On the Path to the Great Dao

Among the spiritual energies of heaven and earth, the most common are the three lights of sun, moon, and stars, also called the Three Lights Righteous Energy. Besides these, there are various natural airs.

For example, when cultivators are at the Foundation Establishment stage and practice circulating their Heavenly Cycle, if their body’s innate constitution is lacking, they must draw external qi to supplement their body. This method of drawing and supplementing often involves facing an old tree and breathing with it, inhaling the tree’s natural qi to bolster one’s own primordial energy.

Flowers, grasses, trees, birds, beasts, insects, and fish all possess natural qi; although not as concentrated as the Three Lights Righteous Energy, they are still significant.

Beyond that, there is earth-vein qi, lung-of-the-earth qi, wind qi, fire qi, thunder qi, and so on.

However, the heaven-and-earth spiritual energy surging from Qianyang Mountain is different from all these. This kind of spiritual energy existed in the world since its formation; it is the residue left after creation, also called ancestral energy.

A place rich in ancestral energy is called a sacred ground.

There are many such sacred grounds in the Earth Immortal Realm, but they are all owned by someone.

Empress of Earth originally assumed that Western Ox New Continent, located in the Dark Sea and barren and desolate, would have no such places. She did not expect there to be a sacred ground here.

Qianyang Mountain is not small. Even within the Earth Immortal Realm, it counts as upper-middle scale. Placed in other worlds, one might only find a single sacred ground in thousands of worlds, and its scale would never be this large.

More crucially, sacred grounds in other worlds are usually already owned—either occupied by Daoist sects for tens of thousands of years or governed by an immortal.

Ancestral energy is extremely important; it affects a cultivator’s practice after becoming an immortal, so immortals prize sacred grounds highly.

“If the immortals of the Earth Immortal Realm knew there was a sacred ground of this scale here, the next moment there would surely be hundreds of thousands, even millions of immortals rushing over. Far more than the cultivators of Western Ox New Continent!” Empress of Earth found it incredible. A homeland that should have appeared in the Earth Immortal Realm had instead appeared in Western Ox New Continent—it was truly astonishing.

“Could the Celestial Venerable have come to Western Ox New Continent for this sacred ground? That seems unlikely.” Empress of Earth thought. “If he knew Qianyang Mountain was a sacred ground, he would have occupied it long ago. With ten thousand years of cultivation he might already be a Tai Yi Golden Immortal; why would he be so cautious?”

A mid-level sacred ground contains such shocking heaven-and-earth spiritual energy that it could nurture a Tai Yi Golden Immortal!

A Tai Yi Golden Immortal’s combat strength is astonishing; in a place like Western Ox New Continent, he could be considered invincible!

Unless one’s innate talent is exceptional, every Tai Yi Golden Immortal needs a mid-level sacred ground as a foundation.

But discovering such a sacred ground is not easy. Empress of Earth’s residence lay near Qianyang Mountain, yet she had never found this sacred ground. Neither the True King Era nor the Great Shang Era had discovered it either.

If Chen Shi hadn’t whimsically planted a Purple Heaven Vine to search for a place abundant in spiritual energy, the secret of Qianyang Mountain would likely never have been revealed.

In the Earth Immortal Realm, there are methods of dividing gold to pinpoint the locations of ancestral-energy-producing sacred grounds.

Empress of Earth thought: “Ancestral energy can cultivate one to Tai Yi Golden Immortal, which is already impressive. Of course, transforming it is even better. Cultivating with Grand Supreme Purple Qi surpasses any spiritual elixirs and miraculous medicines! Purple qi’s insight into the Dao also greatly exceeds other spiritual energies.”

Grand Supreme Purple Qi benefits practitioners greatly. Take Daoist Willow for example: originally an ordinary willow tree in the mortal world, reaching this level of cultivation was the pinnacle he could achieve in his lifetime; further advancement would be extremely difficult. His innate ceiling lay here, and even immersion in ancestral energy would have no effect.

If nourished by purple qi, his innate shortcomings could be compensated. Though he might still lag behind exotic species like the Fusang tree or the Purple Heaven Vine, his achievements could reach a higher tier.

“His Majesty is truly lucky,” Empress of Earth thought.

Before Chen Shi, ancestral energy from Qianyang Mountain kept flowing into the small soil plot. Within that little soil, a tiny sprout finally broke through the surface and, with a speed visible to the naked eye, slowly grew.

“It grows so fast!” Chen Shi exclaimed in surprise. “Even faster than Wu Qi!”

Wu Qi’s growth speed had been rapid—missing it for a few days would mean it had become a full-grown person. Yet the Purple Heaven Vine that absorbed Qianyang Mountain’s ancestral energy grew even faster, and in a short time it had almost reached Chen Shi’s height.

The two Purple Heaven Vines grew differently. The vine from Wu Qi didn’t absorb heaven-and-earth spiritual energy and didn’t grow upward, instead winding and crawling. This Purple Heaven Vine, however, drew in spiritual energy and climbed toward the sky!

