SFS Chapter 50: Collecting the Three Immortal Islands
Chapter 50: Collecting the Three Immortal Islands
Standing on the edge of Penglai Immortal Island, beneath one's feet surges and rushes a chaotic, grayish-brown current, roaring and tearing like an ancient ferocious beast, yet it can never cross the invisible boundary surrounding the immortal island.
Behind them, the Taoist charm of the three islands of Penglai, Fangzhang, and Yingzhou intertwined, with rosy clouds and auspicious mist rising and gathering into a supreme and wondrous realm.
Zhen Yuanzi, dressed in flowing black robes, stood with his hands behind his back, looking back at the immortal realm he had completely refined and controlled. His gaze was as deep as an abyss, and he had already made a decision in his heart.
This primordial grotto-heaven, formed from fragments of chaos, contains the mysteries and creations of the beginning of time, and its value is immeasurable.
If we allow it to drift aimlessly in the vast East China Sea like a rootless duckweed, it will not only be a waste of nature's resources, but also a source of disaster.
In this turbulent world, such a blessed land, if not protected by sufficient strength, will inevitably become the focus of covetousness from all sides in the unknowable calamities of the future. At that time, it is no exaggeration to say that the immortal island will be shrouded in dust or even collapse.
An unprecedented, even insane, thought arose deep within his Dao heart, like a star suddenly appearing, instantly illuminating all his thoughts—to take over the entire Three Immortal Islands and store them in the Earth Book!
The Three Immortal Islands were formed from fragments of chaos, and their foundation is so profound that it is almost connected to a part of the origin of the primordial world. Ordinary powerful beings would find it as difficult as ascending to heaven to even shake them, let alone take them away.
Even those who have reached the pinnacle of cultivation, reaching the level of Quasi-Saint, would find it extremely difficult to accomplish without special opportunities and earth-shattering treasures.
Perhaps only a Primordial Saint, who is indestructible through countless eons, holds the Dao in his grasp, and whose words carry the weight of law, could use his supreme power to overturn the universe and shift it.
However, Zhen Yuanzi was no ordinary person!
In the blink of an eye, a clear and feasible method for collection had already taken shape in his deduction.
This method does not rely on brute force, but rather on his absolute understanding and control of this world from the inside out, from its laws to its physical form, to achieve the effect of using minimal force to overcome great strength.
First, he had already thoroughly comprehended and mastered the Innate Three Talents Formation that covered the three islands from within.
This formation was created and nurtured by the three islands, based on the three elements of heaven, earth, and humanity, and secretly conforms to the fundamental laws of the primordial world. It is like the skeleton, veins, and respiratory system of the three immortal islands, and is infinitely profound.
At this moment, the great formation held no secrets for him; he understood every flow of runes and every change in energy.
Controlling it is equivalent to controlling the core hub of the Three Immortal Islands' operation and grasping its "anchor point" that is faintly connected to the primordial void.
Secondly, he completely refined the fundamental treasure of Penglai Island—the Central Wuji Apricot Yellow Banner.
This flag is the source of the essence of the primordial earth, of extremely high quality, with unparalleled defense, impervious to all magic, and is the embodiment and core of the primordial earth foundation of Penglai Island and even the Three Immortal Islands.
Refining it is equivalent to grasping the "root" of the Three Immortal Islands at the level of the laws of the earth, and mastering its most profound source power. At this moment, the apricot-yellow flag gently floats in his dantian, blending with his breath as if it were his own arm.
Finally, and most importantly, he possessed the "Classic of Mountains and Seas," a book written on the ground!
This treasure is the general outline of the primordial earth's veins, bearing the growth and decline of all things, containing boundless space, and can regulate the earth's energy, evolve mountains and rivers, possessing infinite creative power.
Only a wondrous book like the Earth Book, which carries the earth and contains the universe, could possibly contain a grotto-heaven world of the scale of the Three Immortal Islands without damaging its original essence.
The Earth Book is a self-contained world with perfect laws, sufficient to support the three immortal islands formed from fragments of chaos, preventing them from collapsing due to separation from the primordial main body.
The formation serves as the guide, the apricot blossom as the root, and the earth script as the support. These three complement each other and are indispensable!
If any link is missing, forcibly taking it could damage the Immortal Island, cause spatial collapse, or even trigger unpredictable backlash.
Zhen Yuanzi's expression was solemn, his eyes gleaming with suppressed light. He took a deep breath, as if drawing in the remaining chaotic energy around him. His Daoist aura resonated with the remaining spiritual energy of the three islands, adjusting his magical power, divine soul, and Dao realm to an unprecedented peak.
He moved.
First, a slight thought stirred, and divine sense, like an invisible thread, instantly connected with the innate Three Talents Array that had already been imprinted in every inch of the three islands.
The hazy, indistinct light that had enveloped the three islands suddenly became incredibly solid. Golden, silver, and jade-colored divine light soared into the sky, and countless Dao runes manifested and flowed from the depths of the void, weaving together a network of laws that covered the heavens and the earth.
The power of the formation no longer spread outwards, but instead began to contract inwards precisely and steadily, like the ribs of a closed umbrella.
This contraction is not a dissipation of power, but rather a process of gradually stripping and isolating the Three Immortal Islands from the external space and from the invisible "roots" of the primordial void.
Under the power of this formation, the energy of the three immortal islands was forcibly and tightly linked together. As the light flowed, they seemed to transform into an inseparable whole, transitioning from an entity "fixed" at the coordinates of the East Sea to an "independent" grotto-heaven treasure state.
