Ignoring the Saints’ shock, Tongtian closed her eyes and felt the changes in her Corpse. Of the six Saints present, only Yuanshi and Laozi noticed Tongtian's abnormality. They quietly flew closer to her, guarding over her.
When Tongtian received sixty percent of the merits, she transferred all of them to Lingbao, her Obsession Corpse. The immense amount of merit equaled when Taishang Laojun established the Human Way, perhaps even more, and triggered the Grandmist Violet Qi to merge with Lingbao's soul.
Tongtian's perception changed and merged with Lingbao's. What Lingbao saw, she saw too.
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At the top of the Allheaven Jianmu Tree, Lingbao sat in a lotus position with his eyes closed. He didn't perceive the stars above him or the tree below. Instead, he found himself in a mystical space full of indescribable colors and abstract shapes.
Holding these colors and shapes together were three thousand lines. In an instant, Lingbao understood where he was. This was the core of the Great Desolation, and the three thousand lines holding everything together were the three thousand laws that formed heaven and earth.
Some of the lines had already been claimed, such as the line representing the Law of Chaos taken by Yuanshi or the line representing the Law of Infinity taken by Laozi. Lingbao explored further and identified the line representing the Law of Karma taken by Jieyin and the Law of Dreams taken by Zhunti. Redcloud Ancestor had chosen the line representing the Law of Illusion, much to his surprise.
Of note, he couldn't discover what law the Dao Ancestor used to become a Saint of Heaven. Logically, there should be traces, yet he couldn't find any. On another note, although no Saint had taken the line representing the Law of Samsara, it was no longer available.
Tracing the line representing the Law of Samsara, Lingbao could see it connected to the Underworld and Empress Pingxin, despite her not reaching the Primordial Origin Realm. Only in the Underworld could the nether goddess unleash the power of a Saint of Heaven. Though, that would change if she ever reached the Primordial Origin Realm.
Lingbao extricated himself from any extraneous thoughts and focused on finding the Law of Spacetime. To enter the Primordial Origin Realm, a cultivator needed to master a complete law first, but it was too difficult. Laozi would have taken much longer if his Saint Corpse hadn't taken the line representing the Law of Infinity.
When Lingbao emanated the fluctuations of the Law of Time and the Law of Space, two lines vibrated in resonance. The silver line represented the Law of Time, and the gold line represented the Law of Space.
Unfortunately, no matter how Lingbao searched, he could not find the line representing the Law of Spacetime. 'Does the Great Desolation not contain the Law of Spacetime?'
Now, Lingbao was trapped between two options. He could either use the Law of Time or the Law of Space to become a Saint of Heaven. And his time was running out. He could feel the Grandmist Violet Qi that had merged with his soul urging him to choose. If he didn't, it would assign him a law at random.
As the vibrations intensified, Lingbao made his decision. He grabbed the golden line representing the Law of Space. Once taken, he exited the core space of the Great Desolation.
Lingbao's senses returned to the top of the Allheaven Jianmu Tree. A golden sea emerged behind him, with three twelve-petaled flowers above it. The three flowers descended and merged into the golden sea and melted. The sea rose above Lingbao's head, releasing a rainbow light. Its color gradually faded into translucency and transformed into an aurora coated in gold.
The coercion disappeared, and Lingbao opened his eyes. He had successfully become a Saint of Heaven. So long as heaven and earth existed, he was imperishable. Simultaneously, Lingbao and, by extension Tongtian, understood the stages of the Primordial Origin Realm.
The Primordial Origin Realm was divided into twelve layers. The Early Primordial Origin Realm consisted of the First Heavenly Layer to the Third Heavenly Layer; the Intermediate Primordial Original Realm consisted of the Fourth Heavenly Layer to the Sixth Heavenly Layer; the Advanced Primordial Origin Realm consisted of the Seventh Heavenly Layer to the Ninth Heavenly Layer. Finally, the Tenth Heavenly Layer to the Twelth Heavenly Layer represented a peak Golden Immortal of the Primordial Origin.
As a newly consecrated Saint, Lingbao stood at the First Heavenly Layer. Due to his previous accumulation, he soon reached the peak of the First Heavenly Layer. Had Tongtian become a Saint instead of her Corpse, she would have likely been able to enter the Third Heavenly Layer if she chose to control the Law of Time.
After stabilizing his realm, Lingbao rose from his lotus position, tore the space in front of him, and stepped through. He rushed to where Buzhou Mountain once stood to provide reinforcement.
