The Path of Cultivation

Hongjun was still looking at Qing Xuan with a smile.

"Young friend, this is no ordinary spiritual treasure."

A fragment of a cracked jade disc, verdant green, appeared in Hongjun's hand.

"This treasure is a Chaos Supreme Treasure, containing the Three Thousand Great Daos. Unfortunately, when Pangu split Heaven and Earth, it could not withstand the pressure of chaos breaking apart and shattered into fragments."

"This treasure is still useful to me now, so I cannot trade it. Young friend, choose another spiritual treasure instead."

Qing Xuan hadn't expected Hongjun to explain the origin of the Fragment of the Jade Disc of Creation to him. He wondered if Hongjun was being too kind to him.

But opportunity wouldn't wait. Qing Xuan spoke up.

"Senior, one who hears the Dao may die at dawn content! This junior presumes to exchange the God-Slaying Spear for a chance to comprehend the Jade Disc!" Qing Xuan stated his goal without any concealment.

Qing Xuan understood that once Hongjun returned to Jade Capital Mountain, he would begin the Path of Merging with the Dao. The Heavenly Dao was merciless. Only while Hongjun still retained a shred of human sentiment could he have this opportunity to comprehend the Fragment of the Jade Disc of Creation.

Hearing this, the smile faded from Hongjun's face. He looked at Qing Xuan expressionlessly, his thoughts unknown.

After a moment, Hongjun smiled.

"This treasure can be lent to you for a thousand years to aid your enlightenment." Then Hongjun put away the Taiji Diagram, Pangu Banner, and other supreme treasures. "You may still choose one spiritual treasure to repay the favor I owed you."

"Thank you, Senior. I'll take this one."

Qing Xuan pointed at a small azure-green banner, then handed the God-Slaying Spear to Hongjun.

Hongjun accepted the God-Slaying Spear and the other spiritual treasures. "I still need the Jade Disc of Creation for now. I'll lend it to you after I'm done."

"Ah?"

"I said I'd lend it to you, not that I'd lend it to you now. Is there a problem?" Hongjun looked at Qing Xuan with a smile.

"Heh, no problem, no problem." Qing Xuan said gloomily.

"Alright, young friend. Until we meet again."

With that, Hongjun vanished. Though Qing Xuan was frustrated, he had at least obtained a promise. In the Primordial Wilderness, any promise carried the law of Karma. He wasn't worried about it being broken.

Qing Xuan put away the Eastern Green Lotus Treasure Banner. He was only missing the Northern Profound Origin Water Control Banner to complete the set of Five Directions Innate Banners.

Qing Xuan believed that the Five Directions Innate Grand Formation formed by the five banners was no less formidable than the Immortal-Slaying Sword Formation.

Qing Xuan flew toward the Three Immortal Islands, his mind wandering.

"I wonder if Da Bai has broken through to Zenith Heaven Golden Immortal yet?"

"Have those two cheap disciples of mine been born?"

"Kong Xuan is still named Kong Xuan, but what should I call the Great Peng Bird? Jin Xuan? Chi Xuan?"

And so, Qing Xuan drifted through the sky, lost in random thoughts.

Hongjun returned to Jade Capital Mountain. With a wave of his hand, the God-Slaying Spear appeared, vibrating slightly.

"This spear is not yet ready to emerge into the world. The seed has been planted. The rest is up to you."

With that, Hongjun tossed the God-Slaying Spear to the foot of the mountain to suppress it, then walked toward the Daoist temple.

"We pay respects to the Master." A boy and a girl stood on either side of the temple, speaking respectfully.

Hongjun nodded. "From today onward, This Seat will enter closed-door cultivation. You may go and cultivate on your own."

"Yes, Master."

"Hahaha, I'm back!"

Qing Xuan looked at his Three Immortal Islands. As the saying went, a golden nest or a silver nest is no match for one's own dog kennel. As his birthplace, Qing Xuan was quite satisfied with his nest.

He first went to check on Da Bai. The Spiritual Qi Egg formed by Da Bai's cultivation had not yet broken open. Qing Xuan sensed it for a while and understood that Da Bai still needed some time to break through. He left Penglai Immortal Mountain and headed for Fangcun Immortal Mountain.

Qing Xuan looked at the two enormous eggs before him and covered them with his Primordial Spirit power.

