12dz Chapter 1 Black Tiger Listens to the Dao
Chapter 1 Black Tiger Listens to the Dao
West Kunlun, surrounded by mountains that seem to bow in reverence, with a sea of clouds hanging down.
As one of the few blessed lands in the primordial world, this place is filled with spiritual energy and auspicious clouds, and has nurtured countless innate deities and rare treasures.
On the western slope of Kunlun Mountain, beside an ancient stream on a secluded peak, a strange tiger, its body as black as ink and with a pale gold "king" character pattern on its forehead, lies quietly beneath an ancient pine tree that has stood for countless ages.
With each breath he took, the surrounding spiritual energy transformed into visible white mist that flowed into his mouth and nose.
As he exhaled and exhaled spiritual energy, black winds swirled and coiled around him, and faintly, the phantoms of majestic mountains rose and fell behind him, truly a divine and extraordinary sight.
However, this seemingly extraordinary black tiger's soul is not that of a being from this world.
His name is Xuan Yao. He was originally a wisp of soul from a later era. By chance, he was transported to this perilous prehistoric world, where he has lived for hundreds of thousands of years.
When he first arrived in the primordial world, he was just an ordinary black tiger that had just awakened its intelligence.
Let alone being able to summon wind and rain, even a powerful prehistoric demon that randomly runs out of the mountains could devour him as food.
Fortunately, he was not destined to die. While being chased by a powerful demon, he mistakenly entered a forbidden area on the outskirts of Xikunlun.
Just then, a patrolling maid from the Yaochi lineage happened to pass by. Seeing that although he belonged to the category of birds and beasts, he possessed a different kind of bloodline, and his eyes were clear, as if he could understand some of the profound Taoist sounds, she took pity on him and brought him back to the outer mountain of the Yaochi lineage to raise him.
The primordial era is immeasurable; hundreds of thousands of years are but a fleeting moment.
Taking advantage of the abundant spiritual energy of the top-tier blessed land of Xikunlun, Xuan Yao desperately absorbed the essence of heaven and earth, and has now cultivated to the early stage of True Immortal.
According to the cultivation system of the prehistoric world, the path to immortality is divided into Earth Immortal, Heavenly Immortal, True Immortal, Mysterious Immortal, Golden Immortal, Taiyi Golden Immortal, and Daluo Golden Immortal, from low to high.
In this primordial world where powerful beings are everywhere and Golden Immortals are as insignificant as dogs, the mere early-stage True Immortal is nothing.
As his cultivation improved and his spiritual intelligence became fully realized, he became increasingly clear about his current situation.
In the primordial world, what matters is one's origins and destiny.
The Dragon, Phoenix, and Qilin clans are the top clans in the world. Although the Tiger clan is also considered powerful, it is still no match for those true innate deities.
Moreover, his Black Tiger lineage is inherently inclined towards ferocity and killing, making it extremely easy for them to incur the karmic hindrances of heaven and earth.
Without a powerful backer, a demon cultivator like him with no background would undoubtedly face only two fates in the future.
They are either forcibly converted and turned into mounts to be driven by others.
Either they will be reduced to ashes and their bodies and souls will perish in the great calamity that will sweep across the heavens and earth in the future.
He knew very well that the Western Kunlun Mountain beneath his feet, and the Queen Mother of the West who ruled over Yaochi, were his true path to survival in this primordial world.
On this day, auspicious clouds descended from the sky, golden lotuses sprouted from the earth, and ethereal and profound Daoist sounds rippled from the depths of the Jade Pool.
It was the Queen Mother of the West, the supreme innate deity of the primordial world and the ruler of Xikunlun, who expounded the Great Dao in the Jade Pool.
The Queen Mother of the West was compassionate and did not close the temple when she preached. Female immortals from the various branches of the Western Kunlun Mountains, as well as the spiritual birds and beasts in the mountains, were all qualified to listen to the Daoist teachings from the outside.
