Zhao Gongming's face wrinkled like a bitter melon. "I..."
Zhao Gongming's expression made Nuwa and the others struggle not to laugh.
But Fuxi was naturally not a stingy person. He said, "Once your cultivation reaches Golden Immortal, I'll give you a powerful spiritual treasure."
"Really, Master?"
Zhao Gongming's eyes widened, filled with anticipation.
Fuxi patted Zhao Gongming's shoulder. "Don't worry. Your master always keeps his word."
Zhao Gongming nodded and said firmly, "Rest assured, Master. I'll cultivate diligently!"
Zhao Gongming and the Three Xiaos' apprenticeship ceremony was gradually completed under Queen Mother of the West and Nuwa's witness. Fuxi had the three of them find places near the Chaos Gourd Vine to cultivate.
As one of the Ten Innate Spiritual Roots, the Chaos Gourd Vine was exceptionally effective at gathering the spiritual energy of heaven and earth and auspicious qi. It was highly suitable for Heavenly Immortals like Zhao Gongming and the Three Xiaos to cultivate beside it.
Nourished by auspicious qi, their Dao foundations would become more solid, and they would be able to walk farther down the road ahead.
After the apprenticeship ceremony ended, Queen Mother of the West bid Fuxi and Nuwa farewell, preparing to return to her Daoist sanctuary for secluded cultivation.
Nuwa reluctantly saw Queen Mother of the West off. The higher one's realm became, the harder it was to make friends.
After seeing Queen Mother of the West off, Fuxi told Nuwa to hurry into seclusion and absorb the Quasi-Saint Dao explained by the Saint. After guiding his disciples, he also planned to begin secluded cultivation.
Several days later, Fuxi sat alone in a bamboo grove on Phoenix Perch Mountain. The Seven-Colored Glazed Treasure Gourd in his hand emitted a faint glow.
Before long, a ripple appeared on Fuxi's calm face, and a smile curled at his lips.
Fuxi removed the gourd's stopper and took out the Six Roots Pure Bamboo.
At this moment, the Six Roots Pure Bamboo's surface had a dim luster, yet it gave off a refreshing aura.
"Finally, I've completely refined this Six Roots Pure Bamboo."
Fuxi held the Six Roots Pure Bamboo in his hand and poured his mana into it.
At the same time, Zhunti, who had been meditating in the main hall on Mount Sumeru, suddenly opened his eyes. His body lurched forward, and he could not stop himself from spitting out a mouthful of blood.
The blood Zhunti spat out was especially conspicuous against the white jade floor.
"What happened? Did something go wrong with your cultivation?"
Jieyin asked with concern.
Zhunti furrowed his brows and said hoarsely, "My Six Roots Pure Bamboo has been completely refined by Fuxi. Fuxi, damn you!"
As a Supreme Grade Innate Spiritual Treasure Zhunti had used for a long time, the Six Roots Pure Bamboo possessed immense power. Zhunti had poured tremendous effort into both forging and refining it.
But now, Zhunti could sense that the final trace of connection between himself and the Six Roots Pure Bamboo had been completely severed.
This meant Zhunti had completely lost this spiritual treasure. The spiritual bond between him and the Six Roots Pure Bamboo had been cut, causing some damage to his soul as well.
Though this damage was not serious for Zhunti, recovering from it would be troublesome.
Jieyin's expression was equally unpleasant, but there was nothing he could do.
Jieyin said, "Zhunti, it's time for you to make a decision. Either wait for an Opportunity that may appear in Hong Huang, or refine the Bodhi Tree. You have to choose one."
"Alas..."
Zhunti let out a long sigh.
"Other than sentimental value, that Bodhi Tree truly has no use for me anymore."
"Waiting for an Opportunity is far too agonizing. If I fail to seize it, then all that waiting will have been for nothing."
"Time waits for no one. The Three Pure Ones and Fuxi are all at Grand Unity Peak now. They have many magic treasures, so severing the Three Corpses will be easy for them. To sever the Three Corpses and break through to Quasi-Saint sooner, I'll use the Bodhi Tree to forge a treasure. It will be my first magic treasure for severing the Three Corpses."
