Reborn as East King Gong

Time: After Dao Ancestor Hongjun's third lecture, but before he joined with the Dao.

Place: The Primordial Wilderness, above the East Sea.

At that moment, the Sun Star and Moon Star took turns in the sky.

The cool, pale light of the Moon Star gradually faded, and the vast, brilliant light of the Sun Star spilled across the East Sea.

The rising sun emerged above the eastern sea, carrying flecks of golden light as it lifted from the water.

Ripples across the East Sea stretched toward the distant horizon, where the fiery clouds hung like lava not yet fully cooled.

It was truly a sight to behold: the sun rising above the sea and clouds, the Azure Sea shimmering, and rosy clouds filling the view like a sea of dreams.

A purple figure stood atop the azure waves of the East Sea, gazing at the beautiful scene for a long while.

"So the saying that a day in Heaven is a year on Earth is real. It describes the Primordial World Continent as it is now.

"Each time the Moon Star and Sun Star trade places, a day passes in the Primordial Land—but that day lasts as long as a 'year.'

"The ancients truly never lied to me."

The purple figure strolled across the azure waves of the East Sea. It was called strolling, but each step carried him who knew how many miles.

Islands came into view on the sea. The man rose into the air, passed over the countless islands encircled by water, and arrived at their center.

The Three Islands stood arranged in the pattern of the Three Talents, corresponding to Heaven, Earth, and Man, and encircled one another.

Their arrangement gathered the spiritual energy between Heaven and Earth. Even the violent Chaos Qi beyond the heavens was drawn to them, only to be swiftly transformed into Innate Spiritual Qi.

Spiritual energy flowed out from the Three Islands in endless waves, reaching from the sky to the sea.

They were called islands, but they might as well have been three worlds. The surrounding islands encircled them like stars surrounding the moon.

Dragons sometimes leapt from the sea, sending up sprays of water as they breathed in the spiritual energy of Heaven and Earth. Immortals also greeted the rising sun, absorbing the rosy dawn light.

Green peaks and cloud seas, three abodes of immortals,

Misty towers and pavilions, the carefree spirit of the Immortal Dao.

White robes fluttering, their distant forms suffused with immortal aura,

They soared through the void, roaming the clouds.

"What a paradise on Earth." The figure sighed, then couldn't help shaking his head.

It was as if he found his own exclamation ridiculous.

He took a step forward. Daoist principles rippled around him, and in an instant he arrived at the center of the Three Islands, alighting atop a Suspended Peak.

There, in the middle, lay a square island, high on all four sides and low in the center.

In the low-lying center was a stretch of shimmering azure water. That's right—its name was the Azure Sea.

Palaces stood in rows above the Azure Sea, mountains reflected in jade mirrors, golden clouds shimmered on the waves, and ancient vines hung down for tens of thousands of feet, draping the sun and moon.

The island was called Fangzhu Island, and it was also Purple Mansion Continent, one of the Ten Continents and Three Islands.

The Three Islands were Penglai, Fangzhang, and Yingzhou.

The Ten Continents lay among the Three Islands. Together, the Ten Continents and Three Islands formed a tripartite unity.

Purple Mansion Continent occupied the space between the Three Islands, at the heart of the Ten Continents and Three Islands. It was the birthplace and cultivation grounds of the Primordial Wilderness Great Power East King Gong.

And the purple figure standing atop the Suspended Peak was none other than East King Gong.

His face was as beautiful as jade, his eyebrows sharp as swords, his white hair flowed like a spring, and his eyes shone like stars. Clad in a purple Daoist robe and bathed in the light of the Sun Star, he was surrounded by flowing Daoist aura and possessed a peerless bearing.

Standing on the Suspended Peak, East King Gong gazed at the Azure Sea and blue sky, taking in the peaceful cultivation environment of the Three Islands. He couldn't help sighing:

"What a beautiful world. Pity its master will soon no longer be me. I wonder how much longer this lovely paradise can remain so peaceful."

East King Gong could also be called Wang Xuanfu.

He wasn't the original East King Gong.

Wang Xuanfu had been an ordinary junior civil servant on Blue Star. His life had been entirely unremarkable, and his one shining moment had been passing the civil service exam.

Then he died while on a trip and transmigrated here, becoming the gravely wounded East King Gong.

East King Gong: Birth and death dates unknown, probably sometime during the ancient Dragon-Han Period.

Other names: Donghua, Tai Wei.

Also known as: Eastern Emperor Donghua, Wood Duke, Sun Yuan Yang Father, Green Boy Lord, Great Emperor Fusang, Eastern Emperor Gong.

