Once these dozens of innate metal-element spirits successfully reincarnated and assumed human form, their starting point would be at least a Heaven Tier Dao foundation, and the strongest among them were guaranteed to attain immortal foundations.
Having replenished the power of fire and filled the void of metal, the origin power of both metal and fire began to spread, and the entire world began to change.
In the depths of the ocean, countless tiny creatures began to be born, while existing life multiplied at a greater pace. Before long, their newborn offspring would grow stronger and more intelligent.
The central landmass resumed its expansion, and the soil surrounding the cities turned richer and more fertile. Furthermore, in remote stretches along the coastline, several spirit lands naturally rich in metal- or fire-element power emerged. Establishing spirit fields in these lands would yield abundant high-grade water- or earth-element spirit medicines, plugging the deficit of spirit medicines in the Splendor of the Many Realms.
Now that the Splendor of the Many Realms finally possessed all five elements, it had no obvious shortcomings left. Subtle changes began unfolding across every corner of the realm-heaven as its fundamental essence rose steadily, and the speed at which it absorbed the origin energy of heaven and earth gradually accelerated.
The foundations of the various spirit mansions grew sturdier, and their links to the corresponding authorities of heaven and earth became increasingly distinct. Once this stage of transformation was complete, Wei Yuan would be exceptionally close to the late stage of Scenery Command.
For any other cultivator, reaching this point would have long placed them in the late stage; they would merely need to take one more step forward to attain perfection, leaving only preparations for the tribulation of ascending to immortality.
Yet Wei Yuan could not. The Splendor of the Many Realms was simply too vast. Its seven great grotto-heavens had long reached the standard of immortal-grade grotto-heavens; they were merely held back by Wei Yuan, unable to elevate their status further.
Now that Wei Yuan had swallowed five immortal-grade grotto-heavens from the Wise King of the Left, the harvested materials and spiritual qi were secondary; what mattered most was completing the five elements and elevating the fundamental essence of the Splendor of the Many Realms.
Only after this elevation, however, did the true problem begin to surface. As the Splendor of the Many Realms began drawing in the origin energy of heaven and earth to slowly raise its essence, it entered the crucial stage of turning from ethereal to corporeal.
A few days later, after obtaining the preliminary data, Wei Yuan saw the time required to complete this step: 127,769 years. Even ten Wei Yuans combined did not possess such a lifespan.
Wei Yuan felt a wave of dizziness wash over him at the sight of that number. Previously, he had only known that ascending to immortality would require a vast amount of accumulation, but he had lacked any concrete sense of just how much. Now he had one.
Fortunately, this was not the first time Wei Yuan had taken such a blow. He calmed himself first and combed through the data in detail, only to find nothing amiss. The time required far exceeded expectations mainly due to two factors. The first was that the realm-heaven was simply too colossal.
For a world of mental imagery to turn from ethereal into corporeal and be hoisted up to the immortal heaven required nourishment and resources; not a single inch of space could appear out of nothing. That was why when an immortal fell, the mere return of their immortal body to heaven and earth would yield thousands of li of precious land. All that precious land manifested from past accumulation.
The expanse of the Splendor of the Many Realms was rare across the world, more than ten times greater than that of the likes of Liumiao or Lu Changhe. The resources required to ascend to immortality naturally increased proportionally.
Luckily, Wei Yuan had encountered this very same issue during the dharma idol and Scenery Command realms. Having somewhat anticipated it this time, he was not too disheartened.
The second reason, however, left Wei Yuan somewhat speechless.
The status of Wei Yuan's various grotto-heavens was effectively immortal-grade, and at least half were far beyond ordinary immortal grade. The status of the Ancient Full Moon, the Evil Sun Heavenly Pillar, and the Central Spirit Mansion was absurdly high, and the remaining Pure Land, Yellow Springs, and immortal sword were hardly any lower.
The Azure-Patterned Cerulean Dragon was somewhat peculiar. At present, its status did not seem excessively outrageous, but Wei Yuan's spiritual perception was terrifyingly keen; his innate Diting divine ability constantly warned him that this creature would likely transform into something formidable in the future. Just looking at the two Great Dao authorities corresponding to it—Time and Perpetuity—made Wei Yuan shudder inwardly.
Status did not come without a price; the higher the status, the more resources it demanded. If nothing else, considering the Ancient Full Moon alone, it was equivalent to Wei Yuan having to elevate a genius ancient cultivator powerhouse all the way to the immortal heaven.
Only now did Wei Yuan realize how young and ignorant he had been in the past, ignorant and fearless, forging seven great grotto-heavens in a single breath and even feeling that it wasn't enough back then. Only now did he taste the misery: with such a massive black hole, he had no idea how he could ever fill it.
Gazing at the resources he required, Wei Yuan could only heave a sigh. Accumulating them on his own was impossible; only one path remained before him:
Relying on the accumulation of others.
Just then, a cloying, sweet call rang by Wei Yuan's ear.
