"What is this thing? Why is it so hard?" There are two things Xiaoxue doesn’t understand: one is why this Innate Tao Embryo feels so rough to the touch, and second is why its mouth is even harder than its head. "Ants, ants," it keeps repeating. And with each repetition by the Innate Tao Embryo, its form continues to change, transforming from a primitive, rough stone-like body into something more biological. Blood-red muscles throb rhythmically beneath the stone shell, the sound of its massive heartbeat echoing across the plains, as the Innate Tao Embryo’s shape shifts from a primordial statue towards a human form. A massive but proportionally awkward nude figure stood upon the earth. "Put on some clothes!" Xiaoxue regretted not listening to the advice from Li Yueqi, that girl. Today indeed was not a good day to go out. But annoyed as she was, a fight still needed to be had. A phantom image of a Spirit Tree rose behind Xiaoxue, obscuring the night sky. The giant Sarala Tree suppressed the Innate Tao Embryo on the spot, taking root as if wishing to grow together with it. However, where the Sarala Tree and the Innate Tao Embryo touched, blood-like red light gushed forth, illuminating everything around and freeing the Innate Tao Embryo from the phantom’s confinement. It wasn’t the power of the Innate Tao Embryo itself, nor the power of that problematic Jade Spirit Earth Immortal, but rather it linked with the power of Central Continent. The aberrant spiritual qi and the might of heaven and earth scattered across Central Continent seemed to treat the Innate Tao Embryo as a floodgate, continuously pouring into its body. "Ants... ants." Freed from its restrictions, the Innate Tao Embryo looked to the east. In that direction lay a human city, teeming with ’ants’. Realizing her Dharma Aspect was useless, Xiaoxue resorted to grappling with the Innate Tao Embryo, tossing it around to prevent it from escaping eastward. "Where are those Mahayanas at?" Other than being hard, for now, it posed no significant threat to her, yet it was troublesome. She should have learned more useful spells. "The apprentice uncle didn’t lie to me," Monk Mingzhi, head of the Buddhist Sect’s Precepts Hall, marveled as he landed. Given his knowledge of his junior apprentice uncle, he had never trusted the young monk’s words from the start. His willingness to come here stemmed solely from respect for his junior uncle. The junior uncle’s suggestion was enough for him to give the uncle three days to flee, and then he would find him and ask him to return. Unexpectedly, there truly was an issue this time. Watching that towering Sarala Tree, Mingzhi suddenly felt nostalgic. He clasped his hands together, took a step forward, and appeared before the massive Innate Tao Embryo. The Innate Tao Embryo, upon seeing him, swung a punch directly towards Mingzhi. Mingzhi did not dodge; he extended his hand, and a golden lotus blossomed in his palm. The Innate Tao Embryo’s punch was blocked by this golden lotus, and the lotus petals scattered, landing upon the Embryo. A golden light flowed over the surface of the Innate Tao Embryo, seemingly cloaking it in a layer of a Golden Body, temporarily severing its link to Central Continent. Where the golden lotus petals fell, a Buddha Country was formed. Xiaoxue withdrew her Dharma Aspect, approached Mingzhi, and boldly patted him on the shoulder. "Nice job, monk. Visit Medicine King Valley sometime and I’ll treat you to some grass." Mingzhi, despite Xiaoxue’s rudeness, only smiled. "Senior Elder Xue, do you truly not remember me?" Xiaoxue tilted her head, stepped back, and scrutinized the handsome, youthful bald man in front of her, yet she couldn’t recall where she’d seen him before. "You are?" Xiaoxue, who rarely left home, asked uncertainly. "This humble monk, Mingzhi." "Sorry, I truly can’t remember... wait a minute, could it be from that time?" Xiaoxue focused on Mingzhi’s bald head, then suddenly recalled her origins. She was the fortuitously created Twin Tree Sara, originally growing at Golden Light Peak behind the Buddhist Sect, basking daily in the sun. There had been a little monk who watered her day by day... Until one day, Valley Master Qin Lang of Medicine King Valley took her under the pretense of having tea with the Buddhist Sect, secretly transplanting her to Medicine King Valley... The little monk who once watered her shared a resemblance to the young man before her. Seeing that Xiaoxue finally remembered, Mingzhi smiled, "At that time, it was indeed this monk who watered you daily." "I see, haha! So many years and you’ve grown so tall. How have you been since then?" Xiaoxue, feeling awkward, laughed nervously. "Not too bad, just punished by my master to guard the Zen Forest for ten years. After all, I really was negligent that day, believing Valley Master Qin’s story." Mingzhi’s sincerity struck a guilt chord in Xiaoxue’s heart. Yet Xiaoxue felt a bit innocent; after all, she was merely the stolen plant. Amid this awkwardness, the Old Ascenders arrived leisurely. Lu Yuzhou, the Sect Leader of Celestial Sect, descended from the sky, nodded at Mingzhi, "Mingzhi has grown so much? Is your current mission to help your master catch your uncle?" "Not seen for millennium, Sect Leader Lu, you remain ever so impressive. Monk’s presence here is merely coincidental, no need for Sect Leader Lu to worry." Her age was a sore spot; this Monk Mingzhi, just like his master, knew how to grate on nerves with speech. Lu Yuzhou dismissed the idea of chatting further with Monk Mingzhi and turned to look at the Innate Tao Embryo, already subdued by Mingzhi and Xiaoxue, raising her hand in a star-plucking gesture. At that moment, the night sky above rippled like water, as if a curtain had been lifted, shrouding the Innate Tao Embryo in a false starlight. The true night sky revealed itself. The connection between the Innate Tao Embryo and the Central Continent