Zhang Kui Asks the Way in Investiture of the Gods

The chaotic gate of the Pangu Palace closed silently, disappearing once more into the depths of the netherworld.

Standing outside the hall, facing the boundless chaotic energy, Zhang Kui took a deep breath, and the golden core within his body emitted a pleasant hum.

"Solved." He muttered to himself, pointing to the jade slip that had already transformed.

The previous heaviness and confusion vanished, replaced by unprecedented clarity. The true "Golden Elixir Path" was now in his hands; the next step was to go into seclusion and cultivate, breaking through to the Golden Immortal realm in one fell swoop.

But he did not act immediately.

"Empress Pingxin's last words..." Zhang Kui frowned slightly, "...mentioning going to the Eight Views Palace must have a deeper meaning."

This reminded him that the Golden Elixir Path was a method transmitted by the Sage of Taiqing, and that his cultivation journey, seemingly a series of coincidences, was actually in accordance with the will of Heaven. From obtaining the first six stages of the method to now obtaining the true seventh stage, it seemed that an unseen hand was behind every step.

"But it's too early to think about these things now." Zhang Kui shook his head, suppressing his distracting thoughts. "The most urgent task is to first attain the Golden Immortal Dao Fruit."

He turned around and headed straight for Fengdu Mountain.

The Fengdu Palace remained majestic and solemn. On the imperial throne, the Fengdu Emperor had arrived first and was concentrating with his eyes closed. Sensing Zhang Kui's return, he slowly opened his eyes.

"You intend to undergo your tribulation here?" the Emperor of Fengdu asked softly.

"Yes." Zhang Kui walked into the hall, found a futon and sat down. "Now that the problem is solved, I plan to press on with it."

After saying that, he stood up and slowly paced around the empty hall.

"The Xuanxian (Mysterious Immortal) has achieved the convergence of the Three Flowers at the Top of the Head and the convergence of the Five Qi at the Origin, having touched the edge of the laws and can resonate with heaven and earth, borrowing their power. But ultimately, it is 'borrowing,' it is 'uniting with the Dao,' merely the executor and maintainer of the Great Dao."

"And the Golden Immortal..." Zhang Kui stopped and turned around, his eyes flashing with fervent light, "is a perfect, transcendent, immortal, pure, and eternally existing immortal. They have attained the origin of the Great Dao, transcending the Three Realms and Five Elements, and the cycle of time and space, becoming the supreme being who embodies the laws."

He extended his right hand, palm facing upward, and a wisp of pure magical power emerged, within which the faint light of the five elements flowing and yin and yang alternating could be seen:

"No matter how powerful a Xuanxian's magic is, it's still borrowed. Once the world changes and the laws become disordered, a Xuanxian's strength will be greatly reduced. But a Jinxian is different..."

Zhang Kui clenched his fist, the wisp of magical power being grasped into his palm. But at the instant he clenched his fist, a completely new power naturally surged from within him. This power did not rely on external forces; it formed its own cycle, as if a small world was born, evolved, and perished in his palm.

"The essence of a Golden Immortal is to attain the 'Immortal Dao Fruit.' The so-called Dao Fruit is the condensation of one's understanding of a certain Great Dao into a 'fruit.'"

The Emperor of Fengdu listened quietly, his eyes reflecting the illusory nature of reincarnation. As a peak Great Luo Golden Immortal, he understood the essence of a Golden Immortal better than Zhang Kui, but he did not interrupt.

"So, the key lies in..." Zhang Kui sat down again, his gaze becoming profound, "...what Great Dao should I use as the foundation to condense my Golden Immortal Dao Fruit?"

To attain the Golden Immortal realm, it is not simply a matter of increasing magical power and tempering the physical body. Rather, it requires choosing a "path" and then fusing everything about oneself, including cultivation, insights, spirit, will, and so on, into that "Tao Fruit" that symbolizes immortality.

In Zhang Kui's sea of ​​consciousness, various insights into laws shimmered like stars.

There are three brightest ones.

The first one resembles the cycle of reincarnation, with the six illusory images of the six realms surrounding it, endlessly arising and ceasing. This is his understanding of the "Law of Reincarnation" shared with the incarnation of the Great Emperor of Fengdu. As the Emperor of the Underworld, his incarnation is naturally attuned to reincarnation and governs the six realms. The depth of this understanding is enough to make any cultivator envious.

The second one, with its five colors intertwined, mutually generating and restraining each other, evolved into all things. This was the "Five Elements Law" he comprehended from the Five Elements Feathers given to him by Kong Xuan, and with it he mastered the Great Five Elements Extinction Divine Light. This was the law he had comprehended most deeply and used most skillfully.

