Chapter Three: The Dao Heart Perfected

Within the Jade Void Palace, the purple aura of the Dao and the resonance of the Great Way swirled ceaselessly. Qingxu sat upright upon his meditation mat, gazing up at his master, the Primeval Lord of Heaven. In but a hundred years, the Primeval Lord's immortal cultivation had already ascended from the early stage of Sagehood to the middle stage. Even Qingxu, with all his experience, could not help but marvel at such progress.

After all, this was the true legacy of Pangu; the path of the Great Dao was beyond compare to common pursuits.

As Qingxu silently admired his master's profound advancement, Guangchengzi and the other disciples arrived one after another. First, they paid their respects to their master, then, following the order of seniority, saluted their eldest senior brother—Qingxu.

In just a short while, what had once been fourteenth immortals was now thirteen, for as usual, Cloudchild was absent.

The Elder of the Southern Pole and Cloudchild were two registered disciples who had joined the Primeval Lord's tutelage about a dozen years after the Twelve Immortals of Clarification had entered. Their innate talent and potential were somewhat inferior to the Twelve, yet each possessed unique strengths. The Elder of the Southern Pole excelled in alchemy and the nurturing of life; Cloudchild was obsessed with the art of forging magical implements, vowing to craft imitations of every treasure under heaven and earth.

Unlike the Elder of the Southern Pole, after attending the second and third lectures on the Dao, Cloudchild ceased coming whenever the Primeval Lord taught. At first, the senior brothers were surprised, but later, they could only sigh in admiration.

Upon the cloud platform where he sat, the Primeval Lord of Heaven, in the midst of contemplating the operation of the Heavenly Dao, opened his eyes as his thirteen disciples gathered. His gaze was as vast as the universe, as deep as the boundless sea, immeasurable and infinite; the majesty of a mid-stage Sage radiated from him, making it impossible to meet his eyes directly.

As he looked upon his thirteen disciples below, joy filled the Primeval Lord's heart. The fourteen he had taken under his wing were all steadfast in Dao-heart, blessed with extraordinary talent and deep foundations. With such disciples, the Dao could endure!

"Disciples pay their respects to Master!"

"The Real Person Zidan stands before me, profound essence between the three palaces, Ziyu seeks undying cultivation atop Kunlun, the Vermilion Palace rises in twelve storied tiers..."

The Jade Purity Immortal Law consisted of three volumes: the lower, the middle, and the upper. The lower focused on refining qi, techniques, alchemy, magical implements, talismans, and so forth; the middle was the essence of the Dao—understanding one truth from which myriad arts become as effortless as the turn of a hand. This discourse was precisely what Qingxu most desired; his cultivation and magical arts were already unparalleled among his peers and even the second-generation disciples under the Three Pure Ones. His sole shortcoming lay in his Dao-heart. Now, as the Primeval Lord expounded upon the middle volume of the Jade Purity Immortal Law, countless mysterious Dao-rhythms flooded into Qingxu's mind.

His Dao-heart soared!

After more than a hundred years of arduous cultivation, Qingxu's Dao-heart had been close to perfection. Now, with the aid of the profound insights from the middle volume, what would have taken a century or more was accomplished in a single leap—his Dao-heart was complete.

After eighty-one days, the Primeval Lord concluded his teaching, instructing his disciples to return to their respective abodes to meditate upon the mysteries.

Qingxu returned to his cave on Supreme Mystery Peak.

His heart was far from calm. Now that his Dao-heart was perfected, his cultivation was sufficient to establish an innate Dao foundation. Once achieved, he would immediately attain the rank of Earth Immortal.

Though Earth Immortal was the lowest rung of the immortal path and not considered true transcendence, in the primordial world it was still a notable step. After all, it meant one had attained immortality, gained a share in the fate of the world, increased one's supernatural powers, and experienced a surge in cultivation.

In that primordial age, each Great Cycle was divided into twelve Eras, each Era spanning eighteen thousand years. One Great Cycle was thus 129,600 years; fifty thousand Great Cycles made a Grand Calamity, and 480 million Grand Calamities formed the Infinite Grand Calamity. It was said that in the Infinite Grand Calamity, all living beings would be annihilated.

