Thirty thousand years slipped by as Di Jiang devoted himself to cultivation. Thanks to the steady supply of pure Yin-Yang Dao Rhyme from the Yin-Yang Banana Tree, along with his deeper understanding of time and the essence of the Great Dao gained from discussing the Dao with Candle Dragon,
and with the Banana Tree containing the source of Yin and Yang, Di Jiang's comprehension of the Yin-Yang Law grew increasingly profound. He had already begun to master it.
The Yin Yang Two Qi flowed ceaselessly through his Primordial Spirit, generating and overcoming one another as they unfolded endless mysteries. They complemented his Space Law and Five Elements Law, making his Dao Foundation ever more solid and secure.
One day, the aura inside Pangu Divine Hall abruptly shifted! Dao Rhyme surged around Di Jiang, space rippled faintly, and the Yin Yang Two Qi coalesced into a substantial-looking phantom of the Taiji Diagram, slowly revolving behind him as Five Elements light swirled within it.
The bottleneck of the early-stage Primordial Golden Immortal realm, which had held firm for so long, shattered with a thunderous crash under the weight of his accumulated progress! His aura rose steadily, step by step, until it finally settled at a whole new level—the mid-stage Primordial Golden Immortal realm!
"Mid-stage Primordial Origin Golden Immortal. I've finally made another breakthrough."
Di Jiang inspected himself from within and felt fairly satisfied. At his level, cultivating the Law Dao, every breakthrough was exceptionally difficult.
During the thirty thousand years he spent in seclusion breaking through, the outside world of the Primordial World had already been thrown into turmoil by Hongjun's method of severing the Three Corpses to attain the Dao!
The Three Pure Ones, Nuwa, Di Jun and Taiyi, Jieyin and Zhunti, Zhenyuanzi and Hong Yun, and the other top experts had all lived up to their origins and good fortune.
Though, in this life, the Three Pure Ones had lost the most compatible treasures—the horsetail whisk, Three Treasures Jade Ruyi, and Green Duckweed Sword, all transformed from the Green Lotus of Creation—they still had their deep foundations and abundant fortune!
They found other Innate Spiritual Treasures that matched their attributes and possessed considerable power. Perhaps Hongjun had secretly compensated them? In any case, they successfully severed their Good Corpses or Evil Corpses and entered the Quasi-Saint realm one after another!
In an instant, the balance of the Primordial World's top-tier strength was completely rewritten. The era of Quasi-Saints had officially begun!
However, severing a corpse required an Innate Spiritual Treasure suited to oneself, which undoubtedly intensified the competition for these already scarce treasures. Across the Primordial World, calamities erupted and the fires of war raged without end. Over a treasure that might be used to sever a corpse, cultivators who once could have shared wine and laughter might suddenly turn on each other!
Tragedies of Dao companions turning against each other and brothers fighting among themselves occurred all too often. The great powers either took action themselves or sent their followers to search the entire Primordial World for treasures, fighting until mountains and rivers shattered and the sun and moon lost their light.
Di Jiang's divine sense covered the Primordial World as he watched it all with cold detachment. He saw Golden Immortals bleed out in their caves over a Low-grade Innate Spiritual Treasure, and ancient clans wiped out simply for possessing treasures.
Yet he had no intention of intervening. Di Jiang remained indifferent. Compared to the vast body of the Primordial World, slaughter on this scale was no more than a minor affliction, with little impact.
Those fallen Golden Immortals had consumed vast amounts of spiritual energy and occupied considerable resources in their day. Their demise could even ease some of the burden on the Primordial World.
As long as it wasn't an explosion by a peak Primordial Golden Immortal like the Dragon-Phoenix Calamity or Demon Ancestor Luohu—an overwhelming force capable of shaking the Primordial World's foundations—the chaos and slaughter born of competing for treasures remained well within the world's ability to repair itself.
The shattered mountains and dried-up rivers would slowly recover in time under the workings of the laws of heaven and earth. Besides, after this purge, the forces of the Primordial World would be reshuffled. Perhaps a new order would emerge.
Di Jiang was like a detached player surveying the disputes across a board. So long as they didn't interfere with his plans, he would let them be. He remained focused on his own Great Dao and on the development within Mount Buzhou.
The turmoil beyond his domain had yet to catch his attention. He was now a mid-stage Primordial Golden Immortal, and with all his trump cards, he wouldn't fear even if the newly risen Quasi-Saints came at him together.
What was more, his younger siblings were steadily improving under his guidance and with the resources he provided. The foundations of Mount Buzhou's faction were quietly growing stronger.
The Three Qings of Kunlun, however, had not broken through in Kunlun. On the day they returned from Chaos, they were dispirited after Kunpeng had escaped!
But the moment the three of them returned to the Primordial World, they sensed the aura of Innate Spiritual Treasures!
