How Far One Could Go on the Path of Cultivation: Foundation, Fortune, Resources, Comprehension, Perseverance, and Dao Heart All Mattered Greatly

One day, Zhu Yin had just repaired the seventh earth vein when he suddenly felt a spontaneous premonition. He immediately rode the clouds and flew toward the source of that feeling.

Several days later, he landed on an utterly unremarkable little mountain.

The mountain's spiritual energy was sparse, something entirely normal in the Western Lands. There was nothing unusual about it at all. Yet Zhu Yin was already a Late Golden Immortal, so he naturally would not easily believe his senses had been wrong.

He released his Primordial Spirit and searched back and forth for several months before finally discovering some clues.

He realized that he might have fallen into some concealed illusion.

He first took out the Ninth-Grade White Lotus, but it showed no reaction. Then he manifested his Immortal Dao Auspicious Cloud and released a verdant Lingzhu.

Sure enough!

The moment the Lingzhu appeared, the spontaneous premonition in his heart grew even stronger. He could even vaguely sense some sort of fluctuation coming from the void.

Without hesitation, Zhu Yin summoned Mount Sumeru's phantom and pressed it down in the direction of the fluctuation.

With a thunderous boom, the illusion collapsed, and the original mountain crumbled away.

The surroundings changed drastically. He found himself amid a towering, majestic mountain range, though more than half of it had collapsed and baleful energy filled the area.

Standing atop the Ninth-Grade White Lotus and protected by Purifying Immortal Light, he cleansed the baleful energy as he flew onward. In the end, he arrived before an Innate Grand Formation.

Zhu Yin did not rush inside. Instead, he sat cross-legged for several hundred years, continuing to purify the baleful energy while studying the formation's structure.

Only after thoroughly understanding the formation's purpose did he cautiously step through its formation eye and enter.

Fortunately, the formation only possessed concealment, spirit-gathering, and illusion functions. It had no offensive power. Otherwise, he would not have dared to barge in recklessly.

After passing through the formation, a surge of dense spiritual energy and boundless Life Force rushed toward him, making his entire body feel incomparably refreshed.

Looking up, he saw that the place was not large. There was only an Innate Spirit Lake and a Lingzhu radiating orange-yellow light, yet its spiritual energy was no weaker than that of a Grotto-heaven Blessed Land.

He flew before the Lingzhu and understood that it was the source that had drawn him here. He tried to send his Primordial Spirit imprint into it and received a fragment of information.

"Heavenly Dao is unpredictable, and fortune and misfortune are impossible to foresee. Senior, may you rest in peace."

Zhu Yin bowed to the Lingzhu, his expression complicated.

It turned out that this Lingzhu was the legendary Top-grade Innate Spiritual Root... Bitter Bamboo.

It had gained intelligence in the previous epoch. However, during the Three Clans War and the Dao-Demon War, the spiritual mountain it relied upon had been destroyed, causing a severe loss of spiritual essence. Bitter Bamboo's consciousness had also suffered grave damage.

To survive, Bitter Bamboo had set up an illusion to conceal itself and used a grand formation to protect itself. Unfortunately, its spiritual essence grew scarcer and scarcer. In the end, it could not endure the long passage of time. Its consciousness completely dissipated, and even its spiritual root body was eroded.

Although it was still a Top-grade Innate Spiritual Root, it was far inferior to its former self. It could no longer gather spiritual energy or suppress fortune as it once had.

The reason Zhu Yin had been drawn here was that the earth vein he repaired happened to be nearby. Bitter Bamboo sensed the aura of its own kind, and its lingering thought guided him here.

Once Zhu Yin imprinted his Primordial Spirit into the Lingzhu, that final shred of obsession finally dispersed as well.

By the spirit lake, Zhu Yin remained silent for a long time, his heart filled with mixed emotions.

He understood Bitter Bamboo's unwillingness.

Innate Spirit Roots were already rare. To develop intelligence and reach the Transformation Stage was even harder than ascending to heaven. Especially for a Top-Grade spiritual root like this, each one could be called a miracle of heaven and earth.

Unfortunately, Bitter Bamboo had been born at the wrong time. It had originally cultivated to Primordial Unity Golden Immortal Perfection and was only one step away from reaching the Transformation Stage. Yet because it was near the battlefield, its spiritual essence was cut off. Jealous of it, the Heavenly Dao ultimately reduced it to ashes, body and soul alike.

Looking at Bitter Bamboo, Zhu Yin had already made his decision.

