C17 Primordial Spirit Breaking out of Its Cocoon

Laojiu stood there silently, like a wooden stake, but in reality, he had succumbed to sleep.

In his mind, the giant formed by Patriarch Lieshan's Primordial Spirit had vanished. To protect Laojiu, the Patriarch had sacrificed more than half of his life force and suffered severe injuries!

Had the Water Shadow Beast not been frightened by Patriarch Lieshan's saintly aura and refrained from turning back to attack Laojiu, they would have perished!

Naturally, fierce beasts possess keen senses. Even at the Life Union Stage Early Period, the Water Shadow Beast remained deeply fearful of a Saint Becoming Level master.

The Primordial Spirit Storm unleashed by the Water Shadow Beast and Patriarch Lieshan's Blazing Flames of the Heavens neutralized each other. Yet, the resulting rain and dew descended upon the parched earth below. The grass, buffeted by the storm, seemed to soak up the abundant nutrients, growing from two inches to three inches.

Over time, the cracked soil transformed, gradually becoming moist. The grass thrived, quickly reaching about a foot in height and sprouting branches, slowly evolving from a blade of grass into a sapling.

The sight of the sapling filled Patriarch Lieshan's damaged Primordial Spirit with ecstatic joy. He swooped down, attaching himself to a small leaf, and then all was still.

Laojiu experienced a lengthy dream. In it, he found himself alone in an abyss, engulfed by darkness and profound solitude. There was no sound, no sign of life but his own. Directionless, he wandered aimlessly, lost and forlorn.

He cried out, screaming with all his might, yet no response came; not even an echo pierced the silence. The quietude was absolute.

Desperate, Laojiu ran tirelessly, heedless of the terrain or the frequency of his falls, refusing to pause. He was convinced that with enough effort, he could break free from this shadowy realm.

The darkness was relentless, and Laojiu had no concept of the time he spent running or the distance covered. It could have been a month, a year, a decade, or even a century.

Through it all, no matter the hardship or exhaustion, he remained steadfast.

Until one day, a ray of light finally appeared ahead. It was as thin as a strand of silver hair, yet it stood out starkly against the darkness.

"There's light!" Laojiu exclaimed with unbridled excitement.

To him, the ray of light was like a lifeline to a drowning man, offering immense hope.

After a journey filled with hardships and struggles, Laojiu finally reached the source of the light.

It seemed as though the light had descended from the heavens, infinitely high above. Amidst the pitch-black night sky, there was a pinpoint of light as small as a needle's eye.

He looked around, but all else remained shrouded in darkness.

"No! How can you mock me like this, God? I must escape, even if it means ascending to the heavens or descending to the depths of the earth!"

Laojiu bellowed in defiance at the sky.

He leaped upwards frantically, trying to reach the elusive light, but each attempt ended with a hard fall back to the ground.

"I want to soar!"

After countless failures, Laojiu closed his eyes, and a powerful determination surged within him.

In the next instant, a pair of pitch-black wings sprouted from his back, majestic as an eagle in flight. Laojiu took to the skies, heading straight for the distant speck of light above.

The wind! There was now wind!

For the first time, Laojiu felt something different in his world. Aided by the wind, he flew faster, covering vast distances in mere moments.

The light grew increasingly intense, eventually becoming so bright that it was hard to keep his eyes open. Overwhelmed with excitement, Laojiu pushed himself to ascend faster, enduring the searing pain in his eyes without blinking. He feared that if he closed his eyes for even a moment, the light would vanish.

With a powerful vibration, Laojiu finally broke through the light spot and emerged into a world bathed in brightness. Though it was a desolate wilderness, to Laojiu, it was akin to paradise.

"Hmm, why have I turned into a small tree? Wasn't I an eagle? Why do I feel so different?" Laojiu was flooded with questions. It was as if something significant had occurred, yet he also sensed that he might have missed something.

At that moment, a faint divine sense reached out to me, "Young man, congratulations on your Primordial Spirit finally emerging from its cocoon."

"Senior Brother, how did you end up inside me? And why are you so weak?"

"To aid you, I've sacrificed a great deal of my own life force. Had your Primordial Spirit not awakened, I wouldn't have been able to communicate with you at all. I need to rest now. Reflect on what's happened, and you'll understand everything."

Patriarch Lieshan fell silent after his words; he truly needed time to recuperate.

Laojiu was dazed for quite some time before he finally recalled being pursued by the Water Shadow Beast. The next moment, clarity washed over him, and he regained full control of his body.

"Senior Brother has saved my life once more!" he whispered to himself, etching this act of salvation deep within his heart.

As thoughts raced through his mind, Laojiu noticed something extraordinary about his condition. He could clearly inspect every part of his body as if he had gained a new set of eyes capable of seeing right through it.

"How incredible! Is this what it's like to have a Primordial Spirit?"

There was no confusion in Laojiu, only the thrill of experiencing his Primordial Spirit for the first time. He was eager to fully comprehend his own body.

His three Dantians brimmed with Origin Energy, each forming a perfect microcosm that sustained all the organs within its cycle. Every muscle bristled with immense potential energy, thanks to the nurturing of the Origin Energy.

Yet, his internal organs remained fragile, with many areas untouched by the nourishing energy. These deficiencies would require advancement to the next realm to further refine his being.

