The Ginseng Fruit Tree stood several hundred zhang tall and dozens of zhang thick, its branches luxuriant and leaves dense. Standing beneath the tree, not a single ray of sunlight could penetrate.
Among the countless branches, dozens of Ginseng Fruits hung sparingly, shining brilliantly and radiating intense spiritual light.
The Ginseng Fruits looked like infants under three days old, complete with all four limbs and full facial features.
Standing beneath the Ginseng Fruit Tree, Xiaoxuan could not help exclaiming in admiration: "The Ginseng Fruit Tree is truly worthy of being one of the Ten Innate Spiritual Roots of the Primordial!"
Just at that moment, after a strange ripple passed, Xiaoxuan found himself already inside a wondrous realm.
This realm had green as its background color, and the innate spiritual Qi was exceptionally dense, almost comparable to the cave dwellings of the Three Pure Ones of Pangu on Kunlun Mountain.
"I am Qingyuanzi. I have caused you some offense, and I hope the young friend will be magnanimous!"
Green light flickered, and a young man wearing a light green Daoist robe with a handsome appearance and a sunny smile appeared before Xiaoxuan.
The wooden hairpin in this person's hair bun was actually a withered yellow tree branch.
Hanging from each of his earlobes was a Ginseng Fruit, which made his entire appearance look even more amiable, yet somewhat comical.
If this person had been born in modern times, he would undoubtedly have been a non-conformist...
"You are too polite, Fellow Daoist!"
Xiaoxuan bowed in return.
The two sat cross-legged face-to-face and smiled at each other. Although it was only their first meeting, their company felt exceptionally comfortable.
"I heard from Fellow Daoist Zhenyuanzi that when you first met the young friend, you were only at the Taiyi Golden Immortal realm. I wonder how you managed to transform into human form?"
As one of the Ten Innate Spiritual Roots of the Primordial, things like the Ginseng Fruit Tree were envied by the heavens. How could the difficulty of transformation be ordinary?
Ever since the Ancestor Pangu cleaved open the heavens and earth, only the Innate Willow and the Bodhi had successfully transformed.
The Innate Willow Tree was the true form of Great Immortal Yangmei. Great Immortal Yangmei mastered the power of space; with a single thought, endless space was born, and vast though the Primordial was, he could arrive there in an instant. His Daoist attainment and cultivation were not the least bit inferior even when compared to Dao Ancestor Hongjun.
He had attained the Dao even before Dao Ancestor Hongjun.
As for the Innate Bodhi Tree, it was the tree of wisdom and enlightenment of the Primordial, and its endless wisdom allowed it to see through the origin of life.
It was said that sitting beneath the Bodhi Tree could help people open their wisdom and attain enlightenment, which was truly miraculous and extraordinary.
The transformation of these two were both anomalies and could not be replicated!
Having cultivated for countless years and originally thinking that there was no hope of transforming, Qingyuanzi naturally saw that Xiaoxuan possessed only the Daluo Golden Immortal cultivation, so how could he possibly hold back from asking about the method of transformation?
"Actually, I am not entirely clear on the specifics of how I transformed!" Xiaoxuan pondered for a long time, weighing his words, and said, "Having previously cultivated for several thousand years, there was not the slightest sign of transformation.
It wasn't until my teacher imparted the Taishang Profound Scripture to me, which mutually verified with my inherited Wind-Thunder Art, that by a fortuitous coincidence, I finally succeeded in transforming!"
Hearing this, Qingyuanzi furrowed his brows tightly and remained silent for a long time. Even the two Ginseng Fruits hanging from his earlobes did not move at all.
In the end, Qingyuanzi let out a sigh and said: "When my spiritual intelligence first awoke, I sensed that my own origin was insufficient, and my inherited arts were missing a small half.
Although I later supplemented my inherited arts when discussing the Dao with Fellow Daoist Zhenyuanzi, I ultimately never obtained the opportunity for transformation.
I'm afraid that in this lifetime, I, Qingyuanzi, have no hope of transforming!"
Being fellow Ten Innate Spiritual Roots of the Primordial, Xiaoxuan felt deep sympathy for the plight of the Ginseng Fruit Tree.
Suddenly, remembering how he had inadvertently absorbed the origin of the immortal tea in Mount Wuyi and gained its origin abilities, Xiaoxuan felt a stir in his heart.
With a single gesture of his left hand, Xiaoxuan directed a surge of Immortal Apricot origin power from his spiritual platform, which landed upon Qingyuanzi.
In an instant, the green light on Qingyuanzi's body flared brilliantly, and his aura surged instantly, directly squeezing Xiaoxuan out of the mysterious realm.