The call came from Hongmo. Wei Yuan had sealed this dharma god at the bottom of the black pool in the Yellow Springs. Using the water's nature of severing yin from yang, he had cut off all her connection to the outside of the realm-heaven. The Yellow Springs was filled only with wandering spirits who feared none of her conversion divine abilities; thus suppressed here, the vast majority of her powers were rendered useless.
With a shift of thought, Wei Yuan appeared at the bottom of the black pool.
Deep beneath the water, jagged rocks jutted out. Sprawled across the rocks lay a snow-white body, its supple curves undulating, while a mane of crimson hair drifted with the ripples.
Wei Yuan stopped before her, his gaze resting directly upon her body without the slightest hesitation. "Are you inviting me here to inspect your clothes?"
"A mortal coil is like clothing, ready to be changed into different styles at any moment. The realm lord truly possesses great wisdom." Hongmo shifted her posture, her soft, voluptuous curves instantly turning slender and tight, yet the critical curves only grew more pronounced rather than diminishing, like heavy fruit hanging from a slender bough, weighed down almost to the breaking point.
Wei Yuan looked at her calmly—neither admiring nor coveting, merely regarding an ordinary object.
Hongmo sensed that something was amiss. Her expression shifted into one of sacred chilliness, and tilting her head up slightly, she looked down upon Wei Yuan from above and asked, "What else is the realm lord dissatisfied with?"
Wei Yuan said indifferently, "I've always eaten quite well."
This seemingly random remark took Hongmo a moment of thought to grasp. Then her expression shifted once more, going from frigid aloofness to sweet, doe-eyed naivety. This time, her features remained unchanged—only her expression did—instantly making this breathtaking woman appear so easily duped that if one didn't take advantage of her, someone else surely would.
Frowning slightly as if trying hard to ponder, she said, "I don't understand."
Wei Yuan gave a faint smile. "My alchemy is quite good. If I hadn't taken over Qingming, I might have become the temple master of the Abbey of Creation."
"..."
"Would you have the heart to?"
Wei Yuan smiled and said, "You should be asking whether I'd have the heart to spare you from the cauldron."
Hongmo sighed softly. "I... I really can't handle the twisted, roundabout ways of you humans. Stop bullying me and just tell me what you want, all right? I am an innate dharma god. I'm not very clever, but I don't want to die."
These words indeed struck a chord with Wei Yuan. After a moment of contemplation, he said, "Fine. Let me ask you: what ability do you possess whose value surpasses a cauldron of divine pills?"
Hongmo said, "Then I am definitely far better than your so-called divine pills! Well, during this grand battle, although I couldn't see very clearly, I felt that your realm-heaven still has room to spare and can accommodate another grotto-heaven! I am willing to sacrifice and refine my dharma body into a grotto-heaven, and then become its grotto-heaven true spirit!"
Wei Yuan sneered. "Every single one of my grotto-heavens is unique, with status reaching beyond measure. And someone like you wants to become a grotto-heaven? You don't qualify."
Hongmo did not back down in the slightest. "First, while the realm-heaven still has space left, calculating the orbit for a grotto-heaven is already unimaginably difficult. But I am different. I possess an innate divine ability that allows me to erect my own orbit, imposing only half the burden of an ordinary grotto-heaven on the realm-heaven."
Wei Yuan still shook his head. In truth, bearing only half the burden was a tremendous advantage; that small difference might just be what allowed for an extra grotto-heaven in the future. However, calculating the orbit was already far beyond Wei Yuan's ability. Whether it was seven and a half or eight and a half, Wei Yuan couldn't calculate it either way.
Unexpectedly, Hongmo added, "My innate divine ability allows me to establish my own orbit. It requires no calculation from the realm lord."
The corners of Wei Yuan's mouth nearly curled upward.
Even so, he felt he should put up some resistance, and he frowned. "However, the essence of the grotto-heaven—"
Hongmo said, "I am an innate dharma god. If I become a grotto-heaven true spirit, it will naturally align with several fundamental authorities of the Dharma God Domain! In terms of status, the Dharma God Domain is certainly no lower than this Yellow Springs."
Contrary to Hongmo's expectations, Wei Yuan showed no sign of joy; instead, his expression turned grave.
Moments later, Wei Yuan returned to the immortal city. Landing on the ground, he let out a heavy sigh. "Just let it all be destroyed... Sigh, I'm exhausted..."
Yet being an optimist by nature, when he looked at it from another angle, there wasn't much difference between 120,000 years and 150,000 years anyway—neither was an amount of time Wei Yuan would ever live to see. Thinking of it this way, his predicament didn't seem so dire after all.
Just as he stepped into his residence, the Sixth Princess emerged from her room, caressing her only slightly swollen belly, and said, "Elder Sisters mentioned that my husband would refine a divine pill today to help nourish the pregnancy. Look, the little ones are already growing impatient."
Chapter 1290