The east continent was in an uproar. The news of the three sovereigns took the world by storm. Three separate Great Principle Chaos Immortals had taken the opportunity to carve out large chunks of the world up into their own private territories. They were wholly unlike preceding experts who preferred to keep to themselves.
The status quo as the primitive world had known it had been utterly shattered. In this day and age, various innate clans debated whether they should join one of these forces. Some also debated whether they would set their eyes on the East Continent next.
All of this however, was meaningless to Hongjun. The ancestor of the great balance sat like a statue within Zixiao palace silently cultivating. He ignored the ongoings of the world as if nothing bothered him sitting on his purple prayer cushion.
Purple clouds swirled around him. Hongjun appeared extremely peaceful. A soft humming along with chanting could be heard. Inaudible for mortals and only understandable for the extraordinary.
Profound mysteries were created and disappeared within the same breath. Entire lineages of cultivation were thought up and discarded with but a thought. Primordial Qi circulate his body while his understanding towards the Dao continued to grow.
Hongjun slowly opened his eyes. The three flower crowns appeared above his head spinning with divine authority. Hongjun's eyes glowed with intense divine purple lights. His very essence was divinity of the highest order.
Two mysterious figures appeared on the left and right flower crowns. Two old men heavily resembling Hongjun sat upon the splendours like an immortal would a lotus seat.
They sat with hands clasped chanting softly cultivating just like Hongjun. They possessed the same level of insight but distinct feels. They could be recognised as Hongjun if one looked but that detail can often be overlooked.
Hongjun raised his right hand above his head.
"CUT!" He roared slicing down with his arm. His hall lit in vast purple light. They were like a wave of cosmic starlight illuminating the heavens like the heavenly river flowing through the nine heavens.
An intense Burts of energy erupted forth slamming and shaking the Zixiao palace to its foundation. The radiant force of a Great Principle Chaos Immortal who has achieved a completed Dao path and thereby reached the great principle of primal chaos spread irradiated like a bright star.
In this instance, even Golden Immortals would be smitten on accident by this energy pressure. Hongjun's forceful actions if done anywhere but within Zixiao palace would massacre living beings by the billions.
Then nothing happened.
Hongjun hunched his back frowning outwardly. He closed his eyes and recited several sutras before calming down from his disappointment.
"Forget it, these things take time," he sighed. "My progress is already too extraordinary as is." He manifested a tea set and boiled himself some spiritual tea before taking a small sip. He reveled in the taste and sighed in content.
"The path of Wuji is mysterious. But this era is still starting, we have another yuanhui before things really get serious," he comforted himself.
Taking another sip of tea, he began some divination into the status of the three sovereigns. When he got no results he didn't seem disappointed, rather he seemed to have expected this.
"Destined individuals are naturally protected after all," he said.
The key reason he couldn't track Da Hai, Zulong, or even Luohu and vice versa was because they were all protected by the Heavenly Dao. Da Hai even more so as he lived on Yingzhou which was a separate universe in and of itself being a chaos fragment.
Hongjun had personally gotten down and dirty and did detective work to work out the locations of Zufeng and Zulin. He followed rumours, sightings, and spiritual energies in order to find their location before tagging them.
He could never accomplish the same with Zulong as by then he had already begun living full time on Yingzhou and was thus out of reach. What's more, the east sea for the longest time was shrouded by the heavenly Dao which Hongjun wasn't willing to offend.
"To locate my obsession… Maybe I should," he mused simulating various possibilities in his head. This was the standard process for cultivators trying to break through, performing simulations before live experimentations. Most cultivators learned about what recourses they needed through this process.
Thankfully, the current world was still in a state where recourses weren't really necessary for cultivation outside of developing affinities or crafting. Hongjun silently went back to secluded cultivation after his short break.
…
Luohu tinkered away within his workshop. He neither sat nor meditated unlike Hongjun. Instead, he continuously worked on his new weapons, swords from their appearance. The devil ancestor was humming a cheerful tune that completely seemed out of place within his dark dungeon.
Occasionally he would pull a chained innate creature from their cage and experiment on them before moving on. He was energetic, proactive, and completely dead to the world.
Like Hongjun, Luohu ignored everything in the world except himself and the things he worked on. All the while, he circulated Qi and contemplated on the Dao. His body was on autopilot moving under instructions on any insights he gleamed.
This was how Luohu liked to cultivate. He would sit down and meditate but he also liked to work at the same time. Especially so now that he was inspired to create.
His recent battle with Hongjun had been embarrassing to him. While offensively he held the distinct advantage, defensively he was far inferior.
His offence while powerful, was not at a level where it could reliably pierce Hongjun's taiji painting. Hongjun's pangu banner on the other hand can reliably damage him and force him to retreat.
