[Primordial Beginning Sword Dao Lv.1]
[Profound Yellow Earth Origin Dao Lv.1]
[Chaos Unity True Method Lv.1]
The three Dao Seeds simultaneously took root within his inner landscape, and three lines of different colors surfaced on the Golden Core’s exterior, flickering faintly with each breath like a fetus breathing in the womb.
Chen Yu stood suspended in the air above Guanshan Dojo, the supernatural phenomena around him not yet fully dissipated.
The peaks he had lifted with his Mountain-Shifting Dao Rhyme slowly descended back into place after completing their worship of Heaven and Earth’s laws. The low rumbling caused by the mountains sinking rolled across the sea surface, shaking the dojo.
The Spiritual Energy Star River, stirred into resonance by the Sea Spiritual Vein, was also gradually dissipating. Pale golden threads of light peeled off the flowing avenue that spanned the sky and sea, like a reverse meteor shower, scattering and falling back to the sea surface and into the soil of the island.
Primordial Beginning Sword Dao governed Heavenly Origin; its image was the sky, its nature was sharpness. It was the pure, firm energy of Heaven incarnate, presiding over slaughter, opening, and everything unyielding and unbreakable.
Profound Yellow Earth Origin Dao governed Earthly Origin; its image was the land, its nature was thickness. It was the bearing energy of Earth incarnate, presiding over nurturing, stability, and everything heavy and immovable.
The three origins—Heaven, Earth, and Man—corresponded to Ancestor Cloud Cliff’s complete understanding of the laws of Heaven and Earth.
He had split the entire world into three parts, then crushed those three parts back together, forming the complete staircase from mortality to ascension.
The Three Paths Unified was the moment of ascension.
Only, someone had already walked this path before.
Ancestor Cloud Cliff had ascended back then by unifying the three origins—Heaven, Earth, and Man. His Dao had already left traces in Xu Xuan Heaven.
If Chen Yu wanted to continue walking this path, every inch forward would be harder than it was for his predecessor.
It was like a prospected mineral vein: the rich surface ore had already been dug out, and later arrivals had to dig deeper to find anything.
The world’s paths were not the exclusive possession of any one person, but Heaven and Earth ultimately had their preferences.
If a person of extraordinary talent could comprehend the Dao to a deeper realm far surpassing the original owner, they could naturally break through the ceiling left by their predecessor on this old path, even stepping on their shoulders to ascend in broad daylight.
But this path ultimately belonged to Ancestor Cloud Cliff, not him.
So what was his path?
When Chen Yu was forming his Golden Core on the Foundation Establishment Platform, he had actually vaguely touched some kind of hazy realization.
That thing seemed not to belong entirely to Xu Xuan Heaven. Perhaps he would need to achieve a corresponding realization with his Slime body in Zeyarila before that shadow could fully surface.
In other words, while others saw him as having simultaneously comprehended three great paths, strictly speaking, the paths he actually possessed were not just three.
Of course, great paths could not be counted by numbers. The predecessors’ paths were ultimately the predecessors’. What he truly possessed was the fourth Dao.
But the fourth Dao was still far too distant from him, still in its budding stage.
Guanshan Dojo below had not yet fully recovered from the commotion. The birds startled by his Mountain-Shifting Dao Rhyme had returned to the woods, but the dense crowd behind the main hall of the dojo had not yet dispersed.
Huang Xuan floated down lightly in front of the main hall, followed by the seventeen clan elders. They all bowed in unison, and the elder at the front announced loudly in congratulations.
“Congratulations to Dao Master Ning Jiao for forming the Golden Core.”
For the Chen family to witness a Golden Core Sword Immortal, who had cultivated three great paths, undergoing his breakthrough seclusion in their own dojo was an honor worthy of being recorded in Guanshan Dojo’s thousand-year annals.
“Congratulations, Venerable One.”
“Quick, quick, come take a look at the Sword Immortal’s presence.”
“Don’t push, don’t push. We must maintain the Chen family’s upbringing and bearing.”
The younger generation of the Chen family surged forward, not daring to get too close. They crowded behind the clan elders, standing on tiptoes to peer toward the white-robed figure.
Chen Yu nodded slightly to the elders and younger members. Without any superfluous pleasantries, he asked directly: “Do you know where the head of the Chen family has gone?”
The leading elder bowed again and replied: “He is searching near the reef islands south of Guanshan Island’s southern sea, tracking traces of the rogue cultivator remnants.”
“The family head has been investigating the whereabouts of the Southern Sea Legacy Pearl for several days now. He sent word earlier that he had found the hideout of those thieves near the reef island area and is conducting a thorough search. If the Venerable One wishes to go there, this old man can guide you.”
“No need. I will find him myself. You may all disperse.”
