Confucius smiled, neither denying nor confirming Daoist Lu’s words.
“How much longer until you plan to form your realm?” Daoist Lu asked.
“In a few months.”
“So fast?” Daoist Lu asked. Although a few months sounded long, but this was creating a realm. Even if it took hundreds of thousands of years, it would be considered short. In other words, Confucius had been planning this for a long time. “You never planned to compete with the Buzhou Immortal Sect, did you?”
Confucius just stroked his long beard. “I still want my face when the truth comes out.”
Daoist Lu said nothing as he took another swig from his wine jug. The two fell into silence, but the atmosphere didn’t turn awkward. At their realm, they could start meditating and comprehending the worldly laws at a moment’s notice. Even if they continued to talk, it would only affect the efficiency of their comprehension speed.
Like this, four months passed. During this time, the Saintly Scholar Sect had dispatched numerous immortals everywhere on the Mortal Continent and the millions of kilometers surrounding it. The immortal scholars weren’t visiting these places to write poems or for painting but to set up protective formations. Although it was called a protective formation, it had a strong stabilization effect.
The immortal scholars didn’t know why they were setting up the formations, but they had also heard what happened on the Heaven Continent and Earth Continent. It would be a lie to say that the shocking revelations did not worry them. They had confidence in their founder, Confucius, but that didn’t prevent them from fearing the Buzhou Immortal Sect’s momentum. With the Heaven and Earth Continent under their control, the only one outside of the Buzhou Immortal Sect’s control was the Saintly Scholar School on the Mortal Continent.
After the Saintly Scholar School finished setting up all the formation, Confucius appeared in the sky above the Mortal Continent, much like Tianyi before he destroyed the Eight Pillar Sect. However, unlike Tianyi, he wasn’t attempting to destroy anything.
Confucius spread out his arms and a taiji-sphere appeared from his chest. The taiji sphere continued to grow and grow. Seconds turned to minutes, minutes turned to hours, and hours turned to days. At first, it only covered the Saintly Scholar School, but it soon encapsulated much of the Mortal Continent, and then even beyond that. Wherever it passed, the formations established by the immortal scholars began to resonate with the taiji sphere.
The expansion of the taiji sphere didn’t stop until it covered around a fifth of the Huang Realm.
The commotion attracted all powerful experts in the Huang Realm. Even the mortal cultivators could sense an abnormal air in the world. Strangely, the Buzhou Immortal Sect didn’t take action. They didn’t even dispatch anyone to investigate. It was as if they were oblivious to the dramatic changes occurring in the Huang Realm.
However, that was not the case as numerous immortal monarchs and all the immortal emperors observed the situation from the edge of the Heaven Continent. Sect Master Xia, the Eternal Night Emperor, the Cloud Goddess, Grand Elder Zhang, and Xi Mengfei all stared.
Among them was naturally Xi Tianyi. Unlike the wariness of the others, his eyes were glued to the changes. That taiji sphere didn’t just contain the Law of Yin and the Law of Yang, but many other laws such as the five elements. More importantly, he could sense a greater law, one at the divine level.
Now, some people might not dare to attempt to comprehend the profundities displayed by Confucius, fearing they might bite off more than they could chew. If they rashly attempted to comprehend a law beyond their capabilities, it might damage their souls, or worse. People had different talents and attributes, making them suited for different laws. If they tried to comprehend an unsuitable law, it might harm them instead.
But would Tianyi even consider this possibility? Obviously not, and he had complete confidence in his abilities. He widened his eyes and experienced the wonders of the taiji sphere surrounding the Mortal Continent and its surrounding waters.
High in the sky, Confucius sensed Tianyi’s intent, and a slight smile appeared on his face. “Interesting.”
However, the smile soon disappeared. One eye became completely black with a small white dot, while the other eye turned white with a small black dot. The air around Confucius changed, and black thunderclouds gathered above him. The clouds roared as if it would start attacking him if he did not stop his actions.
