Primordial Era: A member of the Jie Sect, apprenticed to Tongtian

At this moment, outside Zouyi, the capital of the State of Lu, a Taoist priest stood on a cloud high in the sky, quietly looking down at the city below.

"This kind of good fortune in the human world is truly enviable."

He muttered to himself.

The Taoist priest wore a seemingly ordinary blue robe, with a small jade hammer-shaped pendant hanging at his waist, and a drum-shaped mark faintly visible on his wrist. This person was none other than Shi Yuan, who had recently left Biyou Palace.

He came from the East Sea, traversed thousands of miles, and finally settled in the Southern Continent. The reason is quite simple... If we were to discuss where in the Three Realms it is easiest to gather fortune, it would undoubtedly be the place where the human dynasties are located.

At this very moment, in his eyes, above Zouyi City, floated an extremely vast sea of ​​fortune. The fortune surged and spread, almost enveloping the entire State of Lu.

"The human race's fortune first gathered in the Zhou Dynasty, and then the Zhou emperor enfeoffed the feudal lords, dispersing it layer by layer, and countless amounts were lost in the process."

"Even so, so many of the former Lu states are still standing."

Shi Yuan sighed inwardly.

As the protagonist favored by the heavens and earth, the human race enjoys an unbroken and continuous fortune. If one wishes to seek fortune, the human world is naturally the most suitable place.

However, upon closer inspection, it becomes apparent that the fortune above the State of Lu does not entirely reside in the human realm. A considerable portion of it is constantly flowing outwards into the heavens.

One of the dishes, in particular, was so substantial that it accounted for almost a third of the fortune of the State of Lu.

Shi Yuan was fully aware of this.

The human realm today is ruled jointly by immortals and gods. Humans revere the celestial deities and follow the laws of the immortal path, naturally sharing a portion of their fortune. And the largest share of this fortune is precisely what the Chan Sect receives.

As long as the Zhou Dynasty exists, and the principles of rites and laws remain the mainstream in the world, the fortunes of the Chan Sect will continue to flourish, and its disciples will make rapid progress in their cultivation.

Only when the Zhou dynasty's fate truly comes to an end will the fortunes of the Chan sect decline. Only then will the era of sages making their moves once again arrive.

Of course, all of this will take quite some time.

Therefore, the choice facing Shi Yuan is actually not complicated.

The first path is to directly enter the Zhou Dynasty system. Whether he accepts an imperial decree and becomes a deity enjoying incense offerings, or establishes himself in the mortal world as a sorcerer or worshipper, with his perfected celestial cultivation, he will be a top existence in the mortal world and will naturally be able to share a portion of the dynasty's fortune.

But he rejected this idea from the very beginning.

"How much luck can you get when you work for someone else?"

"If you're going to compete, then compete for the biggest share."

That's why Shi Yuan chose the second path.

That is, to find those in the world who truly possess great destiny.

This path is actually a method often used by sages. Human fortune is like the tide, and between its rise and fall, there will always be some sages and saints destined by heaven.

In ancient times, there were the three ancestors of the human race who pioneered humankind; after the three ancestors, there were the three sovereigns and five emperors who led humankind to prosperity; and later, there was Jiang Ziya who carried a flying bear out of the world.

During this period, there were also sages like Cangjie and Leizu who changed the fate of humankind.

These people are born with great fortune, destined to propel humanity forward. If one can take them under one's wing and help them fulfill their destiny, one can naturally share in a vast amount of fortune.

Back then, Guang Chengzi took the Yellow Emperor as his disciple, and Yuanshi Tianzun personally accepted Jiang Ziya into his fold; they followed the same path.

Shi Yuan came to the State of Lu for the same reason.

Because he knew very well...

"In about a hundred years, the sage who will truly change the future of humanity will be born in the State of Lu."

Shi Yuan's lips curled up slightly.

A naturally born sage, endowed with great destiny, is almost impossible to predict before he truly emerges. Even a saint would find it difficult to foresee his arrival.

But it's a pity.

Shi Yuan is a time traveler.

His greatest advantage lies in his foresight and foresight.

Therefore, he chose to come to the State of Lu to make preparations in advance and wait for the arrival of that future sage.

But before that, there was one more thing he needed to do.

That is, first find a place for yourself to practice.

But when his divine sense swept over Zouyi and the surrounding mountains and rivers, he couldn't help but frown.

"No wonder immortals, gods, and true cultivators are unwilling to stay in the mortal realm for long."

"The spiritual energy here is far too thin."

Within the entire territory of the State of Lu, there was hardly a decent spiritual vein to be found, let alone any sacred mountains or blessed lands. Compared to Biyou Palace, where he had once cultivated, this place was worlds apart.

