The instant Gu Xi passed down Human Immortal Martial Arts, the Heavenly Dao Laws stirred in the unseen. Deep within the Heavenly Dao's source, a new Heaven and Earth Position—the "Ancestor of Martial Arts"—took shape.
The moment this position was born, it burst with Boundless Light that shone through countless worlds and ages. It was anything but ordinary.
"Hm? Someone has created an entirely new Cultivation System?"
In Zixiao Palace, Hongjun's gaze sharpened as he saw the newly formed Heaven and Earth Position of the "Ancestor of Martial Arts."
"What a position. Its Vow Power is thin for now, but its essence is exalted and its potential astonishing."
Hongjun's gaze turned slightly cold.
As the Dao Ancestor who had founded the Mystic Gate Immortal Path, he knew how terrifying the fortune gathered by the founder of a path could be.
Indeed, every being in Hong Huang who cultivated the Mystic Gate Immortal Path contributed fortune to him at every moment.
So when he sensed that someone had created a new Cultivation System and become the founder of a new path, he immediately grew wary.
He had no desire for someone to "steal his business."
Fortunately, he could also tell that while the essence of this "Ancestor of Martial Arts" position was lofty, it fell far short of his own "Dao Ancestor" position.
By his estimate, this new Martial Dao could at most take cultivators to the Heavenly Immortal realm. It could not even match the old God-Demon Path, much less the Mystic Gate Immortal Path he had founded.
That put his mind at ease.
"It seems this Martial Dao is merely a minor path. Nothing to worry about."
Hongjun slowly closed his eyes and immersed his mind in the endless Heavenly Dao Laws.
Besides Hongjun, the Three Pure Ones and other Great Supernatural Beings also sensed the birth of the Heaven and Earth Position of the "Ancestor of Martial Arts."
And the essence of that position was remarkably lofty.
"Oh? Someone has actually created an entirely new Cultivation System and become the founder of a path."
The Three Pure Ones and the other Great Supernatural Beings were all shocked.
To found a path was no small thing.
Dao Ancestor Hongjun was proof enough of that.
If the system founded by this newly arisen Ancestor of Martial Arts could rival the Mystic Gate Immortal Path, he might become the next Hongjun.
Thus, the Great Supernatural Beings throughout Hong Huang were shaken.
"It seems we worried for nothing. The newly formed 'Ancestor of Martial Arts' position has thin Vow Power. It cannot compare to the 'Dao Ancestor' position."
"It seems this new Martial Ancestor has founded only a minor path."
"Cultivators of such a path can probably reach only the Heavenly Immortal realm. It cannot even match the ancient God-Demon Path, which is gradually being cast aside."
From the aura emanating from the "Ancestor of Martial Arts" position, the Three Pure Ones and the others deduced that the Martial Dao's potential was "limited." They, too, relaxed.
Unfortunately, Hongjun and the many Great Supernatural Beings had all overlooked one thing.
A new Cultivation System with a low ceiling might not appeal to Hong Huang's countless Gods and Demons or to beings gifted in cultivation. But ordinary beings without such talent might welcome it.
And more than ninety-nine percent of Hong Huang's inhabitants were ordinary beings who lacked the talent to cultivate.
The more beings cultivated a system, the more formidable the fortune it held would become—even if it could never produce a single Daluo Golden Immortal.
In turn, the founder of that system would receive an unimaginable share of fortune.
The Human Sacred Hall.
Gu Xi had not expected to gain Merit simply by passing down the Martial Dao.
Nor had he expected to receive the position of "Ancestor of Martial Arts."
He froze for a moment, then broke into delight.
"All right. I've passed Human Immortal Martial Arts on to you. Go and teach it to the ordinary people of our Human Race as soon as possible."
After sending Suiren Shi and the others away, Gu Xi looked at the translucent interface before him.
[Merit: 250 billion]
"The Martial Dao's limits fall far short of both the God-Demon Path and the Mystic Gate Immortal Path. I never thought much of it, yet I gained fifty billion Merit the moment I passed it down."
"And I received the position of 'Ancestor of Martial Arts'!"
"That's the position of a path's founder!"
"Dao Ancestor Hongjun is a path's founder too!"
"Of course, I can't compare to Dao Ancestor Hongjun as a Martial Ancestor, but it's still quite something."
"Later generations have already proven that although the Martial Dao has a lower ceiling, it's far more accessible than the Mystic Gate Immortal Path."
"Cultivating the Mystic Gate Immortal Path requires exceptional talent and an environment rich in spiritual energy."
"But the Martial Dao... anyone can cultivate it."
"The more beings cultivate the Martial Dao, the more it will flourish. The fortune it holds will swell, and the more of that fortune will flow to me."
"It seems I need to take its spread seriously."
As Gu Xi murmured to himself, he glanced again at the sigil in his Primordial Spirit that represented the position of "Ancestor of Martial Arts."
Only then did he turn his attention to Dong Yin Daojun's Primordial Spirit, sealed in ice within the Winter Snow Return to Storage Cauldron.
"Now it's time to obtain Dong Yin Daojun's memories and experience—and to study his Great Luo Dao Fruit."
