Above the Great Dao

He thought hard and suddenly had an idea.

"Yellow earth is soil in front of the temple, I also have a small temple, and there's soil in front of it too!"

In front of the small temple behind his head, many Spiritual Medicines were planted in what was originally a fertile place, also nourished by the sunlight from the Ancestral Land, and the Spiritual Medicines grew exuberantly, plump and full of medicinal properties.

Chen Shi immediately began the ritual to move this ever-enlarging piece of land and the ever-growing Purple Heaven Vine to the small temple.

After a while, he finally planted the Purple Heaven Vine in front of his small temple, finally breathing a sigh of relief.

The small temple he planted was the second small temple, but he was afraid the Purple Heaven Vine would affect the growth of other Spiritual Medicines, as this thing grows too astonishingly fast, and he worried it would draw away the soil's fertility.

However, just as the Purple Heaven Vine and the yellow earth were planted, Chen Shi saw several Spirit Grass Dolls peeking over curiously.

Chen Shi paid it no mind; ever since Scholar Zhu and Little Dun Fairy and others left, the temple behind his head had been left empty, relying entirely on the Spirit Grass Dolls for cleaning and management.

The Spirit Grass Dolls were very diligent, offering incense to the Immortal Magical Treasure enshrined in the temple and cleaning the floor. Of course, more often, they lazily basked in the sun.

"The Spiritual Energy of Qianyang Mountain is so abundant, it's suitable for cultivating the Purple Heaven Vine here. I wonder how long it will take for the Purple Heaven Vine to refine Taiqing Purple Qi?"

At this moment, he noticed the Spirit Grass Dolls sneakily moving to the side of the Purple Heaven Vine, climbing onto its branches and leaves. Soon, these big-headed dolls laid in the leaves, lazy as can be, seeming very comfortable.

Not long after, other Spiritual Medicines pulled themselves up by the roots, came to rest outside the second temple, rooted themselves by the Purple Heaven Vine, or transformed and climbed onto the vine's leaves to lie down.

After all, the Purple Heaven Vine had just sprouted, and there weren't enough leaves, thus the Spirit Grass Dolls started fighting vigorously, fists and feet flying, all to claim the ownership of the leaves.

Some Spirit Grass Dolls were defeated, and beaten black and blue, falling with a thud from leaves twenty feet high, lying flat on the ground.

Chen Shi worried someone would get killed and intended to intervene, but saw the girl-shaped Spirit Grass quick to climb back up, dust off the soil, and climb back onto the vine to resume fighting with great ferocity.

Only then did he feel assured.

"The Purple Heaven Immortal Monarch planted many Immortal Grass and Immortal Medicine on the branches and leaves of the Purple Heaven Vine; presumably, the Purple Heaven Vine could enable the Spiritual Medicines to grow better and faster! Since these Spirit Grass love the Purple Heaven Vine so much, let them be."

In these days, with the formation of the Goddess Temple, the small temple behind Chen Shi's head also expanded, now having nine temples, one in front, three in the middle, five at the back, arranged thus.

Chen Shi planted the Purple Heaven Vine in the middle temple, viewed from a distance, looking like a small tree in front of a temple, not attracting attention.

Moreover, he could always take the small temple into the back of his head, and when he needed the temple, he could perform the ritual to release it.

It's just that the Purple Heaven Vine needs to absorb the Spiritual Energy of Heaven and Earth, and if the small temple is absorbed into his head, he feels a cool breeze at the back of his head, quite strange; thus, Chen Shi keeps the small temple outside.

"How could Qianyang Mountain have such rich Spiritual Energy of Heaven and Earth?"

Chen Shi grew curious, flying into Qianyang Mountain, using the Purple Heaven Vine's sensitivity to Spiritual Energy to search for the source of Heaven and Earth Yuan Qi.

In Qianyang Mountain, the Purple Heaven Vine absorbed more Spiritual Energy of Heaven and Earth, its vines growing at an astonishing pace, and in the time Chen Shi took searching, it had grown over thirty feet long, resembling a Jiao Long entwining in the air with the grace of a swimming dragon.

Chen Shi searched the mountain for a long time, finally locating the most concentrated spot of Spiritual Energy of Heaven and Earth, at a cliff on the southwest side of Qianyang Mountain, where the concentration was several times higher than on the edges.

He sat cross-legged on the cliff, took out the Purple Heaven Immortal Gourd, performed the ritual to raise this treasure, carefully studying the various Dao Pattern engraved on its surface.

After a long time, he linked his Heart Spirit with the Purple Heaven Vine, imprinting the Great Dao Texture he learned from the Purple Heaven Immortal Gourd onto the Purple Heaven Vine, attempting to refine the Purple Heaven Vine into a weapon.

The Purple Heaven Vine is an Exotic Treasure, and since it is an Exotic Treasure, it can naturally be used for Sacrificial Refinement.

Chen Shi had always lacked a suitable weapon, so he sought to perform rituals on this treasure. At present, while the Purple Heaven Vine was still small, refining it was much easier; once it grew into a towering giant, the refinement would require unimaginable amounts of Mana and Spirit.