However, he did not act immediately.

After all, this was not his territory. To be cautious, he first put away Bitter Bamboo, then collected the spirit lake and its spring source as well. He spent a full thousand years repairing the earth veins in the region, repaying this karmic debt.

At last, he transformed into a streak of light and set out for home, returning to Mount Sumeru.

Mount Sumeru.

Zhu Yin had been away for more than seven thousand years. Now that he had returned and stepped through the mountain gate, a familiar sense of peace immediately rose in his heart.

This immortal mountain, and the people on it, had already become the true attachments he held dear.

He summoned the Golden-Clothed Boy and the White-Clothed Boy, carefully asking about everything that had happened during this time. He learned that his master, Zhunti, had emerged from seclusion three thousand years ago. Not long afterward, Zhunti had left the mountain to travel through the Eastern Lands.

As for Martial Uncle Jieyin, he had also awakened once three thousand years ago. After Zhunti left, he had resumed his secluded cultivation.

One had left the mountain and had yet to return, while the other had yet to emerge from seclusion.

Though these two elders had both transformed from Top-Grade spiritual roots, their personalities could not have been more different. One spent all year cultivating behind closed doors, even relying on enlightenment in dreams to attain the Dao. The other could never stay still, always roaming about and forming good ties with others.

One moved while the other remained still, yet they complemented each other perfectly. Together, they upheld Mount Sumeru's lineage and supported the entire Western Lands.

Zhu Yin understood that both elders had been quietly working for the future of the Western Lands.

One used the power of dreams to connect the earth veins, while the other drew opportunities from across the Primordial Wilderness into the Western Lands, nourishing the spiritual essence of heaven and earth.

Both required immense perseverance and brought immense Merit.

Afterward, Zhu Yin made a round through the mountain, then spent quite some time working in the spirit fields... infusing them with Life Force, watering them with spirit spring water, loosening the spirit soil, and scattering spirit fertilizer. Only after finishing all this did he return to the Immaculate Hall and begin secluded cultivation.

Seven thousand years traveling through the Western Lands, six thousand years repairing earth veins.

Zhu Yin's understanding of the Dao of Vitality had grown increasingly profound. Now was the best time to integrate those insights into himself, consolidate his foundation, and charge toward the next realm.

Auspicious clouds swirled behind him. The verdant phantom of the Heaven-Piercing Bamboo continuously evolved profound principles of the Dao. Mount Sumeru's phantom also became increasingly solid, while the light of wisdom emitted by the Supreme Bodhi Seed caused his comprehension to soar.

Zhu Yin immersed himself completely in the Great Dao. His aura became ethereal and pure, his expression peaceful, and his entire body brimmed with vitality.

Only a day passed in the mountain, yet a thousand years went by outside.

A thousand years later, within the Immaculate Hall.

Zhu Yin slowly opened his eyes. Endless vitality and Purity Divine Light flowed within them. He seemed to have been reborn, and his temperament had become nearly flawless.

At last, he had cultivated to Golden Immortal Perfection.

After stabilizing his cultivation, he did not rush to leave seclusion. Instead, he flipped his hand and took out Bitter Bamboo.

According to legends from his previous life, Martial Uncle Jieyin had refined this Bitter Bamboo into the Six-Purities Bamboo rather than using it to suppress Mount Sumeru's fortune. Aside from the Western Lands' own lack of resources, there was likely another reason... Bitter Bamboo itself had already been severely damaged.

Even a Saint could not restore this spiritual root, so naturally he could not restore it either.

Zhu Yin knew his own capabilities well. Thus, he no longer insisted on repairing it and instead decided to take another approach... absorbing Bitter Bamboo's source power to strengthen his own foundation.

How far one could travel on the path of cultivation depended greatly on foundation, fortune, resources, comprehension, perseverance, and Dao Heart.

His current foundation was fairly good in the Western Lands, but across the entire Primordial Wilderness, it was only barely above average. If he could absorb Bitter Bamboo's source power and raise his foundation to a higher level, not only would his aptitude, fortune, and accumulated foundation greatly increase, but his future potential would also be entirely different.

With his original foundation, he could at most barely touch the Grand Unity Realm, and even then, he would need to scheme and plan with extreme care. But if his foundation improved, then as long as he cultivated in peace, he would have hope of attaining Great Principle and perhaps even entering the Quasi-Sage realm.

Zhu Yin could distinguish between the importance of spiritual treasures and his own cultivation.

Besides, he had no intention of draining Bitter Bamboo's source power dry.