Shouyang Mountain, Tushita Palace.
Laozi, who had been sitting cross-legged on a meditation cushion, suddenly opened his eyes!
In those ancient, placid eyes, the scene above Golden Ao Island was now clearly reflected!
The lingering aura of the Chaos Tribulation, Xuandu's steady, vast Hunyuan Dao Rhyme, the fleeting Sword Intent of the Qingping Sword...
Everything surged into his Dao Heart, calm for countless ages, like a storm!
"Hunyuan... Golden Immortal?"
Laozi murmured, and for the first time, his usually impassive face showed shock so profound he seemed dazed.
"Xuandu... a hundred years..."
He sank his mind into the Heavenly Dao and frantically made deductions.
The Heavenly Secret remained in Chaos, and an invisible hand obscured the fate connected to this young man.
But the solid Hunyuan Dao Rhyme was no illusion!
A hundred years!
From an ordinary mortal, to the Zenith Heaven Peak, and then to a Golden Immortal of the Origin!
What did that even mean?
The Three Pure Ones had inherited Heaven-Opening Merit and possessed peerless pedigrees. They had cultivated for countless ages before attaining their Saintly positions.
But this young man...
Laozi's eyes flickered violently, and his tranquil heart was swept by towering waves.
He remembered Xuandu kneeling at the foot of Shouyang Mountain for ten years. His will had been firm, but he had still been nothing more than a mortal.
He remembered the young man's sudden disappearance and his reappearance on Golden Ao Island.
He remembered the transformation of his pedigree that had stirred the Chaos Anomaly...
At this moment, all the things that had made no sense seemed to point to one answer.
"Tongtian... just how much do you know?"
Laozi's gaze pierced the void and settled in the direction of the East Sea, his expression impossible to read.
There was shock, confusion, and even the faintest trace of regret.
If he had appeared sooner that day and taken the young man as his disciple, would this heaven-defying fortune have belonged to the Human Sect?
At the thought, even his Wu Wei Dao wavered.
Kunlun Mountain, Jade Void Palace.
Yuanshi sat high upon his cloud-bed, Jade Purity Immortal Light surging around him as he presided over order.
Suddenly, his lecture on the Great Dao came to an abrupt halt!
Nanjixian Weng, Guangchengzi, Chijingzi, and the other Chan Sect Disciples listening below all froze and looked up in confusion.
Their master's face was icy, his gaze fixed on the East!
That Hunyuan Dao Rhyme, which transcended the myriad Daos and had laws of its own, came through with unmistakable clarity, despite the boundless distance!
But what shook him most was the identity of the one who had produced such Dao Rhyme.
"Xuandu?"
Yuanshi practically ground the name out through his teeth.
His dignified face was now filled with incredulous fury!
"How is this possible? He only joined the Interception Sect a hundred years ago!"
"How could a gathering place for the Wet Born and Egg Hatched give rise to a Hunyuan?"
The Jade Purity Immortal Light around him surged violently, making the surrounding laws groan as the void shattered inch by inch!
The disciples below turned pale with fright and lowered their heads, not daring to look upon their master's Sage's Visage.
Guangchengzi ventured to speak:
"Master, Xuandu only succeeded by sheer luck..."
"Luck?"
Yuanshi suddenly turned toward him, his gaze sharp as a heavenly sword.
"Tell me, what kind of luck could let a postcelestial member of the Human Race attain Hunyuan in a hundred years?!"
Guangchengzi was instantly at a loss for words, cold sweat pouring down his face.
Yuanshi's chest heaved, his Saint Heart in turmoil.
He remembered Xuandu's piercing question outside Golden Ao Island.
He remembered how the young man had used the Dao Ancestor as an example and left him speechless.
And now, Xuandu had walked the Path of Hunyuan, one that even they had never dared to attempt lightly!
This was no longer merely a slap in the face. It was as if the pedigree theory and destiny theory Yuanshi upheld had been trampled beneath Xuandu's feet!
"Tongtian! What a fine disciple you've taken!"
