"May I ask who you are, Senior?" Yuan Ming cupped his hands, remaining vigilant.
The remnant soul sighed, its voice carrying endless vicissitudes. "This poor Daoist... is Red Cloud."
Redcloud Ancestor!
Yuan Ming's heart shook violently.
"Senior Red Cloud, then."
Yuan Ming's expression turned solemn. This was a figure of the same generation as the Three Pure Ones and Nuwa.
Red Cloud's remnant soul continued, a trace of pleading in his tone. "Young friend possesses the Human Race Fortune, with a solid foundation and no small measure of good fortune. This poor Daoist has a request..."
He earnestly asked Yuan Ming to deliver this wisp of his remnant soul to Five Villages Temple on Longevity Mountain in the Western Ox Continent.
He frankly admitted that Zhen Yuanzi, master of Five Villages Temple, was his only close friend—one who could be called his Dao companion.
"Zhenyuan the Great is the Ancestor of Earth Immortals, possessing vast divine abilities. Only he... may be able to protect this last wisp of my origin from perishing."
Yuan Ming's heart tightened at once.
Zhen Yuanzi!
Another great power from the same era as the Three Pure Ones, holding the Primordial Spiritual Roots known as the Ginseng Fruit Tree and possessing unfathomable cultivation—at the very least, a being in the Quasi-Sage Realm.
He had not wanted to involve himself in the karmic chess game of these top-tier powers of the Primordial World so soon.
He was merely a True Immortal now. In the eyes of those great powers who could command laws and create worlds at will, how was he any different from an ant?
Recklessly becoming entangled in the grudges between Red Cloud, Kunpeng, Minghe, and the others was no different from inviting disaster upon himself.
What he needed most right now was to develop quietly and accumulate strength.
Seeing the hesitation on Yuan Ming's face, Red Cloud understood his concerns.
In his state as a remnant soul, he did not have much time left. He had to seize this final hope.
A flash of red light appeared, and a gourd roughly a foot tall materialized before the remnant soul. It was dark crimson throughout, its surface covered in flowing, profound cloud patterns.
"Young friend, this is my former Dharma treasure, the Nine-Nine Soul-Scattering Gourd."
A trace of reminiscence and resolve entered Red Cloud's voice. "If you can fulfill my long-cherished wish, deliver this remnant soul to Five Villages Temple, and hand it to fellow Daoist Zhen Yuanzi... then this Dharma treasure shall be yours."
The Nine-Nine Soul-Scattering Gourd!
Yuan Ming's pupils suddenly contracted, and even his breathing stalled.
This was the renowned Supreme Primordial Spiritual Treasure!
Born from the Buzhou Immortal Vine, it contained boundless Soul-Dispersing Red Sand. Once activated, the red sand would fill the heavens and blanket the earth, specializing in injuring cultivators' primordial spirits and souls. It was incomparably vicious.
Legend had it that even Great Golden Immortals, if they lacked a top-tier protective treasure and were touched by this red sand, would suffer the scattering of their souls and the destruction of their bodies and Dao. Its terror was unparalleled.
The value of a Supreme Primordial Spiritual Treasure was enough to drive any great power mad!
Not only could it greatly enhance one's combat power, but it also concerned one's comprehension of the Great Dao.
If he could obtain this treasure...
Yuan Ming's heart began pounding uncontrollably.
His earlier concerns began to seem pale and powerless before the words "Nine-Nine Soul-Scattering Gourd."
If the Nine-Nine Soul-Scattering Gourd was the reward, then Yuan Ming truly had to weigh the matter carefully.
This might be the crucial bargaining chip for him to establish himself in the Primordial World and contend with the great powers of all heavens in the future!
He took a deep breath, suppressing the excitement in his heart, and honestly told Red Cloud's remnant soul, "Senior Red Cloud, it is not that this junior wishes to refuse. It is only that I have an urgent matter to attend to and must first travel to the ancestral land by the Shore of the East Sea."
Rather than being disappointed, Red Cloud's remnant soul seemed to breathe a sigh of relief, his tone becoming calm.
"No matter. The Shore of the East Sea... that is where fellow Daoist Nuwa created the Human Race, yes? I can temporarily reside within the Nine-Nine Soul-Scattering Gourd and travel east with you. Once your business is done, we can head west to Longevity Mountain."
