Evergreen Reversal Returns to Creation, the Heart Ape Cleverly Breaks the Delusion Within the Womb

When Xiaoyu hurried back to the rear mountain, the Nan Tree King was much thicker than before. The entire tree radiated a golden-green glow, its spiritual energy pressing down on everything around it.

Heng Hua drove his Evergreen true essence through the great tree in an endless circulation.

"No. My understanding of formations is inferior to Nineteenth Uncle's. This formation is terribly awkward to use—but a first-grade treasure wood should be enough to weather the tribulation."

Heng Hua rose and left with the unconscious Fu Heyi.

Hengshou immediately stepped forward to fell the tree, cutting out a wood core over a zhang long in just a few strokes.

The moment the wood core separated, the Nan Tree King's lush crown and branches withered on their own, while its roots turned into ash and dust.

"You stay and make the coffin. Xiaoyu, come with me to the spirit vein and dig."

Carrying Fu Heyi, Heng Hua led Xiaoyu toward the tribulation-avoiding spirit vein he had chosen in advance.

Apart from the Jade Garment and wooden coffin, Creation's Epoch-Reunion Art also imposed requirements on the timing and location of weathering tribulation.

The time had to be either when Taiyin first emerged or when it reached fullness; the place had to be somewhere cut off from the three treasures of earth, with no trace of life remaining.

Taiyin's beginning and fullness referred to the new moon and full moon, the first and fifteenth day of each month.

The earth's three treasures were water, fire, and wind. To be cut off from all three meant a place without water, fire, or wind.

The absence of life meant there could be no remaining traces of birds or beasts, nor any flowers, grass, trees, insects, ants, or Earth Dragons.

Heng Hua had deliberately selected three such places in the rear mountain. The one they used now was the closest to the Nan Wood Forest, beneath Sword Dragon Peak.

Upon reaching the designated spot, Xiaoyu crouched down and inspected the soil.

"Young Master, there are no insect holes, grass seeds, or traces of birds and beasts passing through."

"Check for underground water as well. And don't leave any dead branches behind."

Any trace of living aura would draw tribulation down and cause the conversion technique to fail.

Heng Hua gazed at the full moon overhead and silently calculated the position of its lunar radiance.

Then he took out a shovel and dug a pit, carving strange spiritual seal patterns into all four walls.

After the time it took to drink a cup of tea, Hengshou arrived carrying the wooden coffin.

The Spirit-Hiding Wooden Coffin was among the simplest burial coffins used by cultivators. One merely needed to carve three yin-pattern talismans onto its front and back, awakening the coffin into a magical artifact.

Heng Hua was not needed for this; Hengshou could make it himself.

After inspecting it, Heng Hua lowered the coffin into the pit.

"I'll enter seclusion shortly. You must stop anyone else from coming near—though Grandfather rarely pays attention to the rear mountain, and the others generally do not come here. As long as you stay alert, there should not be much trouble. But be careful. Don't let Nineteenth Uncle wake up."

Still feeling uneasy, Heng Hua reinforced the seals on Fu Heyi, confiscated his Cosmos Pouch, and temporarily handed it to the two of them for safekeeping.

Once everything was done, Heng Hua removed his clothes, changed into the Jade Garment while naked, leaped into the wooden coffin, and shut the lid from within.

After the lid closed, Hengshou and Xiaoyu silently buried him in earth. As though laying him to rest, they completely sealed away Fu Heng Hua's vitality.

Only in this way could the Heavenly Dao fail to detect him, allowing him to avoid the tribulation.

Lying within the coffin, Heng Hua looked into the pitch-black darkness and slowly closed his eyes.

The Evergreen Art circulated rapidly through his body. Just as his true essence and mana were about to overflow, Heng Hua voluntarily dispersed his cultivation, crushed his Dao foundation, reversed his meridians, and converted to Creation's Epoch-Reunion Art.

It hurts so much!

Heng Hua endured the agony of his disordered, reversed meridians and silently circulated Creation's Epoch-Reunion Art.

It hurt, but compared to those few times before, this was still far easier.

Fortunately, the Evergreen Art was upright and gentle, making the pain of dispersing cultivation lighter than that of ordinary arts. Added to Heng Hua's firm will, he clamped his mouth shut and ultimately did not cry out.

Boom—

In that instant, the Mud Pellet Palace of his sea of consciousness sank into chaos. Then the Spirit-Embryo Immortal Stone quietly appeared.

