Chapter Five: The Legacy of Pangu

Zhu Yan immediately nodded in response. “I understand. Thank you, Great Immortal, for your guidance. I will certainly devote myself to cultivation and temper my Dao heart.”

“Good. Since you are well now, you may leave,” the Ancestor of Heaven and Earth said with a slight nod.

Zhu Yan glanced hesitantly at the Ancestor, then bowed respectfully. He offered a small salute to Bai Ze before turning away and departing.

No sooner had Zhu Yan left than the voice of the Primeval Dao System resonated in the Ancestor’s soul: “By aiding Zhu Yan and altering his fate, the master is awarded thirty system points. Furthermore, Zhu Yan harbors the intention of taking you as his master, but as you have no such wish, you have missed the chance to take another good disciple.”

“What? I spent some of my merit to dispel his bloodthirsty aura and only got so little in return?” the Ancestor grumbled inwardly. “He wanted to become my disciple? That fellow has the intention but never voiced it—how am I supposed to read his mind? Never mind, I have no desire to take on another disciple anyway.”

The system’s mechanical voice continued, “Master has obtained information about the Northern Profound Water-Control Banner, which is already a considerable reward. Master has now triggered the quest to seize the Northern Profound Water-Control Banner. Would you like to accept?”

“Of course!” the Ancestor replied without hesitation. He had always intended to seek out the Northern Profound Water-Control Banner. Not only would he acquire the treasure once found, but he would also receive system points. Why not?

However, the system’s next words left the Ancestor slightly vexed: “If the master fails to obtain the Northern Profound Water-Control Banner and cannot complete the quest, thirty system points will be deducted as a penalty.”

“What the—? Penalties as well? If I fail to get the banner, the system points I just earned by helping Zhu Yan will be for nothing. That’s a waste of my merit!” the Ancestor gritted his teeth. “So, to protect my points—or even to earn more—I must acquire the Northern Profound Water-Control Banner. Well, whatever it takes. Should gods or buddhas bar my path, I shall cut them down. In this primeval wilderness, how can one expect to gain treasures without a struggle? Such fortunes never come so easily.”

Merit, after all, was a precious thing! The Ancestor of Heaven and Earth had only earned a significant amount of it by joining Hongjun, the Ancestor of Yin and Yang, the Great Immortal Yangmei, and others in besieging the Demon Ancestor Luohu—finally bringing an end to a great calamity in the primeval era. But once merit was spent, it was gone forever. Even wasting a little stung the heart.

With Zhu Yan’s matter settled, the Ancestor continued up Mount Buzhou with his newly acquired disciple, Bai Ze. The mountain was rich in spiritual materials and rarely visited, so the Ancestor’s harvest was abundant. Top-grade treasures were rare, but even the ordinary produce of Mount Buzhou was extraordinary. Missing this opportunity would make it much harder to obtain such rare materials in the future.

As they climbed higher, the Ancestor could distinctly feel the pressure radiating from the mountain growing stronger. Bai Ze was soon struggling to keep up.

“Master, my cultivation is shallow—I can’t go any further,” Bai Ze admitted, face pale and sweating.

The Ancestor glanced back and nodded. “Very well. Wait here until I return.”

Parting from Bai Ze, the Ancestor quickened his pace, pushing through the increasingly oppressive aura as he ascended. The higher he went, the more plentiful and rare the spiritual treasures became. Yet, to his mild disappointment, after searching the mountain he found no truly supreme spiritual material—nothing to truly stir his heart.

“The Three Pure Ones were supposedly born here; this is their stronghold. I suppose all the best things have already fallen into their hands,” the Ancestor mused as he searched the mountain, employing his void-walking arts to seek out rare treasures.

Just then, sensing something amiss, he looked up. The craggy peaks ahead seemed somehow different, though at first glance nothing appeared unusual.

Frowning in puzzlement, the Ancestor flew closer. With a thought, he manipulated the surrounding space, causing ripples to distort the air. Instantly, a swirling black vortex appeared, exuding a faint but powerful and mysterious aura.

“This aura… how strong! And… it feels familiar,” the Ancestor gasped inwardly. After a slight hesitation, curiosity got the better of him and he stepped into the dark vortex. The space twisted behind him, and the passage vanished.

Emerging from the vortex, the Ancestor found himself before a cavern, from which the mysterious and powerful aura emanated even more clearly.

His curiosity piqued by the growing sense of familiarity, he hurried deeper into the cave.

The tunnel was long, imbued with invisible forces that prevented the Ancestor from using his void-walking arts; he could only fly forward.

After a long while, likely deep within the heart of Mount Buzhou, the Ancestor finally reached the end of the winding passage.

There, a vast cavern opened before him, its belly filled with swirling blood-colored mist. Torrents of blood energy roiled through the air, yet seemed bound by unseen forces. Amid the mist floated two objects: a blood-red orb the size of a football, glittering like a crimson diamond, and a bone-like jade slip glowing with blood-colored light.

“Is that… Pangu’s Essence Blood?” The Ancestor’s gaze was instantly captured by the orb. Almost without conscious thought, he stepped forward to stand before it.

At the same time, he felt the blood mist flowing eagerly into his body, stirring his own blood energy, making his whole body itch and burn with heat. He could even sense his quasi-sage-level flesh growing subtly stronger.

“Could this be the residual essence of Pangu’s spine?” He looked down, shocked, at the dense, blood-colored mist covering a slow-churning, dark red liquid beneath—thick as molten lava. “No wonder the aura outside felt so powerful and familiar, yet I couldn’t place it—it’s the breath of the Great God Pangu. The entire mountain is suffused with his aura. I should have realized it sooner.”

His gaze shifted to the blood-colored bone jade slip floating beside the orb of Pangu’s essence blood. Eyes glinting, he reached out and took the slip, sending a thread of spiritual power into it.

A shiver ran through him. After a moment with eyes closed, he could not help but open them wide in astonishment, blurting, “Pangu’s True Form? This jade slip contains the flesh-refining methods of the Great God Pangu?”

“What a stroke of fortune! Incredible!” His shock quickly turned to delight.

Body-refining arts were exceedingly rare in the primeval world. The mightiest physical beings were the Wu Tribe, direct descendants of Pangu’s bloodline. Next were the Demon Tribe, many of whom were born with powerful bodies by virtue of their innate gifts. Humanity, who would later dominate the world, became synonymous with frailty of the flesh.

Yet through arts like the Eight-Nine Arcane Skill, even the human Yang Jian earned great renown, despite his humble origins. This alone showed the value of such techniques. But that skill was only a fragment, gleaned by the Three Pure Ones from the marks left by Pangu when he parted the heavens. Its essence remained elusive. While powerful, the Eight-Nine Arcane Skill had its limits; for the truly supreme, it was insufficient. Pangu’s True Form, however, was different—it was the very flesh-refining method cultivated by the Great God Pangu himself, complete with teachings reaching the level of saints. To call it the greatest divine art of the primeval era was no exaggeration.