Immortal Path Cultivation

Above the Azure Sea stood Jingyang Palace—this was Donghua's place of cultivation.

In the Primordial World, cultivators generally called their cultivation sites "cave mansions," but the "cave" here didn't mean literally digging a cave to cultivate; rather, it referred to the "cave" of a blessed cave-heaven paradise.

Calling it a cave mansion was more like calling it a small world—a small world existing within the Primordial World Continent.

Donghua released the Pure World White Lotus and sat cross-legged upon it.

He wasn't cultivating; he was thinking and taking stock.

His predecessor had left him a tremendous fortune.

First were the innate spiritual treasures, thirty-nine in total, including three top-tier innate spiritual treasures, six high-grade innate spiritual treasures, twelve mid-grade innate spiritual treasures, and eighteen low-grade innate spiritual treasures.

The top-tier innate spiritual treasures were the Dragon Head Golden Staff, the Twelve-grade Pure World White Lotus, and the Pure Yang Sword.

The high-grade innate spiritual treasures included the Purple Sun Bell and the Yin-Yang Furnace; the mid-grade included the Clear Jade Seal; and the low-grade included the Two Forms Mirror.

Whether innate or acquired, spiritual treasures were divided into three grades—high, mid, and low—but some treasures, due to their unique nature, were also called top-tier spiritual treasures.

Representative examples included the Heaven and Earth Cauldron, the Five Directions Innate Banners, and the Five Great Lotus Platforms.

Besides the innate spiritual treasures, his predecessor had also left behind the Fusang Tree, won with his life—more precisely, a yang-attributed Fusang Tree.

But none of these were the most precious. The most precious was the Purple Mansion Immortal Path created by his predecessor.

East King Gong becoming the Head of Male Immortals wasn't some scheme of Hongjun's. If Hongjun truly wanted to destroy someone, he wouldn't need to go through so much trouble—a single finger would suffice.

Nor should one say that some couldn't be killed. Even the Three Pure Ones, if Hongjun wanted them dead, would be annihilated all the same. If he lacked even that much ability and power, what was the point of cultivating immortality or attaining sainthood?

During the era of Desolate Ancient Fierce Beasts and the Primordial Dragon-Phoenix Era, countless Innate Deities had fallen.

"The grand trends of the Primordial World cannot be changed; minor matters can." In Donghua's eyes now, this saying was nothing but a joke.

In this world, nothing is eternal and unchanging, and no one is beyond being killed.

To put it precisely, there was only one sentence:

"The Primordial World does not allow such an awesome existence to live."

As for why East King Gong became the Head of Male Immortals, there were two reasons.

First, East King Gong was the incarnation of the Primordial World's yang. Yin and yang were the foundation of all things; males corresponded to yang. So if there was to be a Head of Male Immortals, East King Gong was the only choice.

Second, this identity was earned by East King Gong himself. The Head of Male Immortals was not a heavenly positional authority but merely a status within the Immortal Path.

When Hongjun transmitted the Immortal Path, East King Gong, based on his own cultivation experience, created the Purple Mansion cultivation path. He was the first person, besides Hongjun, to create a method capable of cultivating to the Zenith Heaven Golden Immortal realm.

Thus, Hongjun appointed East King Gong as the Head of Male Immortals.

As for West Queen Mother being appointed Head of Female Immortals, it was simply because she was the incarnation of the Primordial World's yin.

So the titles Head of Male Immortals and Head of Female Immortals sounded lofty, but they weren't actually such remarkable identities—much like how later generations called Zhen Yuanzi the Ancestor of Earth Immortals.

They were symbols of identity and honor.

But that said, if East King Gong and West Queen Mother truly had the ability, they could turn this empty title into real authority. The Head of Male Immortals would naturally become the position governing all male immortals.

And precisely that thought later occurred to his predecessor East King Gong. Rashly, he raised his banner and established the Immortal Court.

In the end, he was destroyed by the Heavenly Court, with no one coming to his aid. No one could help either—helping East King Gong meant helping him seize dominance, and no one would easily step in. Moreover, if East King Gong succeeded, the title of Head of Male Immortals would become a real, binding authority.

West Queen Mother was clever. She always treated the title of Head of Female Immortals as merely a symbol of identity.

Everyone in the Primordial World naturally "elevated" her, treating her with great courtesy. Even the Saints, after attaining sainthood, were polite to her and regarded her as an honored guest.

Donghua had spent these days thinking about how to survive. He never expected that going out today and hearing Shao Siming's words would be like a wake-up call.

It turned out that as long as he didn't court death, he wouldn't die.

Then what was there to fear? Let the music play and the dance continue!

In an instant, his Dao Heart became clear and transparent. His entire being relaxed immensely. Even the Purple Mansion Immortal Path he cultivated began to operate on its own. The mana within his body surged like an ocean, and the laws he grasped extended beyond his body, enveloping the entire Purple Mansion Continent.

Donghua began circulating the methods of the Purple Mansion Immortal Path, mobilizing the mana within him and absorbing the spiritual energy of heaven and earth.

Currently, immortal cultivation in the Primordial World could be divided into five types: Heaven, Earth, Human, God, and Ghost. These five were not realms but positional authorities.

The First Realm of Immortals: the Dao Fruit Realm.