The immortals of the Buzhou Immortal Sect, especially Xi Tianyi, recognized the black clouds. It did not signal the appearance of heavenly tribulation, but heavenly punishment!
Confucius didn’t acknowledge the heavenly punishment and continued operating the taiji sphere. Suddenly, a crevice appeared in the water outside the sphere. The water split akin to Moses parting the Red Sea, but anyone who looked down wouldn’t see the sea floor but further than that.
The sky of the Huang Realm darkened and transformed into night. The black clouds expanded and covered the shining stars. Now, the only light left was from the punishment lightning that descended upon Confucius.
The founder of the Saintly Scholar School didn’t even bother to pay attention to punishment lightning. The moment the lightning almost touched him, the taiji sphere blocked it. Not only that, but it started to spin and absorb the punishment lightning. Not only did the heavenly punishment not damage Confucius or disrupt his plan, but it actually helped him. More punishment lightning descended, angered by Confucius’s actions.
If any of the Eight Pillar Sect immortals survived, they would have been shocked upon seeing what happened. The principles behind Confucius’s technique were exactly the same as their Yin-Yang Reversal, only on a higher level. Reversing black and white, turning misfortune into fortune, and even transforming bad luck into good luck.
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Had it been the heavenly punishment of the Primordial World, Confucius would have had some worries, but this was just a mere realm. Let alone him, most divinities wouldn’t fear heavenly punishment, even if they couldn’t deal with it as easily as him.
As the punishment lightning continued to bombard Confucius, the gap between the colossal taiji sphere and the rest of the Huang Realm continued to widen. In an hour, the gap was no longer a gap, but a spatial rift. Although thin in comparison to the whole Huang Realm, the desolate environment of the Vast Void penetrated into the Huang Realm.
To the casual onlooker, it appeared as if the Huang Realm would be split in half. Despite this, none of the immortals from the Buzhou Immortal Sect observing this took action. Although fear appeared on most of their faces, they still had confidence in Sect Master Xia. In addition, they saw Sovereign Xi’s unfazed eyes.
However, this was not the same for the loose cultivators present. One of them, a relatively powerful immortal monarch, who temporarily joined the Buzhou Immortal Sect’s side during the great war, cupped his hand together and said, “I beseech the Buzhou Immortal Sect to strike down the devilish Saintly Scholar School and preserve the integrity of the Huang Realm!”
Mengfei didn’t even glance at the immortal monarch, but Sect Master Xia did. As the current leader and face of the Buzhou Immortal Sect, he had to deal with public relations. “There’s no need to condemn the Sainty Scholar School. They did this to preserve the peace of the Huang Realm. If they stayed, war would erupt between us and them.”
The immortal monarch opened his mouth, but he didn’t know what to say. However, one of the immortal monarchs didn’t have the same scruples. “So? Just because you’re scared, you’re going to let the Saintly Scholar School damage the Huang Realm?”
Although the immortal monarch’s words were rude, they echoed most of the immortal’s thoughts, even those of the Buzhou Immortal Sect. Still, that didn’t prevent many of the Buzhou Immortal Sect immortals from staring at him with unkind gazes. Even the amiability displayed by Sect Master Xia lowered by a few degrees.
“Look closely. Although the realm is splitting, the spiritual qi density has not decreased and there is practically no damage,” Sect Master Xia said, staring at the outspoken immortal monarch.
Many of the immortals, even the ones from the Buzhou Immortal Sects, expanded their senses. Even if their immortal sense could not reach the spatial rift, they could still see that the water of the Huang Realm did not leak out into the Vast Void, as if an invisible barrier had stopped it.
“So?” the outspoken immortal monarch said. “You didn’t deny that you were scared. Hmpf, the Buzhou Immortal Sect is only so-so.”
Many of the immortals who heard the outspoken immortal monarch’s words couldn’t help but change their expression. Was he crazy, openly disrespecting the Buzhou Immortal Sect? Had he forgotten the absolute victory they held over the Anti-Heaven Alliance and the Eight Pillar Sect?
