Hidden Strength

The advancement from the First Layer to the Third Layer was fairly simple.

Hong Yun had only cultivated the Laws of Devouring, Reincarnation, and Light and Darkness, and had achieved it by cultivating one of them to Minor Accomplishment.

However, advancing from the Third Layer onward—from the Fourth to the Sixth Layer—was several times more difficult.

He had to cultivate more Laws, or raise more Laws from Entry to Minor Accomplishment, Major Accomplishment, or even Perfection.

As for the Seventh to Ninth Layers, the difficulty would soar again.

At that point, merely relying on nourishment from Laws at the Entry level would probably require a thousand Laws, or even all three thousand Great Dao Laws.

Hong Yun had no confidence that he could collect all three thousand Great Dao Laws.

Thus, the further he advanced, the higher the level to which he needed to cultivate the Laws.

Before that, however, he could rely on quantity, cultivating the Laws only to Minor Accomplishment to improve his Mythical Grand Unity Dao Fruit.

As for the final Tenth Layer, Hong Yun estimated that he would probably have to cultivate Laws to the Great Dao level before he could advance.

After all, once he reached the Foundation Building Tenth Layer, he would be only one step away from becoming a true Mythical Grand Unity.

Once he crossed that step, he would no longer be an existence Saints could look up to.

Even the Great Dao would seem somewhat insignificant before a Mythical Grand Unity.

He did not dare think too far ahead. For now, Hong Yun only wanted to improve his Mythical Grand Unity Dao Fruit.

Once his Mythical Dao Fruit reached the Fifth Layer, he would be equivalent to a Saint in the Great Desolation.

That was Hong Yun's first goal.

"Comprehending the Law of Chaos with the strength of my primordial spirit, along with the hundredfold cultivation-speed boost from the Great Dao Cushion, five hundred years will definitely be enough!"

Hong Yun thought to himself.

In five hundred years, Dao Ancestor Hongjun would give his third sermon.

Although he possessed the Mythical Grand Unity Method, he still had to attend a Saint's sermon.

It was not only because a Saint's sermon could provide him with some reference for comprehending the Mythical Grand Unity Method. More importantly, if he did not go, he would alter the trajectory of the Heavenly Dao.

By then, Dao Ancestor Hongjun might use other means to scheme against him, making it impossible to guard against.

Afterward...

Hong Yun began his comprehension.

Spirit Mountain in the Western Lands.

"Senior Brother, we are both stuck at the peak of Grand Unity. It's so frustrating! If we had cultivated Buddhist Dharma, we would probably have already reached the early stage of the Quasi-Saint realm!"

Zhunti looked toward Jieyin and complained.

"In five hundred years, Dao Ancestor will give his third sermon. Once the sermon ends, we will immediately cultivate Buddhist Dharma and break through to the Quasi-Saint realm!"

Jieyin offered a word of comfort.

"However, this Witch-Demon war reduced the living beings of the Great Desolation to misery, and we still gained quite a few benefits! In particular, we converted many races to the Western Lands. The Western Lands are now quite lively!"

Zhunti said.

Indeed, through their efforts, the Western Lands were still barren, but they were much better than before.

What left the two of them somewhat regretful was that after leaving the Solar Star, they had gone to find Ancestor Minghe but had failed to locate him.

Ancestor Minghe was currently being hunted by Blood Mosquito Daoist and did not dare return to the Nine Netherworld.

The East Sea.

When Penglai, Fangzhang, and Yingzhou emerged, Hong Yun and the Twelve Ancestral Witches had thoroughly looted them.

Later, Eastern Prince Gong and Queen Mother of the West had wanted to establish their Daoist grounds, but unexpectedly, they were hunted by the Three Pure Ones, Nuwa, Dijun, and the others.

Thus, the Three Immortal Islands were abandoned for a long time.

Several thousand years later, Eastern Prince Gong once again arrived at the Three Immortal Islands.

He was unwilling to accept this. After all, he had been appointed by Dao Ancestor Hongjun as the leader of the male immortals.

He had even established the Immortal Court.

To sink into silence like this was simply too stifling.

After arriving at the Three Immortal Islands in the East Sea, he discovered that the place was desolate and unoccupied, apart from a few lesser demons.

Thus, he slew the few lesser demons and once again occupied the Three Immortal Islands of the East Sea.

He also returned to Western Kunlun to persuade Queen Mother of the West to come with him.

