Lu Xuan Enters Abbot Island

Leaving aside the great powers of the Primordial World who headed to Kunlun Mountain to congratulate Tongtian, Lu Xuan appeared on an island in the sea.

This island lay hidden within an innate grand formation, forming a world of its own. It had been transformed from a fragment of chaos left behind when Pangu opened the heavens.

Outside the island, currents of chaotic energy surged like walls, cutting off all methods. Phantom images of the stars of the heavens flickered in and out, reversing yin and yang. Even a Primordial Great Luo Golden Immortal would find it difficult to glimpse its entrance without personally entering the place.

Within the island, the sights from when primordial chaos had first separated still remained. Innate spiritual energy was as dense as dew, condensing into crystal beads that hung from the tips of grass and trees. One breath was enough to clear the mind and unblock every meridian.

The island was covered in spiritual ganoderma and jade grass that had all gained sentience, breathing in the essence of the sun and moon. There were also exposed chaotic stones and veins of Innate Geng Metal, all supreme treasures for refining artifacts.

The entire island possessed naturally formed Dao rhythms. It was an unparalleled sacred ground for comprehending the Great Dao, cultivating in seclusion, and avoiding calamities. Calling it one of the finest Blessed Lands and Grotto-Heavens in the Primordial World would not be an exaggeration.

Although Lu Xuan could not yet determine whether this island was one of the Three Overseas Immortal Islands he sought, he already knew that this was no ordinary place.

He immediately closed his eyes slightly and activated his Listening Divine Ability to investigate the entire island. In but a moment, the island's every detail was clear to him.

A smile instantly appeared on Lu Xuan's face. With a flicker of his body, he headed toward the center of the island.

At the island's center lay a pool of incomparably clear water that emitted three-colored radiance. Lu Xuan did not need to ask to know that this was the famed Three Lights Divine Water.

Several White Lotuses bloomed in the middle of the pool. One of them had even reached twelve petals. Beside the water stood a stone stele, upon which the two characters "Abbot" were prominently carved.

"Sure enough, this is Abbot Island, one of the Three Overseas Immortal Islands. From now on, this shall be my, Lu Xuan's, Daoist sanctuary."

Lu Xuan then sat cross-legged beside the stone stele. This stele was not merely an inscribed monument; it was the core of the entire Abbot Island.

So long as he refined this core, all of Abbot Island would belong to Lu Xuan. Even a Sage who wished to seize it would first have to kill him.

Time held no count in the Primordial World. In the blink of an eye, ten thousand years passed. The stone stele before Lu Xuan finally turned into a streak of light and entered his body.

At the same time, Lu Xuan could clearly sense the breathing of Abbot Island itself. Even if every blade of grass and every tree on the island swayed in the wind, he could perceive it clearly so long as he wished to.

The next moment, countless strands of innate spiritual energy surged toward him. The energy gathered into streams that continuously flowed into Lu Xuan's body.

In merely a hundred years, Lu Xuan successfully broke through the Great Luo Golden Immortal barrier and reached the Early Great Luo Golden Immortal realm.

At that moment, an Auspicious Cloud appeared above Lu Xuan's head, and a budding lotus upon it radiated waves of golden light.

So long as Lu Xuan could make the Three Flowers above his head bloom, his cultivation would rise accordingly. When all Three Flowers bloomed, one would reach the Peak Great Luo Golden Immortal realm.

Lu Xuan also clearly understood that the number of petals his Three Flowers could bloom into determined how far he could go in the future.

With a bloom of three petals, one would be forever halted at the Great Luo Golden Immortal realm. With six petals, one might hope to break through to the Peak Primordial Unity Golden Immortal realm, but attaining the Dao of the Primordial Great Luo Golden Immortal would remain utterly impossible.

Only those whose flowers bloomed to nine petals were qualified to contend for Primordial Great Luo Golden Immortal. After all, nine was the ultimate number in the Primordial World. Only by reaching that ultimate could one aspire to the Great Dao.

With a thought, Lu Xuan withdrew the Auspicious Cloud above his head. Then he slowly rose and looked toward the Pool of Three Lights Divine Water before him.

Three Lights Divine Water was a supreme healing medicine in the Primordial World. Even an injured soul could be instantly healed with it.