The immortal stone had nine apertures and eight holes, secretly corresponding to the numbers of the Nine Palaces and Eight Trigrams. At Heng Hua's command, a thread of true qi quietly formed. Descending from his brow, it flowed through the twelve primary meridians and refined the mysteries of yin and yang.

The movement of true qi in Creation's Epoch-Reunion Art imitated the twelve earthly branches.

At the hour of Zi, one yang was born. Passing through Chou, Yin, and Mao, yang qi gradually swelled. Through Chen, Si, Wu, and Wei, yang qi reached its peak before declining. Finally, through Shen, You, Xu, and Hai, yang qi turned to yin, only to turn to yang again as Zi approached.

Each time the true qi completed a circuit through his body, it was one transformation of yin and yang, simulating a full day and night. Three hundred and sixty Lesser Celestial Circuits formed one Greater Celestial Circuit, representing the changes of a year.

After Heng Hua dispersed his cultivation, Evergreen mana continuously crashed through his meridians. As the yang qi of Creation's Epoch-Reunion Art traveled through him, it automatically absorbed that mana into creation true qi, transformed it into yin qi, and returned it to his brow.

Heng Hua silently calculated the speed of a Lesser Celestial Circuit. "It is much faster than the Evergreen Art from back then. Compared to the most basic yellow-rank Spirit-Swallowing Formula, it is roughly twice as fast. It truly deserves to be called Heavenly Book-grade."

Among the four grades of cultivation arts—heaven, earth, profound, and yellow—aside from differences in their underlying concepts and aspirations, the most obvious distinction lay in cultivation speed.

Taking the most basic and ancient yellow-rank Spirit-Swallowing Formula as the unit, its speed for one celestial circuit was one. Profound-grade arts generally ranged from 1.3 to 1.5.

Earth-canon immortal formulas ranged from 1.6 to 1.8.

Heng Hua had reached these conclusions after gathering and comparing data for several decades.

As for Heavenly Books, none were known in the present day. Yet fifteen hundred years ago, during the Divine Land Era, Donglai Continent still had several Heavenly Book sects. Through scattered records, Heng Hua had roughly inferred that Heavenly Books cultivated twice as fast as yellow-rank arts.

At the same time, the purity and total quantity of true qi generated with each celestial circuit declined step by step through the grades of heaven, earth, profound, and yellow. It was the difference between a vast ocean and a narrow stream.

Heng Hua compared it to his former Evergreen true qi. At present, the striking power of a single strand of creation true qi equaled that of three to five strands of Evergreen true qi.

"If I encountered a Qi Refining ninth-layer cultivator using a yellow-rank art, although my accumulated mana would be far inferior to his, if we exchanged palms, I could easily blast apart the true qi he had condensed."

That was the wonder of high-quality true qi.

The difference was already so apparent at the entry stage. Once one reached Qi Refining's ninth layer and prepared for Foundation Establishment, the gap would gradually widen. By Foundation Establishment, and even later Core Formation, it would only grow greater and greater.

That was why Heavenly Books and earth canons could lead one to immortality and the Dao, while profound and yellow arts could only gaze up at the immortal gate and sigh.

The great sects of the Donglai domain that inherited immortal formulas called themselves the true transmission of the immortal Dao. They thus dared to mock cultivators of all profound- and yellow-rank arts as "cultivating truth in falsehood, water moons and mirror flowers."

After about the time it took for an incense stick to burn, Heng Hua completed his first Greater Celestial Circuit. The Evergreen mana gradually became docile and began traveling along the cultivation route of Creation's Epoch-Reunion Art.

Within the Mud Pellet Palace, the nine-apertured immortal stone shone with immortal radiance, illuminating the murky darkness and revealing a scene of splendid mountains and waters—Flower-Fruit Mountain.

This was the Yellow Court inner landscape manifested by the Mud Pellet Palace, echoing the Five Elements Mountain of the next realm.

At the summit of Flower-Fruit Mountain stood the nine-apertured immortal stone.

Xiaoyu and Hengshou stood beside the earthen pit.

Suddenly, moonlight flowed like water, shining directly upon the pit.

Bang!

Spiritual radiance burst from the mound, manifesting an immortal stone three zhang, six chi, and five cun tall, with a circumference of two zhang and four chi.

The full moon's silver glow descended from the night sky, setting off the immortal stone's glimmering jade light.

