Chapter 6: Gathering Treasures, Pan Gu Bestows the Precious Ding, Hong Meng Town Obtains the Spiritual Root

  Zhenyuanzi thought for a moment, then furrowed his brow and said: "I have no valuable possessions or precious treasures to carry with me. The only thing I have is this ginseng fruit tree, which is the spiritual root of my life and the source of my vitality. Since I'm going on a long journey, I don't want to abandon it."

  Regarding the relationship between Ren Sheng Guo and Zhen Yuan Zi, Pangu naturally knew it clearly. After a moment of contemplation, he took out a dull gray square tripod-shaped treasure, held it in his palm, and said: "Alright! This tripod was also obtained by me at the beginning of Hongmeng, but it's not complete yet, still missing a tripod core. I originally planned to travel through Hongmeng, find an opportunity, and complete this tripod. Now that you need it, I'll give it to you, just in time to hold your precious tree. A treasure has its own destiny, and I observed that after the completion of this tripod, it will be extraordinary. I hope you will treat it well in the future and perfect it!"

  Zhenyuanzi's intention was simply to hope that Pangu could pass on a divine technique for controlling objects, so that he could shrink the giant ginseng tree, which was tens of thousands of feet tall, down to a size small enough to carry. Otherwise, using his chaotic golden body, he could also take the ginseng tree away. However, the Hongmeng world was already full of crises, and the giant carrying the giant tree didn't know what kind of situation it would stir up in Hongmeng, which was neither safe nor dignified.

  I didn't expect Pangu to be so generous, actually giving away the tripod furnace that took shape at the beginning of Hongmeng's judgment. You know that at that time, in the midst of Hongmeng, almost everything was still a chaotic mess, and things were extremely rare, only the most powerful and precious ones could take shape. So this tripod now has only the body of the tripod, but it will definitely shine brightly in the future. However, judging from its appearance, this tripod is only about the size of a palm, yet somehow it can hold a giant tree that's tens of thousands of feet tall.

  Zhenyuanzi asked: "I don't know what magical powers this treasure has, can it hold my precious tree?"

  Pangu said, "This treasure is not complete, but it's quite mysterious. Not only is it extremely durable and can be used for defense, but it can also absorb yuan energy on its own. Moreover, inside it has infinite space that can nurture magical treasures and even give birth to living things, which suits your needs perfectly."

  Zhenyuanzi was overjoyed and said: "This is indeed a precious treasure of great fortune!"

  Pangu then passed on the method of refining and offering to Zhenyuanzi. Zhenyuanzi started to chant the incantation, spitting out a mouthful of true yuan towards the cauldron, which suddenly flew up and landed in his palm.

  This is still the first congenital spiritual treasure that Zhen Yuansu has obtained since he was born, and naturally he dare not be slow, so he hurriedly and carefully explored it.

  It is known that all congenital spiritual treasures are formed by the opportunity of spiritual objects, and they have their own spirituality. They cannot be easily driven or controlled by people, so they all come with congenital restrictions. The more restrictions there are, the greater the power of the spiritual treasure. Ordinary congenital spiritual treasures mostly only have a few layers of restriction. If the restriction exceeds ten layers, it is an extremely high-quality congenital spiritual treasure; if the restriction exceeds twenty layers, it can be called a congenital supreme treasure; if the restriction exceeds thirty layers, it is not to be underestimated and is a great instrument of the primordial chaos. Generally, these instruments are later grasped in the hands of the sect master or saints. This is because such magical instruments not only have enormous power but also have the effect of suppressing the flow of vital energy, which can help the disciples under their gate win a thread of life and can be called the divine instrument that stabilizes the sect.

  Lingbao prohibition, being the product of prior heaven's creation, also lies within the Great Way, containing the hidden laws and principles of the Great Way. Therefore, refining and transforming the Lingbao prohibitions is also a rare opportunity to gain insight into the Great Way. The more prohibitions a Lingbao has, the more benefits one can gain from refinement. Only after completely refining all prohibitions can one merge the treasure with others as one body, incorporating it into the Purple Mansion, and its use will be effortless and natural.

