Gou Dao and Cultivation of Immortals, Start from Farming

Within the Chaos Treasure Palace, chaotic energy surged and coiled like countless dragons, boundless and vast, swirling around the majestic Dao Tree at its center. This tree was tens of thousands of feet tall, its branches like pillars supporting the sky, its entire body flowing with chaotic divine light. Each leaf was like a miniature world, and each pattern was like an inscription of the Great Dao, profound and unfathomable.

Li Mu sat cross-legged in the void, his body as still as a mountain. A point of divine light between his brows was contained within him, and the Dao aura around him was perfectly integrated with the Chaos Dao Tree. It was as if he was a part of the Dao Tree, or as if the Dao Tree was born because of him.

With each breath, heaven and earth resonated, chaos surged, and the chaotic sea of ​​qi moved with Li Mu's thoughts.

On the main trunk of the Dao Tree, dark red patterns meandered like blood vessels, intertwining with the Chaos Dao Principles to form a net, pulsating and absorbing the remaining primal power of the Netherworld Blood Realm. Although that primal power was already broken and tattered, it still contained a trace of the true meaning of reincarnation, which was slowly refined by the Dao Tree and transformed into nutrients to nourish the Dao Fruit of Life and Death.

On the branches, two nascent Dao fruits are beginning to take shape, one on the left and one on the right, echoing each other from afar.

The one on the left, as white as jade, radiates a warm glow. As its light flows, a touch of green quietly sprouts in the desolate void, like a spring breeze and rain bringing all things back to life. This is the "Fruit of Life," containing endless vitality, capable of restoring life to the dead, regenerating flesh from withered bones, and even reversing life and death, reshaping the cycle of reincarnation.

The one on the right is as deep and still as an abyss, its dark aura causing even the chaotic air to stagnate, as if the world has come to an end and all spirits have returned to silence. This is the "Fruit of Death," wielding the power of annihilation, capable of returning all things to dust, destroying the soul and spirit, and even severing cause and effect and ending the cycle of reincarnation.

The two energies complement each other, their birth and death cycle endlessly, forming a profound balance. Such a Dao fruit cannot be conceived by ordinary cultivators; only those who comprehend the true meaning of life and death and penetrate the origin of chaos are qualified to condense it. And Li Mu is precisely the master of this Dao.

Li Mu lightly stroked his ten fingers, as if playing a celestial string, drawing upon the principles of chaos to meticulously carve a Blood Essence Crystal the size of a dragon's eye.

Within the crystal, a sea of ​​blood surged, countless souls howled, and resentment surged like a tide. However, guided by the Daoist principles at Li Mu's fingertips, those distorted reincarnation laws were peeled away inch by inch, and instead imprinted with the intent of chaos; wisps of bloody malevolence turned into green smoke and dissipated, and a reincarnation node deep within the Netherworld Blood Realm quietly changed hands, returning to the rule of the Great Dao of Chaos.

The roots of the Dao Tree, like countless tentacles, deeply penetrated the ruins of the Blood Realm, greedily absorbing the remaining blood essence and the sliver of life force of reincarnation. Wherever the roots passed, the parched sea of ​​blood cracked and collapsed, the shattered earth turned to dust, and the remaining resentment melted away silently like snow meeting the sun. The Chaos Dao Tree was, with unstoppable force, drawing the Netherworld Blood Realm into its own Dao Domain.

……

On the battlefield of the realms, the Radiant Array of Returning to Truth of All Things soared into the sky, like a curtain falling from the heavens, covering the vast wilderness.

The moon, its silver armor covered in frost, stood silently at the center of the formation, its golden eyes cold as knives, sweeping across the eight directions. One hundred thousand Bloodthirsty Divine Puppets stood in formation like a forest, working together with the cultivators of the Immortal Dynasty to activate the great formation. The chaotic gray formation light surged like a tide, and wherever it went, the red soil faded, bones turned to ash, and the remnants of souls and malevolent energy were cleansed, giving rise to a thin but clear spiritual energy.

The dim blood moon in the sky gradually faded in color, as if it had just recovered from a serious illness, revealing a long-lost clarity.

Xiao Jingtian, his black armor stained with dust, commanded with divine skill. The "Blood Prison Suppressing Stele" stood majestically, its extinguishing spirit crystals casting a hazy glow, firmly suppressing the core rift. Array masters traversed the forest of steles, repairing the array patterns and forcefully suppressing the restless chaotic currents. The Immortal Dynasty fleet patrolled the nine heavens, casting a clear light to purify the remaining bloodlust.

After this fierce battle, the Netherworld Blood Realm was devastated, and seven or eight tenths of the chaotic and deathly atmosphere had disappeared, revealing a long-lost clarity between heaven and earth.