As soon as he spoke, the dark crimson gourd transformed into a streak of light and lightly fell into Yuan Ming's arms. It felt warm and smooth to the touch, yet he could faintly sense the destructive energy contained within.
Immediately afterward, Red Cloud's weak remnant soul turned into a wisp of red smoke and entered the gourd.
"Young friend, please relax your mind. I shall help you initially refine the first restriction of this gourd. That way, you will be able to use it to some extent and gain another means of protection."
Yuan Ming complied and sat down cross-legged.
A weak yet incomparably pure power of the soul, carrying ancient Dao rhythms, flowed from the gourd. It guided his mana and divine sense as they cautiously entered the gourd's immensely intricate Innate restrictions.
After an unknown amount of time, Yuan Ming sensed a subtle connection forming between his divine sense and the Nine-Nine Soul-Scattering Gourd.
Though he was still far from fully controlling it, he could already faintly sense and draw upon a trace of the Soul-Dispersing Red Sand within the gourd.
Once the initial refinement was complete, Yuan Ming solemnly tied the Nine-Nine Soul-Scattering Gourd to his waist.
He gave a slight bow toward the Red Maple Tree, then transformed into a streak of light and shot out of Red Maple Valley, continuing eastward toward the ancestral land in his memories.
One man and one soul journeyed through the mountains and rivers of the Primordial World.
Though only a remnant soul remained of Red Cloud, his knowledge and experience were as vast as a sea of mist.
Seeing that Yuan Ming possessed a solid foundation and extraordinary comprehension, he often discussed the Dao with him through divine sense whenever Yuan Ming rested.
"Young friend, this Formless Scripture is truly wondrous. It uses the body itself as the seed, seeking nothing outside oneself. Yet after the first layer reaches perfection, though the Divine Bridge has been erected, the Other Shore remains unreached. It still requires steady effort over time..."
Red Cloud's guidance often struck directly at the heart of the matter, making Yuan Ming's understanding of his own Dao path increasingly clear.
What was even more astonishing was that along the way, Yuan Ming seemed to be favored by the Heavenly Dao.
When passing through a secluded valley, he happened upon a Pure Heart Glazed Fruit capable of tempering the soul; when crossing a mountain stream, he discovered Stellar Cold Iron that could be forged into an immortal sword.
Sometimes, merely stopping at random to rest would allow him to find a ten-thousand-year spiritual herb growing from the cracks between stones.
Even the well-traveled Red Cloud clicked his tongue in amazement at such heaven-defying fortune. "This old man traveled the Primordial World for ten thousand years, yet I have never seen an Innate Being with fortune as profound as yours, young friend. Your luck rivals that of us Primordial Divine Saints."
"It seems the Heavenly Dao has not treated the Human Race poorly, and you are the one destined to bear the Human Race Fortune!"
Yuan Ming merely smiled faintly at this.
He knew perfectly well that this was both the effect of his [Great Fortune] Entry and the result of traveling alongside the remnant soul of Red Cloud, the greatest good man in the Primordial World. This senior had accumulated immense merit and virtue in life; even after death, his remnant soul could influence the flow of fortune around him.
Under Red Cloud's careful guidance and through his own unceasing cultivation, Yuan Ming finally cultivated the first layer of the Formless Scripture to perfection.
At this moment, the Physical Bitter Sea within his dantian below the navel was as vast as a starry firmament, while the Life Spring at its center gushed with crimson-golden vitality.
A dazzling Divine Bridge spanning the Sea of Suffering had fully solidified. Dao patterns densely covered its surface, pointing directly toward the hazy and unknown Other Shore.
He could feel that the strength of his body and the purity of his mana had already far surpassed those of an ordinary peak True Immortal, enough to contend with a late-stage Golden Immortal.
However, the second layer of the Formless Scripture remained shrouded in fog.
"Senior, I fear the subsequent deductions of the Formless Scripture must wait until I break through to the Golden Immortal realm and gain a deeper understanding of the Great Dao before they can continue."
"Good!" Red Cloud praised. "Only with a firm foundation can one build a towering structure. Your current accumulation is already sufficient to challenge the Golden Immortal realm. You merely lack an opportunity."
Yuan Ming nodded and cast his gaze toward the eastern horizon.
He vaguely sensed that the opportunity might lie somewhere in the east, not far away.
Before you continue