  This tripod furnace is still incomplete, but the seal has already reached an astonishing twenty-eight layers. It's a top-grade pre-heavenly treasure. If it can be fully supplemented, who knows what degree it will reach?

  Fortunately, Pangu had already refined the twelvefold, and after obtaining the refining method, Zhenyuanzi immediately offered sacrifices to the cauldron for a moment, and was able to use it initially. He saw him throw the cauldron into the air, and the cauldron flew out slowly, covering the ginseng fruit tree, spraying a black and white misty gas at the ginseng fruit tree, and the black and white misty gas sucked in, that ginseng fruit tree It's getting smaller and smaller, flying into the cauldron.

  Zhenyuanzi retrieved the tripod furnace and laughed loudly at Pangu: "Everything is ready, now we can have a great time!"

  Pangu nodded and smiled: "Exactly!"

  Then, Zhenyuanzi followed Pangu and began his journey of traveling through Hongmeng.

  From the moment he was born with spiritual awareness to his physical transformation, Zhenyuanzi had never moved, and the surrounding Hongmeng world seemed to have remained unchanged for eternity, gloomy, vast, quiet, and peaceful. It wasn't until after traveling with Pangu that he realized he was indeed a frog at the bottom of the well, with limited vision. In fact, hidden dangers lurked everywhere in the Hongmeng. This was because the primordial energy of the chaos was originally extremely pure, and when entangled, it could transform into powerful destructive energy, although there were also rare cases where it could give birth to spiritual treasures. Fortunately, he had now achieved a golden body, and ordinary divine lightning could not harm him; even powerful divine lightning would be handled by Pangu, so he was at ease.

  Two people traveled together, and they encountered many divine thunders. However, they didn't see any magical treasures, only collecting a handful of primordial earth and a piece of pre-heavenly chaotic golden essence. Although it wasn't much, it was enough to comfort them. These two things were not taken by Pangu, who said that he had no fate with them, so he gave them all to Zhenyuanzi. The primordial earth was the essence of the pre-heavenly Wu and Ji soils. A small grain could gather the terrestrial energy of several thousand miles, and it was endless. Therefore, in the previous life's "Classic of Mountains and Seas", there was a legend about Yu stealing the emperor's primordial earth to block the floodwaters. The earth is thick with virtue and carries all things, so the primordial earth can also gather the original energy, making it the best thing for nurturing spiritual roots. The pre-heavenly chaotic golden essence was also the top material for refining magical treasures. Zhenyuanzi carefully put these two things into the tripod furnace.

  Only, Zhenyuanzi couldn't help but wonder why the things in the Hongmeng world were so scarce. Later, after Pangu explained it to him, he learned that ordinary innate spiritual treasures usually take several yuan to generate. At the beginning of their journey, they had only just passed one yuan and were still too early, so it was naturally difficult for them to encounter any. However, along the way, the two of them chatted about their experiences in Hongmeng, which wasn't boring at all. Zhenyuanzi also earnestly asked Pangu for guidance on cultivation methods and insights into the Great Dao, and Pangu taught him generously, allowing Zhenyuanzi to learn many of Pangu's authentic divine abilities, which was a great gain that far surpassed obtaining one or two ordinary treasures.

  After traveling for about a yuan, Zhenyuanzi strolled along, chatting with Pangu about the mysteries of the universe, feeling quite carefree. Suddenly, he felt his Dao heart racing, as if it was cheering and jumping for joy, almost unable to contain itself, sensing that something ahead was attracting him.

  It is worth noting that after two polyglot meetings and constant interaction with Pangu, if judged by the standards of the post-heavenly world, Zhenyuanzi had already attained the Taiyi Dao fruit and achieved the realm of Taiyi Golden Immortal. He was a genuine old monster, an unadulterated great immortal, with an unwavering and unshakeable heart. What kind of thing could possibly have such power? Moreover, it could even evade Pangu's spiritual awareness and only affect him? Zhenyuanzi couldn't help but be extremely curious, so he hastily informed Pangu and then followed his intuition to walk forward.

  Getting closer, even closer... That feeling is getting stronger and stronger, like a familiar friend is about to reunite, so intimate and full of expectation.