The two of them once again established a defensive formation around the islands and a teleportation formation connecting the Three Immortal Islands.

For a time, the Three Immortal Islands truly became the Immortal Court's Daoist ground.

Many powerful beings of the Great Desolation, lacking good Daoist grounds, were persuaded by Eastern Prince Gong and Queen Mother of the West and came one after another.

The spiritual energy on the three immortal islands was fairly abundant. To these powerful beings of the Great Desolation, they were indeed excellent places for cultivation.

The Thirty-Three Heavens.

After Dijun and Taiyi returned to the Demon Clan, they led everyone to hide within the Thirty-Three Heavens.

During this period, they cultivated in silence while waiting for Dao Ancestor Hongjun's third sermon to begin.

They did not dare go out and wreak havoc.

That was because they had discovered something terrifying enough to make one's hair stand on end.

There was a huge hole in the Solar Star.

It seemed to have been left by an arrow, piercing straight through the entire Solar Star.

Who could possess such power? Dijun, Taiyi, and the others could not figure it out no matter how hard they thought.

But one thing was certain: that person's strength was far too terrifying. The Demon Clan absolutely could not contend with him.

Therefore...

They hid the entire Demon Clan within the Thirty-Three Heavens and cultivated desperately, hoping to increase their strength.

Yuxu Palace on Kunlun Mountain.

The Three Pure Ones were also cultivating continuously.

Since they had not participated in the Witch-Demon Tribulation, their cultivation had advanced rapidly.

Taishang Laojun had now Severed One Corpse and reached the middle stage of the Quasi-Saint realm. He was even not far from Severing the Second Corpse.

Once he Severed the Second Corpse, he would reach the late stage of the Quasi-Saint realm.

Yuanshi and Tongtian had also Severed One Corpse and reached the middle stage of the Quasi-Saint realm.

However, they had only just reached the middle stage.

Before Dao Ancestor Hongjun's third sermon, they had little chance of breaking through to the late stage of the Quasi-Saint realm.

Yet when the three of them Severed the Three Corpses, the treasures they used to contain the Three Corpses were merely ordinary Innate Spiritual Treasures.

After all, the three of them did not know the secret behind Severing the Three Corpses to attain Sainthood: the spiritual treasure containing the Three Corpses had to be at least a Top-grade Innate Spiritual Treasure.

This had completely cut off their path of attaining Sainthood by merging the Three Corpses.

Five hundred years passed in the blink of an eye.

On this day,

Hong Yun finally opened his eyes again inside Fire Cloud Cave.

The aura around him surged wildly at that moment.

"The Law of Chaos has finally reached Entry!"

Hong Yun murmured.

Then he rose to his feet.

With a wave of his hand, he manifested the Law of Chaos.

In an instant, endless chaotic aura filled Fire Cloud Cave, making it difficult to breathe.

If a Grand Unity Golden Immortal had been there, he probably would not even have been able to stand steadily.

If someone cultivated there, the aura within their body would also be disrupted by this chaotic Law, and they would certainly suffer cultivation deviation.

Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle!

At the same time, a Mythical Grand Unity Dao Fruit appeared above Hong Yun's head.

The Law of Chaos followed Hong Yun's will and merged into the Mythical Grand Unity Dao Fruit, constantly nourishing it.

The Mythical Grand Unity Dao Fruit grew at a visible rate.

Half an hour later, Hong Yun withdrew his Mythical Grand Unity Dao Fruit.

His Mythical Grand Unity Dao Fruit was still only at the Foundation Building Third Layer.

But compared to when he had just reached the Foundation Building Third Layer, it had grown more than twice as large.

"The sermon at Purple Cloud Palace should be about to begin!"

Hong Yun walked out of Fire Cloud Cave and murmured.

Then his figure flashed and transformed into a streak of light, heading toward Purple Cloud Palace beyond the Thirty-Three Heavens.

This time, he would have to face Dao Ancestor Hongjun's schemes!

Purple Cloud Palace.

There were fewer than three days left before Dao Ancestor Hongjun's third sermon.

Powerful beings from the Great Desolation arrived one after another.

The Three Pure Ones, Nuwa, Jieyin and Zhunti, Dijun and Taiyi, Fuxi, Kunpeng, and the others had already taken their seats on their respective cushions.

