"Yu Yuan, don't indulge in wild and fanciful thoughts. The decrease instead of increase in mana might just be a temporary spiritual energy rejection. It'll get better after some time."
"Yu Yuan! Are you trying to strengthen your physical body without regard for your own life? Look at all these wounds on you!"
"Yu Yuan! Got into another fight, did you? When will you let your master have some peace of mind?"
...
Tsk, since when has he never again seen his master's gentle and kind demeanor?
Lying in the flower garden in front of Tian Yuan Palace and basking in the sun, Yu Yuan couldn't help but chuckle silently, pulling his thoughts back from the distant memories.
He wasn't one to dwell on the past.
The reason he kept recalling the past these days was probably because the arrival of his junior brother Wen Zhong had touched his heart.
Once upon a time, he was just like Wen Zhong, aspiring to become an Immortal God, desiring immortality, yearning for unfettered and carefree freedom...
Until he realized he was being punished.
Cultivating, but his mana decreased instead of increased; taking elixirs was like ingesting poison, which nearly cost him his life.
Fortunately, he was a Primordial Chaos transformed into form, without the physiological needs of mortals.
Otherwise, he might have died from trivial matters such as eating, drinking, and relieving himself.
Every time he thought of this, his heart would fill with resentment.
Although it was quite nice to live another life, wasn't the modern world good enough?
Why did he have to be sent to the Primordial era?
Yu Yuan understood the environment he was in on the very day he became a disciple.
Yes, it was the Primordial World described in many texts before the Investiture of the Gods!
The war between Witch Demons had caused massive trauma to the Primordial era, and the scars had yet to be healed. Although the Human Race had flourished with the support of the Saints and had become the main actors of Heaven and Earth, the remnants of the Witch and Demon clans were still active in the shadows, waiting for the opportunity to reclaim the stage that once belonged to them.
The Zixiao Palace was hidden in the Outer Heaven Chaos, indifferent to worldly affairs.
The six Saints were in charge of the major sects, plotting against each other, willing to let countless beings turn to dust over issues of face and destiny.
The two Sect Hierarchs of the Western Sect, Saint Jieyin and Saint Zhunti, created the Pure Land above the devastated Sumeru Mountain in Western Niu Hezhou, promoting their Western teachings everywhere and incessantly poaching from Xuanmen.
Meanwhile, within Xuanmen, Chan Sect and Jie Sect were on the rise.
Among them, Human Sect was the most low-profile. After moving the Eight Sceneries Palace to Shouyang Mountain, the Taoist Lord Moral Heavenly Venerate never appeared again, delegating all affairs to his only Inner Sect Disciple, Master Xuan Du.
However, this Inner Sect Chief Disciple of Human Sect, known to the outside as the Great Master Xuan Du, seemed to have perfectly inherited his master's mantle and rarely showed himself.
Most Immortal Gods only knew of him but had never seen him.
Instead, within the Human Race, there were Immortal Gods who claimed to be Outer Sect Disciples of Human Sect, establishing sects under the name of Human Sect, not an insignificant number.
Because Human Sect was so low-profile, no one knew whether they were truly Disciples of Human Sect.
Chan Sect had also developed quite rapidly over the years.
Since the times of the Three Emperors and Five Emperors, the Twelve Golden Immortals had gained great reputation and had become a hot topic among Human Qi Refiners.
Many Human Qi Refiners, undeterred by hardship and danger, traveled through countless difficulties to Kunlun, just for the chance to enter Chan Sect, which showed its widespread renown.
However, compared to Jie Sect, Human Sect, Chan Sect, and Western Sect combined were still not on the same level.
Ever since the Sect Hierarch of Jie Sect, Heavenly Venerate Lingbao, and Sect Hierarch Tongtian relocated the Biyou Palace to the East Sea Penglai Sacred Realm, taking Golden Turtle Island as a base and embracing the principle of boundless teaching and striving for a sliver of survival for all beings, they have gathered disciples widely, forging an atmosphere of ten thousand immortals arriving in a short time.
The Independent Immortals of the East Sea, the remnants of the Demon Court, and other powerhouses of various origins all gathered under Sect Hierarch Tongtian, creating an imposing presence, an astonishing scene, and being called the greatest sect in the Primordial era!
This is the best era for Xuanmen!
It is also the best era for the Human Race!
With the Three Sects flourishing, the Human Race protected by the Three Sects also prospered!
The teachings of Xuanmen spread throughout the Three Realms, and the footsteps of the Human Race spread throughout the Primordial World.
But to Yu Yuan, none of these were cause for celebration.
For the more prosperous the Three Sects became, the closer they were to the Sealing God Tribulation!
At first, he felt that being enshrined as a God was fine, as long as he could survive.
Besides, according to the original ending, he was even given the title of Water Mansion Star Lord, which would have been perfect company for Fire Mansion Star Lord Huo Ling'er.
But after truly stepping on the path of cultivation and understanding the gap between Immortal and God, his thoughts changed.
What a joke, having cultivated to immortality, why should he be a god who works 996 with no breaks all year?
Therefore, from the day of becoming an Immortal, Yu Yuan set his goal to be a free and unrestrained Immortal!
After all, with his origins, the worst that could happen was just having his name on the Investiture of the Gods.
Hence, he was not planning to hide away on Penglai Island, watching his master Golden Spirit Saint Mother and senior sister Huo Ling'er go on the list one by one.
After all, even if he tried to lay low, if the entire Jie Sect were to be annihilated, could he still remain safe alone?