The moment he finished speaking, a Sword Hum shot into the sky.
Everyone only saw the white-robed figure blur for an instant in its original spot, and then nothing remained but a fading sword light afterimage.
His true body had already transformed into a golden sword rainbow piercing across the horizon. It shot straight out from above Guanshan Dojo, crossing the mountain ridges, skipping over the scattered fishing boats and reefs on the sea, heading toward the southern reef islands.
As the sword rainbow swept across the sky above, the layered clouds were split open in the middle by the incomparably sharp sword intent. The opening was dozens of zhang in diameter.
This was the Primordial Beginning Sword Dao.
My body itself is the Flying Sword. Why would I need sword flight?
A few fishing boats casting nets on the sea were startled by the commotion above. An old fisherman looked up and only caught a glimpse of golden light flashing through the broken hole in the dome of clouds before the sword light vanished at the line where sea met sky in the south.
The old fisherman rubbed his eyes, thought it was an auspicious sign descending from Heaven, and quickly clasped his hands together, praying for a good catch today.
Chen Yu charged into the layer of clouds, pulling his altitude above the sea of clouds. The cloud surface below stretched out into an endless white plain under the morning light.
As he raced along on his sword, he spread out his Divine Sense to sweep across the southern sea region. Its coverage range of several hundred li instantly enveloped the entire sea area within his perception.
While searching, he diverted a portion of his thoughts to something he had been mulling over: his Lifebound Artifact.
A Lifebound Artifact, personally refined by a Golden Core Dao Master using Core Fire and Divine Sense, possessed a unique ability: it could directly retreat into the cultivator’s Divine Sense and merge with their soul.
For other cultivators, this meant the artifact could never be lost, summoned to their hand with a single thought.
But for Chen Yu, this ability meant something else entirely.
He could fully absorb his Lifebound Artifact into his Divine Sense, then unfold his Divine Sense in Zeyarila, allowing the artifact to freely shuttle between Xu Xuan Heaven and Zeyerra at his will.
Thus, the choice of his Lifebound Artifact was especially critical.
In theory, cultivators could refine multiple artifacts without strict numerical limits.
However, the more artifacts one had, the more the mind became divided. Each additional Lifebound Artifact meant hanging another eternally-nourishing young beast on one’s Divine Sense in terms of daily consumption.
This was why the vast majority of Golden Core cultivators spent their entire lives cultivating only a single artifact.
Having a mixed collection of artifacts was inferior to specializing in one.
But this rule did not fully apply to Chen Yu.
His Divine Sense, amplified layer by layer by various talents, easily covered several hundred li of sea area as soon as his Golden Core was formed. Dividing his attention to refine a second Lifebound Artifact would not be any slower than an ordinary cultivator maintaining a single one.
Moreover, he already had two souls to begin with. In the future, he could let his human form in Xu Xuan Heaven focus exclusively on artifact refinement, without affecting his Slime body’s actions.
Unfortunately, while he could use other people’s artifacts, he could not absorb them into his Divine Sense, and their effects were far inferior to the original owner’s.
Unless he was willing to spend hundreds of years using his Lifebound Core Fire to repeatedly refine them, grinding away the original owner’s traces layer by layer.
That would cost even more mental effort than refining a new Lifebound Artifact, making it not worth the loss.
Otherwise, he would really want to track down those reckless rogue cultivators in the Southern Sea right now, one by one, and seize all their artifacts to enrich his treasury.
“What will my artifact be?”
Chen Yu thought about it. Based on the three great paths he had condensed for his Golden Core, the most orthodox directions for a Lifebound Artifact should be three:
A sword, corresponding to Primordial Beginning Sword Dao. A three-foot azure blade, one sword to break all techniques.
A mountain, corresponding to Profound Yellow Earth Origin Dao. Either a seal or a mountain peak, heavy enough to crush even the void.
Energy, corresponding to Chaos Unity True Method. A wisp of endless, living Chaos True Energy, formless and intangible, yet capable of manifesting all techniques.
But honestly, these choices all seemed too small-minded to him.
That was right. Even a mountain seemed small in Chen Yu’s eyes.
He did not know if it was the influence of his Slime subjects, but he was actually more appreciative of grand creations.
“Speaking of which, can alchemical creations be refined into Lifebound Artifacts?”
Although alchemical creations were not artifacts of Xu Xuan Heaven, in terms of materials and construction, a Floating Fortress’s arcane runes, mana transmission systems, and metal smelting craftsmanship were in no way inferior to any Artifact Refining technique in Xu Xuan Heaven.
Chen Yu immediately thought of the levitating castle still lying in Winterhold.
