All living beings felt the coercion emanating from Kunlun Mountain. Compared to when Nuwa had been consecrated, it was vastly stronger, forcing all beings to kneel as a show of reverence to the new Saint of Heaven. The only exceptions were Tongtian and Laozi, who Yuanshi deliberately weakened his coercion on. For everyone else, he strengthened it, forcing them to kneel faster.
In Heavenly Court, Taiyi gritted his teeth as he glared hatefully in the direction of Kunlun Mountain. He swore he would become a Saint of Heaven or Golden Immortal of Primordial Origin no matter the cost.
As Yuanshi's coercion spread, purple qi arrived from the east. The fragrance of ten thousand flowers flooded heaven and earth as dragons roared, phoenix chirped, and the majestic song of immortals played in everyone's ears. Even the sun and moon dimmed as if ashamed of being in the Saint's presence.
"I am Jade Purity Yuanshi, the Heavenly Venerable of Primordial Beginning!" Yuanshi's voice echoed throughout the Great Desolation. "In three thousand years, I will open my doors and accept disciples. Those with talent, luck, and deep origins can come to test if they have fate with me!"
As soon as Yuanshi finished speaking, the coercion immediately receded.
Then, the excitement came. Every congenital god, demon, or even mortals like the humans grew excited. They may not understand what a Saint of Heaven represented or have lived long enough to remember Nuwa's consecration, but becoming a disciple of someone so powerful was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
A figure walked out of Peachsource Grotto of Jiuxian Mountain. His eyes contained infinite light and determination as he flew towards Kunlun Mountain.
A red-robed figure exited Cloudsky Grotto of Taihua Mountain and flew toward Kunlun Mountain.
In Goldawn Grotto of Jadespring Mountain, a figure sitting in a lotus position opened his eyes. He turned towards where the coercion had emanated from and, after a moment of hesitation, flew out.
A golden dragon flew out of Magu Grotto of Erxian Mountain. His body radiated dragonic pressure and forced all the gods and demons flying towards Kunlun Mountain to avoid him.
A white-robed god sitting in Goldlight Grotto of Qianyuan Mountain came out and flew in the direction of Kunlun Mountain.
For the next thousand years, Kunlun Mountain seemed to have become the center of the Great Desolation as all beings congregated there. Even if they did not fit the requirement of having talent, luck, and sufficient foundations, what if they happened to get lucky?
Before the potential disciples arrived, Tongtian left Supreme Purity Hall and entered Three Purity Hall, where she saw Yuanshi sitting. From a single glance, he appeared as if he was the origin of all things, and all things were birthed from him. The transcendent aura he radiated far surpassed Nuwa's.
Yuanshi turned his gaze on Tongtian, and she froze. She felt as if any secret she had was instantly seen through by Yuanshi, much to her extreme discomfort. For an instant, the sensation Yuanshi gave off reminded her of when the Dao Ancestor looked at her after the Way of Heaven had descended upon him. But just as quick as it came, that feeling disappeared, and Tongtian almost thought it was her imagination.
"Third Sister, I'm impressive, aren't I?" Yuanshi said with a smug smile.
Tongtian’s eyes twitched. She walked to the sitting Yuanshi and kicked him in the shin.
There was a loud sound akin to a metal ball hitting a metal wall, but neither Tongtian nor Yuanshi changed their faces. Before Yuanshi's consecration, Tongtian had the strongest body, having cultivated the Nine Revolution Arcane Art the furthest. But Yuanshi was a Saint now. Even if his flesh had been weak, only people on the same level as him could make use of that flaw.
Tongtian and Yuanshi just stared at each other, neither breaking the awkward silence. Thankfully, before the silence could last long, Laozi entered. "What are you two doing?"
"Nothing, I was just congratulating Second Brother for his consecration," Tongtian said as she sat down on her designated prayer mat.
Laozi saw Yuanshi's lips twitch, but he said nothing. Instead, he also sat down. "Congratulations to Second Brother for becoming a Saint."
Yuanshi nodded. "I've gained new insight into my Way of Primordial Beginning. Let's discuss our ways again."