……

Just as the atmosphere of the realm was gradually stabilizing, a very subtle fluctuation quietly spread from the deepest part of the Blood Realm.

At first, it was faint, like an ancient heartbeat, slow yet powerful, piercing through layers of ruins, passing through the light curtain of the Myriad Things Return to Truth Array, and striking the outer wall of the Chaos Treasure Palace.

Li Mu, sitting upright beneath the Dao tree, frowned slightly. Deep within the origin of the Great Dao, a subtle resonance arose—within that fluctuation, there was a wisp of extremely pure and ancient Dao of life and death, faintly echoing the Dao Fruit of life and death that was being condensed, yet also mixed with an indescribable stagnation... and a bottomless thirst.

"Ok?"

Li Mu's mind stirred slightly, and his deduction of the laws of reincarnation slowed down. The roots of the Chaos Dao Tree trembled slightly as he sensed the source of the fluctuation, which seemed to be lurking in a secret place that even the roots of the Dao Tree had not touched.

Almost simultaneously, on the battlefield of the boundary, Mingyue's golden eyes suddenly shrank.

Mingyue clearly sensed that deep within the land that had just been purified by the great formation, there was an extremely subtle wriggling, which was a kind of change at the level of the Great Dao.

"Something's happening underground! All troops, be on alert!" Mingyue Qing shouted like thunder, her voice echoing for miles.

Before the words were even finished, a sudden change occurred!
Rumble——!
The barren earth trembled violently, and countless bottomless cracks burst open out of nowhere. Instead of extending outwards, the cracks collapsed inwards, as if swallowed by an invisible maw. Then, thick, scarlet blood, like a raging tide suppressed for millennia, surged forth from the depths of the earth!

This blood plasma was completely different from the previous sea of ​​blood. Its color was dark and almost black, and it was as sticky as glue. The aura it emitted was a mixture of extreme death and the decaying breath of twisted life. Where the blood plasma flowed, the light screen of the Myriad Things Return to Truth Array was quickly polluted and eroded, emitting a "sizzling" sound. The Pure Heart Jade, the base of the array, was instantly covered with gray spots!
"Oh no! It's the 'source of foul blood' deep within the sedimentary veins of the earth!"

Xiao Jingtian's expression changed drastically, and he shouted sharply, "Turn the Stele Forest around and suppress the earth's veins!"

The "Blood Prison Suppressing Stele" spun in response, unleashing a hazy gray light that attempted to seal the gushing filthy blood. However, the filthy blood seemed endless, continuing to overflow despite the suppression of the Dao of Annihilation; even more bizarrely, the filthy blood, like a living thing, rapidly condensed into a physical form!
One after another, twisted monsters crawled out of the filthy blood. Their bodies were made of viscous, foul blood and had no fixed shape. Sometimes they slithered like giant centipedes, and sometimes they transformed into multi-headed strange birds that took flight. Their bodies were stinking and pungent, and they exuded a foul Daoist aura that directly devoured the soul.

"Roar!"

A colossal monster of foul blood lunged at the Blood-Breaking God Puppet, its dark red tentacles coiling around it; the Dao patterns of annihilation on the puppet's body lit up, and embers burned, but the foul blood was not afraid of being burned. Instead, it seeped into the gaps in the Dao patterns, and the puppet's movements suddenly stopped. Crimson-gold light flashed in its eyes, and the core alarm was sharp and piercing!
"Filthy blood can taint the puppet's core! Illusionary Puppet Guards, advance and use the principles of illusion and reality to maneuver! Ember Puppet, retreat! Ranged Ember Fire will cover the area!"

Mingyue reacted with lightning speed, instantly adjusting the battle formation. Her silver armor flashed, and the Chaos Puppet Domain was deployed once more, forcibly pushing aside a large amount of foul blood.

The Phantom Puppet Guardian's form shifted between reality and illusion, weaving among the filthy monsters. When its energy blade struck, though severing their forms, the filthy blood melted upon landing and then reformed, making it nearly immortal.

The Chaos Ember Puppet was burned by the Annihilation Ember Flame. The foul blood evaporated slowly, but instead, it generated a black mist of highly poisonous resentment that permeated the battlefield.

The cultivators of the Immortal Dynasty formed a defensive formation, bombarding the filthy monster with sword light and magical treasures, but with little effect. Instead, their spiritual light was eroded by the filthy energy, and many cultivators turned bluish-purple, clearly poisoned.

The tide of battle turned in an instant!

"This foul blood... is definitely not naturally produced!"

