Primordial Era: Reborn as Zhen Yuanzi, taking control of the underground passage

Chapter 2 Cultivation Techniques, Red Cloud Transformation

After Zhen Yuanzi made the oath, he felt a sudden clarity throughout his body, as if some invisible shackles had snapped.

He knew that this was the Great Dao acknowledging his existence, and from then on he truly became one of the primordial beings, no different from the essence of the primordial earth.

After calming himself down, he slowly activated his divine sense and explored his surroundings, following the method from his inherited memories.

At first, I was a little unfamiliar with it, as the use of spiritual sense is very different from seeing things with the naked eye.

Within the reach of divine consciousness, all things are presented in a more essential form within the sea of ​​consciousness—neither color nor form, yet able to penetrate to the very source.

The vast landscape, every blade of grass and every tree, even the flow of the earth's veins and the rise and fall of spiritual energy, all unfold like a three-dimensional scroll, revealing every detail.

This profound experience made Zhen Yuanzi marvel at the wonders of cultivation in the primordial world.

He found himself in a profound array, its formation connected to the earth's veins, drawing upon the innate essence of the earth, which transformed into layers of hazy yellow light that enveloped the surrounding area.

This great formation seems to have been naturally formed, creating its own unique structure, and protecting all living beings here.

In the center of the formation, a book of dark yellow paper floated silently, exuding a heavy and powerful aura; it was the innate spiritual treasure, the Earth Book.

The pages moved on their own without any wind, and the veins of mountains and the textures of the earth could be vaguely seen flowing within, as if they were breathing in harmony with the earth veins of the entire primordial continent.

Beside it stood a towering fruit tree, its branches laden with dozens of baby-shaped fruits that glowed and emitted a wonderful fragrance.

The tree's roots are deeply embedded in the earth, each root seemingly connected to the primordial earth veins, breathing in boundless innate spiritual energy.

Zhen Yuanzi knew that this was the innate spiritual root, the ginseng fruit tree, a spiritual root of heaven and earth that would be famous in later generations.

The most peculiar thing was the vast expanse of crimson clouds overhead, as red as blood and as rosy as the sunset, slowly swirling across the sky.

There was a faint spiritual fluctuation in the clouds; though it had not yet taken shape, it already possessed the breath of life.

Zhen Yuanzi used his divine sense to explore and discovered that the spirit within was just beginning to emerge, ignorant and chaotic, and would need countless years of nourishment before it could fully manifest.

He knew in his heart: this was the future kind-hearted old man from the primordial world, Ancestor Hongyun.

After completing the investigation, Zhen Yuanzi withdrew his divine sense and began to cultivate according to the techniques he had inherited.

This cultivation method is called the "Kun Yuan True Scripture". It was bestowed by the Great Dao and was specially designed for the essence of the Earth. When cultivating it, one can draw on the spiritual energy of the earth veins and absorb the innate essence of the Earth.

At first, the practice felt somewhat awkward, but Zhen Yuanzi was originally transformed from the essence of the primordial earth element, which naturally suited him to this method.

In just a few days, he had mastered the basics.

All around, innate spiritual energy surged in like a tide, filtered through the great array, and transformed into pure earth essence that merged into his body.

His body gradually emitted a dark yellow light, merging with the earth's energy, as if he had become a part of Longevity Mountain.

In the primordial era, time was immeasurable; in cultivation, the years were beyond comprehension.

Zhen Yuanzi was immersed in cultivation, feeling his magical power accumulate little by little, and his understanding of the Way of the Earth was becoming more and more profound.

Sometimes when he got tired of cultivating, he would look up at the red cloud and tell himself stories to relieve his boredom.

These stories were mostly known from his previous life, which he then adapted into tales of chaotic demons and gods.

"In the primordial chaos, there once lived a demon god named Dongguo."

Zhen Yuanzi spoke slowly and deliberately to the red clouds, his voice transmitting through his divine sense into the depths of the clouds.

"One day, I encountered an injured demon god, and out of compassion, I used my own essence to help him."

Unexpectedly, after the demon god recovered, it backfired on Dong Guo's essence, nearly causing him to be completely destroyed, body and soul...

The red clouds seemed to sense these stories, their swirling and shifting, sometimes solidifying like red jade, sometimes dispersing like a light veil.

Seeing this, Zhen Yuanzi became even more enthusiastic in his storytelling, and adapted and retelling stories such as the Farmer and the Snake.

