The Growth of Grass and Trees is Movement; the Holding of the Earth is Stillness.

The Ninth-Grade White Lotus was a Superior Innate Spiritual Treasure, and resources in the Western Lands were already scarce, with Zhunti having very few items in his own possession.

Yet Jieyin only smiled calmly, waved his hand, and said, "Since he is your chief disciple and possesses considerable talent in the Purity Dao, this white lotus was prepared for him in the first place, and it should rightfully be bestowed."

Zhunti nodded in agreement, and Zhu Yin then solemnly thanked his martial uncle before putting away the white lotus.

His manners were thorough and his attitude respectful, winning him even more favorable impressions from the two mighty figures.

Zhunti also smiled and said, "Your martial uncle has given you a spiritual treasure, so your master cannot be stingy either. I bestow upon you this supreme bodhi seed, which can calm the netherworld, steady the spirit, and inspire wisdom. Consider it a gift of discipleship. You must practice diligently and not let us down."

Upon hearing this, Zhu Yin felt great joy and immense gratitude.

Having obtained a precious treasure right upon entering the sect, he could see just how much importance the two Sages attached to him. He also secretly resolved that he would not fail this expectation.

By the lotus pond, Zhu Yin did not rush to refine the Ninth-Grade White Lotus. Instead, he first refined the bodhi seed, then sat quietly upon the cushion, listening to Master Zhunti expound the Dao.

The sounds of the Dao reverberated through the grand hall, sounding like a great golden bell or a soft, natural chime. Every word was a gem, and every sentence profound, making one's mind and spirit intoxicated.

Golden light filled the air, and the aura of the Great Dao rushed toward him. The entire hall seemed to transform into a sacred site for expounding the Dao, with auspicious signs manifesting one after another.

Zhu Yin's own comprehension was already extraordinary, and with the blessing of the bodhi seed, wisps of wise radiance emerged above his head, plunging his entire being into an endless ocean of principles.

He seemed to see himself repairing the shattered ley lines on the Western Wasteland, bringing the withered land back to life; and he saw himself planting spiritual herbs and roots, with vegetation bursting forth and flowers and fruits covering the mountains.

He even felt as if he were situated in a place of ultimate purity, devoid of any strife, where heaven and earth operated naturally. His inner self was peaceful and serene, free of joy or sorrow, his physical body untainted by dust, resembling the manifestation of Heavenly Dao.

As the exposition of the Dao deepened, the magic power within his body changed accordingly, merging into the Western Wondrous Dharma. Moreover, because his true form was a netherworld bamboo, a rich aura of life pervaded his magic power, brimming with vitality.

An auspicious Daoist cloud manifested above his head, transforming into a heaven-piercing jade bamboo with lush branches and leaves, seeming like a divine object naturally born of heaven and earth.

The spiritual Qi of the lotus flowers in the pond was also absorbed and refined by him; a portion reinforced his physical body, a portion nourished his primordial spirit, and the rest transformed into magic power.

A thousand years passed before the sounds of the Dao gradually ceased.

Zhu Yin remained immersed in the lingering resonance of the Great Dao, and only after another hundred years did he slowly awaken.

He stood up, bowed, and sincerely said, "This disciple thanks Master for the grace of imparting the Dao and will surely practice diligently without slack."

Zhunti nodded and instructed a boy attendant to lead him to rest so he could continue retreating to digest his gains.

Inside the Immaculate Hall.

Zhu Yin sat cross-legged in quiet cultivation with a composed expression. Three hundred years later, he opened his eyes, his gaze clear and bright, his mind empty and free of distractions.

He walked to the window, gazed out at the scenery of the outer mountains, and felt incomparably joyful.

A thousand years of expounding the Dao and three hundred years of meticulous cultivation had not only allowed him to integrate the Western methods into his body, but he had also made breakthroughs in divine powers, alchemy, artifact refinement, array formations, and various other Dao arts, raising both his cultivation and physical body to a higher level.

Next, he took out the Ninth-Grade White Lotus and began refining it.

Innate Spiritual Treasures were different from acquired treasures; they contained the laws of the Great Dao within, could assist one in comprehending the Dao, could bear the three corpses, and had always been coveted by cultivators in their dreams.

During the process of Zhu Yin refining the white lotus, his primordial spirit merged with it, and he comprehended its origins...

This was actually a Ninth-Grade Purifying World White Lotus cultivated from a Twelfth-Grade Pure World White Lotus Seed, possessing formidable defensive power and the ability to release purification divine light.

Furthermore, the Dao practiced by Zhu Yin was precisely the dual Dao of vitality and purification, which fit this lotus perfectly.

Time flowed like water, and through continuous refinement, his understanding of the purification Dao deepened as well.

