Luohou stepped out of the blessed land and stood upon the soil of Mount Buzhou. With his physical cultivation having broken through, ascending even to the very peak of Mount Buzhou was well within his ability, but there was simply no need to do so.
If a Supreme Innate Spiritual Treasure were waiting at the summit, however, Luohou would have headed straight up without the slightest hesitation.
Turning around, he rode the clouds and departed from Mount Buzhou. Before long, he arrived at the spot where he had previously parted ways with Aozheng. Luohou formed a hand seal and stepped right into the formation.
"Master, you have returned," Aozheng said, immediately springing to his feet at the sight of Luohou.
"Mm. This trip to Mount Buzhou was immensely fruitful; it is time to return to Mount Sumeru." Luohou tapped Aozheng between the brows with a finger, and a beam of light flashed.
Aozheng instantly grasped the location of Mount Sumeru. Once Luohou withdrew the grand array, Aozheng bore him aloft upon the clouds and flew toward Mount Sumeru.
Along the journey, Luohou did not ponder offensive arts; instead, he observed the primordial landscape of the Honghuang. This was the dawn of creation, when living beings were still sparse and mighty entities even rarer.
Though ferocious beasts caused chaos, it remained a relatively tranquil era overall. Such sights would likely never be witnessed again in the days to come.
Whenever ferocious beasts crossed his path along the way, Luohou casually swept them away. By this point, even Luohou himself had lost count of how many he had slain—it could have been a million, or perhaps tens of millions.
At any rate, Luohou could no longer keep track.
Yet the merit gathered upon Luohou's person had already reached some three acres in expanse, forming a Merit Auspicious Cloud of Great Dao merit. If he were to forge a magical treasure now, infusing it with this Great Dao merit would transform it into a merit spiritual treasure.
This Great Dao merit could also be used to elevate one's cultivation. If Luohou were to refine this merit right now, he would advance directly to the Peak Daluo Golden Immortal realm.
However, realms attained through Great Dao merit were ultimately not one's own, and Luohou had no desire to rely on them.
After ten thousand years, Luohou returned to Mount Sumeru. Fortunately, he had laid down a powerful array upon Mount Sumeru beforehand; otherwise, rather than being occupied by cultivators, it would have been trampled flat by those ferocious beasts.
Arriving atop Mount Sumeru, Luohou touched down, while Aozheng transformed into human form and followed closely behind him.
"You two are quite clever. Very well! My side still lacks a pair of boy attendants," Luohou murmured with a faint smile as he looked toward a clump of green bamboo and a blossoming plum tree nearby. He pointed a finger, and two streaks of black light flashed forth, plunging directly into the bamboo and the plum tree.
As it turned out, these very same green bamboo and plum tree had gained spiritual awareness tens of thousands of years ago. Discovering that Mount Sumeru already had a master, they had not departed, but instead remained faithfully to guard the mountain.
Now that Luohou had returned, a mere pinch of his fingers and a brief divination were enough to reveal the entire cause and effect.
In a flash, the green bamboo and the plum tree were enveloped in black clouds. Moments later, they transformed into two children—a boy and a girl—who appeared before Luohou.
"We pay respects to the Master, and thank you for the grace of your enlightenment!" The two child attendants bowed respectfully toward Luohou.
Pointing at the boy, Luohou declared, "From this day onward, your name shall be Qiqing." Then, gesturing toward the girl, he added, "And you shall be Liu Yu."
"Many thanks, Master, for bestowing our names!" Qiqing and Liu Yu hurriedly bowed once more in gratitude.
Having been enlightened by Luohou, the cultivation of Qiqing and Liu Yu was naturally somewhat inferior to Aozheng's, yet not far behind—both were at the Late Mystic Immortal stage.
Finding an open expanse upon Mount Sumeru, Luohou waved his sleeve, and a grand palace manifested. Inscribed upon its main lintel were three Dao characters: Zizai Palace.
Luohou had laid the Heaven-Ensnaring Fiend Array across Mount Sumeru. Ordinary Daluo Golden Immortals were incapable of breaking into the array, and should Luohou guard it personally, even a Quasi-Sage would find it difficult to force entry.
Luohou placed the Three-Light Divine Water pool in the rear courtyard of the palace, and then planted the Rianshui Flat Peach Tree right beside the pool.
