40. Golden Immortal of the Origin and Quasi-Saint, Inviting the Candle Dragon to the Hall for a Chat

"Haha, Fellow Daoist Candle Dragon, there's no need to be anxious. Hongjun has said that the Dharma is not transmitted to six ears. Though our exchange isn't as strict as his, we must still guard against others divining the celestial secrets."

"What my fourth brother is about to say, if it were to spread and be known by others, would bring us misfortune rather than fortune." Tongtian explained with a smile.

He knew well how astonishing the secrets his fourth brother held were.

To say nothing else, if the pitfall of severing the Three Corpses to attain sainthood were made public, ruining Hongjun's plans, then aside from hiding in Pangu Hall, they would have nowhere else to go. Once they appeared anywhere under the Heavenly Dao's domain, they would face Hongjun's furious attacks.

Doing such a thing would bring no benefit to the two of them, so naturally it wasn't worth it.

"I see." Candle Dragon suddenly understood.

"Fellow Daoist, do you have any doubts?"

Having isolated the celestial secrets, Xuanyuan flipped his hand and put away the Primordial Measure Heaven Ruler, then calmly looked toward Candle Dragon.

Tongtian, meanwhile, used his magic power to lift a cup of fragrant tea and sent it before the latter.

"To be honest, Fellow Daoist, when I attended the lecture at Purple Firmament Palace before, the Dao Ancestor mentioned as the session ended that next time he would speak on the path of the Quasi-Saint. Do you know the difference between a Quasi-Saint and a Golden Immortal of the Origin, and which is superior?"

Candle Dragon drained the cup in one gulp and asked eagerly, his eyes filled with doubt and a hint of anticipation.

"Both are below the Zenith Heaven Golden Immortal of the Origin. They seem parallel, but in truth, the Quasi-Saint can be considered a variant branch of the Golden Immortal of the Origin, much like the relationship between a Heavenly Dao Saint and a Zenith Heaven Golden Immortal of the Origin."

Xuanyuan raised his hand and traced in the air, and two Grand Unity Magic Powers coalesced into parallel phantom images in the void.

The phantom on the left was wrapped in the spiritual light of treasures, while the one on the right merged with the Heaven and Earth Laws.

One represented the Quasi-Saint, the other the Golden Immortal of the Origin.

"You mean, a Golden Immortal of the Origin can also directly walk the path of the Quasi-Saint, and the Quasi-Saint is just a type of Golden Immortal of the Origin?" Candle Dragon nodded, a thoughtful look in his eyes.

After Xuanyuan's simple clarification, the relationship between the two became as clear as observing the lines in one's palm.

A Quasi-Saint is a Golden Immortal of the Origin, but a Golden Immortal of the Origin is not necessarily a Quasi-Saint;

a Heavenly Dao Saint is a Zenith Heaven Golden Immortal of the Origin, but a Zenith Heaven Golden Immortal of the Origin is not necessarily a Heavenly Dao Saint.

"The Quasi-Saint and the Heavenly Dao Saint are more like 'Dao Fruit Positions' than pure realms of power."

"As far as I know, Hongjun deduced the method of severing the Three Corpses from the incomplete Jade Disc of Creation, but it requires using Innate Spiritual Treasures as vessels to sever the Good, Evil, and Obsession Corpses. Moreover, these treasures must share the same origin, or be a singular wonder capable of bearing all three corpses."

"In essence, it's actually borrowing the power of spiritual treasures to elevate oneself."

As his words fell, Candle Dragon couldn't help but furrow his brow.

Innate Spiritual Treasures of the same origin?

Though he was an ancient being who had lived through the Dragon-Phoenix Calamity and knew of some treasures that fit the criteria, all of them carried immense karma and were difficult to obtain.

The three Innate Supreme Treasures transformed from the Sky-Opening Axe went without saying—aside from the Chaos Bell in Eastern Emperor Tai Yi's hands, the other two were held by the Dao Ancestor;

Ming He's Xuanyuan Water Control Banner and the Twelve Petaled Karma Fire Red Lotus were also treasures of the same origin, but with his Blood Sea never drying and Ming He never dying, they were hard to seize.

As for entrusting all three corpse souls to a single treasure... since severing the Three Corpses was the path to enlightenment, entrusting them to three treasures was the proper way.

Candle Dragon's thoughts were in turmoil, and for a moment, he found himself at a loss.

Xuanyuan shifted his tone, his fingertip tracing over the phantom of the Golden Immortal of the Origin on the right, where the lines of law shimmered brightly in the void:

"The Golden Immortal of the Origin is different. It follows the path of Father God Pangu and the Three Thousand Great Dao Demon Gods—Proving Dao by Force and Proving Dao by Law."

"It requires no reliance on spiritual treasures, no dependence on the Heavenly Dao. One becomes the embodiment of the laws themselves, with a foundation of cultivation that borrows nothing external, forged entirely from one's own power. Even if Heaven collapses and Earth cracks, even if the Primordial World shatters, one's Dao foundation remains as stable as a rock."

"As for which is superior, there's no clear distinction in power, but..." Xuanyuan's gaze grew heavy, "the Saint's Primordial Spirit is entrusted to the Heavenly Dao, and the Quasi-Saint's Three Corpses are severed through spiritual treasures—both 'borrow external force.'"