Therefore, he only had two paths in front of him: either join the still weakening Heavenly Court and become a venerable elder or find a way to change his predestined outcome of being enshrined.
However, whichever path he took, since the heavens allowed him to come to this world, he must live this life to the fullest!
So, from that day on, Yu Yuan's ultimate goal has become—
Live freely!
...
"Junior brother?"
"Junior brother!"
The pleasant voice came to Yu Yuan's ears, and he collected his thoughts, slowly opening his eyes.
What caught his eyes was a delicate and tender melon seed-shaped face.
Huo Ling'er's brows were lightly furrowed, a hint of suspicion flashing in her eyes.
"Are you thinking about the Dragon Girl from the East Sea, or those foxes from Qingqiu?"
Yu Yuan stood up, his tall figure nearly two heads taller than Huo Ling'er, looking down at her from above.
Her proportions of full bosom, slender legs, and thin waist were extremely perfect, and the red immortal dress on her body perfectly highlighted her enchanting curves. Her skin was as fair as frost and snow, her black hair soft and intoxicating.
"I'm thinking about what to eat tonight..."
A series of black lines appeared on Huo Ling'er's forehead, her delicate white fists clenched and unclenched.
At this moment, a Seven Fragrant Treasure Car approached from the horizon.
Huo Ling'er didn't dare to be disrespectful and promptly bowed respectfully, "Disciple pays respects to Master Uncle."
"No need for formalities."
The curtains around the Seven Fragrant Treasure Car parted automatically, revealing the peerlessly graceful figure of the Golden Spirit Saint Mother.
"What are you two doing here?"
Huo Ling'er replied, "Reporting to Master Uncle, a few days ago my junior brother asked me when the Curved Realm Ark at Golden Turtle Island would be activated. Just today, there's news, so I came to tell junior brother."
"The Curved Realm Ark?"
A trace of doubt appeared on the Golden Spirit Saint Mother's face.
The Curved Realm Ark was not a large boat but a great formation, a tool the Jie Sect's Patriarch set up to facilitate the travel of his disciples throughout the vast Primordial lands.
The Primordial is vastly expansive, limitless.
Even for those who have become immortals, roaming the entire Primordial is no easy task.
Moreover, within the Primordial, there are many treacherous places where even Immortal Golden Immortals do not dare traverse.
But for the mighty ones, they can use space teleportation to quickly reach their destination,
Typically, there are two kinds of space teleportation.
One kind is to fold space with Great Divine Power, making the place you are and the destination overlap in a higher dimension, and then you can directly tear through the space to reach the place; the other method is to cut out a piece of space, making it rapidly slide toward the destination in a higher dimension.
The Curved Realm Ark uses the second method.
Through this great formation, Jie Sect disciples can quickly travel to any corner of the Primordial, significantly saving time.
However, because each activation of the formation requires a considerable accumulation of spiritual energy in advance, the Curved Realm Ark cannot be activated at any time, nor is it available for everyone to activate.
Although Yu Yuan was qualified to use it, he did not want to draw attention to himself on this trip, so he had asked Huo Ling'er to find out the activation time of the Curved Realm Ark in order to take advantage of a "free ride" when the time came.
At this moment, the gaze of the Golden Spirit Saint Mother turned towards him, her tone unfriendly, "Are you planning on leaving the East Sea? Where are you going? What do you plan to do? When can you return?"
Yu Yuan chuckled, "Master, with all these questions, which one should your disciple answer first?"
"Each and every one!"
The Golden Spirit Saint Mother's face showed no emotion, emanating an unprovoked awe.
Yu Yuan smiled and said, "Master, you're afraid your disciple will run off to Kunlun to join my uncle, aren't you? Rest assured, this time I'm at most going to Qingqiu to meet the monarch. I'll be back in three to five years at most."
"So you really are going to Qingqiu!"
Huo Ling'er, with a "gotcha" expression, looked at Yu Yuan, "No, I'm coming with you!"
Then she turned to the Golden Spirit Saint Mother, "Master Uncle, rest assured, I will definitely watch over him properly. If he dares to go to Kunlun, I'll use the Immortal Binding Rope to drag him back!"
The Golden Spirit Saint Mother didn't respond, her profound gaze still fixed on Yu Yuan, as if trying to penetrate her disciple's heart.
Ultimately, she said indifferently, "Everyone has their own ambitions, it cannot be forced."
After speaking, the curtains in front of her closed once again, and the Seven Fragrant Treasure Car turned into a ray of rosy light and disappeared into the sky.
"Eh? Why did Master Uncle leave?"
Huo Ling'er slightly furrowed her brows, looking at Yu Yuan, "Look what you've done, always clamoring about going to visit uncle at Kunlun, you made Master Uncle angry, didn't you?"
Yu Yuan spread his hands in an innocent manner.
"I just wanted to recognize a relative, who have I provoked? Haven't you heard that having more relatives gives you more options?"
Huo Ling'er snorted, about to mock him when she saw Wen Zhong, breathless, running out of Shoujing Temple, shouting from afar, "Where's Master? Did Master come by? I was just asleep... I didn't miss Master's teaching session, did I?"
Watching his anxious junior brother, Yu Yuan and Huo Ling'er exchanged a glance, tacitly nodding in agreement.
"Yes, you missed it."
The next instant, the sound of Wen Zhong's frustrated, near-breakdown lament came over.
"My goodness... I've waited for so long, and to think that at such a crucial moment… I fell asleep!"