Chapter 1194: Advancing to Da Luo

In the Great Golden Source Immortal Domain, the Nine Yuan Temple.

A stretch of rolling mountain ranges, like a black dragon lying with its spine raised high, stood tall with numerous majestic peaks of towering heights.

Among these hundreds of peaks of varying shapes and imposing auras, there was a solitary peak that was not particularly tall but had exceptionally beautiful scenery, half-hidden in mist and clouds, revealing a bit of its verdant mountain body like a pipa half-concealed, stirring endless reverie.

On this solitary peak, in front, behind, and to the right, three snow-white waterfalls cascaded down from the sky, plunging three thousand feet straight down like the Milky Way falling from the nine heavens, splashing up goblets of pearl-like spray, reflecting three colorful rainbows in the high sky, extremely gorgeous.

Between the mountains, the cries of apes rose and fell in succession, and from time to time, cranes could be seen flying in pairs in the high sky. The air was filled with wisps of flowing light and colorful clouds, which were manifestations of the extremely abundant primordial qi of heaven and earth.

At the top of the peak, there was a circular observation deck protruding from the mountain, on which stood a middle-aged Daoist wearing a dark green Daoist robe and a lotus crown.

His posture was upright, his appearance imposing, with a regular square face. His features were not outstanding, but his face was radiant, faintly shrouded in a jade-like luster, making anyone who saw him think he must be an immortal.

At this moment, the man was leaning on the railing, looking into the distance. The immortal scenery before him could not make him smile; his brows were slightly furrowed, as if some hidden worry lingered in his heart.

At this time, from the peak square behind, an elderly man in a blue robe walked over. He was thin, with a gaunt appearance, and had a long white beard under his chin, giving him an air of immortality.

“Disciple Qingxu pays respects to Uncle-Master Chunjun,” the old man said, arriving behind the middle-aged man and performing a respectful salute.

The middle-aged Daoist, addressed as “Uncle-Master Chunjun,” was known in the Immortal Domain as “True Immortal Chunjun.” He was the last disciple of the founding patriarch of the Nine Yuan Temple, holding a very high seniority in the sect and great fame in the Immortal Domain.

Most importantly, he was currently at the late Da Luo stage and temporarily held the position of temple master of the Nine Yuan Temple.

“You’re back. How is the investigation going?” True Immortal Chunjun asked.

“Reporting to Uncle-Master, the Bottle Gourd of Time has indeed reappeared in the Immortal Domain. It is currently in the hands of a man named Han Li,” said the old man named Qingxu.

"Han Li?" Purecauldron真人 raised an eyebrow and asked.

"This man ostensibly hails from the Northern Frost Immortal Domain and spent a long time at Candle Dragon Dao, but he seems to have ascended from the lost Lesser Southern Continent Archipelago as a lower-realm cultivator," Qingxu said.

"Oh, to ascend from a lost realm must be extraordinary. Were there any records of his reception at the Ascension Platform?" Purecauldron真人 asked.

"There were... The one who received him was a Stone Ledge Hall cultivator named Gao Sheng. However, this man seemed to deliberately conceal much information to recruit him into their sect, leaving the records vague. Stranger still, he did not later enter Stone Ledge Hall but disappeared on the way there," Qingxu said.

"Oh, what happened?" Purecauldron真人 asked, puzzled.

"What exactly happened is now impossible to ascertain. All that is known is that after that, he vanished for three hundred years. By the time he reappeared in the Heavenly Court's sight, it was at the fall of Candle Dragon Dao. Since then, he has wandered through many immortal domains, clashing with the Heavenly Court multiple times, yet always managing to escape by luck. The most recent trouble he caused was when he stormed the Little Golden Source Immortal Palace and killed its lord, Dongfang Bai," Qingxu said.

"What is his cultivation level?" Purecauldron真人 frowned and asked.

"Peak Taiyi," Qingxu said.

"A mere Taiyi cultivator, yet he alone could storm an immortal palace. Such strength and boldness are no ordinary feat. So, She Chan and the like died at his hands?" asked Pure Essence True Man.

"Earlier, after Disciple Lanyan returned, he reported to the sect that She Chan indeed died at his hands. Later, Junior Sister Miaofa personally intervened, but was disrupted by Chimeng, and the man escaped. Since then, we've lost track of him and don't know his whereabouts," Qingxu continued.

"This concerns the Vial of Time. We must take it seriously. If we can retrieve it, its significance to our Nine Essence Temple is extraordinary," Pure Essence True Man said with a frown.

"Currently, Junior Sister Miaofa is still out pursuing him and hasn't returned. A third of the Shadow Guards in the entire Nine Essence Temple have been assigned to this task. Once he shows any trace, he won't escape our sight," Qingxu said.

"Now chaos is stirring in the immortal realm. Several immortal domains under our jurisdiction have been unsettled lately, with the Tianxing and Tongzhou domains being the most turbulent. Both senior brothers, as deputy temple masters, had to go deal with them. Among the Four Sacred Envoys, Miaofa is absent, leaving only the three of you in the temple. Half of the Eight Venerables are also in other domains. We must be prepared to prevent unrest and not disturb the patriarchs in seclusion," Pure Essence True Man said with a sigh.

