The development of great divine powers could hardly be accomplished overnight.
Bei Ming immersed himself in it, using divided spirit calculation for endless deduction.
Time flew.
The one Yuan Meeting Hongjun had left between the first and second lectures was but a drop in the ocean amid the Primordial Wilderness's endless years.
As the time limit drew near, the various Innate Gods emerged from seclusion one after another and gathered at Zixiao Palace once more.
Inside Great Void Palace.
Bei Ming slowly opened his eyes. He had formed a preliminary concept for "Two Forms Evolve Kun Peng," but to bring it to fruition, his cultivation needed to advance further.
With a thought, Bei Ming vanished from the hall and appeared outside the Changbai Mountain Range;
Then he transformed into escape light, rode the wind, and soared beyond the heavens;
His figure swept past the nine heavens, and ripples spread through the void wherever he passed.
By the time Bei Ming reached Zixiao Palace, quite a few Great Powers had already gathered outside the main hall.
All heroes had arrived, their auras intertwining.
Bei Ming turned his gaze and scanned the crowd.
Seeing that Nüwa and Fuxi, whom he knew, had yet to arrive, he merely found a corner, closed his eyes to regulate his breath, and waited quietly.
Before long, Fuxi and Nüwa also arrived.
The two came to Bei Ming's side. After the three exchanged pleasantries, they quietly awaited the opening of Zixiao Palace.
This time, no one arrived at the last moment. Everyone had arrived before the gates of Zixiao Palace opened.
Haotian and Yaochi appeared again.
The two wore solemn expressions but said nothing. They merely cupped one fist in salute before raising their hands to form seals.
As the seals flowed, the void roared. The gates of Zixiao Palace slowly opened, ten thousand rays of rosy light shining as auspicious qi soared into the sky.
Without the seat dispute from the first time, all cultivators entering the hall this time appeared extremely polite.
The six Great Powers in the front row sat on prayer mats in order;
The remaining Innate Gods sat on the ground in the back, and solemn silence filled the hall.
Silence reigned within the hall.
Once everyone had taken their seats, Dao light gathered atop the cloud bed, and Hongjun's figure appeared again.
Everyone bowed together and said:
"Junior pays homage to Saint Hongjun."
"No need to be polite," Hongjun said expressionlessly, his Dao sound ethereal:
"This is the second lecture, and I shall discuss the Dao of Quasi-Saint.
"Above Great Luo Golden Immortal lies Quasi-Saint. I created the unique method of cutting off the Three Corpses, available for you all to break through your shackles.
"The Three Corpses are neither form nor substance. They are the Three Poisons Stagnating in the Primordial Spirit.
"The first is the Corpse of Good Thoughts, the second the Corpse of Evil Thoughts, and the third the Obsession Corpse.
"The good are arrogant, the evil are indulgent, and the obsessed are trapped by themselves. The three entangle the Dao Embryo like clouds covering the bright moon, dust covering a bright mirror.
"When all Three Corpses are cut, the Dao heart becomes clear and bright, unstained by dust.
"Yet cutting corpses does not mean severing all emotion and nature. It means transcending the shackles of good, evil, and obsession.
"Be good but not drowning in goodness, evil but not falling into evil, obsessed but not trapped by obsession.
"Like the sun and moon illuminating all things without lingering upon them, like rivers flowing endlessly without stagnating in form."
As Hongjun spoke, strange phenomena abounded in Zixiao Palace.
Above the void, countless golden lotuses appeared in competition. Their crystal petals exhaled rosy light and trembled gently with Hongjun's Dao sound.
"The method of cutting corpses is not to break the Dao with force, but to merge with the Dao through method.
"Forcibly cut two corpses but trapped by obsession only because one does not know that the Obsession Corpse values the word 'sincerity' above all else.
"You must face your true heart and glimpse true reality amid the battle between heaven and man.
"Whether watching the Milky Way collapse without the Dao heart trembling, or passing through the boundless Red Dust while the Spirit Platform remains unstained, only then will you know that cutting obsession is truly about proving the True Self.
"You all should remember: when all Three Corpses are cut, you do not become emotionless wood and stone, but attain the Great Free Heart, through which all things pass without leaving a trace.
"..."
The Dao sound echoed for three thousand years.
