After Ye Xuan made his choice, a treasure map glittering with countless Innate Spiritual Treasures appeared in his hand in the void.
The Qiankun Diagram!
Within this treasure lay a vast, boundless world of heaven and earth.
It contained all things beneath the heavens: flowers, birds, insects, fish, mountains, rivers, the sun, and the moon. It was no different from a true world, and it held the Power of Space Law.
Once the Qiankun Diagram was merged into the Three Thousand Heavens, it could make the foremost of the Three Thousand Heavens equal to a true Middle Thousand World, rule over the heavens, and ascend straight to the Primordial Golden Immortal Realm.
Looking at the Innate Spiritual Treasure in his hand, Ye Xuan's gaze sharpened. He swept his palm toward the Qiankun Diagram.
"Boom!"
The Power of Great Dao Laws surged through the void. The Qiankun Diagram let out a sky-shaking hum, as if sensing danger. Its innate divine might flared, and it struggled to break free.
Ye Xuan was only a Quasi-Saint, but he possessed three Supreme Saint Methods. And the Three Thousand Heavens were no ordinary Dao Fruit; they already contained a trace of Heavenly Dao power. Once he brought that power to bear, it even held a hint of Fate's mysteries.
Under the might of the Heavenly Dao, all resistance was futile. The Qiankun Diagram gave a final boom and could no longer fight back.
"Crack!"
A thousand years later, the Innate Spiritual Treasure Qiankun Diagram shattered. A mass of spatial Origin Power and countless fragments of the Great Dao merged into the Three Thousand Heavens.
The moment it merged, Ye Xuan sensed a subtle change within the Three Thousand Heavens. Countless strands of Innate Spiritual Qi surged from the Western Land into the First Heaven.
After a while, living beings began to gestate, one after another. From that moment on, this world finally had a trace of life. Though they had appeared from nothing and were not yet true living beings, once the Three Thousand Heavens entered reality, its countless beings could enter the real world as well.
Above the Vault of Heaven, Ye Xuan saw that his First Heaven had risen straight to the Middle Thousand World level. Delighted, he spoke to it.
"Among the Three Thousand Heavens, you are the foremost, the heart of Heaven, governing the heavens. You shall be the Heavenly Realm!"
As Ye Xuan spoke, a Great Dao Rune appeared above the First Heaven, imprinting itself upon the world.
Heavenly Realm!
As the Heavenly Realm ascended, the laws around Ye Xuan surged. His aura swelled, taking on an ancient, profound quality, mysterious and unfathomable.
When his aura reached its peak, Ye Xuan opened his eyes.
With a single thought, worlds were born and destroyed!
His powerful aura shot into the sky. Beneath its force, the countless living beings in the Western Land could do nothing but prostrate themselves and tremble.
Seeing that his power had grown even stronger with a mere gesture, Ye Xuan smiled. He raised a hand, and his aura dissipated.
Just as Ye Xuan had expected, after absorbing the Qiankun Diagram, his strength had risen straight to the Mid-Stage Golden Immortal of the Origin. In the Path of Three Corpses, this was equivalent to the level of Slashing Two Corpses. Yet among the many innate gods and demons in the Primordial World, not one had even severed the First Corpse.
At the thought, a faint smile appeared on Ye Xuan's face. His primordial spirit had already reached the Quasi-Saint Realm, too. Among all the innate gods and demons, he stood at the top!
"Good!"
As Ye Xuan pondered, another Electronic Sound rang in his ear.
[Ding-dong!]
[Detected that Emperor Taiyi and the others have invited Daoist Nuwa and Daoist Fuxi to take up residence in the Heavenly Court. They are preparing to establish the Demon Race, under which all beings beneath the innate gods and demons will belong. Host, please choose below.]
[Choice One: Storm the Heavenly Court and seize the position of Heavenly Emperor. Complete the task to receive the Innate Spiritual Treasure Kongtong Seal.]
[Choice Two: Ignore them and let them establish the Heavenly Court. Receive a mountain of Shouyang Mountain Bronze!]
