I, the spirit of the primitive land, have the ability to understand the universe and prove the origin of the universe Chapter 1 - Rebirth as a Primal Earth Spirit, Enlightenment That Defies Heaven

Chapter 1: Rebirth as a Primal Earth Spirit, Enlightenment That Defies Heaven

The world shimmered like it had entered a Doruolian¹ veil; in a daze, one beheld the boundless eternity of the Great Desolation.

Since the conflict between Dao and Demon, after Luóhóu² was defeated, the western ley lines were utterly shattered. Countless billions of miles of mountains and rivers were tainted by demonic energy and transformed into a barren wasteland.

Billions of miles away from the ancestral vein of the West—Mount Xūmí³—there lay a nameless valley.

Perhaps due to the valley being shrouded by a primordial formation, it did not resemble the desolation typical of the Western lands. On the contrary, it brimmed with vitality and teemed with a myriad of phenomena.

Within the valley, seven small peaks rose, corresponding to the Big Dipper. Below them flowed nine underground streams, aligning with the numerology of the Nine Palaces⁴.

Starlight bathed the area, and boundless earthly energy converged here—it was astonishingly radiant with spiritual splendour.

All around, the laws of ten thousand principles interwove and descended. The Great Dao manifested miraculous phenomena, and the essence of the heavens and earth over billions upon billions of miles coalesced into the valley’s core, forming the purest form of life force.

Suddenly, a consciousness arose from deep underground.

“Where… am I?”

“No, where are my hands? My body? I…”

After a wave of chaotic panic, no one knew how much time had passed, but the consciousness gradually calmed.

Some moments later, a face formed of spiritual energy materialised in the void.

The human face wore a bitter smile. Its eyes surveyed the surroundings, a myriad of emotions swirling within them.

“I actually transmigrated⁵.”

His name was Zhōng Yuè. He had been napping at home, but upon waking, he found himself here.

As he sorted through the memories in his mind, he quickly grasped his current predicament.

“A war between Dao and Demon… the fall of Luóhóu… This is actually the world of the Great Desolation?”

After a brief adjustment, Zhōng Yuè accepted this reality.

“Very well. From today onwards, I am but the Earth Spirit, Zhōng Yuè. The human Zhōng Yuè from my past life is no more.”

As Zhōng Yuè spoke these words, the sky rumbled as if a thunderclap had struck on a clear day. Zhōng Yuè felt a wave of comfort wash over his entire being—the awkwardness he previously felt in controlling his body disappeared.

Zhōng Yuè knew that the Great Dao was acknowledging him. From this moment forth, he was a true native being of the Great Desolation. No matter who attempted to divine his origins, this was the result they would find.

Moments later, now composed, Zhōng Yuè began contemplating his path forward.

Recalling the awe-inspiring scenes in the memories he’d acquired, Zhōng Yuè could not help but click his tongue in amazement. The world of the Great Desolation had truly opened his eyes.

His body had merged with the Earth Spirit. Though he hadn’t moved, he had existed since time immemorial—his origins were terrifyingly ancient.

However, Zhōng Yuè quickly let out another bitter smile.

He realised that no matter how ancient his origin was, it was of little use—he could not move at all.

Moreover, since this place was not a famous mountain or great river, although he was ancient, his origins were, in truth, average. He belonged to the class of ordinary Primordial Deities.

In the Great Desolation, one’s origin—or foundation was paramount. There were five ranks in total:

They were: Chaotic Divinities and Demons⁷, Innate Divine Saints⁸, Innate Deities⁹, Innate Beings¹⁰, and Postnatal Beings¹¹.

Chaotic Divinities and Demons were not visible—most had been slain during Pángǔ’s¹² act of creation. A rare few had escaped but had long since fled into untraceable space-time, never to reappear.

Thus, the highest existing origin in the chaos was that of the Innate Divine Saints, followed by the Innate Deities, and then the ordinary Innate Beings.

As for Postnatal Beings, they did not yet exist in this era of the Great Desolation; all current forms were shaped through innate transformations.

In summary, Zhōng Yuè’s origin was neither high nor low—it sat squarely in the middle tier.

Just as Zhōng Yuè was fretting, a message suddenly appeared in his mind:

“You have successfully transmigrated. Initiating the gift from your previous home planet. You have obtained the sole and unique innate talent: Heaven-Defying Enlightenment.”

Zhōng Yuè froze. He had just been worrying about what to do next—who would have thought his golden finger had now awakened.

“Excellent, excellent! Every transmigration comes with a golden finger—those cultivation novels didn’t lie!”

