Chapter 50: The Five Essences First Return to the Origin

The spirit ship of the World Pavilion would traverse the myriad nations of the Wildlands. Thus, this vessel would not head directly north but would make stops at other immortal cities along the way, making this journey anything but brief.

Shen Lian had long prepared for this.

He had even purchased alchemical materials at the World Pavilion, ensuring there would be no loneliness during the journey.

Once he reached the Sea of Ten Thousand Stars, he would no longer be Shen Lian the talisman master, but Ding Xiu the alchemist.

Need elixirs, fellow cultivator? That’ll cost extra.

After waiting for about an hour, the spirit ship roared to life, a cascade of multicolored light shooting into the sky. The ship soared upward, soon vanishing into the clouds, transforming into a streak of light that wove through the sea of mist.

Withdrawing his spiritual sense from the jade slip, Shen Lian turned his attention to his storage pouch, checking its contents.

The Soul-Binding Seal, now newly forged, had become his most powerful means of attack.

His Hundred-Spirit Poison had dropped to second place—at least now he could kill his enemies without first poisoning himself.

Of the three magical artifacts acquired from Ninefold Immortal City—the Firecloud Sword, the Talisman Array Disk, and the Five Element Mountain—only the Five Element Mountain could be fully controlled ahead of time.

So, during the coming journey, his focus would be on refining five-element spiritual objects and condensing the five vital energies within his chest.

Having set his plans, Shen Lian did not rush to absorb the five elements' essence, but instead calmed his mind and began his cultivation.

Three days later, he opened his hand to reveal a spirit stone, now drained of energy and crumbling into powder that sifted through his fingers.

In those three days, he had sensed spiritual awareness sweep the room six times.

Once each morning and evening, indiscriminately, the strength of that divine sense far surpassed his own. Shen Lian dared not probe too deeply but could surmise these were the routine inspections of Foundation Establishment cultivators stationed on the spirit ship.

Spirit ships of the World Pavilion, traveling among the nations of the Wildlands, were always guarded by two or three Foundation Establishment cultivators, at least one of whom would be late-stage, anchoring the vessel’s defenses.

He did not set up any of his own formations, as that would only attract unwanted attention from those senior cultivators.

He was, after all, just a humble eighth-layer Qi Refiner—best to act the part.

Morning sunlight fell upon the spirit ship.

Shen Lian drew forth a Fire Spirit Stone from his pouch, holding it in his palm to absorb the fire energy within.

The Fire Spirit Stone was akin to a spirit stone saturated with fire essence. When its energy entered his body, it did not burn, but instead melded harmoniously with his own fire spiritual power.

According to the Five Energies Returning to Origin technique, fire energy gathered in the heart.

Strands of crimson force filtered into his body, coalescing into a cloud of fire at his heart.

The Fire Spirit Stone was the size of a fist, its contained energy sufficient to last him over half a month.

Previously, Shen Lian had refined many first-grade spiritual objects, but their quality was too low and too mixed to generate any true fire elemental essence within him.

Only now, when a third of the fire within the stone had been consumed, did Shen Lian, gazing inward, see a fiery cloud swirling around his heart like a blazing sunset.

Next, he brought out Earth Spirit Sand.

These were tiny, translucent grains, each shimmering with a yellow halo.

The main feature of the Five Energies Returning to Origin technique was the cyclical balance of the five elements.

It emphasized the mutual generation and transformation among the elements.

But, to enable this transformation, the first step was to nurture within oneself the five corresponding elemental energies.

The second step was to set those energies into cyclical motion.

For now, Shen Lian was groping his way forward, following the cultivation method step by step.

Thus, he dared not focus on any single element too much, preferring to experiment gradually.

First, he would allow each of his organs to foster its corresponding elemental energy, constructing the framework for the Five Energies Returning to Origin, and then slowly infuse more elemental power.

...

The spirit ship crossed mountains and cities, finally coming to rest in Biyu Immortal City of the State of Chu.

During the ship’s stop, Shen Lian did not disembark. He gazed at Biyu Immortal City through the window.

The city sprawled across a vast plain, grand and imposing, no less magnificent than Ninefold Immortal City.

In the distance, mountains rose at the edge of the plain, towering between heaven and earth.

He could see the lush green peaks coiling like earth-dragons across the land, with dazzling spiritual light stretching from earth to sky.

Nestled in the mountains' embrace was a vast lake of jade waters, where pavilions and towers rose in endless succession, displaying the myriad wonders of an immortal sect.

This was the very seat of the Jade Water Sect.

Shen Lian narrowed his eyes, gazing toward the sect gate.

He focused especially on the towering mountains behind Jade Water Lake.

It was said that the ancestral hall of the Jade Water Sect lay deep within those mountains, the resting place of the sect’s Golden Core patriarchs.

Alas, no matter how he searched, he could not see any smoke rising from ancestral tombs.

Perhaps it was simply too far, or perhaps the sect’s grand formation blocked his sight.

