Volume One: The Lich Cataclysm Chapter 101: Tasting Fruit and Discussing the Dao, Hongyun Learns a Secret

"Enough of this talk. Since you have come to visit me, my friend, why not sample some of the fruits from my garden?" With these words, Zhenyuanzi led Hongyun into the main hall. With a casual wave of his hand, several ginseng fruits appeared upon the table.

“Please, my friend. This is the spiritual fruit borne of my companion root, known as the Ginseng Fruit, also called the Grass Elixir. In the beginning, it would blossom every three thousand years, bear fruit for three thousand, and require a further three thousand to ripen. Thus, more than ten thousand years would pass before a crop of thirty fruits could be harvested.”

Here, Zhenyuanzi paused before continuing, “But later, thanks to the good fortune bestowed by a predecessor, it now requires only one yuanhui to bear a crop, and there are but twelve fruits each time. The effects of the fruit have surpassed what they once were: a single whiff can extend one’s lifespan by thirty-six hundred years, and eating one will increase your cultivation by a whole yuanhui. As for the other marvels, you must discover them for yourself.”

Zhenyuanzi smiled at Hongyun and fell silent.

“Oh? Such a wondrous fruit exists? Then I must have a taste!” Without further ado, Hongyun picked up a ginseng fruit and began to eat.

Suddenly, a surge of magic power rippled through Hongyun. A peculiar resonance of the Dao emanated from his body. After finishing the fruit, he closed his eyes in contemplation.

It was a long while before Hongyun opened his eyes. At that instant, a stream of divine light flashed by, then withdrew inward, as wisps of turbid breath escaped from his lips.

“Truly, your spiritual fruit is extraordinary, my friend! It is perhaps not far inferior to the ten primeval spiritual roots of legend! With just one fruit, I have refined my mana to a degree that would otherwise have taken untold time, and I’ve even comprehended a trace of the primordial law.”

What Hongyun did not say aloud was that there were other, lesser effects as well.

Zhenyuanzi shook his head and smiled, “You may not know, my friend, but this ginseng fruit is indeed one of the ten primeval spiritual roots. As for the trace of law you gained, that is the unique effect of eating the fruit for the first time; it will not happen again.”

With that, Zhenyuanzi’s power surged, enveloping the entire Five Villages Temple.

“As for the law itself, it is but the law of Heaven. In this age, many spiritual roots and miraculous herbs across the land possess such effects, though the potency differs.”

Hearing this, Hongyun looked at Zhenyuanzi with curiosity. “Oh? The law of Heaven you mentioned—does it differ from others in some way?”

“Not at all. Now that the Heavenly Dao has emerged, most cultivators follow its path, and only the Heavenly Dao can be cultivated.”

Zhenyuanzi stroked his beard and spoke.

“Oh? So you mean there are other ways to cultivate? Do you not follow the Heavenly Dao yourself?” Hongyun asked.

“I was fortunate enough to receive the aid of a predecessor, allowing me to be born a little earlier, just in time to catch the end of a previous era. Thus, I cultivate the Grand Dao. But now, the Grand Dao is almost impossible to fathom. For someone like me, each insight is ever more difficult. For those who have not even begun, there is nearly no chance at all.”

Sensing Hongyun’s growing interest, Zhenyuanzi offered a gentle reminder.

Hongyun, hearing this, was deeply disappointed. Yet, being who he was, he soon recovered. Zhenyuanzi, noticing this, felt his own spirits lift in turn.

“I keep hearing you mention this predecessor, my friend. Does this have anything to do with your past…?”

At this, Hongyun saw Zhenyuanzi nod.

“Alas, since that day, I have not seen that predecessor again.” Zhenyuanzi’s eyes filled with regret as he spoke.

“Could it be that you are that predecessor’s disciple?” Hongyun asked curiously.

Zhenyuanzi shook his head, then said with a sigh, “No, I did ask to become his disciple, but he refused.”

“No? Then that predecessor’s standards must be unimaginably high—or perhaps his strength is beyond all reckoning. Could he be even mightier than the sages who once appeared in the world?”

Hongyun’s curiosity was piqued. Suddenly, a thought struck him, and he inquired further.

Zhenyuanzi gazed into the distance before answering slowly, “Although I know not the true extent of that predecessor’s power, judging by his methods at the time, he was likely no weaker than any of the sages.”

He recalled how the breath of life had flown from countless realms, and how Qingxuan had descended in an instant by sheer will. Even now, as a mid-stage Golden Immortal, with his mastery of the laws of earth nearly complete, Zhenyuanzi still had not grasped his own Dao. He could not fathom the means Qingxuan had employed to so effortlessly refine a companion treasure for him. Even at his current strength, he could not hope to achieve such mastery.

“What? There really was a predecessor equal to the sages? But I have wandered these lands for years and never heard of such a being!”

“Such beings of power are not for the likes of us to easily comprehend,” Zhenyuanzi replied with a nonchalant smile.

Hongyun nodded in a mixture of understanding and confusion.

From then on, Zhenyuanzi and Hongyun discussed the Dao and sampled spiritual fruits together in the Five Villages Temple. In time, their friendship grew close. After a considerable stay, Hongyun wished to invite Zhenyuanzi to travel the land with him, but Zhenyuanzi politely declined, saying he must devote himself to the Dao.

“My friend, you are too much of a recluse! You ought to go out and see the world. If you only cultivate and ponder in seclusion, it will not do. You should be like me—enjoy the pleasures of life, and your cultivation will not suffer for it.”

What Hongyu did not know was that every time he issued such an invitation, Zhenyuanzi’s spirit would stir with unease. He felt that any attempt to venture forth with Hongyu would inevitably lead to misfortune. Thus, he had no choice but to decline.

“My apologies, Hongyun, but my heart is set upon the Grand Dao. I have little interest in traveling the world.”

Hearing this, Hongyun could not insist further and had to take his leave. Zhenyuanzi attempted to persuade him to stay, but to no avail.

After Hongyun departed, Zhenyuanzi himself felt the urge to journey afar, but, having just refused Hongyun, now was not the time. He suppressed the impulse, resolving to wait for a better moment.

“Zhenyuanzi is admirable in every way—formidable in power and generous of heart—yet he is so unwilling to leave home. Well, I shall wander alone then!”

With that, he transformed into a rosy cloud and drifted with the wind.

Time passed. When Hongyun next regained his senses, he found himself surrounded by thick mists.

“Hmm, I wonder where I have arrived this time.” He gazed down at the dark, churning sea, lost in thought.

But this time, disappointment awaited him, for the native divinities of this place had not the least interest in paying attention to an intruder like him.

The North Sea, the land of the Northern Abyss.

There, a gigantic creature swam through icy waters, its every movement stirring the sea around it. Even the surface waves heaved and rolled, and from time to time, a frigid wind would arise.

“Ah, why has such a cold wind suddenly begun to blow?” As a being formed of cloud, Hongyun was naturally averse to the cold. Seeing this, he could only transform and drift away.

As Hongyun departed, the creature of the Northern Abyss—the Kunpeng—opened its massive eyes to glance at him, then closed them once more.