This castle had not been refined into an artifact by Ancestor Cloud Cliff. As the ancestor had said from the start, it was a gift left for future generations, so there was no need to refine it.
Deep inside the Slime Royal Palace, a Slime minister was hopping over from the end of the corridor, clutching a stack of documents.
It was the duty minister on shift today, responsible for guarding the inner court. Its gel was a light orange color, similar to ripe autumn berries in the royal capital.
It hopped to the foot of the steps below the throne, tilted its head up to look, and blinked its small eyes in confusion.
Whether it was an illusion, it felt like the King had moved slightly.
Then it saw the King, slumped on the throne, twitch and move a little, slowly opening his eyes.
“King, good afternoon.” The Slime minister greeted cheerfully, placed the parchment documents in its hands on the steps, freed up its gel hands, and waved at Chen Yu.
Chen Yu bounced down from the throne, hopped over to it, and touched its gel.
“While I was sleeping, has anything happened in the Empire?”
The Slime minister wobbled its gel, its tone carrying unconcealed pride: “The King’s glorious name has spread across the entire continent! From the northern ice fields to the southern Merchant Alliance, everyone is talking about how Your Majesty drove away the legendary Demon.”
“The Empire is completely peaceful.”
Chen Yu listened, and his small eyes curved in satisfaction.
He ate a solid lunch before hopping out from the main gate of the palace.
Slime Square was at the peak of the midday market.
The vendors on both sides of the street had set up colorful sunshades. The Gray Gravel Crystal streetlights were not lit during the day, but the lampposts were covered with small flags of various colors, stretching from the center of the square all the way to the entrance of Slime Academy.
The streets were bustling with people and Slimes, as lively and prosperous as ever.
Chen Yu watched for a moment, then his entire gel body transformed into a streak of green light, shooting into the sky and heading southwest.
He had flown this route from Slime City to the Fissure countless times. When the light around him gradually shifted from bright and clear to dim, he knew he had entered the land of darkness.
The darkness did not affect his speed. His Divine Sense was far faster than his eyes.
During his flight, he seemed to sense something slowly awakening deep within his gel.
It was like a seed had cracked open its shell at the very depths of his gel, extending tender roots outward.
This was that mysterious fourth Dao.
From the moment he broke through to Golden Core in Xu Xuan Heaven until now, this great Dao had been flickering at the edge of his perception, like it was watching him through a thin layer of mist. Now, it had finally actively sprouted a wisp of Dao Rhyme within his body.
But what puzzled him was that this fourth Dao, aside from making his gel even bouncier and softer, seemed to have no other effect.
What a strange Dao.
He muttered to himself in the high sky.
Never mind. No matter how strange it was, it was still a Dao he had comprehended himself. Whether he could ascend in the future would depend entirely on this path.
As for the three great paths left by Ancestor Cloud Cliff, he would make do with them for now. At least they were still very useful for beating people up.
A bold idea even popped into Chen Yu’s mind.
Since he possessed three great paths simultaneously, he could rely on his single Slime body to gradually transform the entire swamp into a small Xu Xuan Heaven.
Profound Yellow Earth Origin Dao could allow him to reshape the swamp’s terrain and rivers; Chaos Unity True Method could reshape the earth veins, sort out the Spiritual Energy network, and condense Spiritual Veins; Primordial Beginning Sword Dao could use its sword intent to divide domains, where the sword’s reach marked the boundary of Dao techniques.
If the three paths worked together well, perhaps they could truly recreate the cultivation golden age in Zeyerra.
But the thought only circled in his mind once before he guiltily retracted it.
The scene of Ancestor Cloud Cliff being besieged by the gods back then was still fresh in his memory.
Opening a dojo, spreading Dao techniques... anything this predecessor had failed to do would likely draw the gods’ attention immediately if he dared to try.
Chen Yu very wisely chose to keep a low profile.
But small experiments could be done.
He could mark off a small patch of land in Slime Academy, condense a small Spiritual Vein, build a cave paradise, and specialize in teaching Dao techniques.
As he let his mind wander, the darkness of the sky had become even more profound.
His gel body emitted a faint green glow in the darkness, like a jellyfish swimming alone in the deep sea.
The nearest Abyss fissure was just ahead, not far now.
He charged straight in.
Grayish light sprinkled down, enveloping the snowfield.
Cold wind blew down from the mountain ridges, carrying ice crystals and snow dust. It made a rustling sound as it scraped across his gel surface.
A city stood tall amid the blizzard.
Its towers rose high, and warm yellow lamplight seeped from the windows of the city buildings. The light seemed especially warm in the storm, forming a hazy halo around that magnificent castle.
Chen Yu was very excited.
A levitating castle that could only be fully controlled by a Golden Core true cultivator—he wondered how it compared to an ordinary artifact.