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When the coercion disappeared, the Saints moved. Whoever the new Saint was, they would be competition for the Chaos Bell.
"The Chaos Bell belongs to the Demon Clan. As such, it should return to the Demon Clan," Nuwa said, reaching out.
"How can that be?" Jieyin asked. "The Demon Clan and Titan Tribe caused untold devastation and almost destroyed the Great Desolation. How can they be worthy of retaining the Chaos Bell?"
A golden vajra appeared in Jieyin's hands and struck Nuwa's hand. Nuwa frowned and summoned the Red Hydrangea, which she used to smash Jieyin's Vajra Pestle.
When his artifact rebuffed hers, Nuwa's brows furrowed. With her other hand, she summoned the Mountain and River Diagram. In response, Jieyin summoned the other half of his artifact, the Divine Mortar, to tangle with the Mountain and River diagram.
Due to the higher quality of her artifacts, Nuwa held the upper hand against Jieyin's single artifact, but only barely. While the two entangled each other, Zhunti took action.
"The Chaos Bell has fate with my West," Zhunti said as he sent out his artifact.
Zhunti had been gifted the top-grade innate spiritual artifact, the Plain Colored Flag of West Clouds, and the high-grade innate artifact, the Eight Treasure Merit Pond, but the artifact he took out was neither of those. It resembled a tree branch with seven forks and exuded a wondrous glow. It was the Seven Miracle Treasured Tree, a top-grade innate spiritual artifact.
Before the Seven Miracle Treasured Tree could touch the Chaos Bell, a yin-yang symbol blocked it.
"As one of the Heaven Opening Treasures, there is no one more suited for it than us, the Three Purities," Laozi said as he reached towards the Chaos Bell.
"Fate is determined by strength," Redcloud Ancestor said as he took action. "Whoever can refine it is fated with the Chaos Bell!"
Jieyin and Nuwa also stopped fighting each other and teamed up against Laozi. No matter how powerful Laozi was, he couldn't face the combined might of four Saints. He enlarged the Taiji Diagram and maximized the defense to block the Saint's attacks but was pushed away.
This time, Yuanshi appeared and swung his Pangu Banner. Chaotic winds emerged and pushed the Chaos Bell toward him. Upon seeing this, the four Saints once again combined their might against him.
Yuanshi snorted and waved the Pangu Banner. Unlike Laozi, he wasn't pushed back like the Grand Purity, but the Chaos Bell no longer drifted toward him.
Jieyin formed a one-handed seal and pointed at the Chaos Bell. A golden glow encased the bronze bell, and it drifted toward him. However, to Jieyin's, Zhunti's, Nuwa's, and Redcloud Ancestor's surprise, Tongtian suddenly appeared in front of it.
"The Grand Purity holds the Taiji Diagram. The Jade Purity holds the Pangu Banner. Naturally, the Chaos Bell should belong to me, the Supreme Purity!" Her hand grabbed the top of the bell, and the golden glow disappeared. Her pretty face showed a befuddle expression, but regardless of the abnormality, the Saints took action again.
Jieyin formed the seal again, but no matter how much energy he used, he could not establish a connection with Chaos Bell, no matter how slight. Since he could no longer establish a link with his karmic technique, he attacked Tongtian with the Vajra Pestle and Mortar. Nuwa threw her Red Hydrangea and Mountain and River Diagram at her too. Redcloud Ancestor hesitated but still summoned the red clouds and sent them at Tongtian.
Yuanshi appeared protectively in front of Tongtian with murder in his eyes. He swung the Pangu Banner and repelled the Vajra Pestle and Mortar, Red Hydrangea, and Mountain and River Diagram. He used his free hand to slap the red clouds and disperse them.
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Zhunti, who had not taken action yet, dissolved like a mirage. Next, he reappeared behind Tongtian and sent out the Seven Miracle Treasured Tree at Tongtian. "This isn't a battlefield a mere Quasi-Saint can interfere in."
Tongtian awakened from her daze and glanced at Zhunti. She rang the Chaos Bell, lighting up the engraving of her and Taiyi. Spatial energy was released from the Chaos Bell and wrapped around her, causing Zhunti's attack to fly through.
Four Saints widened their eyes as they saw this. They were shocked by two points. One, Tongtian seemed to have refined the Chaos Bell to an extremely high degree as if she had owned it for eons. The second, more shocking fact, was the profundity Tongtian displayed. The Saints could tell that Tongtian had completely mastered the Law of Space.
The difference between a Saint and a Quasi-Saint wasn't just the difference in the quality and power of their qi. More importantly, it was the difference in their mastery of the law. Now, Tongtian had displayed mastery that was equal to theirs!
