Illuminating the mind and seeing one's true nature to produce the Dao Fruit

Seeing Li Zhengyuan's heart waver and his struggle deepen, the aura around him grew ever more ethereal and unfathomable. He was like a lone boat upon a vast sea, now tossed helplessly amid raging winds and towering waves, now plunging like a meteor into the abyss beneath the Nine Netherworlds.

Even so, the aura of his realm was already far beyond anything a Half-step Dao Lord could compare to.

That aura possessed the profound unfathomability of a Dao Lord, yet upon closer sensing, there was a subtle difference within it. It was not truly the realm of a Dao Lord.

At that very instant, a shocking change suddenly occurred! His aura abruptly became exquisitely mysterious, beyond words to describe. At the same time, deep within his Primordial Spirit, a slightly azure precious jade slowly emerged.

This jade was profoundly mysterious and wondrous beyond measure, faintly emanating a mysterious power.

Astonishingly, it was the very object Li Zhengyuan had clutched tightly in his hand when he jumped from the building in his previous life.

He had only worn it on his person because his parents had insisted, and over time, it had become a habit.

At the moment he faced death, his heart had been filled with despair and his eyes vacant and lifeless. How could he have noticed whether this jade had undergone any change?

At this moment, the jade gave off a tranquil, dim light and trembled slightly. Faced with this sudden situation, Li Zhengyuan was utterly bewildered, with no idea how to respond.

Originally, he had been bitterly pondering who he was, nearly walking into a dead end. His inner demons were on the verge of eroding him and dragging him into the Ruins of Return. Yet at this critical moment, the jade appeared within his Primordial Spirit without the slightest warning.

The Primordial Spirit was already like a boundless heaven and earth. Now, with the sudden appearance of this jade, that void seemed to gain a supreme sovereign who ruled over all things. It governed everything so completely that not even the smallest ripple could rise.

The Merit above his head naturally floated down, drawn into his Primordial Spirit and tightly wrapping around the azure jade.

It was Merit repairing that jade!

The jade had originally held a faint azure tint, but under Merit's restoration, it gradually became perfect and flawless, wholly resembling an azure jade seal—square and solid, yet lacking any seal inscription. It was an ancient, simple seal.

Li Zhengyuan was startled. He did not even know what this thing was!

Could my transmigration be connected to it? As Li Zhengyuan pondered, he saw the seal slowly draw forth a stretch of time and play it within his mind.

The hazy memories slowly returned. When Li Zhengyuan jumped from the building, he had tightly gripped the jade. For some unknown reason, the jade had been stirred, and the Dao laws within it brought Li Zhengyuan back to the Primordial World. The instant he appeared, it was during the Primordial Heavenly King's creation of heaven and earth. He was vaguely affected by the Great Dao Divine Blade from that opening of heaven and earth, and his entire body suddenly trembled. Along with the azure jade, he appeared in the west of the Primordial World and concealed himself within a mountain. Later, as heaven and earth were opened and the principles of Dao gradually came into being, Li Zhengyuan and the jade remained wholly unconscious, having long since turned into a speck of true spirit to be nurtured underground.

Then the scene shifted abruptly. Li Zhengyuan's true spirit encountered a strand of Earth Suluo True Primordial Qi. The two entwined and circled each other, continuously wrapping together until they formed a great cocoon.

Another shift followed. The cocoon was concealed by the Earthly Dao, and above it, a blessed Cave-Heaven was formed. Several points of spiritual light then flew into it as well. Over countless ages, they continued to evolve. The Ginseng Fruit Tree took root there, while the Earth Book was nurtured beside the cocoon of light.

Later, Li Zhengyuan was born...

The curtain-like passage of time slowly dispersed.

Li Zhengyuan was dumbfounded.

Was there even any need to distinguish them? He had obtained a strand of Qi and, carrying that Qi, transformed into Zhen Yuanzi. No wonder he had been born at this moment. Zhen Yuanzi should originally have been born alongside the Innate Divinities, but now there was a variable—Li Zhengyuan's arrival had accelerated the evolution of the Qi and hastened Zhen Yuanzi's birth.

At the same time, without the accumulation of so many ages, Li Zhengyuan's strength after his birth was naturally not great. How could he possess the formidable mana he would have in later generations?

Now he understood. He had figured it out. What was there left to distinguish? He was Zhen Yuanzi. His Dao heart was clear and bright.

At this moment, the Five Qi within his chest gradually converged. Seizing this moment, Li Zhengyuan silently prayed to the Great Dao.

"Great Dao above, from this day onward, Li Zhengyuan is Zhen Yuanzi, and Zhen Yuanzi is Li Zhengyuan. I am willing to walk the Great Dao and cultivate liberation. Let the Great Dao bear witness." A sudden crash of thunder rang out beneath the clear sky, as though in response.

The Five Qi within his chest instantly merged into one, transforming into a Dao Fruit five hundred and four thousand eight hundred thousand zhang tall—precisely the number of one treasury.

Then countless worlds appeared before his eyes. Zhen Yuanzi understood. The Void Sea had appeared; it was time for him to open a world and entrust his Dao Fruit to it.

He looked once more at the many worlds. Their auras were all different, each representing its own Dao, utterly distinct from the others. As he stepped forward, he discovered that the Void Sea seemed almost joyful, as though it were waiting for him to open a world.

Zhen Yuanzi understood. He took out the Earth Book and flung it forward, casting it straight into the Void Sea. Once the Earth Book entered the Void Sea, it swelled in the wind, expanding from ten zhang to roughly ten thousand li in but an instant. Then it became immeasurably vast and hung suspended in the void.

"Great Dao above, today I wish to open a realm named the Pure Good Void Compassion Earth-Spirit Realm. Let its name be recorded among the heavens. Let it stand within the Void Sea, boundless and endless, beyond law and beyond heaven. Let me be its master, and let it bear my Dao Fruit."