While urging the Forest of Steles to suppress the earth veins, Xiao Jingtian focused his attention on probing, his expression growing increasingly solemn: "Its nature is insidious and treacherous, containing some kind of ancient curse power, specifically designed to corrupt the spiritual light of magical treasures and erode people's foundations!" As if to confirm his words, the subtle fluctuations from the depths of the earth veins reappeared, this time much clearer, carrying a faint hint of... mockery and greed.

The waves swept across the battlefield, and the tainted blood monsters roared in unison, their attacks becoming even more ferocious. Some monsters even abandoned their attacks on the cultivators and rushed straight for the "Blood Prison Suppressing Monument," defiling its spiritual light with their tainted blood! The light of the suppressing monument visibly dimmed.

Inside the Chaos Treasure Palace, Li Mu's eyes suddenly snapped open!

His eyes swirled with chaos, reflecting the turmoil of the outside world, and piercing through numerous obstacles to gaze directly at the source of the fluctuations—beneath the core ruins of the Blood Realm, a darkness enveloped by countless layers of distorted spacetime and malevolent restrictions.

In the center of the darkness, an indescribable, enormous fleshy core slowly pulsated. Its surface was covered with bulging veins, flowing with dark golden, foul blood. Countless mutilated faces floated and wailed on it, emanating an aura that was ancient, thirsty, and filthy, carrying a special pressure that surpassed even that of the Blood Ancestor.

"The Netherworld Blood Realm... actually harbors such a monstrous creature."

Li Mu whispered, his voice as cold as frost: "With the blood of countless ages as its body and the resentment of immeasurable poison as its soul, it steals the opportunity of the cycle of life and death, attempting to take the form of a 'Soul-Devouring Blood Leech'... What a clever trick of 'Shedding One's Skin and Substituting One for Another'!"

In an instant, Li Mu realized that the Blood Ancestor had probably already been corrupted and controlled by this lurking "Spirit-Devouring Blood Leech." Its frenzied devouring of all living beings in the myriad worlds and its distortion of reincarnation were mostly just to nourish this terrifying being.

The Blood Ancestor is merely a puppet in the foreground; this thing is the true cancer of the Netherworld Blood Realm!
At this moment, sensing the aura of the Dao Fruit of Life and Death in the outside world, the Soul-Devouring Blood Leech could no longer restrain itself and awoke from its eternal slumber, desiring to seize this supreme Dao Fruit in order to achieve perfection!

Li Mu's eyes turned cold, and just as he was about to make a move, the "Soul-Devouring Blood Leech" suddenly increased its pulsation speed.

Boom!Boom!Boom!
As if the ancient war drums were sounding, the entire Netherworld Blood Realm resonated, the filthy blood tide of the earth veins surged several times over, the sky darkened instantly, the waning moon was stained with ink, and countless thick, dark gold tentacles frantically reached out from the cracks, covering the sky and the sun, heading straight for the void where the Chaos Treasure Palace was located.

Deep within the Chaos Treasure Palace, Li Mu's Daoist aura resonated to its fullest extent with the Chaos Dao Tree.

The countless roots of that majestic Dao tree had long since pierced through the void and deeply penetrated the Netherworld Blood Realm. In the deepest part where endless filth and resentment had settled, the roots encountered an unexpected obstacle—an endless, dark red sea.

An ancient race formed by countless "Spirit-Devouring Blood Leeches". Each "blood leech" stretches like a mountain range, is semi-transparent, and flows with the purest and most domineering blood essence within. They have no eyes or mouths, and grow by devouring the blood and qi of all living beings and the laws of the realm. They are the most stubborn "living foundation" of the Netherworld Blood Realm, and the true foundation that the Blood Ancestor has managed for eternity and maintained this realm from collapse.

At this moment, sensing the invasion of the external force, countless Soul-Devouring Blood Leeches awakened simultaneously, emitting silent shrieks; their enormous bodies rolled and twisted, transforming into billions of blood-red vortexes, frantically tearing and devouring the probing chaotic roots; some even had their fine roots forcibly torn off and merged into the blood leeches' bodies, becoming their nutrients.

"Resisting stubbornly."

Li Mu's mind turned cold, and his hands, which were sitting cross-legged under the Dao Tree, changed their hand seals; on the main trunk of the Chaos Dao Tree, the newly born "Death Dao Fruit" suddenly shone brightly!
A sense of tranquility, a feeling of all things returning to stillness, surged forth from the bottom of the Blood Realm through countless roots.

Death was like a tide, spreading silently.

Wherever it passed, the churning sea of ​​blood leeches suddenly stopped. The enormous bodies of countless 'blood leeches' shrank and withered at a visible speed, and the blood essence flowing within them seemed to be drained of its vitality in an instant, turning from boiling crimson to deathly dark gray.

