At the summit of Zhuofeng, a void appeared, extremely tranquil. The vegetation there flourished and withered, sometimes lush with green leaves, sometimes desolate, repeating in a cycle, like a picture of reincarnation.
The nine-tiered celestial ladder, hazy and indistinct, kept expanding until magnificent palaces and pavilions appeared, shrouded in celestial mist, stretching across the boundless void.
boom!
A small tree flew out, rapidly enlarging, swirling with chaos and celestial mist, its canopy merging directly into that ethereal palace.
Nangong Zheng slowly rose and landed on the canopy of the small tree, immersing himself in a peculiar state of mind, as if wandering within an ancient scripture tree.
On the mountaintop, it was as if an ancient World was evolving, where inexplicable principles and truths intertwined and emitted a melodious resonance.
Everything is in full bloom, brimming with life, in a continuous cycle, in constant motion. In the beginning, exotic flowers bloom, and greenery is vibrant, but in the end, they can only wither and fade, returning to their origin.
Between heaven and earth, seemingly inexplicable trajectories emerge, forming complex order and rules, giving rise to mysterious patterns and designs.
Nangong Zheng was completely absorbed.
Zhuofeng, returning to simplicity and authenticity, embodies the evolution of Tao and reason. The entire mountain is like a scripture, requiring a corresponding state of mind to capture the traces of the Great Tao.
At this moment, Nangong Zheng was completely integrated into the natural World, his mind flourishing and withering with the plants, rising and setting with the sun and moon.
"A great achievement is like a lack, a great gain is like a rush, a great skill is like a clumsy..."
Nangong Zheng sat cross-legged in the palace, motionless, as still as a rock, listening to the most profound and mysterious sounds of heaven and earth.
There are no extravagant displays, no miraculous springs gushing from the earth, only a simple tradition, an ancient and unadorned Taoist charm flowing through.
"As expected of the King of the Eastern Wilderness, he has grasped the Way of Nature so quickly!" Li Ruoyu exclaimed in surprise.
The fundamental principle of Zhuofeng is the Great Dao of Nature. Two people throughout history have comprehended it: the ancient master Taixuan, Li Ruoyu himself, and Nangong Zheng.
Nangong Zheng closed his eyes and entered a meditative state, his whole being like a withered tree. Yet there was a sense of natural harmony and unity, as if he had transformed into every blade of grass and every tree on Zhuofeng, witnessing every change and transformation on Zhuofeng!
Time flies, and a year has passed in the blink of an eye.
Nangong Zheng opened his eyes, and his cultivation level leaped forward again, increasing significantly.
Soon, his mind suddenly became clear and ethereal, and a wondrous Daoist aura flowed through him, making him appear incredibly mysterious. This was quite different from Zhuofeng's cultivation method.
No sound came, no waves rippled, only a strange charm manifested on the summit of Zhuofeng.
The entire Zhuofeng Peak exudes an ancient charm, as if it has traveled through time and returned to ten thousand years ago.
Moreover, it is constantly changing; all things wither, grass and trees decay, turning into soil, moving from stillness to movement, returning to their original nature, as if there is an eternal law at work.
He thought to himself with admiration that the predecessors of Zhuofeng were truly remarkable, having imprinted the natural changes of the secret techniques onto the entire Zhuofeng area.
Nangong Zheng remained motionless, merging with heaven and earth, becoming one with Zhuofeng Peak, being cleansed by nature, surrounded by fragrance. Finally, he felt his whole being transform into a seed!
Thump!
Nangong Zheng's mind jolted, and his eyes regained their clarity. One of the Nine Secrets transformed into a seed, imprinted into his heart, sprouting and becoming an eternal life force.
Like floating clouds, like a passing breeze, the supreme secret teachings flowed into my heart like a gentle stream.
He obtained the mental cultivation method of Zhuofeng's Natural Great Way, and the secret of the character "皆" among the Nine Secrets.
The Nine Secrets are unparalleled secret techniques. When activated, they can increase combat power several times or even dozens of times if accidentally triggered. The Emperor created this technique and is terrifying to the extreme.
"I'll seize this opportunity and break through this barrier in one fell swoop!" he thought to himself.
"He plans to use this opportunity to lay the foundation for the Great Dao and advance to the next level, the Foundation Establishment Realm!"
He immediately unleashed ten kinds of fruits, all of which were brilliantly radiant. These fruits were the Nine Wonderful Sacred Fruits that he obtained from Ye Fan when he helped Ye Fan reconnect the severed path!
Buzz!
Some fruits are shaped like small tripods, with a flowing Taoist aura and a hazy mist.
Some fruits resemble flying birds, like the Vermilion Bird, red as blood, lifelike, as if about to spread their wings and fly away.
Another fruit was also quite special. It was shaped like a disc, shimmering with blue light, and had many markings resembling the Eight Trigrams.
The aura of the Dao permeated the air, fragrant and rich, radiating a dazzling light!
Finally, a dragon ball appeared. This dragon ball was the one contained in the elixir of immortality. The dragon ball was crystal clear, sparkling, and fragrant, intoxicating all who beheld it.
Pop!
The Vermilion Bird Fruit, the Tripod Fruit, and the Eight Trigrams Fruit are all clear and flawless, shining like seven-colored glass.
At this moment, they were all dissolved, turning into wisps of divine medicine energy, which surrounded their bodies.
The Vermilion Bird danced in flight, the small cauldron rose and fell, and the Bagua diagram rotated—the wonders reached their peak.
Sizzle!
The next moment, Nangong Zheng began to regulate his breathing, taking a deep breath and drawing in all the divine medicinal energy of heaven and earth into his body, gathering it in his dantian. It was colorful and very dazzling.
The purple energy that had been trembling in his dantian merged with the divine medicine's energy.
However, the next moment, those auras dispersed again, seemingly repelling each other and unable to merge.
Now, his dantian contains the auras of the True Dragon Divine Medicine, the Emperor's Divine Medicine, the Qilin Seed, and the Nine Wonders Immortal Medicine, yet they repel one another and disperse.
"That's it! Use the Dao of Nature!" A flash of inspiration struck him, and he began to use the Dao of Nature to activate the energy of these divine herbs.
Qilin, Nine Wonders, True Dragon, Humanoid—from vitality to desolation, then reversed, these inexplicable patterns were imprinted together and changed together. He captured their trajectory and evolved with them.
He meticulously analyzed and extracted the properties of the miraculous medicine, like peeling back layers of an onion, and then neutralized them so they could coexist.
Six months later, the energy of the divine medicine finally stopped dissipating throughout the World. The energy intertwined, and the laws flowed, creating a harmonious resonance.
"Merge!"
The true dragon roared, flying all over the sky; the Qilin roared; the sun was destroyed, and the moon was set; humanoid immortals flew; all sorts of mysterious scenes appeared in his dantian, like a vast picture of flying immortals!
The medicinal energy flowed slowly into his limbs and bones like countless tiny streams. Nangong was focused on guiding this energy, allowing it to circulate within his body and continuously cleanse his meridians and acupoints.
As time passed, a dazzling light gradually gathered in his dantian.
The light grew brighter and more solid, becoming incredibly dazzling, yet Nangong Zheng continued to compress and refine it.
"The highest good is like water. Water is good because it benefits all things and is still. It dwells in places that others dislike, so it is close to the Way!"
Gradually, the medicinal energy in the dantian became more regular and orderly, condensing into a sea of energy. Then, the sea of energy gradually liquefied, shimmering with rich vitality, flowing with a dreamy, rosy light, harmonious and natural.
Foundation Building Stage!