Primordial Era: Reborn as a Qi Immortal, Steadily Cultivating

Chapter 96 Soul Searching and Refining (First Update)
"A superior-grade innate spiritual root!"

Three bunches of purple-gold grapes, emitting an enticing fragrance, floated in the hands of Shiji, Heifeng, and Cangyun.

Its surface exuded a natural Daoist charm, and an extremely pure innate metal elemental energy rushed towards them, making the three of them feel clear-headed and comfortable all over.

Upon seeing this, Shi Ji couldn't help but show a hint of undisguised shock in her usually cold eyes.

Her origins are extraordinary; she was born from a stubborn rock, making her extremely sensitive to the aura of such spiritual roots of heaven and earth.

She could clearly sense that the original Daoist essence contained in these seemingly ordinary grapes far surpassed that of the inferior Glazed Bamboo in the Skull Mountain Herb Garden.

This is undoubtedly a top-tier spiritual root that would drive countless powerful beings mad!

The two children, Black Wind and Azure Cloud, were already shaken by this aura, their faces filled with wild joy and disbelief.

The two looked at each other.

They all saw a heartfelt gratitude and excitement in each other's eyes.

"This disciple thanks you for your generous gift, sir!"

Without the slightest hesitation, the three bowed deeply to Ma Yuan, their voices filled with indescribable reverence.

"No need to be polite."

Ma Yuan flicked his sleeve and lifted the three of them up, saying, "You are all from the Skull Mountain lineage. You should cultivate diligently in the future so as not to waste the good fortune you have today."

After dividing the treasures, Ma Yuan did not stop.

With a thought, he gently gestured towards the depths of the Skull Mountain's ley lines.

"Om-!"

A muffled rumble was heard, and the entire Skull Mountain trembled slightly.

A dazzling beam of light shot up from ten thousand feet underground, breaking through layers of rock and finally transforming into an ancient and profound azure seal with the ever-flowing Daoist energy of water, which quietly floated in front of Ma Yuan.

It was none other than the top-grade innate spiritual treasure—the Sea-Suppressing Divine Seal!
This treasure was obtained from the ruins of the East China Sea battlefield. Later, Ma Yuan used it to suppress the stubborn evil energy that had accumulated for countless eons deep within the Skull Mountain's earth veins.

Now, tens of thousands of years have passed, and the ancient malevolent energy within the earth's veins has long been completely obliterated by the vast and boundless suppressive power of this treasure, leaving not a trace.

This treasure itself, through tens of thousands of years of suppression and attrition, has also merged with the aura of this earth's veins.

Its precious light became more restrained and profound, and its power surpassed that of the past.

“Ao Xuan,” Ma Yuan said calmly.

"exist!"

Upon hearing Ma Yuanxiang's summons, Ao Xuan, who had already transformed into human form and was standing respectfully outside the cave, hurriedly stepped forward into the White Bone Cave and bowed to wait to the side.

"This treasure is called the Sea-Suppressing Divine Seal. It is an offensive weapon, and its nature is heavy, which is just right for your dragon body. Today, I will bestow it upon you for protection."

As soon as he finished speaking, the azure seal transformed into a streak of light and flew straight to Ao Xuan's front.

Upon seeing this, Ao Xuan felt an indescribable surge of joy!

He could clearly feel that the water element Daoist essence contained in this treasure was perfectly matched with his dragon origin, as if it were tailor-made for him!
"Ao Xuan kowtows in gratitude for your generous gift, Master! From this day forward, I will be ready to go through fire and water for you, even at the cost of my life!"

Ao Xuan solemnly accepted the precious seal, bowed deeply to Ma Yuanxing, and sincerely thanked him for his life-saving grace.

At this point, the division of rewards and treasures among the Skull Mountain lineage has been settled, based on merit.

Ma Yuan's gaze swept over the four disciples before him, all of whom had obtained valuable treasures and whose auras had become increasingly refined. A sense of satisfaction rose in his heart.

He said no more, and simply waved his sleeve.

Three figures, already weakened and sealed by numerous restrictions, appeared out of thin air inside the White Bone Cave.

These were the three demon gods of the demon race who had previously besieged Skull Mountain and were suppressed by Ma Yuan with a flick of his finger.

As soon as the three were freed, they immediately realized the change in their situation.

However, when they saw Ma Yuan, whose aura was as deep as the sea and seemed to be integrated with the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth, a trace of undisguised fear flashed in their eyes.

But the leader of the golden-winged bird demons was, in the end, a cunning and scheming individual.

