TPWTD 06

Chapter – 06

The Dinghai Divine Pearls! The Path to Golden Immortal!

Above the vast, boundless sea, a streak of light pierced through the void.

“This Primordial World is just too damn vast!” Yuan Lian stopped, looking speechlessly at the endless expanse of water.

A full thousand years had passed, and he had flown for who knows how many trillions of miles, yet he still hadn’t caught sight of the Primordial mainland. He had encountered a few islands, with numerous living beings and races dwelling on them. From afar, he could sense that these beings had very low cultivation; he hadn’t encountered a single one at the Golden Immortal level again.

Yuan Lian, in possession of three immortal islands, naturally looked down upon those islands with relatively barren spiritual energy.

“At this distance, the Azure Dragon shouldn’t be able to lock onto my aura anymore.” Although the Azure Dragon hadn’t pursued him, Yuan Lian had still carefully and continuously sped on for a thousand years, just in case the dragon was secretly tailing him.

After all, with his current divine sense, he could cover hundreds of millions of miles, let alone the much stronger Azure Dragon. Even so, Yuan Lian didn’t let his guard down. After using streams of Pure World Spiritual Light to cleanse himself, he shifted his course slightly towards the northwest.

Several more millennia later, in a desolate and silent stretch of sea, a figure in white robes emerged from layers of void space.

“The spiritual energy here is meager, and there are few living beings for billions of miles around. It should be safe.” With a thought, Yuan Lian’s form vanished between heaven and earth. The archipelago hidden within the Sumeru mustard-seed space lay concealed in this very void. As long as no one, like the Dongwanggong, locked onto his aura and forcibly refined the very space itself, even if someone passed by, they would never detect the slightest trace.

On Penglai Immortal Island, Yuan Lian finally relaxed completely. “The Innate Three Talents Grand Array is sufficient for concealment and defense, but its offensive power is lacking. I need to strengthen it.” He gazed at the brilliantly flowing array, pondering.

This place would be his home base, his dojo from now on. Take this recent incident, for example: although Dongwanggong couldn’t break through the island-protecting formation for a while, he could still safely and slowly wear it down. If this grand formation possessed terrifying killing power, how could Dongwanggong have been so at ease breaking it?

“The Pure World Spiritual Light can be integrated into the formation, effectively dissolving the divine powers and magic the enemy uses to break it. Also, the three types of divine water—Sunlight, Moonlight, and Starlight—can be incorporated as well. Then, even if someone forcibly breaks into the formation, they can be annihilated. However, this isn’t something that can be done overnight. The first thing to do is to thoroughly explore all three immortal islands.”

Come to think of it, he hadn’t properly explored this immortal paradise. Since his transformation, he had first refined the island-protecting grand formation, then began refining the Pure World White Lotus. But before he could finish, he encountered Dongwanggong attacking his formation. Only now did he have the leisure to roam the islands.

It must be said that as one of the top-grade blessed lands of the Primordial World, Penglai Immortal Island was covered in celestial flowers and exotic grasses everywhere, though they were all Acquired Spiritual Roots. But thinking about it, it made sense. Penglai had nurtured the supreme-grade innate spiritual treasure, the Pure World White Lotus, and also nourished the supreme-grade innate spiritual root, the Yellow Middle Plum Tree. How could it possibly nurture other innate spiritual roots? If not for the vast amounts of Three-Lights Divine Water, it probably couldn’t have sustained even these two.

After casually collecting some immortal metals and spiritual soil, Yuan Lian headed to the nearest Yingzhou Island. Though slightly inferior to Penglai, it was still shrouded in dense spiritual energy, with celestial flowers and exotic grasses everywhere.

With a sweep of his divine sense, Yuan Lian took in the entire island. “Eh? What’s that!” His senses passed over the center of the island, where there was a spring of clear water. Within the spring, twelve round pearls radiating brilliant light were clearly visible.

With a flicker of his form, Yuan Lian arrived nearby. Channeling his vast magical power, he reached out to collect the pearls.

*Hum!!*

He miscalculated. The pearls suddenly erupted with five-colored halos, repelling his power. “An innate spiritual treasure!” This unexpected sight delighted him greatly.

Innate spiritual treasures harbor the laws of heaven and earth and possess an innate spirituality. Any being attempting to refine them would be instinctively resisted by the treasure; the stronger the innate spiritual treasure, the stronger the resistance.

If Yuan Lian hadn’t been born from the Pure World White Lotus itself, it would have been absolutely impossible for him to refine a supreme-grade innate spiritual treasure. Just like the supreme-grade innate spiritual root, the Yellow Middle Plum Tree, he had yet to refine it.

“Haha, good stuff. The more you resist, the more I like it.” Yuan Lian continued to channel his power, gradually wearing down the treasure’s resistance.

