Turtle Spirit Holy Mother? Wind-Thunder Immortal Apricot

Karmic Power entwined them, eventually turning into Karmic Fire that burned their bodies and became a bloodline curse, passed down through generation after generation.

The bodies of their clansmen shrank with every generation, their fleshly forms continually degenerating, their cultivation plummeting alongside it.

In the end,

one portion of the clan retreated to the frigid lands of the North Sea, barely clinging to life;

the other migrated to Mount Buzhou, hoping to use the primal pressure of Pangu's spine to break the Karmic Fire curse, yet they ultimately could not reverse their decline.

Now that the Twelve Ancestral Witches had already emerged, the Dragon Bo Giants of Mount Buzhou had likely long since been subdued by them and become their vassals.

"So there was such a hidden history in the Primordial World. If not for my husband's wide network of good ties and vast knowledge, my sister and I would never have learned of it." Upon hearing this, Xihe sighed in sudden realization, her cool eyes filled with admiration.

"It was merely a fortunate coincidence. I only know a little." Lingxiao's fingers still rested upon the giant egg.

Under the perception of his divine sense, the egg brimmed with life, and its Golden Ao bloodline was perfectly complete. If he was not mistaken, it was likely Turtle Spirit Holy Mother, the future disciple beneath Tongtian Cult Master of the Interception Sect.

"Return Ruins originally possessed an entrance connected to the Primordial World. However, after the two immortal mountains of Daiyu and Yuanjiao lost their support and fell into the Bottomless Valley of Return Ruins, the spatial turbulence that erupted, the lingering breath of Chaos, and the boundless resentment of immortal sages completely obscured the heavenly secrets and karmic threads, sealing off the coordinates of time and space. Even the remaining three immortal isles of Penglai, Fangzhang, and Yingzhou vanished without a trace."

"To this day, not a single Great Supernatural Being in the Primordial World can discern the exact location of the Three Immortal Isles."

"Since fellow Daoists Eastern King Lord and Kunpeng were able to find this Golden Ao egg in the Eastern Sea, their destined opportunity must have arrived. They are likely not far from seeing through the innate restrictions of the Three Immortal Isles and finding this overseas immortal sanctuary."

Lingxiao paused before adding,

Speaking of which, ever since the Five Immortal Isles concealed themselves, no Innate Sacred Being had been able to find their traces again.

Nourished by innate spiritual essence through countless Yuanhui, the Spiritual Roots and Immortal Flowers upon those islands had likely reached the time to emerge into the world;

even if those immortal sages who had hidden away from calamity had perished, all the accumulation of their Dao lineages would have remained upon the islands.

Moreover, it was said that ancient mighty figures from the age of the Ferocious Beast Tribulation, such as Five Elements Ancestor and Yin-Yang Ancestor, had once traveled to the Five Immortal Isles to seek enlightenment.

Yet the layout of the immortal isles had now changed drastically. They had long been locked behind endless layers of spacetime interstices and innate restrictions, making them impossible for ordinary Great Supernatural Beings to locate.

Only Eastern King Lord, blessed with profound fortune, possessed this sliver of opportunity.

—In the original timeline, these Three Immortal Isles had been the very foundation upon which he later established the Immortal Court.

"The Three Immortal Isles are among the foremost blessed grotto-heavens in the Primordial World. Husband, should we go and join the excitement as well?" Changxi's eyes lit up. Tugging lightly at Lingxiao's arm, she gazed at him with expectant almond eyes.

Lingxiao smiled and shook his head. He withdrew the mana he had poured into the giant egg, his fingertips brushing over the Dao patterns on its shell. "Opportunities are ordained by Heaven; there is no need to force them. This spirit egg, however, has a deep connection to our Dao of sun, moon, and stars. Let us first nourish it with the origins of the Sun Star and Lunar Yin. It will have its own destined affinity in the future."

With a tap of his finger, the ten-thousand-zhang golden egg transformed into a streak of light, pierced through the void, and flew toward the Moon Palace on the Lunar Star. It finally settled securely upon the main branch of the Moon Osmanthus Tree, nourished day and night by Lunar Moonlight.

Afterward, Lingxiao and the two women took stock of the remaining wedding gifts. Ginseng Fruit, Wind-Thunder Immortal Apricots, Dongting Biluochun, and other innate treasures were laid out one by one within the hall.

There was no need to say much about Ginseng Fruit. It became renowned in later generations for extending one's lifespan by forty-seven thousand years, but in truth, it could also improve cultivation and cleanse one's foundation—though its effects naturally had a limit.

Otherwise, with Zhen Yuanzi possessing the ancestor of Wu Earth Spiritual Roots and harvesting crop after crop of Ginseng Fruit, would he not have long since attained the Dao of Primordial Unity and become invincible in the Primordial World?

By now, Ginseng Fruit's greatest use to Zhen Yuanzi was only the status of being the ancestor of innate Wu Earth Spiritual Roots, along with its modest aid in comprehending the Great Dao of Wu Earth.

"These Wind-Thunder Immortal Apricots ripen once every three thousand years and rank last among the Primordial World's ten great Innate Spiritual Roots. Though they cannot compare to supreme Spiritual Roots such as the Fusang Tree, Moon Osmanthus Tree, and Ginseng Fruit Tree, their effects take an entirely different path. They excel most at returning one to the innate."

Lingxiao took out the nine hundred and ninety-nine pairs of Wind-Thunder Immortal Apricots gifted by the Three Pure Ones and supported them with mana, leaving them floating within the hall.

The two women looked closely. The fruits were vermilion red and round as pearls, with natural Dao patterns forming the characters for "wind" and "thunder" upon their skins. Their strange fragrance rushed into the nose and pierced deep into the liver and gallbladder. Merely catching a whiff made one's soul clear and one's body light.

