Above the Great Dao

The person who had arrived was indeed the Purple Heaven Immortal Monarch. He sensed something had gone awry with the Purple Heaven Vine and hurried over, wielding his Divine Sword to slay the treasure-thieving thief.

Unexpectedly, that thief used his hand to open the Immortal Gourd, releasing the Tribulation Immortal Fire accumulated over three Opening Tribulations, nearly destroying his Dao Realm.

In the previous three Opening Tribulations, the Purple Heaven Immortal Monarch relied on the Purple Heaven Vine to get through, with the tribulation's effects absorbed by it. The Purple Heaven Vine, after absorbing the tribulation, could neither refine it nor store it, ultimately keeping it within this gourd after blooming and bearing fruit.

This Tribulation Immortal Fire is extraordinary, capable of ruining the foundational path of an Immortal Family. Even the Purple Heaven Immortal Monarch cannot extinguish the Immortal Fire, merely suppress its flames.

"The release of the Tribulation Immortal Fire, burning the Purple Heaven, is also in line with the tribulation's decree. I will just open another realm, though reviving the glory of Purple Heaven might take countless efforts."

Just as the Purple Heaven Immortal Monarch thought this, suddenly there was a loud blast, and something exploded in the Immortal Fire below, instantly unleashing countless ghosts from the fire, fleeing in all directions.

These souls, numbering in millions, plus the burnt Ant Men, Rat Men, and Bee Men, totaled tens of millions. They had just fled the Purple Heaven and immediately entered the cycle of reincarnation in nature, drawn to various underworlds.

"My Reincarnation Jade Plate!"

The Purple Heaven Immortal Monarch groaned with great pain, "The Reincarnation Divine Artifact I painstakingly acquired from Ling Mountain was also burnt!"

That Reincarnation Jade Plate was the foundation for maintaining the operation of Purple Heaven's underworld. Within Purple Heaven, eighty million souls were imprisoned, depending on this Magical Treasure for rebirth, reincarnation, and the cycle. The underworld only assessed each soul's 'merit' during this process—merit being the level of contribution to Purple Heaven.

With the Reincarnation Jade Plate, rebuilding another Purple Heaven would not be an issue.

Without the Reincarnation Jade Plate, even building another Purple Heaven loses the means of livelihood—he couldn't oversee so many souls laboring for him, planting Immortal Elixirs, gathering Immortal Honey, and crafting Immortal Pills.

His high status, crowned as an Immortal Monarch, was not due to cultivation but rather because Purple Heaven produced various Immortal Elixirs. The Purple Heaven Immortal Monarch was adept in Alchemy, forming good relations with others through Immortal Pills. Therefore, he was crowned as an Immortal Monarch with just the cultivation of a Golden Immortal.

Without the Purple Heaven Vine and Immortal Gourd, and with the Reincarnation Jade Plate burnt, his foundation was lost.

"The Opening Tribulation approaches; there must still be a way!"

His gaze flickered, thoughts swirling, "I can only completely rely on other powerful beings to survive the Opening Tribulation. Though of lower status, at least I'd stay alive... By the Lady, who in the world set this trap for me?"

In the Houde Palace, Lady Houtu held up the Purple Heaven Gourd, opened its mouth, and smilingly said, "Your Majesty, please take a look."

This gourd was originally immense, but it appeared only a foot tall in her hand.

Chen Shi leaned closer, peering into the gourd and seeing a golden yellow gleam—it was gourd seeds.

However, although large, the gourd held only three seeds.

"So few?"

Chen Shi was somewhat surprised; the gourd was so large, yet it contained only three seeds.

"It is difficult for the Purple Heaven Vine to bloom and bear fruit. If there were many seeds, the Earth Immortal Realm would be full of them by now. Had the Purple Heaven Vine not known its end was near, it would not have bloomed. To it, having three seeds is already much."

Lady Houtu poured a gourd seed into his hand with a smile, saying, "It produced three seeds, hoping that one will grow into a Purple Heaven Vine. If another seed manages to grow, it would be a bonus."

The seed of the Purple Heaven Immortal Gourd felt heavy in his hand, yet it harbored immense vitality. Just holding it made Chen Shi sense his own body quietly flourishing.

Lady Houtu instructed, "The runes inscribed on this treasure are most miraculous, created by absorbing tribulation and Immortal Energy, forming a spiritual seed. Bury it with Wu Qi in the soil, exposing none of it, then water it with Dao Spring water and wait a few days for Wu Qi to be reborn. By the way, set up a trellis nearby for it to climb."

"To climb?"

Chen Shi was puzzled; climbing vines were only needed for certain plants. For example, the melons planted by old Mrs. Wu Zhu required space on mounds for their vines, and the bean vines grown by Grandma Yu Zhu needed trellises to climb on for better growth.

Even planting Wu Qi required climbing?

Thinking about Wu Qi emerging from the soil and coiling as it grew, Chen Shi felt a slight chill.

Lady Houtu then took out another gourd seed, handed him the gourd, and said, "I'll keep one seed; hold on to this other seed. It might come in handy in the future. The Purple Heaven Vine is incredibly precious; to use it to support a Dao Realm, as the Purple Heaven Immortal Monarch did, is truly a waste."

Chen Shi asked for guidance, "Godmother, how should the Purple Heaven Vine be used so as not to waste it?"

Lady Houtu smiled and explained, "The Purple Heaven Vine is a rare spiritual seed, adept at seeking nature's spiritual energy, gathering it, and refining it into Taiqing Qi. The Purple Heaven Immortal Monarch planted this in his Dao Realm to support it. How could it then seek nature's spiritual energy? Even if a little Taiqing Qi was refined, it was too scant for anything significant."

Chen Shi was moved, recalling what he saw in the Purple Heaven Immortal Monarch's Dao Realm, where the sun circled the Purple Heaven Vine, absorbing thin strands of purple qi from it. Could it be that this purple qi was the Taiqing Qi?

He asked Lady Houtu, and she smiled, "That is indeed the vein of purple qi. 'Purple qi from the east' has always been used to describe the Supreme Saint of Taiqing. The Purple Heaven Immortal Monarch feared exposing the Purple Heaven Vine, lest it be seized, so he planted it in his Dao Realm, but this also restricted the Purple Heaven Vine. The Taiqing Purple Qi it collected was very limited, insufficient to help him break through his realm; otherwise, he would have long since achieved Taiyi Golden Immortal."