Ding!
Do you wish to fuse with the World Tree?
Ding!
Do you wish to fuse with the Chaos Sea?
Noticing the two prompts, Lu Mingyuan confirmed the fusion in his mind.
A moment later, the shadow of a tree overlapped with Lu Mingyuan's body.
Its bark was his torso, its branches were his limbs and meridians, and its crown was his head.
The energy in his spiritual dantian stopped flowing for a moment, and it gradually melted away into the shadow of the tree.
Indescribably, the transition was smooth and painless, and Lu Mingyuan felt his energy, essence, and spirit withdrawing towards the depths of his body.
Simultaneously, a small pond of colorless chaos appeared in the depths of his mind.
As Lu Mingyuan's thoughts began to stagnate, his sea of consciousness began to shrink into the pond bit by bit.
From the outside world, Lu Mingyuan seemed as though he was losing his soul and vitality, his presence as though eliminated from the world.
However, listening carefully, his heart was still beating.
Even if ever so slowly.
Inside Lu Mingyuan's mind, he found himself floating in a void of absolute chaos.
Behind him was a towering tree—its canopy covered the sky and its roots penetrated the void, stabilizing the chaos.
The hymns of endless wisdom and Three Thousand Daos pulsed through the branches and leaves, sprinkling the light of enlightenment on Lu Mingyuan.
An unknown amount of time had passed before Lu Mingyuan opened his eyes once again.
Inspecting his surroundings, he noticed the aftermath of a spiritual storm, indicating that his body had absorbed a ridiculous amount of spiritual energy.
"Eh? My cultivation dropped?" Lu Mingyuan was shocked.
Earlier, he was at the advanced stage of the Spirit Refinement realm, just one step away from achieving perfection.
Now, he was back to square one in the Spirit Refinement realm!
After examining his body once again, he understood why.
The World Tree must have further refined his cultivation and stabilized his cultivation base, which resulted in the drop of his current realm.
Even so, his combat prowess hadn't decreased, but rather increased instead.
After sorting out his thoughts, Lu Mingyuan moved onto the second item on his agenda—creating a cultivation technique.
The Chaos Scroll was already in the inventory, together with the Primal Chaos Dao Fragments he bought for his character.
He spent millions of dollars to buy the Dao Fragments for Space, Time, Fate; Life, Death, Reincarnation; Heaven, Earth, and Spirits.
After he inserted the specific fragments into the scroll, he casually named the cultivation technique the Mingyuan Immortal Scripture and tossed the scroll into his sea of consciousness.
With a rumble, Lu Mingyuan felt his spirit exploding, and the small Chaos Sea inside his sea of consciousness began to expand crazily.
Lu Mingyuan's eyes were blank, and he seamlessly entered a state of enlightenment.
Purple clouds gathered in the sky, and the entire continent was overcast with heavenly might.
Inside the Summit Leader's residence.
The middle-aged man in black robes looked up at the sky and muttered, "What a prosperous era! At this rate, I might have to make a move personally to search for the fated disciples!"
A similar scene played out in the residences of many reclusive powerhouses, but because the heavenly secrets were in chaos, no one could pinpoint the origin of the phenomenon.
…
Time passed, and the disciple recruitment ceremony was already over. Since Lu Mingyuan was on the list of Elders to act in solidarity, the Summit Leader didn't rush him.
One month later, the Chaos Sea and the World Tree were finally stabilized within his body, and the Mingyuan Immortal Scripture was completed.
As Lu Mingyuan opened his eyes, they flashed with a brilliant light, and he opened the system interface to open the Profile panel.
Name: Lu Mingyuan
Daoist Title: Azure Thearch
Age: 64 years
Realm: Spirit Severing (Initial Stage)
Cultivation Technique: Mingyuan Immortal Scripture
Spirit Companion: White Tiger (Cub)
…
Looking at his information, Lu Mingyuan realized that it wasn't all inclusive. It seemed like the items acquired from the storage and the shop weren't going to be listed on his profile.
After confirming that fact, Lu Mingyuan entered the shop to claim the passive skills he purchased.
The first skill was the inspection feature, allowing him to identify items, objects, and living creatures to provide a brief description.
The second skill was a passive incognito that prevented others from inspecting his character.
Well, in the current situation, the character in question was himself.
He immediately concealed everything about himself save for his Spirit Severing realm before leaving the residence.
The proceedings to leave the sect were very simple, especially to an Elder. After browsing the map, he decided to establish himself in a town near the Highlands of the Jin Monastery.
Like the Hermit Sect, the Jin Monastery was a neutral faction that didn't involve themselves with worldly affairs, but their territory was a strategic intersection between three active factions.
The population and flow of cultivators was very high, and with the prosperous era knocking on the doors, things should become very chaotic in a short period of time.
Lu Mingyuan remembered that there was a providence attraction charm sold in the Shop and if he bought it, he only needed to wait for people with great destiny to come knocking on his door.
With that thought in mind, he was excited about the prospects of grooming overpowered disciples that would soon become the rulers of an era.
The more he thought about it, the more exciting it sounded. Thus, after completing the formalities and getting a new Elder token, Lu Mingyuan received a flying boat from the sect and left for the Jin Monastery.
…
Inside the Summit Leader's residence, the fox spirit tip-toed on a high rock and clicked her tongue.
"Look! Look! He didn't even bother to say goodbye, Master!"
The Summit Leader chuckled. "All of you have the impression that he and I are close for some reason. Truly, it's just a misunderstanding…"
The fox spirit rolled her eyes and rested her chin on her small hands. "Whatever, it's a fact that if it weren't for Master, he would have died as a brat out there!"
The Summit Master had a faraway gaze in his eyes as he murmured, "Not necessarily…"
Then, a deep sigh sounded.