In Biyou Palace, almost every breath you take is filled with rich spiritual energy. Even the islands in the East China Sea outside the palace are places of cultivation brimming with spiritual vitality.

In contrast, considering the mountains and rivers of the human world, asking Shi Yuan to choose a place among them to establish his Daoist temple is like choosing a dwelling among a pile of latrines.

However, his dilemma did not last long.

Soon, an idea popped into his mind.

"No spiritual veins, no sacred mountains..."

"Why don't I just build one myself?"

Once he made up his mind, Shi Yuan immediately began searching for a suitable location in the surrounding area. Before long, he found a place he liked.

That was a mountain range located three thousand miles south of Zouyi, called Yuanquan Mountain.

The mountains are majestic and imposing, and in the center of the mountain range, there is a huge spring with steam rising from it.

Shi Yuan only glanced at it and found it quite pleasing to the eye.

According to that Western sage, this is what it means to be "connected to me".

So he rode down on a cloud, and in an instant, he landed in Yuanquan Mountain. Birds in the forest took flight in fright, and he laughed as he raised his hand.

The next moment, a wisp of dark yellow spiritual energy slowly drifted out from the sleeve of the Heaven-Slaying Daoist robe.

That was the primordial Qi that had recently been born in the Shiyuan Realm.

To outsiders, the idea of ​​transforming an ordinary mountain range into a spiritual vein or even a sacred mountain is practically a pipe dream. Even a quasi-saint would likely find it difficult to accomplish.

But for Shi Yuan, it was completely different.

He possessed innate Qi that would move even a saint.

"go."

With a soft shout, the wisp of primordial Qi rose to the sky above Yuanquan Mountain, and then suddenly exploded.

A buzzing sound rang out.

A pure and primal torrent of spiritual energy poured down from the sky, beginning to wash over the entire mountain range.

In the blink of an eye, Yuanquan Mountain underwent earth-shattering changes.

Spiritual energy rapidly gathered, strange rocks suddenly appeared, and immortal trees rose from the ground. With the gentle breeze flowing, the mountain's atmosphere was completely renewed.

Especially the spring in the center of the mountain range, after absorbing a large amount of spiritual energy, the spring water faintly shimmered with a cool, jade-like luster.

The vegetation around the spring is growing and transforming at a speed visible to the naked eye, shimmering with spiritual light.

Even Shi Yuan, the instigator, was stunned by this scene.

"Good heavens..."

"This...it's turned directly into a spiritual spring?"

At this moment, Shi Yuan truly realized just how precious the Primordial Qi was.

No wonder even a saint like the Tongtian Sect Master showed surprise when he saw this. Just a wisp of primordial Qi, after spreading out, was able to transform an entire mountain range, turning it directly into a blessed land.

At this moment, the spiritual energy of Yuanquan Mountain was so dense that it soared into the sky and spread directly into the clouds. In terms of the quality of spiritual energy alone, it was almost comparable to the top-tier immortal mountains and spiritual veins in the celestial realm.

But what Shi Yuan cared about more than the changes in the entire mountain range was the clear spring in the mountain.

The spring water was as clear as jade, shimmering with a faint spiritual light. The spiritual energy and creative power it contained were so rich that they almost overflowed. Shi Yuan didn't need to think much to understand that this clear spring had completely transformed into a true spiritual spring.

Moreover, it's of a fairly high rank.

That's quite astonishing.

In the universe, once mountains, rivers, plants, and trees become imbued with spirit, they are gifts from nature itself. Spiritual springs, in particular, are extremely rare in the cultivation world. As long as a spiritual spring doesn't dry up, its water will flow continuously, far exceeding the value of ordinary spiritual materials.

The most precious of all are naturally the innate spiritual springs.

Looking across the Three Realms today, there are only two truly existing innate spiritual springs. One is the Eight Treasures Merit Pool on Mount Sumeru, which contains immeasurable merit. Whenever a Buddha falls from grace, his true spirit can be reborn in the pool, making it one of the foundations of Buddhism.

Another place is the spring in the Jade Pool of Heaven, which contains endless creation. The Peach Tree, one of the five great spiritual roots of heaven and earth, is rooted in the Jade Pool spring, which is also one of the most precious resources of Heaven.

In comparison, the spiritual spring within Yuanquan Mountain is far from reaching the level of a primordial spiritual spring.

Even so, its value is already astonishingly high.

At the same time, Shi Yuan also clearly felt that strands of invisible and intangible merit were constantly flowing into his body as Yuanquan Mountain transformed into a blessed land.

"This is... authentic merit?"