Jieyin nodded. "That is the only option. I'll support you when you forge the treasure."
Thus, the temperature of heaven and earth around Mount Sumeru rose sharply, and all living beings suffered under the scorching heat.
The disciples of Mount Sumeru sweated profusely from the heat, making their smooth, spotless scalps look especially "bright."
Bai Ze Requests an Audience with Di Jun and the Eastern Emperor
Phoenix Perch Mountain. Fuxi sat in a secluded place within his Daoist sanctuary and began absorbing the Quasi-Saint Dao explained by Hongjun.
Although rescuing people in the west and refining the Six Roots Pure Bamboo had delayed him for some time, that amount of time was truly nothing to Fuxi, who had already reached the limits of Grand Unity Golden Immortal peak.
For Fuxi, the question he needed to consider was which path he should choose to break through to Quasi-Saint and advance toward sainthood.
In terms of difficulty, becoming a Saint by severing the Three Corpses was undoubtedly the simplest.
For one thing, during Hongjun's three thousand years of second sermon, what he had mainly taught was the Dao method of becoming a Quasi-Saint by severing the Three Corpses.
If one chose the method of severing the Three Corpses to break through to Quasi-Saint, one could become a Quasi-Saint the fastest.
Now, all Grand Unity Peak cultivators in Hong Huang were striving toward Quasi-Saint. If his progress was too slow, he might very well suffer retaliation from some people.
Therefore, Fuxi had to keep pace and break through to Quasi-Saint as soon as possible, so he could gain more when Hongjun taught the Dao of becoming a Saint.
Of course, severing the Three Corpses did not mean Fuxi had to follow a single path to the bitter end or necessarily become a Saint through severing the Three Corpses.
In the end, severing the Three Corpses could prove the Dao and lead to sainthood, but choosing that path did not mean one could not take other paths.
Fuxi did not need to become a Saint through severing the Three Corpses. He merely needed to sever the Three Corpses to obtain Quasi-Saint combat power.
Since Fuxi had received the system's reward and had a chance to become a Great Dao Sage through Law Proving, he would certainly work hard to attempt Law Proving.
Perhaps Fuxi could even try walking two paths at once: severing the Three Corpses to raise his combat power as quickly as possible and become a Heavenly Dao Sage, while comprehending laws on the other hand, eventually reaching the end of the laws and becoming a Great Dao Sage.
With several decades still remaining before the Three Immortal Islands of the East Sea emerged, Fuxi was in no hurry to search for the location of Three Immortal Island. He intended to improve his cultivation and strength in preparation for seizing treasures there.
After the second sermon at Zixiao Palace ended, practically every Grand Unity Golden Immortal entered seclusion.
Those at Grand Unity Peak prepared to break through to Quasi-Saint, while those in the late Grand Unity Golden Immortal realm prepared to break through to Grand Unity Golden Immortal peak.
After Hongjun spread the nourishment of his second round of teachings, the Grand Unity Golden Immortals of Hong Huang began flourishing.
Yet Hong Huang as a whole did not fall silent because the Grand Unity Golden Immortals had entered seclusion. Over several decades, the changes in Hong Huang World were by no means small.
Among them, the most surprising change was likely the establishment of the Immortal Court.
After Eastern Prince Gong was appointed Head of Male Immortals by the Dao Ancestor, he suffered oppression and humiliation at the hands of Eastern Emperor Taiyi, making him understand the importance of power.
Thus, carrying Dao Ancestor Hongjun's banner, Eastern Prince Gong began recruiting troops throughout Hong Huang and established a force of his own.
Ever since Hongjun had proven the Dao and become a Saint, he had become a mighty existence known by everyone throughout Hong Huang.
People revered Hongjun and naturally hoped to receive a Saint's protection.
With Eastern Prince Gong holding high Hongjun's banner and acting as the Saint's representative, the Immortal Court seemed to possess the strongest backing in all of Hong Huang World. Naturally, it attracted quite a few immortals.
