Gou Dao and Cultivation of Immortals, Start from Farming

The Chaos Dao Tree, with its thousands of chaotic Dao leaves swirling with spiritual light, contains world embryos that pulsate incessantly like fetal breathing.

Li Mu raised his hand and gestured, and thirty-six rays of spiritual light descended, the veins of the leaves shone brightly, and the scene of the realm embryo became clearer and clearer—the wind and snow howled, the Vajra roared, the water surged, the flames raged... all kinds of Daoist charms unfolded like a scroll painting.

Xue'er raised her eyes and looked towards a branch in the east: the Dao leaf contained a world embryo that emitted a chilling power, its veins were a deep blue like an ancient cold river, and an ice core hung in the center of the world embryo, exuding extreme cold.

“Brother Li!” Xue’er looked at Li Mu and gestured with her eyes, “That Ice Dao Realm embryo is most compatible with Xue’er’s origin.”

Li Mu nodded and smiled: "Yes, this realm contains the true essence of extreme cold. If you enter it, you can use the bloodline of the Nine-Tailed Celestial Fox to enlighten the Snow Spirit and evolve the Ice Fox lineage, which is exactly what you need for your path."

As soon as he finished speaking, Li Mu condensed a Chaos Realm Seal and imparted the entire essence of this realm to Xue'er.

Xue'er happily accepted, nodded vigorously, and her figure transformed into a white rainbow, disappearing straight into the icy crystal leaf.

The moment she stepped into the realm, a bone-chilling cold swept over her. Behind Xue'er, the nine tails naturally manifested, their pure white fox tails stretching in the wind, their tips blooming with icy brilliance.

Xue'er stood in the vast starry sky, looking down at this nascent ice and snow world, with snow-white, cold stars and the space filled with extreme cold.

Holding the boundary seal of this realm, Xue'er locked her divine sense onto an extremely cold planet as the main star of this realm, and slowly descended. As far as her eyes could see, the glaciers were majestic and stretched to the horizon; the sky was low and scattered with billions of black ice dust.

The Heavenly Fox Ancestral Mark appeared between Xue'er's brows. She bit her fingertip, and a drop of crystal-clear, jade-like essence blood floated out, merging into the glacier beneath her feet. She made a hand seal and shouted, "With my essence blood, I will enlighten the Snow Spirit; with my Daoist principles, I will shape your soul form."

The next moment, specks of spiritual light rose from the ice and snow all over the glacier—at first like fireflies, gradually gathering and condensing, transforming into translucent, pure light and shadows with blurred outlines, except for two points of icy blue spiritual fire burning at the position of the eyes.

These are the first batch of "Snow Spirits" conceived from the origin of the world's embryo, devoid of consciousness and thought, possessing only a trace of the true essence of ice and snow.

Xue'er opened her eyes, her nine tails swayed together, bursting forth with brilliant moonlight that swept across the snow spirits and entered their bodies.

Xue Ling's body trembled slightly, its outline gradually became clear, limbs and torso grew out, its face vaguely took shape, its ear tips were slightly longer, and a fluffy tail shadow swayed behind it - it was evolving into a fox form!
"From this day forward, you shall be the 'Snow Fox Clan'." Xue'er said solemnly, "I am your ancestor, bestowing upon you spirituality. When your intelligence begins to develop, I will teach you the methods of cultivation."

Xue'er raised her hand and made a sweeping motion, causing the glacier beneath her feet to tremble violently. A majestic ice mountain rose from the ground, its body as clear as glass, its interior covered with intricate patterns.

Xue'er invoked the Heavenly Fox Law, and the iceberg was sculpted layer by layer into a magnificent palace—the eaves and brackets were all made of black ice, the pillars were carved with the posture of a nine-tailed heavenly fox treading on snow, and the plaque hung high with the words "Snow Fox Ancestral Palace" written in demonic seal script.

As the ancestral hall was completed, the mystical ice dust that filled the sky seemed to possess a spirit, converging towards the hall and condensing into nine winding ice veins around it, like giant dragons crawling through the glacier's underground.

"Nine Meridians Extreme Cold Formation, activate!"

Xue'er formed hand seals, and nine ice veins lit up simultaneously. A vast and frigid spiritual power flowed continuously into the ancestral hall, causing it to shine brightly. The Daoist rhyme spread out like ripples, covering an area of ​​tens of thousands of miles. The newly born snow spirits, nourished by the Daoist rhyme, gradually developed their intelligence and prostrated themselves in worship towards the ancestral hall, emitting tender and devout cries.

Xue'er entered the ancestral hall, sat cross-legged on the ancestral seat, her nine tails drooping, ice patterns spreading, connected with the Nine Extreme Cold Veins. She closed her eyes and sensed the wind and snow flowing, the cold air rising and falling within the realm, all reflected in her heart.