Xuan Yao was currently lying on the white jade steps outside Yaochi, his eyes slightly closed, his mind completely immersed in the profound and mysterious Daoist sounds.
As the Daoist chant entered his ears, the demonic energy within him began to surge violently and uncontrollably.
The surrounding mythical birds and beasts heard from the Queen Mother of the West's teachings all about the profound principles of tranquility, non-action, longevity, and immortality.
However, due to his own background and bloodline, what Xuan Yao extracted from that vast Dao sound were all the ways of killing and suppressing, such as "how to restrain murderous intent", "how to put evil spirits into law", and "how to suppress all evil with the energy of mountains".
At that moment, it was as if a thunderbolt struck Xuan Yao's mind, and he instantly understood the bottleneck in his cultivation.
Ordinary demon cultivators in the primordial world mostly follow the old path of inhaling and exhaling evil energy and refining flesh and blood.
However, if he continues to cultivate along with the black tiger's innate ferocity, as his cultivation level increases, his true spirit will be blinded by its ferocity, eventually leading to complete loss of control, backlash against his own foundation, and turning him into a ferocious beast that only knows how to kill.
However, if one could borrow the righteous methods of the Western Kunlun Sect to restrain and refine one's innate malevolent energy, transforming it into the power to suppress evil and stop killing with killing, and suppress evil with malevolence, one might be able to forge a broad road leading directly to the Great Luo in this primordial world!
After an unknown amount of time, the strange phenomenon above Yaochi slowly dissipated, the Daoist chanting ceased, and the sermon came to an end.
The female immortals and mythical beasts who listened to the teachings bowed and thanked the masters with rapt attention. Afterwards, they dispersed, still feeling unsatisfied, and returned to their caves to meditate and digest what they had gained from the teachings.
Soon, the area in front of the white jade steps was empty, except for the black tiger, which remained lying motionless in place.
It wasn't that he hadn't heard enough; rather, he was frantically calculating in his mind, hesitating whether to gamble with his life.
As a transmigrator with memories of the future, he understands better than anyone the importance of "organization" and "identity" in the prehistoric world.
If he stays in the outer mountains, even if he manages to cultivate to the level of a Golden Immortal in the future, he will only be an unofficial rogue cultivator of Xikunlun. Once the great calamity arrives, the lives of rogue cultivators are as worthless as grass, and they can be purged by the Heavenly Dao at any time.
His greatest chance is to take advantage of the karma he gained from listening to the sermon today to truly obtain a legitimate identity within the Xikunlun sect!
After a moment of deathly silence, from the depths of the Jade Pool, a calm divine voice pierced through layers of clouds and landed in Xuan Yao's ears:
"You have finished your sermon, why do you not retreat?"
Upon hearing that voice, Xuan Yao's heart trembled violently. He knew that the opportunity he had been waiting for for countless years was finally about to arrive.
He forcefully suppressed the excitement and fear in his heart, lowered his front paws to the ground, and kowtowed deeply into the white jade steps, speaking in human language:
"This humble demon greets Your Majesty! This humble demon lingers not out of greed."
The little demon knew its roots were shallow and its body imbued with malevolence; if it were to follow the ordinary path of demons, it would surely become a karmic obstacle for heaven and earth.
"This humble demon dares to ask for neither divine powers nor innate treasures, but only that Your Majesty, in your great mercy, grant this humble demon a righteous path of cultivation to transform evil into peace!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Xuan Yao held his breath.
To try to outwit such a powerful being is suicidal; only by being honest and straightforward, and speaking from the heart, can one have a chance of survival.
The sea of clouds remained silent for a long time.
"Buzz—"
A dazzling yet gentle golden light descended from the deepest part of the Jade Pool, instantly enveloping Xuan Yao, who was lying on the white jade steps.
The next moment, the golden light reversed, and Xuan Yao's figure disappeared from the spot, directly absorbed into the depths of the Jade Pool.