Chapter 420: Chapter 62: The Beginning of Heaven Opening, The Beginning of Ancient Times

’Where is this...’

Lu Xuan looked up at the Celestial Vault in bewildered surprise. The sky was perfectly clear, his gaze stretching to the very end. There were no Thirty-Three Celestial Realms spanning the heavens, nor were there any Immortal Tower Jade Palaces or Pavilions and Mansions.

’What is this place? Why am I here?’

Lu Xuan muttered to himself but found no answers. A layer of dust seemed to cover his mind; whenever he tried to recall the reason he was here, he would grow dazed and forget.

But he was persistent, pondering the reason again and again. The dust on his mind quivered, and several pieces of the Bronze Fragment vibrated imperceptibly. Suddenly, Lu Xuan seemed to understand.

’Oh, I am... I’m here to cultivate.’

’One day in the Current World is thirty years here. I am to spend nine hundred Years here comprehending the Dao.’

He smiled and spread his arms, embracing the dense Innate Material. In this era, Innate Material seemed to be worthless—it was absolutely everywhere.

The Innate Material surged wildly into Lu Xuan’s body, tempering his true form bit by bit. The Postnatal material within his mortal shell was replaced, and all his impurities were cleansed.

He stood in place for ten years. Seventy to eighty percent of his physical body had been replaced with Innate Material. A faint light glowed behind him, and he resembled an Innate Divine Demon.

Lu Xuan opened his eyes and surveyed his surroundings. In the span of ten Years, the great wilderness had gained some color. Some of the once-bare Divine Mountains were now tinged with green, as if life was emerging.

He was somewhat astonished. He found the highest Divine Mountain nearby and ascended it, intending to sit and meditate at the summit, but was startled to discover another living being was already there.

The being wore a Purple Gold Crown, a crane robe, and Ascension Shoes. A Chaos Ribbon was tied at his waist. His body was that of a Child, his face as fair as a beauty’s. Three wisps of a beard drifted from his chin, and Divine Feathers rested against his temples. Within his eyes shone Infinite Immortal Light, in which countless scenes rose and fell.

"Fellow Daoist."

Lu Xuan smiled and clasped his hands in greeting.

The being opened his eyes and glanced over, clearly taken aback. Nevertheless, he rose and returned the gesture.

"Fellow Daoist."

Lu Xuan, breathing in the dense Innate Material, smiled and said,

"I am Lu Xuan. And you are, Fellow Daoist?"

"I am Zhenyuan Zi."

Lu Xuan froze for a moment. ’Zhenyuan Zi?’

He had heard that name before. It belonged to an incredible Ancient Immortal.

At that moment, Zhenyuan Zi was sizing up Lu Xuan. He let out a soft sigh.

"You should not have appeared in this era, Fellow Daoist."

Lu Xuan was intrigued.

"And what era might this be?"

Zhenyuan Zi gave him a profound look and said calmly,

"The heavens have only just opened; the earth has only just been formed."

Lu Xuan was stunned. ’The very beginning of the Creation of Heaven and Earth?’

He grew thoughtful, then offered another salute and smiled.

"I came here for the purpose of cultivation. The dawn of creation is the best time for that, so this suits my intentions perfectly."

Zhenyuan Zi hesitated for a moment and offered no explanation, but simply gestured with his hand.

"To meet at this moment is fate. Please, sit, Fellow Daoist."

"Very well."

Lu Xuan offered another salute before sitting down cross-legged and closing his eyes to cultivate. Zhenyuan Zi pondered for a long while but ultimately decided against saying more, and also sat down.

Lu Xuan emptied his mind and entered a state of profound tranquility. He shut out the external world, his focus turned completely inward.

He cultivated in silence, absorbing the Innate Material and gradually transforming himself, reversing his Postnatal state to return to the Innate. At the same time, he immersed his consciousness in the Acupoints throughout his body, finally focusing on the Acupoint Heaven and Earth he had pioneered in his left hand. As if struck by inspiration, he opened the Acupoint wide, absorbing the dense Innate Material.

Time trickled by. This Acupoint Heaven and Earth filled with Innate Material, and the Great Sun and Taiyin within it began to shine with brilliant light.

He immediately manifested continents, deserts, mountains, and rivers within it. With a point of his finger, he created a sea. Then, he rose, plucked a green flower from the summit of the Divine Mountain, and tossed it into the Acupoint.

The green flower fell into the Acupoint Heaven and Earth, landing among the mountains and rivers. As time passed, the Little World became covered with layers of green grass and red flowers. The dead silence vanished, replaced by vibrant life.

’Still not enough.’

