The Investiture of the Gods

The history of the Human Race flows, marked by the emergence of great beings, the pain of great calamities, and the courage to fight the Demon Emperor. More importantly, it is the path of independence, autonomy, and strength forged by the Three Sovereigns leading the Human Race.

The scene flashed by, illuminating the entire world.

The Two Sages of the West gazed at this scene and sighed, "Xuandu is about to slay his corpse!"

All Saints felt a sense of connection and empathy.

As the Imperial Tutor to the Three Sovereigns, with their perfection now achieved, Xuandu himself had reached a critical moment for slaying his corpse.

Seeing Xuandu's Evil Corpse avatar—Great Emperor Fengdu—appear, the expressions of the Saints were incredibly complex.

The Grand Pure lineage now possessed an invincible Supreme Saint, a peak Quasi-Saint with the status of Imperial Tutor to the Three Sovereigns, and the Three Sovereigns Saint, boasting terrifying foundations.

At this moment, a corpse-slaying blade descended from the Lingjiu Palace Lamp, and the figure of Great Emperor Fengdu leaped out. He wore a crown, was clad in a black emperor's robe, and his eyes shone with divine light.

A single glance seemed to pierce directly into the Underworld, revealing the life of the deceased.

With the appearance of Great Emperor Fengdu, a grand momentum and aura condensed in the world, originating from beyond the thirty-third heaven.

Above the void of the Human Race, the voice of the Heavenly Dao resounded, gathering immense power.

Before Great Emperor Fengdu, a tome appeared—the Book of Life and Death, the Human Record—along with a brush of reincarnation.

This scene sent countless observing great powers into a frenzy.

Xuandu broke through his limitations, gaining a majestic power that no one dared to ignore.

Holding the seemingly ordinary book and brush, they concealed unfathomable, mysterious power.

This was the magic of the Human Record and the Reincarnation Brush.

Just as Zhen Yuanzi established himself in the Earth Immortal Prefecture with the Book of Earth, Xuandu now obtained the Book of Humanity and became Great Emperor Fengdu, the master of reincarnation.

Thus, he was qualified to establish the Underworld within the Six Paths of Reincarnation and become its new master.

Great Emperor Fengdu's majestic aura made it impossible for all beings to harbor any disrespect.

Even the Saints in the void could not ignore Xuandu's existence; his prestige had surpassed that of many established powers.

Xuandu's second slain corpse, Great Emperor Fengdu, was on par with Zhen Yuanzi, the ancestor of Earth Immortals.

Even without considering his other identities, Xuandu was enough to look down upon the entire Primordial World.

At this moment, Xuandu was no longer the second-generation ** who needed protection; he had truly grown into a powerhouse capable of standing on his own, becoming Taishang's capable assistant.

Under these circumstances, the other Saints could not help but develop complex emotions and thoughts regarding Xuandu's background and the speed of his growth.

They understood that for Xuandu, a being of the Human Race, to achieve such success, there must have been extraordinary forces propelling him from behind.

The most crucial factor was not his personal effort, but his mentor.

People only saw Xuandu's achievements, yet overlooked the power of Taishang behind him.

In comparison, the Saints realized the gap between themselves and Li Er.

Even the combined might of the Five Saints could not defeat Li Er alone.

Despite having many disciples in their great sects, they struggled to find talents like Xuandu.

To be compared with Taishang as a Saint was truly a source of sorrow and irony.

On the Human Race's Zen platform, no one dared to look down on Xuanyuan's disciple Xuandu anymore. Xuandu had proven himself with his strength, and also declared that the Grand Pure lineage's grand momentum had been established.

Xuandu turned to Great Emperor Fengdu, informing him that the promise of the Underworld pact had arrived.

Great Emperor Fengdu swore an oath and established the Underworld with the Book of Humanity and the Reincarnation Brush. With the complete establishment of the Underworld, Xuandu sighed that the latter two of the Heaven, Earth, and Human Books had now appeared.

The Book of Heaven was about to arrive! The renowned Investiture of the Gods was its key artifact, and it also heralded the Investiture of the Gods Calamity.

Li Er had already departed; his task was complete.

After becoming the Dao Human Emperor, he bid farewell to the other Saints and returned to the Eight Sceneries Palace in Xuandu Purple Mansion.

The construction of the Underworld had stirred immense waves throughout the Primordial World.

The **s under Taishang were constantly refreshing their understanding. The words "grand momentum has been established" had deeply impressed themselves into everyone's minds.

The beings of the Primordial World finally understood why that Taishang Saint only accepted one disciple: because even with just one, his power was enough to shake the entire Primordial World.

If he were to establish another sect, how would the other Saints position themselves? One person could contend against numerous Saints, and one disciple could establish a sect! Furthermore, the Three Sovereigns Saints had all joined the Grand Pure lineage, and the great powers of the Primordial World were also flocking to his banner.

