The Quasi-Saint Era Arrives

The Demon Race established their clan, the Heavenly Court emerged—like a boulder thrown into a calm lake, it stirred layer upon layer of ripples across the Primordial World.

Not long after, a major event also occurred on the East Sea.

East Prince Gong, the male immortal chief personally appointed by Dao Ancestor Hongjun, ultimately could not suppress his restless heart.

He thought to himself: as the Dao Ancestor's chosen one, commanding all male immortals under heaven, how could he fall behind others?

If Di Jun and Taiyi could establish a Heavenly Court, why couldn't he establish an Immortal Court?

Thus, East Prince Gong gathered a group of scattered immortals and great cultivators who followed him, and set about the great matter of founding a sect and building a court.

East Prince Gong widely invited guests, imitating the Witch and Demon Clans, and established his own faction—the Immortal Court.

As soon as this news spread, the Primordial World shook once more.

"Another one setting up a faction?"

"This East Prince Gong, the Dao Ancestor's personally appointed male immortal chief—his reputation is certainly loud, but who knows what kind of stir he can actually make?"

"Did he go invite West Queen Mother? If the female immortal chief doesn't come, his Immortal Court will be lacking something."

Soon, news leaked out.

It was said that East Prince Gong personally went to West Kunlun to invite her, hoping West Queen Mother would join his cause.

However, somewhat awkwardly, that female immortal chief, also appointed by the Dao Ancestor, West Queen Mother, showed him no face at all and refused him outright.

West Queen Mother remained in her West Kunlun, cultivating with all her heart, paying no heed to this so-called Immortal Court.

Having been thoroughly rebuffed, East Prince Gong's face could barely hold, but the Immortal Court still had to be established.

He imitated Di Jun and Taiyi's approach, widely sending out invitations to all the great powers of the Primordial World to attend the ceremony.

On Penglai Immortal Island, immortal mists swirled, giving it a more ethereal and transcendent air compared to the Heavenly Court's golden splendor.

East Prince Gong, clad in the ornate Daoist robe symbolizing the male immortal chief, holding the Dragon Head Staff, stood atop a high platform, brimming with ambition.

He also followed the established procedure, loudly swearing an oath to heaven and earth.

"Great Dao above!"

"Great God Pangu above!"

"Heavenly Dao above!"

This triple shout had now nearly become the standard opening for establishing a faction in the Primordial World.

"Now, I, East Prince Gong, following the Dao Ancestor's decree as the male immortal chief, hereby establish the Immortal Court on this East Sea's Penglai!"

"May I govern all immortals and gods under heaven, maintain the order of the Primordial World, teach all beings to follow the Dao, and respond to the Heavenly Fate!"

"All enlightened immortals of the Primordial World may enter my Immortal Court and jointly seek the Great Dao!"

"The Immortal Court—established!"

Yet, as the oath fell, the merit descending from the heavenly dome was pitifully thin.

The golden light was dim, far inferior to the vast merit when the Witch Clan established their clan, and utterly incomparable to the pillar of merit gold that nearly covered half the sky when the Demon Clan established theirs.

East Prince Gong was stunned on the spot.

What's going on?

The procedure was right?

The slogans were shouted?

Why?

"Pfft!"

From the crowd of observers, someone couldn't hold back a snicker.

Then, whispers rose on all sides.

"That's it? This little bit of merit—who could even fill their teeth with it?"

"Tsk tsk, still calling himself the male immortal chief—put on quite a show, but the Heavenly Dao doesn't give him face."

"Compared to the Witch and Demon Clans, this Immortal Court... is simply a joke!"

East Prince Gong stood on the high platform, his face cycling through green and white, his hands clenched tight.

He had anticipated that the merit might not match the Demon Clan's, since they had integrated all living beings with such grand momentum.

But he never imagined it would be inferior even to the Witch Clan!

When the Witch Clan established theirs, the pillar of merit gold, though thinner than the Demon Clan's, was still fairly thick.

The amount of merit directly reflected the Heavenly Dao's degree of recognition.

The meager merit the Immortal Court received was undoubtedly a declaration to the entire Primordial World: East Prince Gong, the male immortal chief, lacked sufficient weight.

"Ahem!" East Prince Gong forced himself to calm down, squeezing a smile onto his face. "Many thanks to all Fellow Daoists for attending the ceremony! The Immortal Court is newly established, with much yet to be built. I hope you will all support us in the days to come!"

The scene was exceedingly awkward.

The ceremony concluded, and various great powers took their leave one after another, many wearing amused smiles on their faces.

In an instant, East Prince Gong and his newly established "Immortal Court" had become the laughingstock of the entire Primordial World.

This incident also served as a wake-up call for all the great powers of the Primordial World.

Not just anyone could stake a claim, shout a few slogans, and expect the Heavenly Dao to buy into it.

Without the foundation, without the Destiny, without the strength, forcing one's way to the forefront would only bring humiliation.

But at the same time, the vast merit gained by the Demon Race from Establishing the Clan, and the benefits the Witch Clan had obtained from their own establishment, genuinely stirred everyone.

"Even East Prince Gong dared to establish an Immortal Court. Sure, the merit was meager, but he's still the master of a faction now!"

"Exactly. The Witch Clan, the Demon Race, and now this Immortal Court... the Primordial World is getting more and more cutthroat!"

"If we don't break through soon, we might not even get a sip of the soup!"

"Sever the Three Corpses! We must sever the Three Corpses as soon as possible and prove the Dao as a Quasi-Saint!"