Manifesting himself beneath the Ginseng Fruit Tree, Xiaoxuan grabbed Qingfeng and Mingyue, and his figure retreated rapidly.
"Boom!"
With a loud crash, a massive amount of heaven and earth spiritual Qi converged into the Ginseng Fruit Tree.
The Ginseng Fruit Tree, which was already several hundred zhang tall, grew dozens of zhang taller in the blink of an eye. Its leaves became increasingly emerald green, and the Ginseng Fruits upon it shone brightly, growing an inch larger as well.
How could such a massive disturbance in Wuzhuang Temple be hidden from the Three Pure Ones, Zhenyuanzi, Hongyun, and the others?
With a flash of light, the five of them appeared before Xiaoxuan, gazing intently at the mutating Ginseng Fruit Tree.
"Rumble!"
The colors of the heaven and earth shifted. The originally clear sky and ten thousand li of sunshine instantly clouded over, filled with dark clouds, lightning, and thunder.
"Fellow Daoist Qingyuanzi has replenished his origin and is on the verge of transforming!"
Zhenyuanzi had accompanied the Ginseng Fruit Tree for countless years, and the depth of their bond was something ordinary people could never comprehend.
Seeing that the Ginseng Fruit Tree was on the verge of transforming, Zhenyuanzi was exceptionally overjoyed, his foot-long beard trembling unceasingly.
"Alas, it is still lacking a bit of fortune!"
Taishang shook his head and sighed.
Sure enough, the moment Taishang's voice fell, the dark clouds covering the sky instantly vanished without a trace, as if they had never appeared at all.
A flash of green light appeared, and an illusory human figure emerged beneath the Ginseng Fruit Tree—it was none other than Qingyuanzi!
Qingyuanzi bowed deeply toward Xiaoxuan and said, "Many thanks, Fellow Daoist, for your generous bestowal. Qingyuanzi pays his respects to you!"
Seeing this, Zhenyuanzi also bowed toward Xiaoxuan.
Zhenyuanzi belonged to the same generation as the Three Pure Ones of Pangu; how could Xiaoxuan possibly accept a bow from him?
Hurriedly stepping aside to dodge it, Xiaoxuan performed a Daoist greeting and said, "You are too polite, Fellow Daoist Qingyuanzi. It was merely a matter of raising a hand!"
Seeing this, Qingyuanzi formed hand seals, and the green light of the Ginseng Fruit Tree grew even brighter by three parts.
After the time it takes to burn a stick of incense, the Ginseng Fruits on the Ginseng Fruit Tree became even more crystal-clear.
One by one, they detached themselves from the branches and then floated before Xiaoxuan.
"All of these Ginseng Fruits contain a sliver of my origin power. I believe they will be of some help to you, Fellow Daoist!"
The origin power of the Ginseng Fruit Tree concerned Xiaoxuan's future path of cultivation, so he declined no further. Calmly storing them away into his mustard-seed space, he made a Daoist greeting to express his gratitude.
"Fellow Daoists, this time I have benefited immensely and need to properly meditate and comprehend. Please excuse me!"
With a flash of green light, Qingyuanzi disappeared!
Seeing this, Zhenyuanzi invited everyone into the main hall of Wuzhuang Temple.
"Hongyun, you old rascal finally did a good deed by inviting an esteemed guest into my Wuzhuang Temple, allowing Fellow Daoist Qingyuanzi to benefit immensely. That can somewhat make up for the Ginseng Fruits you wasted previously!"
Hongyun laughed and scolded, "What is this? Did the Ginseng Fruits go to waste just by entering my belly? It's only a pity that for the next ten thousand years, I'm afraid it will be hard to taste a Ginseng Fruit again!"
The origin power of the Ginseng Fruit Tree was tied to his own subsequent cultivation, so Xiaoxuan naturally would not take them out to share among the company.
With a flash of light, a set of tea ware appeared before everyone.
Xiaoxuan skillfully boiled water and brewed tea.
Before long, a wisp of faint fragrance drifted from the tea pot, accompanied by the sound of the Dao.
As Xiaoxuan poured tea for everyone, he spoke up: "Previously in Mount Wuyi, I accidentally discovered the first tea tree of heaven and earth, Dahongpao, and found that this tea could actually bring one closer to the Great Dao and aid in comprehending cultivation.
Therefore, I also call this tea Enlightenment Tea!"
Taking a sip, everyone felt their mouths fill with saliva, and their spiritual platforms became exceptionally clear and bright.
Places in their previous cultivation that had been obscure and unclear now instantly became crystal-clear. The bottlenecks in their cultivation and Daoist attainments also loosened, and their comprehension of the Dao became even clearer!