He summoned his Primordial Spirit, his hands divided into Yin Yang, imprinting one Dao Pattern after another onto the Purple Heaven Vine, synchronously etching his Qi-Blood into the Vine along with the Dao Pattern.

Gradually, the Purple Heaven Vine and he developed a Qi-Blood connection, as though it became part of Chen Shi's body, breathing with his every breath, expanding with his every stretch.

Chen Shi was quite delighted and continued his Sacrificial Refinement.

However, as the ritual deepened, he sensed the consumption of Mana becoming progressively greater, and the depletion of Qi-Blood growing more severe, gradually giving him a feeling of Qi-Blood deficiency.

This was a sensation he never experienced even when refining Immortal Soldiers!

Even the Blood Transformation Divine Saber did not consume Qi-Blood to such an outrageous extent. In fact, the Blood Transformation Divine Saber even actively replenished Qi-Blood, albeit with malicious intentions.

"How can it consume so much?"

Chen Shi looked towards the Purple Heaven Vine, only to see that during this period, the Exotic Treasure had grown several tens of feet high, climbing into the sky, utterly astonishing. No wonder the Qi-Blood depletion was increasing!

"If this continues for some more days, I fear I won't be able to refine this treasure! Skull Body, lend me a hand!"

Chen Shi gritted his teeth, activating the Blood Lake Scripture, and on the distant battlefield in Zhenzhou, Skull Chen Shi slew a Ghost God, the Ghost God's Qi-Blood pouring into the blade, which, after being refined by the Blood Transformation Divine Saber, flowed into the Blood Sea Hell behind his head.

Chen Shi and Skull Body's Blood Sea Hell seemed connected, with a continuous stream of Qi-Blood from the Skull Body's brain after Zhenzhou entering the back of Chen Shi's head.

Although the Qi-Blood deficiency was now resolved, his cultivation was still continually depleting.

Chen Shi continued his Sacrificial Refinement, imprinting more Dao Patterns into the Purple Heaven Vine, gaining increasing mastery over it.

In this short period, the Purple Heaven Vine had grown to a height of a hundred feet, its large leaves akin to blankets, and the Spirit Grass Dolls on the leaves no longer dared to fight—falling from such a height could be catastrophic.

Now that the Purple Heaven Vine has produced many more leaves, there's no need for them to fight over them anymore.

Just as Chen Shi's Mana was nearing exhaustion, he finally ceased his Sacrificial Refinement.

He opened his eyes, immediately noticing a strand of Purple Qi dangling from the Purple Heaven Vine.

This Purple Qi seemed substantial, swaying down with significant weight, enticing him to approach and absorb the Purple Qi's power.

This Qi is known as Taiqing Purple Qi; the Taiqing Saint, revered as Laozi, whose power Chen Shi greatly admired, having once studied his works under Scholar Zhu.

Scholar Zhu had spoken about the Taiqing Saint, saying that the Han Valley Pass, the Ancestral Court, was a gateway to other worlds, guarded by Yin Xi, whose cultivation was incredibly strong, vigilantly preventing any illegal crossing. Seeing the Purple Qi approaching from the east over a span of ten thousand miles, Yin Xi knew he could not block the Saint's passage, so he lowered his stature, welcoming Laozi respectfully.

Laozi, knowing he was invincible within this realm, deemed remaining here uninteresting. Thus, he imparted his understanding to Yin Xi at the Han Valley Pass, resulting in the Tao of Virtue (Deting) and Daoist Scripture (Daoting).

Chen Shi learned the Analects first, then followed by studying the Tao of Virtue, practicing them, leading to his achievements today.

Though he knew now that Scholar Zhu taught him wrong, he had no intention of correcting it.

Chen Shi looked at the strand of Taiqing Purple Qi, making no attempt to absorb or refine it.

He had promised the Lady to grant Liu Daoist three strands of Taiqing Purple Qi, thus naturally, he would keep his word, and wouldn't go back on it.

"Now, I can consider my current sacrificial refinement to be somewhat successful; the Purple Heaven Vine is somewhat my Magical Treasure, not so easily taken away by others. Yet, if someone of far superior cultivation and strength were to appear, they could still seize it."

Chen Shi straightened his back, pausing slightly, realizing his cultivation had unknowingly advanced considerably.

He hadn't absorbed the Taiqing Purple Qi, but because he refined the Purple Heaven Vine into a Magical Treasure, and as the Purple Heaven Vine breathed in and out, he gained substantial benefits as well!

"This treasure truly is remarkable! No wonder the foster mother said the Purple Heaven Immortal Monarch squandered it."

Chen Shi left the cliff, only to return and carve the words "Measuring Heaven" on it, then turned and went back to Xinxiang Imperial City.

"Brother, Person, Person!"

Can'er ran over hastily when she saw him return, pulling his hand and rushing towards the Imperial Garden.

Arriving at the Imperial Garden, Chen Shi stood before another Purple Heaven Vine, silently observing the scene before him.

On the tree, another Wu Qi had grown, identical to the previous Wu Qi!

Chen Shi collected his thoughts, then turned to leave: "I'm going to talk with the foster mother!"