Primordial Era: Reborn as a Qi Immortal, Steadily Cultivating

Chapter 45 Western Visitors
Inside the quiet room, time passes silently.

The fire element within Ma Yuan's body, composed of both Bing fire and Ding fire, has reached a perfect balance.

Like a real sun.

It possesses both the magnificent power to burn everything and the gentle virtue to nourish life.

With the perfection of the Yin and Yang of the Fire element, his Golden Immortal realm was completely stabilized.

"Water element is divided into Ren and Gui, Earth element is divided into Wu and Ji..."

Ma Yuan silently considered the future path, but he was not in a hurry at all.

He knew that differentiating Yin and Yang was the supreme method to reverse the innate state and reshape the origin.

The difficulty increased with each iteration.

The Fire element originated from his own malevolent and evil fire, to which he was most compatible, yet it still took thousands of years to complete.

The process of differentiating the elements of water and earth will not be accomplished overnight.

"However, there's no rush."

Ma Yuan slowly opened his eyes, his gaze clear and bright.

His cultivation has now reached the peak of the Golden Immortal realm.

This "perfection" is not merely the accumulation of magical power, but also the perfection of one's foundation in the Dao and one's state of mind.

Perfection is the pinnacle, but the pinnacle is not perfection.

In the primordial world, there are countless cultivators who, although their magical power has reached the pinnacle of the Golden Immortal realm, have impure foundations and flawed mental states.

With his acquired body, he forged the foundation of the Three Realms and divided it into the Five Elements and Yin and Yang. The strength of his foundation and the depth of his knowledge far surpassed those of others of the same level!

He was even confident that his current foundation was probably comparable to that of those who had just entered the Taiyi Golden Immortal realm!
Only with such a flawless and perfect foundation can it be called true "perfection"!
This laid a solid foundation for his future cultivation of the Great Dao.

But he knew that his path had not yet come to an end.

He needs time to fully digest, absorb, and integrate all of this knowledge.

Breaking through to the Taiyi Golden Immortal realm will be a natural outcome.

……

Just as Ma Yuan was concentrating in his cave, detached from worldly affairs.

Outside Skull Mountain, in the void shrouded by the Great Array of Cause and Effect.

A figure appeared silently without warning.

The newcomer was a plump Taoist priest dressed in an earth-yellow monk's robe, with a round figure and a warm smile always on his face.

He was barefoot, holding a string of prayer beads in his hand, and with each step he took, it seemed as if a golden lotus phantom flashed by beneath his feet.

He exudes a unique Taoist charm of compassion, joy, freedom, and harmony.

This person was none other than Maitreya, the chief disciple of the Daoist Zhunti and one of the future Buddhas of the Three Worlds!
After the three lectures at Zixiao Palace, Jieyin and Zhunti returned to Mount Sumeru in the West, marveling at the vastness and abundance of the East, and its outstanding people and spirits.

The West, however, remained impoverished and its followers were dwindling.

After much agonizing reflection, the two sent their most accomplished disciple, Maitreya, to this prosperous eastern land.

One reason is to travel the world and broaden one's horizons.

Secondly, it was also to seek out talented people and treasures who had a connection with the West, so as to glorify the Western tradition.

Maitreya traveled eastward, attempting to explore the eastern part of the prehistoric world.

On this day, he was traveling among the clouds, heading towards the next place.

But their attention was inadvertently drawn to a seemingly ordinary mountain range below.

"what?"

Maitreya stopped in his tracks, a hint of surprise flashing in his ever-smiling eyes.

In his eyes, the mountain range below was shrouded in malevolent energy, and should have been a place devoid of life.

Yet beneath this malevolent aura lies a vibrant, ethereal, and otherworldly atmosphere.

What surprised him even more was that he could faintly see a trace of mysterious and ethereal merit energy, like a light veil or mist shrouding the entire mountain!

"That's weird, that's weird."

Maitreya's smile widened, his curiosity growing.

"A place of malevolence can give birth to merit and nurture a blessed land. There must be a cultivator of great perseverance and wisdom living in seclusion in this mountain. If I, a humble Taoist, were to pass by and not see him, would it not be a great pity?"

He wasn't driven by greed.

It was purely out of curiosity, a seeker of the truth, about fellow seekers of the unknown.

With this thought in mind, Maitreya no longer hesitated.

With a flicker, he descended from the clouds and slowly made his way towards the gate of Skull Mountain.

However, just as he was about to step into the Skull Mountain area...

"Buzz—!" An invisible barrier, invisible to the naked eye, suddenly appeared in front of him, rippling outwards.

A mysterious aura flowed above the barrier.

It does not belong to the Five Elements and does not involve Yin and Yang.

