The Central continent could only be described with one word;
Barren!
The Central Continent was many things but pleasant was not one of them. It's most obvious quality was the gravity. The crushing suppression of supernatural powers and the pressure of a congregation of primordial qi that would boggle the mind of anyone. Not even special locations in the Chaos Sea could necessarily compare to the Central Continent of the Primitive World's Great Wilderness
Given that primordial qi is only a renamed form of chaos qi from the Chaos Sea, this was an extremely impressive feat of architecture. But the consequence was that the natural qi was simply too rich. It killed any plant life, even the most resilient spiritual herbs could not withstand the pressure.
No innate creatures lived here for they too would be crushed into meat pastes upon entry. This was the world Tian Hai and Huoyun had ventured to. The barren rocky piece of land that was the Central Continent. Where the soil was arid and filled with spider cracks, where flying was almost impossible, where the extent of Tian Hai's abilities was to just walk around like a mortal visiting the Himalayas.
"Good heavens," Tian Hai gurgled out clutching his chest. His knees were bent and his face strained. "How are you resisting this brother Huoyun?"
Huoyun in contrast appeared mostly fine. There was however trails of sweat dripping down his forehead which was the only indication to some fatigue.
"I'm pushing against it with my own immortal qi," he said nonchalantly. "Something you are also able to do you know that right? You don't have to rely purely on physical ability."
"Oh…"
Tian Hai stood back up after circulating his qi with full intent. He blushed and looked away from Huoyun who merely sighed with a shrug. But even then, the suppression of Mt Buzhou was still insane.
In a normal Chaos World, Golden Immortals have already transcended the confines of a universe. They were free beings capable of traveling through the Chaos Sea. The Primitive World is breaking all sorts of norms outside of Huoyun's experience.
But now that they were in the Central Continent, Mt Buzhou was closer than it has ever been. Just standing at the southern edges, the two could feel the deep power emanating from Mt Buzhou's depths.
To Tian Hai, it was as if he was facing God almighty himself. But to Huoyun, he wondered if it was the lingering power of Pangu.
Despite dying many years ago, Pangu's influence on the world was still strong. Every once of his qi still permeated the environment, even the bodies of innate gods were not exempt from it. But Mt Buzhou was where the vast majority of said influence was at.
Being Pangu's spine, Mt Buzhou was gargantuan. It dwarfed all other constructs within the world by an order of magnitude. It's peak was not visible beyond the clouds and its base covered over three quoters of the available land within the Central Continent. Only on Mt Buzhou was greenery visible.
Even then, both of the innate gods present doubted anything growing on Mt Buzhou to be ordinary. It was a cosmic celestial mountain that held the universe in place. A lynchpin necessary for the continued existence of all things in this universe.
Thus, the two headed towards the southern base of Mt Buzhou taking one careful step at a time. Each step dug into the soil leaving behind footprints several inches deep. Over time, the suppression only got stronger. However, this was also an extremely good body tempering exercise.
As Tian Hai and Huoyun progressed, their bodies suffered the brutal suppression of Mt Buzhou. Slowly, they became accustomed. Though it was still strong, they felt their flesh gradually strengthen beneath the training.
After dozens of years of non stop trekking, they'd finally managed to reach Mt Buzhou's foothills. There for the first time since entering the Central continent, they saw a semblance of greenery accompanied by a mind boggling amount of qi.
"Mt Buzhou," Tian Hai whispered. "It's as wonderful as the legends described."
"Legends?" Huoyun inquired with a raised eyebrow. "I didn't know they wrote legends about this mountain already. Although, coming from Pangu's spine it is quite impressive."
Truth be told, Huoyun greatly admired the mountain. It was the only thing keeping the sky above their heads and the universe stable. Through his expertise in the five elements, Huoyun could identify that there was no deciding will in this universe. As such, Grand Dao's influence from the Chaos Sea creeped in.
He wondered how long before something like a Heavenly Dao would spawn. By the time that happened, the freedom of immortals would be a lot more restricted then things currently are. Hopefully, he would be able to reclaim his Dao and leave by then.
"You know," Tian Hai said. "Now that we've arrived, I'm kinda lost what to do."
"Did you not want to try for opportunistic encounters? With energy as rich as this, you're bound to find something useful." Huoyun advised.
