Less than a century after Dijun and Taiyi established the Demon race, Duke of the East swore an oath to the Heavenly Dao on Yingzhou Immortal Island, establishing the Immortal Court.
Unwilling to lag behind, Queen Mother of the West swore an oath to the Heavenly Dao atop the peak of Western Kunlun, establishing Yaochi.
Both were personally appointed by Dao Ancestor Hongjun as the Heads of Male and Female Immortals, yet their chosen paths led to completely different outcomes.
One was high-profile and ostentatious, carrying himself as though he were already the shared sovereign of Honghuang.
The other was low-profile, cautious, and detached from worldly disputes; she never actively sought to recruit the world’s female immortals into her fold, yet welcomed any who voluntarily pledged their allegiance.
Though Yaochi could not match the Immortal Court in scale, counting Queen Mother of the West herself, it still boasted nearly ten Daluo Golden Immortals.
Both swore their oaths to the Heavenly Dao, and the Heavenly Dao responded in kind. Auspicious signs filled the sky in dazzling profusion, wondrous phenomena manifested one after another, and heaven and earth celebrated in unison.
However, the Heavenly Dao merit they received was only half of what Dijun and Taiyi had gained—a mere five hundred thousand mu of Heavenly Dao merit.
This was because Dijun and Taiyi were the trailblazers who had taken the initiative; those who followed were merely treading in their footsteps, so the Heavenly Dao merit bestowed upon them was naturally far less.
Duke of the East was infuriated by this outcome. He flew into a towering rage within the Extreme Yang Immortal Palace, leaving every living being across Yingzhou Immortal Island shivering in silent terror.
In contrast, Queen Mother of the West remained calm, collected, and thoroughly content.
Nourished by this Heavenly Dao merit, both Queen Mother of the West and Duke of the East broke through together to Daluo great perfection. Their Dao flowers bore fruit, attaining the Daluo Dao Fruit.
Counting the two of them, this era's Innate Sacred Beings now boasted five beings at Daluo great perfection.
And this was merely the beginning.
...
Two yuanhui later, Xuanjian emerged from seclusion.
By now, his aura was profound and boundless, and the Daluo Dao Flower above his head was even more solid and condensed—he was unmistakably at the mid-stage Daluo cultivation realm!
Indeed.
After refining the Pangu Marrow, Xuanjian had not only made up for his innate deficiencies, elevating his foundation to the level of a top-tier Innate Sacred Being, but his cultivation had also naturally broken through by a minor realm.
Previously, when Xuanjian first took human form, he had retained the two fatal flaws of the Luobao Gold Coin.
First, the ability to disarm treasures required consuming an equivalent amount of providential destiny.
Second, it could only bring down spiritual treasures, not weapons.
Now, both of these fatal flaws had been completely remedied by the Pangu Marrow!
From now on, whenever Xuanjian unleashed his treasure-dropping divine ability—【Treasure-Dropping Formless Hand】—it would no longer consume his own fortune.
Furthermore, his Treasure-Dropping Formless Hand now worked on weapons as well, and with even more direct effect!
Additionally, Xuanjian's foundation had leaped from that of a high-grade Innate Sacred Being straight to a top-tier Innate Sacred Being.
In the vast expanse of Honghuang, there were only a scant three Innate Sacred Beings of this caliber.
Those three were none other than the Three Purities.
Renowned Innate Sacred Beings like Dijun, Taiyi, Nuwa, Fuxi, Zhenyuanzi, and Hongyun possessed innate foundations only of the high-grade Innate Sacred Being tier.
Now, Xuanjian had become the fourth top-tier Innate Sacred Being in all of Honghuang!
“Phew...”
“At last, my innate deficiencies are rectified.”
Xuanjian slowly opened his eyes as his Daluo aura rippled outward, penetrating the past and present while reverberating throughout the cosmos. “From now on, whenever I want to disarm someone of their spiritual treasures, I won’t need to consume my own fortune.”
In truth, ever since obtaining the Treasure-Gathering Gold Basin, Xuanjian had never really needed to worry about fortune.
Why?
Because the Treasure-Gathering Gold Basin gathered wealth fortune from all directions.
Though wealth fortune could not compare to providential destiny in quality, it made up for it in sheer quantity.
Taking stock of his condition, Xuanjian smiled slightly. “Mid-stage Daluo, fifty-three percent comprehension of the Laws of Commerce, and mid-stage Fourth Revolution of the Mysterious Art. Not bad, not bad at all. My strength has progressed once more, bringing me ever closer to Hunyuan Golden Immortal.”
