I forge immortality with a pagoda.

Primordial Qi is the trace of Dao nature that a living being carries at the beginning of its birth. This Qi is neither real nor illusory, seemingly there yet not there, light and ethereal like a gossamer thread, and like a deep spring, which is infrequent to use.

It is truly a great treasure of the human body, the source of the true Yang energy.

As the saying goes, regulate external breath, refine true breath, absorb spiritual energy, and unite true yang.

Those who cultivate the Tao must first find a trace of innate primordial energy through continuous breathing exercises day and night, and then plant the seed of the Tao. This is how they embark on the path to immortality, a process known as the opening of the primordial era.

Then, one refines primordial energy into true qi, builds the foundation of the Dao, forms the golden elixir, condenses the nascent soul, refines the primordial spirit, undergoes the three calamities, and finally obtains a superior Dao fruit, ascends to heaven on the spot, becomes a legendary immortal, and attains the Golden Immortal status.

As the first realm on the path of cultivation, the importance of Kaiyuan is self-evident. If a cultivator achieves perfection in Kaiyuan, their path will be smooth sailing and their path to immortality will be unobstructed. In the future, they may even have the opportunity to glimpse a glimpse of the path to eternal life.

Of course, this innate energy will lose its Dao nature as it is influenced by acquired desires and consumed by thoughts.

Most people in the mortal realm are not qualified for cultivation and have no chance to become immortals.

Even those with the potential find it increasingly difficult to cultivate as they age. If a centenarian wants to cultivate, even with guidance from a celestial master and the aid of legendary elixirs, it is beyond saving.

The key lies in the fact that the innate vital energy becomes increasingly elusive with age, eventually disappearing without a trace and returning to the universe.

...

Shen Yu had just woken up when he discovered that the spiritual energy that had been previously extracted from his body was now abundant.

"This pill refined from the rock scorpion actually contains such a massive amount of spiritual energy!"

Shen Yu was somewhat surprised, as he already knew that the pain he had felt earlier was caused by the chaotic spiritual energy filling his dantian.

Cultivators practice with utmost care, as if walking on thin ice, fearing that a single misstep could cause their spiritual energy to surge violently and their meridians to be destroyed.

Shen Yu had swallowed the gray pill without any regard for the consequences, and had not used his cultivation technique to refine and guide it, which naturally caused his spiritual energy to run rampant within his body.

It was fortunate that he didn't explode and die at that point.

He hurriedly activated his profound skill, drawing out all the spiritual energy from his dantian. He then used this spiritual flow to circulate through all the meridians in his body, absorbing all the scattered energy and finally converging it into a torrent.

Immediately afterwards, he mobilized that torrent of energy to surge towards his dantian like a burst dam.

There, there exists a faint, translucent white mark, shrouded in mystery and utterly enigmatic.

It was that innate vital energy!

A flood of inspiration poured in, but the vital energy only trembled slightly, like a bottomless pit that could never be filled.

Shen Yu hurriedly took out a white jade bottle from his bosom, which contained several pills about the size of a finger joint. These pills were of different colors, and were inferior to the gray pill in both size and quality.

These pills were obtained by Shen Yu from refining wild beasts in the mountains.

He took out all the pills and stuffed them into his mouth.

Another surge of pure spiritual energy emerged within his body, but this time it did not wander aimlessly. Instead, it followed the previous torrent and rushed towards the innate primordial energy.

These flashes of inspiration diminished at a visible rate, all being absorbed by vital energy.

The primordial energy gradually solidified.

Shen Yu imbued it with his divine will, and indeed, he was able to activate it to some extent.

The innate primordial energy then transformed into a phantom image, appearing in various parts of Shen Yu's body as Shen Yu's thoughts flickered, with strands of primordial energy nourishing his limbs, bones, and internal organs.

This was a feeling she had never experienced before, and Shen Yu immediately felt energetic and full of vitality.

He felt he possessed the power to move mountains and fill seas.

Of course, Shen Yu knew that these were all illusions brought about by the improvement of his cultivation level.

When a cultivator of the Xuanmen sect attains the Kaiyuan realm, their lifespan increases to 120 years, and they possess the immense strength of a thousand jin in a single arm, far surpassing that of ordinary people.

However, if we're talking about moving mountains and filling seas, only a Golden Core cultivator, or even a Nascent Soul cultivator, could possibly accomplish that.

He also felt a vast connection between his body and the heavens and earth. At this moment, he seemed to be a portal, and three feet above his head was the road to heaven.

The spirit of the grain is immortal; it is called the Mysterious Female. The gate of the Mysterious Female is called the root of Heaven and Earth.

This is the first level of the Kaiyuan realm, the initial opening of the Mysterious Female.

"First level of the Kaiyuan realm, achieved!"

Shen Yu was overjoyed and activated his profound skill, causing spiritual energy from heaven and earth to flow towards him continuously.

He clearly felt that he was getting closer to the Great Dao.

Shen Yu then thoroughly contemplated the profound mysteries of this realm before releasing his divine power.

To his surprise, he was not in the ravine where he had previously lost consciousness, but in a cave.

The cave walls were covered with sword marks, and there was fresh mud on the ground. A trickle of water kept flowing out from the cracks in the rock, and a damp and cold aura wafted straight into Shen Yu's nostrils.

