Chapter Four: Emptying Out the Wuzhuang Temple

“Those who achieve great things have always been cunning. My apologies, Zhenyuanzi, my brother.” Li Tian glanced at Zhenyuanzi, who was now dead drunk and unconscious, silently offered a word of apology, then paid him no further mind.

Stepping outside, he was greeted by two young attendants, who bowed deeply to him. Li Tian smiled and nodded, then gently blew a breath in their direction. Watching as they fainted, he vanished in a flash and soared above the Five Elements Monastery. With his divine sense, he had long since pinpointed the location of the Ginseng Fruit Tree.

“Indeed, it’s worthy of being one of the ten greatest innate spiritual roots.”

Li Tian arrived in the rear garden of the monastery, gazing at the Ginseng Fruit Tree before him, which radiated vigorous spiritual energy and brimming vitality. He couldn’t help but sigh in admiration. There were only a dozen or so fruits left on the ancient tree, which seemed sparse amid its luxuriant branches. The Ginseng Fruit Tree bore just thirty fruits every ten thousand years, and judging by the number, it seemed Zhenyuanzi hadn’t possessed the tree for a full ten thousand years yet.

Later tales claimed that Zhenyuanzi had fused his soul with the Ginseng Fruit Tree, cultivating together and sharing life and death. Whether this was true or not was uncertain, but Li Tian was always cautious. He scrutinized the Ginseng Fruit Tree dozens of times with his divine sense before feeling reassured.

In the end, his worries proved unfounded; he found no sign of any spiritual imprint on the tree. Perhaps it was still too early, or perhaps Zhenyuanzi had never considered such a thing.

Li Tian took out the Chaos Bell from his waist and summoned his power to activate it. The Chaos Bell could suppress both time and space. With the Ginseng Fruit Tree sealed inside, he had no fear of it coming to harm, for within the bell’s domain, both time and space were held still.

With a wave of his hand and a surge of power, the Chaos Bell swelled with the wind, growing in an instant to several hundred meters, overshadowing the sky and enveloping the Ginseng Fruit Tree. A tremendous suction erupted, and in a heartbeat, the massive tree was uprooted, leaving a vast pit behind.

Having secured the Ginseng Fruit Tree, Li Tian was elated. He stowed away the Chaos Bell, which shrank from its immense size to a small bell resting in his palm.

Of course, this meant he had thoroughly antagonized Zhenyuanzi; there would inevitably be conflict between them in the future. Considering this, Li Tian pondered whether he should resolve the threat once and for all and eliminate Zhenyuanzi to avoid future trouble.

But after some thought, Li Tian abandoned the idea. After all, Zhenyuanzi was not entirely beyond redemption, and in time, his achievements would be limited—hardly worth worrying about. Fastening the Chaos Bell at his waist, Li Tian prepared to depart, seeking a suitable place to replant the Ginseng Fruit Tree.

Sweeping the area with his divine sense, he saw that Zhenyuanzi was still slumped over the table, unconscious. Li Tian’s eyes flickered—since he had already made an enemy of the man, he might as well go all the way and leave nothing unfinished.

...

The next morning, Zhenyuanzi jolted awake from his sleep, startled by the realization that his connection to his companion treasure—the Earth Tome—had been severed!

With a hurried calculation, Zhenyuanzi’s eyes reddened in fury. He rushed outside to investigate and, seeing the enormous crater where his tree once stood, collapsed to the ground, teeth clenched in rage. “Supreme Heaven, this Daoist will not rest until you are destroyed!”

For the first time, Zhenyuanzi truly understood what it meant to “invite a wolf into the house.” His once-pure heart was now shadowed with gloom.

Meanwhile, hundreds of thousands of miles away in a hidden cave, Li Tian was refining the Earth Tome when he suddenly sneezed.

“A cold? I never expected to catch one at my current level of cultivation.”

This journey had been extraordinarily fruitful for Li Tian—not only had he acquired the Ginseng Fruit Tree, one of the ten greatest innate spiritual roots, and the Earth Tome, one of the ten greatest innate spiritual treasures, but the rare herbs and medicines he’d looted from the Five Elements Monastery alone amounted to an immense fortune.

Of all his gains, the greatest was the Earth Tome, said to be formed from the membrane of the primordial earth—a supreme defensive treasure, rivaling even the Twelfth-Rank Merit Golden Lotus, and capable of communing with the very earth itself. It was this treasure that had made Zhenyuanzi the “Ancestor of Earth Immortals.”

Without the Earth Tome, Zhenyuanzi had lost the foundation for his title. Of course, none of this concerned Li Tian—who cared who Zhenyuanzi was?

Unbeknownst to Li Tian, he had not only stripped Zhenyuanzi of his qualifications to become the Ancestor of Earth Immortals, but also extinguished his “hospitable” nature at its root, severing the legendary friendship between Zhenyuanzi and Hongyun. Without ever meeting Zhenyuanzi, who could say if Hongyun would still reincarnate as Shennong, one of the Three Sovereigns of the future?

After several years of effort, Li Tian finally finished refining the Earth Tome. With this treasure, his personal safety ascended to a new tier—even if Hongjun himself appeared, Li Tian would not find it difficult to escape unscathed.

Leaving the cave behind, Li Tian set out to find a suitable place for his own Daoist abode. In the primordial world, there were two ideal sites: the “Penglai Immortal Island” in the East Sea and “Heavenly Court” on Mount Buzhou. Both were rare paradises, with the Heavenly Court destined to become the foundation for the future demon race.

Given that the East Sea was now the domain of the Dragon Clan, whose power was immense, Li Tian decided it was unwise to draw attention by appearing on their territory. That would only invite trouble. Thus, he dismissed the thought of seeking Penglai Immortal Island in the East Sea.

“I’ll go take a look at Mount Buzhou.”

With his decision made, Li Tian rode his auspicious clouds toward the mountain.

At this time, tensions between the Dragon, Phoenix, and Qilin clans were high, and conflict was imminent. The first great calamity of the primordial era was approaching. Li Tian wondered if Nuwa and Fuxi had already been born.

The thought of soon meeting the legendary Lady Nuwa filled him with excitement. If he could marry Nuwa, what a joy that would be—the future sage herself! Even if he never attained sainthood, his life would be complete.

Of course, Li Tian understood that such thoughts were mere fantasy. He was not naïve enough to think he could win Nuwa’s heart with the typical tricks of protagonists from other legends, or by showing a little favor. She was destined to be a sage.

The primordial world was vast beyond measure. After several years of travel, Li Tian finally arrived at his destination. Gazing upon the towering, cloud-piercing, boundless Mount Buzhou, even he felt a sense of awe.

It had only been a few million years since Pangu split the heavens. Pangu’s consciousness still lingered, and all of Mount Buzhou exuded a faint, overwhelming pressure.

Because of this, few living creatures resided near Mount Buzhou. Under such pressure, ordinary beings could not even cultivate, let alone settle here.

Only the highest innate deities could dwell for long on Mount Buzhou.