Tian Hai nodded. "You're right brother Huoyun, just like always. Yeah I'm sure there would be many wonderful things in the mountain. Let's try and scale it."
Although Tian Hai was optimistic about climbing Mt Buzhou, reality was a lot different. The suppression starting on Buzhou's bottom to the top was an exponential increase. In the end, Tian Hai and Huoyun could only linger around the lower quartile of Mt Buzhou before the gravity became too tough.
Not even when Huoyun activated his full cultivation base could he make it far up Mt Buzhou. It was simply an impossible task.
It was an unbelievable experience to Huoyun. So much so that he wanted to laugh out loud. To be denied so profusely by a mere mountain, such an event had not happened for millions of years. Not since Huoyun was first conceived in the Chaos Sea as a Golden Immortal.
Over the next ten years, the two wondered around Buzhou aimlessly. Huoyun experienced the myriad changes of qi that carried essences from all the Daos the Primitive World has swallowed in its conception. All the while, he had also listened to Tian Hai recount tidbits about Mt Buzhou.
Tian Hai turned out to be quite a blabbermouth once he got started. Somehow he had come across information that Huoyun wasn't even aware of. Said information all turned out to be true or at least was very likely to be true based on Huoyun's own divination.
For example during the sixth year of climbing, Tian Hai told Huoyun that on Mt Buzhou was a piece of Pangu's legendary Dao artifact the 36 petals Chaos Green lotus. A lesser 12 petals Green Lotus that stood at the head of all lotus treasures in the world. Such a treasure was surely a top tier spiritual level, perhaps even at the chaos spiritual level.
Time went by and eventually hundreds of years had passed, Tian Hai and Huoyun had looped around Mt Buzhou's lower levels exploring all kinds of mountainous features. Yet they had not encountered any spiritual treasures at all.
"This is strange," Tian Hai muttered. They'd found their original starting location where they ceased climbing and started going horizontally. In his head, he was cursing the novels he'd read in his past life. Wasn't the transmigrated protagonist supposed to easily encounter treasures?
"Heaven really is unfair!" Tian Hai cursed at the sky. Naturally as the world currently lacked a Heavenly Dao, he received no response.
"Brother what are you doing?" Huoyun sighed exasperatingly. "We can only blame our poor luck. Even if we couldn't find anything, we still gained a lot from this trip."
Huoyun's attempt to cheer up Tian Hai didn't do much to uplift his mood. The sea god didn't feel like leaving empty handed. He sat down on a boulder and began to think.
"Tian Hai, where do you feel like gong after this?" Huoyun asked. "Because I feel as if we should retreat for a time to breakthrough. You especially are still at the Golden Immortal realm for nearly ten thousand years already."
"Are you not the same though?"
"Heh. I can restore to Great Unity at any time. It won't take too long for me to be a Chaos Immortal again. What I'm concerned about is you. Have this quest managed to relieve some of your obsessions?"
Tian Hai perked up. "Obsessions? I'm not obsessed with anything."
"Well you do seem pretty concerned with the prospect of obtaining spiritual treasures."
"Have I?" Tian Hai looked down and rubbed his scalp. Within the deep confines of his mind, a minute quiet voice could be heard drumming up a scene. But it was so isolated that Tian Hai could barely notice anything.
"Umm," Tian Hai appeared very unsure and couldn't respond for a time.
"Let's stay here and explore some more, say five years?"
Huoyun frowned slightly. His gut told him he really shouldn't but a few more years shouldn't be a problem right? He sighed and ultimately relented.
In the end they wondered for another ten years. Another decade passed before Tian Hai had even noticed. To him, that amount of time felt so short that it barely registered as a few days. The constant changing of day to night, movements of the sun and moon, blue sky and starry night sky went unnoticed by him.
But Huoyun couldn't find it in himself to chastise the younger immortal. Because Tian Hai's quest had ultimately payed off.
…
On the twentieth year of Tian Hai and Huoyun's stay on Mt Buzhou, Tian Hai wondered through the forests covering Mt Buzhou's base when his nose caught a sweet scent.
His tongue flicked out and he tasted the qi in the air. An odd feeling came about him, a feeling that was very soothing to his mind. It was as if all worldly concerns were being drained away and his body was purified of all toxins.
