In the banquet hall of Five Villages Temple, Zhen Yuanzi's expression was exceptionally grave.
"Little Friend Chen Xuan, there is no turning back now. Do you know how Hong Yun can be helped through this calamity?"
Unlike Zhen Yuanzi's concern, Red Cloud Ancestor did not seem to care much. At that moment, he was carefully savoring the sweetness of the Ginseng Fruit.
Chen Xuan could not help feeling that this Red Cloud Ancestor was rather too heartless.
He sighed and said, "Now that Di Jun and Eastern Emperor Taiyi have established the Heavenly Court, it will not be long before the Demon Race is unified.
"The only ones capable of contending with the Demon Race are the Witch Race. Before long, a great battle between demons and witches will surely take place. As for who wins and who loses, that will depend on their respective fortunes."
After Chen Xuan finished speaking, he picked up a Ginseng Fruit from the table and slowly savored it.
Although Chen Xuan had not said how Red Cloud Ancestor should overcome this calamity, Zhen Yuanzi had already understood.
He immediately rose and thanked Chen Xuan. "Many thanks to Little Friend Chen Xuan for showing me the way. I know what I should do now."
After saying this, he instructed Qingfeng and Mingyue to pick another six Ginseng Fruits from the orchard.
"These six Ginseng Fruits are gifts from me to the Three Pure Ones. I must trouble Little Friend Chen Xuan to bring them along."
How could Chen Xuan not understand Zhen Yuanzi's purpose in doing this?
This also showed that the friendship between Zhen Yuanzi and Red Cloud Ancestor could truly be called one forged in life and death.
Seeing him go to such lengths for his old friend gave Chen Xuan an even better impression of Zhen Yuanzi.
He smiled and put away the six Ginseng Fruits. Then he took out a tin of tea leaves, along with a pot of Three Lights Divine Water.
"Martial Uncle Zhen Yuanzi, I have a tin of tea called Da Hong Pao. Today, I will give it to you two martial uncles to try."
Chen Xuan was simply that kind of person. He did not want to owe anyone Karma, because he understood the dangers of Karma better than anyone.
Over the next few days, Chen Xuan remained at Five Villages Temple, chatting happily with Zhen Yuanzi and Red Cloud Ancestor.
As the saying went, all feasts must come to an end. That day, Chen Xuan bade Zhen Yuanzi and Red Cloud Ancestor farewell and once again set off to travel the Great Desolate Land.
As Chen Xuan drifted aimlessly through the clouds, he kept calculating in his heart.
Among the Ten Great Innate Spiritual Roots, the first was the World-Creating Azure Lotus, followed by the Peach Tree of Immortality, Ginseng Fruit Tree, Yellow Center Plum Tree, Bitter Bamboo, Green Willow, Fusang Tree, Immortal Apricot, Moon Laurel Tree, and Innate Gourd Vine.
The Peach Tree of Immortality had yet to appear in the world. It would fall into Yaochi's hands in the future, so obtaining it would not be particularly difficult.
The Yellow Center Plum Tree, Ginseng Fruit Tree, and Innate Gourd Vine were already in Chen Xuan's possession.
However, Chen Xuan had not chosen to graft the Yellow Center Plum Tree and Innate Gourd Vine onto the Nine Revolutions Golden Pill Tree as well.
Leaving aside the Yellow Center Plum Tree, the Innate Gourd Vine alone was not something Chen Xuan dared tamper with recklessly.
Otherwise, if he affected Nüwa's creation of humanity, that Karma would be truly enormous.
As for the remaining spiritual roots, some would be easier to obtain than others.
Both the Fusang Tree and Moon Laurel Tree belonged to the Demon Race, so obtaining them was not impossible.
The difficult ones were the Bitter Bamboo, which Daoist Zhunti would refine into the Six Roots of Purity Bamboo, and the Green Willow, which had taken form as Ancestor Yang Mei.
As for the World-Creating Azure Lotus, Chen Xuan could only seek substitutes. After all, its original body had already transformed into countless spiritual treasures.