was completely severed, calming it from its berserk state back into a statue. Since Xiaoxue was treated like grass from the start, Lu Yuzhou had been weaving this array with the help of Chen Qianhu and his wife. Neither Xiaoxue nor Mingzhi noticed anything. Lu Yuzhou covered her actions, looked around, and found no one paying attention to her. Xiaoxue started to doze off again, Mingzhi stood there politely without a word, and Chen Qianhu and his wife were softly debating how to reprimand Zhang Ze back home. This time, it had to be more severe. The somewhat awkward Celestial Sect Leader cleared his throat and said coldly, "It’s not over yet. What do you plan to do with this Innate Tao Embryo?" Xiaoxue expressed her lack of knowledge, Monk Mingzhi said he was just passing by, and Chen Qianhu gave Lu Yuzhou a puzzled look. His face seemed to say, "Isn’t this supposed to be part of your Celestial Sect’s responsibility?" Seeing this group intent on going their own ways, Lu Yuzhou felt a bit weary and said after recollecting herself, "During the Primordial era, the Great Mother Goddess was also known as the Mother of Yin and Yang. Her body intrinsically held worlds and perpetually remained in a cycle of balance. "Now that this cycle is broken, the Star Disc’s artifact spirit is left only half intact, and the Wooden Fish Taoist and the cultivator’s yin-side divine souls are insufficient to uphold this balance. "If your Zhang Ze were still inside, the balance could have been maintained, but since he left, it chose the power of the Central Continent to restore balance. "If left unchecked, my array can only treat the symptoms, not the cause." After speaking, Lu Yuzhou looked at Chen Qianhu and his wife, implying that the Sword Sect cannot escape this matter as well. "Throw Zhang Ze into the array center!" Mo Jingchun promptly suggested. Lu Yuzhou, "No need. Just bring out the Star Disc and the yin-side divine souls of those Wooden Fish Sect cultivators, and redirect the power absorbed from the Central Continent." "Once the Innate Tao Embryo returns to nothingness, the balance will naturally be achieved again." "Can’t we go in?" Chen Qianhu asked. "If we go in, my array likely won’t hold, and the balance of the Central Continent might be disrupted." Lu Yuzhou shook her head. "At most, only two people can enter, and it’s best that one of them is Zhang Ze; after all, his Golden Core is still inside, we can’t just leave it behind." "Forget it, let’s call Zhang Ze over first." Chen Qianhu nodded in agreement. Lu Yuzhou felt a sigh of relief inside. Finally, she wrapped up this matter for this pickle. Now it was time to see Lu Ning at her finest. Before long, Old Tang arrived on the Wind Traveling Ship, humming a tune and bringing Zhang Ze and Chen Qin along, followed by a group of Celestial Sect disciples assigned to manage atmosphere and lighting. As Zhang Ze landed, he hid behind Old Tang, who then naturally slid backward, positioning himself behind Zhang Ze. "Come." Chen Qianhu looked at Zhang Ze with a blank expression, gesturing for him to approach. "We’ll discuss my daughter’s matter later. Let’s clean up this mess first." The Sect Leader pointed at the mountain-like Innate Tao Embryo beside him. Zhang Ze did not stir up any trouble, granting Old Ascender significant face. He earnestly cupped his hands and said, "Disciple obeys." Now, with one candidate to return to the Tao Embryo confirmed, the question remained of who would accompany Zhang Ze. Technically, this person was not strictly necessary, but thanks to Lu Yuzhou’s deliberate maneuver, it became an essential choice. The Junior Sister waved her hand, indicating her desire to go, but was promptly subdued by her mother. The Junior Sister was out. Among those left were Old Tang and the Celestial Sect members. Old Tang enthusiastically slapped his chest, ready to oblige and accompany Zhang Ze for another round, being a Yin Yang Technique expert himself. But just as he was about to speak, he felt something amiss and immediately pulled out "Observing" to calculate. The calculations suggested that if he proceeded, he would be on someone’s mind. Yet, gripping his goatee, Old Tang took a step back, returning to his original spot, as Lu Yuzhou withdrew her gaze. Seeing this, the tactful Senior Brother Xie from the Celestial Sect intended to earn merit through service. However, a sudden chill surged within him, halting his progress. That chill seemed to whisper, that if he overstepped, his lifetime wages would vanish. Under such human-imposed irresistible force, the only one left to accompany Zhang Ze was a single person. "I’ll go." Lu Ning naturally stepped forward, as cool as she had ever been before. "Very well, Lu Ning is my direct disciple and is knowledgeable about the Innate Tao Embryo. Inside, celestial sect spells will certainly be needed." Lu Yuzhou praised her disciple naturally. Zhang Ze glanced at Lu Ning without any suspicion. Although this was their first meeting, he had a rather good impression of her. Good in the sense that she seemed quite normal and aligned with his stereotypical view of traditional, classical cultivators. Besides being prone to cold and stuttering when it was cold, she seemed to have no other flaws. "Your assistance is appreciated, Senior Sister Lu," Zhang Ze said to Lu. "No problem. This is our celestial sect’s duty." Lu Ning nodded politely to Zhang Ze, then looked away from him. Now was the time to endure, not to spoil things at the last moment. Seeing both of them prepared, Monk Mingzhi lightly supported a Golden Lotus, opening a gap in the golden light covering the Innate Tao Embryo’s body. Lu Yuzhou cast a spell, sending Zhang Ze and Lu Ning inside. After entering the Innate Tao Embryo, Lu Ning looked at Zhang Ze’s back and swallowed. ᴛʜɪs ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ɪs ᴜᴘᴅᴀᴛᴇ ʙʏ 𝘯𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭·𝓯𝓲𝓻𝓮·𝙣𝙚𝙩