"Returning one to the innate? Husband, what do you mean by that?" Xihe asked gently, her eyes full of curiosity.

"Oh? This fruit feels all tingly and numb to the touch. How curious." Changxi stretched out a fingertip and lightly touched an immortal apricot, tilting her head with a smile.

Lingxiao smiled faintly and slowly explained its mysteries. "The effects of these apricots vary according to the cultivation of whoever consumes them, granting each their own fortune. They are supreme treasures coveted in dreams by cultivators of the wind and thunder Daos throughout the Primordial World."

"So-called returning to the innate means remolding the body and exchanging the bones—if a Postcelestial Lifeform consumes one, its marrow and meridians will be cleansed, its mortal body shed, and it will become an immortal in a single step, returning to the innate and awakening a Wind-Thunder Immortal Body. A thousand years of cultivation will be gained in an instant, with an incomparably stable foundation."

"If one consumes a pair of immortal apricots, one can directly awaken Primordial Wind-Thunder Twin Wings. Spread, they span a thousand li; with a single flap, they draw down the wind and thunder of the Ninth Heaven. Their speed surpasses all others in the Primordial World, second only to sacred avians renowned for speed, such as Azure Luan and Kunpeng."

At this point, Lingxiao's voice paused slightly.

During the later Apotheosis Calamity, Yun Zhongzi gave two immortal apricots to Lei Zhenzi, the hundredth son of King Wen of Zhou. After consuming them, Lei Zhenzi stood one zhang and two chi tall, with an indigo face, cinnabar-like hair, and a pair of wind-thunder wings growing from his ribs. He ultimately became a renowned vanguard general of the Interpretation Sect and West Qi.

Yet returning one to the innate was merely the most insignificant benefit of the immortal apricots.

Their true wonder lay in helping cultivators condense Dao Seeds and break through realms without obstruction—

Golden Immortal Realm and Primordial Unity Golden Immortals who consumed them could directly condense a Wind-Thunder Dao Seed in their Niwan Palace, suddenly comprehend the Primordial Wind-Thunder Laws, and see their physical strength soar, easily breaking through cultivation bottlenecks;

they could even aid the Three Flowers Gathering at the Crown. Once cultivation reached perfection, the Dao Seed would sprout and transform into the three flowers of essence, energy, and spirit, sparing one countless years of arduous cultivation and accumulation. Below the Zenith Heaven Golden Immortal Realm, there would no longer be any obstacles upon the Dao path.

"Ah, so the effects of these Wind-Thunder Immortal Apricots are rather similar to Stellar Fruit, then." Changxi stuck out her tender pink tongue and spoke in a sweet voice.

"During the wedding, we did not hear of any fellow Daoist having children. Otherwise, we could have given away one or two." Xihe said softly as well.

In truth, Postcelestial Lifeforms were still rare in this era.

Even newborns of the Dragon, Phoenix, and Qilin Clans inherited the legacy of their forebears. From the moment they were born, they stood above the Immortal Realm, so they could not be considered true Postcelestial Lifeforms.

Lingxiao nodded slightly at her words without refuting them.

Though their effects resembled Stellar Fruit, each crop of Wind-Thunder Immortal Apricots was less numerous. They ripened more quickly, however; in one Yuanhui, more than forty pairs could be harvested. They were supreme treasures for developing a faction and nurturing disciples and sect members.

But to supreme Innate Sacred Beings such as Lingxiao and the others, whose flowers had bloomed to the eighth and ninth grades, they were as tasteless as chicken ribs.

To abandon their supreme sun and Lunar Yin foundations and replace them with the so-called Wind-Thunder Immortal Body was simply to discard the root and chase the branches;

moreover, given the tyrannical origins of the Great Sun Golden Crow and Lunar Jade Rabbit, there was absolutely no possibility that their foundations could be replaced by mere Wind-Thunder Immortal Apricots.

Even if they consumed them, they would only cause their Yin-Yang foundations to be tainted with wind-thunder essence and become muddled. At their present stage of cultivation, it would bring harm without benefit.

With this in mind, Lingxiao stored all the Wind-Thunder Immortal Apricots within his sleeve, planning to decide their use later.

Perhaps after the starry sky inside the gourd had been perfected, he could gradually establish the framework of a world—one with land, oceans, and a starry sky.

At that time, these Wind-Thunder Immortal Apricots could serve as the source and core of a world's wind-thunder laws...

His gaze then fell upon the sole complete high-grade Innate Spiritual Root—the Dongting Biluochun.

The tree stood no more than a zhang tall. Its branches twisted like snails, its whole body glistening like jade. Its tender green leaves curled like spring snails entering water, while a tranquil and pure Dao charm lingered around it, untouched by the slightest trace of mortal filth.

Born from the essence of innate water and wood, it grew from the water-eye of Dongting Lake in the Eastern Land. It was best at calming the heart, steadying the spirit, and awakening intelligence. Even a Zenith Heaven Golden Immortal who drank its tea could greatly enhance their enlightenment, glimpsing a sliver of heavenly secrets at a bottleneck.

Lingxiao casually pinched a small handful of tender buds and transformed innate leaves from the Fusang Divine Tree into tea utensils, placing the leaves within.

Xihe raised her delicate hand and condensed the essence of Lunar Moonlight into a pool of cold, sweet Lunar Divine Water, which she poured into the teacups;

Lingxiao then drew forth a wisp of Solar True Fire with his fingertip, warming the cups from below over a gentle flame.

Within moments, the crisp fragrance of tea filled the entire Lingxiao Palace, refreshing heart and spirit. Even the Dao charm circulating around their bodies seemed to become several degrees clearer.

Once the tea was ready, it was divided into three cups. The husband and his two wives each held a cup and slowly drank.