The years were quiet, and the Eastern Wilderness had returned to peace after the upheaval twenty Yuanhui ago.
However, two upper tribes had emerged, and hundreds of smaller tribes had vanished.
Xishan became the second-largest power in the Eastern Wilderness, second only to the Black Lizard Upper Tribe. Even the Giant Crocodile Upper Tribe had to show it deference.
This was because the Serpent Ancestor of Xishan was a supporting deity of the Azure Dragon Primordial Ancestor, and there was also Hua Geng, a Grand Unity Golden Immortal.
The tribesmen of the Xishan Serpent Clan subsequently spread throughout the Eastern Wilderness. Even ordinary clans migrated, and serpents and pythons could be seen from time to time throughout the Eastern lands. Though they had left their clans, they retained their tenacious vitality, spreading the serpentine species to broader regions.
This was also a helpless measure for the Xishan Serpent Clan, as Xishan now faced very severe internal problems.
As Hua Geng passed down the various divine abilities and secret arts left by the Taigeng Primordial Ancestor, the tribesmen all reaped great fortunes, with hundreds of Golden Immortals.
But this was not entirely a good thing.
It was because the Xishan serpents were having fewer and fewer offspring.
From their formerly explosive population growth to the current negative growth.
Let alone Golden Immortals, even Heavenly Tier beings were bound by the laws of heaven and earth, making it difficult to reproduce in large numbers.
Moreover, the entire clan yearned for higher realms. Reproducing would not only be a burden but would also greatly hinder the female serpents' cultivation and future Dao attainments.
Coupled with numerous other factors, the population of the Xishan Serpent Clan continued to dwindle. After twenty-odd Yuanhui of attrition, their numbers had fallen to just over one hundred million.
One hundred million seemed like a large number, but for the great clans of the Primordial World, it was not much, especially when compared to races like the Sea Clan and Insect Clan that relied on sheer numbers. It was like a single drop in the ocean.
In their helplessness, Hua Geng could only disperse their bloodlines, scattering those not descended from Golden Immortals across the land, allowing them to reproduce in relatively safe locations, transforming the serpent race into one of the most common creatures in the Primordial World.
This process was destined to be bloody, as countless ordinary snakes were preyed upon by various natural enemies during this entire undertaking.
But it also gave rise to more common snakes, scattered across different regions.
Within their bloodlines lay various divine abilities and secret arts. Upon reaching a certain level of cultivation, or perhaps by receiving the blessings of their ancestors, they might awaken these powers.
If they succeeded in their cultivation, then serpent cultivators from all corners of the world would return to Xishan. Their cultivation techniques, legacies, and bloodlines would all guide them back to Xishan.
Such tribesmen were referred to as "Returnees to the Ancestor" by the clan.
After enduring countless trials, the Returnees to the Ancestor were no weaker than their kinsmen in the ancestral land, in terms of divine abilities, experience, or combat prowess. In fact, breaking through to higher realms was even easier for them than for those in the ancestral land.
Xishan had become the ancestral land in the hearts of all serpent races in the world. Any sentient snake, wherever it might be, yearned for the ancestral land of Xishan.
Furthermore, due to the dispersal of their bloodlines throughout the myriad regions, and influenced by the natural factors of heaven and earth or the actions of cultivators, countless mutations arose within the serpent race.
And among these scattered serpents, there also emerged "Rebels." These rebels, dissatisfied with the dispersal of their ancestral bloodlines, established their own territories, proclaiming themselves "King Snakes!"
These King Snakes not only harbored hatred for their ancestral land but also for their own kin, consuming their own kind. Among them were the most famous mutated branches: the King Cobra, the Emerald King Snake, the Coral Snake, and the Chinese Water Snake.
Although Qing Ling resided in Mount Sumeru, the ebb and flow of the serpent race's destiny could not escape his notice.
When he learned of it, he was filled with astonishment, for the King Cobra was none other than the world-renowned King Cobra of later generations.
He did not oppose Hua Geng's actions; rather, he supported them.
If the serpent race had remained concentrated in a single location, it might truly have faced extinction in the long years to come.
But by scattering across the land, as long as heaven and earth endured, the serpent race would endure. For the continuation of the race, this was the best course of action.