Their expressions were half joyous and half worried as they stared unblinkingly at the earthen mound.

Rumble—rumble rumble—

Thunder exploded overhead as dark clouds slowly drifted in.

In an instant, wild winds rose and torrential rain came swiftly, dimming Taiyin's light.

Xiaoyu murmured, "The tribulation has begun."

Unlike the Foundation Establishment tribulation they had deduced a few days ago, the Qi Refining tribulation had already been successfully rehearsed several years earlier.

But those experiments had only involved burying jade figurines underground, and the jade figurines had emerged unscathed.

This time, however, Young Master himself was lying beneath the earth.

Hengshou said, "Don't worry. There won't be a problem."

Watching the rain, he silently hoisted Fu Heyi onto his shoulder and took out his iron umbrella.

Seeing him carry Fu Heyi beneath the umbrella, Xiaoyu hesitated briefly before voluntarily squeezing under it as well.

Panlong Hall.

Fu Danwei sat cross-legged in meditation, a crimson wheel slowly turning behind his head.

Suddenly, every candle in the hall went out. A shadow gave a shrill, sinister laugh and emerged from his own shadow beneath his seat.

"Between life and death lies a great terror. You have only ten years remaining. Are you truly willing to accept that?

"Seeing Fu Beidou vigorous and full of spirit while you wither into old age—can you truly endure it?

"For the sake of your descendants, you would abandon even your own longevity wood and swallow your anger before Fu Beidou. Are you truly willing?"

The shadow drifted about the hall, every demonic whisper stirring Fu Danwei's negative emotions.

Fu Danwei closed his eyes without speaking. He recited a heart-calming incantation, preserving the clarity of his spiritual platform.

This shadow called itself a "heart demon," claiming to be formed from his own evil thoughts.

"Now, it is not as though you have no way to extend your lifespan further. As long as you are ruthless enough, living another five hundred years would not be a problem.

"A person should live for himself. What do descendants matter? We cultivators seek the Great Dao—morality, righteousness, and benevolence are all dogshit!

"Can letting your descendants live well compare to your own immortality?"

The shadow coaxed him step by step, stirring Fu Danwei's desire for eternal life.

Abruptly, a streak of azure light lit up above Fu Danwei's head.

The Phoenix Radiance Jade Ruler spun above him, its crystalline spiritual light sweeping over his body and washing away the wicked, impure thoughts surging in his heart.

"Fu has lived his life openly and honorably. If I used such vile methods to prolong my life, where would my Dao heart remain?"

Azure light shot into the heavens and wiped out the shadow in one stroke.

After doing all this, Fu Danwei sat upon the Jade-Drifting Bed, panting heavily.

Fu Danwei himself understood the method the shadow had mentioned.

The reason his lifespan was nearly exhausted was not that his soul's allotted years had run out, but that this body had lost its vitality.

In that battle thirty years ago, his body had been badly damaged, and his yang lifespan had already ended.

Then, as long as he changed bodies and performed possession, he could extend his life anew.

At most, he would merely have to cultivate again from the beginning.

As for the choice of vessel, blood descendants were undoubtedly the best and highest priority.

Rumble—

Hearing the wind, rain, and thunder outside the window, Fu Danwei silently looked toward the sky.

What a karmic evil.

If an ancestor killed his grandson to commit the evil act of possession, how could it fail to bring down Heaven's condemnation?

Watching the storm outside, Fu Danwei calmed his scattered Dao heart and closed his eyes again to recite Daoist scriptures.

Fu Xiangfeng converted to the Spirit-Vortex Radiance Art, and one vortex after another slowly formed within his body.

As cyclone mana arose, wind fed the flames, causing his Samadhi True Fire to grow even stronger.

His mana entered each spiritual vortex and was tempered by Samadhi Fire. His originally gaseous true essence condensed into drops of jade liquid. Twelve drops of jade liquid resided within the twelve spiritual vortices, serving as the cores of the whirlpools and further accelerating the movement of mana.

Xiang Feng opened his eyes and said happily, "The cultivation art Little Six chose is truly fitting."

Following Heng Hua's outlined cultivation essentials, he indeed achieved twice the result with half the effort, transforming all his true essence and mana in only a few days.

"The spiritual-vortex true essence after conversion is even purer than my original mana. Compared to the cultivation speed of the Spirit-Swallowing Formula, it is nearly fifty percent faster. Above that, only earth-canon immortal formulas can steadily suppress me. Now, I am even about to enter the fifth layer of Foundation Establishment."