As expected, the air tensed.
The outspoken immortal monarch opened his mouth and wanted to speak, but no words came out. His throat became incredibly dry, as if he hadn’t drunk for months. Not only that, he couldn’t move his body at all except for his eyes. To his further terror, his skin paled as the blood left the surface.
Under the horrified eyes, the immortal monarch’s aura disappeared. With just a thought, Sect Master Xia had killed an immortal monarch. After the display, none of the immortals present dared to question the Buzhou Immortal Sect.
Still, they couldn’t help but question how Sect Master Xia had killed the immortal monarch. Sure, they felt the fluctuations of immortal qi, but they didn’t sense any overt techniques. Only those who had embarked on the path of comprehending the Law of Water realized a bit of the truth.
Water existed everywhere, even in the air as tiny molecules. In addition, the Law of Blood was intricately linked to the Law of Water because blood was a liquid. Sect Master Xia first controlled the water molecules into the air and then shackled the immortal monarch with them. Next, he controlled the blood in the body to extinguish the immortal monarch’s life.
Sect Master Xia looked away. Although it was important to establish a righteous and magnanimous image, it was equally important to maintain the image of absolute power. Plus, although he had a good talk with Tianyi, the Xia Yushan incident still left a mark on his heart. Who told the outspoken immortal monarch to paint a target on himself?
With the distraction over, all the immortals paid attention to the separation of the Mortal Continent.
As the taiji sphere continued to pull away from the Huang Realm, the point of contact shrunk. It was much like when you split a water droplet in two, the point of contact between the two droplets would narrow until total separation. A few lucky immortals who comprehended a portion of the Law of Water gained some insights and would achieve greater success in the future.
Although seemingly terrifying and undoubtedly world-changing, the Mortal Continent successfully separated from the Huang Realm with no accidents. Once the spatial rift healed, the denizens of the Huang Realm could no longer see the Mortal Continent.
However, that was not the end. Although the Mortal Continent was extracted successfully, Confucius had not finished. With Confucius no longer present, the black clouds of heavenly punishment began to disappear. But before completely disappearing, it shot out one last bolt of punishment lightning.
Daoyi had already distanced herself from Tianyi, knowing his innate lightning rod attribute. And, as she expected, the punishment lightning struck Tianyi. However, it was only one bolt made up of the residual heavenly punishment, so it did not injure Tianyi at all. That didn’t mean Tianyi was happy, though.
Tianyi flipped the bird at the sky, and the heavenly punishment thundered one last time before evaporating completely. He snorted and waved his hand, slicing a spatial rift and flying out. Daoyi also flew out, but she didn’t need to worry about the harsh environment of the Vast Void with Tianyi’s protection.
Upon seeing this, the immortal emperor-level experts and above also flew out. Only a few peak immortal monarchs who had confidence in their strength followed. As for true immortals, they didn’t even dare. In the Vast Void, their strength would dramatically decrease. A few immortal monarchs couldn’t stand it, but the grand elders of the Buzhou Immortal Sect protected them. As for the loose immortal monarchs, who would care for them?
Confucius sensed their arrival, but didn’t care. Under his control, over ten high-ranking realms floated toward the taiji sphere and merged with it. The process took over a hundred years, but none of the spectating immortals left. When all the high-ranking realms merged, the taiji sphere disappeared, but the Vast Void did not destroy it—because the Mortal Continent had become a new immortal-ranking realm.
As if to announce its birth, a profound wave emanated from it, buffeting the shrunken Huang Realm and Numinous Realm. Accompanying it were Confucius’s words. “From henceforth, I announce the birth of the Virtuous Realm!”
From now on, the Three Thousand Immortal Realms System would now have three immortal-ranking realms.
Sect Master Xia flew to Tianyi. “How about we also begin the transformation of the Huang Realm?”
Tianyi nodded. “Alright.”
Under everyone’s eyes, Tianyi flew above the Huang Realm, and a silver-gold light erupted from him.