Eastern Desolate Continent

  In the heart of the Eastern Desolate Continent, mountain peaks stood tall, piercing through the clouds. Heavy fog surrounded the peaks.

  Every mountain in this range was filled with lush greenery, tall trees, and many mystical spiritual plants and medicinal herbs.

  This mountain range was the Celestial Mountain Range, one of the places with the most abundant Spiritual Essence in the entire Desolate World.

  Located within the Celestial Mountain Range was one of the Five Holy Cultivation Lands of the Desolate World—

  Eternal Dao Sect.

  The sect grounds were bustling with people. Some cultivators were flying through the sky, some were chatting with their friends and fellow disciples, while others were sparring with each other.

  Different kinds of buildings and grand halls were situated throughout this holy land.

  ---

  Secret Realm of the Eternal Dao Sect

  In a secret realm of the Eternal Dao Sect, a giant mystical lotus shimmered with different shades of color, illuminating the surrounding darkness.

  Spiritual Essence lingered around the lotus like flowing streams of water. A dense fog of Spiritual Essence surrounded the mystical lotus.

  Above the lotus, an infant floated in the air.

  He seemed illusory, yet not illusory at the same time.

  His eyes were closed.

  Suddenly, the space in front of the lotus trembled, and a man appeared.

  He wore a white Daoist robe.

  At first glance he looked like an ordinary middle-aged man.

  But upon closer inspection, he was tall and dignified, with sword-like eyebrows and eyes as deep as ink. His dark hair flowed down his back like a river.

  He was Mo XingTian, the current Sect Master of the Eternal Dao Sect.

  Beside him, space trembled once again as an old man stepped out.

  He had a head full of white hair and a long white beard.

  His face was wrinkled with age, yet his eyes told a different story—they shone like the sun illuminating the entire world.

  He stood with his hands behind his back.

  “So… it is time, huh?” the old man said.

  He was Li Tian, the Grand Elder of the Eternal Dao Sect.

  “It seems so,” Mo XingTian replied calmly.

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  Suddenly, the space to the right of the Grand Elder shattered like glass, and a woman stepped out.

  She wore a red robe embroidered with floral patterns. Her appearance was beautiful, but her phoenix-like eyes were even more striking.

  She appeared to be a woman in her late twenties, her hair tied into a neat bun.

  “Grand Elder, Senior Brother,” Xue Xian said cheerfully, waving her hand in greeting as a smile formed on her lips.

  “Did you get the Heavenly Seed?” Mo XingTian asked.

  Although Xue Xian was usually mischievous in front of her senior brother, seeing his serious expression today, she knew it was not the time for jokes.

  Without saying anything further, she waved her hand.

  A seed appeared before her.

  The seed was green and glowed faintly with a gentle emerald light.

  “The Heavenly Seed…” Li Tian looked at the seed in amazement.

  The Heavenly Seed was a mystical wonder of Heaven and Earth.

  It could reform a cultivator’s body if their soul still existed. If planted in a place rich with Spiritual Essence, over time it could grow into a Guardian Plant protecting a sect or force.

  At its peak, it could reach the Spirit Phase of cultivation.

  However, the most mystical use of the Heavenly Seed was to create a Heavenly Physique.

  To create a Heavenly Physique with a Heavenly Seed, one required both the Heavenly Seed and the Blood Essence of a cultivator who had been born with a Heavenly Physique and had reached the peak of the Celestial Phase.

  If a cultivator whose body had been destroyed but whose soul still existed used the Heavenly Seed along with such Blood Essence, they could reform their body and obtain a Heavenly Physique.

  However—

  They would lose all their cultivation and have to start from the beginning.

  Mo XingTian took the Heavenly Seed and looked toward the lotus.

  “Little Xue, do you know what this is?” he asked, still gazing at the lotus.

  “The Heavenly Lotus, ranked ninth among the Mystical Wonders of Heaven and Earth,” Xue Xian replied with slight hesitation.

  The Heavenly Lotus was one of the Mystical Wonders of Heaven and Earth, ranked ninth on the legendary list.

  Every Mystical Wonder of Heaven and Earth was coveted by cultivators across the world.

  “You are correct,” Mo XingTian nodded.

