Chapter 9

Xuanyuan Tomb.

After the Three Demons returned from Nuwa's palace, they remained in Xuanyuan Tomb, not daring to leave even a step.

Not long after, Yuanshi Tianzun descended upon Xuanyuan Tomb.

Seeing the appearing Daoist, with various terrifying omens behind him evolving into earth, fire, water, and wind, the Three Demons knew a sage had arrived.

The Three Demons looked at each other.

As Nuwa had said, a sage would indeed come to them; they hurriedly knelt.

"Little demon, pay respects to the sage."

Yuanshi Tianzun glanced down at the Three Demons in Xuanyuan Tomb, a flicker of disgust crossing his eyes.

He most hated those who wore fur and horns; he never expected that for the great cause of establishing the gods of the Sect of Enlightenment he would have to lower himself to come here.

"Three Demons of Xuanyuan Tomb, I am Yuanshi Tianzun. I have a task for you; this is your opportunity. If you succeed, you will not only attain fruition, but I will also reward you further."

Yuanshi Tianzun's words left no room for the Three Demons to refuse.

The Three Demons knelt on the ground, heads touching the earth, daring not to disobey: "Sage, please command; we little demons will devote ourselves to carrying it out."

Yuanshi Tianzun said: "Cheng Tang, observing the omens, grew grim, knowing he would lose the realm. You shall go to Morning Song to bewitch King Zhou, bring chaos to the court, provoke heaven's wrath and human resentment, thus following the heavenly mandate; when the time comes, the Son of Heaven will appear, slay the tyrant, and establish the Zhou dynasty."

"Little demon, I obey."

After Yuanshi Tianzun left, they saw that everything was as Nuwa had said.

The Three Demons dared not delay; they left Xuanyuan Tomb and headed for Morning Song.

……

Returning to Three Immortals Island.

Gu Xiu said to Yang Chan, then ran off again to enter seclusion.

Last time, after taking medicine, he raised his cultivation to true immortal.

This time, Gu Xiu plans to ingest the Chaos Azure Lotus Seed.

Although directly consuming it is somewhat wasteful, ingesting heavenly treasures is the most effective way to boost cultivation in a short time.

This Chaos lotus seed, a supreme treasure, will surely allow me to directly transmute, elevating my physique and foundation.

……

In the courtyard, Yang Chan was in quiet cultivation.

Sensing someone, she opened her eyes and saw it was Yun Xiao; she had no choice but to stop cultivating and rise to her feet.

"Greetings, Immortal Yun Xiao."

Yun Xiao slightly nodded: "Yang Chan, where is Gu Xiu?"

"Immortal Master, he is currently in seclusion."

Yun Xiao felt puzzled; she had come because she saw Gu Xiu return.

She hadn't expected that upon returning he would immediately go into seclusion, and she wondered what he had gone out to do.

Seeing Yun Xiao remain silent, Yang Chan spoke.

"Immortal, if there is anything you wish to tell me, I will inform the Immortal Master after he leaves seclusion."

Yun Xiao nodded: "Very well; then when Gu Xiu leaves seclusion, have him come find me."

"Rest assured, Immortal; when the Immortal Master leaves seclusion, I will inform him."

……

Inside the cave dwelling.

Gu Xiu took out the Chaos lotus seed and directly consumed it.

In an instant, a mighty power surged wildly within his body.

His cultivation kept breaking through and rising.

Mid-stage True Immortal, late-stage, peak...

Early-stage Mystic Immortal, mid-stage, late-stage, peak……

His body was also transformed by the Chaos lotus seed, undergoing metamorphosis into an innate divine spirit's foundation.

Above the cave dwelling, purple vapors gathered, forming auspicious clouds.

Seven-colored spiritual light spanned heaven and earth, as if the sky were leaking, slanting downward to fall into Gu Xiu's secluded cave dwelling.

Inside the cave dwelling, Gu Xiu still kept his eyes tightly closed; immortal qi surged around him, auspicious light shone everywhere, and Daoic rhythms intertwined.

Only when he broke through to the initial stage of Golden Immortal did it cease.

He slightly opened his eyes and sensed his body.

"Direct consumption really is wasteful; I only reached early Golden Immortal, but this also saves me tens of thousands, even hundreds of thousands of years of arduous cultivation, which is not bad."

"The only good news is that the Chaos lotus seed has changed my foundation, allowing me to go further on the path of cultivation—provided, of course, that I survive the Investiture of the Gods to have a future."

"But why is my foundation now a five-colored, variegated azure lotus?"

Gu Xiu, examining himself inwardly, discovered an azure lotus within, which he could not comprehend.

He supposed that when he consumed the Chaos lotus seed, his bodily structure was entirely remade by it.

……

Yang Jian had been immersed in cultivation when a sudden heavenly-earthly omen disturbed him.

He had no choice but to stop cultivating and return to his residence to find out what was happening.

Seeing Yang Chan looking up, he called out: "Third sister."

Hearing Yang Jian call her, Yang Chan turned her head: "Second brother."

"Third sister, the master's cave dwelling above shows heavenly omens; what has happened?"