"Within a hundred years, the first batch of snow foxes will take human form and cultivate the Cold Vein Daoist method."

Xue'er murmured contentedly, then focused on her seclusion, immersing herself in the boundary seal to continue refining it, aiming for complete control and gradually evolving the ice and snow laws and the heavenly fox laws of this realm.

At the same time, in the other Chaos Dao Leaves of the Chaos Dao Tree, within the World Embryos, the Azure-Eyed Golden Ape - Xiao Jin, the Black Jade Rock Lizard - Xiao Wa, the Azure Moon True Dragon, the Crimson Fire Phoenix, the Azure Jade Ginseng King, and even the Puppet Spirit - Ming Yue, and the Gu Insect Spirit - Xiao Bai, each refined the World Seal bestowed by Li Mu, combining it with their own Dao Laws to evolve a World Dao Law, thereby perfecting their own cultivation.

The worlds are developing rapidly. Xue'er, Xiao Jin, Qingyue Zhenlong, Chilian Huofeng, Xiao Wa, Qingyu Shenwang, Mingyue, and Xiao Bai each display their talents and manage their respective regions. The creatures in the worlds are gradually increasing in number, and the Daoist spirit is flourishing.

The tree's roots are deeply embedded in the vast soil, continuously drawing upon the primordial energy, which is then transformed by the Dao Tree to nourish all realms; in turn, all realms nourish the Dao essence, strengthening the tree's body, thus creating a cycle that continues endlessly.

Beneath the Chaos Tree, time flows and the Daoist essence surges.

The thirty-six Dao leaves, like starlight hanging from a branch, are nourished day and night by Li Mu's primordial chaos, and their evolution progresses by leaps and bounds.

The veins and patterns on the leaves are red, burning the heavens; blue, reaching the clouds; black, covering the sea; white, congealing frost; yellow, suppressing mountains... The various colors of spiritual light reflect each other, making the Chaos Dao Tree look like a primordial pillar supporting countless worlds.

Within the realm of ice and snow, the vast glaciers are crystal clear, and the frost flowers formed from the cold air bloom in the void.

Xue'er sat upright at the core of the "Snow Fox Ancestral Hall," her nine tails deeply connected to the nine extremely cold earth veins outside the hall. With her thoughts, she activated the boundary seal, using the bloodline of the Heavenly Fox as a guide to enlighten billions of snow spirits.

Deep within the glacier, the first batch of snow spirits nourished by the Daoist principles have shed their illusory spiritual light and solidified into real fox bodies—pure white and flawless, with icy blue eyes and a cold glint at the tip of their tails. They bow their heads and sob in the direction of the ancestral hall, their intelligence beginning to awaken.

With a light stroke of her fingertips, Xue'er sent a demonic pattern from the "Mysterious Frost Heavenly Fox Technique" into the brows of the first batch of snow foxes. In an instant, hundreds of snow foxes took to the ground, breathing in and out extremely cold spiritual energy, their bodies radiating faint Daoist light.

……

Beneath the Chaos Dao Tree, Li Mu sat cross-legged in the void, his mind splitting into thirty-six strands, closely connected with the origin of all realms.

Li Mu clearly sensed the changes in the various realms. The extreme cold Dao intent of the Ice and Snow Fox Realm became increasingly pure, the sharp metal Dao principle of the Golden Ape Realm became increasingly profound, the water elemental cycle of the Profound Water Dragon Realm approached perfection, the phoenix fire Dao rhythm of the Li Fire Phoenix Realm became increasingly intense, and the earth veins of the Wu Earth Great Realm became thick and solid... Every subtle evolution fed back to the Chaos Dao Tree, making the Dao patterns on the main trunk more complex, and the chaotic spiritual light emanating from the branches and leaves more and more magnificent.

……

Three hundred years have passed in the blink of an eye.

On this day, strange phenomena suddenly occurred within the Ice and Snow Fox Realm!
Above the ancestral hall, nine extremely cold earth veins simultaneously spewed forth pillars of icy blue light, shooting straight into the realm's sky. The swirling snow and wind condensed into Dao patterns containing extreme coldness, like a hundred birds returning to their nests, converging towards Xue'er deep within the ancestral hall.

Xue'er's eyes snapped open, a brilliant icy blue light emanating from them. Her nine tails solidified completely, each tip displaying a swirling phantom of an "Extreme Cold Dao Seed"! She parted her lips slightly and chanted the Heavenly Fox Ancient Incantation. The icy essence accumulated within the realm for hundreds of years surged forth and poured into her body.

"Snap, snap..."