"Not bad. The Karma of the Phoenix Clan hasn't affected them. Their roots are extraordinary, so their future cultivation will be smoother."

Then he took out a Yellow Middle Plum, crushed it, and let the surrounding spiritual energy become denser, ensuring they could absorb it better.

"With such an arrangement, I wonder what their cultivation will be when they take form?" Qing Xuan was quite looking forward to these two cheap disciples.

Qing Xuan returned to Penglai Immortal Palace. Thinking back on the gains from this journey, he felt a stirring in his heart.

"It's time to clarify my path forward."

As a transmigrator who had come to the Primordial Wilderness, Qing Xuan knew that the most exciting era was about to unfold: the birth of innate deities, Hongjun's Sermon and his Merging with the Dao, the conflict between the Wu and Yao Clans, Nuwa Creating Humans, the establishment of the Six Sages, and the coexistence of the Three Sects—all of these major events would occur in the coming time.

With his current realm, Qing Xuan could scheme for some things in advance. But the most important of all—the Opportunity to Become a Sage—he had no intention of touching.

The six Heavenly Dao Sages were fated. Each Sage had their own responsibilities. They seemed to 'transcend the Three Realms and escape the Five Elements,' but in truth, it was all arranged by the Heavenly Dao.

There were three paths to sainthood: Law-based Sainthood, Three Corpses Merging Sainthood, and Merit-based Sainthood. The six Sages of later ages all achieved Merit-based Sainthood. Qing Xuan thought carefully.

"Only Hongjun succeeded in Three Corpses Merging. So whether that path is viable or not, I'll have to wait until after Hongjun's Sermon to ponder it carefully."

"Merit-based Sainthood means being constantly suppressed by the Heavenly Dao, and it also requires Primordial Violet Qi. For me, that's not a good path."

"Thus, I have only one path to walk—Proving the Dao with Strength, attaining Sainthood through Law!"

Qing Xuan set his future cultivation path. As the transformed form of a Chaos Green Lotus seed, his greatest advantage was the ability to accommodate all kinds of Laws. Since Qing Xuan had decided to walk the path of Law-based Sainthood, he intended to choose one Law to cultivate.

Though the Great Dao had three thousand, some were strong and some weak. Among the Laws, the top ten could be summed up in a single phrase.

[Time is honored, Space is king; Fate does not appear, Karma claims the throne; Creation is peerless, Reincarnation is infinite; Five Elements are primary, Yin-Yang stands above; Destruction does not manifest, Strength is supreme.]

Of these ten Laws, only one person could reach the pinnacle of each. Qing Xuan thought carefully.

"The Time Demon God—I don't know if he's dead or not. Better not to touch him. Yang Mei Immortal controls the Space Law. Fate and Karma are the foundations of the Great Dao and cannot be trifled with lightly. Old Ancestor Creation is dead, so the Creation Law might be worth a try."

"As for Reincarnation, only Houtu can likely cultivate it to the Dao. Five Elements and Yin-Yang are simple enough, but mastering them to great accomplishment is no easy feat."

"Luohu can use the Destruction Demon God's World-Destroying Mill, so his Destruction Law is probably already at great accomplishment. Though Luohu appears dead, it's best not to touch it."

"Finally, the Strength Law—this is what Pangu cultivated. And since I am now cultivating the technique Pangu left behind, perhaps I can walk this path."

Qing Xuan calculated carefully and found that among these ten Laws, not many were left for him to cultivate. Only the four Laws—Creation, Five Elements, Yin-Yang, and Strength—were temporarily unclaimed.

"I can leave the Five Elements Law to Kong Xuan. With his talent, he has a high chance of cultivating it to great accomplishment and becoming a Zenith Heaven Golden Immortal of the Origin."

"As for the Great Peng Bird... forget it. I won't touch the Yin-Yang Law either. The rest will depend on his own fortune."

"Damn it. Only Creation and Strength are left. Since that's the case, I won't choose. I'll walk both paths together—one of them is bound to succeed."

Having made up his mind, Qing Xuan began to circulate the Nine Revolutions Mysterious Origin Technique. After all, it was Pangu's cultivation method, and within it lay Pangu's insights into the Strength Law. Qing Xuan planned to first gain entry into the Strength Law.

And so, Qing Xuan began a long period of closed-door cultivation.