Qi gazed at the majestic Jianmu, his divine sense reaching out but unable to discern its apex.
"How tall must this Jianmu be?"
Qing Ling stepped forward, her hand caressing the wood. "As tall as heaven and earth," she whispered.
The spirit within the stone pagoda in her hand gradually awakened, the Primordial Spiritual Treasure, the Genesis Pagoda, began to radiate light.
The damaged artifact spirit spoke weakly, "Why have you awakened me?"
Qing Ling's face softened into a gentle smile, and she bowed slightly.
"I request your power, Spiritual Treasure, to aid me!"
The ball of light that was the artifact spirit showed a hint of surprise. "You wish to borrow my strength to become a Great Power?"
"No, I merely wish for you to guard a place for me! I promise to mend your damaged Primordial Dao restrictions in the future." Qing Ling's words were calm, yet filled with sincerity.
The artifact spirit fell silent for a moment, seemingly in thought.
"Long ago, Tai Geng stole this pagoda and left it to guard Xi Mountain. How glorious was the Tai Geng lineage then? Now, they have fallen to such a state.
Since you can awaken me with Primordial Qi, I shall trust you this once!"
Qing Ling softly thanked him, "Thank you, fellow Daoist."
The Genesis Pagoda was a top-grade Primordial Spiritual Treasure. Though its Dao restrictions were destroyed and it had fallen to middle-grade, it still possessed an extraordinary artifact spirit.
Qing Ling currently had no time to spend great effort refining spiritual treasures, so she would borrow the power of this treasure's Primordial Dao for now.
"Qi, you must guard the Jianmu well later."
Upon hearing this, Qi nodded earnestly. "Brother, rest assured! I will not let anyone approach it."
Qing Ling gathered her thoughts, her spirit, energy, and essence reaching their peak at this moment.
"Go!"
The Genesis Divine Pagoda transformed into a stream of light, flying towards the vast Dugudang Soul Canyon in the west. The aura of the Primordial Spiritual Treasure instantly erupted, its divine light illuminating all directions. Once a treasure of the Primordial Chaos Gods and Demons, it was extraordinary even in its broken state. The divine light enveloped the entire Soul Canyon, and the pagoda stood in mid-air, suppressing the west.
"Come!"
With a wave of her sleeve, the Spring God sensed it, even from billions of miles away.
Two radiant lights suddenly rose from Xi Mountain, one red and one purple, soaring towards the south, alarming numerous Golden Immortals and Grand Unity elders.
"What is this? It carries the aura of a Primordial Spiritual Root!"
"Our Xi Mountain actually possesses a Primordial Spiritual Root?"
"Wait, is that Primordial Spiritual Root flying outwards?"
In an instant, the Golden Immortals and Grand Unity cultivators remaining on Xi Mountain rushed out, flying desperately to catch and seize the Primordial Spiritual Root.
"Stop!"
A majestic voice echoed from Xi Mountain. It was the clan leader, Hua Geng.
The Golden Immortals and Grand Unity cultivators halted their pursuit.
"This object has its own destiny; do not obstruct it."
Grandmother Hua Geng emerged from the mountain, smiling. "Du, lead the Golden Immortals to Dugudang Plains to respectfully welcome our ancestor's return!"
Du's expression stirred, as if recalling something. His face filled with excitement. "I obey the clan leader's command!"
Du soared into the sky, shouting, "All Golden Immortals, follow me!"
For a moment, although the Golden Immortals did not understand, they all followed Elder Du towards Dugudang.
On Mount Taichong, two more figures appeared.
Ke murmured, "Is he about to reach that stage?"
Hua Geng's face held both joy and worry. "Yes, that little snake from back then is now about to become a Great Power of Heaven and Earth!"
Elder Chi Li also sighed. "Clan leader, aren't you going to witness the ceremony?"
Hua Geng shook her head. "Xi Mountain cannot be without me. I cannot leave Xi Mountain, just as he cannot leave Dugudang. Why aren't you two going?"
Chi Li chuckled with self-mockery. "I don't need to. With the signs of the five declines of heaven and man, I can only remain at Grand Unity for this life. I will go north to retrieve Jiang, and let him witness it. This child has exceptionally high potential and might even achieve greater heights."
Ke said indifferently, "It makes no difference where I watch."
...
In the Dugudang Plains, the southern dense forest was graced by the descent of the Violet Nether Lotus, its Primordial Spiritual Root aura dissipating into the heavens.
The Red Leaf Spring appeared on Mount Zhishi in the east, its myriad leaves aflame, brimming with endless vitality.
In the north, the Flower God Bei Xu revealed his primordial divine form, white blossoms unfurling, a Primordial Cattail Flower blooming with grace.
