"Congratulations on your return, Master!"
The boy attendants beamed with joy, while White Tiger acted especially spoiled, rubbing himself desperately against Zhu Yin.
Zhu Yin stroked White Tiger's head and was pleased to find that his cultivation had reached the early Mysterious Immortal stage. His body had also grown much sturdier.
He glanced at the cultivation of the two boy attendants and nodded approvingly. "True Immortal perfection. Your foundations are stable. Well done."
The boy attendants were overjoyed.
Ever since taking charge of the Merit Pavilion, they had not dared slack off. While diligently handling their duties, they continued to cultivate hard, afraid of holding everyone back.
Zhu Yin petted Jin Tu beneath the chin again. Listening to the big cat purr comfortably, he felt deeply gratified.
Afterward, he gave the three of them a few small gifts for cultivation, dismissed them, and headed alone toward the Spirit Medicine Garden.
"Welcome back, Master!"
The Spirit Bee Queen was equally delighted to see him return.
Zhu Yin nodded with a smile, placing great hopes on her and the bee colony. After giving a few instructions, he returned to his Bamboo Building.
Inside the Bamboo Building, Zhu Yin was taking stock of the gains from his trip to the Western Sea.
He had traveled for a full two thousand years on this journey. Though it had been arduous, the rewards were immense... He had collected hundreds of thousands of corpses from immortals, demons, and witches alone. There were not many Heavenly Immortal and Golden Immortal corpses, only a few thousand. Most were True Immortals and Mysterious Immortals, along with more than a hundred Taiyi Golden Immortal corpses.
Most of these corpses no longer possessed Primordial Spirits, so there would be no karmic repercussions. A small portion still retained their Primordial Spirits, and Zhu Yin had conveniently saved them while traveling, storing them away for the time being rather than allowing them to fall into the Blood Sea. Once the Six Paths of Reincarnation was established in the future, he would arrange for their rebirth and settle their karma.
Aside from the corpses, he had also brought back vast quantities of Heaven and Earth Treasures, both Acquired and Innate; materials for refining artifacts, as well as medicinal ingredients for alchemy... It had taken him a full two thousand years to gather and organize all these things.
Though his gains did not even amount to a fraction compared to the entire Demon Clan, he had only traveled through the Western Sea once. Across the whole Western Lands, he was already considered a very wealthy man. Combined with the million treasures he had previously obtained from Ancestor Xuanxin's turtle shell, his haul had been truly abundant.
Zhu Yin was not greedy. He was already content to have gained so much. With peace in his heart came natural purity.
Next, he summoned the Vitality Treasure Vase and poured Three Lights Divine Water into the divine bird egg. As he watched the Life Force within the egg gradually grow richer, Zhu Yin revealed a satisfied smile.
Ancestor Xuanxin considered Three Lights Divine Water exceptionally precious, but it was no problem for Zhu Yin. His Vitality Treasure Vase could produce a drop of divine water every ten thousand years. Having accumulated it for so many years, he naturally had no shortage.
With a gentle sweep of his sleeve, he sent the divine bird egg to the summit of Spirit Platform Mountain to receive the Sun Star's radiance, then continued sorting through his other gains.
This time, he had also brought back two Low-Grade Innate Spiritual Treasures from the Immortal Court Estate's treasury: the "Dreamcloud Pearl" and the "Mountain-Driving Whip," both of considerable power.
The "Dreamcloud Pearl" could help him comprehend methods of cultivation within dreams, while the "Mountain-Driving Whip" could assist him in organizing the qi of earth veins and reshaping the layout of mountains and rivers.
In addition, he had obtained two precious Innate Spirit Roots:
One was the "Life-and-Death Fruit Tree," which flowered and bore fruit every six thousand years. It could not only extend one's lifespan, but also help one comprehend the Dao of life and death.
The other was the "Fire Date Spirit Tree," which flowered and bore fruit every three thousand years. It contained powerful fire essence and was extremely beneficial for nourishing the soul.
Some of these Spirit Roots had been found by him in Grotto-heaven Blessed Lands, while others had taken Ancestor Xuanxin thousands of years of hard work to obtain.
There were also some Innate divine iron and Acquired Spirit Roots, all of which he arranged by category: the materials were carefully stored away, while the Spirit Roots were planted as soon as possible.
Within Spirit Platform Mountain, Zhu Yin personally got to work. Wielding the Merit Spirit Hoe and the Mystic Light Heavenly Plow, he scattered Life Force spiritual water and expanded the Spirit Medicine Garden several times over.
He personally loosened the soil and applied fertilizer, working with great delight.