Chen Shi hurriedly activated talismans, reinforcing the small soil plot so the vine’s roots wouldn’t pierce through.

In the blink of an eye, Chen Shi stamped hundreds of talismans into the loess. At that moment he noticed that as the Purple Heaven Vine grew taller and larger, the little soil plot itself was also expanding!

The soil plot that had been only five feet square had now grown by a foot.

Moreover, as the Purple Heaven Vine lengthened and rose, the soil plot kept expanding!

“The temple’s front soil truly undergoes myriad changes,” Chen Shi thought.

He had heard that recklessly entering Huangtu Slope would make one see the loess like the sky pressing down on you, an extremely terrifying sight.

He had never seen it with his own eyes until now, when he caught a glimpse of the loess’s marvel.

After several breaths, the Purple Heaven Vine had reached over three meters in height. Tendrils like tentacles plunged into the void, climbing upward to stabilize itself so it would not topple.

It kept producing branches and buds, reaching skyward.

Chen Shi felt the loess growing heavier. The loess in front of the temple was extraordinary and, as the Purple Heaven Vine grew, it expanded and gained weight. If the Purple Heaven Vine reached a hundred zhang, he feared he would not be able to bear the loess’s weight.

“If the Purple Heaven Vine could grow to the height of the sky, it would be enormous and attract attention, drawing others to seize this treasure. Could I only place this treasure inside a Realm of Emptiness to avoid others’ covetousness?”

He thought back and forth, then suddenly had an idea.

“The loess comes from the temple front; I also have a small temple. There’s temple-front soil there too!”

In front of the small temple at the back of his head, he had planted many medicinal herbs; it was already fertile ground, blessed by the ancestral land’s sunlight, the herbs thriving plump and potent.

Chen Shi immediately lifted the expanding soil plot and the ever-growing Purple Heaven Vine and transferred them toward his small temple.

After a moment, he finally transplanted the Purple Heaven Vine in front of his own small temple and breathed a sigh of relief.

He planted it before his second small temple, cautious that the Purple Heaven Vine might affect the growth of his other herbs. After all, this plant’s growth speed was so terrifying that he worried it might leech the soil’s fertility.

Almost as soon as the Purple Heaven Vine and loess were planted, several ginseng grass dolls peeked over and looked this way.

Chen Shi took no notice. Ever since Scholar Zhu, Little Duan Immortal, and the others left, the temple at the back of his head had remained empty, tended by the ginseng grass dolls.

Those ginseng grass dolls were diligent. They burned incense before the immortal treasures enshrined in the temple, swept the floors. Of course, most of the time they lazed in the sun.

“With Qianyang Mountain’s heaven-and-earth spiritual energy so abundant, it’s suitable for cultivating Purple Heaven Vine. I wonder how long until the vine refines Grand Supreme Purple Qi?” Chen Shi wondered.

He watched the ginseng grass dolls sneak toward the Purple Heaven Vine and climb its branches and leaves. Soon the big-headed dolls lay sprawled on the leaves, lazily comfortable.

Before long, other spiritual herbs uprooted themselves and came to the second temple’s front, settling roots beside the Purple Heaven Vine or transforming and climbing onto the vine’s leaves to lie there.

This Purple Heaven Vine had only just sprouted and its leaves were few. The ginseng grass dolls began fighting fiercely over leaf ownership, exchanging punches and kicks with great enthusiasm.

Some lost battles, bruised and battered, tumbled off the two-zhang-high leaves and landed with a thud on the ground.

Chen Shi worried someone might be killed and planned to intervene, but then saw a transformed little ginseng girl quickly pick herself up, dust off the soil, and scramble back onto the vine to keep fighting, ferocious and undaunted.

Only then did he relax.

“Purple Heaven Immortal Lord planted many immortal herbs and elixirs among the vine’s branches and leaves. No wonder the Purple Heaven Vine helps spiritual herbs grow better and faster. If these herbs love the vine so much, let them be.”

In recent days, as the Empress Temple took shape, the small temple at the back of his head had also expanded. Now there were nine small temples arranged with one in front, three in the middle, and five in the rear.

Chen Shi planted the Purple Heaven Vine before the middle temple. From afar it looked like a small temple-front tree, not drawing attention.

Besides, he could always retract the small temple into the back of his head and summon it when needed.

However, the Purple Heaven Vine needed to absorb heaven-and-earth spiritual energy. If he retracted the small temple into his head, he felt an odd coolness at the back of his skull, so Chen Shi kept the small temple outside.

“Why does Qianyang Mountain have such concentrated heaven-and-earth spiritual energy?” Chen Shi’s curiosity stirred. He flew into Qianyang Mountain, using the Purple Heaven Vine’s sensitivity to spiritual energy to trace the source.

Within Qianyang Mountain, the heaven-and-earth spiritual energy absorbed by the vine was even greater, and the tendrils’ growth rate more astonishing. During the time Chen Shi searched, the vine had already surpassed ten meters, coiling in the air like a flood dragon, its posture beautifully like a swimming dragon.