An invisible pressure settled over the hearts of all great powers at the peak of the Zenith Heaven Golden Immortal realm.

Before, everyone was at the Golden Immortal level. Though some were stronger and some weaker, they were still on the same tier.

They had watched Di Jun, Taiyi, Nuwa, and Fuxi absorb their merit, their cultivation soaring, their pressure palpable even from afar.

And looking at the Witch Clan, though their merit wasn't as much as the Demon Race's, their Destiny had visibly surged since Establishing the Clan, and the auras of the Ancestral Witches grew increasingly condensed.

If they didn't catch up, the gap would only widen!

Kunlun Mountain.

The Three Pure Ones almost simultaneously chose to go into seclusion.

Taiqing, serene and non-contending, still knew that time waited for no one.

Yuanshi, proud and aloof, could not tolerate being overshadowed by the Demon Race.

Tongtian, fond of battle, craved greater power.

They would walk the path of severing the Three Corpses to prove the Dao, as passed down by the Dao Ancestor!

Wuzhuang Temple.

Zhen Yuanzi looked at his good friend Hongyun.

Hongyun scratched his head. "Fellow Daoist Zhen Yuanzi, what are you looking at me for? I need to go into seclusion too! If I don't catch up, I won't even dare to greet people when I go out anymore!"

Zhen Yuanzi nodded slightly. He too felt that sense of urgency.

Sea of Blood.

Ancestor Minghe gazed at his two innate killing swords, which could slay without incurring karmic sin, a bloody light flickering in his eyes.

Sever the Three Corpses?

Perfect. He had just the right "blade" for it.

Mount Sumeru in The West.

Jieyin's face grew even more bitter, while Zhunti's eyes gleamed with sharp light.

"Elder Brother, we too must sever our corpses as soon as possible, so that in the coming great calamity, we can fight for a sliver of hope for The West!"

"Indeed."

Even those great powers who had once roamed free or hidden themselves from the world now felt the pressure and began to enter seclusion, seeking breakthroughs.

The entire Primordial World seemed to fall silent all at once, but everyone knew this was merely the calm before the storm.

The era of the Quasi-Saints was about to truly arrive!

Time flowed on, and a thousand years passed in the blink of an eye for the great powers of the Primordial World in their seclusion.

On this day, from the direction of Kunlun Mountain, a vast and majestic aura surged into the sky, its pressure spreading across the entire mountain!

Taiqing had severed his Good Corpse and attained Quasi-Saint!

Immediately after, two other equally powerful auras erupted!

Yuanshi and Tongtian had also succeeded in severing their corpses, stepping into the Quasi-Saint realm!

The Three Pure Ones achieving Quasi-Saint on the same day shook the entire Primordial World!

Then, from Mount Sumeru in The West, two slightly different Quasi-Saint auras rose. Jieyin and Zhunti had also successfully severed their corpses.

In the Demon Race's Heavenly Court, Di Jun and Taiyi, aided by their vast merit and Destiny, severed their corpses almost simultaneously, becoming Quasi-Saints!

Nuwa and Fuxi followed closely, their merit complete as they too attained Quasi-Saint!

Zhen Yuanzi of Wuzhuang Temple, with the help of the Earth Book, succeeded in severing his corpse!

Ancestor Minghe of the Sea of Blood also took that step!

In an instant, the Primordial World was filled with Quasi-Saint auras rising one after another!

Deep within Buzhou Mountain, in the depths of Pangu Hall.

"Wum—"

A surge of powerful Space Law fluctuations came from another part of Pangu Hall.

Wu Ming opened his eyes, looking toward the direction of the fluctuations.

It was Dijiang.

Dijiang, the Ancestral Witch of Space, had Space Law energy surging around him, faintly breaking through the shackles of the Zenith Heaven Golden Immortal realm and stepping onto the threshold of the Golden Immortal of the Origin!

"Good!" A smile appeared on Wu Ming's face.

Not long after, another wave of obscure, profound Time Law fluctuations spread out.

Zhujiuyin, the Ancestral Witch of Time, had also successfully broken through!

What surprised Wu Ming and the other Ancestral Witches the most was Houtu.

This seemingly gentle, compassionate Ancestral Witch of Earth had actually come from behind, breaking through almost simultaneously with Dijiang and Zhujiuyin!

Around her, a yellow-brown divine light swirled—heavy, vast, bearing all things—and faintly, it seemed to carry an additional hint of reincarnation and creation.

"Sister Houtu has also broken through?" Zhurong's loud voice rang out, tinged with surprise.

"Damn! Little sister Houtu's impressive! She's even faster than us older brothers!" Gonggong also looked taken aback.

The other Ancestral Witches turned their gazes as well.

Houtu smiled faintly, her temperament growing even more gentle and serene: "I merely gained a small insight."

Wu Ming gave Houtu a deep look. He knew that her path of Law had likely already diverged from that of the other Ancestral Witches.

This might be related to her frequent travels across the Primordial Wilderness, experiencing the suffering of all living beings, and pitying those souls with no place to go after death.

Wu Ming did not point it out, only saying: "Excellent. Dijiang, Zhujiuyin, Houtu—the three of you have entered the Golden Immortal of the Origin realm. You shall serve as examples."

"As for the rest of our brothers and sisters, you must intensify your cultivation and strive to break through as soon as possible."

"Yes, Big Brother!" The other Ancestral Witches thundered their assent, their eyes blazing with fighting spirit.