Hongjun's cultivation had already reached the Late Stage Primordial Golden Immortal.
On top of that, Hongjun embodied the Heavenly Heart and excelled at divination.
And yet he couldn't divine even the slightest trace of a Grand Unity Golden Immortal.
It was simply too bizarre.
Hongjun's eyes were full of confusion as he stared blankly at Ling Tian.
Meanwhile,
Ling Tian felt thoroughly uncomfortable under Hongjun's gaze.
Damn it, could this Old Man Hongjun be into men?
No way!
If that's really the case, I'd rather die than give in!
With that thought,
Ling Tian steeled himself and said,
"Fellow Daoist, weren't you asking me about the way to attain Sainthood? I'll tell you!"
"Sit down!"
Seeing Hongjun obediently take a seat,
Ling Tian couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief before speaking again.
"Fellow Daoist should know the mainstream path of cultivation, right?"
At that,
Hongjun nodded and spoke at length.
"Looking across all of Hong Huang, cultivation is centered on comprehending laws."
"This is especially true after attaining Grand Unity."
"Cultivators must first break through to the Primordial Golden Immortal level in their mastery of the laws before they can attain Primordial Golden Immortal."
"The same applies to breaking through to Primordial Grand Unity Golden Immortal."
"But since the creation of Hong Huang, no being of such peerless brilliance has ever appeared!"
Hongjun wasn't revealing some secret. This was common knowledge about cultivation, known to every being in Hong Huang.
But Ling Tian clearly saw a flicker in Hongjun's usually placid eyes.
You little punk. I'll fool you into the ground!
Ling Tian sneered inwardly, but wore an expression of deep agreement.
"You're right, Fellow Daoist. But do you know that cultivating the laws isn't the only path to Sainthood?"
Seeing the brilliant light flare in Hongjun's eyes,
Ling Tian smiled casually and spoke slowly.
"As far as I know, there are three paths to Sainthood."
"The first is the well-known method of attaining Sainthood through the laws."
"The second is to create a world, just as Great God Pangu did. I call this Proving Dao by Force."
Proving Dao by Force?
As Ling Tian spoke, Hongjun clearly felt the Heavenly Secrets shudder.
With just a little thought, Hongjun could sense how magnificent the second path to Sainthood was.
Ling Tian's words had to be true!
Hongjun immediately bowed to Ling Tian.
"Thank you for enlightening me, young friend. What is the third path to Sainthood?"
"The third one?"
Ling Tian looked at Hongjun, his gaze strange.
In later generations,
Hongjun would use this third path to Sainthood to keep the Three Pure Ones, Nuwa, Zunti, and Jieyin—the six Saints—firmly under his control.
Even such great experts as the Three Pure Ones and Nuwa, with their powerful Foundations and abundant blessings,
had failed to escape Hongjun's schemes.
They became the most worthless Merit Saints.
Thinking of this,
Ling Tian looked at Hongjun and said in a low voice,
"The third path is to attain Sainthood through Heavenly Dao Merit."
"I call it the method of Attaining Sainthood through Merit."
Attaining Sainthood through Merit?
Hongjun's whole body shook.
He clearly felt the boundless Dao Charm carried by those four words.
It was as if this method of "Attaining Sainthood through Merit" were closely tied to his future cultivation!
Hongjun couldn't help trying to divine it again, but all he found was chaos.
And that wasn't all.
As if repeated failures at divination had taken their toll,
Hongjun's Primordial Spirit suddenly trembled, and his face turned pale.
"Not good!"
"It's backlash from the Heavenly Dao!"
Hongjun was alarmed. He immediately stopped divining and closed his eyes to regulate his breathing.
Fortunately, Hongjun's Dao Heart was steadfast and his cultivation stable. He recovered quickly.
When Hongjun opened his eyes again,
they were clearly filled with wariness.
When he looked at Ling Tian once more, all trace of contempt and casualness was gone.
