After perfecting his cultivation in the Earth Immortal Realm, Zhou Chen did not continue advancing, as he had not yet deduced the method for the next realm. He cast the Nine Breaths, Respiration divine ability, rapidly recovering the magic power he had consumed.
The innate spiritual Qi within hundreds of millions of li around Zhou Chen's immortal cave surged toward him like a waterfall in reverse. He absorbed and refined it to replenish what he had spent condensing his Dao body.
This commotion directly caught the attention of Yuanshi Tianzun in the Yuxu Palace. Glancing toward Zhou Chen's direction and letting out a soft sigh of surprise, Yuanshi pinched his fingers to divine the situation. Realizing that Zhou Chen was a disciple of Jiejiao who had been in seclusion all this time, Yuanshi paid him no further mind, withdrawing his attention to continue comprehending the Heavenly Dao.
Once fully recovered, Zhou Chen stepped out of his immortal cave, intending to wander around Kunlun. After all, ever since joining Jiejiao, his days had been spent either listening to teachings or cultivating merely to stay alive. Now that he had achieved a measure of success, he was ready to relax, take a stroll through Kunlun, and appreciate the scenery of a top-tier blessed land in the Primordial World.
As Zhou Chen walked along Kunlun, he felt as though something was missing, though he didn't dwell on it. Stopping and going along the way to admire the scenery, he unconsciously arrived at the former site of the Shangqing Palace, where he used to listen to the Dao.
What?!
The three massive palaces that once stood atop Kunlun Mountain had been reduced to just one. Moreover, its name was no longer Taiqing, Yuqing, or Shangqing, but simply Yuxu Palace.
Had the Three Pure Ones split up? Come to think of it, magnificent though Kunlun Mountain was as a top-tier blessed land, it could hardly bear the Daoist fortunes of three separate Sages. Combined with the doctrinal conflicts between the teachings of the Jie and Chan sects, a separation was inevitable, so Zhou Chen was not surprised.
After a moment of thought, Zhou Chen decided to pay his respects to Yuanshi Tianzun. Since he had already reached the gates of Yuxu Palace, and though he was an inner disciple of Jiejiao, he was still a disciple of the Daoist sect nonetheless. To fail to pay respects would be a breach of etiquette.
As the old saying goes: courtesy costs nothing.
With that thought, Zhou Chen headed straight toward Yuxu Palace to pay a visit to Yuanshi Tianzun, and incidentally to ask his master's whereabouts—wondering if he had found Jinao Island yet.
Arriving before the gates of Yuxu Palace and preparing to step inside, Zhou Chen paused at the sight of a boy standing at the entrance. Recovering his composure instantly, he bowed to the boy.
"I am a disciple under Shangqing Tongtian. Having just emerged from seclusion, I have come specifically to pay my respects to my Master."
Zhou Chen feigned ignorance of everything that had transpired.
Hearing this, the boy was momentarily stunned. He looked at Zhou Chen, completely baffled as to why a disciple of the Sage Tongtian had somehow remained behind.
"I am White Crane Boy. Presently..."
White Crane Boy was about to explain when a voice interrupted him.
"Child, let him enter!"
Hearing this, Zhou Chen looked into Yuxu Palace. After returning White Crane Boy's bow, he stepped directly inside.
White Crane Boy returned the bow as well, watching Zhou Chen enter the palace, though the confusion in his eyes remained undiminished.
Entering Yuxu Palace, Zhou Chen looked up at Yuanshi Tianzun seated high upon the futon and bowed respectfully.
"Your junior nephew pays respects to Second Uncle-Master."
Yuanshi Tianzun looked at Zhou Chen and nodded slightly.
"What brings you here today, Junior Nephew?"
Hearing this, Zhou Chen asked his question:
"Second Uncle-Master, your nephew has been in seclusion for tens of thousands of years and is unaware of what has happened. Having just emerged, I prepared to pay my respects to my Master, only to find he is not here."
