Chapter 117: with translation of chapter title

Now the second life has begun to gestate; thereafter, only time is needed to slowly temper one's lifespan.

Qi's actions are not about refining an external incarnation; using so many treasures for an external incarnation would be excessively extravagant.

Using lotus seeds sharing Qi's origin, six top-grade innate spirit treasures, plus most of Yunmeng Ze's foundation, nurtured by the Great Dao, they transformed into Qi's second life.

The lotus seeds and Qi emerged from the innate twelfth-grade pure-world white lotus; naturally they share Qi's root, both nourished by Yunmeng Ze's source, thus sharing Qi's source.

Objects sharing root and source, once nurtured by the Great Dao, are polished into a flawless Dao fruit; should Qi suffer a calamitous death, as long as his true spirit remains intact, re-entering Yunmeng Ze allows him to live again as an innate divine being.

In the second life, the spirit treasures previously fully refined by Qi will quickly accept his divine power, needing no further refinement.

If the former flesh could also enter Yunmeng Ze, Qi could even inherit most of his original divine power and lifespan cultivation.

Then, within a short time he can return to his original realm without loss of combat strength.

Qi now has no mind for cultivation; aside from daily tempering of his lifespan, he rarely gains insight into the Dao.

Two opportunities following the rain disaster greatly increased Qi's Dao progress, but his lifespan cultivation cannot be compensated by insight alone.

Qi needs time to continually accumulate and temper; once enough is accumulated, his realm will naturally rise, requiring nothing else.

East Sea.

The Azure Dragon's lecture on the Primordial Dao is nearing its end; along the East Sea's banks flowers bloom in profusion, plants flourish, and greenery abounds.

Azure qi comes from the horizon, spiritual vitality arises from the Dao; the Dharma is like an evergreen tree of myriad ages, without a trace of withering.

Where the Dao's sound pervades, the wounded heal themselves, withered trees meet spring, grasses sprout yellow buds, a scene of vibrant vitality.

Those who hear the Dao sense vitality within, their white hair turns black again; listeners gain a thousand years of lifespan; all who attain insight say this journey was not in vain.

Taiyi and the others feel likewise, deeming this Dao lofty and profound, surpassing even the Ancestral Dragon.

"Truly, this journey was not in vain!"

Nüwa wore an expression of admiration; the Azure Dragon's Dao gave her much insight, seeming to connect with creation, abounding in vitality.

After waiting for the Azure Dragon's lecture to end, everyone then bade farewell to the East Sea and returned toward Yunmeng Ze.

The myriad innate divinities each returned to their abodes; spatial rifts appeared one after another above the East Sea, lingering long without dissipating, faintly showing a tendency to merge.

Seeing this, the Ancestral Dragon threw the spirit pearl from his hand; a barely perceptible ripple spread, firmly holding the entire space in place until it fully healed, then he retrieved the pearl.

"We must not let it shatter, or else this billions-of-li shoreline would be wasted."

Having said that, the Ancestral Dragon immediately turned back toward his water palace.

The closer they approached Yunmeng Ze, the graver the expressions of Taiyi and the others became, unaware of what mishap had befallen Yunmeng Ze; the nearer they got, the more they sensed a depletion of spiritual vitality.

Compared to before, Yunmeng Ze's spiritual vitality now is likely less than one-tenth of its former level; although it shows little outward change in the short term, its impact is actually profound.

"What on earth did Qi do upon his return? To affect Yunmeng Ze so greatly, its current state is even worse than when we first met."

Di Jun was anxious and somewhat puzzled, unaware of what had befallen Qi, and worried for him.

"Could it be that Qi activated the Innate Stellar Grand Formation, and after its operation it clashed with the Innate Yunmeng Grand Formation, causing both to explode?"

Taiyi is not skilled in formations, but this is the only thing he can imagine that, with Qi guarding Yunmeng Ze and two grand formations present, would turn Yunmeng Ze into this state.

Fuxi's face was torn; although his calculations deemed this impossible, he could think of no other possibility.

After all, it cannot be that a top-tier innate divine being suddenly appeared, then the two sides clashed and devastated the entirety of Yunmeng Ze.

That is truly unrealistic; after all, if Yunmeng Ze were destroyed, the wilderness would likely face another flood, and the immense karmic retribution would be enough to subject them to two calamities.

Moreover, with a grand formation nearby, how foolish would one have to be to choose to spark a conflict within Yunmeng Ze?

"It probably isn't that; perhaps Qi is pondering something, but this influence should not be lasting, otherwise Yunmeng Ze's consciousness would not be so tranquil."

Fuxi voiced his conjecture, which slightly eased everyone's minds, yet they continued to hasten their journey, hoping to reach Yunmeng Ze early.

As they drew nearer, they also noticed that Yunmeng Ze's spiritual vitality was gradually recovering; although still far below its former level, at least there was hope of restoration.

When Taiyi and the others entered Yunmeng Ze, Qi sensed it at once; with a raise of his hand, fruits and fine wine appeared in the Hall of the Pond's Center, awaiting their arrival.

Eastern Continent, an unnamed river.

A lotus flower drifted on the water, flowing downstream with the waves, its destination unknown; within it seemed to be a baby's laughter, though masked by the sound of water.

The lotus continued moving with the current, while countless fish and shrimp in the river pursued it, constantly trying to devour it.

Suddenly, a huge mouth leapt from the water and lunged at the lotus, but the lotus's inherent pure light flicked it away; it finally fell back into the water, raising waves several zhang high.

After a moment, a dark shape surfaced in the water—it turned out the attacker was a gigantic catfish.

At this moment, the catfish's head and mouth were drenched in blood, its flesh mangled; though still alive, its breath was feeble, evidently near death.

The fish and shrimp in the water, unable to approach the lotus, turned their gaze to the giant catfish; instantly water splashed everywhere, blood stained the surroundings red, and though the catfish still lived, it was immediately devoured to the bone.

This scene did not affect the lotus's movement, nor the infant within it; they continued to drift with the current, destination unknown.

After an unknown span, the river carrying the lotus grew ever narrower, shrinking from several thousand zhang wide to a mere few-zhang tributary, and traces of tribes and settlements began to appear around it.

A great net fell from the sky, ensnaring the lotus together with the infant, and dragged them toward the shore.

A group of beings with the lower bodies of elk and upper bodies of humans gathered, lifting the lotus and infant onto the shore.

"Whose child is this? I've never seen such a being before."

A tall deer-person spoke, the one who had cast the net earlier; he bore a pair of enormous antlers on his head, making him look even more stalwart.

"Although odd in appearance, it's actually quite lovely—look at this delicately carved jade-like form, making people cherish it dearly."

The speaker was a much petite deer-person, lacking antlers on his head, with a clear voice and distinctly feminine traits.

"Brother Ange, why don't we raise him?"

The female deer-person gazed expectantly at the tall deer-person called Brother Ange.

"Or we should first ask the chieftain for his opinion."

The tall deer-person hesitated repeatedly, unsure whether he agreed, then turned and walked toward the tribe.

"Brother Ange! Don't walk so fast, wait for me!"

The petite deer-person ran after him.

Then, suddenly turning back, she scooped up the lotus and infant, and ran after the tall deer-person who had departed.

(End of chapter)