The Western Sea and the Western Lands Were Separated Only by a Belt of Water; with Such a Great Power's Protection, It Could Only Benefit Shun'er's Future

Inside the bamboo tower.

Zhu Yin put away all the spiritual items and sat upon the Enlightenment Meditation Cushion, slowly adjusting his condition. Only after his essence, energy, and spirit had all returned to their peak did he take out a jade box.

He did not open it immediately. Instead, he circulated his mana, broke the seal, and erased the runes upon it.

Once the jade box was opened, five-colored light shone forth. A jade-like, translucent pine nut lay quietly within—it was the innate supreme-grade spirit fruit... the Five-Needle Pine Fruit.

The pine nut was brilliantly colored, sparkling like a five-colored gemstone. Five-colored spiritual radiance swirled around it, revealing the mysteries of the Five Elements.

To avoid wasting its effects, Zhu Yin did not study it further and placed it directly into his mouth, savoring it carefully.

The pine nut melted as soon as it entered his mouth. Its flavors were distinct: sour, sweet, bitter, spicy, and salty, each containing the mysteries of the Great Dao of the Five Elements. Then, a vast surge of Five Elements energy poured into his body, washing through his internal organs while evolving the truths of the Five Elements within his Primordial Spirit.

The Bodhi Seed in his mind released a glow of wisdom. The Five Elements laws revolved around him as he immersed himself within them, continuously deciphering their profundities. Even the Five Qi that had long formed within his body began to circulate, while five illusory stalks of spiritual bamboo emerged from his five internal organs.

The secrets of the Five Elements gradually became clear within his heart...

Wood was the beginning of the Five Elements, water was their end, and earth stood at the center.

Wood gave birth to fire, fire gave birth to earth, earth gave birth to metal, metal gave birth to water, and water gave birth to wood;

Wood restrained earth, earth restrained water, water restrained fire, fire restrained metal, and metal restrained wood.

The Five Elements generated and restrained one another, cycling without end.

All things between heaven and earth lay within them.

Meanwhile, within the Western Sea Dragon Palace.

The Dragon King and Dragon Queen sat facing the Southern Sea Dragon King and his wife.

After taking a sip of Mind-Clearing Tea, the Southern Sea Dragon Queen's eyes lit up as she exclaimed,

"This Mind-Clearing Tea truly is a fine thing!"

"Our Dragon Clan is burdened by karmic force, and our minds are often unsettled during cultivation, making it easy for us to suffer deviation. Although some spiritual treasures can calm the mind, they are far too rare for us to afford."

"Yet this Mind-Clearing Tea is merely a mid-grade spiritual root, but its effects are exceptional. It is of tremendous help to our Dragon Clan and could even benefit those brothers and sisters in seclusion."

"For the sake of the Dragon Clan, I am willing to personally visit the Hundred Illusion Butterfly Clan and persuade them."

"Like us, they are also dragged down by karmic force, and their numbers have dwindled severely. Now that there is hope of improving their descendants, they will most likely agree."

The Western Sea Dragon Queen smiled with gentle grace upon hearing this.

She had originally intended to exchange for only two taels of Enlightenment Tea leaves—one tael for her son, Ao Shun, and one tael for emergencies. Yet, considering the Southern Sea Dragon King and his wife, she had exchanged for another tael.

Now, it seemed that this trip had been well worth the trouble.

After seeing them off, the Western Sea Dragon King looked toward distant Spirit Platform Mountain and said with a sigh,

"If Shun'er can successfully break through to Perfected Primordial Unity this time, when he succeeds to the throne, we might as well invite Venerable Zhu Yin to attend the ceremony."

"The Western Sea and the Western Lands are separated only by a belt of water. With such a great power protecting him, it can only benefit Shun'er's future."

Within the quiet room on the third floor of the bamboo tower, Zhu Yin sat cross-legged amid space suffused with spiritual qi. Five Elements laws flowed around him, brimming with vitality.

His Dao body emitted a peaceful radiance, as though a deity had descended. The three precious Five-Needle Pine Fruits contained immense energy and the power of laws, and he absorbed and transformed them one by one, making them all his own.

After consuming the first pine fruit, Zhu Yin entered seclusion for a hundred years. After swallowing the second, he accumulated another hundred years of cultivation. Once the third entered his stomach, he remained in seclusion for a full three hundred years.

Three hundred years later, Zhu Yin's aura underwent a qualitative transformation. A mysterious wheel of light emerged behind him, formed from the power of the Five Elements. Like a sacred halo, it displayed the might of the Great Dao.

His immortal Dao fortune condensed, and his Dao Fruit emerged. The two nine-grade Dao Flowers that had already bloomed grew even more resplendent, while the third slowly began to bloom as well, likewise of the ninth grade.