Zhunti frowned, and the Plain Colored Flag of West Clouds appeared in his hand.
"Eldest Brother, why aren't you taking action?" Yuanshi roared as Zhunti attacked Tongtian again.
Tongtian activated the Chaos Bell again, and Zhunti found himself immobilized. He roared and forcibly broke free of the restriction, but it was already too late as the Taiji Diagram appeared in front of him and blocked his way.
Zhunti stopped and regrouped with Jieyin. The two, along with Nuwa and Redcloud Ancestor, stared at the Three Purities. Tongtian, Yuanshi, and Laozi also stood together, facing the four Saints.
"I really admire you three siblings' relationship. Even though she is only a Quasi-Saint, you actually let her have one of the three Heaven Opening Treasures," Zhunti praised.
"Zhunti, stop being so shameless," Tongtian directly called out. "Our relationship isn't something an outsider like you can butt in. Besides, who said I was only a Quasi-Saint?"
At this, Tongtian and Yuanshi revealed queer smiles. While Laozi retained the same expression, his eyes held disdain as he looked at Jieyin, Zhunti, Nuwa, and Redcloud Ancestor.
The four Saints wondered what the Three Purities meant, but their attention was distracted as they turned towards the approaching unknown Saint. They could see it was an unfamiliar man to all except Nuwa. Her eyes widened as the newly consecrated Saint flew towards Tongtian.
Jieyin, Zhunti, and Redcloud Ancestor wondered why Yuanshi and Laozi didn't take action, but they soon knew why. Their eyes widened in disbelief as the newly arrived Saint merged with Tongtian, and not a second later, she exuded the aura of a Saint.
The Saints weren't stupid and immediately guessed the truth. "You turned your Corpse into a Saint?"
The four Saints stared at the Three Purities in horror. Saints became consecrated by merging with the Grandmist Violet Qi and mastering a law of the Great Desolation. As such, each law could only be mastered by one Saint, but the same didn't apply to those in the Primordial Origin. To become Golden Immortal of the Primordial Origin, you only needed to master the complete law.
If Tongtian's Corpse was a Saint, that meant she could become a Golden Immortal of the Primordial Origin at any time. Thinking further, didn't this mean that Yuanshi and Laozi were the same?
All four Saints felt sweat drip down their heads as they thought of this possibility. Wouldn't this mean that even if they teamed up, they were still outnumbered by two?
Tongtian acted as if she couldn't see their thoughts and smiled at Zhunti. "Junior Brother, do you still think I'm unqualified?"
Before Zhunti could speak, she continued. "You probably do. I just became a Saint and can't compare to you. Since that's the case, I can only do this."
Four swords appeared around Tongtian, and the four Saints' faces paled. They were the four Immortal Extermination Swords. According to the Dao Ancestor, only the combined efforts of four people in the same realm could break it. Theoretically, Jieyin, Zhunti, Nuwa, and Redcloud Ancestor could break it, but Yuanshi and Laozi wouldn't stand still and watch.
"How can that be?" Zhunti stepped forward and said with a smile. "Senior Sister's might is unrivaled. I can only admit defeat and hope you can forgive my previous transgressions."
Tongtian felt her lips twitch at how fast Zhunti changed his attitude. 'Sure enough, shameless people are invincible.'
She stored the Immortal Extermination Swords and the Saints sighed in relief. They could only stare reluctantly as Tongtian stored the Chaos Bell. Who told them to be weaker than the other party?
The Saints searched for the Titanslayer sword. Although it couldn't compare to the Chaos Bell, it was still a powerful artifact, but they could not find it. Moments later, they saw Tongtian's smirk and understood. While they had focused on the Chaos Bell, Tongtian had grabbed Titanslayer before obtaining the Chaos Bell. The Saints could only sigh again. Even if they asked, would Tongtian hand Titanslayer over?
Reason, logic? Those weren't worth anything in the Great Desolation. Might makes right, and unless the Three Purities split, the other Saints could only remain below them.
Aside from the Chaos Bell and Titanslayer, the rest of the unowned spiritual artifacts couldn't enter their eyes. Only Redcloud Ancestor made a move to collect them. His entire net worth was actually less than Jieyin and Zhunti. Redcloud Ancestor didn't care for these treasures either, but he had to plan for his disciples.
With the distribution of the artifacts finished, the seven Saints turned towards the Titan Tribe and Demon Clan. The remaining giants and demons looked up at the Saints, awaiting their judgment. Gonggong was nowhere to be seen as he had already died. When the Starry Sky fell, he was the first to fall, transforming into a sea upon his death.
