Now, at the junction of Heaven and Earth, there lies a boundary. To the eye, it spans no more than a few square feet, yet if one is fortunate enough to step inside, they will learn what it truly means for the heavens to be high, the earth vast, and the horizons endless.
This boundary is named the Creation Blessed Land.
At the world’s inception, Heaven and Earth were a single mass of chaos. Later, as the cosmos first emerged from darkness, the highest peak of the heavens became Qian, and the lowest depth of the earth became Kun.
Taking the Primordial Genesis Stone from the Creation Blessed Land, Heaven and Earth laid it down to form mountains, cast it to form valleys, carved it to form rivers, and struck it down to form abysses; its broken fragments became earth and rock, and its fine dust became mud and sand.
Afterward, the essence and blood of the heavens fell as rain, snow, and rivers, while the essence and blood of the earth overflowed into boundless oceans.
Heaven and Earth scattered their own spirit and energy across the world, thus marking the beginning of all living things.
Thereafter, Heaven and Earth fell into a long slumber, leaving behind only the last Primordial Genesis Stone within the Creation Blessed Land to reveal the affairs of Heaven and Earth.
Thus, hundreds of millions of years passed like a white horse galloping past a crevice in a wall.
One day, the weather suddenly changed drastically between Heaven and Earth! Above the Heavenly Realm, seven-colored clouds filled the skies, and across the Earthly Realm, auspicious energy blanketed the land. All living beings were astonished, yet none knew why Heaven and Earth had acted so.
This state persisted for nine times nine eighty-one days. On the eighty-first day, the lords of the various realms felt a stirring in their hearts and gathered at the Creation Blessed Land together, where they finally witnessed that the sky-filling clouds and land-covering auspiciousness across Heaven and Earth all originated from this very place.
The Creation Blessed Land was no ordinary place one could enter. The Lord of the Heavenly Realm and the Lord of the Earthly Realm, both carrying the ambient spirit of Heaven and Earth, joined forces to open the barrier of the Creation Blessed Land and lead the various lords inside.
Within the Creation Blessed Land, aside from the single Primordial Genesis Stone, there should have been nothing else. Yet when the lords entered and clearly took in the scene before them, the entire hall was overcome with shock!
In the Creation Blessed Land, where the Primordial Genesis Stone originally lay, not a trace of the stone remained. In its place was a swaddled infant!
The seven-colored clouds formed its swaddling clothes, and the auspicious energy formed its cradle. Then, the infant opened its eyes, which held a brilliant golden light inside—the divine light of Heaven and Earth.
The various lords received a divine revelation from Heaven and Earth: this was the Son of Heaven and Earth, and it was hoped that the lords would take good care of him on their behalf. Naturally, the lords readily agreed.
From then on, the Lord of the Heavenly Realm personally carved out a palace for him, and the Lord of the Earthly Realm personally demarcated a realm for him. Furthermore, because Heaven and Earth had not bestowed a divine name, the lords deliberated for seven times seven forty-nine days and named him: Chu Shi (Early Time). They took the sound of the Primordial Genesis Stone (Chu) and the meaning of being nurtured through hundreds of millions of years of time (Shi).
However, though a name was given, no one dared to address him by it directly, so they called him the Young Master instead.
The Young Master resided constantly in the palace of the Heavenly Realm, aging by a single year every century. It was not until sixteen hundred years had passed that he attained the appearance of a young youth. Gathering the essence and energy of Heaven and Earth, his elegance was peerless and his beauty unmatched, making anyone who laid eyes on him tremble in their heart.
Therefore, ordinary immortals could not catch a glimpse of him; they only knew that within the Immortal Realm there existed a Young Master, noble and precious beyond compare, peerless in the world! If one ever met him, they must not gaze directly at his face, must not touch his body, and must not go against his wishes. If he gave an order, every single thing had to be obeyed without the slightest profanity or disrespect! Naturally, all the immortals held this firmly in mind, yet they had only ever heard his name without ever laying eyes on his person…
Immortal Realm — Heavenly Realm
Ye Miaomiao was a newly appointed First-Rank low official of the Heavenly Realm. In truth, even the title of “immortal” was something he had taken on not too long ago. Back in the mortal realm, Ye Miaomiao had been exceptionally gifted, attaining enlightenment and becoming an immortal after cultivating for less than two thousand years, which earned him no small amount of envy from seniors who had cultivated bitterly for over ten thousand years.