The towering emerald bamboo in the mountain also glimmered with five-colored rosy light, evolving a unique aura of life. The Five Elements intertwined, and Dao intent flowed.

Yet Zhu Yin did not leave seclusion. Instead, he immersed himself even more deeply in comprehending the Great Dao. His cultivation, mana, and physical body all grew stronger bit by bit.

Only after five thousand years had passed did he open his eyes.

At that moment, the Five Elements revolved within his eyes, and an air of freedom flowed without end.

Once the phenomena vanished, Zhu Yin rose and walked out of his room. Standing atop the bamboo tower, he gazed upon the sea of clouds and bamboo forest in the mountains, his heart filled with lofty spirit and joy.

This period of seclusion had brought immense gains. His understanding of the Five Elements laws had deepened. The earth, water, and wood paths in which he had originally excelled had advanced by leaps and bounds; his metal path had also made considerable progress; and he had even barely entered the doorway of the fire path, making up for his former weakness.

He had successfully broken through to the Late Zenith Heaven Golden Immortal realm. From Dao attainment to mana to Primordial Spirit, he had improved in every aspect.

Looking across the entire Primordial World, unless he encountered a Quasi-Sage-level existence, Zhu Yin feared no threat. Even those Great Principle Perfection experts could do nothing to him.

However, Zhu Yin did not become complacent because of this. He had always been indifferent to fame and profit, seeking only peaceful cultivation and unwilling to be drawn into the conflicts of the Primordial Wilderness. He understood that the waters of the Primordial Wilderness ran deep. Even Quasi-Sages could fall; only by remaining cautious and low-key could one enjoy freedom for the long term.

After admiring the scenery, he went downstairs to the Spirit Medicine Garden. Taking up the Merit Spirit Hoe and Mystic Light Heavenly Plow, he personally loosened the soil and watered the spiritual herbs.

A satisfied smile filled his face. In his eyes, this spiritual field was an extension of the Dao, and every blade of grass and tree was part of his cultivation.

Only after finishing all this did he summon the two young attendants... Wuxin and Wuqing.

Inside the pavilion, the clear tea had just finished brewing.

The two young attendants smiled and bowed as soon as they saw Zhu Yin. Then they began reporting on the changes of the past five thousand years.

"Master, while you were in seclusion, another batch of wood-and-grass sprites was born in the mountains. We arranged them according to the rules. Some remained to tend the plants in the mountains, while the others were sent to Worry-Free Spirit Land to join the Wood-and-Grass Clan."

"But the changes beyond the mountain were what truly mattered..."

As they spoke, Zhu Yin gradually came to understand the developments of the past five thousand years.

The Hundred Treasures Hall and Merit Pavilion had grown ever more prosperous, becoming deeply woven into the lives of living beings in the Western Lands. People came from hundreds of millions of li around to seek treasures, and even Golden Immortals from other regions visited frequently.

The Hundred Treasures Hall in particular was exceptionally bustling. Living beings from all five directions gathered there, trading all manner of spiritual items with one another. Even the Flora Clan had begun planting rare spiritual plants from various regions.

The aquatic clans of the Western Sea also often brought rare treasures from the ocean, making the Hundred Treasures Hall increasingly famous. Even Primordial Unity Golden Immortals came here to purchase materials needed for pill refining and artifact forging.

Within a million li around Spirit Platform Mountain, the spiritual qi had grown denser, and the vitality of heaven and earth had become more abundant. Two new low-grade spirit lands had also emerged, and they had respectively been given to loose immortals and clans for use.

Blessed Goodness Spirit Land and Blessed Fortune Spirit Land had also successfully advanced to upper-grade spirit lands, thanks to the restoration of their earth veins, the guarding of spiritual treasures, and the nourishment of merit.

Although Worry-Free Spirit Land had not advanced to supreme grade, it already possessed five small spiritual veins. Its advancement was merely a matter of time.

As a result, more and more cultivators from the Western Lands chose to settle here. Even a million li away, clans had established their territories and loose immortals had opened Daoist grounds. Though the area as a whole still could not compare to Zhu Yin's Dao domain, it was far stronger than before.

In addition, news had arrived from the Western Sea Dragon Clan:

The Dragon Clan hoped to establish a long-term partnership with Spirit Platform Mountain, exchanging spiritual fruits or treasures of equal value for three jin of Mind-Clearing Tea every ten thousand years.

The Hundred Illusion Butterfly Clan of the Southern Sea was willing to send clan members with pure bloodlines, led personally by an elder, to follow Zhu Yin for the long term, so that if disaster ever befell their clan, they would still have someone to rely upon.

However, the Hundred Illusion Butterfly Clan was closely connected to the Mirage Dragon Clan. They requested that Zhu Yin also accept several Mirage Dragon hatchlings. To show their sincerity, the Mirage Dragon Clan was even willing to offer two innate spiritual treasures.