Primordial Era: Starting with the repair of Penglai Immortal Island

Faced with Huanglong's suggestion, the Sage of Taiqing paused only slightly before nodding.

"Why not give it a try!"

He activated the Tai Chi diagram, and the Yin-Yang fish suddenly accelerated its rotation.

The black and white colors flowed endlessly, transforming into a mysterious power that permeated the wisp of innate spiritual energy, beginning to extract the imprint of laws contained within it!

Strands of invisible and intangible yet clearly perceptible fluctuations were extracted from the innate spiritual energy.

They are like the most primordial runes in the world, shining with mysterious light and containing the secrets of the evolution of heaven and earth.

This is the imprint of the Great Dao's laws.

As those imprints of the laws were extracted one by one, that wisp of innate spiritual energy seemed to have lost its restraints, and suddenly began to expand, split, and spread.

The original single wisp of innate spiritual energy suddenly split into more than a hundred finer and fainter wisps the moment it lost its law imprint.

The Sage of Taiqing raised his hand and scooped up a wisp of energy from the Taiji diagram, sensing it carefully.

"really!"

His voice carried a complex meaning.

"Although the quantity of these spiritual energies has increased, their quality has decreased by a level compared to the original innate spiritual energy, and the great laws contained within them have been completely lost."

This is... acquired spiritual energy.

Both Yuanshi Tianzun and Tongtian Jiaozhu scooped up a strand and examined it closely.

The Primordial Celestial Venerable nodded slightly: "Indeed, it is extremely difficult to comprehend the laws of the Great Dao by cultivating with this spiritual energy."

The Tongtian Sect Leader gently crushed the wisp of acquired spiritual energy, his brows furrowing slightly. "Even if you absorb ten thousand wisps of acquired spiritual energy, it won't compare to the effect of a single wisp of innate spiritual energy."

These words shocked all the disciples present.

A thousand strands of acquired knowledge cannot compare to a single strand of innate knowledge.

Xuandu couldn't help but ask, "Uncle-Master, is this really true?"

The Tongtian Sect Leader nodded slightly: "Think about it carefully. Primordial spiritual energy comes from chaos and carries the imprint of the Great Dao that nurtured heaven and earth. Living beings cultivate with it. The moment they step onto the path of cultivation, they are bathed in the nourishment of the laws of the Great Dao. Even a stubborn rock can develop intelligence and embark on the path of cultivation if it can be nourished by primordial spiritual energy for a long time."

He gazed at the acquired spiritual energy drifting within the Tai Chi diagram, his expression complex.

"The acquired spiritual energy imprint is completely lost. Although it can nourish the physical body and increase magical power, it cannot allow living beings to come into contact with the Great Dao at the beginning of their cultivation. This means...!"

Yuanshi Tianzun took over the conversation, saying slowly and deliberately, "Those beings who cultivate with the spiritual energy of heaven and earth and wish to break through to the True Immortal Realm must comprehend the laws of heaven and earth on their own and condense their own imprint of the laws."

A true paradise!

These three words shook the very souls of all the disciples of the sage.

These disciples of the sages, with the exception of Xuandu, had already surpassed the True Immortal Realm at the very beginning of their lives.

Guang Chengzi, Duobao, and others even started from the Golden Immortal Realm.

Even Xuandu, who started from the lowest point, naturally surpassed the True Immortal Realm through the teachings of the Sage Taiqing.

From now on, beings who cultivate with the spiritual energy of heaven and earth and wish to break through to the True Immortal realm must comprehend the formless and intangible laws of the universe, understand and master them, and ultimately condense their own imprint of the laws.

And this...!

"As difficult as climbing to heaven!"

Xuan Du murmured, his expression solemn. He thought of the countless humans outside Shouyang Mountain, of whom less than half had embarked on cultivation despite being nourished by innate spiritual energy.

