Brian Carter illuminated all filth beneath, making everything clear.

　　Then, in the moonlight, within the mist, a pavilion appeared, faint and indistinct.

　　The pavilion had nine levels, jade-like in appearance, exquisitely elegant, with its highest point hidden among the clouds and mist, impossible to see clearly.

　　With the nine-level pavilion settled, things finally quieted down considerably.

　　He originally intended to withdraw his power, but was seized by a strange impulse.

　　Then, he willed his blood and energy to charge at the nine-level pavilion.

　　Because he lacked immortal roots and Daoist bones, he had no true qi or magical power; barring any miracles, it should have been a futile effort.

　　But this time, it seemed different.

　　……

　　His strength was like a blazing furnace, his blood flowing like great rivers.

　　A thunderous roar sounded, as if mighty waves were surging and crashing.

　　Faintly, one could hear a dragon’s roar, as if a true dragon was roaming the rivers, stirring up storms.

　　Then, his blood and energy seemed to turn golden.

　　He let out a proud, long howl.

　　The dragon’s roar filled his mind, drowning out all other sounds.

　　Then, the torrent of blood and energy, along with the faintly visible golden dragon within, crashed into the first level of the nine-level jade pavilion.

　　Boom!

　　The pavilion doors, which had remained unmoved after years of Brian Carter’s efforts, burst open with a thunderous sound.

　　His own torrent of blood and energy.

　　His own thoughts and soul.

　　Everything poured into the nine-level jade pavilion.

　　The first gate opened!

　　The first heaven of the Daoist cultivation realm!

　　The first level of the nine-level jade pavilion: the Qi Refining Pavilion.

　　……

　　Sensing the pavilion nestled in the moonlight between his brows.

　　The first level had opened.

　　The pavilion was simple, with no decorations or murals, empty and void within.

　　Only a wisp of true qi wandered inside.

　　This was true qi!

　　The true qi cultivated by Daoist practitioners.

　　Many who never received true teachings might spend their whole lives without ever cultivating a single breath of true qi.

　　With this breath of true qi, one could protect the internal organs, relax the meridians, invigorate the blood and energy, and thus prolong life.

　　“The first level?”

　　Brian Carter was still in shock, then became wild with joy.

　　Wasn’t it precisely to cultivate that he left the celestial palace of the upper realm and descended into the mortal world?

　　He had pursued this with all his might, traveling south, crossing mountains and rivers, enduring countless hardships, treading the line between life and death, as if walking on thin ice—wasn’t it all for the sake of cultivation?

　　Now, with a single breakthrough, he had taken the first step on the path of immortality.

　　He didn’t even understand the reason behind it.

　　He had thought that, on this path of cultivation, he had reached the end, that he would die here, and all his thoughts and desires would return to nothingness.

　　Yet, having thought himself dead, he awakened from darkness, and could actually set foot on the path of cultivation?

　　“Is this truly ‘great calamity survived, boundless fortune to follow’?”

　　Even though he considered himself calm and composed, at this moment, he couldn’t help but be overjoyed.

　　That wisp of true qi, guided by his will, traveled throughout his body.

　　Though faint, though its effect seemed small,

　　It signified that he had stepped onto the first heaven of the Daoist cultivation realm.

　　From this moment, the door to cultivation was open.

　　“So the opportunity I sought in vain for years was right here.”

　　Brian Carter’s mind was in turmoil, unable to find peace.

　　Then, he began to circulate his true qi, guiding it through his meridians, practicing the Yellow Court Immortal Sutra. It did not feel tedious; instead, he found joy in it.

　　After a long while, he finally calmed down.

　　He quietly withdrew his power and settled himself.

　　His mind was clear, his spirit refreshed.

　　Looking up again, that passage of text appeared before his eyes.

　　……

　　I have attained the Dao for many years, traveling the world, roaming far and wide.

　　On my journey here, I was startled to find the five elements in perfect balance, the feng shui superb, and life flourishing.

　　Looking again at the distribution of mountains and rivers, their courses were most unusual, resembling a human womb.

　　Sure enough, with heaven and earth as the body, mountains as the womb, streams and rivers as the blood, vegetation as the vitality, and rocks as the flesh.

　　This land was like a pregnant woman, within which a deity had already been conceived.

　　“This great mountain demon is a deity born of heaven and earth... a mountain god nurtured by these mountains and rivers? Different from the deities that will be enfeoffed in the future...”

　　Seeing this, Brian Carter was suddenly startled.

　　Such a being, born of heaven and earth, was truly heaven’s favored child.

　　“But... what kind of person is this immortal who can imprison a deity? What kind of divine powers do they possess?”

　　Brian Carter felt awe in his heart and continued reading.

　　……

　　A person in the womb, relying on the umbilical cord, receives all the vital energy needed for life from the mother, truly as one.

　　After birth, the umbilical cord is cut, and they become two separate beings.

　　A deity born of heaven and earth is the same.

　　While still gestating in the mountain, it is as one with the mountains and rivers, able to draw upon their great power.

　　But once born, it becomes a natural deity, severing its direct connection with the mountains and rivers, no longer one with them.

　　Brian Carter thought to himself, “So that’s how it is.”

　　This immortal possessed a most mysterious method, able to draw upon the power of the mountains and rivers, thus obtaining the earth’s veins, with endless wondrous uses.

　　Thus, he used this method to imprison the mountain god, maintaining its umbilical-like connection with the mountains and rivers.

　　“Laying down various marks, forming a great array, gathering feng shui to seek the earth’s veins.”

　　Brian Carter thought, “Once the earth’s veins are formed, is that the earth dragon?”