The Hunyuan Golden Immortal Realm could only be reached by comprehending the Heaven and Earth Laws through supreme wisdom.
Yet penetrating the mysteries of the Laws was merely the beginning of a long journey.
Once cultivators broke through to this realm, they could cast off the bonds of the Primordial Wilderness and roam freely through the boundless Chaos, with nothing in Heaven and Earth to hold them back.
However, the higher a cultivator climbed, the more spiritual energy, opportunities, and fortune they drew from the Primordial World Heaven and Earth. This was the grace of Heaven and Earth nurturing them.
If all living beings only took and never gave back, leaving whenever they pleased, then over time, no matter how abundant the Primordial Wilderness's foundations were, they would eventually be drained by countless cultivators and reduced to a desolate wasteland.
Thus, Heaven and Earth responded by imposing invisible shackles upon all living beings, locking their path forward to prevent the loss of its foundations.
These were the Heavenly Dao Shackles, seemingly invisible yet indestructible, standing before every cultivator.
They had no physical form. Rather, they were a web woven from the immense, tangled threads of karma between cultivators and this world—threads that could neither be severed nor easily unraveled.
Breaking through these shackles of Heaven and Earth was no matter of forcing one's way through with Supernatural Abilities and magic power.
Before achieving transcendence, cultivators could reach no higher than the Great Luo Golden Immortal Realm. Trying to stand against the entire Primordial Wilderness with such strength was like an ant trying to shake a tree.
What people called a breakthrough was not a matter of forcing one's way through, but of repaying one's debts.
Only by traveling throughout the Primordial Wilderness, accumulating immeasurable merit, and accomplishing great deeds that benefited Heaven and Earth and brought blessings to all living beings could one repay the karmic debts incurred in the past.
When one's merits were complete and all karmic debts were settled, the shackles would fall away, and only then could one set foot upon the Hunyuan Path.
Donghua sat quietly on the ground, countless Laws rising and vanishing in his eyes. In the end, he let out a faint sigh.
The Hunyuan Path was truly incomparably difficult.
Comprehending the Laws alone was a formidable barrier, enough to shut out ninety-nine percent of cultivators. Even those lucky enough to glimpse the way still had to perform great deeds for the benefit of Heaven and Earth and repay their karmic debts to the Primordial Wilderness—a prospect that seemed endlessly distant.
Heaven and Earth had never closed off anyone's path forward. The path remained, but the way in grew ever narrower.
Perhaps this was why so few reached Hunyuan: merit was difficult to obtain.
During the Beast Tribulation, cultivators such as Hongjun, Luohu, and Yangmei slew ferocious beasts and, through the merit they gained, broke through the Heavenly Dao Shackles and embarked upon the Hunyuan Path.
During the Dragon-Han Calamity, the three clans' leaders broke through by setting waterways in order, suppressing volcanoes, and bringing the earth's veins into alignment.
After the Dao-Devil War, Hongjun would soon attain sainthood and expound the Dao of Severing Three Corpses. The Hunyuan Path would then be cut off.
After all, even among the Three Thousand Red Dust Guests, gathered from the many Innate Divine Beings of the Primordial Wilderness, most would have no chance of becoming Hunyuan Golden Immortals if they did not follow the path of Severing Three Corpses.
Cultivation required opportunity and resources. It was not something one could advance simply by slowly grinding away at it over time.
Severing Three Corpses provided another path: drawing upon the power of the Heavenly Dao to strengthen oneself and break through one's limits.
To walk the Hunyuan Path, one needed both the Laws and merit. Neither could be lacking.
As for the Laws, the two Jade Disk of Creation Fragments in Donghua's hand were his foundation for comprehending them, giving him an advantage over many other cultivators.
As for merit, this forbidden land, now overrun by ferocious beasts, was the supreme opportunity prepared for Donghua.
The ferocious beasts here were remnants that devoured the world's Spiritual Mechanism and ravaged the Primordial World Heaven and Earth.
Slaying them would cleanse the universe and protect Heaven and Earth—a great deed!
By then, the boundless merit he gained would be enough to repay his karmic debts to Heaven and Earth and truly set him on the supreme Hunyuan Path.
With his resolve made, the way forward was clear.
Donghua no longer hesitated and began to cultivate.
The leyline here had been tainted by baleful energy, yet the Pure World White Lotus had transformed it into a tranquil Daoist Ground filled with spiritual energy, where the first traces of Dao resonance had emerged.
