This discourse on the Dao lasted a full three thousand years.
Inside the Cave Mansion, the three Dao Rhymes of the Great Dao slowly subsided, eventually returning to peace.
Fuxi opened his eyes. Deep within them, billions of runes flickered between existence and extinction. His entire aura had become even more profound and unfathomable, clearly indicating that he had gained immensely.
Around Nuwa, an increasingly dense aura of Life Creation Qi lingered, as if she could create all living things with but a thought.
"This discourse on the Dao has surpassed a hundred thousand years of bitter cultivation!" Fuxi rose and bowed solemnly to Su Ming. "Thank you, fellow Daoist, for enlightening me!"
Nuwa also gave an elegant bow, the radiance in her beautiful eyes brighter than the stars.
Su Ming accepted the gesture calmly. He truly deserved it.
He rose to his feet, and the peerlessly domineering Pangu Dao Rhyme around him vanished completely, restoring him to the appearance of an ordinary burly man of the Wu Clan.
"Though it was merely a discussion, I have benefited greatly as well." Su Ming looked at the two of them. "There is no feast that does not end. I still have important matters to attend to and must make a trip to the peak of Buzhou Mountain. I shall take my leave."
His purpose in coming had been to climb Buzhou Mountain, temper his physical body with the pressure of the Pangu Spine, and increase his strength. Meeting Fuxi and Nuwa had merely been an unexpected delight.
Now that the discourse on the Dao had ended, it was time for him to continue on his journey.
"Are you leaving already, fellow Daoist?" Reluctance appeared on Fuxi's face.
Nuwa's heart tightened even more. Her usually cool voice unconsciously carried a trace of emotion. "Fellow Daoist Su Ming... The journey to the peak of Buzhou Mountain is perilous, and the pressure there is boundless. Please be careful."
She looked at Su Ming. The words reached her lips, yet she did not know how to ask him to stay.
She understood that a person like Su Ming had his sights set on the Nine Heavens and could not possibly stop for anyone. The only thing she could do was strive to catch up and not let him leave her too far behind.
Su Ming saw the worry in her eyes. His heart warmed slightly, and he smiled. "If the two of you have time, you can visit me at the Wu Clan tribe beneath Buzhou Mountain in the future. We can drink and chat then."
"Certainly!" Fuxi nodded solemnly.
Su Ming said no more. He cupped his hands toward the two of them, then turned and strode out of the Cave Mansion, heading toward the higher peaks.
Nuwa stood at the entrance of the cave, gazing at his figure as it gradually vanished into the clouds and mist. For a long while, she did not move.
Only after a long time did she withdraw her gaze. Her beautiful eyes gleamed with unprecedented determination.
"Brother, we... should work harder too."
Time flowed on, and the years passed in silence.
To the mighty cultivators of the Primordial Wilderness, time was the most meaningless thing in existence. A single secluded cultivation session could easily last several thousand or even tens of thousands of years.
On the seemingly endless mountain path of Buzhou Mountain, Su Ming's figure struggled upward.
The higher he went, the more terrifying the pressure originating from the Pangu Spine became.
That pressure seemed capable of crushing all things in heaven and earth into dust. An ordinary Grand Unity Golden Immortal would probably be unable even to stand here before being crushed until both body and soul perished.
But to Su Ming, this pressure was the finest supplement!
He possessed the purest Pangu Bloodline. Rather than harming him, the pressure was like a pair of invisible hands, relentlessly hammering and tempering his physical body, gradually awakening the Pangu power hidden deep within his bloodline!
Crack! Crack!
Under the tremendous pressure, his bones constantly made sounds as if they could bear no more. They shattered, then reformed under the immense power of his qi and blood, becoming even tougher!
His muscles cycled between tearing apart and regenerating. Each rebirth contained even more explosive power!
A hundred years... three hundred years... five hundred years...
Su Ming forgot the passage of time. Only a single thought remained in his mind—upward!
Upward! Ever upward!
No one knew how much time had passed. When he took his final step, the terrifying pressure on his body—powerful enough to crush the eternal azure heavens—suddenly vanished without a trace.
He raised his head, and the view before him suddenly opened wide.
Beneath his feet, an endless sea of clouds churned. Above his head, a brilliant river of stars hung upside down, seemingly within reach.
The peak of Buzhou Mountain!
