Chapter 4: Traveling through the Vast Expanse, Obtaining a Mount

  Hong Xuan returned to the cave with his three senior brothers and walked into his own cultivation chamber. He waved his hand to activate the seal, then sat cross-legged on the meditation mat. Suddenly, he shook his right hand, and the twelve-grade Qinglian shot out of his sleeve, floating quietly in front of him, rotating along a mysterious and unpredictable trajectory.

  Hong Xuan's mighty power surged, and a drop of pure blood shot out from his fingertips towards the Qing Lian. In an instant, it merged into the Qing Lian, and he spat out a mouthful of clear air that surrounded the Qing Lian, constantly churning and swirling. After who-knows-how-long, Hong Xuan suddenly shouted "Collect!", and stretched out his hand to push the fish-tail crown on his head. Suddenly, a sheet of clear light appeared, cool as water, and three white lotus flowers emerged from his head, surrounded by an aura of immortality, with drooping white ripples surrounding Hong Xuan's body. On top of the three flowers was a purple ruler, suspended in mid-air, with a grayish pearl floating above it - the Chaotic Treasure, the Chaotic Pearl, and the Post-Heavenly First Merit Attack Treasure, the Ruler of Heaven. The twelfth-grade Qing Lian immediately shrunk to the size of a palm and flew onto the three flowers, swirling around the Ruler of Heaven together with the Chaotic Pearl!

  Hong Xuan received the three flowers on top and his mind immediately sank into the twelve products of Qinglian to experience the great Taoist principles.

  A thousand years passed in the blink of an eye, and on this day, Hongyuan suddenly opened his eyes, which had been closed for a long time as he meditated on the great Tao. Two beams of light shot out from his eyes, illuminating the entire quiet chamber. When the light dissipated, only to hear Hongyuan call out: "Fellow Taoist, why haven't you come out yet?" As soon as he finished speaking, a clear aura shot out from Hongyuan's body and transformed into a Taoist with a face that was 90% similar to Hongyuan's. He wore a green Taoist robe, had his hair tied up in a bun, and wore hemp shoes.

  But then the Taoist priest bowed to Hong Xuan and said: "Qinglian has met a fellow Taoist, I have shown respect!"

  Hong Xuan returned the courtesy, saying: "You are me, I am you, why be overly polite?" However, Hong Xuan had spent thousands of years cultivating and finally used the Twelve-Product Blue Lotus to behead the benevolent corpse in one move. At this time, his Taoist practice and magical powers had made great progress, and he had already attained quasi-sainthood.

  Then three flowers appeared, and Qinglian Daoist transformed into a stream of light to arrive above the three flowers, sitting cross-legged on one of the lotus flowers.

  Hong Xuan collected the three flowers on top, removed the seal, and stepped out of the quiet room. Before he even reached Lao Zi's residence, he could hear Tong Tian Hao from afar.

  A crisp voice, "Younger brother, you've also come out of seclusion."

  Hongyuan waited until he arrived in front of the three people, then bowed his head and saluted them: "Greetings to the three seniors, it's been a thousand years since we last met. I'm sure the three masters have made great progress in their cultivation, truly worthy of congratulations."

  Perhaps due to his rapid progress, Yuan Shi rarely joked and said: "Fourth Master is overpraising you, aren't your Dao heart and magical powers also greatly improved? Hahaha!" Laozi Tongtian Hongyuan also laughed and echoed in agreement: "Indeed indeed!"

  Although Si Qing was born with the ancient yuan god, he had an easier time cultivating before heaven than others. However, on the path of pursuing the heavenly way, it is inevitable to encounter many problems. The heavenly way is difficult to find! Every step forward is not without hardship and difficulty. Not to mention the distant and endless Mixed Yuan Dao fruit. Now that all four have obtained proof of their sainthood, it's indeed a joyous occasion worth celebrating!

  After laughing, Hongyuan said to the three of them: "I think that since I started cultivating the Tao, I have rarely traveled in the vast wilderness. Now that I've obtained proof of my quasi-sainthood, it's also time for me to go and take a stroll in the vast wilderness."

