"Goodbye, fellow Daoists," Di Jun said, bidding Fuxi, Nuwa, Redcloud Ancestor, and Zhen Yuanzi farewell. Of course, he also got the location of their residences, such as Redcloud Ancestor's Firesource Grotto.
"Brother, why didn't you invite them to join the demons?" Taiyi asked.
"You don't understand," Di Jun said. "Their strength is comparable to mine. If they joined now, it wouldn't be conducive to my rule over the demons."
Taiyi nodded. "I see. Still, it feels like they got the artifact embryo too cheaply."
"Call it an investment. Speaking of which," Di Jun stared at Taiyi. "What was that?"
"What was what?"
"You know what I mean? I'm thankful that you didn't aggravate the situation by attacking the Three Purities like you usually would–"
"Like I usually would?!"
"–but for you to take a step, what a rarity. Taiyi, have you?" Di Jun asked as pride brightened his eyes.
Taiyi's whole body stiffened and waited for his elder brother's next words.
"Finally matured?"
"...yes," Taiyi finally said after a long pause. He was thankful that his brother didn't find out, but why did he feel slighted?
Di Jun patted Tiayi's shoulder and said, "Let's go."
The two and the five other guests from Violet Heaven Palace set off.
For Di Jun's plan to work, they must form a powerful force known as the demons. Unlike the Hundred Clans or the three Overlord Clans, all things are demons, so Di Jun could recruit every being who accepted the label of a demon.
However, to do so, he would need something to attract them. Just pure strength would not do. Thankfully, he attained the Dao Ancestor's cultivation method. He would use it as a reference to create a cultivation method suitable only for demons.
With the allure of the cultivation method, demons would flock to him. Sure, he would be losing precious time on cultivation, but this was related to his Way of the Emperor, and he was already in the Advanced Great Firmament Realm, so it wouldn't take long for him to reach the Peak Great Firmament Realm. And, Taiyi was better at battle with him, so he would let Taiyi focus on cultivating.
Twenty thousand years later, demons began flocking to Buzhou Mountain, hoping to learn the Demon Scripture created by Di Jun based on Hongjun’s sermon. This act earned the ire of the Titan Tribe. Soon, small scale conflicts flared on Buzhou Mountain as both forces laid claim to the Great Desolation's number one mountain.
The Titan Tribe went as far as to attack and kill any demons on sight, even if they weren't part of the Demon Clan. Before, they already hunted demons for sustenance to fuel their daily activities and growth, but now, it was war.
Di Jun didn't stop them. First, because the Titan Tribe had more powerful combatants, although they had fewer numbers overall. Second, an enemy like the Titan Tribe was conducive to the Demon Clan's unity. Third, the more tyrannical the titans were, the more demons flocked to him.
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The Three Purities secluded themselves in Kunlun Mountain and sealed it off, forbidding anyone from disturbing their peace. They were the ones that gained the most from Hongjun's sermon.
All three had already embarked on the path to understanding the laws. Hongjun's sermon only scratched the surface of all three thousand laws, but it provided a general direction to pursue further comprehension.
But before that, they needed to change their cultivation first. Hongjun's cultivation method was broad and all-encompassing, but it was not tailored to them; they needed to create their own.
Only when their cultivation was truly their own could they advance to the next step.
Laozi created the Grand Purity Scripture, Yuanshi created the Jade Purity Scripture, and Tongtian created the Supreme Purity Scripture.
After that, Tongtian began to comprehend the Law of Time. She was born as a Golden Immortal of the Great Firmament, so she didn't need to use qi to upgrade her realm. It was both an advantage and disadvantage.
It was an advantage because it gave Tongtian strength. In the Great Desolation, strength was most important for survival. If they hadn't displayed their power, the twelve titans would have likely killed them then and there to cement their claim as Pangu's orthodox lineage.
It was a disadvantage because she never experienced the breakthrough of rising from a lower realm. She could simulate the procedure, but there would always be deficiencies. However, Tongtian still would have chosen to start off strong.
Who would want to be born weak?
Tongtian didn't think she would fail to reach the same height if she were born weaker, but being born strong has its advantages. Had she been born as anything else, her origin wouldn't have been Pangu's spirit, which would have significantly weakened her potential.
In the future, when humanity was created, they were said to have more extraordinary talents than demons and congenital gods like her, but how many were able to reach the same heights? It was already very impressive if they could become golden immortals.
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
According to Hongjun's Immortal Path, to ascend, you must refine qi. Since a Golden Immortal of the Great Firmament already merged the five elements into their qi, how should she upgrade the qi in preparation for her ascension?
The answer was the law.
Hongjun said that only the Golden Immortals of the Great Firmament could comprehend the law to form a foundation. That meant the key to improving lay among the three thousand laws.
Tongtian placed her Qingping Sword on her lap and began to resonate with it. Although it only contained a part of the Law of Time, it was still more than what she understood at this point. In the future, once she surpassed the Qingping Sword, she would infuse her understanding of time into it and increase its strength.
During Hongjun's sermon, Tongtian focused mainly on Hongjun's explanation of the Law of Time, but she also memorized his explanation of the Law of Space. For now, she would set it aside.
Silver clouds appeared behind Tongtian as her sword hummed in resonance. The time flow around Tongtian blurred as a timeless aura radiated from her.
In another part of the Three Purities Palace, Laozi opened his eyes and glanced in Tongtian's direction. He held the Void Refining Whisk in his arms, and his aura flickered in and out of existence as if he was an illusion at some points.