Lu Xuan thought for a moment, then activated his Mediation of Creation. A second Acupoint was split open, transforming into a Little World, then a third, a fourth...

After ten years, having pioneered a total of nine new Acupoint Heaven and Earths, he realized his body had become saturated. He could not open any more without advancing his cultivation, or his body would be unable to withstand the strain.

Sighing at this, Lu Xuan filled the nine new Acupoint Heaven and Earths with Innate Material. He then maintained only a basic level of absorption while opening his five senses—Form, Sound, Smell, Taste, and Touch—to observe the Dao Rhyme of the Great Heaven and Earth.

"As expected of the dawn of creation!"

Lu Xuan marveled in silence. At the dawn of creation, the underlying principles were manifest, and profound Skills revealed themselves—uncovered, unhidden, unconcealed. The Truths of Heaven and Earth were laid bare before him!

Gradually, he became completely entranced, comprehending the Profound Principles of the Great Dao, such as Creation, Innate nature, life, prosperity, Yin Yang, and the Four Extremes.

He also unconsciously began to circulate the Primordial Body. When cultivated at the dawn of creation, this Dharma allowed for a thousand miles of progress in a single day!

Another forty years passed. Lu Xuan pushed his Primordial Body to a new level and comprehended his second Great Divine Technique: Primordial Dharma Aspect.

This Divine Technique was vastly different from Dao Generating One, yet the two were perfectly complementary.

Upon its completion, wondrous scenes manifested around him: the Creation of Heaven and Earth, the separation of Yin and Yang, the first division of Chaos, and the growth of all things. The sight made Zhenyuan Zi, who was watching from the side, tremble with shock.

’More, I need to keep going!’

Lu Xuan devoured these myriad principles. After another fifty years, by his one hundredth year in this era, he had shed all impurities. A Cyan Lotus was born from within, severing the last trace of Postnatal Dao Rhyme from his being. He had completely reversed his state and returned to the Innate!

"Congratulations, Fellow Daoist." Zhenyuan Zi’s eyelids twitched as he watched, but he couldn’t help but offer his congratulations.

"To think that with a body of the Grand Grade, without even having reached the Immortal realm, you have achieved what many Celestial Realms Level beings pursue..."

"Oh?" Lu Xuan glanced over with curiosity. "May I ask what you mean by that, Fellow Daoist?"

Zhenyuan Zi stroked his long beard and chuckled lightly.

"Beings of the Celestial Realms, after projecting their image across All Realms and worlds and pioneering the Acupoints within their bodies into new worlds, then attempt to shed their impurities, reveal the Cyan Lotus, and return to an Innate state."

He paused for a moment before continuing his patient explanation.

"Only after successfully reverting to an Innate being is one qualified to glimpse the Daluo Miao Realm... This step stumps ninety-nine percent of all Celestial Realms Level beings."

"I see."

Lu Xuan understood. He thanked Zhenyuan Zi, then once more immersed himself in the truths of Heaven and Earth.

「Another two hundred years passed.」

All the Dharmas he had learned and all the profound marvels he had comprehended over the three hundred years since his arrival in this era were finally forged together as one!

His Dharma had become more profound, his Dao more substantial. When he looked upon the vast Celestial Realm and the great Earth again, it was like reading the lines on his own palm—everything was perfectly clear to him.

"This mountain... what is its name?" Lu Xuan asked, glancing to the side.

"This is Mount Jade Capital," Zhenyuan Zi replied.

Lu Xuan nodded. Phenomena swirled around him as Dao returned to Dao, principles to principles, and Dharma to Dharma. All marvels were now in harmony.

「In his three hundred and sixty-fifth year.」

Lu Xuan opened his eyes and raised his head. A divine bearing began to show. A breath of Great Dao Rhyme swirled in his chest, and he was suddenly overcome with an irresistible urge to speak!

Meeting Zhenyuan Zi’s astonished gaze, he declared with a beaming smile,

"My Dao has taken form! Though I know not whether it is right or wrong, I shall now preach it to the heavens and the earth and seek its verification!"

His voice was immense, sweeping outward in all directions from the Divine Mountain, and did not cease until it had reached sixty million li away!

Within that sixty-million-li radius, Divine Mountains dotted the landscape. The land was no longer the desolate wasteland it had been three hundred years ago; it was now teeming with life, filled with countless beasts and birds.

As a hush fell over the world, the beasts of the land, the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea—none of whom had yet developed intelligence—all stampeded toward the Divine Mountain.

Those who had gained sentience scurried to spread the word: a Great Power was about to preach the Dao!

This news spread another thirty million li outward.

In the end, living beings from a ninety-million-li radius gathered like a tide. The sheer scale of the gathering shocked the very heavens and the earth.