The best substitutes were none other than the four Twelfth Grade Lotus Platforms. After all, "gaining the lotus platforms would make four" should refer to these Twelfth Grade Lotus Platforms.
However, obtaining them would not be easy. Especially the Twelfth Grade Black Lotus of World Destruction and the Twelfth Grade White Lotus of World Purification—Chen Xuan did not even know where they were.
Countless novels from later generations had fabricated all sorts of stories, yet not a single account of the Great Desolate Land had mentioned the origins of these two lotus platforms.
The more Chen Xuan thought about it, the more lost he felt, and his mood grew increasingly irritable.
It felt as though a massive boulder were pressing against his chest, making even breathing somewhat difficult.
Yet this did not pull Chen Xuan out of his thoughts. Instead, he continued brooding over the matter.
As a result, Chen Xuan no longer knew where he had gone. He simply wandered aimlessly across the Great Desolate Land.
He did not even gather the Demon Cores scattered after the Demon Race's battles as he normally would have.
That day, Chen Xuan was still immersed in deep thought when a tremendous boom suddenly sounded ahead, startling him so badly that he nearly fell from his cloud.
It also brought Chen Xuan back to his senses. He reached up to wipe his forehead, only to find it covered in sweat.
"That was close. If not for that loud sound just now, I might truly have become lost in thought and been unable to pull myself free."
Chen Xuan was not wrong. His situation just now had been extremely dangerous.
A Heart Demon had already arisen within him. With the slightest carelessness, his very self would have been controlled by it.
Fortunately, that tremendous boom had restored clarity to his mind.
Even so, the Heart Demon had already taken root in Chen Xuan's heart. Whether it would ultimately sprout depended on Chen Xuan himself.
After sighing, Chen Xuan looked ahead and discovered that he had unknowingly arrived above a vast ocean.
Not far from him stood a small island shrouded in immortal mist.
From the island came intermittent thunderous booms.
It was precisely this thunderous sound that had pulled Chen Xuan out of his Heart Demon.
At the same time, a name surfaced in Chen Xuan's mind. "Is this Liubo Mountain, seven thousand li into the sea?
"Then was that thunderous sound just now made by the Thunder Beast Kui?"
Chen Xuan clearly remembered that Tongtian's mount was the Kui Bull.
Moreover, later generations had fiercely debated the Kui Bull's identity. Some said it was the incarnation of the Dao, while others claimed it was the Thunder Beast Kui from Liubo Mountain.
This gave Chen Xuan the urge to investigate. He immediately used the Profound Origin Wave Transformation Art and headed straight for Liubo Mountain.
The moment Chen Xuan arrived on Liubo Mountain, the sight before him shocked him.
Two differently shaped cows were competing against each other on the mountain.
One resembled a cow, with one leg, no horns on its head, and a blue-green body. It looked rather awkward.
The other looked far more pleasing: a pitch-black Great Water Buffalo.
Auspicious light and radiant mist surrounded its body, while multicolored celebratory clouds rose around it. Its two horns curved like crescent moons, and a Taiji Eight Trigrams pattern was imprinted in the center of its forehead.
These two cows also shared something in common: whenever they entered or emerged from water, wind and rain would follow. They could produce thunderous roars accompanied by light like the sun and moon.
At that moment, the two bulls were locked in a contest of strength, fighting to a standstill with neither able to gain the upper hand.
Chen Xuan simply sat atop a cliff and watched the two bulls lock horns below.
Unfortunately, the Thunder Beast Kui had a head but no horns, putting it at something of a disadvantage against the Great Water Buffalo.
As the battle between the two bulls grew fiercer, the thunderous roars became increasingly rapid.
Just then, the waters of the East Sea suddenly parted to either side, and a Five-Clawed Golden Dragon soared up from within the sea.
It immediately transformed into a youth holding a gleaming sword that flashed with cold light.
The youth pointed his sword at the two bulls locking horns and angrily demanded, "Are you two ever going to stop?"
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