  Three people listened and did not object to Hong Xuan going to the Desolate Expanse for training. Now, Hong Xuan is already a quasi-saint. In this Desolate Expanse world, it is also rare. The height of his cultivation is in no way weaker than others. Moreover, Si Qing was transformed from Pangu's primordial spirit. He was born with great merit and virtue protecting his body. Therefore, his aura is long-lasting. He is not afraid of any disasters or calamities.

  Laozi said to Hongyuan, "As a junior brother, cultivating for us is reassuring. However, the Purple Mist Palace will open again in a thousand years. Junior brother must not forget to go and listen to the Tao at that time, lest the teacher blame me!"

  Hongyuan nodded and replied, "Indeed, I remember. I dare not forget. A thousand years later, my younger brother will return to Kunlun Mountain on time with the three elder brothers to visit Master at Zixiao Palace."

  The old man nodded and said, "It's good this way."

  Hong Xuan bid farewell to the three of them, distinguished the direction, stepped on the seven-colored cloud and mist, and began to stroll through the vast expanse.

  The story goes that Pangu opened up the sky and earth, using his body to perform the great wilderness. From then on, the Heavenly Way appeared, and all things were born. However, this vast wilderness world that was opened up is boundless and endless, with an area of tens of billions of miles in diameter, and even now that Hongyuan has obtained proof of his sainthood, he still can't see the end of the wilderness, and his divine thoughts are also unable to reach it. The continent of the great wilderness alone is enough to make a cultivator who has already proven his sainthood sigh with emotion, let alone the four seas of the great wilderness that are even vaster than the continent of the great wilderness. I'm afraid only a saint who has obtained the mixed yuan wuji taishang dao can walk through the entire vast wilderness world in one day!

  At this time, the Primordial World had just opened not long ago. The pre-heavenly spiritual energy between heaven and earth had not yet dissipated, so the Primordial World gave birth to countless heavenly treasures and earthly riches, spiritual medicines and rare fruits. Along the way, Hong Xuan collected many precious materials for refining equipment and alchemy, and although he had been cultivating for countless years, his heart was still filled with joy.

  A hundred years passed in the blink of an eye, and Hongyuan finally saw that majestic mountain standing tall at the center of the vast continent, piercing through the sky and earth, with a grandeur that was awe-inspiring. As he drew closer, Hongyuan felt the extraordinary power of this pillar that held up the sky, truly worthy of being transformed from Pangu's spine. The mountain stretched for millions of miles, with peaks rising abruptly, misty clouds drifting, and occasionally, an immortal crane would sing a clear and melodious song. Strange beasts would spout clouds and mist, playing and frolicking, while colorful clouds floated and drifted, casting a radiant glow on the horizon, as if a million golden lights were shining through the rainbow, with auspicious energy spraying purple mist everywhere, making the cloud energy even more ethereal. Indeed: If one were to discuss the number one mountain in the world, it would be none other than Mount Buzhou!

  Hong Xuan was intoxicated in the scenery of Buzhou Mountain, but suddenly woke up by a burst of fighting sounds coming from the front. Frowning, he didn't know who was fighting here, Hong Xuan drove the cloud and mist towards the direction of the fighting sound.

  When he arrived in front of him, he found that it was a black Kylin. He patted the black Kylin on the head and sat on its back. The black Kylin nodded its head and flew up into the air, stepping on auspicious clouds, and flew towards the center of Mount Buzhou.

  Ao Guang saw Hong Xuan had left and temporarily calmed his mind, also stepped on the auspicious cloud to follow up.

  He didn't know that Hong Xuan was secretly sighing in his heart: I didn't expect to casually collect a mount and actually get the future East Sea Dragon King, but since he has been collected, it will be useful in the future, so we need to plan carefully!

  He sat quietly on the ink qilin, his eyes slightly closed, lost in thought.

  It is: Beneath Mount Taihang, a dragon and a qilin are fighting; together they ride two creatures up into the blue sky!