It took quite a while for Tongtian to calm down.
His heart finally settled.
Then he hurried toward the place where he sensed the opportunity.
However,
before heading there, Tongtian couldn't help thinking of his two elder brothers.
"I wonder what opportunities my two elder brothers have encountered?"
"They should be quite good, I imagine..."
"After all, the one giving the lecture is a Sage!"
Meanwhile,
two cultivators came to a temporary halt.
The two cultivators—
one an old man, the other a middle-aged man—
addressed each other as brothers.
They were none other than Taiqing and Yuanshi, who had heard that Hongjun would lecture on the Heavenly Dao and were now making their way to Heaven Beyond Heaven.
But at the moment,
they had yet to reach Heaven Beyond Heaven.
They were still in the Primordial Wilderness.
More precisely,
they were in the Thirty-Three Heavens!
As for why the two had stopped...
the reason was simple.
They were astonished by what they were experiencing.
It was a place unlike the Primordial Wilderness below,
a heavenly realm they could sense!
"Sure enough..."
"There really is a heaven beyond heaven!"
"We haven't even left the boundaries of the Primordial Wilderness, yet we can already clearly feel that comprehending the Heavenly Dao has become easier!"
"Elder Brother, do you feel the same way?"
Yuanshi exclaimed.
Taiqing stroked his white beard and smiled.
"Of course!"
"My perception is the same as yours!"
"We can say that this experience alone has made the trip worthwhile!"
"It seems..."
"We came to the right place!"
"Elder Brother is right!"
Yuanshi nodded, in high spirits.
More importantly,
the opportunity he sensed told him that there were thirty-three heavenly realms like this,
each one higher than the last.
One could imagine
what sort of gains awaited them when they finally reached Heaven Beyond Heaven.
Or rather,
the very process of gradually "ascending to heaven" was an opportunity in itself.
There was much to learn from it.
For a time,
neither Taiqing nor Yuanshi could remain calm.
At the same time,
they thought of Tongtian, and Taiqing sighed.
"Alas..."
"What a pity!"
"Our third brother isn't here. I wonder if he's found that opportunity yet?"
After hearing this, Yuanshi said,
"Elder Brother, don't concern yourself with him!"
"That was his own choice. If we say too much, he'll only get upset!"
"Since he chose that path, let him be!"
"As for the opportunity he found..."
Yuanshi paused briefly.
Then he snorted.
"Hmph!"
"So what if he found it?"
"Could it possibly compare to an opportunity from a Sage?"
"Sooner or later, we'll surpass him anyway!"
"Then we can offer him some guidance. I'm sure he'll come to his senses and realize what a mistake he made!"
Taiqing nodded, agreeing with him.
"Quite right!"
"Then, once we've rested here for a bit,"
"we'll head to the next heavenly realm!"
After that,
the two gathered their thoughts.
They stopped thinking about Tongtian
and focused their attention on the Thirty-Three Heavens instead.
The more they looked, the more amazed they became.
They both reached the same conclusion.
Though they couldn't sense it clearly,
they could tell
that the Thirty-Three Heavens had not existed since the beginning of time.
They were utterly unlike the Primordial Wilderness.
If they weren't primordial, then...
had some being opened them up after the fact?
Who could it have been?
Surely only the Heavenly Dao?
Was that why, with each higher realm they ascended,
they felt
closer to the Heavenly Dao?
At that moment,
Taiqing and Yuanshi had no idea that the Thirty-Three Heavens were close to the Heavenly Dao not because the Heavenly Dao had created them, but because...
someone had punched through them!
In fact,
not only Taiqing and Yuanshi, but the cultivators who later reached the Thirty-Three Heavens
all thought the same way.
They believed it was the work of the Heavenly Dao.
Not one of them realized that, as the Thirty-Three Heavens were being opened, the Heavenly Dao had actually been quite helpless.
There was nothing to be done.
Their cultivation was too weak to perceive all those hidden mysteries.
In short,
after Hongjun became a Sage, cultivators throughout the Primordial Wilderness
nearly all sprang into action.
Even those who weren't planning to go to Lei Jun Palace were seeking other opportunities.
A great trend was taking shape.
And it wasn't limited to the Primordial Wilderness.
To some extent, even the Seeking Dao Courtyard, hidden somewhere in the Primordial Wilderness and sensed by few, had changed.
Not long ago, a mountain had suddenly appeared
and lifted the entire courtyard onto its back.
The Immortal Mountain was extraordinarily sturdy.
It was also enormous.
Yet, strangely, despite stretching across the Primordial Wilderness, no one noticed it.
Even the cultivators nearby
remained completely unaware.
Clearly,
some kind of great power had sealed off the surrounding world and even...
rewritten its rules!
Otherwise,
how could no one notice such an immense and extraordinary-looking mountain?
As for where this great power came from,
at that very moment,
two waves of consciousness came from the mountain, evidently discussing the matter.
Before long,
the two consciousnesses reached an agreement.
"I'll cast my vote for the Celestial Venerable!"
"I agree!"
"Exactly! Compared to the Celestial Venerable, I don't know whether the Heavenly Dao is stronger or weaker. But it's obvious that the Heavenly Dao can't deal with the Celestial Venerable, whereas the Celestial Venerable has ways to deal with the Heavenly Dao! Otherwise, how could he have rescued us Spiritual Lights? How could we be here today?"
"Hahaha, we're of one mind, Daoist friend! I also think this couldn't possibly have been the Heavenly Dao's doing!"
These two consciousnesses
belonged to none other than the pebble and the Sword Grass.
Only now,
the pebble had changed, becoming this Immortal Mountain. The mountain had no name,
but it was exceedingly mysterious.
Just standing at its foot could leave one awestruck.