  After advancing several thousand feet, a sudden appearance of something in front. Even though Zhenyuanzi had gone through countless years of tempering and his Dao heart was firm, he still felt extremely surprised: "It's actually this famous spiritual root, it's actually appearing so early in the Hongmeng, my Dao is promising!"

  Only in the midst of the vast expanse of clouds and mist, a patch of emerald green appeared. Upon closer inspection, it was found that there was only one stem, with two joints on the fruit, and leaves shaped like triangles. The roots, whiskers, and nodes were all intertwined, covering an area of tens of acres in circumference, with no way to measure its length in zhang. Only one fruit had grown, swollen at both ends, constricted in the middle, still green and unripe.

  Isn't this exactly the legendary pre-heavenly spiritual root gourd?

  The calabaza was anciently known as hu lu, and was worshipped by many ethnic groups. It was even said to be the divine instrument of creation, and had always been a treasured object of the gods. Later generations said: "When the heavenly palace first produced good fortune, it was the golden calabaza with green vines and jade tendrils." The good fortune referred to here is precisely the calabaza. This particular calabaza vine is not ordinary, but rather the very first calabaza vine from the time before heaven and earth were separated, when the primordial chaos first began to take shape. It embodies the great Way of creation and transformation, and has received the favor of the creator. The Way gives birth to one, which is the vine; one gives birth to two, which are the fruit; two give birth to three, which are the leaves. The calabaza belongs to the gourd family, and its fruit contains many seeds, symbolizing the creation of all things through the number three. Therefore, according to what Zhenyuanzi knew in his past life, the magical treasures refined from this vine include Taishang Laojun's purple golden calabaza, Hongyun Laozu's 99 scattered soul calabaza, Niwangniang's demon-refining pot, and the dispersing immortal Lü Yan's beheading flying knife. Each one is more powerful than the last, but they only appeared in the Kunlun Mountains after the creation of heaven, and were snatched up by people to divide among themselves. Those who were quick got some, while those who were slow got none. It is unknown whether the ones that were picked would ripen or be refined properly.

  "I wonder what kind of legend will be created when this vine falls into my hands?"

  The town's origin is beyond worldly things, and it's hard not to be a little infatuated.

  Pangu couldn't help but secretly laugh at Zhenyuanzi's performance, but in the face of such a divine object, he also couldn't help but exclaim: "This is truly a great treasure, with boundless potential and unfathomable mysteries. Even I can't see its ultimate limits! Truly enviable, fellow Daoist!"

  He then said to Zhenyuanzi, "The ginseng fruit tree is the spirit root of Jia wood, belonging to yang wood; this calabaza vine is the spirit root of Yi wood, belonging to yin wood. Lonely yang cannot be born, and lonely yin is difficult to grow. Now that Jia and Yi have met, yin and yang are mutually beneficial, and the Great Way is near. This is a great auspicious sign for you, congratulations!"

  Zhenyuanzi also smiled and said, "No wonder that even before we met, our hearts could resonate with each other. However, this gourd vine is still a young sprout, I don't know what kind of accomplishments it will have in the future." After speaking, he threw out the tripod furnace and put the gourd vine inside.

  The gourd vine entered the tripod furnace and immediately climbed onto the ginseng fruit tree. Suddenly, there was a commotion inside the tripod, and the internal yuanqi was almost completely absorbed by the two of them in an instant. The gourd vine grew rapidly and opened a new flower with yellow stamens and green sepals, five petals, simple and elegant. The first gourd showed a hint of golden light, apparently about to ripen. The fruit on the ginseng fruit tree was also directly ripened, shining with a layer of golden light, lush and vibrant, very pleasing to the eye.

  Pangu continued: "Nine is the ultimate number, this vine has been favored by the Great Way, three threes are perfect, if there is no calamity, when it matures, it should get nine gourds, each gourd has great magical powers and great creation. However, under the Great Way, fullness leads to loss, so this vine is also a spiritual root of the Great Calamity. Fortunately, now with the protection of the precious tripod, fellow Taoists still need to be more vigilant."

  It is indeed:

  Golden melon emerald vine jade wisteria

  The Great Way is formless, yet it has form.

  If not for the good fortune of meeting a wise lord

  A narrow escape with complete success.