In the Desolate Ancient Era, the world was boundless and vast.
In the distant, wild Western Lands, amidst a receding rumble of thunder, the tribulation clouds in the sky slowly dissipated, scattering a torrential downpour of sweet dew across the land.
Nourished by this rain, a patch of withered green bamboo suddenly regained its vitality. Its branches and leaves grew lush once more, and the entire clump of bamboo stood tall, verdant, and brimming with life.
A flash of green light cut through the air, and a young man stepped out from the bamboo shadows.
He wore a green robe, his hair bound with a green bamboo hairpin. With handsome features and a gentle demeanor, his entire presence felt as refreshing as a mountain breeze, instantly winning people's goodwill.
After tens of thousands of years of bitter cultivation, I have finally condensed the Innate Dao Body.
The young man looked up at the sky, his gaze tinged with a hint of vicissitudes and relief.
His name was Zhu Yin. He was originally a fan of Primordial Wilderness culture from the modern world, spending his days daydreaming about crossing over into the Primordial Wilderness to become an innate mighty figure on par with the Three Pure Ones, or becoming a disciple to a saint, or even just being taken in by the Interception Sect.
Yet he never expected that he would cross over into this most neglected and unwanted part of the Western Lands.
The spiritual Qi here was thin, treasures were scarce, and the cultivation environment was far inferior to the Eastern Lands, falling far behind even the Southern and Northern Lands.
Still, Zhu Yin had a good mindset and quickly accepted reality.
Being able to cultivate longevity is already a boundless blessing. Why must I insist on striving for high positions?
On second thought, although the Western Lands were barren, they had far fewer conflicts and were much safer; the many damaged earth veins made it easier to accumulate merit; and the scarcity of spiritual treasures allowed him to hone his artifact-forging skills.
From another perspective, opportunities were everywhere.
More importantly, his background was not bad either... His true form was an Innate Spirit Root named the "Netherworld Bamboo".
Innate Spirit Roots were extremely rare, and those that successfully underwent the transformation stage were even rarer than phoenix feathers and unicorn horns. Reaching the Golden Immortal tier right at birth meant he had already started with a very fortunate beginning.
Though not top-tier, compared to most cultivators, he had already won at the starting line.
After absorbing the sweet dew, Zhu Yin returned to the place of his cultivation... Spirit Platform Mountain.
This mountain was his dwelling place, and he had practiced in quiet seclusion here for tens of thousands of years.
The mountain was covered in dense forests of green bamboo. When the wind blew, it rippled like jade waves, accompanied by the murmuring of stream water and a refreshing fragrance that invigorated the spirit.
Spirit roots like the Netherworld Bamboo inherently possessed the ability to purify earth veins and gather spiritual Qi. Alongside his cultivation, he never forgot to repair the mountain's earth veins bit by bit, making the spiritual Qi of Spirit Platform Mountain grow denser and denser by the day.
Although on the scale of the entire Primordial Wilderness this was merely an ordinary spiritual mountain, within the Western Lands it was already a rare and precious sanctuary.
Deep within the mountain, a spiritual spring flowed out from a crack in the rock, wreathed in clouds and mist, brimming with rich spiritual Qi.
This spiritual spring was the Netherworld Spring that had been born alongside the Netherworld Bamboo. It could calm the mind, stabilize the spirit, and defend against outer demons, serving as an important reliance for Zhu Yin's cultivation.
With a wave of his sleeve, Zhu Yin cast a spell to cut down a few bamboo stalks, building a three-story pavilion around the spiritual spring, complete with an artifact forging pavilion, an alchemy pavilion, a spirit medicine garden, and a quiet room—everything was fully equipped.
He stepped into the quiet room and began closed-door meditation to comprehend the profound principles of cultivation beyond the Golden Immortal stage.
Time flowed like water.
Several hundred years passed, and Zhu Yin emerged from seclusion.
Not only had he thoroughly consolidated his Golden Immortal realm, but his primordial spirit was also clearer, his physical body tougher, his magical power deeper, and his divine abilities had multiplied several times over compared to before.
He never proactively sought out conflict, but he understood that in a place like the Primordial Wilderness, without strength, one lacked the qualification to survive.
As a spirit root, his true form was already incomparably sturdy, and after crossing over, he cultivated both internally and externally. Although he had not yet truly fought against cultivators of the same rank, he was confident he was second to no one.