Once the initial excitement subsided, Laojiu's thoughts turned to the most crucial matter at hand—the Ink Crystal Stone. He had endured countless hardships to cultivate his Primordial Spirit ahead of time, enabling him to unlock the space within the Inheritance Crystal Stone and access the resources his master had left behind.

But when it came to utilizing his Primordial Spirit, Laojiu felt like a blind man groping an elephant—utterly lost. He took out the Ink Crystal Stone and attempted to examine it with his Primordial Spirit.

This time, the reaction was immediate and distinct; the previous sense of wandering through a mist vanished. Inside was an immense space, easily a third the size of the Martial Training Field.

Inside, Laojiu encountered a variety of odd items, most of which he couldn't recognize and had no idea what their purpose was.

He attempted to use his Primordial Spirit to target a shiny stone about the size of a finger, willing it to come out. To his amazement, the stone materialized in his hand almost instantaneously.

"This is truly incredible. What fun!" he exclaimed.

In his astonishment, Laojiu tried to use his Primordial Spirit to retrieve a larger item. With a loud bang, it dropped onto the Martial Training Field, startling him.

He then attempted to put the items back, but ran into trouble. While he managed to return the small, pretty stone, the larger items on the Martial Training Field remained immovable.

"Hehe, you silly boy, your Primordial Spirit Strength isn't sufficient. It's easy to bring things out, but you'll need to strengthen your cultivation to put them back," Patriarch Lieshan chuckled, amused by Laojiu's predicament.

He had no real desire to speak, but Laojiu, acting like a curious child, had haphazardly moved items out and then found himself unable to return them.

These items were treasures left by the Xuanyuan Monarch for his disciples. Even the large piece of metal that Laojiu had moved was a rare and valuable material, ideal for forging weapons.

Xuanyuan Huang Monarch, though not one to frequently use weapons himself, had considerately provided for his future disciples. He hadn't dictated their cultivation paths, ensuring that if any of them favored weapons, they would have something to work with. His foresight was truly thorough.

"What is that sparkling stone? Is it some kind of crystal stone?" Laojiu inquired.

"That is a High Level Essence Spirit Stone, a universally accepted currency that can be used to purchase most types of goods. Besides, the Essence Spirit Stone has another function: it can be absorbed as Origin Energy. In places devoid of Origin Energy, it becomes a vital resource for sustaining one's cultivation," explained Patriarch Lieshan.

"High Level Essence Spirit Stone? Are there also Middle and Low Level Essence Spirit Stones? Are they valuable?"

Laojiu's excitement was palpable. It turned out that the Ink Crystal Stone space contained a significant number of these sparkling stones. By his conservative estimate, there were no fewer than eighty thousand of them.

These were all resources for cultivation!

"Indeed, the Beginning Level Essence Spirit Stones are nearly opaque, containing only a trace of Origin Energy. The Middle Level Essence Spirit Stones are semi-transparent, while the High Level Essence Spirit Stones are the most transparent and pure. The price difference between each level is a hundredfold. On our former planet, an ordinary person might earn a maximum of ten Beginning Level Essence Spirit Stones for a month's work, and many would never earn even one High Level Essence Spirit Stone in their lifetime. You can appreciate their value now, can't you?"

"Your master left you so many High Level Essence Spirit Stones; you must take great care with them. This is an immense fortune. If those outsiders learn of it, your life will be in grave danger!"

Patriarch Lieshan earnestly cautioned Laojiu to recognize the worth of what he held. The Essence Spirit Stones alone, never mind the priceless legacy, would turn the heads of even those at the Saint Becoming Level with envy.

"Wow, I've struck it rich! It's so frustrating that I can't flaunt this wealth openly." Laojiu reckoned he might just be the wealthiest person on the planet.

After his senior brother's warning, he couldn't even begin to calculate the precise value of the High Level Essence Spirit Stones. With his current abilities, he doubted he could earn this much even if he worked for thousands of years—and that didn't even account for the numerous other treasures in the inheritance space.

"Hold the Essence Spirit Stone in your palm and use your cultivation technique to absorb the Origin Energy within. I need to rest for a good while, so please don't disturb me."

With those final words of advice, Patriarch Lieshan could no longer resist fatigue and soon fell silent.

Laojiu returned to the stone chamber, took out an Essence Spirit Stone, and after steadying his emotions, he began to practice his cultivation earnestly.

"Such pure Origin Energy!"

Laojiu exclaimed, amazed. As he practiced the Celestial Dragon Guidance, a dense stream of Origin Energy was drawn into his body. This was over a thousand times faster than the rate at which he absorbed energy from the environment! And since the Origin Energy was free of any impurities, it was effortless to assimilate.

By the time he had finished a meal, the Essence Spirit Stone in Laojiu's hand had been reduced to a small mound of white powder, its abundant Origin Energy fully absorbed.

Laojiu introspected and noticed a slight but definite increase in the Origin Energy within his Low Dantian. The impact of a single Essence Spirit Stone was astonishing! Considering that his Origin Energy was already profoundly deep, and after achieving the Three-qi Gathering, any further increase was incredibly challenging.

Unaware of the extravagance of his actions, Laojiu didn't realize that if outsiders were to find out, they would likely be so appalled that they could drown him in their spit!

To expend such an amount of High Level Essence Spirit Stones for the mere cultivation of a Low Rank Three realm was a luxury that many prominent families could not afford.