  “But… if this really is the Heavenly Lotus… then what is that?” Xue Xian pointed at the floating infant.

  “The Heavenly Lotus is about to give birth to its Soul,” Mo XingTian said calmly. “That is the soul of the Heavenly Lotus.”

  “The soul of the Heavenly Lotus?” Xue Xian frowned in disbelief.

  “How can it have a soul? Mystical Wonders do not possess souls. They only have a faint will.”

  Souls and wills were different.

  A soul could think independently.

  A will, however, was bound by strict rules and limitations.

  No Mystical Wonder of Heaven and Earth possessed a true soul—only a will.

  “Yes,” Mo XingTian said slowly. “But the Heavenly Lotus is different.”

  He then looked up at the sky.

  “Tell me, Little Xue… what does the Heavenly Lotus do?”

  Xue Xian stared at the lotus, more specifically at the infant-like soul floating above it.

  “It nourishes a cultivator’s soul.”

  “Then what do you think would happen if a fragment of a cultivator’s soul fused with the will of the Heavenly Lotus?”

  “I… don’t know,” she replied, her face clearly saying I’m confused.

  Li Tian, who had been silent until now, spoke.

  “The Heavenly Lotus nourishes souls. If a fragment of a soul merges with its will, the lotus will nurture that fragment and give birth to a new soul.”

  “That new soul… will be the Heavenly Lotus itself.”

  He looked at the floating infant soul.

  Realization appeared on Xue Xian’s face.

  “So that’s why you sent me to the Forbidden Desolate to retrieve the Heavenly Seed.”

  The Heavenly Lotus was about to give birth to its soul.

  But a soul still needed a physical body.

  The Heavenly Seed would allow it to form one.

  “You’re not as dumb as you look,” Li Tian said with a teasing expression.

  “Old man, say that again and I swear I’ll ruin your disciple,” Xue Xian replied with an annoyed glare.

  Li Tian immediately backed off.

  He didn’t want to take that risk.

  If Xue Xian truly wanted to ruin his disciple, she absolutely could—and the sect would not punish her too harshly.

  Mo XingTian simply shook his head at their bickering.

  At that moment—

  The soul of the Heavenly Lotus opened its eyes.

  A terrifying soul pressure erupted from it.

  Space began trembling, cracks spreading like shattered glass.

  Mo XingTian, Xue Xian, and Li Tian immediately grew serious.

  The soul pressure was crushing.

  But they were all peak cultivators of the Desolate World, so they could withstand it easily.

  If any cultivator in the Seed Phase had been here, their soul would have been crushed instantly.

  Mo XingTian waved his hand.

  The Heavenly Seed flew toward the soul of the Heavenly Lotus.

  He waved his hand once more, and a drop of Blood Essence appeared.

  The moment the blood appeared, time itself seemed to freeze.

  Space stood still, as if the heavens themselves had issued a command.

  “Celestial Essence Blood?” Xue Xian exclaimed.

  “Where did you get that, Senior Brother?”

  Looking at the essence blood, she assumed it belonged to a peak expert of the Celestial Phase.

  Celestial Phase cultivators were extremely rare.

  Peak experts of that realm were even rarer—there were fewer than a dozen in the entire Desolate World.

  “No,” Mo XingTian shook his head.

  “It’s not Celestial Essence Blood.”

  “Then what is it?” she asked.

  “A Sovereign’s blood.”

  Li Tian’s eyes widened in shock.

  “But how?!”

  “Ancestor Mu Xuan Ye left this Blood Essence behind when he ascended to the Higher Realm,” Mo XingTian said calmly.

  “He did? Why didn’t I know about it?” Xue Xian asked.

  “He ordered me to keep it hidden from you.”

  “Because he was afraid you’d steal it and sell it for money or cultivation resources,” Li Tian added with an expression that clearly said obviously.

  Xue Xian was a True Body Path cultivator and required enormous amounts of resources.

  Although the Eternal Dao Sect was unimaginably wealthy, she had already reached the Peak Apex Realm of the Celestial Phase, only one step away from the Transcendence Realm.

  Even the mighty Eternal Dao Sect struggled to supply the resources required for that level.

  “Senior Brother,” Xue Xian asked,

  “Why would Ancestor Mu Xuan Ye give his Blood Essence to you?”