Rumor had it that Fangzhang Island held a Fangcun Dao Tree that grew one leaf every five thousand years, each leaf inscribed with the traces of the Great Dao.
But this was only a rumor. Lin Tian believed that the truth behind such supreme acquired treasures of Dao comprehension was often difficult to establish.
After all, in the primordial world, most mighty beings above the Supreme Unity Golden Immortal realm kept their lips tightly sealed about what they gained through fortuitous encounters, never letting such secrets slip lightly.
Yet rumors of the Fangcun Dao Tree circulated in every era of the primordial world!
Some even believed that Hongjun's opportunity to merge with the Dao had come not from the Creation Jade Tablet in his possession, but from his Fangcun Dao Tree, planted in a secret corner of Zixiao Palace and rarely shown to anyone-not even the Three Pure Ones or his attendant Haotian, those closest to him, had ever seen it!
How could encountering this Dao tree now not leave Lin Tian overjoyed?
Lin Tian calmed the excitement in his heart and attached his divine sense to the great tree.
The moment Lin Tian's divine sense touched the Fangcun Dao Tree-
A faint, hollow note rang through the secluded valley, its echoes lingering endlessly.
The clear, melodious echoes seemed to express the Fangcun Dao Tree's delight at meeting Lin Tian, a Primordial Azure Vine blessed with tremendous fortune.
The Fangcun Dao Tree released a faint strand of ancient, primordial-chaos divine sense.
Within Lin Tian's sea of consciousness, this strand of spiritual essence revealed how the Fangcun Dao Tree had become a spiritual root after Pan Gu split open heaven, nurtured by the merit of the Heavenly Dao and Xuanhuang Qi.
The spiritual root recorded all manner of secrets from the boundless primordial world.
Then, using these as nourishment, it grew a Fangcun leaf every five thousand years, covered in the distinct Dao traces of the three thousand Great Daos.
If brewed into tea, such a leaf would truly yield twice the cultivation results for half the effort.
As he gazed at the Fangcun Dao Tree before him, Lin Tian secretly brimmed with delight.
The instant the thought of brewing tea with its leaves rose in Lin Tian's mind, the Fangcun Dao Tree withdrew its spiritual essence from his sea of consciousness, its trunk shaking wildly.
It wanted to uproot itself at once and flee for its life.
At the same time, it sent Lin Tian an angry message through divine sense: You want to brew tea with my damn leaves? Not a chance!
When the Fangcun Dao Tree sent him this message-
Lin Tian was momentarily taken aback.
He had already spent more than a hundred thousand years in the primordial world.
This was truly his first encounter with an acquired spiritual treasure that had developed sentience.
While Lin Tian was still slightly stunned, the Fangcun Dao Tree immediately turned into a streak of light and actually escaped right before his eyes.
Lin Tian remained perfectly calm. He circulated his magical power and unleashed his divine ability: Spatial Traversal.
Trying to escape right in front of him was like showing off an axe at the master carpenter's door.
Ripples immediately shimmered through the surrounding space!
Lin Tian's form flickered, slipping into the void and vanishing at once!
When he reappeared, he was already tens of thousands of li away from Fangzhang Island!
Bang!
Lin Tian lashed out with a thick, long thorny vine like a whip, forcibly stopping the Fangcun Dao Tree in an instant as it fled at lightning speed.
Like tentacles, his vines bound the thirty-foot-tall Fangcun Dao Tree tightly.
At the same time, Lin Tian circulated his magical power and erased the Fangcun Dao Tree's sentience without hesitation!
All Lin Tian had wanted in the first place were the tree's leaves, covered in Dao traces.
As for its sentience, he would never allow it to develop freely, much less let the Dao tree cultivate on its own.
If the Dao tree cultivated to the Great Luo realm and took human form-
Today's events would become the root of its hatred for Lin Tian.
Thus, Lin Tian had to erase its newly born sentience.
Besides, Spirit Treasures were tools to Lin Tian. He could never develop any feelings for them beyond those suited to a "tool."
