On Lingyun Peak.
Xuandu slowly raised his head and gazed into the void.
He could clearly sense a warm, pure, yet boundless power gathering from the unseen depths and slowly descending toward him.
It was neither spiritual energy nor law.
It was the Great Dao's recognition of his successful tribulation, its gift for his founding of the Martial Dao and securing a chance of survival for the Human Race.
"Great Dao merit..."
Xuandu murmured, chaos radiance swirling in his eyes.
When he established the Martial Dao, he had received heavenly Dao merit, which ultimately formed the Martial Dao Heavenly Stele to anchor the Human Race's fortune.
But compared with Great Dao merit, heavenly Dao merit... was simply a firefly beside the radiant moon.
Heavenly Dao merit was a reward bestowed by the Great Wilderness order upon those who rendered service. It could aid cultivation, ward off calamities, and anchor fortune.
Great Dao merit, however, was a manifestation of the origin of the Great Dao. It could reshape one's innate foundation, elevate laws, and point directly toward the path of a zenith heaven golden immortal!
Hum...
The merit finally descended.
It did not take the form of golden light and auspicious clouds as heavenly Dao merit did.
Instead, strands of chaos-colored light, fine as hair yet heavy as stars, slowly drifted from the void and sank into the Purple Mansion between Xuandu's brows.
With every strand that entered, Xuandu's body trembled slightly.
Deep within his Purple Mansion, the Martial Dao Law Origin Rune suddenly blazed with light, ravenously devouring and refining the incoming Great Dao merit.
The Martial Dao patterns upon the rune, which had already approached perfection, underwent another transformation at that moment!
They became deeper, more profound, and... closer to the origin of the Great Dao!
And that was