The might of a Quasi-Saint diffused, instantly startling the many Innate Sacred Beings awake from their insights.
They turned their gaze toward Duke of the East one after another, their faces registering shock. None of them had expected that, out of so many Innate Sacred Beings, the first to prove the Quasi-Saint realm would actually be Duke of the East!
In the eyes of many, the first to prove the Dao of the Quasi-Saint should have been one of the six seated closest to the Dao Ancestor.
Yuanshi Tianzun looked at Duke of the East, then at the calm and composed expression of his Eldest Brother, and felt a sense of certainty in his heart: “Eldest Brother is not unable to match Duke of the East, nor is it that he cannot prove the Quasi-Saint realm. Rather, he is weighing his options... weighing which path to take between the ancient methods and the Dao of the Quasi-Saint.”
“Congratulations, Fellow Daoist, on proving the Quasi-Saint realm.”
“Congratulations.”
“Congratulations.”
Quite a few Innate Sacred Beings congratulated Duke of the East on proving the Quasi-Saint realm.
Duke of the East grinned widely as he returned their greetings one by one. His highly elevated head made his current smugness plain to see: “This humble Daoist shall take the lead, experiencing the scenery above Daluo on behalf of all of you, fellow Daoists.”
As he spoke, Duke of the East also cast a provocative glance toward where the Demon race camp was situated.
His golden eyes clashed with the overbearing golden eyes of Eastern Emperor Taiyi, sparks flying as they went toe-to-toe.
“Hmph.”
Duke of the East snorted coldly, intense killing intent swirling in the depths of his eyes: “Eastern Emperor Taiyi! Demon race! Just you wait!”
Originally, the one Duke of the East hated most in his heart should have been Xuanjian.
Xuanjian had publicly slighted him by rescuing the Dragon Clan from under his nose, causing him, the majestic Immortal Emperor, to lose all face before numerous Daluos. It was truly detestable.
But later, the rise of the Demon race's Demon Court, which stood in direct opposition to the Immortal Court, caused Duke of the East's hatred for the Demon race to far surpass his hatred for Xuanjian.
Now, Xuanjian could only rank third in Duke of the East's heart.
Because the first and second spots belonged to Taiyi and Dijun.
At this moment, Hongjun spoke again, his voice indifferent: “The spiritual treasures used for severing corpses are best off being of the same origin. If the properties of the spiritual treasures you use are different, or even conflict with each other, then when the time comes to merge the Three Corpses into one, you will surely fail.”
Duke of the East: “...”
Duke of the East's smile instantly vanished.
The joy of having just proved his Dao and being flattered by all sides was completely wiped away.
If Duke of the East had the guts, he would have definitely roared in his heart at this moment: “Fuck, you old codger! Why didn't you say something so important earlier?”
Upon hearing this, the other Innate Sacred Beings also wore expressions of alarm and suspicion, exchanging looks in silent bewilderment.
This was indeed a massive problem.
But... an even greater problem lay right before their eyes.
And that was... according to what the Dao Ancestor said, to sever a corpse, one must use an Innate Spiritual Treasure to host the Three Corpses.
Acquired Spiritual Treasures, and even magic treasures, were completely unable to bear the weight of the Three Corpses.
However, in the world of Honghuang, the quantity of Innate Spiritual Treasures was fixed.
Many Innate Sacred Beings did not possess even a single Innate Spiritual Treasure to this day.
They were extremely destitute.
Spiritual treasures of the same origin... was that even something they needed to consider right now?
What they needed to consider right now was how to get their hands on a single Innate Spiritual Treasure to sever a corpse!
Furthermore, looking across the entirety of Honghuang, among those limited Innate Spiritual Treasures, how many were actually of the same origin?
Therefore, those who could achieve Great Perfection in the Quasi-Saint realm in the future... would be few and far between.
Thus, Duke of the East's current success in severing a corpse to prove his Dao was not actually that big of a deal.
“In that case, Dao Ancestor, is it still viable to prove the Dao of Hunyuan through ancient methods? Why does this disciple feel that... the three thousand Great Daos today are no longer as manifest as they were during the Dragon-Han era?”
“During the Dragon-Han era, the three thousand Great Daos were complete and flawless, manifesting and flowing through heaven and earth, omnipresent. We cultivators could comprehend the Laws of the Three Thousand Great Daos in the most direct and free manner to cultivate.”
“But now... this disciple feels that the Laws of the Three Thousand Great Daos available for comprehension are fragmented and incomplete, making cultivation incomparably difficult.”