"If the spiritual treasure used to sever a corpse is damaged, the Quasi-Saint's Primordial Spirit will suffer backlash. At worst, their cultivation plummets; at worst, their Dao foundation collapses. But a Golden Immortal of the Origin cultivates their own flesh, Primordial Spirit, and Great Dao. They coexist with the laws and bear no such karmic entanglement."

Xuanyuan's words were not empty talk.

Not to mention the great pitfall Hongjun had left in the method of severing the Three Corpses, even if someone truly succeeded, if Calamity Qi, Sha Qi, Malevolent Qi, Demonic Qi, Turbid Qi, or Resentful Qi—forces capable of damaging treasures—were used to wash over them, their cultivation would suffer greatly.

And if one wielded an Innate Killing Supreme Treasure like the God-Slaying Spear, unless the opponent had a treasure of the same level to protect themselves, such as the Heaven and Earth Mysterious Yellow Exquisite Pagoda or the Chaos Bell, then a Golden Immortal of the Origin of the same realm, using the God-Slaying Spear against a Quasi-Saint who had severed the Three Corpses, could heavily wound one corpse with a single strike, directly eroding the spiritual treasure and cutting away their cultivation!

In the end, the Quasi-Saint and the severed-corpse spiritual treasure were like the Heavenly Dao Saint and the Heavenly Dao itself—

Once abandoned by the Heavenly Dao, even a Heavenly Dao Saint could have their Saint Position collapse in an instant. Their great power never truly belonged to them, and thus they could never attain true Great Freedom or Great Ease.

After hearing this, Candle Dragon's face twitched slightly. His eyes first showed sudden enlightenment, then welled up with relief.

He bowed deeply to Xuanyuan, his voice tinged with lingering fear: "Thank you, Fellow Daoist, for pointing out the confusion! Had I not heard this, I would have abandoned the grand path of Proving Dao by Law and nearly strayed into the wrong path of proving Dao by borrowing treasures. To receive such true knowledge is truly Candle Dragon's fortune! This kindness, I will repay in the future!"

If he lacked the same-origin treasures needed to sever the Three Corpses, he could still scheme to obtain them;

but a path where his own strength was tied to spiritual treasures, where one's loss meant the other's loss, was not to Candle Dragon's liking.

Having lived through the rise and fall of the Dragon-Phoenix Calamity, and witnessed how the Dragon-Phoenix-Kirin Three Clans were dragged into the quagmire of the calamity by Luohu's instigation and the Heavenly Dao's push, Candle Dragon understood deeply that though the Primordial World was vast, only the power cultivated by oneself was the true truth.

Entrusting one's power to treasures or even the Heavenly Dao—how was that any different from handing over one's vital weakness to others?

The climb up the Great Dao had not even begun, yet it was already over!

At this moment, the Candle Dragon felt genuine gratitude toward Xuanyuan, and the goodwill in his heart continued to accumulate. As for why Xuanyuan knew so many hidden secrets that others did not, he had no intention of pressing the matter, merely thinking that he would do his utmost to repay the favor in the future.

After all, the grace of attaining the Dao was greater than heaven!

Xuanyuan took in the Candle Dragon's expression and Primordial Spirit Fluctuation completely, nodding to himself.

This Candle Dragon was indeed a fellow Daoist worth befriending.

Since that was the case, he could not let Zhu Jiuyin miss this opportunity.

"To be frank with you, fellow Daoist, besides my fourth brother and myself, there are actually twelve more siblings dwelling here in the Buzhou Mountain region. Would you be willing to come as a guest and discuss the Great Dao together?"

After a moment's thought, Xuanyuan extended the invitation, just as Gonggong and Zhurong had once invited him and Tongtian.

At this, Tongtian was slightly surprised but did not object.

He trusted that Xuanyuan would not speak without reason; since he had extended the invitation, it meant this Candle Dragon fellow Daoist was worthy of trust.

Hearing this, the Candle Dragon abruptly raised his head, the dragon-mark seal on his brow flaring brightly, his face full of astonishment.

He had cultivated for many years and had some awareness of the hidden secrets of the Primordial Wilderness, yet he had never heard that so many Great Divine Powers were dwelling in seclusion at Buzhou Mountain.

Those whom Xuanyuan called siblings—how could they be ordinary Great Divine Powers?

Yet, as the Candle Dragon's Spiritual Sense swept over millions of li around Buzhou Mountain, he found not the slightest trace. In the past, he had also traveled the Primordial Wilderness and come to this heavenly pillar formed from Pangu's spine, but he had never discovered any signs of other Great Divine Powers gestating there!

"Since that is the case," the Candle Dragon looked at the clear Dao resonance in Xuanyuan's eyes, recalling how the latter had unselfishly pointed out the path during their discussion, and the last shred of doubt in his heart dissipated like smoke.

"Xuanyuan, fellow Daoist, has treated me with sincerity and guided me onto the true path of the Dao—how could I be unwilling? I would gladly sit and discuss the Dao with all the fellow Daoists!"

He took a deep breath, the dark dragon-patterned robe around his body stirring without wind, and he cupped his hands solemnly.

"Excellent."

Xuanyuan exchanged a glance with Tongtian, clapped his hands and laughed, then opened the Mysterious Female Gate and led the Candle Dragon into Pangu Hall.