So Lin Tian showed no mercy. He placed the Fangcun Dao Tree in the Purple Mansion grotto-heaven space within one of his twelve azure leaves.
Then he planted the Fangcun Dao Tree inside the Purple Mansion space and watered it with Three Lights Divine Water.
Once all that was done-
Lin Tian began wandering around Fangzhang Immortal Island again.
Every naturally nurtured treasure on Fangzhang Island, which spanned tens of thousands of li, went into Lin Tian's pockets.
He was so thorough that he did not overlook a single stone or piece of rotten wood. Lin Tian stored them all in the Purple Mansion grotto-heaven within one of his azure leaves!
Then, with a wicked sense of humor, he named this Purple Mansion grotto-heaven "New Fangzhang."
"Over these hundred thousand years and more, I've already pocketed both Penglai and Fangzhang. Now only Yingzhou remains."
Staying true to his original purpose and the simple principle that a thief never left empty-handed, Lin Tian began searching for traces of Yingzhou Island, using Fangzhang Immortal Island as his starting point.
Compared with Penglai and Fangzhang-
Yingzhou Island, isolated far out at sea, was even harder to find.
Had Lin Tian not already reached the early Golden Immortal stage, he might have spent his entire life searching the seas without ever finding Yingzhou Island.
Even at the early Golden Immortal stage-
Lin Tian had to go through considerable trouble before he found Yingzhou Immortal Island.
Several hundred years later-
Lin Tian stood before Yingzhou Island's Innate Grand Array and began refining it.
"Evolution points increased by five hundred." "Evolution points increased by five hundred."
System notifications kept ringing through Lin Tian's sea of consciousness.
Lin Tian had already entered a state of complete self-forgetfulness.
Before he knew it, thirty thousand years had swiftly passed as he refined the formation.
On this day-
Lin Tian stopped refining.
The Innate Grand Array before him, capable of concealing Yingzhou Island without a trace, collapsed with a thunderous crash in an instant.
After thirty thousand years of steady progress while refining the Grand Formation, Lin Tian's cultivation had advanced to the middle Golden Immortal stage.
Now, Lin Tian had completely refined the Innate Grand Array that concealed Yingzhou.
Over those thirty thousand years, he had cultivated his Spatial Traversal divine ability to an even higher level.
Now, even without refining an Innate Grand Array, Lin Tian could disregard innate formations and traverse them freely, darting back and forth.
With a thought and a flash, he vanished.
When he reappeared, he was already inside Yingzhou Immortal Island.
Before him lay-
Yingzhou Immortal Island, overflowing with spiritual energy. Immortal birds and spiritual beasts filled its mountains and plains, while countless auspicious wonders burst forth. It was truly a supreme immortal paradise!
But Lin Tian unleashed his divine sense without restraint.
He searched the vast island.
A moment later, a faint tremor stirred his thoughts, and his mind reacted.
Through his divine sense, he had already detected an ancient, pure aura behind a mountain!
Having reached the middle Golden Immortal stage, Lin Tian possessed a natural, intuitive sensitivity to the energies of heaven and earth.
He could already sense treasures destined for him.
As his mind stirred-
Lin Tian gathered his focus and activated his space-traversing divine ability again.
In an instant, he appeared behind the mountain.
A clear lake lay behind it. Without question, the treasure Lin Tian had sensed was beneath its waters.
Compared with the Fangcun Dao Tree, this treasure seemed even richer in spiritual essence!
Drawing on his connection with the treasure's spiritual essence, Lin Tian raised a vine and swept it across the air above the lake.
The treasure instantly burst out through the lake's surface with a great splash!
It circled once in the air, then landed before Lin Tian.
It was a jet-black banner!
Its entire body was dull black, its surface inscribed with Great Dao runes resembling patterns of stars!
Lin Tian immediately channeled a strand of magical power into the black banner.
A moment later, delight filled his heart!
Another innate spiritual treasure!
This was the Northern Black-Yuan Water-Control Banner!
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