"Third Sister is much further than me in comprehending the law, I mustn't fall behind, or my title as eldest of the Three Purities would shackle me with shame," Laozi said. He closed his eyes and began to ruminate on the Law of Infinity.
In another room, Yuanshi looked in Tongtian's direction with a smile. Behind him were the black clouds filled with tiny motes of light and exuded an aura of chaos. Like Laozi and Tongtian, he also came up with a method to upgrade his qi and improve his realm.
"Third Sister is doing well, but I can't fall behind. Otherwise, where would my prestige as an elder brother go? If I improve even further, Third Sister might even ask me for advice." Just imagining the scene made his smile widen. Yuanshi closed his eyes and doubled his efforts.
Time flowed like water. The silver clouds behind Tongtian slowly changed shape until they resembled a river of silver light.
At the beginning of the river, three thousand monsters surrounded a single man. At the edge of the river’s center, there was a blurry image of a violet palace atop a mountain with three thousand gods listening to an old Daoist atop a cloud throne. The farther the river traveled from the source, the more splits that occurred until it resembled a tree branch.
Beginning from the source, a white ball flowed down the silver river. With each split in the silver river, the white ball also split into tinier balls. Over fifteen thousand years later, the white balls no longer appeared, and Tongtian was clad in an argent aura.
Her hair billowed as a powerful pressure emanated from her. Soon, Laozi and Yuanshi both opened their eyes as they felt the pressure. "Third Sister was a step faster."
The pressure exceeded Three Purity Palace and passed Kunlun Mountain's boundary. One thousand li, two thousand li, three thousand li, five thousand li, ten thousand li, fifteen thousand li, twenty thousand li, finally stopping at thirty thousand li.
Di Jun, Taiyi, Nuwa, Fuxi, Di Jiang, Jiuyin, Zhurong, Gonggong, Xuanming, Houtu, and all the gods nearby all felt Tongtian's pressure. A grave expression appeared on their faces as they felt Tongtian's strength exceeding the Great Firmament Realm.
Sitting in front of ten thousand demons, Di Jun glanced in Kunlun Mountain's direction.
"Did one of the Three Purities reach the same level as the Dao Ancestor?" Di Jun asked aloud. "No, although the pressure is strong, it hasn't reached the Dao Ancestor's level. And, there are no miraculous changes between heaven and earth, so just what did they do?"
In a secluded chamber, Taiyi opened his eyes and experienced the pressure with his body. A renewed determination entered his eyes as he closed them once more—the Chaos Bell above his head rang.
At the core of the Titan Tribe, the twelve titans gathered in a circle inside Pangu Temple.
"We should head to Kunlun Mountain and kill them immediately," Zhurong, with his ever-present fiery temper, said.
"Don't be an idiot. Yuanshi was enough to fight four of us. Although we have gotten stronger, one of them has exceeded the limit of our level. Attacking them now will only bring us losses," Gonggong said.
"What, are you afraid?" Zhurong accused.
"I'm just thinking calmly, unlike a brain-dead fool!" Gongong roared.
"Huh, you want to fight?"
"I don't come looking for fights, but I'll be sure finish them!"
"You wanna say that again?"
"As many times as you want!"
"Enough!" Di Jiang said as he glared at his brothers. He turned towards the wisest of the Titans, Jiuyin. "What do you think?"
Jiuyin shook his head. "Now is not the time. Although we suppress the Demon Clan, they outnumber us too much. If we take out the Pangu Genesis Formation now, it'll only cause the whole world to target us."
Di Jiang nodded. "For now, we will ignore the Three Purities. Once we eliminate the Demon Clan and claim our birthright, we can eliminate the Three Purities if they don't know what's good for them."
All the other titans agreed, but Di Jiang saw that Houtu was in thought. "What are you thinking, Sister?"
"I'm thinking of whether or not to listen to Hongjun's sermon. The Three Purities achieved this only after returning, so there must be some secret."
"Alright, go, but take Jiuyin with you." Di Jiang wasn't stupid. Although they only worshipped Pangu, they wouldn't ignore the strength of the other party. If it came down to it, he believed they could kill Hongjun if they took out their Pangu Genesis Formation, but the price would be too high.
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Three days later, the pressure receded, and everyone sighed in relief, but just seven days later, the pressure appeared again. This time, it wasn't only from one source, but two!
Both Laozi and Yuanshi surpassed the limit of the Great Firmament Realm!
The many gods of the Great Desolation wanted to curse. Did we listen to the same sermon? Why are you and I so different?
Those who learned of the matter redoubled their efforts to close the gap, but some traveled to Kunlun Mountain, hoping to seek guidance. One such god was Burning Lamp Daoist.
He hadn't been lucky enough to attend the first sermon, but he had heard wondrous tales. Burning Lamp Daoist wanted to worship the Three Purities as teachers. Unfortunately, he couldn’t enter Kunlun Mountain with his powers as a Golden Immortal of the Great Unity, so he could only lurk outside.
As the time till Hongjun's second sermon slowly came closer, a heavy pressure emanated from within Buzhou Mountain. Accompanying it was the ringing of a bell.
Tongtian, Laozi, and Yuanshi all stopped their discussion in the main hall of the Three Purities Palace and glanced towards Buzhou Mountain. 'It seems I can't rest on my laurels for too long.'