Qing Ling was startled and momentarily stunned. "Fellow Daoist, do you truly mean it?"
Luo Hua's face reddened, and her voice was almost inaudible. "Of course, I do!"
"Then let's forget about it." Qing Ling waved his hand, shaking his head quickly.
Luo Hua's expression stiffened, and she stood frozen on the spot, her face flushing and paling alternately.
For the first time in the vast Primordial World, she had met someone she could entrust herself to, someone who wouldn't abandon her in the face of life-threatening crisis, and whose promise was her salvation.
Luo Hua's heart, which had begun to beat for him, could not reach his hand.
Before she could recover her senses, Qing Ling turned around and said with a light smile, "Since Fellow Daoist has escaped the calamity of death, it is to be expected that with such experience, you will soon reach the Da Luo realm.
I have matters to attend to, so I shall take my leave!"
As he finished speaking, Qing Ling turned and departed without waiting for her to react.
It was only after he had walked dozens of steps that Luo Hua finally came to her senses and called out, "Fellow Daoist, please stay!"
Qing Ling stopped and turned back.
The sun was just rising, and in the bright sunlight, Qing Ling was as radiant and dazzling as the morning dew and the rising sun. His blue robes, his tied hair, his every smile and glance, were all imprinted in Luo Hua's mind.
"This item belongs to me, and I implore Fellow Daoist to accept it."
She presented a blood-red spiritual pearl to Qing Ling, bowed slightly, and smiled, "May Fellow Daoist soon achieve the boundless Dao of逍遥!"
Qing Ling accepted it and returned the courtesy.
"Thank you for your kindness, Fellow Daoist. In the days to come, amidst the wind and dust of the world, I wish to discuss the Dao with you!"
Qing Ling transformed into a rainbow and vanished into the horizon.
Luo Hua was left alone, standing in the morning breeze, gazing at the direction Qing Ling had disappeared for a long time, lost in thought.
As Qing Ling sped away in his escape light, he tossed the spiritual pearl up and down in his right hand, catching it, and then tossing it again…
After a long period of contemplation, he murmured, "He's at least a Tai Yi realm cultivator, why is his composure so poor? I haven't even made a move, and he's already looking at me with affection?
Is this a trap? If so, this spiritual pearl must not be kept!"
Qing Ling beckoned, and a puppet appeared – the one with a semblance of sentience.
"Here, I have a little trinket for you."
The puppet scratched its head, unsure of what to do.
"Never mind, you look so happy you're dazed. I'll put it on for you."
Then, with a point of his finger, the spiritual pearl shot out and embedded itself in the puppet's forehead.
Qing Ling examined it for a moment and said, "Not bad, not as ugly as before. A puppet is a puppet, it doesn't even know pain when a large pearl is embedded in it."
The puppet lowered its head and fell silent, falling into a deep slumber.
Qing Ling then waved his sleeve and put away the puppet, continuing his journey southward.
His primordial spirit, having undergone the merging of the Dao of Life and Death, was now far superior to a late-stage Golden Immortal, even surpassing a Tai Yi realm cultivator's primordial spirit, even without the life-and-death Dao power of two Da Luo venerables.
After all, Qing Ling had once comprehended the realm of Da Luo, that state of boundless reach, where all methods arose from the heart, and the self roamed freely.
However, compared to the true realm of Da Luo, there was still a significant gap.
Qing Ling could already sense the path ahead, no longer searching vaguely but heading directly towards it.
Qing Ling flew in a straight line, his innate Dao realm heavily touching the Great Dao of the Void, creating a sense of being both near and far. He moved with incredible speed through the fierce winds of the heavens.
After the incident with the two powerful beings, he was truly terrified. Therefore, he preferred to fly in the upper heavens and encounter beings of the same realm, rather than encountering such fearsome powers again.
He flew for several months, and the scenery below gradually changed, with mountains, rivers, and lakes, and occasionally desolate lands filled with killing intent, as well as places of serene beauty. But Qing Ling did not stop, nor did he wish to provoke trouble.
Until, after several more months.
A million miles ahead, a region shrouded in Xuan Huang covered the nine heavens.
A powerful aura emanating from it deterred all lesser beings.