As the strongest, Yuanshi spoke first. "The Demon Clan and Titan Tribe have failed in their bid for hegemony. During the war, they broke the heavenly pillar supporting the sky and became the Great Desolation’s greatest sinners. As such, they should no longer appear in the Great Desolation and cannot contest for hegemony any longer."
"Although the demons are ridden with sin, the West is willing to take them in to absolve them, washing them of their Karmic Sins and bring them salvation," Jieyin said as his body exuded a golden light. Any demons who saw this suddenly became filled with yearning toward the West.
Nuwa frowned. She waved her hand and broke the golden light. "I am one of the demon emperors of the Demon Clan. They should follow me instead."
At this, the demons also looked at Nuwa. In the Demon Clan, only Di Jun held higher prestige. Compared to the barren West, they were more willing to follow Nuwa.
"Daoist Nuwa is right," Zhunti said. "You are the Southern Emperor, but because of that, you also hold responsibility for the destruction of Buzhou Mountain. If they followed you, I'm afraid they wouldn't learn and repeat their mistakes."
Nuwa turned toward Zhunti and glared. Zhunti only clapped his hands together and smiled. She turned toward Jieyin who stood next to Zhunti, and her eyes flickered.
"How about this?" Tongtian spoke, breaking the tense atmosphere. "We cannot forcibly take them. How about you let them decide for themselves?"
The three Saints nodded in agreement, and waited for the demons’ response. The demons looked toward the Three Purities, but the siblings closed their eyes. Obviously, they weren't willing to take the demons in.
Laozi practiced the Way of Inaction and did not want to accept disciples or followers. Yuanshi was even worse. He looked down on beasts like the demon clan. How could he be willing to accept them?
As for Tongtian, she felt a headache upon seeing a large number of demons. She didn't even want to establish the Interception Sect, which caused her total Karmic Luck to fall; why would she accept them?
One of the ten demon sages, Ji Meng, gritted his teeth and stepped forward. His body transformed into his true form, a white stag with crystalline horns. "I am willing to become the Heavenly Venerable of Numinous Treasure's mount!"
All the Saints, especially Jieyin, Zhunti, and Nuwa, stared at Ji Meng. After the war, hardly any Golden Immortals, Golden Immortals of the Great Unity, and Golden Immortals of the Great Firmament remained, much less Quasi-Saints. Furthermore, for one to willingly become a mount was disgraceful.
Tongtian stared at Ji Meng's stag form. Although his fur was no longer shiny and pure due to the injuries, it was still incredibly beautiful. She nodded and waved her hand, and a white light descended upon Ji Meng and instantly reversed his injuries returning his coat to its peak sheen.
"You can become my mount.” Tongtian looked at the demons behind Ji Meng. "The Deer Clan can also become my followers."
Ji Meng smiled and quickly flew under Tongtian, allowing her to sit upon him. His descendants flew behind the Supreme Purity.
With this, the rest of the Saints looked at Bai Ze with anticipation. When he flew behind Nuwa, they were disappointed. Furthermore, he was not willing to become a mount either. In terms of reputation and prestige, Tongtian's face instantly rose due to having a Quasi-Saint mount.
The majority of the demons followed Nuwa, but a few followed the two Western Saints, and Redcloud Ancestor also accepted a few to become his disciples. With the demons dealt with, the Saints turned their attention toward the giants.
Nuwa turned toward Zhunti and Jieyin. "Why don't you accept them as well? Didn't you want to save all beings in heaven and earth, then save the giants."
"Unfortunately, the giants have no fate with my West," Jieyin and Zhunti said. Who was Nuwa kidding? The giants only respected Pangu and had no spirit. They couldn't cultivate the Immortal Path, and having them in the West would only worsen it.
Although the demons were ridden with Karmic Sin, the two Western Saints had enough patience to slowly replace the sins with merits and turn them into protectors of the West. They did not need to worry about the sin contaminating them since Saints were unburdened by karma.
While the Saints argued, the ground suddenly trembled and split, swallowing up the giants. Tongtian, with her connection to the Allheaven Jianmu Tree, knew that Empress Pingxin had taken action using the power of the Underworld.
Since the giants had been dealt with, the Saints planned to return to their abodes. But then bell rings echoed throughout the Great Desolation. It wasn't the rings of the Chaos Bell, but the Purple-Gold Bell inside Violet Heaven Palace.
The Dao Ancestor had summoned them.