Hearing another Electronic Sound in his ear, Ye Xuan opened his eyes and looked toward Mount Buzhou.
Once Fuxi and the others joined them and established the Demon Race, the Witch Clan's emergence would not be far off. Once the two sides went to war, the next Measure Tribulation would begin.
Establishing the Heavenly Court seemed glorious, but once you got involved, there was no way out. You had only two choices: seize the position of Great Heavenly Venerate and conquer the world—or die. Only after becoming a Saint could you step off the gameboard and become a player.
But the Demon Emperor and the others had established the Heavenly Court precisely because they wanted to vie for supremacy and use Immeasurable Luck to enter the Realm of Sages.
An unsolvable dilemma!
In Ye Xuan's eyes, the Demon Emperor and the other innate gods and demons were already as good as dead. They were not worth his attention. Having made up his mind, he looked away from the Thirty-Three Heavens and spoke without hesitation.
"Choose the second. Ignore them!"
[Ding-dong!]
[Host has chosen to ignore them and remain safely out of the fray. One mountain of Shouyang Mountain Bronze is being delivered. Please inspect it yourself.]
After Ye Xuan made his choice, another Electronic Sound rang in his ear.
The next moment, a huge mountain of innate bronze appeared from the void.
Shouyang Mountain Bronze!
Shouyang Mountain held two great treasures. The first was the Innate Spiritual Treasure Kongtong Seal. Originally a Top-grade Innate Spiritual Treasure, it was inseparable from the Human Race and a supreme treasure of humanity. With it, one could establish the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors and claim one-tenth of the Human Race's Luck.
Though that was only one-tenth, in the future, when the Witch and Demon races annihilated each other and left the stage of the Primordial World, the Human Race would become the sole Protagonist of Heaven and Earth. Even Nuwa's Creation of Humans had brought her only one-tenth of their Luck.
The second great treasure was Shouyang Mountain Bronze.
In later ages, Daoist Laozi had used Shouyang Mountain Bronze to forge a Postnatal Supreme Treasure, the Xuanyuan Sword, and gifted it to the Yellow Emperor.
He had also used Shouyang Mountain Bronze in the time of Da Yu, the last of the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors, to forge Da Yu's Nine Cauldrons. They subdued the Ancestor Dragon's Nine Sons, while the second Innate Supreme Treasure, the Sea-Calming Divine Needle, stabilized the waters of the Four Seas.
With Shouyang Mountain Bronze, Ye Xuan could also seek some Heavenly Dao Merit in the future.
Though he possessed the Shouyang Mountain Bronze, Ye Xuan did not intend to use it himself. A stream did not compete to be first; it competed to flow on without end. Boundless Merit could greatly increase one's strength, but it could also leave one's cultivation somewhat unstable. Ye Xuan had set his sights high: he would be the first to transcend Above the Great Dao, and he intended to reach the Realm of Sages through his own efforts.
Still, even if Ye Xuan had no use for Merit, his Second Younger Brother, Daoist Zhunti, and the disciples he would take in one day needed it. After a moment's thought, Ye Xuan tossed the bronze into the Three Thousand Heavens and resumed his Secluded Cultivation.
After Ye Xuan went into Secluded Cultivation, the Demon Emperor established the Demon Race in the Heavenly Court and gained immeasurable Great Merit. He entrusted his Good Corpse to it and rose straight to the Quasi-Saint Realm. For a time, he was without equal, and the Heavenly Court's Luck flourished.
At Mount Sumeru, the source of the West's countless Spiritual Veins, Daoist Zhunti watched this scene with disdain. He had merely severed one corpse, and even that had required boundless Merit. His Eldest Brother had devised a Saint Method on his own half a Yuanhui ago and ascended to the Primordial Golden Immortal Realm. A thousand years ago, he had even severed his First Corpse. Compared with his Eldest Brother, the Demon Emperor was utterly insignificant.
Daoist Zhunti shook his head again. Though he disdained the Demon Emperor, he had matters of his own and paid him no further attention.
Looking out from Mount Sumeru, Daoist Zhunti's expression turned grave once more.
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