Less than a hundred years later, the treasure’s five-colored halos were nearly extinguished.

“Take!” Yuan Lian consumed a drop of Three-Lights Divine Water, instantly unleashing his full power and subduing it in one fell swoop.

“Twelve Dinghai Divine Pearls!” After a period of refining, Yuan Lian understood the treasure’s origin. Each of these Dinghai Pearls was a lower-grade innate spiritual treasure, though their laws were incomplete, making their power not particularly strong among lower-grade treasures. But if all twenty-four pearls were gathered into a set, their power would be enough to rival an upper-grade innate spiritual treasure.

Think of the later so-called Randeng, who used the twenty-four Dinghai Divine Pearls to manifest the Twenty-Four Heavens and attain Buddhahood in one fell swoop—that shows their might. Moreover, from the treasure’s origin, Yuan Lian learned that there were actually thirty-six Dinghai Divine Pearls in total. If he could collect them all and refine them into one, it would likely become another supreme-grade innate spiritual treasure.

Filled with joy, Yuan Lian put away the twelve Dinghai Divine Pearls and headed towards Fangzhang Island. Perhaps Penglai and Yingzhou had exhausted all the foundation of the Three Immortal Islands. On Fangzhang Island, Yuan Lian only found an ordinary innate spiritual root—a fruit tree bearing dozens of vermillion fruits. He tried one; the fruit not only purified his magical power but also contained traces of the Fire Law.

With a wave of his hand, he collected the tree along with the spiritual soil for ten thousand miles around. Satisfied, he returned to Penglai Immortal Island, knowing he would spend a long time here. “But time is of no value in the Primordial World.”

Yuan Lian summoned the Pure World White Lotus and focused entirely on refining the innate prohibitions within it. Strengthening the Three Talents Array was necessary but not urgent. The top priority was to increase his cultivation realm and magical power. Refining spiritual treasures was both increasing his strength and cultivating.

The laws and great truths contained within the treasure were gradually revealed to him as he refined the innate divine prohibitions. It was the interweaving of principles and order, the truth of the Great Dao. Yuan Lian comprehended these laws, gradually mastering them and transforming them into his own cultivation.

Time passed uncounted in the Primordial World; who knew how many kalpas had gone by.

“Only refining twelve layers of innate prohibitions—that’s my limit.” Yuan Lian, who had been as still as a statue, slowly opened his eyes. In his gaze, spiritual light blazed brilliantly, as if containing endless starry skies. Compared to when he had first transformed, he now appeared even more noble and majestic, an air of sacredness emanating from his every move.

“Still at the early stage of Golden Immortal.” Yuan Lian’s tone was deep and thoughtful. Indeed, after countless kalpas of cultivation, his strength had increased tremendously—his magical power was over ten thousand times more powerful than before. Yet even so, he remained stuck at the threshold of breakthrough.

Who knew why even a minor sub-realm within the mere Golden Immortal stage was so difficult? At this moment, he fully understood that the Primordial World he knew was not exactly the same as the one from his later knowledge—one could say they were completely unrelated.

“But at least I now understand the path of the Golden Immortal. Breakthrough is within reach.” Yuan Lian unconsciously smiled.

From the laws of the Great Dao contained within the spiritual treasures, he had already comprehended the path of Golden Immortal cultivation.

Golden Immortals cultivate laws and gather the Five Energies within their chests. What are the Five Energies? Naturally, they are the Five Elements Laws of Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, and Earth. The Five Elements of heaven and earth, generating and overcoming each other in an endless cycle, represent the way of heaven and earth. Laws are the very foundation of the celestial order and cosmic operation. Therefore, Golden Immortal cultivation can also be described as observing the way of heaven. Only by penetrating the fundamental principles of heaven and earth’s operation can one adjust oneself to resonate with heaven and earth and pulse with the cosmos.

Thus, once one’s Dao has achieved success, as long as the laws are not extinguished, the cultivator is not extinguished—this is what can be called the Undying Golden Immortal.

Almost all things in heaven and earth contain the Five Elements Laws, to varying degrees—strong or weak, pure or mixed. The path of Golden Immortal cultivation can be simple, or it can be extremely difficult. Hence, the disparity in strength among Golden Immortals can also be immense.

“The Five Energies are the foundation for the future path. Absolutely no carelessness is allowed.” Yuan Lian’s gaze was firm as he spoke to himself.

Penglai Immortal Island itself had many spiritual waters, spiritual woods, immortal metal ores, and other things imbued with the Five Energies. But none of these were what Yuan Lian truly wanted.

He raised his head slightly, his gaze fixed silently on the towering ancient tree spanning thousands of miles of void space.

The Yellow Middle Plum Tree!