The Saint Realm!

"You're going into seclusion to break through again?" Nuwa's eyes widened, and she felt completely overwhelmed.

How much time had passed?

Again?

The thought of trying to catch up to him had long since been abandoned.

"I just had a sudden realization, it's a minor matter," Tongtian waved his hand, appearing completely nonchalant.

The more he acted like this, the more unsettled Nuwa felt.

He always acted like this!

He didn't even change his lines!

Even if you're outrageously strong, there's no need to use the same approach every time!

Seeing Nuwa pout and roll her eyes, Tongtian couldn't help but reach out and gently ruffle her hair.

Fuxi, standing nearby, was dumbfounded and hadn't even had time to react when Tongtian himself froze.

With a swish, his figure had already vanished from the great hall.

"Sister, what… what is going on?"

Fuxi looked at the blush spreading across his sister's face and couldn't help but ask.

"None of your business! Hurry up and get back to your important work!"

Nuwa glared fiercely at him, then quickly left as if something terrifying were chasing her.

If one looked closely, they would notice that even her ear tips were tinged red.

Her heart, too, had begun to beat faster uncontrollably.

In the secret chamber.

Looking in the direction Nuwa had left, Tongtian withdrew his divine sense, a helpless smile appearing at the corner of his mouth.

It's over. This matter probably won't be cleared up anytime soon.

As he was thinking, a thought suddenly flashed through his mind.

It seems… maybe… perhaps… Nuwa isn't so bad after all?

Since I don't have a Dao companion anyway, why be so reserved?

As soon as this thought surfaced, he startled himself and then couldn't help but laugh out loud.

Let nature take its course.

He silently uttered this in his heart, shook his head, and stopped thinking about it.

He collected his thoughts and communicated directly with the system.

"System, extract the cultivation of the followers."

[Cultivation has been extracted and is being distributed…]

As the system's voice fell, a strange power surged into his body, bringing with it vast and boundless magical power.

As soon as these powers from his many believers entered his body, they became restless like a storm.

This was because their origins were mixed, and it was naturally difficult to tame them when gathered together.

He instinctively activated the Primordial Supreme Merit.

In an instant, those powers became docile.

As wave after wave of magical power poured into his body, the aura emanating from Tongtian slowly grew stronger.

Meanwhile.

Fuxi delivered a batch of Spiritual Treasures and materials for alchemy and artifact forging to the Elder Council. The twenty great cultivators were so stunned they couldn't speak.

Some even pinched their arms hard, fearing this was all a dream.

No!

Even in their dreams, they wouldn't dare to hope for such abundant resources.

Seeing their reactions, Fuxi couldn't help but tease:

"Look at you all, so easily surprised, truly pathetic."

"Why don't you learn from me? Calm and composed, undisturbed."

Fortunately, Nuwa and Tongtian were not present at this moment.

Otherwise, if they heard this, they would have to re-evaluate Fuxi entirely.

When did his thick skin reach such a level?

And he could still talk such nonsense with a straight face.

"Alas… I am truly ashamed. This is the first time in my life I've seen so many Spiritual Treasures,"

Qing Xuanzi's voice choked, and tears even welled up in his eyes.

The other elders nodded, their expressions complex and hard to describe.

"Alright, each of you pick one to use for now. The rest I'll have to send to the Treasure Pavilion."

"Don't worry, as long as you work diligently, the Sect Master will never treat you unfairly."

"Of course, if anyone harbors ill intentions, you all know the Sect Master's strength and methods."

Fuxi handed out sweet dates while also sounding a warning, employing a perfect blend of soft and hard tactics.

"Who would be foolish enough to have ulterior motives!"

"Exactly! From this day forward, my life belongs to the Intercepting Sect!"

The elders pledged their loyalty one after another, looking as if they were afraid of being even half a beat too slow. Fuxi couldn't help but twitch the corners of his eyes.

After a while, the crowd finished picking their Spiritual Treasures. Fuxi then took out the Universe Cauldron.

"To the elders of the Artifact Refining Hall, the Sect Master has instructed me to give you this Spiritual Treasure and these materials."

"As long as your efficiency is high enough, you'll be rewarded when the Sect Master emerges from seclusion."

The five elders of the Artifact Refining Hall were stunned at first, then filled with both excitement and emotion.

They were excited that Tongtian trusted them so much as to hand over such a treasure.

They were moved by the thought that if they could complete the task perfectly, perhaps the Sect Master, in his happiness, might bestow even more Spiritual Treasures upon them.

One elder carefully cradled the Universe Cauldron and solemnly promised:

"Rest assured, we will refine it as quickly as possible, even if it costs us our lives. We will definitely make the Sect Master's eyes light up when he emerges from seclusion!"

Fuxi nodded, then handed the alchemy materials to the five elders of the Alchemy Hall.

After giving his instructions, he didn't linger and turned to head towards the Treasure Pavilion.

On the Sun Star.

"I heard East King Duke is preparing to hold a grand ceremony for establishing his mansion and is inviting powerful figures from all sides to attend?"

Upon hearing that the Demon Race had been completely unified, Dijun raised his eyebrows slightly and said with a chuckle.

"A ceremony for establishing his mansion? Does he really think he's Tongtian?"

Eastern Emperor Taiyi scoffed, his face full of disdain.

In his opinion, East King Duke was merely lucky.