In Hongjun's eyes,
Ling Tian couldn't possibly be just a Grand Unity Golden Immortal.
He might even be an incarnation of the Heavenly Dao.
Thinking this,
Hongjun didn't dare be careless. He rose and bowed deeply to Ling Tian.
"Thank you for enlightening me, Senior."
Hongjun had gone from calling Ling Tian "young friend" and "Fellow Daoist" to addressing him as "Senior."
Ling Tian was clever enough to sense the change at once.
But
there was no way he was going to explain.
Instead, he slowly rose to his feet, clasped his hands behind his back, and gazed across the sea of clouds from the cliffside.
He looked like an unfathomable sage who had withdrawn from the world.
Just as he thought.
Seeing Ling Tian's bearing, Hongjun was deeply shaken, and reverence welled up within him.
If Hongjun had known that Ling Tian had copied that little routine from movies and TV shows in his previous life,
he probably would have crushed Ling Tian to death on the spot.
But for now, Hongjun had no idea—and the display only strengthened his conviction.
Even with his cultivation at the Late Stage Primordial Golden Immortal level, he couldn't divine the slightest trace of Ling Tian.
And Ling Tian knew so much about the paths to Sainthood.
Then Ling Tian's identity was obvious...
An incarnation of the Heavenly Dao!
Thinking this,
Hongjun was overcome with excitement.
He embodied the Heavenly Heart and had sincerely worshiped the Heavenly Dao for countless years.
Now,
the Heavenly Dao had finally recognized his sincerity and manifested an avatar to guide him.
Hongjun couldn't help wanting to kneel and give thanks.
But right at that moment,
Hongjun suddenly jolted.
A thought had clearly occurred to him.
Ling Tian had named three paths to Sainthood, but left out his own [Method to Sever Three Corpses and Attain Sainthood].
Could the [Method to Sever Three Corpses and Attain Sainthood] be nothing more than something he had imagined?
Could it never work?
But his cultivation of it had been going so smoothly!
Hongjun kept filling in the blanks in his mind. He wanted to ask Ling Tian, but didn't dare.
What Hongjun didn't know was...
Ling Tian had deliberately left out the [Method to Sever Three Corpses and Attain Sainthood].
Having read up on the history of Hong Huang, Ling Tian had a very poor impression of Hongjun.
He could even say he hated him.
Since he had a chance to trip Hongjun up,
there was no way Ling Tian would let it pass.
For a time,
the air on the cliff seemed to freeze.
It was utterly silent.
After who knew how long,
Hongjun finally couldn't suppress his curiosity any longer and asked cautiously,
"May I ask, Senior, are there only three paths to Sainthood in Hong Huang?"
Ling Tian sneered inwardly.
Of course he knew what Hongjun wanted to ask.
But since Ling Tian had decided to trip Hongjun up, he was going to see it through.
"Hmph!"
Ling Tian immediately snorted coldly, displeased.
"Fool!"
"There are already three paths to Sainthood in Hong Huang. What more do you want?"
"If you dare defy the Heavenly Dao and pursue another path,"
"you'll bear the consequences yourselves!"
With that,
Ling Tian ignored Hongjun's grim expression and swept off his sleeve as he left.
Only Hongjun remained, looking terrified and utterly disoriented in the wind.
Somewhere in a mountain valley in Hong Huang,
Ling Tian carefully manifested his figure, his face wreathed in smiles.
That felt incredible!
Who could have imagined
that he'd managed to show off in front of Hongjun, the future Dao Ancestor?
He'd nearly fooled Hongjun into the ground, too.
The whole thing had been a little nerve-racking,
but whenever he thought of Hongjun's respectful, timid expression,
Ling Tian couldn't help laughing.
"Ha ha ha..."
"Hongjun, Hongjun, look at you now!"
But right at that moment,
Ling Tian suddenly saw a black figure walking slowly toward him...
Before you continue