All cultivators immersed themselves in it. Some wore solemn expressions, some furrowed their brows, and some showed sudden understanding in their eyes, all shocked by the mysteries of the method of cutting off the Three Corpses.
As the lecture neared its end, Hongjun reminded them in a calm voice:
"For items used to cut corpses, one should choose Innate Spiritual Treasures. You all need to deliberate carefully. The higher the grade of the item entrusted with the Three Corpses, the stronger the corpses shall be;
"Among your choices, those that align with your own law, are of the same origin, or contain the same law can all be prioritized. This will be helpful for the subsequent unity of the Three Corpses."
Looking across the Primordial Wilderness, there were far too few Spirit Treasures of the same origin.
The overwhelming majority were relics left behind by Pangu and other Chaos Gods;
Among them, several Spirit Treasures differentiated from the Thirty-Six Grade Chaos Green Lotus were not only of the same origin but also extraordinarily powerful, making them naturally the best choices.
However, Spirit Treasures with the same laws were much easier to find.
There were quite a few Innate Spiritual Treasures in the Primordial Wilderness, and every one of them contained laws;
Collecting three Spirit Treasures containing the same law was still relatively manageable.
Great Powers with the means could even pursue higher-grade Spirit Treasures and seek those more compatible with the laws they comprehended.
Sitting quietly on his prayer mat, Bei Ming had finally figured out the method of cutting off the Three Corpses through the explanations in Hongjun's Master Class.
Normally, breaking through to Hunyuan Golden Immortal should be based on one's comprehension of laws;
When Zu Long and the others broke through back then, they relied on the fortune boost of their clans to aid their understanding of laws.
As for Hongjun and the other remnants of Chaos Gods, they were even more exceptional;
Their foundations and origins were far beyond those of ordinary Primordial Wilderness cultivators.
Even without the immense fortune boost of a clan, the combat strength of these various ancestors could basically rival, or even surpass, the clan chiefs of the Three Innate Clans.
Now it seemed that the method of cutting off the Three Corpses passed down by Hongjun was essentially a way to make cultivators better align with the Heavenly Dao, borrowing its support to further comprehend laws.
After cutting corpses, cultivators could gain the numerical value equivalent to a Hunyuan Golden Immortal of the same stage, but their true understanding of laws had not reached that level;
They still needed to continue comprehending them and fill in their shortcomings.
Simply put, they had only raised their level without spending points on skills.
However, with the support of the Heavenly Dao, this process was easier than relying purely on one's own comprehension.
For this reason, Quasi-Saints often could not defeat Hunyuan Golden Immortals of the same level for a very long time.
Only through continual accumulation, deep cultivation of laws, and reaching the utmost limit could they gradually erase that gap.
In the end, combat strength depended on the depth of one's mastery over laws, supplemented by divine powers and Spirit Treasures, before victory or defeat could be decided.
Once cultivators reached Great Luo Golden Immortal, all further cultivation essentially returned to "laws."
Cutting off the Three Corpses was merely a shortcut opened up along the path of cultivation.
Using this official cheat might not get one banned, but there was still a gap compared to pure cultivators.
Hongjun, who became a saint through cutting off the Three Corpses, had lost to Yang Mei, a Hunyuan Great Luo Golden Immortal, in the Hundun.
However, the difference between those two was considerable to begin with. Even if Hongjun had been a proper Hunyuan Great Luo Golden Immortal, the outcome against Yang Mei probably would not have changed.
Back when they were both Chaos Gods, Yang Mei's strength had firmly ranked near the top, top 5 and vying for top 3, with the bearing to overpower all heroes;
As for Hongjun, no one knew where he ranked.
Even after entering the Primordial Wilderness, Hongjun won the Demonic Dao War and gained the status of spokesperson for the Heavenly Dao, yet Yang Mei still attained the Dao before him;
Only through cutting off the Three Corpses could Hongjun barely catch up to Yang Mei in numerical value, but the gap in their understanding of laws remained difficult to bridge.
At this moment, Dao Rhyme lingered throughout Zixiao Palace, while cloud light hung heavy.
Laozi and Bei Ming had already broken through to the peak stage of Great Luo Golden Immortal during the previous lecture, and now they had reached the threshold of cutting corpses.
Bei Ming's mind settled, and a thought arose within him;
This method of cutting off the Three Corpses had another great use. Perhaps it could solve a problem he had to face.
Before you continue