With a thought, Gu Xi activated the Innate Restrictions within the Winter Snow Return to Storage Cauldron and began refining Dong Yin Daojun's Primordial Spirit.
"No—"
Dong Yin Daojun's nearly vanished Primordial Spirit let out one last pleading scream inside the cauldron before disappearing completely.
A vast flood of memories poured into Gu Xi's Primordial Spirit.
Dong Yin Daojun was an Innate Deity born after the final stages of the Dragon-Phoenix-Kirin Tribulation.
His memories therefore held everything he had seen, heard, learned, and thought from that time until now. They were immense and tangled.
It took Gu Xi a full three months to absorb them completely.
The memories of an ancient God and Demon Dao Lord gave Gu Xi a deeper understanding of Hong Huang and broadened his horizons enormously.
Dong Yin Daojun's cultivation experience also taught him a great deal.
Though those memories and experiences did not directly increase Gu Xi's strength, they greatly deepened his foundation.
"But this is the main course..."
Gu Xi gazed at Dong Yin Daojun's Great Luo Dao Fruit, excitement in his eyes.
A Great Luo Dao Fruit was the culmination of a Daluo Golden Immortal's lifelong comprehension of the Great Dao.
Unless killed by an outside force, a Daluo Golden Immortal would exist forever, free and undying. Even if heaven and earth were destroyed, he could survive.
Even if his body and Primordial Spirit were destroyed, he could revive in the future so long as his Dao Fruit remained.
That was how formidable a Daluo Golden Immortal was.
Moreover, Daluo Golden Immortals had transcended the River of Destiny and were untouched by karma. They were exceedingly difficult to divine or scheme against.
If a Daluo Golden Immortal devoted himself to hiding, even a sage would likely struggle to find him.
Thus, barring exceptional times such as a tribulation, Daluo Golden Immortals rarely fell.
To obtain a Dao Fruit left by a Daluo Golden Immortal and study the Great Dao directly through it was a privilege even the disciples of sages almost never enjoyed.
Now, just such a Great Luo Dao Fruit hovered within Gu Xi's Primordial Spirit.
He focused all his attention on studying the mysteries within it.
While Gu Xi secluded himself to study the Great Luo Dao Fruit, Suiren Shi and the other powerful members of the Human Race spread and promoted Human Immortal Martial Arts throughout the Human Tribes.
"This... I can cultivate Human Immortal Martial Arts!"
"I spent decades trying to cultivate both the Primal True Scripture and the Mystic Gate Immortal Path without the slightest result. I thought all hope was lost. Who would have thought my luck would turn and I'd live to see the Holy Father pass down Human Immortal Martial Arts? The heavens have treated me well!"
"Human Immortal Martial Arts is wonderful! Even at its limit, it only matches a Heavenly Immortal. But how many people ever become immortals? It gives those of us without enough talent a chance to step onto the path of cultivation and wield extraordinary power. For us, it's the best Cultivation Method there is!"
"What great virtue the Holy Father has shown, giving ordinary folk like us a chance to become immortals."
Every Human Tribe erupted with excitement.
Even the grief from their recent heavy losses faded somewhat.
Living in Hong Huang, everyone understood the importance of strength.
For those who lacked talent for cultivation, the arrival of Human Immortal Martial Arts was like sweet rain sent from heaven.
Nearly every member of the Human Race who could cultivate neither the God-Demon Path nor the Mystic Gate Immortal Path began cultivating Human Immortal Martial Arts.
And so the Martial Dao, this newly born Cultivation System, swiftly rose among the Human Race.
The years passed.
Gu Xi remained in the Human Sacred Hall, studying the Great Luo Dao Fruit.
Among the Human Race, the Martial Dao flourished ever more.
Compared with the God-Demon Path and the Mystic Gate Immortal Path, the Martial Dao was plainly inferior at extending life. Until cultivators advanced to Human Immortal, they could live no more than a little over two hundred years.
But the Martial Dao had strengths of its own.
Besides its low barrier to entry, cultivation in the Martial Dao was a hundred, a thousand, even ten thousand times faster than in the God-Demon Path or the Mystic Gate Immortal Path.
Thus, in a mere three hundred years, the Human Race produced great numbers of powerful Martial Dao cultivators.
None had yet reached Shattering the Void.
But there were already more than a thousand Human Immortals.
That was over six hundred more than the roughly four hundred Earth Immortals the Human Race had accumulated through cultivation of the God-Demon Path and the Mystic Gate Immortal Path.
The Martial Dao's growth among the Human Race had utterly surpassed that of the other two paths.
Its flourishing also strengthened the Human Race as a whole and improved their chances of survival.
Over those three hundred years, the Human Race grew by more than a billion.
Human Tribes had long since spread across the East Sea Coast.
As a result, many newly formed Human Tribes began migrating to lands beyond it.
Many newly risen Martial Dao experts became the leaders or guardians of those migrating tribes.
The Martial Dao's explosive growth among the Human Race also caught the attention of beings from many other races.
Once they discovered its benefits, those beings began secretly learning it as well.
The Martial Dao soon spread rapidly through the lands surrounding the East Sea Coast.
And there were signs that its sparks would become a prairie fire, sweeping across all of Hong Huang.
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