Primordial Era: From the Creation Lotus to the First Disciple of the Three Pure Ones

Chapter 63 Return to the Three Immortal Islands

Leaving the Wuzhuang Temple shrouded in the heavy earth energy of Wanshou Mountain, Qinglian and Sun Wuzhen once again stepped into the primordial world filled with calamity energy.

Behind him lay the heavy gratitude of his Uncle Zhen Yuanzi and the faint yet tenacious hope of Uncle Hongyun; before him lay an even broader yet more perilous path to enlightenment.

"Master, where do we go next?"

Sun Wuzhen stroked the newly acquired apricot-yellow flag (a replica) and the mountain-driving whip, his golden eyes sparkling with anticipation for the unknown journey.

Having broken through to the late stage of Taiyi and obtained a powerful spiritual treasure, he was bursting with confidence and couldn't wait to find some formidable opponents to fight.

Qinglian turned her gaze eastward, towards the vast and boundless East Sea. "Let's go to the East Sea first. Your master will take you to a secluded place."

The master and disciple once again merged with the clear light of the Taiji diagram, concealing their whereabouts, and sped towards the East China Sea.

The journey was silent, with only the increasingly dense aura of calamity emanating from the mountains and rivers below and sporadic bursts of fighting indicating the oppressive nature of the impending catastrophe.

Several months later, the vast East China Sea came into view.

Qinglian did not go directly to the Dragon Palace, but followed the spatial coordinates in his memory to the void sea area that he had hidden with the Taiji Diagram, the Qiankun Diagram, the Pure White Lotus Radiance, and the Daoist Rhyme of the Primordial Bitter Bamboo.

Before her was still a turbulent, empty sea, but in the perception of the Azure Lotus Primordial Spirit, three special spatial nodes floated like stars in the chaotic folds of the void.

"Wuzhen, guard your mind and follow me into the formation." Qinglian instructed, then pointed her fingers like a sword, the power of creation flowing from her fingertips, triggering the core imprint left when the formation was set up years ago.

*Whoosh!* The calm sea ahead suddenly distorted, the yin and yang energies flowed silently, the illusory image of heaven and earth flashed by, and the pure holy light intertwined with the Daoist charm of bitter bamboo. A complex and profound invisible array revealed a crack. Qinglian, carrying Sun Wuzhen, transformed into a stream of light and instantly disappeared into it.

The view before me suddenly opened up!

The familiar celestial scene reappeared. The three celestial islands, like three dazzling pearls, floated in a special space filled with tranquility and spiritual energy, forming a stark contrast to the overwhelming calamity outside.

"Wow! Master, the spiritual energy here is so rich! It's almost as strong as Kunlun Mountain!"

Sun Wuzhen's golden eyes widened as he greedily inhaled the incomparably pure innate spiritual energy, feeling completely refreshed. Although it was his first time here, he could sense the extraordinary nature of this place.

"These are the three immortal islands overseas: Penglai, Fangzhang, and Yingzhou. They have been hidden from the world since the beginning of time, and are the top blessed lands in the primordial world," Qinglian explained, taking the lead in stepping onto one of the islands—Penglai Immortal Island.

The island remains unchanged, shrouded in mist, with babbling springs and exotic flowers and plants everywhere.

The celestial pool at the heart of the island, still shrouded in chaotic energy, remained. However, the remnant root of the Chaotic Azure Lotus in the pool had been removed by the Azure Lotus, causing the Daoist essence of creation to weaken considerably. Yet, due to the sealing array, the concentration of spiritual energy was even richer and purer than when the Azure Lotus had last visited. The Azure Lotus swept its divine sense over the pool, confirming that there were no other unusual or newly formed spiritual objects, and then ceased its lingering.

"Let's go to Abbot's Island." With a flick of her sleeve, Qinglian carried Sun Wuzhen across space and arrived at Abbot's Island.

The aura of the laws of time still permeates this island. At the center of the island, the golden plum tree, no more than ten feet tall, with no leaves but only fruit, stands quietly.

New, even smaller flower buds are slowly forming in the gaps on the tree, but it will take a long time.