It even gave the impression of being on Mount Buzhou.
Of course,
it was still no match for Mount Buzhou.
But that alone was enough to show how extraordinary it was.
By comparison,
the Sword Grass was far more ordinary.
It truly embodied the meaning of "utterly unremarkable."
So much so that the pebble—
or, rather, the Immortal Mountain now—
was utterly puzzled.
It asked,
"Daoist friend, what does keeping such a low profile have to do with the reward you mentioned?"
At the foot of the mountain,
a little green blade of grass swayed from side to side.
Its movements were remarkably humanlike.
It seemed to be shaking its head.
"Do you remember what the Celestial Venerable said at the very beginning? The reward and opportunity I mentioned are related to that!"
"What? Why don't I remember?"
The Immortal Mountain was baffled.
The Sword Grass reminded it,
"Uninvited Guest!"
"You understand now, right?"
The Immortal Mountain said nothing.
But its meaning was clear.
It didn't understand.
A green leaf of Sword Grass propped up its tip, as if it were holding its forehead.
"Idiot!"
"The Celestial Venerable clearly had plenty of ways to punish us. Why did he make us guard the Courtyard Gate of all things?"
"Think about that old Yang Mei!"
"Obviously, he wants us to stop uninvited guests from coming in!"
"Or rather..."
"Put them to the test!"
"After all, the Celestial Venerable did say that when it's time to loosen up, we can ease up a little!"
Only then did the Immortal Mountain understand.
But there was still one thing it didn't get.
"What does that have to do with getting rewarded for a great opportunity?"
"Hey~"
"You're a rock. How can you have a head as wooden as an elm? Could that old Yang Mei have rubbed off on you?"
Sword Grass explained again.
"If the Celestial Venerable really wants us to test these 'uninvited guests,' then wouldn't testing them be a deed of merit?"
"And if he doesn't, wouldn't stopping them still earn us merit?"
"Either way, we get credit. So what else could this be but a reward?"
"Besides, if the first case is true, it means we've earned the Celestial Venerable's favor. We'll have good fortune in the future, and we can build a good relationship with them in advance!"
"So how is this a punishment? It's clearly a cushy job!"
The Immortal Mountain fell silent.
After a while, it finally spoke.
"Although what you say makes sense, how do you know whom we're supposed to test and whom we're supposed to drive away?"
"That's why I'm keeping a low profile! If their cultivation is high enough, let them pass. If it isn't..."
"Heh heh heh, I'm the Twelve Star Sword Grass!"
"I have to let them see the power of the ultimate Sword Dao!"
Sword Grass swayed.
It said smugly,
"If someone comes, and they have Yang Mei's strength—or aren't too far off—they should be the ones we're meant to test. Just like how you smashed that old Yang Mei!"
"Don't you think that was a test in itself?"
"It was also the Celestial Venerable's arrangement!"
At once,
the Immortal Mountain was utterly speechless.
After a long pause, a thought finally came to it.
So we're supposed to judge people by their strength!
But then it thought about it again.
Using Yang Mei as the standard didn't seem like a problem.
After all...
Yang Mei wasn't all that strong.
As for whether there were other cultivators in the Primordial Wilderness who could match Yang Mei now,
there probably weren't many.
But there had to be some, right?
Probably.
Is this why the Celestial Venerable told us to guard this place?
Not long after,
the Immortal Mountain and Sword Grass both entered a state of semi-seclusion.
They waited for "uninvited guests."
Time flowed on.
In the blink of an eye,
countless years passed.
A young Daoist appeared not far from the Immortal Mountain.
His expression was filled with emotion.
He had clearly been through a great deal.
Even his tone was full of feeling.
"It wasn't easy!"
"After more than a hundred kalpas!"
"I finally found the place where the opportunity lies!"
"This Immortal Mountain..."
"Gives me the feeling that I'm standing before Mount Buzhou!"
After transforming in Kunlun,
the Three Purities hadn't immediately gone their separate ways. Instead, they had traveled around the Primordial Wilderness.
Naturally, they had to pay their respects to Mount Buzhou, formed from Pangu's Spine.
So,
when they saw an Immortal Mountain with equally astonishing majesty,
Tongtian had been overcome with emotion.
There was no helping it.
Though the Primordial Wilderness had many Grotto-Heaven Blessed Lands, there were very few places that could make even a Peak Da Luo cultivator feel this way.
And once he stepped into the Immortal Mountain's domain,
that feeling became even stronger.
It was a pressure that completely surpassed him!
Even the laws and divine abilities he had mastered were constrained by it!
The same went for his Dao Body.
Tongtian exhaled, his heart giving a slight tremor.
He immediately made his judgment.
"I can't fly anymore!"
"This place is just like Mount Buzhou!"
"I can't use Shrink Ground to Inch or any other movement techniques, either."
"I can only walk!"
Because...
Everything here was hard and solid, incomparably heavy and vast!
After a moment's thought,
Tongtian threw a punch.
It struck the Void.
Then,
he was even more shocked, and couldn't help sucking in a breath.
"Gasp~"
"It really is just like Mount Buzhou?"
"With my Peak Da Luo cultivation, I threw a punch, yet I couldn't even stir up a ripple in the Void?"
You had to understand,
with his Peak Da Luo cultivation, in other places,
moving mountains and filling seas
was as easy as playing around.
Only those Famous Mountains and Great Rivers and Grotto-Heaven Blessed Lands were beyond what he could handle with his current cultivation.
Even so,
when he was in a famous mountain, his cultivation still had some influence.
But here,
no matter how strong his Peak Da Luo cultivation was,
he couldn't even punch a pit into the ground!
More precisely,
he couldn't leave any visible mark at all!
No matter how outrageous it was,
it shouldn't be this bad, should it?
Before you continue