They emitted a mournful tremor as they tried to struggle, but the power of the Death Path Fruit pointed directly to the essence of existence, stripping them of their vitality and severing their spirituality. No matter how powerful their devouring force was, in the face of the absolute law of "death," they were like ice and snow meeting the sun, quickly melting away.

Immediately following the thought of death, the lustrous white and warm "Fruit of Life" lit up.

A gentle yet boundless vitality, like a spring breeze and gentle rain, falls quietly. This vitality does not nourish the leeches, but intertwines with the will to die, forming a mysterious cycle.

Under the combined force of life and death, the withered remains of the blood leech rapidly disintegrated and purified, shedding all violence and filth, and reverting to the most primordial, dark red fragments of the Blood Dao Law, which, like rivers flowing into the sea, were absorbed by the roots of chaos.

Nourished by this incomparably pure blood essence, the dark red patterns on the roots became clearer and deeper, as if they truly possessed bloodlines. With each pulse, they resonated more deeply with the remaining essence of the entire Netherworld Blood Realm; countless ancient memories and law imprints that had been devoured and buried by the blood leeches flowed into Li Mu's heart lake.

Li Mu "saw" the scene at the beginning of the Netherworld Blood Realm, and saw the crystal at the core of the Blood Sea, which was formed by the intertwining of the two energies of life and death. It was the size of a fist, constantly changing between illusion and reality, and contained endless scenes of the birth, death and reincarnation of the Blood Sea.

Blood Realm Source Core!
This object is the true foundation of the Netherworld Blood Realm, the source of all laws of blood and the twisted cycle of reincarnation, and also the innate object that gives birth to the origin of life and death!
Sensing the aura of this thing, the Chaos Dao Tree's billions of roots, like mad dragons smelling blood, recklessly drilled and spread towards the sensed location. The Soul-Devouring Blood Leeches that blocked its way were crushed into ashes in large swaths under the rotating and crushing power of the Life and Death Dao Fruit, and their essence became all the resources for the Dao Tree's growth.

Li Mu's eyes flashed like lightning. With a thought, the two fruits of life and death on the main trunk of the Chaos Dao Tree trembled simultaneously, their Daoist essences merging and transforming into a mysterious and boundless illusory wheel, which descended from the treetop and pierced straight into the Blood Realm's Embryo Palace.

"When the cycle of reincarnation begins, all things return to their source."

Before the words were finished, the illusory image of the roulette wheel disappeared into the womb. The moment it touched the source core of the blood realm, the Netherworld Blood Realm trembled violently.

The illusory image of the Chaos Dao Tree appeared in the Blood Realm, its branches and leaves resounding, and the Chaos Divine Light surged thousands of feet. In each leaf, a scene of life and death cycle appeared, and on the trunk, the dark red patterns completely transformed into blood vessels, pulsating like thunder, resonating endlessly with the Source Core.

Li Mu formed hand seals, his ten fingers weaving together heavenly secrets, drawing upon the power of the Dao Fruit of Life and Death.

boom--!
Simultaneously, the Dao Fruits of Life and Death radiated their ultimate brilliance. Two streams of energy, one white and one black, burst forth from the fruit and converged at the top of the Chaos Dao Tree, condensing into a three-inch-tall phantom—a Dao body half-alive and half-dead, its face covered with the patterns of reincarnation, its eyes closed, its aura ancient and silent, as if it came from the beginning of time, in charge of the cycle of reincarnation in all realms.

This is the "path of reincarnation"!
Once the Dao Form was formed, the remaining laws of the Netherworld Blood Realm flowed like rivers into the sea, all converging towards the Chaos Dao Tree. The filthy blood tide receded from the earth's veins, the cracks healed, the inky sky gradually faded, and the waning moon regained its clear radiance.

The pressure on the Myriad Manifestations Return to Truth Formation decreased sharply. Mingyue and Xiao Jingtian exchanged a glance, both seeing surprise and shock in each other's eyes.

On the battlefield, the tainted blood monster howled and disintegrated, turning into wisps of black smoke, which were completely cleansed by the power of new reincarnation. The immortal dynasty cultivators regained their spiritual light, and the crimson gold in the eyes of the Blood-Breaking Divine Puppet was rekindled.

The Blood Realm Origin Core completely dimmed, turning into a dull crystal that sank into the roots of the Dao Tree and disappeared.

Li Mu stood up, his Daoist aura subdued, except for a single point of divine light between his brows, illuminating the birth and death of all realms. With a wave of his hand, the Chaos Dao Tree trembled slightly, its countless roots retracting. From that moment on, the Netherworld Blood Realm ceased to be an independent domain, transforming into a branch of reincarnation beneath the Chaos Dao Tree, where life and death were orderly, and resentment returned to its source. (End of Chapter)