Yuanshi Tianzun looked at Zhou Chen and shook his head with a helpless smile.
"Junior Nephew, your Third Uncle has already established his Daoist sanctuary on Jinao Island in the Eastern Sea. You may go search for him there."
Hearing this, Zhou Chen bowed respectfully once more.
"Thank you for informing me, Second Uncle-Master. If there is nothing else, your nephew will set out for the Eastern Sea to find my Master."
Yuanshi Tianzun nodded again in acknowledgment.
With that, Zhou Chen backed out of Yuxu Palace.
Once outside, he descended the slopes of Kunlun Mountain. Arriving at the foot of the mountain, he turned back to look at the place that had once been his ground for seeking the Dao. Now that the Three Pure Ones had separated, he had to leave this place behind.
A look of nostalgia flashed in Zhou Chen's eyes, but a moment later, he gathered his composure, pulled back his gaze, took one last look at the palace behind him, and let out a helpless sigh before taking a step forward.
Standing in the void, he glanced around and took another step. Space rumbled and parted automatically. Casting the Golden Light Ground-Evasion technique, Zhou Chen transformed into a streak of golden light and plunged into the rift, which immediately closed behind him.
This commotion startled Yuanshi Tianzun, who frowned slightly.
"A top-tier Daluo cultivator who specializes in the Dao of Space?"
...
Zhou Chen's departure immediately attracted considerable attention.
A streak of golden light shuttled through space at breakneck speed. Layer upon layer of spatial barriers opened naturally before the golden light like doors, shortening distances and allowing him to instantly teleport even further. Combined with the speed enhancement of the Golden Light Ground-Evasion technique, he traveled hundreds of millions of li in the blink of an eye, racing continuously toward the Eastern Sea.
Ordinary cultivators might not have noticed a thing, but only beings who had attained the realm of Daluo Golden Immortal, or top-tier Taiyi immortals specializing in the Law of Space, could sense the terrifying nature of that golden light cutting across the sky above.
It stirred the spatial currents of the Primordial World without revealing any overt magic power, causing space itself to yield, and remarkably, it allowed the caster to execute the supreme divine ability of Golden Light Ground-Evasion within a spatial tunnel.
Ordinary Daluo Golden Immortals, even if they could shatter the void and travel through spatial tunnels, would never dare to recklessly cast divine abilities inside them. A single accident would cause them to become lost in the turbulent spatial currents. Yet this person was able to use the Golden Light Ground-Evasion technique right inside a spatial tunnel—proof enough that his mastery of space was formidable indeed.
Of course, they had no idea that Zhou Chen was not actually a Daluo Golden Immortal specializing in the Dao of Space. Rather, his body was saturated with the power of time and space, having refined these forces into his physical body and primordial spirit until they became his own. Consequently, Zhou Chen suffered no harm whatsoever inside the spatial tunnel. After all, with his body and primordial spirit possessing the attributes of time and space, entering a spatial tunnel was like a fish returning to water. The currents might be turbulent and the waves rough, but how could a fish ever be in danger?
A thousand years later, above a valley near the Eastern Sea, space suddenly split open, and a figure stepped out from the rift—it was Zhou Chen, arriving all the way from Kunlun.
Looking around, Zhou Chen wore a relaxed and comfortable smile.
"Shuttling through space is fast, but those spatial currents are monotonous and rather annoying. Besides, I have no pressing matters for now; I might as well travel outside and take in the wondrous scenery of the Primordial World. As the saying goes: Man models himself on Earth, Earth models itself on Heaven, Heaven models itself on the Dao, and the Dao models itself on Nature. The operational laws of the Great Dao are entirely contained within this Primordial heaven and earth. Contemplating them might just bring new insights!"
Murmuring to himself, Zhou Chen's figure soared instantly into the sky, streaking away toward the boundless Eastern Sea. This time, he neither shuttled through space nor used the Golden Light Ground-Evasion technique, choosing instead to fly through the upper air using only his magic power, yet his speed remained far from slow.