest beings of the time, leaving not a single one behind.

The vine itself would fare even worse. Empress Nuwa would take it and refine it into a supreme treasure to mold clay and create humanity.

Later, the vine would become a Human Race treasure, passed from hand to hand until it was known as the Creation-Making Vine. In the end, it was nothing more than a tool.

From beginning to end, it wouldn't even have a name of its own.

It was only known as the Primordial Gourd Vine.

Or the Innate One-Qi Vine.

A dignified innate spiritual root among the Ten Great Innate Spiritual Roots of Chaos, and it didn't even have a proper title.

"I refuse to accept this!"

Yang Xuan seethed with indignation.

At the very least, he was an innate spiritual root of Chaos, rooted on Mount Buzhou and blessed by nature. Why should others pluck his fruit and tear apart his vine?

But then again, what could he do?

Stay planted in the ground and wait until he cultivated himself into something remarkable?

"Ehh—"

His sigh carried three parts helplessness, three parts resentment, four parts bewilderment about the future, and ninety parts empty pie chart.

It was complicated beyond words.

"Ding!"

Just then, a cold, mechanical voice abruptly rang out deep within his consciousness.

"Host consciousness detected. Invitation to the Heavens Chat Group delivered."

"Would you like to join?"

Yang Xuan's eyes widened, and his heart gave a sudden leap.

The Heavens Chat Group had arrived!

The skies had cleared!

The Heavens Chat Group connected myriad worlds, bringing together countless worlds as numerous as the sands of the Ganges, and gathering chosen ones from all walks of life.

In countless novels, the protagonists relied on this cheat to exchange cultivation techniques and resources, turn others' strength to their own advantage, and climb step by step to the peak.

He took a deep breath.

If a vine could breathe, that is.

"Yes!"

Yang Xuan didn't hesitate for a moment.

The mysterious voice rang out in his mind once more:

"Please set a nickname."

Yang Xuan pondered for a moment.

He'd read enough chat-group stories in his previous life to know that the group owner or administrators were usually transmigrators too, familiar with the plots of various worlds.

If he used his real name or revealed his true identity, someone might figure out his background. That would be more trouble than it was worth.

A name came to mind.

"Immortal."

The moment the thought formed, a translucent screen appeared out of thin air before him.

"Immortal" has joined the group!

Xiao Yan: Welcome, newcomer!

Sun Wukong: Welcome, newcomer!

Miss Huang: Welcome, newcomer!

Zhang Sanfeng: Welcome, newcomer!

Yang Xuan didn't respond right away.

He might not have eaten pork, but he'd seen pigs run. With practiced ease, he used his consciousness to open the panel that seemed both real and unreal.

Group functions.

Member list.

Group announcements.

Group files.

There weren't many features. The group was, to put it mildly, rudimentary.

But Yang Xuan was relieved.

The simpler the functions, the newer the group. The earlier he'd joined, the more room he'd have to maneuver.

He glanced at the member list first. Including him, there were six people in total.

The group owner was at the top.

Group owner nickname: Senior-Year Powerhouse.

Yang Xuan narrowed his eyes.

Senior-Year Powerhouse?

A high school senior who cultivated immortality, or a high school senior in a world of martial arts?

Looking at the remaining four names, Yang Xuan's lips curled slightly.

Interesting.

This lineup was a who's who of webnovel protagonists.

However, with different versions of their worlds, the upper and lower limits of their strength could vary enormously.

Yang Xuan opened the group files and quickly read through the publicly available information.

His gaze moved down the member list, pausing over each name.

Xiao Yan—Battle Through the Heavens, the progenitor of the useless-loser-makes-a-comeback trope.

Sun Wukong—the very same Great Sage Equal to Heaven he knew best, though he didn't know which version.

Miss Huang—Huang Rong? The one from The Legend of the Condor Heroes?

Zhang Sanfeng—the founder of Wudang and Grandmaster of Taiji.

Then there was the group owner, whose identity was unclear and whose strength was a mystery.

Yang Xuan furrowed his brow slightly.

This lineup... Honestly, it was too weak.

He was currently at the peak of the Heavenly Immortal realm. In the Primordial World, a Heavenly Immortal was nothing, not even fit to carry a mighty figure's shoes.

But compared to these people, the peak of the Heavenly Immortal realm was heaven itself.

Xiao Yan probably wasn't even a Dou Zhe yet and was still learning alchemy from Yao Lao.

No matter how skilled Huang Rong was in martial arts, she was still just a mortal.

Zhang Sanfeng had lived for over a hundred years and possessed deep internal energy, but he had never transcended the limits of mortals.

As for Sun Wukong... Yang Xuan opened his profile, and his pupils suddenly shrank.

"Dragon Ball Super?"

Yang Xuan's heart skipped a beat.

Sun Wukong from the Dragon Ball world was no joke.

Super Saiyan Five, Six, Seven, Eight, Nine, Ultra Instinct—by the later stages, his punches could shatter universes, and his battle power would explode.

If this Sun Wukong had already reached his later stages, then Yang Xuan, despite being at the peak of the Heavenly Immortal realm, would be nothing but a little brother before him.

But then Yang Xuan thought it over and realized something was off.

If Sun Wukong had already reached that level, there was no way there'd only be these few people in the group.

He opened Sun Wukong's group profile and took another careful look.

The information was simple: Sun Wukong, male, from Earth in Universe 7.

There was no specific battle-power level and no timeline.

"Universe 7..."

Yang Xuan murmured to himself, a guess forming in his mind.

If this was the Dragon Ball Super timeline, then Sun Wukong's starting point really wasn't that high.

In the Dragon Ball world, the peak of the Heavenly Immortal realm would at least put him on par with Frieza on Namek.

At that thought, Yang Xuan felt a little more at ease.

He looked again at the group owner, "Senior-Year Powerhouse." The profile was completely blank, not even listing which world he came from.

Yang Xuan put a big question mark beside this person's name.

But he didn't rush to investigate further.

For now, the most important thing was to establish his authority in the group and gain a voice.

Yang Xuan glanced at the messages on the screen.

Xiao Yan: Welcome, newcomer!

Sun Wukong: Welcome, newcomer! That name, "Immortal," sounds so imposing!

Miss Huang: Newcomer, show us a picture, will you? Let us see what an immortal looks like.

Zhang Sanfeng: Fellow Daoist, with a name like that, you must surely be a true cultivator of the Dao. I am Zhang Sanfeng. A pleasure to meet you.

Yang Xuan pondered for a moment, then slowly typed a line.

Immortal: This thing is quite interesting. It can actually cross myriad worlds and bring people from different times and places together.

Xiao Yan: The big shot has spoken! What a tone! What a presence!

Xiao Yan: Are you really an immortal, big shot? What realm are you in?

Sun Wukong: An immortal? Really? Are you more powerful than King Kai?

Miss Huang: Exactly. Just like the group owner said, we're in different times and spaces, not the same world.

Immortal: The group owner? The wonders of this group lie in its ability to connect myriad worlds and break through the barriers of time and space.

Immortal: As for the realm that my young friend Xiao Yan asked about... I've cultivated for three thousand years, and I've only reached the peak of the Heavenly Immortal realm. It's nothing worth mentioning.

As soon as those words appeared, the group fell silent.