As his divine sense sank into the Jade Disk of Creation, Donghua felt as though he had entered the very source of the Laws.
The Pure Yang Law and Lesser Yang Law were no longer obscure. They became paths he could touch and understand.
With a slight movement of his thoughts, Dao resonance naturally flowed around him, harmonizing with Heaven and Earth.
Amid that resonance, his magic power grew purer and more refined. His cultivation did not surge forward in a sudden leap, but rose steadily and continuously, like water gathering in a deep spring.
After who knew how long, Donghua slowly awoke.
His aura was seamlessly unified, as weighty as the earth and as blazing as the sun.
Though seated in stillness, he seemed like an eternal sun, radiating endless light and heat, too dazzling to look at directly.
With the slightest shift of his divine sense, he felt his magic power surge like a boundless sea. He had unmistakably reached the peak of the Great Luo Golden Immortal Realm.
Even more wondrous was his comprehension of the Laws.
Donghua's understanding of the Pure Yang Law continued to deepen. Pure Yang and Lesser Yang complemented each other, and their Dao resonance intertwined around him, conjuring visions of day and night turning in cycles and the seasons changing in succession.
The vitality of the rising sun and the majesty of the blazing noonday sun flowed without end, as though he held dominion over the supreme Yang of Heaven and Earth.
Compared to before, Donghua's aura now felt even more profound and far-reaching.
A short while later, Donghua keenly sensed a mighty, mellow force slowly emanating from the array where Taizhen was. It flowed like moonlight, filling the chamber with clear radiance.
Taizhen emerged from seclusion with a graceful air. Dao resonance swirled around her, making the passage of time itself seem to fall into disarray.
A flash of admiration crossed Donghua's eyes. He clapped his hands and praised her. "Congratulations, fellow Daoist. Your Pure Yin Dao has grown even purer. You've actually glimpsed the mysteries of time."
Taizhen smiled gently, like moonlight flowing. "I've gained a little, that's all. The rotation of Yin and Yang forms the foundation of the four seasons. During this retreat, I merely glimpsed a ripple in the River of Time."
Taizhen curled her slender fingers. A wisp of gentle silver radiance coiled around them like a thread. Then she turned her gaze to Donghua. "Your Pure Yang Dao, on the other hand, is blazing and powerful. Compared to before, it's changed beyond recognition."
"In that case, let's see what those rats hiding in the dark are capable of."
"Just what I had in mind." Taizhen's gaze turned cool. The silver radiance at her fingertips suddenly spread, weaving into a net of moonlight that silently enveloped the surrounding void.
Donghua formed a hand seal with two fingers. A spark of light appeared at his fingertip, spreading into a gentle yet irresistible guiding Dao resonance.
The pool below responded. Its waters surged, sending out ripples in layers of gold, silver, and purple. Light shimmered across the surface as Dao resonance flowed.
Amid the rippling water, a Twelve-petal Pure World White Lotus slowly rose from the pool. The lotus seat turned gently, its petals unfolding one after another. Every wisp of its radiance was utterly pure, washing away all impurities in the world and illuminating the surrounding space with crystalline sanctity.
The white lotus revolved slowly in the air, shrinking a little with each turn. At last, it became no bigger than a fist, like a work of art carved from white jade. It drifted lightly into Donghua's palm, its radiance subdued, its surface smooth and warm as jade.
After collecting the Pure World White Lotus, Donghua swept out his sleeve again and took out a treasure bottle.
He tapped it with his knuckle. The bottle trembled, and a vortex woven from spiritual patterns appeared at its mouth. Its immense suction drew some of the Three Light Divine Water from the pool into a rainbow stream, which flowed continuously into the bottle for future use.
As the Pure World White Lotus turned into a streak of light and vanished into Donghua's palm, the Innate Great Array that depended upon it let out a silent wail. Its flowing Dao resonance shattered inch by inch, scattering into countless motes of light and leaving the whole region exposed to Heaven and Earth.
Almost the instant the array disappeared,
"ROAR!!!"
Roars from ferocious beasts, as if rising from the primordial wilderness of ancient times, surged forth from the depths of the baleful energy with a dreadful might that made souls tremble. They struck like tangible shock waves.
Wherever the sound swept, rocks shattered and space itself seemed to freeze!
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