However, Lu Xuan had no time to study the Three Lights Divine Water right now. After all, to him, it was practically inexhaustible.

Lu Xuan's gaze was now fixed upon the twelve-petal White Lotus at the center of the pool. After all, it was a Supreme-Grade Innate Spirit Treasure.

Legend had it that there was once a Genesis Azure Lotus in chaos. Its flower bloomed with thirty-six petals and gave birth to the great god Pangu. Later, when Pangu opened the heavens, he shattered the Genesis Azure Lotus, scattering its fragments throughout the Primordial World.

Even a single leaf of the Genesis Azure Lotus could transform into a Supreme-Grade Innate Spirit Treasure. This was enough to show how extraordinary the Genesis Azure Lotus was.

The Genesis Azure Lotus had also borne five lotus seeds: azure, black, red, gold, and white. Of these, only the azure lotus seed had truly matured; the other four had fallen just short.

Yet that tiny difference meant that the four great lotus platforms could only bloom to twelve petals. Only the azure lotus bloomed with twenty-four petals, but it was not tolerated by the Heavenly Dao of the Primordial World.

In the end, the Twelfth-Grade Creation Azure Lotus split into three and became the Dao-attaining treasures of the Three Pure Ones. The Twelfth-Grade Merit Golden Lotus was obtained by Hongjun, who later gave it to Daoist Jieyin.

The Twelve-Petal Karma Fire Red Lotus was born in the Netherworld Blood Sea. The Nether River Ancestor gained the advantage of proximity and refined the Twelve-Petal Karma Fire Red Lotus into a spirit treasure in his possession.

As for the Twelfth-Grade World-Destroying Black Lotus, it belonged to the demonic ancestor Luohou. After Luohou fell during the conflict between the Dao and the demonic path, the Twelfth-Grade World-Destroying Black Lotus vanished without a trace.

Among these five great lotus platforms, the most mysterious was the Twelfth-Grade Pure World White Lotus. From beginning to end, it had never appeared in the Primordial World.

Even later, after all Three Overseas Immortal Islands had emerged, no one discovered the Twelfth-Grade Pure World White Lotus on Abbot Island.

Some claimed that the Twelfth-Grade Pure World White Lotus had developed spiritual intelligence and had long since transformed into human form. Others claimed that after it matured, no one plucked it, so it was ultimately absorbed by Abbot Island.

In any case, these were all speculations that had never been truly verified. But none of that mattered to Lu Xuan, because the Twelfth-Grade Pure World White Lotus now belonged to him.

Lu Xuan then stepped forward. His toes lightly touched the lake's surface, carrying him directly before the Twelfth-Grade Pure World White Lotus.

"If you are fated with this humble Daoist, then let this humble Daoist sit upon your lotus platform. From this day forth, we shall roam the Primordial World together. If you are not fated with this humble Daoist, then let this humble Daoist be unable to sit upon the lotus platform."

After speaking, Lu Xuan tapped the water with his toes and leaped into the air, landing steadily atop the Twelfth-Grade Pure World White Lotus.

At the same time, the petals of the Twelfth-Grade Pure World White Lotus slowly began to close, eventually wrapping Lu Xuan within the flower.

Then, the Twelfth-Grade Pure World White Lotus sank into the Pool of Three Lights Divine Water. It remained submerged for a full nine hundred and ninety-nine years.

Nearly a thousand years later, the Twelfth-Grade Pure World White Lotus rose from the Pool of Three Lights Divine Water once more. As its petals bloomed again, Lu Xuan upon the lotus platform floated upward as well.

An Auspicious Cloud appeared above Lu Xuan's head. The Human Flower upon it had begun to sway gently and slowly bloom.

One petal, two petals, three petals...

When it reached six petals, the blooming suddenly stopped. Lu Xuan's heart rose to his throat, for the grade of his flower was tied to his Dao path.

Just as Lu Xuan began to worry, the Human Flower, which had stopped blooming, stirred once more. Then came seven petals, eight petals, and finally nine.

A nine-petal bloom was already the limit of the Primordial World, and Lu Xuan was beside himself with joy. Yet what happened next left him completely stunned.