Tongtian and Laozi nodded. Objectively, it was closer to Yuanshi guiding them, but he could still benefit from listening to Tongtian's understanding of the Law of Time and the Law of Space and Laozi's understanding of the Law of Infinity. Still, Tongtian and Laozi got the most out of their discussion.
When Yuanshi finished explaining his Way of Primordial Beginning, Laozi became even more unfathomable, and his eyes held everything and nothing within. Tongtian's aura turned ethereal. Although she was in front of you, you would feel like she was infinitely far, akin to the moon's reflection in the water.
""Thank you, Second Brother,"" both of them said.
"No problem. Aren't we siblings?" Yuanshi said, repeatings Tongtian’s words from eons ago. "Since I have become a Saint, the secrets of heaven have become clearer to me. I can answer any questions you have, such as if your Corpse can achieve sainthood."
"Then explain," Tongtian with a glare. "Stop whetting our appetites."
"Your Corpses can become Saints," Yuanshi directly said. He wanted to pause for a moment, but upon seeing Tongtian's increasingly lethal glare, he quickly continued. "However, the source, the foundation of your Corpse, is lacking. Thus you have to make it with Karmic Merit. As long as you gather enough merit, your Corpses can achieve sainthood."
"Do we need to create a race like Nuwa?" Laozi asked.
Yuanshi shook his head. "Nuwa and Minghe received merit because the race they created benefits heaven and earth. If you arbitrarily create a race and they bring harm to the world, you will be affected due to the karma they sowed."
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"I've observed the shura race. All they know is how to kill and slaughter. How can they benefit the world?" Laozi asked.
"They are born from the Blood Sea and the broken souls full of resentment. The more they are born, the less resentment fills heaven and earth. And when they die, their resentment will disappear," Yuanshi explained.
"And humanity?" Laozi asked.
Yuanshi shook his head. "They bear a fate greater than the shuras, so I cannot say. I can reveal some secrets of heaven, but others, you must learn for yourself and never divulge."
Hearing this, Laozi frowned and pinched his fingers. The Grand Purity tried to calculate the exact benefits brought about by humans, but he immediately stopped because he sensed that he would receive a backlash if he continued.
"Brother, have you sensed the Immeasura–" Tongtian stopped as she sensed the Way of Heaven's warning.
Yuanshi shook his head. "Third Sister, it is not time to reveal this secret."
Tongtian nodded. Contrary to her expectation, Yuanshi did not seem panicked by the Immeasurable Tribulation. If you failed the Immeasurable Tribulation, then everything would be over, especially Saints of Heaven who shared prosperity and longevity with heaven and earth. Yet, Yuanshi seemed to hold no regrets.
Yuanshi pointed toward the East. "Eldest Brother, your chance lies near the East Sea."
Hearing Yuanshi's words, Laozi turned thoughtful. A moment later, a white-robed Daoist holding a staff emerged from him. It was his Good Corpse, Taishang Laojun. The Corpse flew out of Three Purity Palace and to the East.
Yuanshi turned to Tongtian. "Third Sister's opportunity hasn't arrived yet."
Tongtian's brows furrowed as she recalled The Dao Ancestor's words.
"The reason that they are everlasting is because they do not exist for themselves.
Hence, they are long-lived.
Thus, although the Saint puts himself last, he finds himself in the lead.
Although he is not self-concerned, he finds himself accomplished.
It is because he is not focused on self-interests and hence can fulfill his true nature."
Saints should not be concerned with self-interests nor hold power. Despite this they still must hold a high position. Tongtian's mind spun as she recalled a particular bit of information. Laozi was the founder of the Human Teachings, Yuanshi was the sect master of the Enlightenment Sect, and she, Tongtian, was the sect master of the Interception Sect.
Saints of Heaven are teachers and masters. They teach others and guide them to benefit heaven and earth. Tongtian's eyelashes flickered. The Immortal Path focused on the detachment of oneself and absorbing the essence of heaven and earth for one's benefit. Is it really compatible with a Saint's role?
"I understand," Tongtian said. Then she stood up and retreated to Supreme Purity Hall.
Laozi's eyes flashed, wondering if Tongtian understood what her chance was. He felt a sense of urgency. Yuanshi had already achieved sainthood before him, and he didn't want to achieve sainthood as the last of the three of them.