The one who spoke was Eastern Emperor Taiyi.
With his foundation, he could have directly proven the Quasi-Saint realm as well.
But this was not the Dao he wanted!
Therefore, Eastern Emperor Taiyi chose to voice the doubt in his heart.
The numerous Innate Sacred Beings also looked toward the Dao Ancestor, their confused expressions laced with anticipation.
They felt the exact same way about what Eastern Emperor Taiyi had mentioned, they simply did not know the reason behind it.
Upon hearing this, Hongjun nodded, answering for all living beings: “During the Dragon-Han Tribulation, though the Heavenly Dao was born, it was still immature. Therefore, the Great Dao was still supervising Honghuang, leaving the Laws of the Three Thousand Great Daos complete and flawless, open for all living beings to comprehend.”
“However, after the Dragon-Han Tribulation, the Heavenly Dao became capable of managing Honghuang independently, so the Great Dao chose to withdraw.”
“With the Great Dao withdrawing and the Heavenly Dao taking over, to prevent a recurrence of the tragedies of the ferocious beasts and the Dragon-Han era, the Heavenly Dao retained only forty-nine core Great Dao Laws, known as the Forty-Nine of the Heavenly Dao. The rest of the laws have mostly been obscured.”
“They can still be comprehended, and one can still prove the Hunyuan Golden Immortal realm, but the upper limit has been locked down. There will be no more Hunyuan Daluo Golden Immortals born from this path.”
Hearing the Dao Ancestor's explanation, the crowd understood somewhat, yet there were still points that remained unclear.
“Why is that?”
Eastern Emperor Taiyi continued to ask.
Hongjun said, “The reason is very simple. These are two completely opposite paths of proving the Dao.”
“The Way of the Saint exists because of heaven and earth, and also ends with heaven and earth. As a Saint, one cannot merely look out for oneself; only by standing before millions and millions, safeguarding all living beings and heaven and earth, can one be a Saint.”
“Meanwhile, the Way of Hunyuan is indeed slightly stronger. However, the Way of Hunyuan strengthens the self while weakening others. One looks out solely for oneself without aiding the world, refusing to advance or retreat together with heaven, earth, and all living beings. Once heaven and earth meet with disaster, a practitioner of Hunyuan can easily just walk away and roam the Chaos at leisure.”
“Do you think the Heavenly Dao would welcome such practitioners of Hunyuan?”
The Innate Sacred Beings came to a sudden realization.
They also understood the difference between a Saint and a practitioner of Hunyuan.
Simply put, Saint was not merely a realm, but a responsibility. As a Saint, one could borrow the power of heaven and earth to bless themselves and protect all living beings, emphasizing mutual complementation with heaven and earth.
On the other hand, a practitioner of Hunyuan was someone who devoured resources without doing any work, running away the moment a great tribulation arrived.
One was a partnership of mutual benefit, while the other was a relationship of sheer plunder, carrying far too much uncertainty.
There was no need to guess which one the Heavenly Dao would prefer.
“So that’s how it is...”
Eastern Emperor Taiyi was enlightened, appearing shaken by the Dao Ancestor's words: “This disciple has learned much.”
“Excellent.”
Hongjun nodded, adding another sentence: “The Way of Hunyuan can also be cultivated, but as for what exactly needs to be done in the end... comprehend it yourselves.”
“Very well, the second sermon concludes here. After ten yuanhui, this humble Daoist shall preach once more, expounding upon the Great Dao of the Saint!”
“At that time, I will also determine my disciples, as well as the future holy seats...”
“You may all return.”
“Yes!”
“We respectfully send off the Dao Ancestor,” cried out countless voices.
The Innate Sacred Beings either departed alone or left in groups, gradually filtering out of Zixiao Palace.
“Ancestral Witches.”
At this moment, Hongjun turned his gaze toward the Twelve Ancestral Witches and called out.
“Dao Ancestor.”
Dijiang bowed in response: “May we ask why the Dao Ancestor has stopped us siblings?”
Hongjun said, “During the first sermon, this humble Daoist explained the essentials of the Great Dao from Earth Immortal to Daluo Golden Immortal. You were not present then. Now, listening to the contents of the second sermon and the subsequent third sermon will ultimately leave you with gaps in your foundation. Therefore, I have stopped you to make up for the content of the first sermon.”
To put it simply, Hongjun meant: You skipped a grade, and since you haven't learned what came before, learning what comes next will only leave you utterly confused. Thus, you need remedial lessons.
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