Since childhood, Ye Miaomiao had cherished the thought of becoming an official. It was only later, after entering the path of cultivation, that his days were consumed by meditating, adventuring outdoors, forging artifacts, and refining pills—leaving him no time to remember a minor thought from his youth. However, after ascending, he unexpectedly stumbled upon such an opportunity. When he entered the Immortal Realm, it just so happened that the Heavenly Realm within the Immortal Realm was recruiting immortal officials, so Ye Miaomiao applied without a second thought.
Everything went smoothly after that, until today, when Ye Miaomiao finally received his immortal official token and took office!
Ye Miaomiao was a First-Rank low immortal official. Because he was a Wood-attribute immortal, he was assigned to the Immortal Botanical Garden of the Heavenly Realm this time. Speaking of which, he could be considered to have arrived at an opportune time; the position of Immortal Botanical Official in the Heavenly Realm’s Immortal Botanical Garden was a lucrative job, and vacancies were rarely available under ordinary circumstances. It was only because an official currently serving in the garden made a mistake while working a while ago, causing nearly one-third of the immortal plants in the garden to be damaged.
The plants grown in the Heavenly Realm’s Immortal Botanical Garden were naturally no ordinary items, so that First-Rank immortal official was stripped of his position. With one official dismissed and a opening created, along with a large batch of damaged immortal plants needing repair and care, the staffing in the Immortal Botanical Garden suddenly became stretched thin, prompting them to hastily release two official positions.
Of the two First-Rank immortal officials hired and transferred, one was Ye Miaomiao. As for the other, Ye Miaomiao had not yet met them, but since he was taking office today, the other person likely was as well, so they would surely meet.
Within the Heavenly Realm, barriers stood everywhere and layers of restrictions were deployed. As a newly appointed First-Rank immortal official, the areas Ye Miaomiao could freely enter and exit on ordinary days were extremely limited; even this Immortal Botanical Garden was a place he originally could not enter. Today, however, as an Immortal Botanical Official, the barrier of the Immortal Botanical Garden sensed the official token on his person and immediately let him pass.
When he first entered the Immortal Realm, Ye Miaomiao had been shocked by the spiritual energy here, which was several times more abundant than in the mortal realm. Later, because he spent every day immersed in it, he thought he had grown somewhat accustomed to it—at least enough that he would no longer be startled by spiritual energy. Yet, the moment he stepped into the Immortal Botanical Garden, he was so shocked his eyes widened, perfectly exemplifying what it meant to be a frog at the bottom of a well.
The spiritual energy in this Immortal Botanical Garden could no longer be called “gas.” Because it was overly abundant and dense, the spiritual energy had turned into a spiritual mist, cloaking the entire Immortal Botanical Garden inside it. Every single pore of his immortal body was unconsciously absorbing this excessively thick spiritual energy. Walking through it, Ye Miaomiao actually felt a sense of difficulty in taking steps. He simply stopped, stood rooted in place, and took a deep breath, resuming his steps only after his immortal body had adapted a bit.
However, just as he was about to move forward, a slight noise came from behind him. Subconsciously looking back, he seemed to catch a glimpse of the hem of a light-golden robe glowing with a faint, seven-colored sheen. Yet when he turned around to look closely, he saw only an immortal dressed in a light-green robe stepping through the barrier and walking in.
Could he have been seeing things?
Just as Ye Miaomiao was thinking this, that immortal had already raised his head and looked over at him.
This immortal’s features were truly ordinary even Ye Miaomiao was slightly better-looking in comparison yet when the other party looked over, Ye Miaomiao couldn’t help standing frozen on the spot.
This immortal has a pair of eyes as brilliant as the stars!
Ye Miaomiao thought to himself.
That pair of emerald-green pupils resembled top-quality green shining stones, sparkling with fine bits of light amid the spiritual mist. Yet as Ye Miaomiao watched, for some unknown reason, he suddenly thought that if these eyes were golden, they would surely look thousands upon tens of thousands of times better than they did now! For them to be like this now was truly a pity.
While his mind was wandering, the other party spoke up first: “You little immortal official, what are you standing here for? Could you be slacking off?”
The aura of authority in the other party’s words was so natural that Ye Miaomiao bowed and cupped his hands without a second thought, replying respectfully: “Reporting to the senior immortal, today is my first day taking office. As transmitted by my official token, I was ordered to report to the Immortal Botanical Garden at this hour.”
Hearing this, the other party stepped forward with a look of considerable interest, sizing Ye Miaomiao up carefully before speaking: “You are the newly appointed Immortal Botanical Official?”
Ye Miaomiao raised his head, looking straight into the other party’s pair of green eyes. His heart gave a heavy thump, and he quickly lowered his head and cupped his hands again, responding: “Replying to the senior immortal, that is indeed me.”