The World Pavilion spirit ship lingered in Biyu Immortal City for a day, during which time more cultivators boarded and disembarked.

Once the ship soared into the sea of clouds again, Shen Lian resumed absorbing the five elements' essence.

Afterward, the ship veered northeast, passing Tianyang Immortal City, then cut through wild mountains into the borders of Yue State.

In his room,

Shen Lian gazed inward. After more than a month of cultivation, each of his organs now radiated a different elemental energy: red, green, gold, black, and yellow.

These five auras swirled like clouds among his organs, distinct and unmixed, showing no sign of merging yet.

This was mainly due to the uneven reserves of each element, but Shen Lian, his spiritual sense strong, could make gradual adjustments.

It was like clearing a neglected, narrow path—progress was slow at first.

The elemental energies he absorbed also needed time to adapt and harmonize within his body.

In the world of cultivation, months pass unnoticed.

By the time Shen Lian had forged a tentative harmony among the five energies in his organs, two months had gone by.

Looking inward, he saw clouds of five colors enveloping his organs, their edges now beginning to touch, and even resonate with the fire-leaning spiritual power within his body.

No wonder the Five Energies Returning to Origin technique could boost one’s chances of forming a Foundation.

The five energies within the organs could be transformed into elemental power for spellcasting, or infused into the dantian during Foundation Establishment as nourishment for liquid true essence.

Yet for now, Shen Lian had not mastered this—the process was far too brief for a cultivator.

Exhaling, he rose and stood before the window, gazing out at the endless ocean, the salty tang of the breeze on his face.

Ten days before, the spirit ship had crossed from the Wildlands into the Sea of Ten Thousand Stars.

The ocean stretched immeasurably in every direction.

Such monotony was no hardship for cultivators; most simply secluded themselves in their rooms to cultivate.

After adjusting his spirits, Shen Lian sat down again, drawing out high-grade talisman materials to busy himself with some work.

Rumble—

One day, as he was drawing a talisman after his cultivation, Shen Lian suddenly froze. The talisman paper beneath his brush burst into flames.

He quickly put everything away.

At that very moment, all the other cultivators aboard the spirit ship also felt a terrifying wave of energy sweep over them.

At the horizon of the endless sea, the heavens seemed to split open, and a torrent of thunder poured down from the breach, crashing upon a black flood dragon shrouded in a myriad of lightning bolts.

“A demon king?!”

This sight drew cries of alarm from the ship’s cultivators, their faces twisted in terror.

To encounter a demon king in the open ocean was certain death.

Beneath the crackling thunder, the black dragon’s claws strode the water vapor. Upon its back, an old man in white robes, staff in hand, was wreathed in immortal light, utterly unassailable among the myriad thunders.

“The Ink Dragon! It’s the Ink Dragon!”

“The Ink Dragon Patriarch of the southern cultivation world!”

“Greetings, Ink Dragon Patriarch!”

“May the Patriarch enjoy immortal fortune and a lifespan equal to the heavens!”

A chorus of voices rose from the ship.

Even at such a distance, most could barely see the scene at all.

Yet still, many dropped to their knees, awe and reverence for the mighty cultivator shining in their eyes.

The black flood dragon, drenched in thunder, moved with casual ease, its claws treading the boundless mist, vanishing from sight in a single breath.

On the vast ocean, only the endless rumble of thunder remained.

Even when the waves stilled, the cultivators aboard the ship still wore expressions of devout awe, some trembling with emotion as if on pilgrimage.

What they had just witnessed was a Nascent Soul patriarch—a true grandmaster.

It was the famed Ink Dragon Patriarch of the southern cultivation world, supreme elder of the Cloud Summit Sect.

Even Shen Lian himself was overwhelmed, his body bowing involuntarily.

He could not help himself—there was no resisting.

“Well done. You deserve a reward…”

Moments later, a voice of delight echoed above the ship, followed by a cascade of spiritual light as spirit stones rained down like a shower from the heavens.

Struck on the head by falling spirit stones, the cultivators finally snapped out of their daze, scrambling to gather up the windfall.

“May the Patriarch enjoy eternal fortune and ascend to true immortality!”

“May his immortal path flourish forever…”

…

Shen Lian, in his room, reached out and gathered a dozen or so spirit stones for himself.

Spirit stones from a Nascent Soul master—taking a few might bring some luck.

What a carefree Nascent Soul master, bestowing rewards simply for receiving praise; in a single gesture, he had tossed down at least ten or twenty thousand lower-grade spirit stones.

No wonder he was a patriarch—so wealthy, so…

“Ahem… May the Patriarch be blessed with boundless fortune and immortal joy.”

After the dazzling appearance of the Nascent Soul patriarch, the spirit ship’s cultivators could no longer contain themselves, many excitedly roaming the ship.

Shen Lian, meanwhile, gazed southward over the ocean, toward where the thunder had faded—the direction of the southern Wildlands.

“Can it really be just a coincidence?”