This time, nothing unexpected happened. The Three Qings obtained three Top-grade Innate Spiritual Treasures with ease. Overjoyed, and already enlightened in the method of severing corpses, they didn't even bother returning to Kunlun. They set up a formation where they stood and immediately began severing their corpses to break through!
Ten thousand years later, pure qi swirled around all three of them. Each had successfully severed one corpse and entered the Quasi-Saint realm! They were in high spirits; after all, their cultivation had advanced greatly, and they now stood at the pinnacle of the Primordial World.
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However, their good mood vanished the instant they returned to Mount Kunlun and habitually swept their divine senses over their home.
The area that had once held Qilin Cliff, radiating the peaceful, weighty aura of the earth, was now completely empty! Not only had the enormous cliff and its small world vanished, but every trace of the Qilin Clan's lingering aura had been wiped away, as if nothing had ever existed there!
"Outrageous!"
"This is too much!"
"Hm?"
Yuqing and Shangqing roared almost simultaneously, their faces livid. The Quasi-Saint pressure around them spread uncontrollably, making the myriad creatures of Mount Kunlun tremble!
They had just lost Kunpeng in Chaos and were full of pent-up anger. Still, successfully finding treasures and severing their corpses meant that misfortune could be a blessing in disguise!
But they hadn't expected to return home and find their home ransacked too! It was a brazen slap in the face—another case of fortune hiding within misfortune!
"First the Banana Tree, and now even Qilin Cliff..." Yuqing trembled with rage, feeling that Pangu's True Lineage had once again been ground into the dirt.
Shangqing went further, immediately bringing out the new treasure he had used to sever his corpse—not the Green Duckweed Sword. Sword qi shot into the sky. He wished he could seize the thief who had provoked them again and again and tear him to pieces!
Taiqing was comparatively composed, but his expression was just as dark. He carefully sensed the empty space, brows furrowing. "The work was clean and precise. The spatial fluctuations were deliberately disturbed, and the heavenly secrets are clouded. It's exactly like the theft of the Banana Tree."
He recalled the Chaos, when they had nearly captured Kunpeng—and the sudden, exquisitely precise interference with space that had appeared just then...
"Big Brother, it must still be Kunpeng!" Yuqing gritted his teeth. "Who else could move so quickly and wield space like that?"
Shangqing agreed. "Exactly! That feathered beast must have held a grudge. He took advantage of our absence to come wreak havoc in Kunlun again!"
Taiqing slowly shook his head. "No. This time, I fear it wasn't Kunpeng."
Seeing the confusion in his brothers' eyes, he said gravely, "Think carefully. When the Banana Tree was stolen, we suspected Kunpeng because he had a grudge against us and was renowned for his speed throughout the Primordial World. But what about Qilin Cliff? The Qilin Clan has long lived in seclusion and has no enmity with Kunpeng. Why would he risk so much to come to Kunlun and carry off the entire cliff? What would he gain from it?"
Yuqing and Shangqing paused. On reflection, it truly didn't make much sense. Kunpeng was a lone wanderer, not the head of a major faction. Going to all the trouble of removing the Qilin Clan would mean little to him.
Taiqing continued, his tone certain. "Besides, don't forget what happened in Chaos. The one who secretly helped Kunpeng had reached the pinnacle of mastery in the Space Law! To help Kunpeng escape without a trace under the eyes of all three of us—that was no ordinary divine ability!"
"The Banana Tree was stolen, and the spatial fluctuations were disrupted. Qilin Cliff vanished by the same means. And the one who helped Kunpeng in Chaos also wielded spatial powers. My two worthy brothers, this is certainly no coincidence!"
At that, Yuqing and Shangqing's expressions abruptly turned grave!
"Big Brother, are you saying that all of this was probably done by the same person?"
Taiqing nodded solemnly. "There's no conclusive proof, but it's highly likely. This person first stole the Banana Tree and framed Kunpeng, leading us to clash with him. Then he took advantage of the opportunity to remove Qilin Cliff. His purpose is still unclear, but his methods are mysterious, and his strength formidable. He is certainly no weaker than us! Perhaps..."
Taiqing even suspected that this person might be the mysterious Lord of Mount Buzhou! But without evidence, he couldn't make such a claim.
The Three Pure Ones exchanged glances, each seeing solemnity and a trace of dread in the others' eyes. They realized that such a fearsome foe was hiding in the Primordial World, watching from the shadows and repeatedly reaching into their home, Mount Kunlun!
"Investigate! We have to drag this person out into the open!" Shangqing clenched his fists, murder in his eyes.
"We must consider this carefully. We can't act rashly again," Daoist Taiqing warned. He had already placed this mysterious space expert on the list of threats that demanded the utmost vigilance!
The dark cloud of another theft from Mount Kunlun hung over the Three Qings. Meanwhile, the true culprit, Di Jiang, was peacefully tending the Banana Tree on Mount Buzhou, completely unaware that Taiqing had named him the prime suspect.
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