The East Sea stretched without end, its breadth beyond measure. Deep within it, a lonely little island drifted, radiating holy light. Yin and yang swirled through the air, innate spiritual essences gathered ceaselessly, and lush spiritual plants filled the island with boundless wonders of creation.
At the center of this blessed, innate land, a blooming white lotus was gently swaying.
As it swayed, the boundless baleful energy between heaven and earth seemed to be cleansed, turning directly into the purest innate spiritual energy.
"Where is this?"
"How did I end up here?"
"The Twelfth-Grade Pure World White Lotus? Could I have come to the Primordial World?"
After countless millennia, a faint consciousness stirred in the vast chaos. It instinctively struggled, hoping for a response, but all that answered it was the instinctive sway of its petals.
As time passed, that faint awareness grew stronger, and at last it understood who it was.
It had transmigrated—and become a white lotus.
But this white lotus was rather extraordinary. It was the legendary Top-Grade Innate Spiritual Treasure, the Purifying World White Lotus.
Its origins were among the very finest. It was no exaggeration to say it stood above the entire Primordial World. In one sense, it was even related to Pangu; calling it Great God Pangu's brother would not be far off, since they had both come from the Primordial Chaos Green Lotus.
Long ago, in the formless chaos, before any living beings had emerged, heaven and earth were one. And in that chaotic realm grew a Primordial Chaos Green Lotus.
The Primordial Chaos Green Lotus had thirty-six petals, and within it were nurtured Great God Pangu and five innate lotus seeds.
One of those five seeds was now him. Tracing their origins back, he and Great God Pangu had both come from the Primordial Chaos Green Lotus. Calling them brothers was no exaggeration.
Such origins filled him with both shock and delight. The delight came from knowing that, once he took human form, he could hardly remain obscure. Even without the Primordial Purple Qi, he might still cultivate to the Quasi-Sage level—and perhaps even reach the heights of Zhen Yuanzi or Styx.
But the Top-Grade Innate Spiritual Treasure would have an extremely difficult and perilous time transforming. The slightest misstep could leave him utterly destroyed, his True Spirit wiped out forever.
Yet now that he had come to the Primordial World, he knew all too well that if he never transformed and remained a Twelfth-Grade Pure World White Lotus, disaster would inevitably find him sooner or later.
How precious was a Top-Grade Innate Spiritual Treasure? Even a Sage could hardly be unmoved by one.
The Western Sect, a great sect with two Sage Lords, might not even possess five Top-Grade Innate Spiritual Treasures.
In a world where failing to fight for yourself meant being refined—or even having your True Spirit erased—he had to make plans for his own future, no matter what.
From this moment on, his past was gone. He was Jing Chu of the Primordial World!
As the thought flashed through his True Spirit, it was as though heaven and earth themselves had sensed it. A crash of Purple Cloud Divine Thunder rang out, and a boundless torrent of inherited memories poured into Jing Chu's mind.
The instant he began to comprehend those endless inherited memories, Jing Chu fell completely into a state of sudden enlightenment.
Boundless spiritual energy and baleful energy seemed to be drawn toward him, surging closer without cease. He absorbed, transformed, and refined them into his body, where they became nourishment for his cultivation.
He did not know whether a thousand years, ten thousand years, or even a hundred thousand had passed before Jing Chu finally awoke from his trance, still dazed and intoxicated by his revelation.
By the time he had fully awakened, he had completely absorbed his inherited memories. This also meant the Primordial World had fully acknowledged his identity.
He was now a legitimate native of the Primordial World—not some stinking outsider who'd come begging for scraps.
With the inherited memories absorbed, he now had some idea of how to transform.
All that remained was to keep comprehending his origin and strive to transform after countless eras.
Although he had found a path to transformation, the danger had not passed. As long as he remained untransformed and had yet to cultivate a Primordial Dao Body, someone could discover him at any time and refine him into the magical treasure beneath their backside.
As Jing Chu began comprehending his origin once more, boundless spiritual energy surged across the Primordial World for billions of miles. Like a whale swallowing the ocean, he drew it ceaselessly into himself.
At the center of the island that nurtured Jing Chu lay a lake. In the middle of the lake was a kind of divine water known throughout the Primordial World, called the Three Lights.
The Three Lights Divine Water was composed of three kinds: Sunlight, Moonlight, and Starlight Divine Water. Each one, taken alone, was a violently poisonous liquid.
Sunlight Divine Water wore away blood, flesh, and bone.
Moonlight Divine Water corroded the primordial spirit and soul.
Starlight Divine Water devoured the True Spirit and consciousness.
But when the three kinds of water were combined, they became a peerless medicine for healing. They could even nourish one's origin and spiritual roots, and greatly aid one's cultivation.
As Jing Chu continued comprehending his origin, drops of Three Lights Divine Water steadily fell onto the white petals of his true form.
Pure and holy, he radiated immaculate sanctity from within.
In the Primordial World, time had never been worth much. No one knew how long had passed. Perhaps it was one era, perhaps ten, or perhaps even more.
Then a vast, boundless voice rang out from the sky, and Jing Chu awoke from his contemplation of his origin.
That grand, sacred voice also told him what era he was living in.
"I am Hongjun."
"Today, I attain Sainthood!"
"Seeing that cultivation is difficult for all living beings, and the Great Dao hard to pursue,"
"in ten thousand years, I shall expound the Great Dao at Purple Cloud Palace in the chaos. All who are fated may come and listen."
The Dragon-Han Tribulation. Hongjun had attained godhood. So this was an era before the great sects had appeared.
He had to hurry up and transform. After Dao Ancestor Hongjun attained Sainthood, the strong in the Primordial World would multiply after his three lectures.
In the coming Witch-Demon Calamity, Taiyi would be common as dogs and Great Luo would roam everywhere. Only Quasi-Sages would be strong enough to protect themselves.
And when the Witch-Demon War began, heaven and earth themselves would become the battlefield of the two races. If he remained untransformed, danger would draw ever closer.
It was settled. He had to transform before the Witch-Demon Calamity arrived, and he had to join one of the Three Teachings to gain a Sage's protection.
Come to think of it, the Primordial World was a place where connections mattered.
With backing, you could act without restraint. Even amid a calamity, a Sage Lord could step in and protect you.
Without backing, all you could do was leave it to fate.
As a Top-Grade Innate Spiritual Treasure with a tiny bit of pedigree, still not yet transformed, he had to find a senior expert to protect him. After all, if he got too reckless, he would sooner or later perish in this boundless Primordial World.
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