'There,' Tian Hai concluded and followed the direction of the scent. Huoyun who followed closely behind followed shortly after. The latter had not noticed anything and he doubted Tian Hai found anything either.
'What could it be? Could it be the legendary Nine Heavens Soil that the seven gourd plant sat upon? Or perhaps it's one of the many mirror like treasures of myths. But I hope it's the lotus, since the Heavenly Dao isn't around there's nothing deciding fate and who deserves what in the universe.'
The reason Tian Hai wanted the 12 Petals Green Lotus was simple. It was because it transformed into three of the most powerful treasures of all time within Chinese mythology. Three top grade xiantian spiritual treasures. It was the head of the five lotus treasures of the Primitive World and it's grade would likely exceeded the xiantian level.
The flower of the Green Lotus transformed into a horsetail whisk. This was the same whisk carried around by the Grand Pure One, the Heavenly Lord of Dao and Virtue also known as Grand Supreme Elder Lord of Daoism. In history, he incarnated as the figure Li Er who introduced Daoism to the mortal world and became renowned as Laozi. His whisk, the Void Refining Whisk was among the most powerful treasures in the world capable of bending spacetime to trap its opponents.
The leaves of the lotus transformed into the most terrifying sword in existence, the Qingping Sword. The personal weapon of the second of the three pure ones, the Heavenly Lord of Numinous Treasures also known as Grandmaster of Heaven Tongtian. Tongtian was said to represent the annihilation of all things and his sword cleaved through all matter and transformed them back into the void before creation.
Last but certainly not least was the stem. The stem had transformed into the legendary Three Treasures Jade Ruyi. This scepter that was the favorite weapon of the first of the three pure ones Heavenly Lord of the Primordial beginnings. The god who represented the limitless ultimate Wuji that birthed the supreme ultimate Taiji. There were even talks that this scepter could control the three treasures of heaven, earth, and man.
Which was to say it splitting into three pieces birthed three top grade xiantian spiritual treasures worthy of absolute existences. How could Tian Hai not be moved at information like that?
Hence he pushed past the forest eagerly. Pushing his head out from the foliage, the first thing he saw was blinding light.
Tian Hai had penetrated deep into Mt Buzhou's base. But he's never been to this specific area before. The white light of the treasure stunned Tian Hai and almost blinded him right there on the spot.
Huoyun who followed soon after was also startled. Even he had to shield his eyes from the light. 'This feeling, a treasure far superior then my Five Element Pearl!'
Despite the light, Tian Hai pushed forwards. He was met with no resistance as the light wasn't gravitational force of any kind. It was simply a luminary emittance from a splendid lotus flower.
The more Tian Hai approached, the more comfortable he felt. He felt his body getting stronger, relieved of all his tiredness and all his mental fatigue. This orgasmic feeling of relief was followed by hi touching the flower itself. Only then did the blinding white light died down.
Huoyun lowered his arm after the light dimmed. It would seem the flower was being drawn to Tian Hai and deliberately lowered its light for him to see it in full. Xiantian spiritual treasures had minimalistic intelligence but they still held spiritual awareness. To some degree, they had preferences to their would be owners.
Tian Hai starred down at the small lotus in his hand. Despite having so much power in it, the flower was surprisingly small. It fit perfectly in his two palms spinning with twelve petals. It's bright white texture came as a a surprise to Tian Hai.
"White."
There were few mentions of a 12 Petals White Lotus in any myth he'd recalled back on earth. The only figure linked with a white lotus was the Jade Emperor. but even in honghuang web stories that he was more familiar with, the white lotus was seldom mentioned.
It was always Green Lotus of Destiny, Red Lotus of Sin, Black Lotus of Destruction, Golden Lotus of Merit. It was likely that other lotuses that were of the twelve petals rank never existed in the first place.
Yet Tian Hai learned the name of the white lotus in his palms at a single glance. It came through to his mind without resistance. 12 Petals White Lotus of Purification.
"It seems you and I have fate," Tian Hai quoted. "Very well, you shall become my second xiantian spiritual treasure. You'll be junior brother to this jug at my hip. Though I'm afraid its still unnamed yet. I'm still thinking of one."
'Oh great now I sound like Zhunti,' Tian Hai thought slightly taken aback. Tian Hai looked back at Huoyun seeking approval. He was satisfied with Huoyun's nod.