If he didn't have the title of the foremost male immortal personally bestowed by the Dao Ancestor, he would have likely died in some forgotten corner long ago.

He possessed neither true talent nor skill, and he constantly stirred up trouble.

"Reporting to the Heavenly Emperor, why don't we take this opportunity to attend their mansion-establishing ceremony."

"This way, the cultivators from the Purple Mansion will be gathered together, making it easy to capture them all at once and incorporate them. Also, we can take the opportunity to win over some of the experts who come to observe the ceremony."

Seeing a meaningful smile appear on Dijun's lips, Kunpeng stepped forward at the opportune moment.

He would have to eliminate East King Duke sooner or later anyway.

Since the other party was delivering themselves to his doorstep and even maximizing their final usefulness, he saw no reason to refuse.

"I support the Demon Master's suggestion," Bai Ze said after a moment's thought.

"I support it too."

"I also agree."

The Ten Great Demon Gods voiced their agreement one after another.

Seeing this, Dijun's expression turned serious.

"How long until the grand ceremony?"

"Five hundred years," Kunpeng replied truthfully.

"Good, then let East King Duke linger for a few more days."

Meanwhile--

On the Three Immortal Islands, Wuzhuang Temple, Netherworld Blood Sea, Kunlun Mountain, Mount Sumeru, Huoyun Cave, Moon Star, and other locations.

Almost all the powerful figures among the three thousand Daoists who had once entered the Purple Heaven Palace to listen to the Dao received invitations from East King Duke.

For a time, the expressions of the powerful figures from all sides varied.

While no one dared to refuse an invitation from Tongtian, quite a few people chose to ignore East King Duke's invitation.

After all, their strengths were not on the same level.

Those who explicitly refused included Fuxi.

Tongtian was in seclusion, and he handled almost all the affairs of the Intercepting Sect.

The reason he was unwilling to attend was, on one hand, because he disdained East King Duke's Purple Mansion;

On the other hand, although the movements of the Demon Race had been kept secret from many, they had not been kept secret from him.

Since that was the case, he naturally didn't want to get involved.

Of course, if he truly intended to attend, Dijun and Taiyi wouldn't dare make a move against people from the Intercepting Sect.

Meanwhile, on Tongtian's side—

As his cultivation continued to increase, his aura was also undergoing subtle changes.

Though minor, the changes were constant as his magical power grew.

Not long after, the changes gradually stabilized.

And at this moment, his strength broke through to the peak of the Quasi-Saint realm!

He was only one step away from the Saint realm.

Opening his eyes and feeling the power within him, Tongtian nodded in satisfaction.

"Since I've reached the peak Quasi-Saint realm so quickly, why not strike while the iron is hot and break through to the Saint realm in one go."

Muttering to himself, he raised a hand and drew out the Primordial Violet Qi within his body.

The so-called foundation for becoming a Saint was nothing to him.

He was on the path of Attaining Dao Through Strength and didn't need this violet qi at all.

Casually storing the Primordial Violet Qi into his system space, Tongtian paused for a moment before taking out all the Spiritual Treasures within him.

He planned to select a few supreme treasures from them to use for opening the heavens and proving the Dao.

"Hmm... the God-Slaying Spear and the Primordial Measure-Heaven Ruler can be used to open up heaven and earth, while the Heaven and Earth Mystic Yellow Exquisite Pagoda and the Twenty-Four Petaled Green Lotus of Creation can suppress the void."

"The Sect Master's Seal and the Sect Master's Edict can be used to stabilize the wind, water, fire, and earth. That should do it."

Putting away his other magical treasures back into his body, Tongtian moved his mind and directly entered the Chaos Bead.

Gazing at the gray, misty space before him, he said nothing.

With the Primordial Measure-Heaven Ruler in his left hand and the God-Slaying Spear in his right, he instantly activated the Great Dao of the Sword.

Rumble!

With a swing of his arms, two spatial rifts instantly tore open around him, centered on him.

Such rifts would make even a powerful Quasi-Saint cautious.

But Tongtian, relying on his strong physical body, didn't care at all.

What's more, he was surrounded by Spiritual Treasures like the Sect Master's Seal and the Green Lotus of Creation.

With such divine weapons protecting him, let alone spatial rifts, he could remain safe even if the world collapsed!

In just a few breaths, the spatial rifts began to slowly close.

Seeing this, how could Tongtian stand by?

He immediately swung the Primordial Measure-Heaven Ruler and the God-Slaying Spear.

One!

Two!

Three!

Several consecutive sword energies sliced through the void, continuously tearing and widening the originally cracked spatial rifts.

Deafening roars echoed throughout the entire space.

With a few more sword strikes, endless Chaos Qi began to churn and roar.

The void rifts grew larger and larger, and the rudimentary form of heaven and earth could be vaguely seen, with the wind, water, fire, and earth beginning to emerge.

"Open for this seat— OPEN!"

With a furious roar, Tongtian unleashed over a hundred sword energies consecutively.

Boom!

A resounding boom!

Yin and Yang were initially separated, and surging Yin Yang energies surged forth.

Accompanied by earth-shattering roars, the clear qi slowly rose, and the turbid qi settled layer by layer.

The distance between heaven and earth suddenly widened.

The wind, water, and fire seemed to have found an outlet, madly surging towards Tongtian.