However, these immortals were not particularly strong. Most were True Immortals and Profound Immortals, with very few Golden Immortals and only a dozen or so Grand Unity Golden Immortals.
Still, although its overall strength did not appear particularly formidable, Hongjun's banner was highly useful. Under Dao Ancestor Hongjun's name, the Immortal Court's strength continued to grow, faintly earning it the title of Hong Huang's third major force.
Of course, not everyone feared the prestige of the Immortal Court.
Major Hong Huang races like the Witch Clan and the Demon Clan did not care at all about a minor force like the Immortal Court that had appeared out of nowhere.
If not for giving Hongjun face, the Witch Clan and Demon Clan could each casually send a few top experts to destroy the Immortal Court.
The two true major forces of Hong Huang expanded and fought without restraint. Although the conflict had not developed into a war of extermination, even small-scale battles were brutal.
But judging from the overall situation, the Witch Clan undoubtedly held the advantage.
Though both the Witch Clan and Demon Clan suffered casualties, the Witch Clan's physical strength was several levels greater than the Demon Clan's. Once many demons were approached by the Witch Clan, they faced the fate of having their bodies torn apart alive by Witch Clan members.
Furthermore, the Witch Clan excelled at sustaining war through war, gathering the baleful qi produced in battle and using it as a resource to temper their bodies.
Therefore, the Demon Clan repeatedly suffered losses in its war against the Witch Clan and was beaten into scattering in all directions.
Moreover, the Demon Clan harbored many hidden dangers and countless conflicts...
A dark cloud hung over the entire Demon Clan.
On the Sun Star, within the divine palace atop the Fusang Tree.
"Damn it! Why did the Golden Bat Clan defect? Aren't they pushing the warriors of our Golden Crow Clan straight into a fire pit?"
Eastern Emperor Taiyi paced back and forth inside the palace, his thunderous roars shaking the heavens.
"I never expected the Golden Bat Clan to be so cowardly, greedy for life and afraid of death, betraying their word. If they had not fled, our two clans could have joined forces and slaughtered those Witch Clan beasts!"
Di Jun sat upon the throne in the main hall, his expression dark with anger.
Eastern Emperor Taiyi took out the Chaos Bell and was about to leave the hall.
Di Jun asked in confusion, "Taiyi, what are you planning to do?"
"I'm going to kill Old Ancestor Golden Bat and wipe out the Golden Bat Clan, so they understand the consequences of betraying our Golden Crow Clan!"
Eastern Emperor Taiyi said through gritted teeth.
Di Jun immediately transformed into Golden Divine Light and blocked Eastern Emperor Taiyi's path.
Di Jun said with a grim expression, "Our Demon Clan is already a loose mess. Once you make a move, the Demon Clan may fall into internal strife immediately."
"Then our entire Demon Clan will be wiped out by the Witch Clan!"
Eastern Emperor Taiyi said through clenched teeth, "But the Golden Bat Clan is too hateful. They caused the deaths of our clansmen."
"There is no helping it. In the entire Demon Clan, the only race we can trust is our own."
Di Jun's tone was somewhat helpless. He felt that the Demon Clan clearly had the strength to contend with, or even crush, the Witch Clan.
Eastern Emperor Taiyi clenched his fists tightly. "I really can't swallow this anger."
Di Jun pressed a hand onto Eastern Emperor Taiyi's shoulder and said earnestly:
"Now is not the time for revenge or settling accounts. We also have no time to punish the Golden Bat Clan."
"Now that the Dao Ancestor's sermon has ended, everyone is striving to break through to Quasi-Saint. We must keep up and become Quasi-Saints."
"If we break through, even if the Demon Clan suffers losses, only a small portion will die. But if we fail to reach Quasi-Saint, then the entire Demon Clan may be slaughtered by the Witch Clan."
Di Jun's words made Eastern Emperor Taiyi's expression turn grave.
Eastern Emperor Taiyi remained silent for a long time before finally letting out a sigh.
However, just as the two were preparing to advance toward Quasi-Saint, an ethereal voice came from beyond the Sun Star.
Before you continue