The number of innate Dao restrictions attached to an Innate Spiritual Treasure determined its grade:

Eighteen restrictions made a lower-grade,

twenty-seven made a mid-grade,

thirty-six made a superior-grade,

forty-five made a supreme-grade,

and the supreme Innate Supreme Treasure possessed forty-nine and a half.

This Ninth-Grade Purifying World White Lotus possessed thirty-six innate Dao restrictions, making it a standout among superior spiritual treasures.

Although his current realm was limited and he had only refined nine of them, the harvest was already immense.

Four hundred years later, Zhu Yin emerged from seclusion. Purity divine light orbited his body, his aura was stable, and his magic power was profound.

Looking back on this period of time, he had spent:

a thousand years repairing the ley lines;

a thousand years listening to his master expound the Dao;

three hundred years meticulously refining his understanding;

four hundred years refining the spiritual treasure;

a full two thousand and seven hundred years!

And now, his cultivation had finally broken through from the early Golden Immortal realm, officially stepping into the mid Golden Immortal stage!

In Mount Sumeru.

Zhu Yin's recent days were exceptionally quiet.

His master, Zhunti, did not know where he had gone, and his martial uncle, Jieyin, had once again entered seclusion, making the entire Mount Sumeru lack a bit of its usual liveliness.

Aside from his daily cultivation, he would wander about the mountains, walking and looking around, observing the wind and listening to the rain, and comprehending the Dao of Vitality amidst the heaven and earth's flora and fauna.

One day, on a sudden whim, he simply sealed his magic power and walked up the mountain step by step from the foot, just like an ordinary person, using the most unpretentious way to feel the pulse of heaven and earth.

He stepped on the ground with the soles of his feet, observed things with his eyes, and perceived with his heart the rotation of the four seasons and the withering and flourishing of flowers and plants.

When rain fell, he walked with his cloak draped over him; when snow drifted, he trode through the snow to ascend; when fierce winds howled, he neither hid nor avoided them; and even when wildfire spread, he marched through it without the slightest flinch.

His figure was resolute and upright, like green bamboo in the wind, pure and gentle, and his pace was steady.

Day after day, year after year.

For three thousand years, he never stopped his pace until one day, he suddenly halted, sat cross-legged right where he was, and closed his eyes to comprehend the Dao.

This initial mountain trek was merely a sudden thought. But as time went on, he became more and more immersed in it, treating this walk as true cultivation.

Over three thousand years, he had witnessed too many cycles and changes of life.

He had seen birds hatching eggs and beasts raising their young, seen green grass breaking through the earth and old trees sprouting new buds, felt withered wood regenerate after being struck by lightning, and felt green bamboo bent down by wind and rain yet refusing to break.

Even barren hills burned to ashes by fire could witness the revival of all things when the spring breeze arrived.

He gradually understood that vitality was not merely the brocade-like splendor of flourishing times, but also existed amidst the decay and cycle of all things.

Withering was vitality, and fading was also vitality. Vitality was not only "life," but was also hidden within "death."

As this understanding deepened, the aura around him became increasingly warm and profound, and even the surrounding vegetation grew wildly because of him, with giant trees bursting through the earth and vines wrapping around mountain rocks.

Yet he always felt something was still lacking, and had yet to truly touch a certain core.

Until a flash of inspiration struck one day, and he suddenly awakened.

Throughout these three thousand years of walking, what he comprehended most deeply was not the vital energy of birds and beasts, but the steadiness and tolerance of the earth beneath his feet.

The earth was silent, yet it bore the life, death, glory, and decay of all things; it was in itself the most profound level of vitality.

"Vitality has both movement and stillness."

"The growth of plants and trees is movement; the sustenance of the earth is stillness."

At this moment, a magnificent mountain shadow emerged above his Immortal Dao Auspicious Cloud—it was the projection of Mount Sumeru that he had measured for three thousand years, upon which two ancient, unadorned characters manifested... Sumeru!

That mountain symbolized the "Earthly Vitality" he had comprehended.

Five hundred years later, a boundless aura soared into the sky from his body, and Zhu Yin opened his eyes, Dao light swirling within them and his face full of joy.

He had broken through his realm!

Three thousand years of mountain trekking and five hundred years of comprehending the Dao, not only had his cultivation realm leaped to the Late Golden Immortal stage, but he had also created a powerful mountain-suppressing divine ability.

Using the entire Mount Sumeru as a guide, it condensed the vitality of all things within the mountain to suppress enemies. As long as this mountain maintained a breath of existence, even if it turned to dust, it could reconverge and regenerate, representing the Great Dao's true meaning of "endless reproduction."

After finishing his Dao comprehension, Zhu Yin was just preparing to return and enter seclusion to consolidate his gains when a familiar voice suddenly sounded in his ear:

"Come see me at once!" It was Zhunti's voice transmission!