"Rest assured, Uncle Master. Our Jinyuan Immortal Domain has always been tightly guarded, as solid as iron. How would any bandit dare to attack?" Qingxu said.

"By the way, how is that Devouring Gold Child?" Pure Essence True Man asked.

"At first, he was lively and full of energy. Now he's much tamer. He eats and drinks in the temple, and aside from not being allowed to move freely, he seems to have taken himself as one of us," Qingxu said, a trace of a smile appearing at the corner of his mouth as he thought of the Gold Child.

"Last time, Master used a secret technique to probe her and said her origins run deep. It seems he thinks highly of her, so we must guard against the Ancestor not sending her as a gift to the Bodhi Feast. You prepare a few more impressive gifts as backup." said Pureclay True Man.

"Yes." Qingxu made a bowing salute and replied.

...

The Wild Waste Domain.

Above a mountain range shrouded in thick fog, colorful thunderbolts exploded incessantly, and rumbles echoed between heaven and earth.

The vast sea of clouds high in the sky was stirred by an immensely powerful force, transforming into a huge cloud dragon that descended from the heights, connected to the mountain mist, and poured directly onto one of the peaks.

Inside a recently opened cave dwelling at the foot of the mountain, a delicate boy with a golden vertical mark between his brows, rosy lips, and fair skin, along with a silver-flame firebird, were both astonished. They watched as the somewhat mixed but extremely dense primordial qi gathered from all directions and surged into a silver light gate before them.

This white-clad boy was naturally Pixiu Xiaobai, and the silver-flame firebird was naturally the Essence Flame Firebird.

"This is..." Xiaobai was extremely surprised and looked at the silver-flame firebird.

The latter, unable to speak, directly transformed into a small silver-flame humanoid figure and nodded repeatedly at the white-clad boy.

"It's only been twenty years, and he's about to break through to the Da Luo realm. That's too amazing..." Xiaobai's face then broke into a brilliant smile, and he clapped his hands.

The surging primordial qi was too fierce. When it passed through the silver light gate, it was like a flood dragon crossing, producing loud sounds like dragon roars. The fluctuations emitted forced both Xiaobai and the other to retreat far away.

At the same time, within the Flower Branch Space, the situation was also changing drastically. The violent influx of primordial qi was nothing less than a storm raid for such a small grotto-heaven, and also a test.

The bamboo grove in the space rustled and shook. Each spiritual bamboo lit up with light, frantically absorbing the surging primordial qi and continuously dispersing it through their roots to various parts of the Flower Branch Space.

The newly built bamboo building had a green light flowing on its surface, and it seemed to grow three feet taller like a living thing.

In the spirit herb garden in front of it, various spirit herbs seemed to receive a special rain of nectar. Many spirit seeds that had not sprouted for a long time broke through the soil, many spirit herbs that had not bloomed opened their petals, and many spirit fruits ripened.

Even the Two-Life Tree, which had been growing slowly, now shot up a bit and approached maturity.

In front of the original bamboo building in the space, the pond planted with golden lotuses churned violently as if boiling, with large bubbles emerging on the surface and a dense mist rising.

In the mist, golden lotuses bloomed in succession, instantly producing forty-nine flowers that filled the pond.

The many changes in the Flower Branch Space were merely the result of bearing the scattered primordial qi that flowed in. The true bulk of the primordial qi surged into the bamboo building that wobbled but never collapsed.

The entire bamboo building was now enveloped in a shimmering glow, and against the backdrop of the pond mist, it looked even more like a celestial paradise.

Inside the bamboo building, Han Li sat cross-legged with his eyes closed, his whole body shrouded in multicolored light. His body was like jade, and golden veins were clearly visible within. Golden light also gathered in his sea of consciousness and soul, while a miniature infant sat cross-legged in his dantian. His entire person was covered with the fluctuating aura of the law of time.

The primordial qi that came from outside the building condensed within his body, becoming his power.

To Xiaobai outside the space, Han Li had only been in seclusion for twenty years, but to Han Li within this space, under the enhancement of the Time Spiral Grand Formation, he had already spent a full two thousand years.

These two thousand years of relentless cultivation had finally brought all five time-law manifestation objects to a state of perfect harmony. The breakthrough to the Da Luo realm was at this moment!

Han Li's tightly knit brow suddenly relaxed, and his eyes snapped open.

The next moment, two beams of golden light, almost substantial, shot out from his pupils. The primordial qi gathered around him suddenly contracted and was completely absorbed into his body.

His aura had not yet fully subsided. Immortal apertures all over his body shone with light, and his clothes rustled loudly as they fluttered with the continuously released momentum.

In the void above the bamboo building, the sky suddenly brightened, and a faint, illusory river of light appeared.

Han Li slowly stood up and took a deep breath. He felt an unprecedented clarity in his sea of consciousness, and the flow of spiritual power between heaven and earth became more vivid.

Even the state of every minute space outside the main building seemed to be fully visible to him.