Dao Ancestor's Gaze, Jieyin Takes Form

In the depths of Chaos, where primordial mist had yet to be divided.

Gale winds were like blades, tearing through the void; Chaos Qi churned, thunder and fire intertwined. Any ordinary Primordial Unity Golden Immortal who entered would have their soul and spirit annihilated in an instant.

Only within a radius of ninety thousand li did purple qi stretch like silken ribbons, standing immovable—Purple Cloud Palace floated silently there.

Dao Ancestor Hongjun opened his eyes atop his meditation cushion, his fingers constantly calculating.

"Strange. How could that Innate Bitter Bamboo in the west trigger a lightning tribulation upon taking form?"

Hongjun sank his Spiritual Sense into the Heavenly Dao to investigate, only to discover that Randeng's figure had been constantly active throughout the western lands over the past yuanhui.

"A variable? And tainted with a thread of Pangu's Fortune. He seems more suited to command the west than those two Innate Spiritual Roots."

Because of the enormous western Karma upon himself, Hongjun paid particular attention to the west and had always been searching for a suitable candidate to inherit this Karma.

He had originally decided to have Jieyin and Zhunti bear it, but now Randeng seemed more suitable.

On Mount Sumeru, Randeng drafted a Heavenly Dao Oath nearly ten thousand words long and sent it to Jieyin.

Its contents included, but were not limited to, acknowledging Randeng as the Lord of the West after taking form, never betraying Randeng by any means, taking the revival of the west as their own duty, and five hundred additional clauses besides.

Feeling that incomparably detailed, even harsh, Heavenly Dao Oath in his mind, Jieyin felt his worldview take a heavy blow. So Heavenly Dao Oaths could be used like this.

But with the lightning tribulation hanging over his head, circumstances were stronger than any man. Jieyin accepted in an instant.

Randeng demanded that Zhunti swear alongside him.

He had spent tens of thousands of years accompanying this western duo precisely for the greatest opportunity in the west: Jieyin and Zhunti themselves.

Was there anything more precious than two future Saints?

As the oath of nearly ten thousand words was sworn, even the lightning tribulation in the sky seemed to pause for an instant.

Could it be that I've patched up a loophole in the Heavenly Dao this time?

Randeng's heart jolted. Only a short time had passed since the Dragon-Phoenix Tribulation; the Heavenly Dao had only just been born, and the myriad living beings were still exceedingly simple. It was still far from the tightly regulated order it would possess after Hongjun merged with the Dao, and many loopholes remained to be exploited.

This Heavenly Dao Oath he had drafted might well have plugged many loopholes people would exploit in the future.

As if confirming Randeng's thoughts, golden light flashed across the sky in the next instant. Another thread of Golden Light of Merit appeared in his mind, an amount equal to what he had gained from repairing two ley lines.

Jieyin, who was swearing the oath beside him, and Zhunti, who was still a Bodhi Tree, were once again stunned by the sight.

"Why do we gain merit by swearing an oath, yet you're the one who gets it?"

"Are you just going to keep fleecing us martial brothers?"

For the first time, Jieyin and Zhunti felt admiration for Randeng. In the primordial world, someone who could study the rules of the Heavenly Dao to such an extent was truly unique.

Who knew how many oaths he had sworn, how many bolts he had endured, to comprehend this?

Jieyin and Zhunti refused to submit to those whose cultivation exceeded theirs, because they themselves possessed the finest origins in the primordial world. But they did respect someone like this—someone who dared to study even the Heavenly Dao and use himself as the subject of his research.

"Senior Brother, won't you help me?"

Jieyin cried out in desperation. Merit was wonderful, but the lightning tribulation was still hanging over his head!

He himself had not noticed that the way he addressed Randeng had quietly changed.

Randeng was somewhat baffled. Why had Jieyin suddenly become so close to him? Still, he once again summoned the Green Lotus Treasure Banner and activated the array to shield Jieyin overhead.

As though it sensed someone interfering with the lightning tribulation, purple lightning poured down like a waterfall onto the Green Lotus World-Purifying Glazed Array.

The entire great array shook, seemingly unable to withstand the power of the heavenly lightning.

"Senior Brother, hold steady!"

Jieyin could not help cheering Randeng on. He truly feared that he would fail to take form, only to be refined into a Dharma treasure by Randeng the next moment.