They felt that being contemporaries of Taishang Saint was both fortunate and unfortunate.

The Four Saints gazed at the flourishing state of the Grand Pure lineage, their hearts churning.

Their disciples in the Yuanshi, Tongtian, Jieyin, and Zhunti sects, though numerous, could not match it, filling them with helplessness and unwillingness.

Therefore, their hope rested on the Five Emperors' Imperial Tutor, who became their sole hope for turning the tide.

They longed for a disciple to successfully slay their corpse and become a Quasi-Saint, thereby bolstering the prestige of their Dao lineage.

However, Guangchengzi, as the first Imperial Tutor of the Five Emperors, although his cultivation was complete, had only attained the Grand Unity Dao fruit, disappointing the Four Saints.

The merits gained during the era of the Five Emperors were insufficient compared to those of the Three Sovereigns era.

Guangchengzi, as an Imperial Tutor, could only receive limited merit.

Moreover, his cultivation was only at the Taiyi Golden Immortal stage, making it seem hopeless for him to achieve a breakthrough by slaying his corpse.

Gennō was able to slay the three corpses because he integrated the merit of the Imperial Tutor of the Three Sovereigns and his profound understanding of the three major stages of the Human Race.

In contrast, how could Guangchengzi, as the Imperial Tutor of the Five Emperors, slay the three corpses? Despite this, Guangchengzi was still the leading figure among the second generation of the Heavenly Origin Sect and the Intercepting Sect to achieve Grand Unity, saving face for Yuanshi and making him feel slightly more at ease.

He was fortunate to have snatched the position of the first Imperial Tutor of the Five Emperors from Li Er. If Tongtian had gotten there first, the Intercepting Sect's momentum would have overshadowed the Heavenly Origin Sect.

However, while Yuanshi was in good spirits, Burning Lamp's mood sank to a low point.

As the Vice Sect Master of the Heavenly Origin Sect, being surpassed by Guangchengzi made him lose all face.

The critical point was that the twelve Golden Immortals of the Heavenly Origin Sect were all arrogant and considered themselves superior. With Guangchengzi achieving Grand Unity, his position as Vice Sect Master was precarious.

The hatred from the treasure snatching, the crisis of his vice sect master position, and the hopelessness of slaying the three corpses, Burning Lamp's mindset was on the verge of collapse.

The Five Emperors of the Human Race continued to develop. Following Guangchengzi becoming the Imperial Tutor of Zhuanxu, the Intercepting Sect's senior disciple, Duobao Daoist, became the second Imperial Tutor – the Imperial Tutor of Di Ku.

Similar to Guangchengzi, Duobao Daoist helped Di Ku create a true golden age during his era.

Besides this, Duobao Daoist had no significant differences from Guangchengzi, and he eventually also achieved Grand Unity Golden Immortal.

Two of the Five Emperors' Imperial Tutors had been confirmed, and everyone thought the third Imperial Tutor would fall into the hands of Jieyin and Zhunti.

However, to everyone's surprise, the Imperial Tutor of Emperor Yao turned out to be Zhen Yuanzi, the ancestor of the Earthly Immortals.

Although this arrangement was unexpected, Zhen Yuanzi, as the ancestor of the Earthly Immortals and a giant of the Daoist Sect, was more than capable of serving as an Imperial Tutor for the Five Emperors.

What's more, the power to designate the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors rested with Saint Taiqing, and no one dared to defy his arrangements.

Under Zhen Yuanzi's guidance, Emperor Yao further refined the Human Race's systems and calendar, invented winemaking, and created Go.

All these events aligned with the elegance of the Daoist school, involving figures like Zhen Yuanzi, Emperor Yao, Emperor Shun, and Da Yu.

Zhen Yuanzi was renowned for his leisurely, carefree, and tranquil Daoist elegance.

Emperor Yao and his master Zhen Yuanzi were hailed as eternal imperial models and teachers for all generations.

Following Emperor Yao, Emperor Shun became the Co-Lord of Humanity.

However, the choice of Imperial Tutor was unexpected, not the Two Sages of the West, but the West Queen Mother and East Emperor Jun.

Everyone was speculating about the reasons behind this, especially the identity of East Emperor Jun. After calculations, it was discovered that he was the reincarnation of East King Duke.

This also meant that Emperor Yao, Emperor Shun, and Da Yu, the three among the Five Emperors of the Human Race, were all successors of the Daoist lineage of Li Er and the Grand Pure lineage.

Zhen Yuanzi, the West Queen Mother, and East Emperor Jun were all under Taiqing.

The inheritance arrangements of their lineage were gradually being revealed.

Li Er seemed to be fully aware of the development of this situation.

This shift in the situation was extremely unusual, "Nine-Four-Seven."

It seemed to have touched the nerves of many powerful beings.

The arrangement of the Five Emperors' Imperial Tutors, coupled with the tacit approval of the Daoist lineages and the Two Sages of the West, had already attracted widespread attention from all beings in the Primordial World. The powerful beings felt awe and lamented it as "Taiqing's grand scheme."