Qing Ling's heart filled with longing, and he stopped, gazing from a million miles away.
Not only he, but cultivators from all directions also stopped a million miles away, looking up in anticipation.
Such an opportunity was truly rare and invaluable.
For a Tai Yi cultivator who had toiled for countless years, the most desired thing was to ascend to the shore of Da Luo!
The heavens and earth were profound, like a pair of eyes, overlooking the infinite beings between heaven and earth.
A million miles away, a young man stood atop a mountain peak. He was one among many masters of mountains and rivers in this chaotic land, but also a descendant of the scattered bloodline of the Qilin clan. He had cultivated the Great Dao of Heavenly Water for over one hundred and thirty Yuanhui, and today, he had finally reached the moment to achieve逍遥 and ascend to the shore of the Great Dao.
The heavens and earth were dim, and the endless wind, water, fire, and ice rained down from the nine heavens. Heavenly lightning, earthly fire, cold ice, flowing sand, and the hardness of gold and stone paved a winding path upwards, a heavenly ladder.
The blue-robed youth stepped onto it, one step at a time, one stride after another. With each step, water brilliance erupted around the youth, refining the heavenly ladder with the Dao of Water, transforming it into a ladder of water.
At first, the youth's expression was relaxed as he ascended higher and higher. After a thousand steps, his speed slowed. After ten thousand steps, he was moving extremely slowly.
Heavy rain poured down from the sky, drenching the barren land. Water flowed down the heavenly ladder, and the youth's figure, amidst the wind and rain, appeared disheveled, his steps faltering.
Yet, none of the tens of thousands of cultivators surrounding him laughed.
The qualification to ascend to Da Luo was not something everyone possessed. They might not have this qualification in their entire lives.
Who could laugh at a Dao seeker's earnestness? Who would laugh at the steps of the strong? Who would dare to laugh at a Daoist who could ascend the heavenly ladder of enlightenment?
As the wind and rain poured down, the youth's ascent became increasingly difficult.
Seeking the Dao is difficult, more difficult than life and death, more difficult than the seven emotions and six desires. More difficult than all laws in the world. With the Dao, one becomes law; without the Dao, where does law come from?
Within a radius of ten thousand miles, silence reigned. Even mountain masters who held grudges against each other stood peacefully, their breathing rapid or still, all their hearts focused on the youth ascending the heavenly ladder that pierced through heaven and earth.
After taking one thousand seven hundred steps on the ladder of enlightenment, the youth's face turned flushed.
The ladder of enlightenment was not merely a matter of stepping across it. Each step he took represented a new comprehension of the Great Dao of Heavenly Water.
Waves surged, the heavens rained down, water merged with the sky, man stood at the center of the heavens, the four directions surged, water was before him, water was behind him, water was in all directions, and chaos contained water!
The youth merged with the wind and rain, the downpour drenching his entire body. His clothes were soaked, his hair disheveled, and strands of hair on his forehead, wet with rain, clung to his scalp. The youth did not use any divine abilities, letting the wind and rain soak him.
His Dao accompanied him; how could it be hindered?
The youth's progress became slower and slower, and finally, at the twenty-three thousandth step, he paused for a moment.
He gazed at the long heavenly steps, like the boundless and unattainable Dao. The wind and rain poured down, the heavens and earth were solemn, as if the Dao was indifferent. The Dao was emotionless, but Daoists had emotions.
The youth moved with the wind and rain, his spiritual platform blooming with a profound and mysterious aperture. The three flowers of heaven, earth, and man rose, connected and bloomed, ascending into the vast wind and rain. The heavenly flower shone with golden radiance, the earthly flower sparkled with silver, and the human flower was deep blue.
The three flowers gathered at the crown, essence, energy, and spirit merged, and the Great Dao of Heavenly Water was infused with the power of the Hong Daoist. The wind howled, the rain intensified, and the youth resumed his journey.
The four directions became a flood, and the plains, valleys, and great rivers were submerged. The water of heaven covered the wilderness, the water of disorder overflowed into a flood, leaving only the creatures of mountains and seas in misery and devastation.
This was another scene of the Primordial World that Qing Ling had never witnessed!