"Refine it now brother Tian Hai," Huoyun advised. "I can tell it's gonna come in handy." He chuckled at the irony of the situation. If Tian Hai had listened to him they would've never encountered such a treasure.
Even Huoyun felt envious for Tian Hai's fortune. But he respected him enough to not have any ill intent. Rather he'd also gained a lot by being near the 12 Petals White Lotus as well. His mind and body was purified to a staggering degree allowing him to think clearer and sense the Dao better.
While Tian Hai sat down to refine the white lotus as his own. Huoyun sat down and began cultivating. Since now they had free time, Huoyun decided to finally join the two extremities within his body.
Yin joined yang as a massive platform of black and white appeared in his inner cosmos. From there, a tree began sprouting. Huoyun had officially returned to the Great Unity Golden Immortal realm.
…
Huoyun and Tian Hai descended from Mt Buzhou in a joyous mood. Their gains this time around were vast and it was years well spent. For Tian Hai, he could now be considered an extremely wealthy individual simply by possessing both the unnamed xiantian level water jug and the 12 Petals White Lotus of Purification.
Huoyun on the other hand was just happy for Tian Hai. With this part of the journey completed, Tian Hai may've solved some lingering doubts and be more at peace. After all, a calm and steady Dao heart is the most ideal for cultivating the Dao. Perhaps the unique qualities of the white lotus could also aid in this endeavor.
According to Tian Hai, this lotus was one of the many pieces of the lotus flower of Pangu's 36 Petals Chaos Green lotus. It made sense to Huoyun who had indeed seen the Dao artifact split off into multiple branches of lights that descended into the Primitive World.
The lotus specifically was part of a set of flowers that were birthed from five seeds contained within the 36 Petals Chaos Green lotus. Green, black, red, gold, white were the results and they'd just found the white one.
With these gains, the two were able to resist the suppression of the Central Continent much easier than before. Walking out of Mt Buzhou, Tian Hai felt as if he could take flight with the white lotus.
"Well brother," Huoyun said. "Since you've obtained what you've been seeking, I think it's time you break through to the Great Unity Golden Immortal realm."
Tian Hai flinched. "Oh yeah, returning to that realm. I…I'd need to form the great unity within my body and create a platform for a cosmic tree right?"
"Of course, do you not remember?" Huoyun would be deeply concerned if Tian Hai was actually ignorant of that fact.
"No no I remember. It's just…I'm not too sure exactly how I'd achieve it?" Tian Hai looked as his toes in embarrassment.
Huoyun narrowed his eyes. That was a strange tidbit to bring up and one Huoyun didn't know how to respond to. "Can you not just retrace your steps? You're cultivating to restore yourself not to enter a new realm of power."
'Does he wish to be like brother Yang Mei?' Huoyun secretly wondered in his mind. Yang Mei had casted aside all his previous attainments and would now be seeking a new path to advance. Unlike Huoyun, Yang Mei would be cultivating to advance forwards rather then restoring one's state.
If Tian Hai abandoned his old Dao as well, it could potentially take many yuanhui before he'd be able to advance to the Chaos Immortal realm again. Huoyun had known countless amounts of godfiend initiates who were never able to find their Dao while in the Great Unity realm causing them to reach a bottleneck.
The three thousand Chaos Godfiends and the hundred and eight thousand Lesser Godfiends were the products of a much larger number of initiates. Their combined population would've been less then zero point one percent of all living beings brought to Tai Chu temple many aeons ago.
"Tian Hai do you actually want to," Huoyun began to ask. He needed to know if his hardheaded second brother would also tread down the same path Yang Mei did. Because if he did, that would cause much worry for the God of the Five Elements.
"Hm?" But Huoyun wasn't able to complete asking that question as his divine senses picked up another presence. Tian Hai looked at Huoyun in confusion as the immortal stepped away from him to face Mt Buzhou once more.
"Someone else is here," he said without looking back. "Was always here actually. I…we never sensed any other presences most likely because this guy was staying at a higher strata of Mt Buzhou."
"Higher?" Tian Hai was also alarmed. He readied both his treasures with anticipation.
"Don't brother, it's just the cricket." Huoyun shook his head with his arm held out before Tian Hai.
"Cricket?"