Yuanshi just stared at Tongtian's retreating figure. After a while, he also returned to Jade Purity Hall. He had just entered the Primordial Origin Realm, so he needed to understand his new realm and consolidate all his gains.
In Supreme Purity Hall, Tongtian murmured to herself. "Do I really need to establish the Interception Sect?"
She wasn't opposed to establishing the Interception Sect, but the battle between sects was the main reason why she clashed against Yuanshi, Laozi, Jieyin, and Zhunti. Tongtian didn't fear them, but she did not feel much motivation to set up the Interception Sect. Hell, she didn't have much interest in teaching others in general, much less the sheer number of disciples the Tongtian of myths had.
Duobao, Jinling, Wudang, Guiling, Zhao Gongming, Yunxiao, Bixiao, Qiongxiao, and many, many more. It was one of the reasons why he had been able to form the Ten Thousand Immortals Formation and face off against the four Saints with his Immortal Extermination Sword Formation.
'Does that mean the Ten Thousand Immortals Book should eventually fall into my hands?' Tongtian thought. She was still quite interested in one of the most powerful formations in the Great Desolation.
Still, that didn't mean she wanted to establish the Interception Sect. 'What other actions can I do to gain immense merit? Form the Sixth Paths of Reincarnation? Forget it, I don't have the qualifications.'
Tongtian tapped her fingers on the Qingping Sword's scabbard. 'Creating a race is out of the question. Even if I create a race that fits with one of the six realms of reincarnation, it might not guarantee enough merit. If I used my original self to do it, it's more than enough since I also have Heaven Opening Merit, but I don't want to use it at all.'
She had a bit of a collector's mindset. The rarer something was, the less she was willing to part with it, and Heaven Opening Merit was definitely one of the rarest things in heaven and earth. Not to mention that it gave her a percentage of the Great Desolation's Karmic Luck without her having to do anything.
'Unless something calamitous happens to the Great Desolation, I doubt I can gain enough merits to achieve sainthood.' Tongtian's finger froze as her eyelashes flickered. 'According to myth, Gonggong destroyed Buzhou Mountain, the pillar of heaven, causing heaven and earth to crash into each other. Nuwa used five-colored stones to mend it and separate heaven and earth. One chunk of the five-colored stone disappeared and turned into Sun Wukong, but that's not the point.'
'If I can prepare a new pillar of heaven to prevent heaven and earth from collapsing on each other, would I get enough merit?' The more Tongtian thought about it, the more she felt certain that this was the perfect choice. She wasn't thinking about killing Xuangui ahead of time and using his legs as pillars. No, she had something much better.
A bronze-barked tree with iron-colored leaves appeared in front of Tongtian, it was the Allheaven Jianmu Tree. The Allheaven Jianmu Tree had a sturdy trunk, branches, and roots. As long as it was properly nurtured, it could become a pillar that supported heaven and earth, like Yggdrasil or other world trees.
After staring at it for a while, Tongtian gritted her teeth and summoned a jade bottle in her hand. The topper flew off, and a stream of water containing three different kinds of shining light melted into the connate spiritual root. After the Allheaven Jianmu Tree absorbed half of all the Threelight Divinewater Tongtian had, its vitality heightened dramatically despite not growing in size.
Lingbao, her Obsession Corpse, emerged from her body and grabbed the connate spiritual root. The rest of her Corpses also appeared. All three had reached the Peak Quasi-Saint Realm, and it was time to merge them.
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In Wuzhuang Temple of Longevity Mountain, Redcloud Ancestor sighed. He flipped his hand, and the Grandmist Violet Qi appeared in his palm.
Redcloud Ancestor had only successfully severed one Corpse, and he was stuck in his current realm, the Early Quasi-Saint Realm. He needed to calm down and succeed in cutting off his second Corpse, but his heart was restless.
He glanced towards the closed door inside the temple where Zhen Yuanzi had retreated to sever his second Corpse. Redcloud Ancestor's eyes hardened, and he stood up. He wanted to walk the earth and find a chance for enlightenment.
Who knows, perhaps something would be waiting for him.