"Master, what kind of spiritual root is this? Just standing near it makes my spiritual energy feel so abundant," Qiqing asked in bewilderment as he stared at the Rianshui Flat Peach Tree.
"You foolish child, you are merely a mid-grade innate spiritual root, whereas this tree is the supreme-grade innate spiritual root, the Rianshui Flat Peach Tree. How could you possibly compare?" Luohou shook his head with a wry smile.
"Master, do not look down on me! Though my grade is inferior to his, I have successfully taken human form. Yet he, despite being a supreme-grade innate spiritual root, remains unable to transform—is that not pitiful?" Qiqing retorted with a touch of youthful pride.
At his side, Liu Yu nodded in agreement.
Luohou chuckled repeatedly, never expecting these two little attendants to harbor such a competitive streak. Still, this was hardly a bad thing, and what they said was true: though the Rianshui Flat Peach Tree was a supreme-grade innate spiritual root, it was fated never to attain human form.
Returning to the inner sanctum of the palace, Luohou prepared to derive new cultivation techniques from the Primordial Beginning Demon Scripture. After all, neither his mount nor his attendants possessed top-tier cultivation methods, and the Primordial Beginning Demon Scripture was far too tyrannical; given their foundational roots, attempting to practice it directly would likely injure them.
This seclusion lasted for tens of thousands of years. During this vast span of time, Luohou derived two distinct arts from the Primordial Beginning Demon Scripture: the Taishi Demon Scripture, which cultivated the Primordial Spirit, and the Nine-Turn Demonic Art, which forged the physical body.
When practiced to its ultimate extremity, the Taishi Demon Scripture could split off avatars representing the Seven Emotions and Six Desires, elevating one's cultivation to the Peak Quasi-Sage realm.
Dao Ancestor Hongjun cultivated the Dao of the Three Corpses, whereas Luohou cultivated the Seven Emotions and Six Desires. Dao Ancestor Hongjun would sever his corpses to achieve sagehood, while Luohou would divide his Seven Emotions and Six Desires to achieve sagehood. Which of the two paths was superior and which was inferior remained unknown for now, but once they clashed in the future, the outcome would naturally become clear.
The Nine-Turn Demonic Art bore a subtle resemblance to the Profound Mystery Daoist Sect's Eight-Nine Profound Art and Buddhism's Nine-Nine Primordial Art—all sought to attain sagehood through the physical body, and upon completing the nine turns, one would enter the Realm of the Quasi-Sage.
Emerging from seclusion, Luohou summoned Aozheng and the two child attendants to his side.
"Congratulations to the Master on successfully leaving seclusion," Aozheng and the two children chorused as they knelt in prostration.
"Rise, all of you." With a wave of Luohou's hand, a gentle surge of force lifted the three of them to their feet. He then pointed a finger toward the two child attendants, and a streak of black light instantly shot into their brows.
"The Taishi Demon Scripture? Master, what manner of cultivation technique is this?" Liu Yu lacked breadth of vision and naturally failed to recognize the preciousness of the Taishi Demon Scripture.
"This was created by myself. Practicing according to this technique allows one to split off thirteen avatars and cultivate all the way to the Quasi-Sage realm. Do not disgrace this art; cultivate diligently," Luohou exhorted earnestly.
"We will certainly not disappoint the Master!" both children answered happily.
Aozheng remained silent. He knew that if Luohou wished to bestow something, he would grant it; if he did not wish to give, crying to the heavens would accomplish nothing.
"Aozheng, you lack a Dragon Pearl and cannot practice the Taishi Demon Scripture, but you are suited for the Nine-Turn Demonic Art. This technique is a body-refining art; through the nine turns of the demonic body, you will achieve the Quasi-Sage realm and gain the power to battle heavens and combat physiques." Pointing at Aozheng's brow, Luohou imparted the Nine-Turn Demonic Art directly to him.
"Many thanks for the Master's grace! This little dragon will cultivate with utmost diligence and will never squander such a divine art," Aozheng vowed with firm conviction.
Though Aozheng had previously possessed a legacy technique, it could only be cultivated as far as the Daluo Golden Immortal realm—how could it possibly compare to Luohou's techniques?
One had to know that throughout this Honghuang, aside from Dao Ancestor Hongjun and Luohou, the legacy techniques possessed by all other living beings could at best reach only the Daluo Golden Immortal realm.