A crisp cracking sound rang out from Xue'er's body. The next moment, strands of icy blue Daoist energy, like tender sprouts, stubbornly emerged from her body and quickly took root in the depths of the Ice and Snow Realm's origin, completely connecting with the world's ice laws!
The Dao Realm has been achieved!
Xue'er's aura suddenly transformed, her coldness receding and resonating perfectly with the entire Ice and Snow Realm. With a single thought, she froze thousands of miles, successfully planting her own Great Dao of Extreme Cold into this nascent realm.

Over the next few decades, the beast tamers benefited from the development of the realm, comprehended the Great Dao, and received the infusion of Dao Source, making up for their own Dao deficiencies, gradually expanding beyond the Extreme Dao Realm and advancing to the Seed Dao Realm...

It can be said that when one person attains enlightenment, even their chickens and dogs ascend to heaven.

The Azure Wood Realm, the Myriad Gu Insect Realm, the Puppet Realm dominated by the Bright Moon... Daoist rhythms soared into the sky from all these realms, and the fluctuations of Dao seeds condensing and taking root echoed!

Beneath the Chaos Dao Tree, Li Mu suddenly opened his eyes, the chaotic star swirling rapidly within them! The immense Daoist energy emanating from the Thirty-Six Realms surged forth like a burst dam, each Daoist leaf's origin flowing backward and crashing into the main trunk of the Chaos Dao Tree!
The trunk of the towering Chaos Dao Tree grew at a visible speed, a million feet, two million feet... until it broke through its original limit. The canopy became even more magnificent, and the branches and leaves that disappeared into the sea of ​​light spread out more distant phantoms. On the leaves, the evolution of those miniature worlds suddenly accelerated. Mountains and rivers shifted, rivers changed course, phantoms of living beings multiplied rapidly, and the foundation of the realm grew wildly.

On the branch of the Dao tree, the Primordial Dao Fruit pulsated like thunder, and the Dao patterns on its surface branched out into numerous tiny lines, becoming increasingly closer to the true meaning of "chaos evolving into all worlds".

Li Mu's aura rose accordingly, and he successfully advanced from the Chaos Dao Foundation to the mid-stage of the Dao Integration Realm.

Li Mu's lips curled slightly. As everyone achieved the Dao Seed, the nascent form of the realm became stable, and the Chaos Dao Tree had taken root firmly in the vast and boundless "Forest of Ten Thousand Ancestors".

“The thousand-year protection period agreed upon by Fellow Daoist Gu Xi has exceeded five hundred years.” Li Mu raised his eyes and looked at the root system of the towering ancestral tree in the distance. Its vast Dao aura enveloped this area, isolating it from external disturbances.

Li Mu's mind stirred slightly.

As the Chaos Dao Tree and the Vast Earth Origin Qi deepened their fusion, the Chaos Dao Tree became increasingly sensitive to subtle fluctuations in its surroundings. Recently, Li Mu vaguely sensed that deep within the endless root system of the Ancient Xi Ancestral Tree, there seemed to be a very subtle anomaly. A "residual thought" that had been dormant for countless ages was slightly stirred as the roots of the Chaos Dao Tree expanded, causing ripples to spread.

After pondering for a long time, Li Mu gave up his plan to get to the bottom of it.

Gu Xi's cultivation is unfathomable. He has been guarding this ancestral tree for countless epochs, and its roots are intertwined with the vast earth. Its roots are far beyond what I, who have just entered the Dao Integration Realm, can fathom. If I were to investigate rashly, it might lead to unnecessary misunderstandings.

Li Mu attached only a wisp of his mind to the roots of the Chaos Dao Tree, silently sensing the flow of primordial energy in that area.

On this day, Li Mu was sitting quietly under the Chaos Dao Tree, his mind immersed in the wonders of the Great Dao's evolution, when suddenly, a tremor came from the depths of his own roots.

Three thousand feet below the vast earth, a wisp of gray-black energy quietly seeped out from the cracks in the roots of the ancient ancestral tree, merging with the surrounding profound primordial energy. If Li Mu's mind and spirit were not in perfect harmony with the roots of the Dao tree, it would be almost impossible to detect.

The moment the gray-black air current touched the roots, Li Mu's mind tightened instantly!
A chilling, deathly aura surged upstream, heading straight for the core of the Dao Tree, emanating a "devouring" obsession, seeking to seize the Chaos Dao Tree to strengthen itself!

"Ok?"

Li Mu's eyes turned slightly cold. The Primordial Dao Fruit suddenly pulsated, and gray Dao light burst forth from the core, rushing along the tree veins and arriving at the attacked location in an instant.

With a "whoosh!" sound, the light of Dao collided with the black source.

The lingering thought did not expect Li Mu to react so quickly, nor did it expect that the Chaos Dao Source had a natural restraining power against it, and it turned around to escape!
How could Li Mu let it escape like this? With a thought, the Chaos Dao Source enveloped it from all directions, instantly transforming into Chaos Dao Fire, which refined it.