Although his cultivation was already extremely high, he had never forgotten that he had originally been a stalk of Lingzhu, a spiritual plant nurtured by heaven and earth. Planting spiritual herbs and cultivating Spirit Roots was simply his proper duty.
This process was not merely farming; it was also comprehending the Dao and cultivating his heart.
As time passed, boundless pure light naturally emerged within him, while endless radiance of freedom glimmered behind his head. This was one method of cultivation for Spirit Roots.
This was his Great Freedom... his mind and spirit became one, and all vexations vanished.
When he was done, he stood in the Spirit Medicine Garden and watched the Hundred Flowers bloom, the spiritual herbs flourish, and the bees busily gather nectar. Spirit qi filled all of Spirit Platform Mountain, and even the forests trembled with joy.
That vigorous aura of Life Force infected everyone.
The two boy attendants, Wuxin and Wuqing, smiled happily. White Tiger stole wine while wildly throwing punches, and every boy attendant tending the mountain's affairs was beaming with delight.
The Merit Spirit Hoe and Mystic Light Heavenly Plow were casually set aside. Zhu Yin stood in the garden in green robes, a smile on his face.
At this moment, his heart was incomparably tranquil. He feared nothing and worried about nothing, his entire being clear and transparent.
The Supreme Bodhi Seed above his head emerged on its own, scattering the light of wisdom. The Pure-Cleansing Bell within his Primordial Spirit gently chimed, while the Enlightenment Tea Tree beside him swayed softly.
Everything he had seen and heard, thought and felt over the years surged forth like a tide:
Three thousand years of secluded cultivation and Dao comprehension, three thousand years of listening to teachings and seeking the Dharma, one thousand years of artifact refinement, two thousand years of wandering, along with several hundred years spent rushing about in toil, teaching disciples, and growing flowers and grass...
Everything accumulated over ten thousand years transformed into the Great Dao in a single instant.
All things in the Primordial Wilderness were the Dao; the myriad forms of mountains and forests were all freedom.
Zhu Yin attained enlightenment at once.
Within the Spirit Medicine Garden, the Heaven-Piercing Jade Bamboo suddenly grew incomparably tall, as though it would pierce straight into the firmament. It released dense vitality, protecting all of Spirit Platform Mountain, the hundreds of thousands of miles around it, and even the entire Western Lands.
The Dao of Great Freedom manifested. The plants on the mountain grew wildly, and the entire world became crystal clear within his heart.
The jade bamboo swayed joyfully, as though it wished to merge with all heaven and earth.
Wherever the heart found peace, that was home. He comprehended this completely.
Within the jade bamboo, a bright Buddha Heart condensed, illuminating the entire world. A fist-sized Sarira also formed, tranquil and pure.
His cultivation surged accordingly, allowing him to enter Peak Early Great Principle in one leap.
"Unfortunately, the time has not yet come." The jade bamboo sighed softly.
At this time, the two Saints had yet to attain the Dao, the Witch-Demon War had not ended, the Profound Sect had yet to rise, and the Buddhist Sect had not yet reached the time for its true emergence.
With a thought, he silenced the Buddha Heart, sealed the Sarira, left the Bodhi rootless and the lotus throne without buds. Only purity and freedom remained.
He was willing to guard this land and protect Spirit Platform Mountain well.
Within the Spirit Medicine Garden, the jade bamboo's shadow quietly faded, and Zhu Yin returned to human form.
Feeling the improvement in his cultivation, he revealed a delighted expression. He had not expected to comprehend the Dao to such an extent this time.
Looking at the Spirit Roots filling the garden, a sense of accomplishment rose in his heart.
Aside from himself, an Upper-Grade Innate Spiritual Root, there were also two newly added Innate Spirit Roots, three Low-Grade Innate Spirit Roots, and more than a dozen Post-Heaven High-Grade Spiritual Roots.
Those three Low-Grade Innate Spirit Roots were the Geng Metal Fruit Tree, Water Essence Fruit Tree, and Astral Fruit Tree.
After eating their spiritual fruits, he had nurtured the seeds within the Vitality Treasure Vase, added drops of Three Lights Divine Water, then used Merit Spiritual Treasures and Innate Spiritual Treasures to improve the soil before planting them.
Now, they had already broken through the soil and grown into small saplings. Though they also bore fruit only once every three thousand years and looked no different from Acquired Spirit Roots, they contained Innate qi and the power of the Great Dao. Their value could not be compared.
As for those dozen or so Acquired Spirit Roots, some had been brought back from the Western Sea, while others had been cultivated from Geng Metal Fruit seeds.
Zhu Yin looked over everything, the corners of his lips lifting slightly.
He knew that before long, Spirit Platform Mountain would surely become a true Upper-grade Grotto-heaven Blessed Land.
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