At the same time.
Countless cultivators throughout the Primordial Wilderness.
Were mobilized, some willingly and others reluctantly.
Jade Capital Mountain.
Hongjun had just emerged from his meditation, his expression unusually puzzled.
"How strange!"
"My cultivation has clearly broken through. Why do I feel so restless?"
"So be it!"
"Discussing the Dao is more important!"
"By my calculations, the other Daoist friends should be arriving soon!"
Just as he was thinking this,
space twisted.
A Daoist with a full head of white hair and beard appeared outside Jade Capital Mountain. His two eyebrows were so long they nearly reached the ground.
"I am Yang Mei. I have come as promised to pay a visit to Daoist Hongjun!"
"As expected of you, Daoist Yang Mei. You're still astonishingly quick!"
Hongjun said with a smile. He rose and ushered Yang Mei inside,
then showed him to a seat on a raised platform.
Before long,
two more fluctuations appeared in quick succession, one following the other.
They were both Daoists.
Hongjun recognized one of them.
It was Daoist Qiankun.
As for the other, she seemed unfamiliar to him...
Or rather,
she seemed familiar in some way, despite being unfamiliar.
She was an old woman.
Hongjun studied her carefully before suddenly realizing who she was.
"So it is you, Daoist Yin Yang!"
At that moment,
Yang Mei and Qiankun also turned to look.
Their eyes were filled with astonishment.
Hadn't Yin-Yang Ancestor been an old man?
How had he changed into an old woman
after they hadn't seen him for some time?
"Ahem~"
Yin-Yang Ancestor cleared his throat and explained,
"This is the truth of the Dao of Yin-Yang: reversing Yin and Yang! I had the Yin Yang Diagram in hand before, yet never understood it. Not until Lei Jun Heavenly Dao offered me guidance recently did I finally comprehend it!"
"Hiss~"
In an instant,
gasps rang out.
Even Yang Mei, usually the calmest of them all, couldn't help but look surprised.
His tone brimmed with envy.
"Daoist Yin Yang, what great fortune! You actually received guidance from Lei Jun Heavenly Dao!"
"Not at all! I was simply lucky!"
"Daoist Yin Yang, you're too modest. Luck is part of a cultivator's lot, too. If I could, I'd gladly give up this Qiankun Cauldron in exchange for a stroke of fortune!"
Qiankun was even more envious.
He sounded almost willing to offer up the Qiankun Cauldron he held,
all for the sake of an opportunity.
He wasn't exaggerating; he meant every word.
"Daoist Qiankun, the one you ought to envy is Daoist Hongjun!"
"Daoist Hongjun is the one who has truly received great fortune!"
After Yin Yang spoke, Yang Mei nodded as well.
"Indeed!"
"Though I haven't practiced the Method of Severing the Body, I can still recognize its profundity!"
"Hahaha! You don't need to tell me that. I know better than anyone how marvelous the Method of Severing the Body is. I've already severed my Past Body!"
At the mention of this,
Qiankun perked right up.
Ever since he had received the Method of Severing the Body from Hongjun some time ago,
his stagnant cultivation
had begun to surge once more.
It had to be said,
not every cultivator could comprehend a way to break through to the Great Luo Golden Immortal realm.
Qiankun hadn't.
Originally, Yin Yang shouldn't have, either.
But after receiving guidance and encountering a stroke of fortune,
he had gained insight into the opportunity bestowed by Lei Jun Heavenly Dao inside a Precious Vase.
He comprehended the great principles of Yin and Yang.
He even reversed his true form, changing from an old man into an old woman.
And then he... she broke through!
No wonder even Yang Mei was envious.
Yang Mei was even tempted to try the Method of Severing the Body himself.
As it happened,
this wasn't the first time the four of them had discussed the Dao.
It was the second.
The first time, Hongjun's cultivation had already astonished them.
And the things he said
had left them even more impressed.
Even now,
Yang Mei still remembered them clearly.
A Great Luo Golden Immortal wasn't a true Great Luo.
Only a Hunyuan Great Luo Golden Immortal deserved to be called Great Luo.
The Great Luo Golden Immortal realm wasn't the end.
It was the beginning!
Only during their second discussion of the Dao
did Yang Mei and the others learn that Hongjun had gained these insights from Lei Jun Heavenly Dao.
He had also comprehended the Method of Severing the Body at the same time.
As it turned out,
the Method of Severing the Body was a stroke of great fortune!
This second discussion of the Dao was different from the first.
Though they called it a discussion of the Dao,
it was really more about their understanding of the Heavenly Dao
and the faint stirrings they sensed deep within.
Before they came,
all three had felt uneasy.
It seemed some great event was about to befall the Primordial Wilderness.
But hadn't the Tribulation Period just ended?
Then they thought back.
The scene of the two Heavenly Daos battling long ago seemed as vivid as ever.
As the saying went,
how could one world have two Heavenly Daos?
And even if it did,
one should be the master and the other the subordinate.
Yet before, they had seemed evenly matched.
So...
Could this coming Tribulation Period be connected to the two Heavenly Daos?
The previous Tribulation Period could be called the Fierce Beast Tribulation.
Would this one be a Dao Struggle?
Hongjun, Yang Mei, Qiankun, and Yin Yang were among the few great powers in the world.
They knew full well that what lay ahead was an "arms race" centered around the two Heavenly Daos!
In the depths of Nine Nether,
Lei Jun suddenly opened his eyes.
By then,
the Green Lotus Dharma Body had broken through the formation, opening a breach.
