The Nine Grades Blossom into Grand Unity

"Enough, stop arguing. Look, it's starting."

Seeing that his two younger brothers were about to quarrel again, Grand Pure One Laozi quickly called them to a halt.

In the center of the arena, Xian Junyu was fully channeling the [Great Dao True Scripture of Shangqing]. His Three Flowers gathered atop his head, the Five Energies faced their origin, and his Primordial Spirit Lotus also sprouted above his crown.

At the same time, the tribulation clouds in the sky had fully converged.

"It's the Nine Heavens Thunder Tribulation. Second Brother, Third Brother, how many grades do you think Yu'er's lotus will bloom?" Laozi said to his two brothers.

The Nine Heavens Thunder Tribulation was the top-tier heavenly tribulation for breaking through to Great Luo. Back then, the Three Pure Ones had faced this same tribulation.

In response to his elder brother Laozi's question, Tongtian pondered briefly before speaking calmly: "Since it's the Nine Heavens Thunder Tribulation, the Primordial Spirit Lotus will bloom at least seven grades."

The Primordial Spirit Lotus had nine grades total; seven grades was already considered quite top-tier.

As for the legendary twelve grades, that was merely a rumor. Under the Great Dao, the Primordial Spirit Lotus could only bloom to nine grades—there was simply no such thing as twelve grades, which exceeded the Nine Extremes.

"Seven grades? Hmph, how ignorant. I observe Yu'er's talent—at the very least, he'll bloom eight grades!"

As Yuanshi spoke, he took the opportunity to belittle Tongtian.

Hearing Yuanshi call him ignorant, Tongtian suppressed his displeasure.

For the sake of his senior disciple, he would endure it.

After listening to both his younger brothers, Laozi shook his head slightly and said calmly: "Seven grades? Eight grades? Hmph. In my view, Yu'er absolutely has the potential to bloom nine grades. His future is limitless!"

Breaking through to Great Luo in less than ten thousand years—blooming a nine-grade Primordial Spirit Lotus was only natural. If not for the lack of a foundation for Sainthood, he would have thought Xian Junyu possessed the talent of a Saint.

"Nine grades?"

"Given Yu'er's talent, blooming nine grades is indeed possible!"

Neither Tongtian nor Yuanshi refuted their elder brother Laozi's words. Nine-grade potential was indeed possible; the seven or eight grades they had mentioned were merely the lower bound.

At that moment, the tribulation clouds in the sky sent down the heavenly thunder.

"Boom, rumble!"

The Nine Heavens Thunder Tribulation consisted of nine bolts of heavenly thunder, each stronger than the last. Now, the first bolt descended, striking Xian Junyu.

The first bolt was not strong; it barely even registered when it hit Xian Junyu.

After the first bolt ended, the Primordial Spirit Lotus bloomed to one grade.

Then three bolts of thunder fell in succession, and the Primordial Spirit Lotus bloomed to four grades. By now, Xian Junyu could feel a numbing sensation.

The tribulation continued. As each bolt of heavenly thunder grew stronger than the last, the pain intensified.

When the Primordial Spirit Lotus bloomed to seven grades, Xian Junyu, under the baptism of the heavenly thunder, was sweating from the pain on his forehead.

"Damn! This hurts so much—the pain strikes straight at the soul, like my soul is being torn apart. If I'd known it would be this agonizing, I'd have just let the system directly refund me to Great Luo cultivation!"

"I'm really asking for trouble. When will this tribulation end?!"

Xian Junyu deeply regretted it. The pain was simply too intense. If he couldn't hold on, he could perish at any moment.

His own breakthrough required enduring the heavenly tribulation, but the system wouldn't do that. When the system refunded cultivation and broke through, there was no such thing as a heavenly tribulation.

It just broke through naturally.

Fortunately, the system had perfected his foundation, so there was no risk of failure due to a weak base.

Enduring the soul-rending pain, with the support of a solid foundation, Xian Junyu successfully passed the last two bolts of the heavenly thunder tribulation. His Primordial Spirit Lotus bloomed to nine grades.

The tribulation clouds dispersed, and Xian Junyu had successfully broken through to the Zenith Heaven Golden Immortal realm. Mount Kunlun's first Zenith Heaven Golden Immortal was thus born.

"Nine grades, just as I expected."