Randeng did not notice Jieyin's cry. He had immersed himself in comprehending this Purple Firmament Divine Lightning. It was said that the Dao Ancestor's lightning arts had been comprehended from this heavenly lightning.

Yet within the Purple Firmament Divine Lightning, Randeng sensed, beyond the Law of Lightning, the Dao Rhyme of Annihilation that sought to destroy everything completely.

Randeng's comprehension of the Annihilation Law reached forty-nine percent. He needed only to spend several thousand years bringing his cultivation up to the level of his realm, and he would stand just a thread away from breaking through to Zenith Heaven Golden Immortal.

Seated within the array, he lightly tapped with a Dharma finger. A thread of the Dao Rhyme of Annihilation quietly wound itself around the array patterns of the Green Lotus World Purifying Glazed Great Array, redirecting and harmonizing the Annihilation Law within the Purple Firmament Divine Lightning that leaned toward nothingness.

At some unknown point, the great array stabilized, and Jieyin's heart settled with it.

"Junior Brother, since you too cultivate the Annihilation Law, hurry and take form to comprehend such an opportunity!"

Randeng's words struck Jieyin's Spiritual Platform more directly than the Purple Firmament Divine Lightning, pulling him from his daze.

Without sparing a thought for why Randeng knew that he too cultivated the Annihilation Law, Jieyin transformed into human form amid flashes of spiritual light.

Randeng looked closely and saw a tall young man, his complexion waxen yellow, his expression solemn and compassionate, carrying a trace of bitterness. His hair was tied in a pure topknot, his eyes peaceful, divine light restrained within; the bamboo staff in his left hand was his accompanying spiritual treasure—the Six Roots Pure Bamboo.

Jieyin first bowed to Randeng, then immediately sat down cross-legged to comprehend the remnants of the Purple Firmament Divine Lightning.

"Senior Brother, when will I take form? I want to contribute to the west too."

Seeing Jieyin take form, Zhunti beside them grew envious as well.

Randeng shook his head with a smile and pointed casually at Zhunti. "Oh, Zhunti, I think seeing Junior Brother Jieyin take form first has made your Dao Heart itch."

His thoughts exposed in a single stroke, Zhunti said nothing, merely swaying his branches and leaves gently in agreement.

"Rest assured. Once Jieyin and I have finished restoring the lands of the west, the day we establish our teachings will be the day you take form."

Randeng was not deliberately stalling Zhunti. Establishing a teaching required the recognition of Heaven and Earth; it was not something that could succeed casually.

Even the later Three Pure Ones had only succeeded in establishing their teachings and attaining sainthood by following the great tide of humanity's rise.

"Then I shall have to trouble Senior Brother to put in more effort."

Zhunti also knew that now was not the time to take form. For top-tier Innate Divine Saints like them, an incomplete origin would directly affect the foundation upon which they could attain the Primordial Unity.

Just then, both of them sensed that Jieyin had finished his contemplation. His late-stage Primordial Unity Golden Immortal cultivation had thoroughly stabilized. The Dao resonance of the Annihilation Law swirling around him was not on Randeng's level, but it was already exceedingly remarkable.

Jieyin came before Randeng and respectfully bowed.

"Thank you, Dao Brother, for helping me take form and guiding me in comprehending the laws. This Junior Brother's gratitude is beyond measure."

Jieyin knew that if Randeng had not first shielded him from the heavenly tribulation, then controlled the grand formation to intercept the Purple Firmament Divine Lightning, he could never have taken form, entered the world, and stabilized his realm so smoothly. As for making the Heavenly Dao Oath, all he could say was that his skill had fallen short.

Randeng calmly accepted the bow. Although Jieyin's lightning tribulation had largely come about because Randeng had taken away most of the western fortune, he had still put considerable thought into helping Jieyin and Zhunti take form and enter the world.

"There is no need for this. From now on, we are fellow disciples of one family. Your Senior Brother has also prepared a way for you to gain merit."

Randeng then told Jieyin about restoring the Earth Vein Nodes of Mount Sumeru, explaining that this was the heart of the western Earth Vein Nodes and that repairing it would yield no small amount of merit.

Jieyin's face lit up with delight, and he agreed at once.

"Senior Brother, just wait for my good news."

Randeng consoled himself inwardly.

"It's fine. It's still within the territory of Mount Sumeru, after all. Nothing too serious can happen."