Thinking of how he could convert to the clan's secretly transmitted immortal formula for Core Formation in the future, Xiang Feng's heart burned with excitement.

He advanced steadily step by step. In this life, he would surely form a Golden Core. In the future, he could even stand guard over Cypress Sovereign Hall and keep them from being bullied—

Soon, the smile on his face faded. Fu Xiangfeng thought of Cypress Sovereign Hall's current circumstances.

Without the old master, Cypress Sovereign Hall would be driven off Coiling Dragon Island. Even if he had hopes of forming a Golden Core in this life, what then? He likely would not even be able to protect his younger brother, only watching him be "imprisoned" by the people of White Elm Hall.

Rumble rumble—

Wind and thunder roared across the sky, interrupting Fu Xiangfeng's thoughts.

Feeling the resonance between the hurricane and himself, and looking at the storm enveloping the entire island, Fu Xiangfeng secretly pondered, I heard that the cultivation of a profound art can stir celestial phenomena. Could it be that my cultivation this time brought heaven and earth into communion, causing this downpour?

He silently withdrew his mana, and the divine winds raging around him gradually dispersed.

Boom boom boom—

Three bolts of silver lightning struck the immortal stone above the earthen mound.

These three lightning bolts came from heaven and earth, moving in the pattern of the Three Talents to punish tribulation fate.

The immortal stone stood three zhang, six chi, and five cun tall, fixing the number of the celestial circuit and corresponding to a year's cycle. Its circumference of two zhang and four chi represented the twenty-four solar terms, answering the transformations of a year. This stone nurtured a Dao seed, seamless and whole. It endured all three lightning bolts without suffering the slightest damage.

It worked. Hengshou clenched his fists and quietly released a breath.

Suddenly, he noticed pain coming from his arm. Lowering his gaze, he saw Xiaoyu gripping his arm tightly, staring at the immortal stone without blinking.

When the immortal stone burst into a mass of spiritual radiance and fled back underground, Xiaoyu finally released Hengshou's arm. The great stone weighing on her heart fell to the ground.

"The Heaven's Warning Lightning for dispersing cultivation and rebuilding has passed. Next, we only need to wait for Young Master to come out."

When a Foundation Establishment cultivator dispersed cultivation, that immense body of mana transformed into true qi. Naturally, it would not amount to merely the first layer of Qi Refining.

At the instant lightning struck the immortal stone, the immortal-stone embryo within Heng Hua's Mud Pellet Palace shattered alongside it. A stone egg sprang out and transformed into a heart ape, leaping and playing within the Flower-Fruit Mountain inner landscape of his Mud Pellet Palace.

The second step of the Spirit-Embryo Mind Method: the immortal stone shattered, and the spirit ape was born.

Immediately afterward, Evergreen true essence continued transforming into creation true qi, and one Greater Celestial Circuit after another was rapidly completed.

After five thousand Greater Celestial Circuits, Heng Hua's Dao heart stirred, and he entered the third step of the Spirit-Embryo Mind Method, comparable to the third layer of Qi Refining. The cultivation of the entire Spirit Embryo Realm required imitating the number of one yuan, completing one hundred twenty-nine thousand six hundred Greater Celestial Circuits.

The third layer of the Spirit Embryo Realm: "Seek longevity, seek the Bodhi Dao."

The carefree, lively spirit ape in the Mud Pellet Palace stopped. It sat upon the shattered immortal stone and circulated Creation's Epoch-Reunion Art.

After an unknown length of time, a Bodhi Tree appeared behind the spirit ape. Gleams of wisdom's spiritual light fell in gusts, joining with the inhalation and exhalation of yin and yang through creation true qi to form within the spirit ape a great Dao true seed resembling a Golden Core.

Once this Dao seed formed, the spirit ape became naturally wondrous, even possessing a trace of the mysteries of the Primordial Spirit.

Suddenly, the spirit ape opened its eyes and escaped from Heng Hua's Mud Pellet Palace.

Xiaoyu and Hengshou waited outside the earthen mound.

For some reason, Hengshou sensed something strange, as though something were patting his head.

He touched the top of his head, yet found no trace of anything.

"Ah—"

Xiaoyu clutched her Immortal Flight coiffure and looked around in every direction.

"Hengshou, something strange is here."