Once Xuanjian proved his Dao as a Hunyuan Golden Immortal, his 【Fifty-Fifty with Anyone】 skill would upgrade to version 2.0.
When that time came, its upper limit would be elevated from Hunyuan Daluo Golden Immortal to Hunyuan Wuji Daluo Golden Immortal.
Xuanjian emerged from his cave abode.
The two boy attendants, Zhaobao and Nazhen, who were waiting outside, hurriedly came forward to greet him.
“Master, you have come out of seclusion.”
“Congratulations, Master, on advancing your cultivation once more!”
Xuanjian nodded. “Has anything happened in Honghuang lately?”
Hearing this, Zhaobao and Nazhen exchanged glances, looking troubled. “Master, the two of us have been staying inside Mount Wuyi, so we have no way of knowing what is happening in the outside world.”
“Oh, right. I forgot about that.”
Xuanjian patted his forehead, remembering the situation. “Never mind, then. Go on and cultivate.”
“Yes, Master,” Zhaobao and Nazhen replied.
After Zhaobao and Nazhen departed, Xuanjian took a single step forward. His figure vanished instantly, reappearing outside Mount Wuyi.
Just as Xuanjian was about to divine the heavenly secrets of the past, he suddenly noticed something unusual about one of his karmic threads.
“This is... the karmic thread connecting me to the Dragon Clan?”
Xuanjian frowned slightly and murmured to himself, “Could the Dragon Clan have run into trouble?”
He hurriedly divined the heavenly secrets.
His intuition was spot on.
The Dragon Clan was indeed facing a massive crisis.
The grand army of the Immortal Court was bearing down upon them.
Immortal Emperor Duke of the East was personally leading the expedition, commanding five Daluo Golden Immortals and ten million immortal soldiers and generals, intent on forcibly subjugating the Dragon Clan into his service.
The Dragon Clan possessed unyielding pride. With the dignity of an ancient grand clan still intact, they naturally refused to bow down and risk their lives for the Immortal Court.
Presently, the Immortal Court’s forces were already deployed outside the Eastern Sea Dragon Palace.
Ao Yin, the Eastern Sea Dragon King, had summoned the Dragon Kings of the other three seas. Together, four Daluo Golden Immortals led the sea clans of the Eastern Sea, preparing to engage in a decisive clash with the Immortal Court.
“That utterly obnoxious Duke of the East truly never lets anyone have peace.”
Having grasped the full situation, Xuanjian shook his head, thoroughly disappointed in Duke of the East. “Isn’t harmony good for business? Does he really have to stir up such a foul mess across Honghuang? Why can’t he learn from Fellow Daoist Queen Mother of the West to be steady, peaceful, and amicable?
“Oh well. Since trouble has found its way to the Dragon Clan, I have no choice but to step in.”
...
The Immortal Court’s movements were colossal, showing not the slightest intention of being discreet.
Deploying troops right outside the Eastern Sea Dragon Palace showcased the overbearing arrogance of the Immortal Court to the absolute fullest.
Many Innate Sacred Beings and Daluo cultivators throughout Honghuang were closely observing this event, including Dijun and Taiyi on the Solar Star.
Ever since the Demon race was established, the Immortal Court had not dared to provoke Dijun and his companions again.
Bullying them when they were scattered in various places was one thing, but continuing to treat them like soft persimmons after they had banded together would make someone a complete moron.
Duke of the East was arrogant, but he was no fool.
Yet just because Duke of the East had ceased his harassment did not mean Dijun and Taiyi had forgotten what the Immortal Court had done to them previously.
Taiyi said in a gruff voice to Dijun, “Brother, although the Dragon Clan has declined, they are still a great innate clan with deep foundations. Why don’t we help them drive off the Immortal Court and bring them under our banner?”
Dijun: “...”
Thinking of the karmic transgressions and karmic debts burdening the entire Dragon Clan, Dijun quickly shook his head and refused. “Whether it is the Dragon Clan, the Phoenix Clan, or the Qilin Clan, they are all poisoned spiritual fruits. They may appear plump and luscious on the surface, but are actually lethal poison. If we take any of these three clans in, we will inevitably have to shoulder their karmic burdens alongside them.
“Do you think our Demon race’s newly rising providential destiny can withstand being squandered by those three clans?”
Enlightened by Dijun’s advice, Taiyi’s straightforward mind immediately saw the light, and he hastily shook his head. “Then let’s forget it.”
“Huh? That Daoist is... Xuanjian?”
Right at that moment, Dijun and Taiyi saw a young Daoist clad in brocade robes abruptly step out before the Dragon Clan’s formation.
This person was none other than Xuanjian.
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