Origin: An Innate Deity born when the Primordial World's Innate Pure Yang Qi was nurtured by the Great Dao, representing the Primordial World's utmost Yang.

Status: Head of Male Immortals, Lord of the Purple Mansion.

Dao Companion: Probably, perhaps, maybe West Queen Mother.

End: Slain above the East Sea by the Heavenly Court's Eastern Emperor Taiyi.

At the thought of this, a feeling of helplessness washed over him.

If he said he was unlucky, he'd passed the exam on his first try and become a civil servant.

If he said he was lucky, he hadn't enjoyed it for long before he died.

If he said he was unlucky, he'd transmigrated as East King Gong and become a Great Power of the Primordial Wilderness.

If he said he was lucky, he was about to die again.

To be honest, Wang Xuanfu felt he was someone who feared death. Anyone who had experienced death definitely wouldn't want to die again.

But when he thought of the man named Taiyi in his memories, he didn't feel confident at all.

The original East King Gong had been that powerful, yet he'd still been slain. What chance did an ordinary man like him have, when he couldn't even bring out a tenth of the original's strength?

You could call the original East King Gong foolish or stupid, but you absolutely couldn't call him weak.

How could someone named Head of Male Immortals by Dao Ancestor Hongjun possibly be ordinary—or weak?

Wang Xuanfu's mind churned with thoughts. He considered many ways to avert the danger to his life, but still couldn't come up with one truly practical and effective solution.

"Ah, in the end, it's still a question of strength."

Two figures flew from a palace above the Azure Sea. In an instant, a man and a woman landed on the Suspended Peak where Donghua stood.

"Greetings, Emperor Lord." The two clasped their hands in salute.

Donghua saw this and returned a slight greeting. His bow was so small that it seemed merely symbolic.

These two were Donghua's subordinates, the Great Commander of Fate and Shao Siming. They oversaw the Purple Mansion's Thirty-Five Divisions, with the Great Commander of Fate at their head and Shao Siming as his deputy.

They were also the two people Donghua knew best so far.

The Thirty-Five Divisions were the Purple Mansion's administrative offices, governing the Ten Continents and Three Islands. Each division was led by a Commander of Fate.

Donghua still remembered how disappointed he'd been when he first met them.

The Great Commander of Fate wasn't a mature, sophisticated woman, but a taciturn man.

And Shao Siming wasn't a young woman in purple, dressed in sexy stockings.

Instead, she was a young woman in an elegant jade-green skirt, with delicate features that made her look exceptionally refined and pure.

"Emperor Lord, you're out watching the clouds and scenery today, welcoming the rosy dawn as you contemplate the Great Dao. It seems your injuries have healed," Shao Siming said.

During the days since Donghua had transmigrated, the threat of death had constantly weighed on him, so he'd never left the Three Islands.

Today, his thoughts were still in turmoil, and he still hadn't found a solution. So he'd simply left Purple Mansion Continent and come to the boundless East Sea to watch the Primordial Wilderness version of the sun rising over the sea.

Speaking of his injuries, there was no avoiding the subject of Eastern Emperor Taiyi.

After listening to Hongjun's third lecture on the Dao of Immortality, East King Gong had returned to the East Sea, planning to go into seclusion and continue perfecting his Purple Mansion Pure Yang Immortal Dao.

On his way, he'd discovered a place in the East Sea shrouded in clouds and mist.

East King Gong had broken through the Innate Array surrounding it.

As the clouds cleared, a small world appeared, named Tanggu Valley.

East King Gong entered Tanggu Valley and discovered the Innate Spiritual Root, the Fusang Tree.

The Fusang Tree consisted of two trees, one Yin and one Yang, growing from the same root with their backs to one another, yet leaning against each other.

East King Gong was delighted. He himself was an Innate Deity nurtured by the Great Dao from Innate Pure Yang Qi, and the Fusang Tree belonged to Yang.

If there was one spiritual root in Heaven and Earth best suited to him, it was undoubtedly the Fusang Tree before him. With this spiritual root, Hun Yuan was within his reach.

So he unleashed his great power, intending to transplant the Fusang Tree above the Azure Sea in his Purple Mansion.

Just as he was about to act, a cry rang out from beyond the heavens. A middle-aged man descended upon Tanggu Valley, his hands clasped behind his back.

He wore a golden Daoist robe embroidered with Golden Crow designs.

He was none other than the Innate Deity born from the Sun Star, where fire became Yang: the Demon Clan's Eastern Emperor, Taiyi.