Even so, he had no intention of seeking anyone out to vie for supremacy, as that would only invite trouble.
He preferred peace and quiet, keeping away from karma. Even if he could not surpass others, he would live a stable life.
On this day, he sat in the courtyard sipping bamboo-leaf tea brewed with spiritual spring water, gazing at the scenery of the mountain, peace filling his heart.
A moment later, he stepped out of his room, crossing a hundred zhang in a single stride, and began patrolling the mountain.
Spirit Platform Mountain was his territory, and having repaired the earth veins for many years, he was long since intimately familiar with all the various medicinal herbs and spiritual materials on the mountain.
He did not pick the common ten-thousand-year medicinal herbs, letting them grow naturally. The purpose of his trip this time was to transplant some rare spiritual flora.
He found rare spiritual treasures in the mountain, such as the Nine-Leaf Purple Zhi, Five-Colored Snow Lotus, Jade Stone Flower, Ten-Thousand-Year Kongqing, and Exquisite Xuanshen.
Among them were also two Low-Grade Acquired Spiritual Roots: the Bane-Evil Bamboo and the Spirit-Calming Tree, both of which had developed their own sentience due to being tainted by his spiritual Qi for tens of thousands of years, possessing the abilities of purification and mind-concentration.
The greatest strength of these spirit roots was their ability to gather the spiritual Qi of the earth veins, which was immensely helpful for cultivation.
He transplanted these treasures into the spirit medicine garden, planting them one by one, casting spells to enrich the soil and water them, busy and thoroughly enjoying himself.
Gazing at the vibrant life in the medicine garden, his mood lifted, and he felt as though even his cultivation had advanced a fraction along with it.
Primordial cultivation was divided into six realms:
Heavenly Immortal, True Immortal, Mysterious Immortal, Golden Immortal, Taiyi Golden Immortal, and Great Principle Golden Immortal.
Each realm held a different understanding of the Dao...
Heavenly Immortal: First acquaintance with the Dao, laying the foundation of the Dao.
True Immortal: Stepping into the threshold of the Great Dao, condensing celebration clouds.
Mysterious Immortal: Gaining a deeper understanding of the Great Dao, condensing the floral canopy.
Golden Immortal: Attaining the Dao fruit, cultivation reaching great completion.
As for Grand Unity and Great Principle, he had not yet touched upon them.
As a Netherworld Bamboo, his inheritance could at most reach the Golden Immortal realm, and Zhu Yin walked the "Vitality Great Dao".
This was a Great Dao that fused vegetation and the earth, representing the reproduction of life and the nurturing of the earth.
Vegetation symbolized growth and could purify water and soil; the earth embraced all things and nurtured everything. When vegetation flourished, it purified the earth, and after withering, it fed back into the soil, endless and ceaseless.
What Zhu Yin liked most was this natural cycle, the feeling of surging life force.
His cultivation was not secluded bitter contemplation, but rather farming, observing vegetation to comprehend the Purity Dao.
The Vitality Great Dao was different from the Creation Great Dao...
Creation was creating out of nothing, going from non-existence to existence.
Vitality, on the other hand, was allowing existing life to continue and cycle; it was the natural Dao of going with the flow.
When the Spirit Medicine Garden was properly arranged, he rested for a few days, then pinched hand seals and vanished deep into the mountains, continuing to repair the ley lines.
Vitality Divine Light flowed within his palms, slowly purifying the foul places and reconnecting the shattered ley lines.
This not only accumulated Merit, but also helped him comprehend the Great Dao.
And this was precisely the unique cultivation method he had created as a spiritual root.
In addition, he also concurrently practiced the Purity Dao, making his state of mind increasingly peaceful and clear.
A millennium later, he had just finished repairing a section of ley lines and was about to return to the mountain when he unexpectedly encountered a mysterious Daoist deep within the ley lines...
On a high peak not far outside Spirit Platform Mountain, a beam of azure light burst through the soil, and Zhu Yin flew out from deep within the ley lines, landing on the mountain peak.
Looking at the mysterious Daoist before him, whose aura was unfathomable and who wore coarse linen robes, turmoil churned within his heart, yet he maintained a calm expression on his surface, cupping his hands in salute.
"Junior Zhu Yin greets senior."
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