Laozi stroked his beard, looking at Xian Junyu's Primordial Spirit Lotus blooming to nine grades, wearing an expression that said, "I knew it all along."

Tongtian also nodded in satisfaction.

With a nine-grade Primordial Spirit Lotus, reaching the peak of Quasi-Saint in the future was essentially guaranteed.

Yuanshi, on the other hand, felt a bit sour. Xian Junyu was perfect in every way—the only pity was that he wasn't Yuanshi's disciple. That was the sole flaw in an otherwise perfect picture.

"Congratulations to Senior Disciple Brother for attaining the Great Luo Dao!!!..."

All the disciples of the Jie Sect offered their congratulations in unison.

Xian Junyu opened his eyes and stood up. He nodded to the assembled junior disciple sisters and brothers, then looked up at the three Saint masters and uncles on the High Platform, cupping his hands in salute.

"Disciple Xian Junyu pays respects to First Senior Uncle, Second Senior Uncle, and Master!"

Respecting seniority, Xian Junyu placed Grand Pure One Laozi first.

Seeing that Xian Junyu had successfully broken through and had bowed to them first, the three nodded in satisfaction. Propriety must not be abandoned; such courtesy pleased them greatly.

"Yu'er, no need for excessive formality. Now that you have broken through to Zenith Heaven Golden Immortal, you must never become arrogant or complacent. Know that cultivation has no peak—strive to reach the Saint Position as soon as possible."

Laozi spoke calmly.

Here, the "Saint" he referred to was not the innate Saint Fruit Position, but the Quasi-Saint Fruit Position. Still, since it bore the character for "Saint," calling it a Saint Position was not unusual.

"This disciple thanks First Senior Uncle. I will train diligently and strive to attain the Saint Position as soon as possible!" Xian Junyu bowed once more.

The Quasi-Saint his First Senior Uncle Laozi spoke of was not the same—First Senior Uncle meant the Saint Position, while he meant the true Saint fruit of enlightenment.

With this cheat of a system hanging over him, he had absolute confidence in breaking through to the Saint realm.

"Your First Senior Uncle has said all I wanted to say. Yu'er, remember to keep your original heart, don't fool around with certain people, and don't be lazy. The Quasi-Saint realm will be within easy reach!"

"Yes, Second Martial Uncle!"

Second Martial Uncle Yuanshi's words had almost no substance—only that bit about not being lazy was worth noting.

As for "fooling around," he knew it referred to the Demon Cultivators in the Jie Sect. Not interacting with the sect's disciples? Was that even possible?

He was the First Disciple of the Jie Sect, and the system's cultivation return relied on his Junior Brothers and Junior Sisters. Yuanshi's words were completely useless to him.

Just being the First Disciple alone meant he could never abandon the Jie Sect's disciples.

Let alone having the system on top of that.

After a few words to Xian Junyu, Laozi and Yuanshi vanished instantly.

"This disciple sees off First Senior Uncle, sees off Second Martial Uncle!"

With the two Senior Uncles gone, he turned his gaze to his Master, Tongtian.

"This disciple thanks Master for protecting my breakthrough!"

He bowed respectfully to his Master.

To be honest, breaking through to Zenith Heaven Golden Immortal in Second Martial Uncle Yuanshi's Daoist Sanctuary had made him uneasy—who knew if Yuanshi would try something against him?

If the foundation of the Zenith Heaven Golden Immortal realm went wrong, it would be a real disaster. Though the chance of Yuanshi sabotaging him was less than half, there was still the possibility of an accident.

Compared to his Senior Uncles, he trusted his Master Tongtian more.

Even though his Master had always been strict with him, his Master would never harm him.

"Heh, I wouldn't dare accept your thanks. What face do you have, needing a Saint to protect your breakthrough for a mere little Zenith Heaven Golden Immortal? When you break through to Quasi-Saint, will you need the entire Primordial World to protect you?"

"Spare me the thanks. From now on, if you cause me less trouble, I'll be grateful enough!"

After a round of sarcasm, Tongtian turned and left with a stern face.

But as he turned, a faint smile tugged at the corner of his lips, unseen by anyone.

Among the Three Teachings, his disciple was the first to break through to Zenith Heaven Golden Immortal, surpassing both of his elder brothers in one stroke. Tongtian was quite pleased with this.

It also proved, indirectly, that he had surpassed his two elder brothers—whether in fortune or in the eye for talent, he had outdone them both.