The Sea Serpent Clan also emulated Xishan's approach, dispersing their bloodlines across the four seas, allowing serpents to populate the oceans.
After more than twenty Yuanhui of effort and the sacrifices of countless serpents, in more than half of the Primordial World, whether on land or in rivers, in oceans or high mountains, serpents could be found.
Snakes had become one of the most ubiquitous beings in the Primordial World.
Despite the dispersal of their bloodlines, as the Serpent Ancestor, Qing Ling discovered that the serpent race's destiny had not waned but had instead surged significantly.
This was the effect of the serpent race breaking up to survive.
While the ancestral land only had close to a hundred million serpents, the number of serpents that had reproduced across the world was immeasurable. The drastic increase in numbers had made every living being in the world aware of the existence of "snakes."
Through the Primordial Ancestor's imprint in his primordial spirit, Qing Ling also occasionally enlightened serpents scattered across the land, either through the manifestation of their bloodlines or through divine messages in their dreams.
Although this method of divine communication could not be hidden from Rahu, he did not interfere.
Qing Ling looked back at the long stretch of time; he had left the Eastern Wilderness eighteen Yuanhui ago and had been imprisoned on Mount Sumeru for twelve Yuanhui.
He had now been in the Primordial World for seventy-three Yuanhui.
Despite his imprisonment on Mount Sumeru, he couldn't help but sigh. It was only on Rahu's Mount Sumeru that he could find such a quiet and safe place for cultivation.
Uninterrupted, unburdened by worldly affairs, Mount Sumeru was also the source of the Western spiritual脉, and the spiritual energy was naturally a hundred times more abundant than in Xishan in the Eastern Wilderness.
Furthermore, there were two supreme-grade innate spiritual roots: the Bodhi pure heart, which clarified the spiritual platform, and the white lotus, which nourished the spirit and cultivated the primordial spirit. Their effects far surpassed those of high-grade spiritual roots.
If this were not the focal point of the Dragon-Phoenix Calamity, he truly would not have wanted to leave.
Qing Ling opened his eyes. The divine light within them had not aged with the years; instead, it had become even more captivating after the deposition of time.
His Qing Yun, through arduous cultivation, had already reached over three thousand mu in size!
This was comparable to the quantity of ordinary Grand Unity Golden Immortals.
Originally, his Qi Sea of fifteen hundred mu at the eighth heaven of Grand Unity would only reach a maximum of two thousand mu upon reaching the tenth heaven.
However, on Mount Buzhou, aided by the Creation Green Lotus, his foundation had been strengthened by nearly half.
Originally, even if he cultivated for another ten Yuanhui, he would not have accumulated to this extent. But on Mount Sumeru, he had gathered the opportune moment, advantageous terrain, and human harmony. He had absorbed the spiritual energy of the Western springs, been nourished by supreme-grade spiritual roots, received the essence of the earth脉, and consumed the remaining dozens of First Generation Peaches of Immortality, leaving only three of the hundred.
Therefore, he had only spent twelve Yuanhui to fill his Qi Sea.
Twelve Yuanhui of unceasing absorption of heaven and earth spiritual energy – the amount was immeasurable. He had become a Grand Unity in less than thirty Yuanhui and had already reached the tenth heaven. While not earth-shattering, his speed definitely surpassed that of over eighty percent of Grand Unity Golden Immortals.
Moreover, his Qi Sea and Dantian, his Qing Yun, were far superior to those of ordinary Grand Unity Golden Immortals.
Meanwhile, in the other direction, in the Dudang Wilds of the Eastern Wilderness.
Within the Origin Tower, the white-haired old man's form became ethereal and blurred, while a primordial spirit before him grew increasingly clear.
The primordial spirit's form thanked the white-haired old man, "When I break free, I will surely restore your origin and manifest three lives!"
Hearing this, the white-haired old man smiled, even as his body faded, "Excellent! It was not in vain that I expended most of my origin!"
Bai Fu, standing by, looked confused. After a moment of thought, he finally asked, "Dao Master, why do I feel that you are not quite like yourself?"
The primordial spirit's form heard this and couldn't help but smile, "Oh? How so?"