"Yes, the Chaos Cricket."
'What cricket? I don't remember any Chaos Cricket. No character in honghuang novels ever portray a…wait.' Tian Hai began thinking. It was hard to recall even with vivid memories of reading web novels as a human youth.
But he seemed to recall that there was a statement somewhere that said that the ancestor of celestial immortals and progenitor of Daoism, Hongjun the Profound Saint of Profound Mysteries was a cricket who listened to Pangu's pondering in the Chaos Sea. Could that little bit of conspiracy theory actually be true?
Just as they were speaking, a purple ball of light descended from far above them. Mt Buzhou was host of many mysteries, it was no wonder some other people would visit and cultivate here. Tian Hai was kicking himself for not expecting this possibility.
Naturally, Huoyun was right and a burly elderly man dressed in purple robes manifested from out of the purple. His eyes shone in wizened light brimming with power. Each globe was like a swirling abyss of purple storms and his every steps radiated the beautiful air of the Dao.
'Holy shit it's Hongjun Laozu!' Tian Hai was mentally freaking out. Forget every other deity in myth, this guy was the teacher of the highest gods themselves. He honestly didn't know wether it was a good thing or a bad thing to encounter him this soon.
"If it isn't fellow daoist Five Elements and the All Encompassing Ocean fellow daoist Heavenly Sea," Hongjun greeted the both of them politely. His tone was respectful though there was a hint of disdain at the title 'All Encompassing Ocean'. Though the childish form Tian Hai took clashed with his mental image of him, that aura was easily recognizable.
Tian Hai only vaguely recognized the title as his own. However, it still felt strange to attach such an epithet to him. Huoyun on the other hand greeted Hongjun back amicably as well.
"Fellow daoist Hongjun, I did not expect to see you here so soon. Congratulations are in order, you've nearly returned to the Chaos Immortal realm." Huoyun cupped his hands and returned Hongjun's greeting. "We're you cultivating this whole time on Mt Buzhou?"
"No no fellow daoists. I was just staying temporarily. Checking up on things is all."
Tian Hai stood off to the side eyeing Hongjun curiously. Chaos Immortal? Hongjun was already so far ahead. The first yuanhui since creation shouldn't have elapsed yet Hongjun was already nearly at the apex realm. It did make sense to him however seeing that Hongjun was supposed to be the most powerful person ever.
As Huoyun and Hongjun made chatter, Tian Hai couldn't help but ponder over Hongjun's presence on Mt Buzhou. Historically, Hongjun did not make any appearances until the end of the Dragon Phoenix tribulation. The final act of the war between the three beast sovereigns was the Devil Ancestor Luohu facing off against the Dao Ancestor Hongjun.
It was a battle of fate to decide wether the world would cultivate the path of the Celestial Immortal or the Devilish Dao. There was plenty of blank details regarding their actions before hand.
"…nd since the North Continent isn't particularly pleasant at the moment. I hope fellow daoist would consider my warning."
"Hm I'll think take that into consideration thank you."
Tian Hai perked up as the small talks died down. "What's wrong with the North Continent?" He found himself asking. From his memories, nothing should be occurring there at all.
Hongjun peered over. His expression was one of amazement as his eyes zeroed in on Tian Hai. The latter felt as if he was trapped within a vortex of indescribable power. That focus was deeply unnerving to him.
"Strange," Hongjun muttered. "Uh…yes the North Continent is currently under the control of Shenni. Demon Ape's former right hand has proclaimed himself Beast Emperor and is wrecking havoc among the local populace. Sooner or later, he's gonna try to fight the rest of the world too. Already he's shown himself to be unhesitatingly in destroying fellow godfiends."
"This Shenni holds imperial aspirations? That…that is a cause of concern." Tian Hai's concerned look was noted by Hongjun. The purple robed immortal however found this situation baffling. He was expecting Tian Hai to start swinging hands and demand to fight Shenni at once.
If Shenni wanted to force all godfiends into his service like Hongjun's words could be interpreted, then someone like Tian Hai should definitely feel offended. Yet the nervous kid in front of him was destroying that image.
"My brother is experiencing some troubles at the moment," Huoyun sighed. He stepped in front of Hongjun and saluted him a farewell. "Nevertheless, I shall remember your warning. Thank you."