Su Ming exhaled a long breath of stale air. The breath stretched like a dragon, directly blasting a white wave of air ten thousand miles long through the void.
He felt the power within his body, now more than ten times stronger than before, and a satisfied look appeared on his face.
After several hundred years of bitter cultivation, the strength of his physical body had reached an inconceivable level!
However, joy did not cloud his mind.
Aside from tempering his physical body, he had another, even more important purpose for this trip!
Su Ming's gaze swept across the boundless void above the mountain peak. He released his Divine Sense without reservation, probing every inch of space and every trace of spatial fluctuation around him.
He was searching!
Searching for the legendary Thirty-three Heavens!
According to his memories of later generations, although the Wu and Demon Races were constantly clashing at this point in time, they had yet to reach the stage of fighting to the death. The Demon Race's Supreme Heavenly Court had not yet been established either.
Di Jun and Tai Yi should still be cultivating in seclusion on the Sun Star.
If he could find the Thirty-three Heavens before them and place it under the control of the Wu Clan, it would be a complete game-changer for the war between the Wu and Demon Races!
The Wu Clan would control the heavens while the Demon Race governed the earth?
Just imagining it made his blood surge!
However, no matter how Su Ming searched, his Divine Sense nearly turning the entire void upside down, he found nothing.
There was nothing here except endless Chaos Wind and Space Turbulence.
"How could this be..." Su Ming's brows furrowed tightly.
He repeatedly analyzed the information in his memories, and a thought suddenly flashed through his mind.
Could it be... that the time had not yet come?
The Thirty-three Heavens was the Heavenly Pivot of the Primordial Wilderness. Perhaps it would not truly appear until after Hongjun's Preaching of the Dao, when the Heavenly Dao had been fully perfected?
At the thought of this, Su Ming was overwhelmed by a profound sense of loss.
At last, he had come a step too early.
However, this disappointment was soon replaced by an even more surging battle intent!
"What if the time has not yet come?"
Su Ming stood atop the mountain peak, gazing at the roiling sea of clouds beneath him, his spirit soaring.
"Di Jun, Tai Yi! So what if you obtain the Thirty-three Heavens? My Wu Clan was born from the earth and stands tall beneath the heavens. Why would we need to rely on external objects?"
"One day, I will personally fight my way into the Heavenly Court and completely trample the so-called throne of the Demon Emperor beneath your feet!"
His voice was not loud, yet it contained an unquestionable will that rolled and echoed across the mountain peak.
At the instant he made this grand vow—
Buzz—!
Su Ming's body shook violently. He felt an ancient power that had slumbered for billions of years deep within his bloodline, seemingly stirred by his will, beginning to slowly awaken!
A mysterious yet familiar call came from deep beneath the earth under his feet, echoing directly through his soul.
The call seemed to cross the river of time, carrying endless vicissitudes and antiquity.
"What is this..."
Su Ming's mind trembled violently. He could sense that this call came from the same source as him. It was from Pangu!
He did not resist. Instead, following the pull of the call, he opened his mind completely.
In the next moment, the scene before his eyes shifted.
He felt as if his body had transformed into nothingness, continuously piercing through the mountain beneath his feet and sinking toward the deepest reaches of Buzhou Mountain.
After an unknown length of time, when he regained consciousness, he found himself in an incomparably vast and mysterious space.
There was no light here, yet it was not dark.
The space was filled with Chaos Qi so dense it seemed almost solid, each strand as heavy as a mountain.
All around him were enormous bone-like veins, each resembling a pillar supporting the heavens. Countless profound Dao Runes were engraved upon them.
A familiar yet majestic aura rushed toward him.
"This is... the interior of Buzhou Mountain!"
Su Ming instantly reached a conclusion.
The call from deep within his bloodline had become even clearer here!
He looked toward the source of the call. At the deepest part of the mountain's interior, an unfathomably deep passage had appeared.
A faint Mysterious Yellow Halo lingered around the passage's entrance. The call that made even his soul tremble was coming from within!
What exactly had Great God Pangu left here?
His inheritance? Or some peerless fiend sealed here?
Su Ming's heart began to pound uncontrollably.
He knew that a heaven-shaking secret must be hidden beyond this passage!
Without the slightest hesitation, Su Ming drew a deep breath, stepped forward, and resolutely entered the profound passage leading into the unknown.
Before you continue