Clearly, this cave dwelling was opened in a very hasty manner, and it was only recently opened.

He looked again and his heart pounded.

Daoist Yunhui was slumped on the stone bed, his face pale, his head drooping, and there were dried, dark red bloodstains at the corners of his mouth, staining most of his blue Daoist robe red.

Upon seeing this scene, Shen Yu was struck dumb. The joy of successfully opening his cultivation level was completely forgotten. His lips turned pale, and he stood still, seemingly unable to believe what he was seeing.

After a long while, Shen Yu finally made up his mind and tiptoed forward.

Upon checking his breath, it was confirmed that the old Taoist Yunhui had indeed died and his cultivation had vanished.

It turned out that after he fell into a coma, Daoist Yunhui, dragging his injured body, found him in the mountains and opened up this cave to hide from the mountain monsters.

However, Master Yunhui's injuries were too severe, and he ultimately could not pull through.

...

After he died suddenly from overworking in his previous life, he transmigrated to this fantasy world that only existed in the books of his past life.

At that time, the previous incarnation had just turned twelve and died of famine.

He followed the crowd to the Taoist temple to beg. When Master Yunhui saw that he had excellent aptitude, he took him in as his personal disciple. It has been four years now.

During this time, Daoist Yunhui treated him like a son, showing him even more care than his parents and wife in his previous life.

He had long regarded him as his father.

Now that they are separated by death, Shen Yu could no longer suppress the grief in her heart.

Her nose tingled, her eyes reddened, and two clear tears slid down her cheeks.

He choked back tears and murmured to himself, "Your disciple has not yet attained enlightenment and has not been able to find the treasure that prolongs your lifespan. How could you leave me before me?"

No one could answer Shen Yu; only the rushing water could be heard in the cave.

Shen Yu remained silent for a long time, then made a hand seal and cast it towards the remains of Daoist Yunhui.

Daoist Yunhui immediately looked as he did in life, with a rosy complexion, relaxed brows, and the bloodstains on his lips and collar disappeared, as if his remains had been prepared.

"This is?"

Daoist Yunhui seemed to be holding something in his hand.

Shen Yu took out the object, which turned out to be a crystal-clear jade tablet.

As if sensing something, the jade tablet flashed, and a phantom figure in a green robe appeared in the cave.

Daoist Yunhui slowly spoke, "Disciple, now that you have seen my illusory image, you must have successfully opened your cultivation realm."

"This also shows that the Qi-condensing spell I previously cast into your body has taken effect, which is why your spiritual energy is firmly locked in and won't wander around randomly."

"Everyone has their own destiny. How you obtained this spiritual opportunity is something I have no intention of knowing, just like the few pills you saved up before."

"But you must remember that you must never reveal such an opportunity to outsiders, or you will surely bring about your own death."

The illusory figure of Daoist Yunhui suddenly became stern as he spoke.

"As for my past, you should forget about it. If you rashly get involved, your life will be in danger."

"Young Shen, you don't need to be sad. Those who cultivate the Dao will eventually die if they don't achieve the Great Dao. Until the day you attain the Dao Fruit, you will encounter countless people along the way. If you can withstand the pain of separation and death, and not be entangled by worldly desires, and wholeheartedly seek the Dao, I believe that there will always be a day when you achieve the Great Dao."

"As for your master, I will enter the cycle of reincarnation to seek the destiny of immortality in my next life!"

The old Taoist Yunhui smiled nonchalantly, "I'm leaving now."

As soon as the words were spoken, the illusory figure in the green robe turned into wisps of smoke and vanished.

Shen Yu felt somewhat guilty.

It turns out that Master already knew that he had some special opportunities.

That makes sense, considering my low cultivation level. If I wanted to do something under Yunhui Daoist's nose, I definitely wouldn't be able to hide it from him.

As for his master's old grudges, Shen Yu knew some of them, but given his current cultivation level, he absolutely could not get involved.

We can only make a fuss about it when we've grown up.

Shen Yu cleared his mind, kowtowed three times to the corpse, and put away the belongings.

He used his vital energy to control the Spirit Cry Sword, dug a deep pit on the spot, and carefully placed the body of Daoist Yunhui into it.

They covered it with a thick layer of soil, and carved a stone into a monument, which was then placed on the grave.

Just as he finished doing all this, a noise suddenly came from outside the cave.

Shen Yu immediately perked up her ears and listened carefully.

"Brother, do you think Father's 'using one tiger to devour another' strategy will work?"

Another high-pitched voice said confidently, "Of course. If the master and his disciple had really killed that monster, they would have returned to Yu Kingdom long ago. The fact that they haven't returned yet means they must have died in these mountains."

"We just need to search carefully and find the remains, and the treasures they carried..."

At this point, the shrill voice suddenly paused, then let out a sinister laugh.

Another deep voice exclaimed joyfully, "Perhaps there are treasures among them that can help people cultivate. Then you and I can both become cultivators, and Father won't favor the third son alone anymore, hahahaha."

*Snap*, a crisp sound.

The owner of that honest voice seemed to have been slapped.

"You fool, you, my third brother, and I are all family. Why bother with these things?"

Shen Yu was very familiar with these two voices; they belonged to Yu Yihu's eldest son, Yu Mingtong, and his second son, Yu Meng.

Shen Yu's eyes flashed with a fierce light, his killing intent almost solidifying.

...

...