They may be neck and neck in cultivation realm and insight but in terms of battle power, Hongjun was the superior of the two. As such, Luohu wanted to rectify this.
The devil ancestor poured years upon years of work and was making steady progress. He had always been talented in bloodshed and things that caused such and this was no different.
Luohu was fully honest with himself. He would kill when he wanted to. He would teach who he wanted to. He would do whatever he wanted to do even if others disagreed with him. He would follow his own desires until the very end, indulge in whatever he wanted and live however he wanted.
Right now, the only thing Luohu wanted was to kill Hongjun. If he can't make it happen then he will do something to make it happen.
"Alright, let's test this," Luohu mused grabbing hold of a standard looking sword. The metal was dark grey and jewels embedded themselves on the handle.
Luohu turned towards a chained wolf looking at him with fear.
"Wai…" the wolf barely made out before Luohu slashed at him unflinchingly. He bisected the innate creature in one stroke and frowned. He tossed the sword aside and went back to his bench.
"The trapping effect didn't even activate," Luohu mused. He immediately got the work refining another slag of metal. Let none say Luohu was a quitter.
"No matter, there's still 49,000 other possibilities I have still yet to test," he said while moulding a new sword.
"Ah, Wuji oh Wuji. The great principle without limit. The paramount force without limit. Oh great Wuji," he sang. His progress wasn't fast but it was smooth. Limitless Supreme Chaos Immortal was an eventuality that he had long vowed to reach. He just never thought this would be how he does so.
…
Wangshu walked down a set of stairs down a dark stairway lit by torches containing mini suns. She looked incredibly uncertain at this process but nevertheless trudged on.
Her feet tapped against the dusty stone with soft taps. Yet the space was so empty that each of her footsteps made noticeable tapping sounds.
Wangshu arrived before a hidden study and walked into a small cultivation room complete with hanging calligraphy works and a prayer cushion. She walked past all of that wand punched into the brick wall.
Pulling across the wall revealed another hallway. The goddess obliterated the wall and stepped through. As she did so, more torches lit following her along.
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Wangshu grimaces arriving at the final door. She pushed it open into an empty room. It was pure silver and contained nothing that could be seen. Nothing that could be sensed.
The only object was a floating wisp.
"Oh? Little girl, you back?" A mature woman's voice asked.
"Yeah," Wangshu replied. "Things have changed since last we spoke."
"Heh," the wisp chuckled. "And here I thought you wouldn't come around."
"Oh don't mistake me seeking your help as me liking you. I detest everything about your society," Wangshu sneered. "But the current world order necessitates me seeking your aid."
"Hmph, in the end, you're still the one seeking my aid. Ask away little girl, what is it you seek," the wisp relented.
"The path to the limitless principle wuji" Wangshu revealed. She was met with silence as the wisp glanced at her in shock.
"Wu…Wuji? WUJI? You, you've actually… How the hell did you reach Primal Zenith Chaos Immortal so fast?" She practically screamed. Wangshu looked at the wisp unimpressed, she folded her arms and tapped her fingers waiting for her answer.
"Hai, youngsters," the wisp sighed. "I thought my generation was talented. No chaos life forms were ever quite like us. But to think a goddess from a chaos world utterly smashed out records."
"Cease your reminiscing Moon Demon god, I don't want to be here longer than necessary," Wangshu sneered.
"Heh fine," the wisp revealed to be Moon Demon god said. Wangshu could feel the wisp smirking at her even though it lacked any facial details.
The wisp's true identity was the Moon Demon god of the three thousand chaos godfiends. In the distant past, she was the moon lord of the celestial lunar temple, a major power among the godfiends society.
She was the counterpart of the Sun Demon god Lu Ya and worked alongside the sun deity as part of a larger alliance of godfiends. Together they were the supreme chaos lords of five planets seven stars.
After Pangu split the chaos apart and created the primitive world. Moon Demon god perished alongside her brethren. However, she ultimately failed to reincarnate and remained as a remnant spirit dwelling within the core of the lunar star's moon palace.
Her counterpart, Lu Ya had managed to survive but sadly perished as well in the early days.
"Very well, Moon Star lord," Moon Demon god said. Her sudden shift in tone indicated her change of topic. Wangshu was typically called little girl by her due to her carefree attitude.
Currently, Moon Demon god decided to refer to Wangshu as her proper position as Moon star lord. Technically speaking, as the highest authority among the stars, Wangshu's title could also be Heavenly Sovereign of the Highest Moon Palace.
"The path to Wuji is the path to Grand Dao," Moon Demon god stated. "The path to finding Wuji is simple but nigh impossible. Unlike the process of Dao creation, it is universal across all seekers of the Dao."