After searching the mountains for a long while, Chen Shi finally determined that the most concentrated heaven-and-earth spiritual energy lay on a cliff to the southwest of Qianyang Mountain. The spiritual energy there was several times denser than at the edges.

He sat cross-legged on the cliff, took out the Purple Heaven Immortal Gourd, and activated this treasure, carefully studying the great Dao patterns on its surface.

After a long time, he bound his mind to the Purple Heaven Vine and imprinted the Dao patterns he had learned from the gourd onto the vine, attempting to refine the vine into a weapon.

The Purple Heaven Vine was an extraordinary treasure; as an extraordinary object, it could naturally be ritual-refined.

Chen Shi had long lacked a handy weapon, so he wanted to ritual-refine this treasure. The Purple Heaven Vine was still small; if he waited until it matured into a towering giant, refining it would become extremely difficult, consuming untold magical power and Primordial Spirit.

Gradually, the vine and he formed a life-blood connection, as if it became part of Chen Shi’s body, breathing with his breath and expanding with his expansion.

Chen Shi was delighted and continued refining.

However, as the refining deepened, he noticed the magical power consumed grew and the life-blood drained increasingly, leaving him with a sense of life-force depletion.

Even the Blood-Transforming Divine Blade had supplemented his life force; of course, it had its own wicked intent.

“How could it consume so much?” Chen Shi looked at the Purple Heaven Vine. Over this period this extraordinary treasure had already grown dozens of zhang tall, climbing in the air, astonishingly huge. No wonder the life-force drain increased!

“If I wait any longer, I might not be able to fully refine this treasure! Skeleton body, lend me a hand!” Chen Shi gritted his teeth and activated the Blood Lake Sutra. On the distant battleground of Zhenzhou, skeleton-Chen Shi slew a ghost god, the ghost god’s life-blood surging into the blade. After the Blood-Transforming Divine Blade processed it, the blood flowed into the Blood Sea Hell at the back of his skull.

Chen Shi’s Blood Sea Hell and the skeleton body’s Blood Sea Hell seemed connected; a continuous stream of life-blood poured from the skeleton’s back of head in Zhenzhou into Chen Shi’s.

Although the life-blood shortage was solved, his cultivation was still being steadily consumed.

Chen Shi continued refining, imprinting more Dao patterns into the Purple Heaven Vine, and his control over it grew more adept.

In this short time, the Purple Heaven Vine had already grown to a hundred zhang. Its leaves were as big as mats, and the ginseng grass dolls on the leaves no longer dared fight—falling from such heights would shatter them.

Now that the vine bore many leaves, there was no need to tussle over them.

Just as Chen Shi’s magical power neared exhaustion, he ceased refining.

This purple qi seemed substantial, hanging down with weight, drawing him forward to absorb its power.

This purple qi was called Grand Supreme Purple Qi. The Grand Supreme Sage is revered as Laozi; Chen Shi had once studied his writings under Scholar Zhu and deeply admired Laozi’s power.

Scholar Zhu had spoken of the Grand Supreme Sage, saying that the ancestral court’s Hangu Pass was a gateway to other worlds, and the pass official Yin Xi’s cultivation was incredibly powerful. Guarding the pass strictly to prevent illegal crossings, Yin Xi saw the purple qi coming from the east, stretching for ten thousand li, and knew he could not block the sage. So he humbled himself and respectfully welcomed Laozi.

Laozi, knowing he was unrivaled in the world and finding staying here dull, passed on his insights to Yin Xi at Hangu Pass, which became the Virtue Scripture and the Dao Scripture.

Chen Shi first studied the Analects, then the Virtue and Dao scriptures, practicing them in turn—this led to his present state.

Though he knew Scholar Zhu had taught some things incorrectly, Chen Shi had no intention of correcting him.

Looking at the strand of Grand Supreme Purple Qi, Chen Shi did not attempt to absorb or refine it.

He had promised Empress of Earth to grant three strands of Grand Supreme Purple Qi to Daoist Willow and intended to keep his word.

“Now my refining can be considered somewhat successful. The Purple Heaven Vine is effectively my magic treasure; others can’t take it easily. But if someone’s cultivation far surpasses mine, they could still seize it.”

Chen Shi straightened, feeling a slight start as he discovered his cultivation had increased considerably without realizing it.

He had not absorbed the Grand Supreme Purple Qi, but by transforming the Purple Heaven Vine into a magical treasure, as the vine breathed and drew in qi, he had benefited significantly too!

“This treasure is indeed extraordinary! No wonder Empress of Earth said Purple Heaven Immortal Lord is wasting a heavenly treasure.” Chen Shi left the cliff, returned, and carved the two characters “Measure Heaven” on the cliff before turning back to the Imperial Capital.

“Brother, person, person!” Can’er saw his return and hurried over, grabbing his hand and pulling him toward the imperial garden.

When they reached the imperial garden, Chen Shi stood before another Purple Heaven Vine and looked at the scene for a long time in silence.

On the tree, another Wu Qi had sprouted, exactly identical to the previous Wu Qi!

Chen Shi steadied himself, then turned and walked away. “I’ll go speak with Empress of Earth.”