He looked at the Sage Taiqing and couldn't help but ask, "Teacher, if that's really the case, then wouldn't beings who cultivate with acquired spiritual energy be...!"

He didn't finish speaking, but everyone present understood what he meant.

Wouldn't the vast majority of people stop below the level of True Immortal?

The Sage Taiqing nodded slightly. "Your concerns are quite valid. With innate spiritual energy, even someone of mediocre talent has a 30% chance of becoming a True Immortal, nourished by that energy. But with acquired spiritual energy…!"

He paused, then slowly said, "Even for those with exceptional talent, without great opportunity, perseverance, and wisdom, it is extremely difficult to comprehend the laws and condense an imprint on their own. As for those with ordinary talent...!"

He didn't continue.

But Xuandu and the other disciples all understood what was left unsaid.

Those of ordinary talent will only waste their entire lives below the level of true immortals.

Inside the Eight Views Palace, silence fell once again.

After a long silence, Bixiao muttered to herself, "Doesn't that mean that among ten thousand beings who cultivate with innate spiritual energy, perhaps only one will be able to step into the realm of True Immortal?"

The Master of Heaven glanced at Bixiao and shook his head: "Perhaps it's more than ten thousand!"

His voice was calm, yet it weighed even heavier on everyone's hearts.

Among ten thousand living beings, perhaps only one true immortal will emerge.

The rest of the beings will remain below the level of true immortals for their entire lives, and no matter how hard they try or how diligent they are, they will never be able to cross that insurmountable barrier.

They will watch those innate spirits high above, living forever and roaming freely between heaven and earth, while they themselves can only waste their lives outside that threshold, eventually turning into a handful of dust.

"Isn't this too cruel to those living beings?" Xuan Du muttered to himself, his expression complex.

The Sage of Taiqing looked at him and slowly said, "Whether they are innate beings or acquired spiritual energy, they are all part of the operation of heaven and earth."

"Innate beings are nourished by the laws of the Great Dao, yet are also bound by the laws of heaven and earth; acquired beings, though facing a difficult beginning, also possess infinite possibilities...!"

He paused, his voice clear and resonant, imbued with a profound Daoist charm!

"Cultivating with innate spiritual energy is like rowing against the current; every step is extremely difficult. But if one can break through those numerous obstacles, condense the imprint of the laws, and step into the realm of True Immortal, what one comprehends, gains, and perseveres in will be incomparable to that of ordinary beings."

Both Yuanshi Tianzun and Tongtian Jiaozhu nodded in agreement.

The disciples seemed to be deep in thought upon hearing this!

Huanglong sat cross-legged on the futon, listening to the discussions of the crowd, his mind also filled with many thoughts.

He understood better than anyone what the words of the Sage Taiqing meant.

Cultivating with innate spiritual energy is like being born into an imperial family, living a life of luxury and with a worry-free future.

Cultivating spiritual energy in the future is like being born into a poor family; if you want to stand out from the crowd, you must put in a thousand times more effort.

But this does not mean that children from humble backgrounds are necessarily inferior to those from imperial families.

On the contrary, those who rise from humble beginnings are often more resolute, more tenacious, and more appreciative of their hard-won achievements than the privileged sons of emperors.

This is the significance of acquired spiritual energy; it selects out the most resilient, tenacious, and persevering beings, allowing them to grow through trials and tribulations and rise from adversity.

Those who cannot withstand the trials can only remain below the True Immortals, becoming part of the masses.

This is the way of Heaven.

It may seem cruel, but it contains the deepest level of fairness.

As everyone was deep in thought, the Sage of Taiqing suddenly looked at Huanglong with profound eyes.

"Huang Long, what do you want to ask?"

Huang Long stood up and bowed.

"Senior Uncle, a wisp of innate spiritual energy can be transformed into a hundred wisps of acquired spiritual energy. Can a hundred wisps of acquired spiritual energy be restored to a single wisp of innate spiritual energy?"