With a "poof!" sound, the remnant spirit was extremely fragile. Before Li Mu could exert much force, the remnant spirit was instantly refined and absorbed by the Chaos Dao Fire, and a pure Dao source was generated out of thin air.

At this very moment, a sudden change occurred!
A sudden flash of inspiration struck, and in an instant, countless fragmented and chaotic memories surged upwards, forcefully flooding into Li Mu's mind!

The light and shadow flickered, fragmented.

Li Mu "saw" a vast expanse of land, where two Dao-merging cultivators, one as one, joined forces to take root in the land, and two tender Dao trees grew side by side: one with a clear and warm glow, full of vitality; the other with a deep and mysterious blackness, devouring all things.

As time passed, the two Ancestral Trees of Myriad Realms grew together, rapidly increasing in size, and jointly resisting the invasion of other Ancestral Trees of the Great Dao. The Pure Radiance Ancestral Tree stretched out its branches and leaves, establishing order and laws; the Profound Black Ancestral Tree spread its roots, devouring the source energy of the vast earth. The two complemented each other's Daoist principles, grew together, and went through countless tribulations, finally becoming towering giant trees.

"Gu Xi!" A vague thought echoed, filled with resentment.

The scene shifts abruptly, and several eras have passed.

At the edge of the vast land, the void cracked, and the phantoms of the three ancestral trees intertwined and fought, with laws flowing like waterfalls and primordial energy surging like tides.

The crimson ancestral tree in the center was in a dilapidated state, with broken branches and withered roots. Only the main trunk still retained a trace of spiritual light. It was the defeated ancestral tree of the Blood Realm.

Gu Xi and Xuan Ming stood side by side on either side of the Blood Tree, both wounded, their eyes burning as they stared intently at the source of the ancestral tree.

“In this battle, if we join forces to defeat this ancestor, we shall, according to the agreement, divide his resources equally,” Gu Xi said excitedly.

Xuanming coughed lightly and reminded him, "The Blood Ancestor has a 'Traces of Devouring the Dao' hidden within. If you try to refine it forcibly without my Daoist essence to suppress it, you will suffer a backlash. You cultivate the Great Dao of Myriad Origins, and your nature is righteous and harmonious, which clashes with this source. If you try to swallow it forcibly, you may damage your foundation."

Gu Xi's expression turned cold: "You've got a way with words. Are you trying to take it all for yourself?"

Xuanming shook his head, raised his hand, and the remaining trunk of the Blood Realm Ancestral Tree collapsed with a crash, splitting the Blood Dao Ancestral Tree's essence in two. One half was as red as fire, and the other half was deep and dark blue, which Xuanming refined first with his own Dao essence.

“This half is now cleansed and is yours,” Xuanming said. “The other half still harbors blood evil, and I need to refine it with my own essence for three years to eliminate all hidden dangers. At that time, I will give you the other half. How about that?”

Gu Xi's eyes flickered, and after a moment's thought, she agreed, "Alright, three years it is then."

Just as Gu Xi reached out to catch it, Xuan Ming suddenly attacked!
"Since you know I'm greedy, how can you believe you'd willingly give up your share?" Xuanming sneered. "This ancestral source, including yours, I want it all!"

However, Gu Xi showed no surprise, but rather a trace of pity. She did not dodge, allowing the attack to strike her, and at the same instant, she pressed a Dao Source shard into the opponent's heart!
"boom--!"

The source core exploded, and a "Dao Seal" burst out from the depths of the source core, following the causal lines between the Xuanming and source cores, and rebounded like a poisonous vine!

Xuanming's expression changed drastically: "You...you hid the Dao Seal inside the Source Core?"

"We've lived together for over a hundred thousand years, how could I not know your nature?" Gu Xi coughed up blood several times and laughed bitterly, "You're too greedy and never trust anyone. If I hadn't taken precautions today, I would have been ambushed and killed by you sooner or later. I just didn't expect you to be so impatient!"

Xuanming roared, trying to retreat, but the Reverse Fate Dao Seal that suppressed his Great Dao penetrated deep into his primordial spirit, frantically eroding it.

Gu Xi activated the ancestral tree's essence, transforming the entire battlefield into the "Forbidden Domain of Dao Fall".

Heaven and earth fell silent, and the laws of nature collapsed.

After a long while, Xuanming's body collapsed and his primordial spirit dissipated with an unwilling roar. Only a wisp of remnant will, carrying his obsession, escaped into the depths of the vast land and hid in the aftershocks of the strange tide, until it was accidentally captured by Li Mu when he was refining the strange creature.

The scene then abruptly ends. (End of Chapter)