They actually managed to keep even a Taiyi Golden Immortal like him firmly outside the mountain gate!

"What an exquisite formation!"

Upon seeing this, Maitreya was not surprised but delighted, and his smile became even more amiable.

"This formation can actually confuse the secrets of heaven and sever cause and effect; it is truly profound and mysterious. The master of the mountain must be no ordinary person!"

He did not force his way in, but stood in front of the formation and spoke in a gentle, benevolent voice.

“The Western disciple Maitreya, passing through this place, happened to see the extraordinary scenery of the immortal mountain and was filled with longing. He has come to visit the fellow Daoists in the mountain and hopes that they will show themselves to meet him.”

His voice did not contain any magical power.

Yet it clearly penetrated the array barrier and entered the mountain.

"Who dares to make such a racket?!"

Almost the instant his words fell, two streaks of light rushed from the mountains!

A black wind howled and landed, transforming into a burly, honest-looking man wielding a long-handled axe.

Another gust of wind swept by, revealing a sharp-eyed, wiry young man.

It was none other than the two boys, Black Wind and Azure Cloud!
Upon seeing a smiling, plump Taoist priest standing outside the mountain gate, whose aura was unfathomable, the two immediately became wary.

"My master is in seclusion and will not receive any guests! Please return, Daoist!" Black Wind said in a gruff voice, holding the giant axe that the mountain-suppressing array flag had transformed into in front of him.

At the same time, an even more powerful aura soared into the sky from the mountain stream!

"Roar--!"

With a dragon's roar that shook the mountains and fields, a four-clawed black dragon with a body length of over a thousand feet burst out of the water.

The enormous dragon body coiled in mid-air, its cold dragon eyes fixed on Maitreya!

It was none other than the mountain-guarding divine beast, Ao Xuan!
Immediately afterwards, a cool and aloof figure quietly appeared inside the mountain gate.

It was Shi Ji, the manager of the temple.

She looked at Maitreya, whose aura was harmonious and unfathomable, outside the formation, her usually cold face filled with solemnity.

"Master, my master has ordered that Skull Mountain be closed during the seclusion period, and no outside visitors will be received. Please return."

Shi Ji's voice was neither humble nor arrogant.

Maitreya was taken aback by the sight before him, but then his smile grew even brighter.

"Excellent, what a magnificent immortal abode! Not only are there dragons as guardian beasts, but also fellow Daoists with such profound cultivation presiding over it. It truly has a deep foundation."

He looked at Shi Ji, a hint of approval flashing in his eyes.

“Fellow Daoist, I have no ill intentions. I simply wish to discuss the Dao with the master of the mountain. Please do me the favor and pass on my message.”

"No need," Shi Ji shook her head.
"If you do not leave now, don't blame us for being rude."

After saying that, a thought occurred to her.

The superior-grade innate spiritual treasure, the Illusionary Light Mirror, was already floating above her head, radiating seven-colored light!

Ao Xuan also let out a low roar, and terrifying cold air, enough to freeze thousands of miles, began to condense in his dragon mouth!
Seeing this, Maitreya shook his head helplessly and sighed.

"Very well, it seems I will not be able to see the master of this mountain today. In that case, I will go in by myself."

He said no more, and his always smiling eyes suddenly opened wide at that moment!

A terrifying pressure belonging to a Taiyi Golden Immortal descended with a roar!

He simply pointed a finger at the protective array in front of him!
"Boom——"

The causal array, which was strong enough to withstand attacks from ordinary Golden Immortals, was pierced through with a huge hole in an instant, just like paper, under this seemingly casual finger strike!

"This is bad!" Shi Ji's expression changed drastically!
"Formation!"

With a sharp shout, she, Ao Xuan, Hei Feng, and Cang Yun instantly took up positions on one side according to the formation that Ma Yuan had taught them beforehand, attempting to plug the gap in the formation!

However, the gap between Taiyi Golden Immortals and Xuanxian and Tianxian is simply too great!

Maitreya looked at the four who were putting up a stubborn resistance, still smiling, and simply waved his sleeve.

A gentle yet irresistible force of Buddhist power swept out.

Shi Ji and the other three felt an indescribable, terrifying force surge through them, causing them to fly backward uncontrollably. Their magical power was instantly imprisoned, leaving them unable to move an inch!
It all happened in the blink of an eye!
Having subdued the four, Maitreya looked at the wide-open gap in the formation, a hint of apology on his face, and was about to step inside.

Just then, a calm and distant voice drifted from the depths of Skull Mountain.

“Fellow Daoist, you are not a guest if you trespass on someone else’s Daoist temple.”

(End of this chapter)