Qing Ling raised his right palm above his head, spreading his fingers, and shouted, "Combine!"
The roots of the Jianmu on the four boundary stones connected to the four Primordial Spiritual Objects, suppressing the four directions.
Whether it was the Red Leaf Spring, the Violet Nether Lotus, or the Genesis Pagoda, they were all supreme treasures for suppressing luck. Even though the northern Flower God, with only a lower-grade Primordial Spiritual Root, had weaker suppression, the Xi Mountain clan provided a powerful backing for luck in the far north.
When he attained Dao, if he were merely an ordinary Great Luo, there would be no cause for concern.
But his Dao was Jianmu, supporting heaven and earth. Regardless of its utility, merely uttering its name and gaining the recognition of heaven and earth was unparalleled luck!
No Great Power was ignorant of this, no Great Luo was unaware. Once he attained Dao and achieved transcendence, his connection to Jianmu would weaken considerably, and some Great Powers might make a move.
Perhaps the appearance of the Azure Dragon Ancestor not long ago, with its mighty dragon's prestige that shook the world, could deter some. But it could not guarantee that every Great Power would absolutely fear the dragon race.
The appearance of the four Primordial Spiritual Treasures in Dugudang naturally attracted countless gazes.
Golden Immortals and Grand Unity cultivators were all shocked, all filled with greed.
The four Primordial Spiritual Objects, especially those with the aura of superior grade, were temptations even Great Powers could not resist.
Qing Ling smiled faintly, looking in all directions. Greed, so what? It was too late!
The great sun rose in the east, purple energy flowed from the east for thirty thousand miles, and golden radiance illuminated the Primordial World.
The Jianmu, which had grown for over twenty Yuan Hui, finally reached the zenith of heaven today!
In an instant, the verdant light of Jianmu shone upon all the heavens. It emerged from the earth, growing inch by inch, day by day, enduring countless storms, and today, it finally reached the height of heaven.
The apex of Jianmu pierced into one of the thirty-three layers of the Primordial World.
The base of Jianmu plunged deep into one layer of the Primordial World's earth.
"Boom—"
Winds and clouds surged between heaven and earth, golden light blazed, and auspicious rays of light stretched for ten thousand miles. Yuan Qi converged, life and death merged, the Wood Dao emerged, and time and space scattered.
All living beings in the southeast of the Primordial World could look up and see the Jianmu at this moment.
Four paths merged and flowed upon the Jianmu, a single path of floating clouds leading directly to the heavens, where the heavenly light and the Great Dao opened. Transcendent and free, achieving逍遥, Great Luo eternal in the universe.
The Jianmu transformed into a heavenly ladder, with one hundred and eight thousand steps. White jade formed the steps, gold the railings, a straight path that never turned back.
Qing Ling smiled like a spring breeze and, without hesitation, stepped onto the ladder.
Golden bells chimed beneath his feet, and immortals roamed the steps.
Each step ascended the heavenly ladder. The heavenly ladder was long, one hundred and eight thousand steps, starting from the thick earth and reaching the apex of the sky, yet comprising only one hundred and eight thousand steps.
The old ancestors and Great Powers in heaven and earth all looked towards the Eastern Wilderness, surprise flashing in their eyes. Those who could ascend this Dao staircase of one hundred and eight thousand steps, as long as they lived, would become supreme Great Powers!
On the Azure Dragon Divine Mountain in the East Sea, the Azure Dragon paused, gazing towards the East Sea coast, and chuckled, "Good lad, a hundred and eight thousand steps of the Dao."
As Qing Ling ascended the heavenly ladder, with each step he took, a deeper comprehension of the Dao of Life and Death, of flourishing and decay, entered his heart.
To his left, white light manifested; to his right, black light appeared. The black and white of life and death flowed side by side. The Wood Dao led the way in front of him, and time and space, inscribed with his Dao comprehension, followed behind.
His Dao of Ascension was different from that of ordinary Great Luo cultivators.
This was because others’ Dao was guided by heaven and earth, while his Dao was something he cultivated himself.
The Dao guided by heaven and earth was the Dao of heaven and earth, naturally facing resistance and difficulty.
But his own Dao was within his control. With each step he took, he gained insight into the heaven and earth's comprehension of Jianmu over twenty-two Yuan Hui, every day and every moment.
The paths of flourishing and decay, of life and death, walked beside him. Life on the left, death on the right, and he in the center. Daifeng Novel Network.
I walk alongside life and death, I am life and I am death.
Qing Ling's steps were measured as he walked through layers of the heavenly ladder, without the hardship and oppression of heaven and earth that others faced.
There was only his own Dao, comprehending life and death.