"By completing your Dao, you had already refined it to the highest level. Achieved the absolute realm of the supreme ultimate Taiji. But Wuji is not Taiji, it is the without limit ultimate that exists before Taiji," Moon Demon god explained.
"Get to the point, I already know this," Wangshu said impatiently. She was very unlike her usual self. Then again, she did not like dealing with the Moon Demon god.
"To achieve Wuji, you must work out the processes in which Wuji became Taiji. The grand principles of zero to one to two to three," Moon Demon god explained. "Any one of these principles when understood would elevate you to Wuji."
"That's it?" Wangshu asked slightly confused.
"Expecting something more?" Moon Demon god sounded amused. "Wuji is after all, a bridging realm to Dao. But it is still functionally still a Chaos Immortal. The great principle you seek is merely superior."
"I see," Wangshu said turning around to leave.
"Tell me Moon star lord," Moon Demon god's wisp said. "Would you finally be carving out your rightful destiny?"
"I am not your successor," Wangshu all but growled. "I refuse to conquer and enslave as you would have it."
"Hai, such a waste of potential," Moon Demon god scoffed. "Even so, you are still the sovereign of the stars. My title is one you own, Moon star lord."
"I don't care," Wangshu scoffed walking out of the room.
"You should. I named you a sovereign of the stars after all. Extreme Yin Primordial Sovereign, Holy Queen of the Highest Moon Palace," Moon Demon chanted. "You can be so much more than you are."
Wangshu ignored all that was said and sealed the room once more. She restored the brick and walked out no longer interested in staying.
"Wuji, the path is unclear but I have to reach it if only so that I have a chance to survive," she murmured.
Appearing on the balcony overlooking the starry sky, Wangshu starred in the distant great wilderness. "Good luck Da Hai, may you too see success on your path," she said. Turning away, Wangshu entered secluded cultivation.
…
Da Hai placed the letter he was reading down. Zulong had opted to remain in the south sea as deterrence against Zufeng until the dragon palaces are finished construction.
Progress was slowed down by a few thousand years due to the abrupt need to gather rich materials and laying down intricate formations. Si Hai's palace was damaged to the point where it was little better than a broken down shack.
The ancestor of the great sea rubbed his chin in thought. "The world's moving so fast," he mused. Yi Fei'e had challenged and successfully passed the Golden Immortal tribulation ascending to that illustrious realm that was slowly becoming more and more common.
The power standard was becoming higher and higher. Previously, Heavenly immortals were overlords while Golden Immortals were absolute gods. Nowadays, Golden Immortals were dime a dozen while Great PrincipleGolden Immortals were true experts
However, with the emergence of the three sovereigns, this was bound to change again. Chaos Immortals are the new overlord realm while everyone else were booted down the totem pole.
Da Hai contemplated his own cultivation. He was still stuck at the Primal Origin level of Chaos Immortal. His Dao has still yet to evolve beyond the level of primal chaos and it had bugged him to no end.
The Dao of distant seas has been expanded in all the ways Da Hai had thought of. He'd developed it to the absolute peak yet it still wasn't enough. The sea portion was already fully understood and the distant portion was nearly done.
Distant inherently meant far away. But also implies a degree of visibility. Da Hai understood this and created pellucid divine water, a substance that allowed for one to be unreachable yet close. It was also an Dao that excelled in remaining unnoticeable. He picked up a brush as he contemplated and began doing calligraphy, it was an activity he adopted that soothed him these days.
Da Hai was still contemplating when he heard a knocking sound. "Come in," he said.
"Master," Yi Fei'e greeted the sea god. "New letter from eldest senior brother," she said. Senior brother here referred to Zulong. Her term of reference has now changed with her status.
Picking up the letter, Da Hai read:
P.S. Forgot to write this part but I've also decided that after the palace's construction, I will hold my coronation in the East Sea Dragon Palace. Expect to see a massive influx of people in the coming years.
It was very short and concise. Da Hai frowned slightly as he thought about the dragon's situation.
"Dragon sovereign," he mused. He was incredibly proud of his disciples. However, he could not shake off that instinctive sense of fear. Not fear at his disciples, but fear at their destinies.
Doing so brought Da Hai back to when he first met them. To a time where he still desired to use them as his vanguard. A time where he was falling into an abyss of rage he hadn't even noticed.
"He will succeed in the end, right?" He questioned. Yi Fei'e looked curiously as her master's face slowly contorted to one of unsure fear.
'So many factors in this world, can Zulong stand against all stacked against him. The Phoenix, the Qilin, the Dragon are all pawns of the heavenly Dao destined to develop the world into the next era,' Da Hai thought with no small horror.
'Can I, let him do this?'