He didn't know what impact these stories would have on Hongyun after she took human form; he just treated them as a way to pass the time.

He practiced and preached in this way for countless years.

Zhen Yuanzi's cultivation level gradually improved, climbing from the initial Golden Immortal realm all the way to the peak of the Taiyi Golden Immortal realm.

At this moment, his magical power surged like a river, his divine sense could cover the entire Longevity Mountain, and his understanding of the Way of the Earth was quite profound.

On this day, Zhen Yuanzi awoke from a deep meditation, realizing that he had reached a bottleneck and that further cultivation would not be enough to break through to the Great Luo realm.

So he decided to stop cultivating and instead focus on comprehending the innate earth formation and refining the companion spiritual treasure.

He first integrated his divine sense into the great formation, carefully sensing the operation of the formation.

This grand formation was formed naturally and contains endless mysteries.

The formation is divided into nine layers, drawing upon the energy of the earth's veins and transforming it into the essence of the soil. It can be defended as solid as a rock, and attacked with the power of mountains and rivers.

Zhen Yuanzi, being the essence of the innate Earth element, shares the same origin as this formation, making his comprehension of it twice as effective.

Three hundred years later, Zhen Yuanzi had already mastered the basic method of operating the great formation.

With a thought, one can manipulate the formation and draw upon the earth's energy for one's own use.

At this point, even if a Great Luo Golden Immortal were to attack within the Wanshou Mountain area, he would still have the strength to fight back.

Next is refining the Earth Book.

This book of the earth, also known as the Classic of Mountains and Seas, is a primordial spiritual treasure containing the veins of the primordial earth. Those who possess it can draw upon the power of the earth to achieve unparalleled defense and can also mobilize the earth's veins to set up defensive formations.

Zhen Yuanzi held the Earth Book in his hands, but found it unusually heavy. It was neither gold nor stone, but warm to the touch.

He dripped his life essence onto the book, then activated the treasure-refining method recorded in the "Kun Yuan True Scripture," slowly merging his divine consciousness into the earth book.

At first, the Earth Book was somewhat resistant, after all, all innate spiritual treasures possess spirituality.

However, Zhen Yuanzi was originally his companion master, and their auras were of the same origin. In just a moment, the Earth Book accepted his divine consciousness.

Instantly, countless pieces of information flooded into Zhen Yuanzi's sea of ​​consciousness—the veins of the primordial land, the direction of mountains and rivers, the nodes of the earth veins, and even the spiritual caves and blessed lands in various places, all as if they were lines on the palm of his hand.

The process of refining the Earth Book was slow and arduous. Zhen Yuanzi continuously poured his magical power into it, leaving his own primordial spirit imprint inside the Earth Book.

Because the Earth Book is a companion spiritual treasure, sharing the same lineage as him, he was able to begin refining it at the Taiyi Golden Immortal realm.

If it were any other innate spiritual treasure, only a Great Luo Golden Immortal could refine it.

After several more cycles, Zhen Yuanzi finally refined the Earth Book completely.

With a thought, the Earth Book can unfold and transform into a boundless earth barrier, its defensive power unparalleled in the primordial world;

Another movement could trigger the earth's veins and alter the course of mountains and rivers.

The moment Zhen Yuanzi fully refined the Book of Earth, he felt as if he had become connected with the earth veins of the entire prehistoric continent, as if he had become the embodiment of the earth.

With the help of the Book of Earth, his understanding of the Way of the Earth suddenly improved, and his long-stagnant cultivation began to loosen, faintly touching the threshold of the Great Luo Golden Immortal.

Zhen Yuanzi was overjoyed, knowing that a breakthrough was imminent.

But he was not impatient. He continued to cultivate steadily and diligently, while keeping a close eye on the changes in the red cloud above his head. The intelligence within the cloud was becoming more complete, and the day it would take human form was probably not far off.

On this day, Zhen Yuanzi was studying the secrets of a ley line recorded in the Book of Earth when he suddenly felt a tremor in his heart, as if something closely related to him was about to happen.

He looked up at the sky and saw that the vast expanse of red clouds suddenly began to churn violently, with spiritual light radiating from within, clearly about to take shape.

Zhen Yuanzi dared not delay and immediately activated the Innate Grand Array with all his might, drawing on the earth's energy to protect Hongyun and help it take form.