"Hehe, it's always nice to talk to polite people," Hongjun chuckled stroking his beard. His gaze then turned one last time to Tian Hai. "You're strange, very strange indeed."
Then he disappeared into a beam of light that shot into the sky. Then his transformation became one of roving purple clouds that flew eastwards. That act of defying the suppression of living beings within the Central Continent alone was enough to prove his accomplishments.
"He abandoned his too," Huoyun muttered after Hongjun left.
"What?"
"His Dao, the Chaos Cricket's Dao is definitely not whatever I sensed from him just now. He's restarted his Dao cultivation as well. So fast as well."
"I don't think I understand. Brother what dud Hongjun do?"
"He severed his connection with his original Dao which is still within this universe's core. He's started seeking a new Dao path instead. He's created a second Dao in less then one yuanhui. What's more he's already close to actualizing the Dao fruit. Once that's done he'll enter the Great Principle stage of the Chaos Immortal realm properly."
Huoyun had a complicated look as Hongjun's purple figure disappeared past the horizon. After seeing Hongjun, he too was tempted. But he was also extremely hesitant.
"Tian Hai, let's seclude ourselves for now. Breaking through is the most important action now. "
"Brother Huoyun, I think you're right. I think the environment of Mt Buzhou will be very beneficial to me."
Huoyun was taken aback. "Mt Buzhou? Why? Restoring your power and reconstructing your inner cosmos doesn't require such a strong qi rich environments. All the inner factors are still there just shredded apart but can easily be put back together. I'd rather we head back to the East Continent where its not as conspicuous. Mt Buzhou is a celestial mountain that is the pillar of the world, if Shenni is conquering the world this'll most likely be an ideal place for him to control."
"I…I still think staying on Mt Buzhou will be for the best. Just think about how big it is and If there's a big threat like Shenni coming, we should prepare ourselves. Mt Buzhou would be a perfect place to perfect our techniques no?"
Tian Hai knew about Shenni from internet webnovel. Shenni was the tribulation the world faced before the dragons, phoenixes, and qilins came to prominence. He was the great scourge that drove the Primitive World's negative karma to absurd levels. He just wasn't sure he should tell Huoyun about his human life for fear Huoyun might turn on him.
He had not recovered those human memories until his introduction into the Primitive World after all. As Tian Hai the godfiend, he was absent of such thoughts. Would Huoyun identify him as a stranger like Yang Mei did and abandon him? In a time where the Shenni tribulation was imminent, he didn't want to risk it even though he felt pangs of guilt.
In a tribulation, everything would be thrown into disarray. Divination would no longer be available, people would have murderous thoughts, societies and factions would be toppled, the blood of all living beings will soak the ground.
The three major wars of 'Dragon vs Phoenix vs Qilin', 'Demon Heavenly Court vs Wu clan', and 'Investiture of the Gods' were all bloodbaths. Tian Hai wanted to avoid such situations like the plague. It wasn't inaccurate to say he was terrified of them.
His motivation to reach the Great Unity Golden Immortal and then to Great Principle Chaos Immortal bolstered. "Yeah brother Huoyun, Mt Buzhou already bestowed one of the highest ranked treasures out there to me. I'm sure with its strong environment I can forge an even stronger foundation then before."
"So you really are progressing forward with a new Dao path then?" Huoyun asked with unease.
"I…maybe? Recreating the great unity doesn't require inventing a new path."
"Tian Hai, your great unity is forged from your internal yin and yang harmonizing and after that it would've became apart of the foundations that became your Dao of Allheaven's Raging Seas. If you remake that unity you'll just be setting yourself up for your old Dao again." Huoyun's correcting account made Tian Hai scratch his head in embarrassment. He had forgotten another crucial detail again.
"Hai whatever," Huoyun chuckled. "Since that is your choice then…then I'm with you. Forge a new unity and seek a new Dao is your depiction right? I cannot force you on such a matter relating to the Dao."
"Thank you brother Huoyun."
After Hongjun left, the two finally scaled Mt Buzhou again. This time they sought a cave for Tian Hai to undergo his seclusion. Breaking through to the Great Unity Golden Immortal realm required him to forge a platform of yin and yang through harmonizing all his internal components. No chaos should exist within his body for the platform that the cosmic tree would grow on to be formed.