The hollow chime of golden bells echoed, and Qing Ling gradually delved into life and death. For a moment, he seemed to be born, and for a moment, he seemed to die.
He transitioned between life and death, at the edge of life and death, and deep within it.
Qing Ling was not rejected by heaven and earth, but his primordial spirit was guided by heaven and earth. He owed gratitude to heaven and earth, and thus must follow its will.
Heaven and earth wished to assimilate his primordial spirit!
Qing Ling’s eyes gradually lost their focus, but his steps did not falter. The sound of the golden bells reverberated through heaven and earth.
He ascended higher and higher, the heavenly ladder unseen before and unparalleled after. He walked the path of flourishing and decay, of life and death; he was the first, and perhaps, he would not become human!
Du led his clansmen to Dugudang. Golden Immortals gazed up at him in the sky, ascending the Dao staircase of Great Luo.
Du's face was filled with worry. As a Grand Unity cultivator, he could see Qing Ling's confusion. His primordial spirit was being assimilated! If this continued, Qing Ling would merge with heaven and earth, and the Primordial World would have no more Qing Ling.
Qi also looked up at Qing Ling in the sky with concern, unable to ascend even a single step of the ladder.
The Red Leaf Spring tree in the east rustled. The black panther worried, "Divine Tree, is the Dao Master in danger?"
The Red Leaf rustled even more, but could not convey its meaning.
The Violet Nether Lotus also spun in confusion, unsure how to help.
Upon the Genesis Pagoda in the west, the artifact spirit's fragile will was suddenly imbued with the flow of time and a nameless force. A Dao pattern of the character "衍" (Yǎn, Genesis) suddenly began to turn.
With hesitation, the artifact spirit of the Genesis Pagoda poured the pagoda's power into the Jianmu's roots.
The verdant vine of the Jianmu immediately trembled, and a trace of the Genesis Dao principle appeared on the heavenly Dao ladder. Though tiny, it was conspicuously out of place.
The Red Leaf Spring, possessing spirit, also infused its divine wood power at this moment. A Dao power that was both aligned with and distinct from wood also appeared on the Jianmu.
The Violet Nether Lotus also infused its divine power, its purple soul Dao seeping into the Jianmu's life and death.
The Flower God Bei Xu's cattail flower bloomed, and a white light entered the green vine, causing the Jianmu to emit white radiance.
The four Daos met on the Jianmu Dao ladder, forming a lock in the southeast and northwest, locking a sliver of Qing Ling's primordial spirit, but only to this extent.
Qing Ling's primordial spirit felt as if it were entering an endless treasury of Dao, yet behind him, a thread of power seemed to be calling him to stop.
However, his desire for the Dao was too strong to halt.
He entered the realm of the treasury of Dao, where endless Great Daos were at his disposal.
Qing Ling was lost in the profoundness of the Dao.
Yet, that sliver of connection to his primordial spirit prevented him from fully immersing himself.
At this moment, Qing Ling had ascended all one hundred and eight thousand steps to the highest point of the sky. The first layer of heaven was the Outer Heavens, and the thirty-third layer was the Outer Outer Heavens.
But the connection from the four Primordial Objects prevented Qing Ling from being completely assimilated.
This was the assimilation of the Will of Heaven and Earth, against which no living being was powerless. Although Qing Ling did not suffer the hardship of rejection by heaven and earth like the Water Qilin, he still faced the peril of assimilation.
Just then, a zither melody suddenly resounded through heaven and earth. The melody was illusory, like tearing silk, its waves shaking, rattling the golden bells tied to Qing Ling's feet.
"Dingling~"
A bell chime, resonating into the realm of the Dao of flourishing and decay, of life and death, caused the Primordial Serpent Seal within Qing Ling's primordial spirit to instantly bloom.
The sound of the golden bells was the heartfelt sound poured into by Ancestor Tai Geng.
The Primordial Serpent Seal was the earnest intention entrusted by Ancestor Tai Geng throughout his life.
The two combined, the heartfelt sound vibrated.
Qing Ling suddenly remembered: he was a member of Xi Mountain, he was a serpent of Xi Mountain, he was an ancestor of Xi Mountain.
His primordial spirit reversed, time flowed, the golden bells rang wildly, and Qing Ling's primordial spirit was instantly awakened.
His mind and spirit became one. Standing on the one hundred and eight thousand long steps, his five energies ascended, forming the image of returning to the primal source. His three flowers bloomed, gathering at the crown of his head. Life and death united on his sides, the Wood Dao and time converged before and behind him. The four Daos solidified, and a single point of primal Dao light appeared, forming the realm of life and death, flourishing and decay.
Qing Ling’s primordial spirit returned to his body, his true spirit nurtured and suspended above the long river of destiny, transcending fate.