At the same time, his Niwan Palace trembled, triggering the supreme treasure nurtured deep within his sea of consciousness—the Earth Book "Classic of Mountains and Seas".
"Whoosh—" The sound of invisible pages turning rang out, and a dark yellow scroll slowly emerged from above his head. At first, it was only about a foot long, but it quickly grew larger and in the blink of an eye, it covered the sky and the sun. The dark yellow light was gentle and heavy, covering this empty sea area.
The pages moved without wind, and the primordial landscape depicted on them shone brightly, with undulating mountains and flowing rivers, as if they had come alive, exuding a vast aura that encompassed everything and bore all things.
The power of the Earth Book, like an invisible and intangible yet omnipresent giant net, slowly unfolded, enveloping the Three Immortal Islands, which were being severed from their external connections by the formation, in preparation for its final absorption.
The most crucial step lies in establishing a solid foundation! Zhen Yuanzi focused his mind on three things at once, and without hesitation, he fully activated the central Wuji Apricot Yellow Banner in his dantian!
Although he had already refined the apricot-yellow flag, this was the moment when it truly displayed its supreme power as a symbol of "the authority of the earth" and the core of the three islands' earth element.
"Earth returns to its source, all rivers flow into the sea! Harvest!"
Zhen Yuanzi, with the Heavenly Mandate in his mouth, let out a low shout. The sound was not loud, but it was like the tremor of the earth, carrying an indescribable weight and majesty, causing the surrounding laws to resonate.
Within his body, the apricot-yellow flag fluttered loudly, its surface radiating a chaotic light. A boundless and extremely pure essence of the Earth element surged forth like the Yangtze River. This power was not dissipated, but rather, through the primal connection he had established with the Three Immortal Islands by refining the apricot-yellow flag, it instantly traversed the void, precisely communicating with and awakening the deepest core of the earth veins within the three immortal islands!
"Buzz—!"
At that moment, the entire space surrounding the Three Immortal Islands trembled violently!
It was not a destructive tremor like an earthquake or landslide, but a resonant tremor that originated from a deep level, touched the very source.
Every mountain, every river, every immortal herb and spiritual root on the island, and even the pervasive, almost liquefied innate spiritual energy, seemed to be a wandering child hearing its mother's call, generating a strong tendency to converge and gather towards the mysterious yellow light of the Earth Book and the earth-based source of the Apricot Yellow Banner.
The material structure of the fairy island has not collapsed, but its "state" of existence is undergoing a fundamental change.
Under the precise coordination and combined effect of the all-encompassing spatial power of the Earth Book, the earth-origin power of the Apricot Yellow Banner that governs the Earth element, and the supreme power of the Innate Three Talents Array that separates from the outside world and shrinks and fixes, the enormous and majestic Three Immortal Islands, which had stood for countless eons, began to shrink at a speed visible to the naked eye!
This is not a simple spatial compression or illusion, but rather its essence, under the perfect envelopment, guidance and protection of the three forces, is gradually "stripped" from the real and stable primordial main space level, and "sinks" and "integrates" into the independent space contained within the Book of Earth, which is closer to the original laws of the earth.
This process may seem smooth, but it is actually extremely slow. Every transformation of space and every migration of spiritual energy requires a massive amount of magical power and mental energy to guide and control, and no mistakes are allowed.
Zhen Yuanzi's face was as solemn as unyielding ice. His hands formed mysterious hand seals in front of him, and his ten fingers moved swiftly, guiding the trajectory of the Great Dao. He meticulously controlled the output and coordination of the three forces to ensure their perfect balance.
Fine beads of sweat had already seeped from his forehead, and the Daoist energy flowing around him was surging to its extreme, revealing a tremendous amount of energy expenditure.
Time passed silently. I don't know how much time had passed, perhaps several hours, or perhaps an eternity.
There stood three colossal immortal mountains stretching across the East Sea. The rainbow bridge converged within them, and the sea of clouds rolled back to its source, ultimately transforming into three dazzling streams of light amidst the immense power—one serene and transcendent, belonging to Fangzhang; one holy and ethereal, belonging to Yingzhou; and one profound and majestic, belonging to Penglai.
The three streaks of light, like rivers flowing into the sea or weary birds returning to their nests, pierced the brief silence of the void, and finally disappeared into the illusory image of the Earth Book that floated in the air and unfolded endless mysteries!
"boom!"
The Earth Book emitted a deep, satisfied hum, its dark yellow light suddenly receding, and the illusory scroll slowly closed, returning to its ancient scroll form and flying back into Zhen Yuanzi's hand.
Upon holding the scroll, it felt heavy, not in terms of physical weight, but rather in the profound sense of the laws governing a vast and boundless world it contained.
Zhen Yuanzi probed with his divine sense and saw that in the boundless Xuanhuang world inside the Earth Book, a previously blank area now quietly floated three miniature yet spiritually vibrant and Daoist-inspired immortal island patterns. They complemented the other depictions of the primordial continent in the scroll, yet each formed its own pattern, connected by a network of veins, with a ceaseless cycle of spiritual energy.
Successfully received!
After doing all this, even with his profound magical power and solid foundation, Zhen Yuanzi couldn't help but feel mentally exhausted. Seven or eight tenths of his magical power was gone, a huge depletion.
He slowly retrieved the Earth Book into his sea of consciousness to nurture it, feeling the vast and complete cave world that had appeared within it. An unprecedented sense of satisfaction and control welled up within him.
From then on, these three immortal islands became his personal dojo and an important part of the Earth Book world, and he no longer needed to worry about them being robbed while adrift.