This meant attaining the fruit of immortality. Attaining the Heavenly Immortal fruit made one a Heavenly Immortal; attaining the Earth Immortal fruit made one an Earth Immortal, and so on for the others.

The Second Realm of Immortals: the Mystic Immortal Realm.

As the saying goes, "Mystic upon mystic, the gate of all wonders. Void upon void, one dharma eternally abides. To see the original true face, one must directly enter these three gates." "Mystic" refers to the Dao—profound and unknowable, distant and invisible, dark and immeasurable—refining the spiritual energy of heaven and earth into mystic energy.

The Third Realm of Immortals: the Spirit Immortal Realm.

"Spirit" refers to Dao resonance, the root of essence. One begins to comprehend the Dao. The Dao gives birth to One, One gives birth to Two, Two gives birth to Three, and Three gives birth to all things. All things possess spirit.

The Fourth Realm of Immortals: the True Immortal Realm.

One who attains the Dao becomes a True Immortal. All things transform from void to reality; the Dao fruit shifts from emptiness to substance.

The Fifth Realm of Immortals: the Golden Immortal Realm.

"Gold" signifies indestructibility, meaning imperishable through countless tribulations. A flawless immortal body, the Three Flowers Gathering at the Crown, the Five Qi Returning to the Origin—leaping beyond the Three Realms, not bound by the Five Elements.

The Sixth Realm of Immortals: the Grand Unity Golden Immortal Realm.

When the Dao is achieved, the great law is perfected—the Dao Fruit and the great law converge into an Indestructible True Spirit. As long as the True Spirit remains undying, the true self is never forgotten.

The seventh realm of immortals: the Grand Luo Golden Immortal Realm.

"Grand" means vast, signifying boundlessness; "Luo" means net, signifying all-encompassing. Grand Luo is immeasurable, embracing all existence. One steps into the River of Time and Space, merging past and present, eternal and free across all time and space. It is also called the Emperor Realm by the beings of the Primordial World.

The eighth realm of immortals: the Quasi-Saint.

This realm is also known as the Primordial Golden Immortal Realm, the Primal Beginning Realm, or the Primordial Origin Realm. The Divine Dao calls it Primal Beginning, the Demonic Dao calls it Primordial Origin, and the Immortal Dao calls it Primordial Golden Immortal. It is also called the Ancestor Realm by the beings of the Primordial World.

A single cry of "Ancestor" speaks to the wonder of this realm, the might of this realm!

But ever since Saints appeared in the world, it has generally been called the Quasi-Saint Realm, and those within it are known as Great Powers.

Those in this realm leap out of the River of Time and Space, step into the River of Destiny, seek out the future, and begin to control their own fate.

The ninth realm of immortals: the Zenith Heaven Golden Immortal of the Origin (Saint).

Chaos first emerges, Yin and Yang are not yet divided. What is the Dao? The Dao is the Origin. The Origin is the body of the Dao. The Origin encompasses all, contains all. The Origin is principle, is the Dao, is the great Dao of heaven and earth.

Those in this realm have already transcended. They are no longer bound by the River of Time and Space or the River of Destiny. They possess true freedom, true ease. They themselves are time and space; their words are destiny.

This realm can also be called the Dao Realm. I am the Dao.

A Zenith Heaven Golden Immortal of the Origin is not a Saint, but a Saint is certainly a Zenith Heaven Golden Immortal of the Origin.

Sainthood is not a cultivation realm but a realm of the Dao—a Positional Authority of the Primordial World. The Primordial Violet Qi that Hongjun bestowed upon the Six Saints is precisely the Positional Authority born of the Heavenly Dao, to Act as Heaven's Emissary.

Donghua's current realm is that of a newly entered Quasi-Saint; he has not yet Slain the Three Corpses.

Slaying the Three Corpses is the method of attaining the Dao passed down by Hongjun. It can be used to cultivate to the Zenith Heaven Golden Immortal of the Origin, or to attain the realm of Sainthood.

One slays the Corpse of Goodness, the Corpse of Evil, and the Corpse of Attachment. Slaying the Three Corpses does not mean truly cutting away one's goodness, evil, and attachments, but rather one's obsessions and desires.

And a person's obsessions and desires are not limited to these three categories of goodness, evil, and attachment; these are merely a general classification.

One seeks out one's own obsessions and desires within the River of Destiny, slays the Three Corpses, and entrusts them to a spiritual treasure. Only then can one transcend the limitations of the River of Destiny, unite one's own time, space, and fate into one, and achieve the Origin Dao Realm.

Thus, it is not that one must slay the corpse to become a Quasi-Saint; rather, one must become a Quasi-Saint before one can slay the corpse. Otherwise, you cannot even find the River of Destiny—how could you slay the corpse?

As for the Slain Three Corpses being entrusted to a spiritual treasure, that treasure does not necessarily have to be an Innate Spiritual Treasure. It is simply easier to entrust the Three Corpses to an Innate Spiritual Treasure, and the future achievements will be higher.

Entrusting the Three Corpses to a spiritual treasure does not mean the treasure disappears or transforms into your Three Corpse avatars, becoming sentient beings.

The spiritual treasure remains that spiritual treasure.

But when you need it, the spiritual treasure can also take the form of the Three Corpses, like a weapon with intelligence.

At this moment, Donghua is immersed in cultivation.