Hengshou silently stared at Fu Heyi, put on his knuckledusters, and guarded against the surroundings.

After waiting a while, the monster still did not show itself, and Fu Heyi remained unconscious.

"Could it not be Nineteenth Uncle?"

Boom—

The earthen mound exploded, and a figure burst out of the coffin.

"Young Master?"

Xiaoyu paid no heed to the monster and hurried forward.

The youth pointed, and the clean robes beside him flew onto his body by themselves.

"It worked."

Heng Hua could not help but rejoice.

With a light sweep of his sleeve, the shattered wood chips and clumps of dirt were all returned to the pit.

He was now at the fourth step of the Spirit-Embryo Mind Method. One more step, and he could "ride spirit clouds and sweep dragon palaces."

Yet after his Foundation Establishment magic power reached the fourth step, it had been completely converted, and his Greater Celestial Circuit had only cycled a little over ten thousand times.

"Looks like I still underestimated the wonders of the Heavenly Book. I thought that after recultivating my technique, I would at least reach the sixth or seventh level of Qi Refining. Who would have thought I would stop at merely the fourth level?"

But the more this was so, the happier Heng Hua became.

This proved that the Heavenly Book possessed boundless potential, far surpassing the Profound-grade Evergreen Scripture.

Moreover, he had already grasped one marvel of Creation's Epoch-Reunion Art. After Spirit Ape's Disc-Breaking Secret formed a Dao seed, it was like an external incarnation and could act outside his body for the time of ten finger snaps.

The spirit ape had been transformed from Heng Hua's Spirit Soul. During those ten finger snaps, it was as though he himself were circulating his art, able to kill enemies without form or sound.

"Controlling the spirit ape resembles the mysteries of the Primordial Spirit. Even after Grandfather cultivated to the Golden Core Realm, he still could not freely mobilize his Spirit Soul."

A Spirit Soul was the spiritual entity formed when a cultivator tempered their divine sense and elevated their soul. At the Golden Core Realm, the Spirit Soul transformed into a Yin Spirit, then continued transforming toward a Yang Spirit.

In the Foundation Establishment Realm, cultivators could employ the wonders of divine sense and experience the benefits of the Spirit Soul. Only after reaching the Golden Core Realm could they send their Yin Spirit out of the body.

Yet Heng Hua, at the fourth level of Qi Refining, could already let his Spirit Soul act briefly for ten finger snaps. This advantage alone gave him every edge over his peers.

In the past, he could see through an opponent's flaws and vital weak points, yet had no means to attack them. Now, he only needed to send the spirit ape out to strike once, and he could easily defeat his opponent.

This alone revealed a brand-new path utterly different from Donglai's current cultivation system.

"Young Master, what should we do next? We can't keep Nineteenth Uncle restrained forever, can we?"

Heng Hua looked at Fu Heyi and felt a headache coming on.

"We can't undo the restriction seal yet. Once he wakes up, he'll definitely go looking for Seventeenth Uncle. Then the clan will kick up a fuss, and I'll be the one out of luck."

Heng Hua pondered, then considered his current cultivation and magic power. An idea formed in his heart.

"Since we've already come this far, we might as well gamble. I'll establish my foundation as soon as possible and help Grandfather derive some results from the technique."

He did not seek to derive the Soul-Formation Method in its entirety. If he could work out twenty or thirty percent of it, it would be enough to lift the old man's spirits and keep him from sinking further into despair and cutting off his own chance of life.

"Hengshou, take Nineteenth Uncle back to Langhuan Hall and look after him well. Xiaoyu, clean this place up so no one notices. Afterward, the two of you should carry on as usual. Oh, and find a way to mend Aunt's gold thread, then go sell a few books."

"Young Master, you aren't returning to Langhuan Hall?"

As the sky gradually brightened, Heng Hua gritted his teeth. "I'm going to the Dragon-Transformation Pool. If I want to rapidly increase my magic power, that's the only place to go. Once I cultivate back to the ninth level of Qi Refining, I'll take you to Turtle-Burial Reef."

That natural place for avoiding tribulations was finally time to put to use.

The author muttered to himself: Completely dumbfounded. Signing a contract with Qidian now apparently doesn't even require printing one. You only need to sign online. Early in the morning, I recorded a video under the covers. And somehow, the verification succeeded.

It felt like I hadn't woken up from a dream. Does Qidian actually have this kind of efficiency now?