The third one is the phantom of an ancient copper coin, with wings on both sides and inscriptions of the Heavenly Dao in the middle, exuding the Daoist charm of "trade" and "weighing". This is the "law of weighing" contained in the Treasure Falling Coin, which walks the path of measuring the heavens and trading gains and losses.

Three great roads, three paths to immortality.

Which one should I choose?

"The Law of Reincarnation..."

When Zhang Kui's divine sense touched that Reincarnation Star, countless insights surged into his mind in an instant. The laws governing the Six Paths of Reincarnation, the mysteries of life and death, the principles of soul reincarnation... all of this was crystal clear, as if he were born to understand these things.

But that's where the problem lies.

"This realization... came too easily." Zhang Kui frowned. "It wasn't something I figured out step by step on my own; it was shared with my avatar."

He recalled the admonition of Lady Pingxin: On the path of cultivation, the most taboo thing is blind obedience. Even when facing a sage transmitting the Dharma, one should have one's own judgment.

Although Zhang Kui grasped the Law of Reincarnation most deeply, it had a fatal flaw—it wasn't something he comprehended himself, but rather he obtained it through the innate affinity for the Law from the Great Emperor of Fengdu. It was like having the answer key in hand, ultimately lacking the tempering and comprehension of the path to enlightenment.

"The foundation is unstable," Zhang Kui concluded. "If I were to prove my Dao through reincarnation, my Golden Immortal Dao Fruit would be too deeply bound to my incarnation. If my incarnation changes in the future, or if there is any problem with the connection between me and my incarnation, my Dao foundation will be shaken."

This is not what he wanted.

The path to becoming a Golden Immortal requires self-reliance and independence. Borrowed power, however strong, is still borrowed.

"The principle of weighing options..."

His consciousness turned to the illusory image of the copper coin.

As a top-grade innate spiritual treasure, the Falling Treasure Coin contains an extremely profound "Way of Balance". Zhang Kui could sense that this path had enormous potential. If it could be successfully traversed, it might even be possible to build a multi-celestial trading system in the future, using "trading" as its core to measure the value of all things.

"Moreover, some of my economic knowledge from my previous life might be able to be combined with this approach to forge a unique path," Zhang Kui said thoughtfully.

But he quickly shook his head.

"The problem is that my understanding of this principle is too shallow. Announcement: Update coming soon, please stay tuned!"

Although Zhang Kui had only recently acquired the Treasure Dropping Coin and had initially refined the restriction, his understanding of its core "Law of Balance" was still very superficial. He was mostly using its "Treasure Dropping" function rather than truly comprehending its fundamental principles.

"To attain enlightenment with such a foundation is nothing short of building castles in the air." Zhang Kui was very clear-headed. "Perhaps the future holds promise, but not now. Attaining the Golden Immortal realm requires forging an immortal foundation; one cannot gamble with insights that are not yet fully mature."

"The Five Elements Law..."

Finally, his consciousness sank into that five-colored star.

This time, it felt completely different.

"I walked this path step by step," Zhang Kui thought with a sudden realization.

The Five Elements theory is the theory he has come to understand most deeply. From his initial rudimentary application to his later profound understanding of its essence, every stage has its traces, and every breakthrough has been accompanied by accumulated insights.

more importantly……

"The Five Elements are the foundation of this world." Zhang Kui opened his eyes, his pupils shimmering with five-colored light. "All things in heaven and earth evolve from the Five Elements. Wood governs growth, fire governs upward movement, earth governs support, metal governs decay, and water governs downward flow. The cycle of the Five Elements is the fundamental law governing the operation of the world."

He stood up, his right hand clenched into a fist, and five-colored lightning appeared in his palm, which was the "Mastering the Five Thunders" supernatural power.

Blue, red, yellow, white, and black lightning intertwined, each containing the primordial energy corresponding to the five elements. This was not borrowed power, but power he had refined and condensed from his own five internal organs.

"My golden core inherently contains the wonders of the five elements." Zhang Kui looked inward at his dantian, where a five-colored rainbow circulated endlessly around the six-turn golden core, forming a perfect resonance with the core itself. "The five internal organs correspond to the five elements, and after the five energies converge, my physical body becomes a small world of the five elements."

"And using the Five Elements to prove the Dao is most in line with the concept of 'self-nature perfection' in the Golden Elixir Dao." The more he thought about it, the clearer it became. "There is no need to seek externally; one's own body is the source of the Five Elements. Once the Golden Immortal Dao Fruit is achieved, I can generate the Five Elements myself, evolve all things, and truly achieve 'human and elixir as one, body as the universe'."

