Primordial Era: The Giant Turtle Returning from Immortality

Kunpeng watched as the small black flag fluttered into Guiyuan's hand, a hint of resentment flashing in his eyes, but it was quickly replaced by helplessness.

If your skills are inferior to others, there's nothing you can do but lament.

He suppressed the churning blood and qi within him, as well as the mental anguish caused by the injury to his natal spiritual treasure, and cupped his hands in a gesture of respect towards Guiyuan, his tone quite straightforward:

"Fellow Daoist Guiyuan possesses extraordinary abilities, which I cannot match."

This treasure should rightfully belong to you, fellow Daoist.

"I shall take my leave today. Once my injuries have healed, I will return to sit and discuss the Dao with you, fellow Daoist, and explore the path to Great Luo."

Guiyuan, holding the slightly cool Xuan Yuan Water Control Flag, returned the greeting with a calm expression.

"Fellow Daoist, you flatter me. When we discuss the Dao in the future, Guiyuan will certainly welcome you with open arms."

Kunpeng said no more, his figure transformed into a streak of light, and vanished into the depths of the Northern Sea in an instant.

He really needs to go back as soon as possible to repair the Kunpeng Nest and recuperate from his injuries.

Looking in the direction where Kunpeng had departed, a barely perceptible hint of regret flashed in Guiyuan's eyes.

"What a pity..."

As innate deities of the Northern Darkness, they are naturally protected by destiny.

Moreover, Kunpeng had killed ferocious beasts in his early years and carried a lot of Heavenly Dao merits with him.

If the killing is carried out by force, the karmic backlash will be too great, and the losses will outweigh the gains.

Based on his ruthless style when he followed Fang Han in conquering the heavens in the world of immortality.

Such an opponent, defeated by one's own hand, would have long since had their soul extracted and refined, or been turned into a great elixir to nourish one's own cultivation.

Why would they let it go so easily?

Not to mention that he now possesses a destiny bestowed upon him, and if he wants to reverse the fate of having his limbs severed, he must handle his cultivation, fortune, and merits with utmost care.

"The primordial world is different from immortality; there are many more rules." He shook his head inwardly, suppressing that thought.

With the formidable enemy gone, the surrounding seas have returned to silence.

Guiyuan sat cross-legged in mid-air, his gaze fixed on the Xuan Yuan Water Control Flag in his hand.

The flag was jet black, warm to the touch, as if it carried the ultimate yin and gentleness of the Northern Darkness's waters. Probing with divine sense, one immediately sensed layers upon layers of incredibly complex innate restrictions.

Primordial spiritual treasures are born of nature and contain complete laws of the Great Dao. Their quality is determined by two factors: the strength of their origin and the number of "innate restrictions" they contain.

Ordinary acquired spiritual treasures have restrictions that are artificially crafted and carved, and therefore have their limits.

The restrictions on innate spiritual treasures are naturally generated by the Great Dao, and are infinitely mysterious.

Based on the number of restriction layers, they can be roughly divided into:

A low-grade innate spiritual treasure, containing 1 to 12 innate restrictions;

A mid-grade innate spiritual treasure, containing 13 to 24 innate restrictions;

A superior-grade innate spiritual treasure, containing 25 to 36 innate restrictions;

A supreme innate spiritual treasure, containing 37 to 48 innate restrictions;

As for the legendary innate treasure, it contains 49 innate restrictions, which is the ultimate number of the Great Dao.

The Xuan Yuan Water Control Flag in Gui Yuan's hand actually contains 48 innate restrictions!

It is only one step away from becoming a supreme treasure, truly a top-tier innate spiritual treasure of the primordial world!

"As expected of one of the Five Primordial Banners." He understood in his heart, and without further hesitation, he circulated his magic power and began to refine it.

His divine sense, like fine threads, probed into the flag and entwined itself with the first innate restriction.

Amidst the rising steam and flowing Taoist principles, one feels as if immersed in a boundless ocean, experiencing the ultimate gentleness, strength, nourishment, and destruction of water…

Time slipped away quietly during the refining process.