Looking at Ye Miaomiao, the other party nodded slightly in satisfaction after a long moment, saying: “You at least look a bit better than that fool from before. Let’s go; if we don’t head inside soon, we’ll be late.”
With that said, the sleeve of his robe brushed lightly past Ye Miaomiao’s side as he took the lead and walked deeper into the Immortal Botanical Garden. Hearing that they would be late, Ye Miaomiao didn’t have time to think further and hurriedly followed behind him into the garden.
Where the two of them had been standing just now was merely the entrance hall of the Immortal Botanical Garden. To enter the area where the immortal plants grew, one still had to pass through three restrictions. Following behind the green-robed immortal, Ye Miaomiao passed through three restrictions along the way. The official token on his person lit up each time they passed a restriction, indicating that the appointment document inside was taking effect.
When they finally stepped into the interior of the Immortal Botanical Garden, the spiritual mist that had been swirling around them suddenly dispersed. Filled with doubt, Ye Miaomiao couldn’t help raising his eyes to look ahead; when he clearly saw the scene before him, he froze on the spot.
A short distance away stretched tens of thousands of qing of spiritual fields, filled with lush immortal plants, every single one bursting with vibrant vitality and overwhelming spiritual energy. Further off lay a vast, hazy forest dense, flourishing, and overflowing with life.
Ye Miaomiao possessed a Wood spiritual root. Back in the mortal realm, his sect also had a department dedicated to spiritual plants, and because of his Wood spiritual root, he had managed it for a period of time. Yet comparing his past surroundings to what lay before his eyes, calling it the difference between an ocean and a grain of sand would be no exaggeration. Standing in its midst, Ye Miaomiao felt every trace of immortal power inside his body rejoicing, itching to surge out of his body and merge into those life-filled immortal plants. He quickly operated his cultivation technique in secret to soothe the tumbling immortal power inside him.
Just as he soothed his internal immortal power, he heard the green-robed immortal let out a soft tsk, offering a praise that sounded almost begrudging: “They finally seem to understand the principle of the four seasons following their proper order. I suppose this can count as decent.”
Ye Miaomiao found his words perplexing, yet subconsciously focused his mind to look toward those spiritual fields. This time, with his mind settled, he managed to discern a few details.
The mortal realm had four seasons, each with a different climate. The blessed lands where immortal plants first grew relied on the mortal realm, so they also experienced cold, heat, sunshine, and rain. The Immortal Realm, however, was not like this. The Immortal Realm was divided into the Heavenly Realm and the Earthly Realm, yet whether in the Heavenly Realm or the Earthly Realm, there was no frost, scorching heat, rain, or snow due to the barriers, and the temperature remained perpetually constant. Though the spiritual energy was rich and abundant, upon closer examination, one would realize that such a climate was not suitable for all immortal plants to grow.
Thus, this Immortal Botanical Garden used immortal arts to create the four seasons.
Ye Miaomiao had not looked closely earlier, but looking at it now, the spiritual fields in this Immortal Botanical Garden were actually arranged in concentric circles. Within these circles, spring, summer, autumn, and winter were linked end-to-end; with the immortal plants growing in their native seasons combined with the dense spiritual energy of the Immortal Botanical Garden, they naturally grew as lush and flourishing as could be.
As Ye Miaomiao was looking intently, a figure suddenly appeared before the two of them, perhaps sensing that someone had entered the area.
The newcomer was an official dressed in a dark-green immortal robe. Seeing Ye Miaomiao and his companion, he asked, “What brings you two immortal friends to the Immortal Botanical Garden?”
Heavy restrictions were laid out in the Immortal Botanical Garden, meaning one could not enter at will. To enter the Immortal Botanical Garden, aside from the Immortal Botanical Officials serving within, other immortals had to go to the main hall of the Heavenly Realm—the Xuantian Hall—to obtain a temporary passage token.
Presumably, the official before them assumed the two had entered using temporary passage tokens. Thinking of this, Ye Miaomiao quickly bowed and said, “Greetings, official. I am Ye Miaomiao. Having received a transfer order, I came to report for duty in the Immortal Botanical Garden today.”
Hearing this, the newcomer nodded gently, offering a warm smile: “We’ve finally waited for the newcomers to arrive. You two, quickly follow me; once you complete registration, you can take office.”
Ye Miaomiao froze, his gaze involuntarily shifting toward the green-robed immortal beside him. He had originally thought the other party was an official of this Immortal Botanical Garden was he actually not?