Yang Chan shook her head.

The Immortal Master went out for a trip, returned and entered seclusion; not long after, these phenomena were attracted.

Yang Jian heard this, his heart leapt with joy, and he smiled brightly: "Rumors say heavenly phenomena appear; there must be something extraordinary; surely the Master's cultivation has advanced again."

Yang Chan agreed with this.

The two waited outside.

Soon after, Gu Xiu came out of his cave dwelling.

Seeing Yang Jian and Yang Chan both outside, he walked over and said, "Why are you both out here?"

"Master, we observed heavenly phenomena above your cave dwelling; surely your Dao has progressed further in seclusion." Yang Jian's face showed delight.

Gu Xiu said: "As Master, I have gained much in these months of seclusion, but the Dao is boundless; the path I must walk still has much ahead, and so do you."

Yang Jian clasped his hands: "Master, rest assured, I will keep this in mind."

Yang Chan smiled and said: "Immortal Master, since you transmitted the cultivation method to me, in my practice I have indeed felt the marvels of heaven and earth; this is what you said about the Dao having no bounds, right?"

Gu Xiu nodded slightly: "It's good if you have gained some insight."

Yang Chan suddenly recalled the matter of Yun Xiao's visit.

"Right, Immortal Master, during your seclusion, Immortal Maiden Yun Xiao came to find you, asking you to leave seclusion to seek her."

Gu Xiu nodded.

Yun Xiao has discarded the six qi and three corpses; the azure phoenix is but a step away from Jade Capital.

Having severed the three corpses and swallowed the six qi, she is truly a quasi-sage.

During this time on Three Immortals Island, if Yun Xiao wanted to know what he was doing.

Whether he is on the island or not is just a thought.

"If your ancestral master is looking for me, I'll go first; if there's anything else, we can talk after I return."

Yang Jian said gently: "Master, feel free to go find your ancestral master; as a disciple, I currently have no confusion in my cultivation."

……

Three Immortals Island, in a pavilion.

Regarding the phenomena attracted by Gu Xiu, Yun Xiao had long been paying attention.

Seeing Gu Xiu arrive, she rose slightly to her feet.

"Master, Yang Chan said you came while I was in seclusion; I don't know if you seek me for some matter?"

Yun Xiao said slowly: "You have been on Three Immortals Island for some time; I have not yet taken you to Golden Ao Island; I seek you to bring you there to meet your various uncles and elders."

While speaking, Yun Xiao glanced at Gu Xiu twice, her eyes showing something unusual.

"Have you broken through to Golden Immortal?"

You know that when you arrived at Three Immortals Island you were only a Heavenly Immortal; to break through to Golden Immortal in this short time is more potent than taking pills.

Gu Xiu smiled humbly: "I fortuitously gained some opportunities while out."

"What kind of opportunity could transform your foundation?" Yun Xiao examined Gu Xiu closely and found he was no longer the frail human foundation, but had become the foundation of an innate divine spirit.

You know that foundation is innate; it is hard to change it postnatally, unless one consumes a top-grade innate spiritual object, such as Pangu's essence blood—if one takes a drop, it can be refined, shedding the womb and changing bones, remaking the foundation.

Gu Xiu said truthfully: "I happened to obtain a Chaos Lotus Seed; after consuming it, I became like this."

Upon hearing this, Yun Xiao's beautiful eyes furrowed slightly; after a moment's thought she said: "Legends say the Chaos Azure Lotus, after splitting open the heavens, shattered, transforming into thirty-six grades of Creation Azure Lotus; one of them was divided into three obtained by the Three Pure Ones' ancestors; indeed, there are said to be several lotus seeds scattered, their whereabouts unknown; your obtaining one is indeed your fortune, Master, so I will not ask further."

Having said that, she couldn't help but laugh.

"After cultivating for over a hundred years to become a Golden Immortal, I believe your uncles and elders would think I fed you a Nine-turn Golden Pill."

Gu Xiu naturally knows the Nine-turn Golden Pill; it is the highest-grade pill that Taiqing Laozi can produce in his alchemical skill.

It is said that consuming one pellet can achieve the rank of Great Luo Golden Immortal.

"Master, do you happen to have a Nine-turn Golden Pill?" Gu Xiu very much wanted to eat one.

Yun Xiao laughed angrily: "Even after a hundred years as a Golden Immortal, you still think of the Nine-turn Golden Pill; this pill can only be refined by the Ren Sect's Taiqing Ancestral Master; I have only heard its name, never seen it; however, using pills and heavenly treasures to forcibly raise cultivation will destabilize the foundation, so you should not rush to raise your cultivation for now, but first solidify your foundation."

Forcibly raising cultivation with pills will indeed destabilize the foundation, but with the Investiture of the Gods approaching, not taking pills is impossible; yet Gu Xiu still said aloud:

"Master, rest assured, the disciple knows his own limits."

Gu Xiu indeed knows his limits; he has always taken pills and felt great; he still wants to take them, for relying on self-cultivation to reach Golden Immortal would take how many years and months.

By then, the Investiture of the Gods will have long ended.