The lower-grade innate spiritual treasure, the Qingxu Tower, burst forth with auspicious radiance from the cinnabar field in Qingxu's upper dantian. Jade Purity immortal light illuminated the entire cinnabar field. His innate primordial spirit stood within the tower, forming seals and channeling his power. With the exertion of his primordial spirit, in just a breath or two, his three souls and seven spirits dispersed, merging into the Qingxu Tower, leaving behind only a cluster of Jade Purity immortal essence.

Strands of innate virtuous light appeared; pale blue immortal brilliance pulsed ceaselessly. The Jade Purity immortal essence diffused, flooding all twelve stories of the tower.

His innate Dao foundation was established.

Early stage Earth Immortal.

Qingxu suppressed his excitement and opened the Investiture of the Gods system.

[Taoist Qingxu]

Rank: 30

Immortal Realm: Early Earth Immortal

Divine Abilities: Earth Escape, Jade Purity Immortal Light (entry), Protective Golden Lotus (entry), Jade Purity Thunder Art (entry)

Merit: 15 points acquired post-heavenly merit

Karma: 0

A hundred years of bitter cultivation and at last he had become an immortal. The hardships endured were known only to Qingxu himself.

He tried to extend his spiritual sense, and after a moment, Qingxu suddenly froze, his face twitching. A piece of Supreme Golden Element Iron, hidden in his inner chamber, had vanished! He had set it aside to forge an immortal weapon for his own protection once he attained immortality. One must know, the Primeval Lord had yet to bestow him an innate spiritual treasure; he was utterly destitute. The Qingxu Tower was his life-bound treasure—unless in direst need, it was not to be used lightly.

(The grading of Daoist tools, from low to high, is as follows: magical implements, alchemical implements, spiritual implements, spiritual treasures, and innate supreme treasures. The first three are divided into four grades: low, medium, high, and supreme. Spiritual treasures fall into two categories: acquired and innate; their superiority is determined by acquired or innate restrictions. Supreme innate treasures are born before the Dao of Heaven, in tune with chaos, possessing unfathomable power. There are also merit treasures and slaughter treasures, comparable to supreme innate treasures.)

"Cloudchild!"

He needed no guess to know it was the handiwork of his forge-obsessed junior brother. Among the Jade Void lineage, Cloudchild was notorious for his audacity; beneath the Primeval Lord's gaze, he had pilfered high-grade forging materials from nearly all his peers. Qingxu hadn't expected that, during the Primeval Lord's lecture, he himself would become the next victim.

Outrageous!

Having just attained Earth Immortal, this was a perfect opportunity to teach Cloudchild a lesson.

Striding from his cave, Qingxu pinched a small handful of earth and used his superior Earth Escape technique—Shrinking the Ground to an Inch. In a flash, he traversed over a thousand miles, crossing several mountain peaks in the blink of an eye, heading straight towards Cloudchild's abode on Jade Splendor Peak.

Jade Splendor Peak was remote from Jade Void, far from Supreme Mystery. Previously, even at the peak of Nascent Soul cultivation, Qingxu would have needed some time to traverse the distance. Now, with his Earth Escape, he arrived at the foot of Jade Splendor Peak in just a few blinks.

The Twelve Immortals of the Clarifying Sect and the Elder of the Southern Pole each had their own distinctive immortal mountains and caves, but Cloudchild was different. Jade Splendor Peak was unremarkable, its spiritual energy mediocre. A few groves of cypress, three or five bamboo houses halfway up the mountain, a fenced vegetable garden, and a few spirit beasts—altogether, it looked more like a peasant's field than an immortal's abode.

Seeing that Jade Splendor Peak remained still and quiet, Qingxu was secretly pleased. Ordinarily, the moment he entered this range, Cloudchild would have sensed it.

His cultivation had truly made tremendous progress!

Bang!

Just as Qingxu was about to ascend the peak, an explosive sound erupted from the central bamboo house halfway up the mountain. Several plumes of black smoke rose from the windows, mixed with the metallic aura of Supreme Yang Iron.

Witnessing this, Qingxu's heart lurched and he cried out in alarm, leaping forward.