He forcefully suppressed his fear and, though outwardly fierce, rebuked:
"Bold rogue cultivator! We are disciples of the Northern Underworld Demon Master Palace, here on the orders of Demon Master Kunpeng!"
How dare you attack us? Do you intend to make an enemy of the entire Demon Master Palace?!
"Release us immediately, and we'll offer up your cave and mountain gate. Perhaps we can put in a good word for you before the demon master and spare your life!"

However, faced with this seemingly strong but ultimately weak threat, Ma Yuan's face remained calm and composed; he didn't even lift his eyelids. He merely let out a disdainful sneer.

"The Demon Master's Palace?"

Ma Yuan's voice was flat and cold, "Three mere late-stage Golden Immortal demon cultivators dare to associate with a demon master?"

"Apart from you, the Golden-Winged Bird Demon, your origins are not bad."

The remaining bear demons and wolf demons had mixed bloodlines and weak auras; they were just ordinary mountain spirits in the primordial world who had only managed to inherit some of the original essence.

Who is that demon master Kunpeng? Arrogant and haughty, how could he possibly accept such lowly people as his disciples?

He already had a clear understanding of his own strength and the situation in the prehistoric world.

He is now at the mid-stage of Taiyi Golden Immortal, with a solid foundation in Dao and perfect supernatural powers.

The Phoenix Clan elder, who was in the late Taiyi stage, set up the Nanming Li Huo Formation with more than a dozen of his clansmen, but still could not do anything to him. Instead, he was completely suppressed and killed by Ma Yuan in the Southern Wilderness.

If Ma Yuan were to unleash all his supernatural powers, he would have nothing to fear below the level of a Great Luo Golden Immortal.

And how difficult is it to reach the Great Luo realm?
Looking out over this vast and ancient wilderness, how many people can truly attain this?

If we're talking about innate deities with top-tier origins like the Three Pure Ones and Nuwa, then that's a different story.

Such beings are extremely rare.

Of the three thousand mortals who were able to enter the Purple Cloud Palace to listen to the Dao in the past, most of them were only at the Great Luo Realm.

Three thousand is such a small number among the immeasurable number of sentient beings.

In this primordial land, even the disciples of those famous sages of later generations mostly remain at the Taiyi realm, and some have not even entered the Taiyi Golden Immortal realm.

Looking across the vast wilderness, Ma Yuan's current cultivation level can be considered that of a master in his own right.

The Demon Clan's Heavenly Court is currently locked in a fierce battle with the Witch Clan and is unable to attend to its own affairs.

Why would they waste their energy sending a rare and powerful demon god to entangle with Ma Yuan for a mere nameless wild mountain?
The three demons saw that Ma Yuan had revealed their origins in just a few words.

Their faces were deathly pale, their bodies trembling, and they could no longer utter a complete sentence.

Seeing this, Ma Yuan was too lazy to waste any more words on these three ants.

He slowly stretched out his hand, spread his five fingers, and pressed it directly onto the crown of the head of the leading golden-winged bird demon!

"Since there is nothing to say, then let me see for myself."

"Soul search!"

"what--!"

A shrill scream instantly echoed throughout the entire White Bone Cave!

Countless fragments of memories, inherited techniques, and insights into supernatural powers were forcibly extracted from the depths of Ma Yuan's primordial spirit like a flood bursting its banks!

After a moment, Ma Yuan slowly withdrew his hand.

The golden-winged bird demon had already rolled its eyes back, its primordial spirit shattered, and had completely transformed into an empty shell without a soul.

Ma Yuan used the same trick again, extracting all the memories and inheritances of the other two demons.

Although these techniques were passed down in a mixed and chaotic manner, they were of no use to Ma Yuan himself.

However, it can also be used to fill the library of Skull Mountain, and to train disciples in the future, which can be considered a good harvest.

Having squeezed out the last bit of value, Ma Yuan had no more hesitation.

With a flick of his finger, three incomparably sharp Four Symbols Divine Lights shot out, instantly obliterating the primordial spirits and Dao fruits of these three demon gods!
Then, he waved his sleeve again.

The three relatively intact bodies of the demon gods were already floating in mid-air.

Ma Yuan used his great magical power as a guide to extract the golden-winged bird demon's pair of divine wings, the mighty bear demon's entire spine, and the Devouring Wolf demon's essence blood.

These are all top-quality materials taken from the bodies of Golden Immortals and Demon Gods. They may be used to feed the spirit beasts of the Daoist temple in the future, helping them to awaken their intelligence and refine their bloodlines.
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I was working out the outline this morning, so I'll update this chapter first, and continue updating this afternoon and evening.

(End of this chapter)