Of course, the six people seated on the six Purple Cushions were still the Three Pure Ones, Nuwa, and Jieyin and Zhunti.

Kunpeng looked toward the Purple Cushion beneath Jieyin and Zhunti, a trace of hatred flashing in his eyes.

One of those cushions had originally been his.

Moreover...

It was said that these cushions could allow one to become Dao Ancestor Hongjun's disciple, and might even offer a great opportunity to attain Sainthood.

Who in the Great Desolation did not want to become a Saint?

After all, the reason these powerful beings of the Great Desolation fought over the destiny of Heaven and Earth was to attain Sainthood.

Once one became a Saint, one would be indestructible through countless tribulations and exist eternally.

Everyone below the Saint realm was an ant. Only after becoming a Saint could one be considered acknowledged by the Heavenly Dao.

Whoosh!

At that moment, a somewhat disheveled figure flashed into existence and entered Purple Cloud Palace.

Phew!

Only after entering Purple Cloud Palace did that figure finally breathe a sigh of relief.

Everyone looked over in surprise and saw that the newcomer was none other than Ancestor Minghe.

Over the years, Ancestor Minghe had been hunted by Blood Mosquito Daoist, fleeing in disarray. He had not even dared return to his own Nine Netherworld.

But now, after entering Purple Cloud Palace, he felt incomparably safe.

No matter how deep Blood Mosquito Daoist's grudge against him was, he would not dare attack inside Purple Cloud Palace.

The sermon at Purple Cloud Palace lasted three thousand years each time.

At least during these three thousand years, he would be safe.

"Minghe, why are you so flustered?"

Seeing Ancestor Minghe, Dijun asked curiously.

"Alas, it's truly miserable. Blood Mosquito Daoist has been chasing me relentlessly. I'm almost out of places to flee!"

"Your Majesty the Demon Emperor, once the sermon at Purple Cloud Palace ends, you must shelter me!"

Ancestor Minghe came before Demon Emperor Dijun, his face full of misery.

When he saw that Dijun, Taiyi, and the others had already reached the Quasi-Saint realm while he remained at the peak of Grand Unity, he hurriedly sought their help.

"Rest assured. No matter how strong Blood Mosquito Daoist is, he would not dare attack in our presence. Once Dao Ancestor's sermon ends, follow us!"

Dijun nodded.

Ancestor Minghe thanked him profusely.

Before long, a huge mosquito covered in blood-colored patterns also flew into Purple Cloud Palace.

The moment he entered Purple Cloud Palace, he transformed into human form.

He was none other than Blood Mosquito Daoist, who had pursued him there.

However, Blood Mosquito Daoist did not attack Ancestor Minghe. Instead, with killing intent in his eyes, he glared at Ancestor Minghe.

Then he stood to the side, preparing to listen to Dao Ancestor's sermon.

On the other side, when Jieyin and Zhunti saw Ancestor Minghe arrive, they exchanged a glance.

They had gone to the Nine Netherworld earlier but had failed to find Minghe.

Now that Ancestor Minghe had delivered himself to them, they planned to demand the seven gourds from him after Dao Ancestor's sermon ended.

Afterward, Great Immortal Zhenyuanzi, Eastern Prince Gong, Queen Mother of the West, Randeng, and many other powerful beings of the Great Desolation arrived at Purple Cloud Palace one after another and took their seats.

Zhenyuanzi, Eastern Prince Gong, and Queen Mother of the West had all likewise reached the early stage of the Quasi-Saint realm.

Randeng, however, still remained at the peak of Grand Unity.

On the final day,

just as everyone waited for Dao Ancestor Hongjun to appear and give his sermon, a figure flew in moments before the gates of Purple Cloud Palace were about to close.

"Good thing I made it!"

The newcomer was Hong Yun. He had been delayed because he needed to cultivate the Law of Chaos.

By the time he had cultivated the Law of Chaos to Minor Accomplishment and nourished his Mythical Grand Unity Dao Fruit, the sermon at Purple Cloud Palace was already imminent.

He had hurried as fast as he could and finally arrived.

"Huh? Hong Yun is still at the peak of Grand Unity!"

"That can't be right. What has Hong Yun been doing for the past ten thousand years? Hadn't he already reached the peak of Grand Unity last time?"

"Tsk, tsk, Hong Yun really has no staying power. I've already reached the peak of Grand Unity, yet he's still only at the peak of Grand Unity!"