Primordial Era: Starting with the repair of Penglai Immortal Island

Haotian didn't explain, but just smiled and patted Huanglong on the shoulder, his smile carrying a hint of mystery and anticipation.

"No rush, no rush. There's something else I need to trouble you with, Uncle."

Huang Long was even more puzzled.

The Peach Banquet is over, what else is there?

The other celestial beings in the main hall looked at Haotian's action of stopping Huanglong and exchanged bewildered glances, wondering what the Heavenly Emperor was going to do next.

Haotian ignored the gazes of those people, turned to look at the Queen Mother, and nodded slightly.

The Queen Mother understood, stood up, and walked to Haotian's side. Her expression remained aloof, but a hint of a smile appeared in her eyes.

"Let's go," Haotian said, and walked out of the hall.

Yaochi followed behind Haotian, and nodded slightly as she passed Huanglong.

Huang Long was completely confused, but since Haotian had spoken, he naturally couldn't refuse.

He led Zi Ling, following behind Haotian and Yaochi, all the way into the depths of the Heavenly Court.

To his surprise, the Flower Fairy was also with him.

She followed at the very back, head down, not daring to look around or say anything.

Zi Ling followed behind Huang Long, also looking bewildered. She didn't know where Hao Tian was taking the master, but judging from Hao Tian's expression, it must be something good.

The group passed through numerous palaces and towers, heading towards the heart of the Heavenly Court.

The further you go in, the richer the innate spiritual energy and Daoist charm become.

After walking for a while, passing through a protective array, the view ahead suddenly opened up.

A vast expanse of spiritual land, spanning tens of thousands of miles, appeared before Huanglong's eyes. The spiritual land was bluish-green and teeming with life.

Huang Long recognized at a glance that although this soil could not compare to the Nine Heavens Breath Soil in his hand, it was still an extremely precious spiritual soil, nurtured by the essence of innate Ren water, with each grain containing the original power of innate Ren water.

No wonder it can cultivate innate top-grade spiritual roots.

Such spiritual soil would be an absolute priceless treasure in the primordial world.

In the very center of that spiritual land, a spiritual root several dozen feet tall stood quietly.

The spiritual root was entirely emerald green, its trunk was carved like jade, its branches and leaves spread out like jade pieces, and each leaf emitted a faint spiritual light.

The tree trunk is covered with innate Dao patterns, each pattern being a manifestation of a water-based law, the essence of Ren water, the source of all waters.

Huang Long stopped and looked at the spiritual root. A hint of surprise flashed in his eyes as he recognized the spiritual root.

The Ren Water Peach, one of the ten supreme spiritual roots of the primordial world.

However, at this moment, apart from the jade-green peach leaves, there were no peaches on this Renshui peach tree.

Only the emerald green leaves swayed gently in the mist, as if silently telling a story.

Huanglong knew without a doubt that Yuancai had only received thirty-six peaches. At the Peach Banquet held just now, so many immortals gathered together that each person would have received more than thirty-six peaches.

It seems that Haotian has probably emptied his entire stockpile for this Peach Banquet.

Huang Long withdrew his gaze, looked at Haotian, and asked in confusion:

"Uncle-Master, what do you mean by this?"

Haotian patted Huanglong on the shoulder with a grin, his smile carrying a hint of anticipation.

He led Huanglong to the peach tree, reached out and stroked the emerald green trunk, his tone tinged with emotion:

"Huanglong, only thirty-six peaches are produced in one cycle. Even if I hold a Peach Banquet once a cycle, these thirty-six peaches are far from enough to go around."

Haotian sighed and continued, "Now, there's not a single peach left on this tree. We can't just have everyone sitting around drinking tea at the next Peach Banquet, can we?"

As he spoke, his gaze turned to Huanglong, his eyes gleaming with anticipation.

"I saw you cut a branch from the Fusang tree and the laurel tree, and I know that you are well-versed in the ways of creation and the methods of cultivation. Your ability in cultivating spiritual roots is unparalleled in the entire prehistoric world."

Haotian pointed to the peach tree, his tone earnest:

"I would like to ask for your help in cultivating some spiritual peaches. They don't need to be of the highest quality, just presentable enough for the Peach Banquet."

Huang Long was stunned.

He never expected that Haotian had brought him here for this very reason.

He had also cultivated branches of innate top-grade spiritual roots for mass production.

The ginseng fruit tree, also a top-grade innate spiritual root, also cultivated two acquired spiritual roots, but the effect was far inferior to that of its mother tree.

However, Huanglong also knew in his heart that there would indeed be peaches of immortality in the Heavenly Court in the future, and there would be more than one kind.

As far as he knew, in the Heavenly Court of later generations, there were 3,600 peach trees in the Peach Garden, divided into three grades: those that ripened once every 3,000 years, those that ripened once every 6,000 years, and those that ripened once every 9,000 years. Although those peach trees could not compare to the innate top-grade spiritual roots, the peaches they produced had extraordinary effects.

But how did he know where those peach trees came from?

He may have the will, but not the ability, to cultivate more than 3,600 acquired spiritual roots. Even if he did manage to cultivate them, how could acquired spiritual roots compare to innate spiritual roots?

Looking at Haotian's expectant gaze, Huanglong remained silent for a moment before slowly speaking:

"Uncle-Master, this top-grade spiritual root can indeed be branched and cultivated, but what is cultivated is only an acquired spiritual root peach, whose effects are far inferior to this innate top-grade spiritual root."

His tone was serious, without the slightest hint of perfunctoriness.

"When I was at Wuzhuang Temple on Longevity Mountain, I tried to cultivate branches of the Ginseng Fruit Tree. The Ginseng Fruit Tree is also a top-grade innate spiritual root, on par with the Peach Tree. However, I only obtained two acquired spiritual roots. The ginseng fruits produced by those two trees were far inferior in efficacy to those produced by the top-grade innate spiritual root."

Huanglong looked at Haotian and said sincerely:

"I'm worried that the peaches produced by acquired spiritual roots won't be served at the Peach Banquet. If we were to serve peaches from acquired spiritual roots to all the immortals, the Heavenly Court would lose face."

Upon hearing this, Haotian fell silent.

Yaochi also fell silent.

The two looked at each other and saw the disappointment in each other's eyes.

Huang Long was telling the truth.

The Peach Banquet is the face of the Heavenly Court, an important occasion to demonstrate the Heavenly Court's strength to all living beings in the primordial world.

If the peaches offered in the future are of acquired spiritual roots, it will not only fail to bring glory to the Heavenly Court, but will also make people laugh at the Heavenly Court for being stingy.

The mighty Heavenly Emperor and Empress cannot even produce peaches with innate spiritual roots, and have to use peaches with acquired spiritual roots instead?

What kind of system is this?

Haotian remained silent for a moment, his gaze fixed on Huanglong, his voice filled with expectation and earnestness:

"Is there really no other way?"

There was a hint of resentment in his tone.

It's shameful for the Heavenly Emperor, a dignified ruler, to be unable to even produce the peaches for his grand assembly.

Yaochi also looked at Huanglong, her eyes filled with the same expectation. She didn't speak, but her gaze carried more weight than any words.

Faced with Haotian and Yaochi's expectations, Huanglong hesitated for a moment.

His mind raced, considering all the possibilities. With his current cultivation level and understanding of the Dao of Creation, cultivating an acquired spiritual root wasn't difficult for him. But to make the peaches produced from an acquired spiritual root reach the level of a top-grade innate spiritual root—that was impossible!

What you acquire later in life is what you acquire later in life, and what you are born with is what you are born with. This is a fundamental difference that cannot be bridged by effort alone.