Zhōng Yuè burst into laughter, then settled himself to begin researching what this so-called Heaven-Defying Enlightenment actually entailed.

However, just as he entered a meditative state, Zhōng Yuè was astonished.

He saw the scenes and knowledge about cultivation, Dao techniques, and divine abilities—previously gained through memory—all float clearly before his eyes. He easily understood their meaning.

It was miraculous—after all, Zhōng Yuè had come from the modern world and had known nothing about cultivation. And yet at this moment, he had mastered everything effortlessly.

Moreover, as these cultivation methods integrated within him, he vaguely sensed that he could innovate, merging various techniques and evolving them into more powerful ones.

Feeling the potency of this golden finger, Zhōng Yuè was overjoyed.

With this in hand, he suddenly realised that origin might not be such a major shackle after all.

A while later, Zhōng Yuè gradually calmed down.

“The most pressing matter now is to take physical form. Only by taking form can I walk the Great Desolation and vie for opportunities. Otherwise, everything is just empty talk.”

Zhōng Yuè sighed lightly. He focused his mind and, following the methods in his memory, began to absorb the essence of heaven and earth.

Yet only moments later, Zhōng Yuè halted his practice.

He discovered that his absorption rate was extremely poor. At the current pace, it would take at least several million years before any hope could be seen.

Given the current point in time, time itself was life. Several million years was simply too long.

Furthermore, thanks to his Heaven-Defying Enlightenment, he quickly realised the flaws in the inherited breathing method.

It wasn’t that the method was flawed per se—it was just too conventional. At most, it would allow him to take form normally, without developing any distinguishing traits.

With his current origin, a standard transformation would, at best, yield the level of a Profound Immortal (xuánxiān)—he wouldn’t even reach the rank of Golden Immortal (jīnxiān).

With such cultivation, let alone exploring the Great Desolation, he wouldn’t even dare leave the valley, for he would be far too weak.

Upon this thought, Zhong Yue began to calm his mind; he no longer fixated on transforming his form but started to examine himself, preparing to first consolidate his foundation.

The next moment, within the earth’s veins, a streak of flowing light shone, transforming into a phantom that stood suspended in the valley.

The phantom sat cross-legged, observing the sun, moon, and stars, comprehending the forms of all beings, and connecting with the vital energies of myriad phenomena.

At the same time, countless inspirations burst forth in his mind; under the blessing of his heaven-defying comprehension [nì tiān wù xìng]^1, his spiritual platform grew ever clearer, and he began to refine himself.

Time passed relentlessly, and it was unknown how long had elapsed.

On this day, within the valley, the phantom, seated like a statue, suddenly stirred.

“My path is complete, hahaha~”

As the words fell, boundless immortal light erupted from the earth’s veins beneath the figure, while countless pieces of information converged in Zhong Yue’s mind.

Ultimately, this information coalesced into a tome, transforming into a celestial scripture that appeared in his mind.

At the top of the scripture were written four large characters…

Footnotes:

兜罗绵(Dōuluómián) – A mythical heavenly fabric in Chinese Buddhist cosmology, extremely fine and delicate, often symbolising illusion or transcendence.
罗喉(Luóhóu) – A figure from Hindu and Chinese mythologies, known as Rahu, often associated with demons or cosmic battles.
须弥山(Xūmí Shān) – Mount Sumeru, the central world-mountain in Buddhist cosmology; represents the cosmic axis.
九宫(Jiǔgōng) – Refers to the Nine Palaces system used in Chinese metaphysics, such as in Feng Shui and divination.
Transmigrated (chuānyuè 穿越)– A genre trope in Chinese fantasy literature where a character crosses into another world or time period.
跟脚(gēngjiǎo) – Literally “footing” or “foundation,” refers to a being’s cosmic or spiritual origin/class.
混沌神魔(hùndùn shénmó) – Primordial beings from the chaos before the universe’s creation.
先天神圣(xiāntiān shénshèng) – Innate Divine Saints; born of primordial forces, ranking just below chaotic beings.
先天神祇(xiāntiān shénqí) – Innate Deities; powerful beings born of natural law before the formation of the world.
先天生灵(xiāntiān shēnglíng) – Innate Beings; born from the essence of heaven and earth, lower than deities.
后天生灵(hòutiān shēnglíng) – Postnatal Beings; beings born after the cosmos was fully formed.
盘古(Pángǔ) – A primordial being in Chinese mythology who separated heaven and earth to create the world.
金手指(jīn shǒuzhǐ) – “Golden finger,” a popular Chinese web novel term referring to a cheat-like power or unique advantage given to the protagonist.