Regardless of how the great powers of the Primordial World speculated, Li Er remained unmoved.

At this time, the development of the Five Emperors of the Human Race had reached its final emperor – Da Yu.

East Emperor Jun was made the Imperial Tutor of Da Yu because his status was most suitable for Da Yu.

With the assistance of East Emperor Jun, Da Yu successfully quelled the great flood and, due to his merits, was abdicated to by Shun, inheriting the position of Co-Lord of Humanity.

Subsequently, East Emperor Jun emulated the supreme treasure Qiankun Cauldron of Taiqing, assisting Da Yu in casting the Nine Cauldrons, thereby condensing the Human Race's fortune and bringing it to its peak.

The Nine Cauldrons were named after the Nine Provinces, and when the cauldrons were completed, heavenly merit descended.

After Da Yu's merits were fulfilled and he abdicated, Li Er, holding the Kongtong Seal, consolidated the grand momentum of the Human Race, inscribed the names of the Five Emperors, and formed the true grand momentum of the Human Race's Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors.

After completing all this, Li Er let the Kongtong Seal disappear into the void.

The Saints understood that this was a sign of the Kongtong Seal completely becoming a supreme treasure of the Human Race.

From this moment on, although Li Er seemed to have lost the seal, it was actually still enshrined in the Human Race's Sacred Temple, and he could still establish and depose human emperors with a single thought.

It is worth noting that...

Both the Heavenly Origin Sect and the Intercepting Sect hoped to reach the heavens in one step by becoming Imperial Tutors of the Five Emperors, pursuing the realm of slaying the three corpses and proving oneself a Quasi-Saint.

But neither of them succeeded.

Unexpectedly, it was East Emperor Jun.

Although he had gone through reincarnation and cultivation, his current cultivation was still shallow, only reaching the realm of Grand Unity Golden Immortal. However, as Da Yu's imperial position stabilized, he successfully broke through the slaying of the three corpses and achieved Quasi-Saint by relying on this merit.

Among the Imperial Tutors of the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors, he was the only one who achieved Quasi-Saint through the merits of being an Imperial Tutor.

This was his good fortune.

The Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors of the Human Race had all taken their rightful places, bringing powerful combat strength to the Human Race.

And the Grand Pure lineage's power was demonstrated by occupying six of the Imperial Tutor positions for the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors, causing the other Saints to lose face.

One disciple surpassed the entire sect!

They had hoped to catch up to the Grand Pure lineage, but in reality, the gap was widening.

Even though Quasi-Saints were like ants in their eyes, the struggle for the Dao lineage brought an invisible pressure.

The Heavenly Origin Sect, Intercepting Sect, and Western Sect all entered the mortal world to cultivate and spread their teachings among the Human Race because of this.

Since the Five Emperors' Dao lineage had not yet been established and Li Er had not founded a sect, they intended to seize the initiative and make arrangements within the Human Race to prepare for the future struggle of the Great Tribulation.

The Human Race was the protagonist of heaven and earth, and the future struggle for the Dao lineage would also be initiated by the Human Race.

The second generation of the three sects could already handle matters independently. They entered the mortal world to cultivate and make arrangements within the Human Race, aiming to discover suitable disciples and grand-disciples.

As the three sects began to enter the mortal world, the Human Race transitioned from the era of the abdication system to the era of dynasties, where power was passed down within families.

Emperor Yu abdicated the position of Co-Lord to Bo Yi instead of his son, Si Qi. This action differed from that of the previous Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors.

Emperor Yu chose to avoid suspicion, demonstrating his strong decisiveness.

This also marked the end of the era of the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors and a new phase in the development of the Human Race.

Afterward, Qi ascended the throne, breaking the abdication system and implementing a hereditary system.

After Bo Yi took charge as the Co-Lord of Humanity, Qi established the Great Xia Dynasty, and he became the King of Xia.

However, the development of the Human Race and the changes in the Great Xia Dynasty did not receive the attention of the three sects after the era of the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors.

They focused more on finding potential outstanding disciples among the Human Race to serve as their third-generation inheritors.

The Heavenly Court had been in decline since the Witch-Demon Calamity, with countless demon kings leaving their territories.

Although Haotian and Yaochi, as Hongjun's disciples, had the ability, they still had to work hard to govern after taking over the Heavenly Court.

The current Heavenly Court was different from ancient times; it now had an immortal aura and ethereal music.

But on the Lingxiao Treasure Hall, when Haotian and Yaochi faced the few celestial officials, they would still recall the difficulties they faced when they first took over, when they didn't even have usable heavenly soldiers or generals.

Even though they had recruited some rogue cultivators using the Peach Tree, the Heavenly Court still appeared empty.

Therefore, their gazes turned towards the direction of the Saints' dojos, contemplating how to recruit more personnel.