Though he hadn't yet made his way deep inside,
Lei Jun could already gain a clearer understanding of the Earth Dao Source through this narrow opening.
And then...
he was suddenly startled.
His insight had revealed something extraordinary.
It was a world-shaking discovery!
That was why he had opened his eyes.
This thing
seemed to contain countless Great Daos.
And yet,
it also seemed to be the very essence of the Primordial Wilderness.
Mysterious and Profound.
Even Lei Jun couldn't grasp it fully.
The key was...
this thing bore many similarities to Lei Jun's true body.
It, too, was Purple Qi!
No, that wasn't quite right... it was even more mysterious?
At once,
Lei Jun understood and realized what it was.
He blurted out,
"Hongmeng Purple Qi!"
That's right.
Lei Jun had discovered Hongmeng Purple Qi hidden where the Earth Dao Source lay.
More precisely,
the Earth Dao Source itself was made of Hongmeng Purple Qi!
But it wasn't a single wisp,
or a single strand.
It was a mass!
If the cultivators of the Primordial Wilderness in later generations learned of this,
their reaction would be even more exaggerated.
A mass of Hongmeng Purple Qi!
How many Sages could it create?
After all, that mass of Hongmeng Purple Qi could be divided into countless strands.
Even Lei Jun couldn't help but feel astonished.
But then, after thinking it over,
he decided it made sense.
After all, since the Earthly Dao was formed from Hongmeng Purple Qi,
the Heavenly Dao naturally had to be the same.
To be precise,
the Primordial Wilderness did not have only the Heavenly Dao.
In fact, it also had the Earthly Dao and the Human Dao.
It was just that the Heavenly Dao had emerged too early, making it difficult for the other two Paths to manifest.
But that didn't mean they didn't exist.
The Three Paths of Heaven, Earth, and Man each represented the formless laws of the Dao, tangible matter, and sentient beings.
None of the three was superior to the others.
They simply had different responsibilities.
That was why their strength varied.
And why the other two Paths had ultimately come under the Heavenly Dao's control.
However,
looking at things as they stood now,
the Earthly Dao had yet to develop an will—its very Origin was still in an embryonic state!
That was why Lei Jun had been able to discern the nature of the Three Paths from it!
The nature of the Heavenly Dao!
At that moment,
Lei Jun understood.
"No wonder the Heavenly Dao suddenly got nervous. It would rather unleash a Tribulation Period ahead of schedule than let the altered course of events stand!"
"Because I'm about to see through its true nature!"
"And become a genuine threat to its position!"
Before this,
Lei Jun had the Permission Right and could write programs.
But he had only picked up the craft halfway through.
And he had to work everything out for himself.
Compared with the Three Paths that had formed naturally in the Primordial Wilderness, his work still fell short.
When it came to wielding the Primordial Wilderness Power,
there was not only a limit,
but also poor efficiency.
But what if he could obtain Hongmeng Purple Qi—or analyze it?
Then things would be different.
Lei Jun could not only optimize his "programs,"
but even put a "lock" on them!
In other words...
Granting of Position!
Sagehood was a Fruit Position.
The Heavenly Emperor was a Fruit Position.
Even the Human Emperor held a kind of Fruit Position!
It was just that the position of a Sage required Hongmeng Purple Qi, while the other two did not.
But that didn't mean
he could grant those two positions without Hongmeng Purple Qi.
He would at least need to understand their nature first.
Otherwise,
they would be nothing more than illusory positions—not genuine at all.
"So, before that..."
"Even if I wanted to establish the Heavenly Court and appoint a Heavenly Emperor, it would only be temporary?"
"At least, that's how it works in the Primordial Wilderness!"
Lei Jun suddenly understood.
In a sense,
a Fruit Position
meant gaining the recognition of the Primordial Wilderness.
It meant being seen as essential to maintaining the stability of the Primordial Wilderness.
And so,
it brought greater blessings of fortune.
"Pity..."
"For now, I can only look at this Hongmeng Purple Qi. I can't obtain any of it!"
"Otherwise,"
"I could use the Purple Qi to establish the Heavenly Court directly!"
"The position of Heavenly Emperor and all that would hardly matter..."
Lei Jun thought to himself.
His brows furrowed.
Clearly,
he wasn't satisfied with the situation.
Because right before him,
there was a vast mass of Hongmeng Purple Qi forming the Earth Dao Source, yet all he could do was look at it.
He couldn't even take a single wisp from it.
One reason was
that the Earth Dao Source was stable, making it difficult to draw out even a wisp.
The other reason
had to do with the formation.
A tiny opening that was barely worth mentioning
was nowhere near enough to affect what was inside the formation.
The fact that he could sense what was happening in there was already the limit.
For a while,
Lei Jun felt a little frustrated.
Suddenly,
a flash of insight came to Lei Jun.
He shifted his attention away from the formation
and turned it inward, to his own body.
Then he couldn't help laughing at himself.
"I'm such an idiot!"
"It's better to rely on myself than to ask others!"
"With my current strength, theoretically, I can even refine a Yuanshi Zuqiao—let alone..."
"Hongmeng Purple Qi?"
"If so, why don't I just refine some myself?"
Normally,
Lei Jun would never have entertained the idea.
He had never seen Hongmeng Purple Qi before.
But now things were different.
He had Hongmeng Purple Qi right in front of him to use as a reference.
What was there to worry about?
Creating something from nothing was difficult, but copying what he saw was surely much easier!
Before you continue