In the Three Realms Great Thousand World, there was Mystery in the east.
The Mystery Gate Daoist Sect set its footing in the east of the Three Realms, opening up three layers of heavenly realms above the Eastern Heaven.
They were called Penglai Heaven, Qinghua Heaven, and Tianhe Heaven.
All three heavens had been opened by the realms of the Dao-Wielding True Yang, and were jointly revered by all the Mystery Gate heavens. They revered:
Qingyan Heavenly Venerable, Mingyang Heavenly Venerable, and Kaiyuan Heavenly Venerable.
Yet the three Heavenly Venerables were not always within the Eastern Heaven Daoist Sect's Dao-fields. More often, the three Heavenly Venerables were at the extremity of the chaotic cosmos, placing themselves within the long river of time, comprehending the laws of chaos and deducing the Dao of the cosmos.
At this moment, within that endlessly surging long river of time that covered all the heavens and myriad worlds, three figures were moving against the current, tracing the source upstream in pursuit of ancient times.
Of the three figures, one was an old man in a bamboo crown and hemp robe, with crane-white hair and a childlike face; one was a genial, smiling middle-aged man in a jade crown and Daoist robe; and one was a solemn, imposing man in his prime, wearing an ornate crown and brocade garments. Behind their heads, three layers of blue, gold, and purple light halos mingled into a primeval unity, their clear radiance rippling out to cleanse the causal filth within the long river of time. Above their heads, three acres of auspicious clouds rose and fell, while blessed mists and rosy light erased all manner of karma and fate.
"Leaping beyond the Three Realms, no longer within the Five Elements" could no longer describe these three figures. Merely standing