The Law of Reincarnation, though powerful, is ultimately limited by the Netherworld system; the Law of Balance, though wondrous, has too shallow a foundation. Only the Five Elements are not only the fundamental Great Dao, but also possess boundless potential, and perfectly align with his entire cultivation system.

"This is it."

Once Zhang Kui made his decision, there was no more hesitation in his heart.

He used the Five Elements theory as his foundation to condense the Golden Immortal Dao Fruit.

Once he made up his mind, Zhang Kui immediately began preparations.

Attaining the Golden Immortal status is not something that can be accomplished simply through seclusion. One needs to choose a suitable location, adjust one's physical and mental state, and make all preparations to the extreme.

"Where shall we undergo our tribulation?" asked the incarnation of the Emperor of Fengdu.

Zhang Kui pondered for a moment: "Although the Netherworld is good, the Five Elements Qi is not active enough. To attain the Five Elements Dao Fruit, it is best to be in a place where the Five Elements are balanced and spiritual energy is abundant."

"However..." Zhang Kui suddenly thought of a problem, "The Golden Immortal Tribulation is no small matter, it causes too much of a stir. If I were to undergo the tribulation in the mortal world, it would definitely attract attention from all sides. I don't want to reveal my trump card too early."

Upon hearing this, the avatar of the Great Emperor of Fengdu smiled slightly: "In that case, why not do it right there in the chaos outside the Pangu Palace?"

Zhang Kui's eyes lit up.

Yup!

The Pangu Palace is located deep within the Netherworld, shrouded by the Daoist temple of Lady Pingxin, and isolated from the outside world. One can undergo tribulation there without external interference.

"It's settled then," Zhang Kui declared.

He immediately began to adjust his state of mind.

He circulated his Qi at full power, inhaling and exhaling Netherworld spiritual energy to adjust his magical power to its most abundant state. At the same time, he repeatedly rehearsed the incantation of the seventh stage of the Golden Elixir Path in his mind, ensuring that every detail was thoroughly understood.

Three days later, Zhang Kui reached his peak condition.

He bid farewell to his incarnation and returned to the outside of the Pangu Palace.

The chaotic air currents continued to rise and fall like breathing, and the ancient palace floated silently. Zhang Kui did not disturb Consort Pingxin, but simply found a relatively calm chaotic area outside the palace and sat down cross-legged.

"Let's begin."

He closed his eyes and focused his mind on his dantian.

The six Dao patterns on the surface of the Golden Core lit up simultaneously, and the profound meanings of the six Heavenly Gang Divine Powers—Nine Breaths Breath Absorption, Five Elements Great Escape, Subduing Dragons and Tigers, Size at Will, Flying Body and Leaping Footprints, and Mastering the Five Thunders—flowed through Zhang Kui's heart.

However, he did not rush to break through, but instead used the "Five Elements Great Escape" supernatural power as a guide to communicate with the origin of the five elements in the chaos.

Although the five elements were not yet separated in this space, chaos inherently contained all possibilities. Under Zhang Kui's divine sense, the chaotic energy began to differentiate, the clear and the turbid separated, yin and yang were initially distinguished, and the five elements slowly began to be conceived from within.

It's a slow process.

Zhang Kui remained calm and composed, his mind as still as water. Using himself as a guide and the golden elixir as a furnace, he gradually extracted the essence of the five elements from chaos and integrated it into his own body.

Time loses its meaning here.

It may be a moment, or it may be a century.

When Zhang Kui opened his eyes again, they were no longer filled with simple five-colored light, but had evolved into a miniature world of the five elements—grass and trees growing, flames rising, the earth bearing, metal clanging, and water flowing.

"The foundation of the Five Elements is now established, next—"

Zhang Kui took a deep breath, formed hand seals, and began to circulate the seventh transformation technique of the Golden Elixir Path.

"Refining emptiness and uniting with the Dao. Emptiness refers to the emptiness of the Golden Elixir; the Dao refers to the Dao within oneself..."

The incantation flowed through his mind, and the golden elixir changed accordingly.

The golden elixir, originally the size of a longan, began to slowly expand, and fine cracks appeared on its surface. This was not damage, but transformation—the golden elixir was to be refined from "something within the body" into "the body itself being the elixir."

Pain struck.

That was the pain of rebuilding the foundation of one's Dao, the pain of sublimating the essence of life. Zhang Kui gritted his teeth, veins bulging on his forehead, but his mind was perfectly clear.

He saw it.

In the depths of that pain, at the end of that transformation, a brilliant and immortal "Tao Fruit" is being conceived.

That was his Golden Immortal Dao Fruit, an immortal fruit to be forged from the Five Elements Laws and all his own essence.

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