"This is the Yellow Plum, a primordial spiritual root. It will bloom, bear fruit, and ripen in one cycle. Eating it can aid in enlightenment, increase lifespan, and contain the laws of nature," Qinglian said to Sun Wuzhen.

Sun Wuzhen stared at the yellow plums, his mouth practically watering, and looked longingly at Qinglian.

Qinglian smiled slightly, but shook her head: "Although this fruit is wonderful, you have only recently consumed the ginseng fruit, and its medicinal effects have not yet fully dissipated, so it is not advisable to eat it again. Moreover, this tree does not produce fruit easily, and we should not exhaust its resources."

He walked up to the Huangzhong plum tree, his expression solemn, bowed to the spirit tree, and said loudly, "Spiritual roots have spirits. I, Qinglian, have come to this precious land again to seek a trace of the original energy to comprehend creation. I have absolutely no intention of destroying the root, and I will repay you in the future."

After speaking, an illusory image of an eighth-grade Creation Lotus appeared above his head, radiating a gentle yet pure power of creation. He extended his finger, and a wisp of extremely subtle origin of creation condensed at his fingertip, which he slowly touched towards the core of the root system of the Yellow Plum Tree.

His movements were incredibly gentle, as if he were touching the most fragile glass.

The yellow plum tree seemed to recognize the same aura of creation on Qinglian's body as well as the "keeping the promise" from last time (taking only the spiritual fruit without harming its essence), and did not resist.

The tree trunk trembled slightly, and a wisp of golden energy, as thin as a hair yet containing the purest laws of time and the essence of life, slowly emanated from its roots, like a gentle little snake, and coiled around Qinglian's fingertips.

Qinglian carefully enveloped and guided the precious wisp of Huangzhongli's primordial energy into her dantian, placing it under the eighth-grade Qinglian of Creation to nurture it.

Upon obtaining the source, the radiance of the Huangzhong plum tree dimmed slightly for a moment, but its vitality was not damaged, and its branches and leaves remained lush and green.

"Thank you for the spiritual root." Qinglian bowed again before leaving with a look of amazement on her face.

The final stop: Yingzhou Fairy Island.

The island remains lush with bamboo groves, exuding a serene and Zen-like atmosphere. Deep within the bamboo forest, a seven-sectioned, jade-green bamboo, its trunk inscribed with strange Sanskrit symbols, stands quietly, emanating a pure and cleansing aura that soothes the soul.

Qinglian also stepped forward, treating him with courtesy. She drew upon the pure radiance of the Pure World White Lotus and her own creative essence, carefully cutting off a small section of tender shoot that had sprouted from the third section of the bitter bamboo. She extracted some of its original pure energy without damaging its core.

The shimmering light of the bitter bamboo did not resist; instead, it conveyed a gentle acceptance.

Having obtained a portion of the origin of the two spiritual roots, Qinglian has achieved her goal.

He led Sun Wukong out of the Three Immortal Islands space, and with a wave of his hand, he completely activated and concealed the complex array once again. The radiance and aura of the three immortal islands instantly vanished from the primordial world's perception, returning to secrecy.

Leaving the waters of the Three Immortal Islands and far from the void shrouded by the great formation, Qinglian took out an object—the azure scale token given to her by Ao Guang, the third prince of the East Sea Dragon Palace, which was made from his own life-bound reverse scale.

Previously, fearing that Ao Guang would expose his whereabouts by using the Reverse Scale Sensing ability, Qinglian had been using his magic to isolate Ao Guang's aura. At this moment, he slowly removed the barrier and infused a trace of pure magic into the scale.

The scales instantly burst forth with a warm blue light, dragon patterns swirling across them, and a faint soul fluctuation, carrying anxiety and anticipation, traveled along some mysterious connection towards the depths of the East Sea.

"Let's go visit the Dragon Palace of the East Sea," Qinglian said to Sun Wuzhen with a smile.

The master and disciple flew unhurriedly towards the Dragon Palace. In less than half a day, the sea parted again, and a magnificent procession emerged from the waves!

Leading the group was none other than Ao Guang, who wore the robes of a crown prince, had dragon horns on his head, and possessed a handsome face!