One, two, three...

Guiyuan's understanding of the Great Dao of Water then skyrocketed.

The North Sea Black Tortoise's tail was already close to water, and now, with the confirmation of this spiritual treasure, it was even more powerful.

Countless profound meanings about "water" naturally surfaced in my mind, and some things that were previously obscure suddenly became clear.

He was immersed in the ocean of Tao.

However, when refining the 24th innate restriction, a powerful resistance suddenly appeared.

No matter how much he activated his magic power and divine sense, the 25th restriction was like a layer of incredibly tough membrane, impossible to break through.

Guiyuan had an epiphany and stopped.

"That's right. Spiritual treasures have spirits and choose their own masters. If one's strength is insufficient, one cannot gain their full recognition."

With his current cultivation level as a Taiyi Golden Immortal, he can refine 24 restrictions, which is just enough to reach the threshold of controlling this flag and unleashing most of its power.

To completely refine all 48 restrictions, one must be at least a Great Luo Golden Immortal, or even higher.

With a thought, the Xuan Yuan Water Control Flag transformed into a streak of dark light and entered his body. He incorporated the Xuan Yuan Water Control Flag into his true spirit, and the spiritual treasure spontaneously protected its master, even without needing to return to its origin and activate it himself.

If attacked, it will automatically unleash a portion of its power to block a blow for Guiyuan.

Guiyuan sat cross-legged on the water's surface, now undergoing his first tribulation and taking human form.

The "Transformation Fate" that can be added by the Great Fate Technique is ultimately only a temporary remedy. There is still no way to deal with it before the great calamity arrives.

It seems they will perish and have to rebuild their lives.

After all, that involves the safety of the entire prehistoric world, and he will likely have to deal with pressure from many sages.

"This is troublesome."

Guiyuan's joy at obtaining the spiritual treasure vanished, and he began to ponder how to best utilize it.

To survive in the primordial world, one needs nothing more than four things: background, cultivation level, merit, and luck.

If you are a disciple of a sage, any being that wants to kill you can simply invoke your family background and nothing will happen.

Cultivation level goes without saying; in the primordial world, strength ultimately reigns supreme.

As for merit and fortune.

If one has accumulated merit and virtue to protect them, then indiscriminate killing will create negative karma, which is not worth the loss, just like the Kunpeng just now.

And fortune.

Like Yun Zhongzi in later generations, he was born with good fortune, and ordinary people did not want to kill him. If you casually kill someone who is blessed with good fortune, your own good fortune will be reduced.

What are the differences between the two?

Being burdened by karma will take effect immediately, such as causing mental confusion, obscurity of the Dao, or even calamities.

Luck, on the other hand, is like a slow, gentle process, making you suffer little by little.

"Therefore, if you want to reverse fate, your background is not enough. You have to work on your cultivation, merits, and luck simultaneously."

"Cultivation does not require planning, so one must plan for merit and fortune."

Guiyuan's thoughts are carefully considered. Merit can only be gained by contributing to heaven and earth, while fortune can only be increased by gathering people with good fortune.

"Isn't clearing away evil spirits and restoring tranquility to the north one of the ways to gain merit? Those two in the west can even represent the west in this way."

"If I cleanse the North, the creatures of the North will benefit from me, and the fortune of the North will naturally gravitate towards me."

This malevolent energy harms heaven and earth; clearing it away will bring merit and reward.

Gui Yuan stood up. "If there were ferocious beasts, that would be even better. Refining them into pills would also replenish our own strength!"

"This northern region, teeming with malevolent energy, is hardly a forbidden land; it's a treasure trove!"

Guiyuan thought of the numerous malevolent energies and ferocious beast corpses scattered throughout the northern continent, which no one else could handle, and even Taiyi Golden Immortals would have to be extremely careful when encountering them.

But he's different.

The world of immortality loves this kind of resource the most. In order to "eat", there are corresponding methods for souls, flesh and blood, and even evil energy.

Whether it's used to enhance one's cultivation or to refine supernatural powers.

Everyone has a place.