Cold light burst from Yuanshi's eyes, and the aura around him grew ever chillier.
The West, the Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss.
Beside the Eight Treasures Merit Pool.
Daoist Jieyin and Daoist Zhunti sat facing each other, their bodies radiating the Dao Rhyme of Nirvana Compassion.
Suddenly, both opened their eyes at the same time and looked toward the East.
The sorrowful expressions they had worn for countless years now held even greater astonishment.
"The Primordial Dao Fruit... has appeared in the Great Wilderness once more?"
Daoist Jieyin sighed quietly, his gaze piercing the void and settling upon the young man in green.
"He is the disciple named Xuandu, under Fellow Daoist Tongtian."
A sharp glint flashed in Daoist Zhunti's eyes, alongside undisguised greed and fervor.
"Hunyuan in a hundred years... This young man must possess a heaven-defying treasure or a Supreme Opportunity!"
He looked at Jieyin, his voice urgent:
"Senior Brother, such an unpolished gem is clearly fated to join our Western Sect!"
"If we can bring him over..."
Jieyin gave a slight shake of his head, his sorrow deepening.
"Difficult."
"Tongtian already thinks highly of him. Now he has attained Hunyuan, and his will is firm. He will not be swayed easily."
His gaze swept over Xuandu, then shifted to the magnificent Golden Ao Island behind him. He spoke slowly:
"Still, Xuandu's breakthrough to Golden Immortal of the Origin will surely bring changes to the Witch-Demon Tribulation."
"Our West may yet find an opportunity to make plans."
Zhunti nodded slowly, his eyes brimming with calculation.
The Nether Blood Sea, the Monster Master's Palace, Wuzhuang Temple...
The Hunyuan Dao Rhyme had stirred the Great Powers in their many dojos and roused countless powerful Spiritual Senses.
Golden Ao Island, before Biyou Palace.
Sect Leader Tongtian withdrew his gaze from the void, the faintest curve appearing at the corner of his mouth.
The Saints' reactions were all within his expectations.
Xuandu's breakthrough had caused too great a stir to conceal.
He looked at Xuandu below, who had reined in his aura and now wore a calm expression. His admiration deepened.
Unassuming and composed—his character truly was exceptional.
"The lecture has reached its end. A hundred years have passed."
Sect Leader Tongtian spoke, his voice ringing across Golden Ao Island.
"Return to your abodes, contemplate what you have learned, and devote yourselves to your cultivation."
At his words, the Myriad Immortals bowed together:
"We shall obey your decree, Master!"
Their voices rang out, filled with excitement and reluctance.
They had gained tremendously from this lecture, and had even witnessed Hunyuan's emergence with their own eyes. The shock and insights they had gained would take countless years to digest.
One after another, streaks of immortal light rose and flew toward their respective abodes.
Duobao, Jin Ling, Wu Dang, and the other Personal Disciples came forward to congratulate Xuandu, then departed in turn.
Zhao Gongming draped an arm around Xuandu's shoulders and laughed heartily:
"Junior Brother Xuandu, you really are... I don't even know what to say!"
"Once your abode is built, I'll bring some good wine. We'll drink until we drop!"
Xuandu smiled and agreed.
The Three Goddesses of Xiao also bowed gracefully, their eyes shining with admiration.
Kong Xuan gave Xuandu a long look and cupped his hands.
"Congratulations."
Then he departed in a streak of five-colored light.
Xuandu answered each of them in turn, humble and courteous, without the slightest trace of arrogance.
After everyone had dispersed, his gaze swept toward the distance, where Chang Er Ding Guang Xian was trying to sneak away.
Chang Er Ding Guang Xian froze, feeling that indifferent gaze fall on him as if he had been plunged into an ice cellar.
He turned around with difficulty, forced a smile more painful than a grimace, and bowed deeply, his voice trembling:
"C-Congratulations, Senior Brother Xuandu, on attaining Hunyuan!"
Xuandu ignored him, merely giving him a cursory glance before looking away.
That single glance struck Chang Er Ding Guang Xian like a thunderbolt, and fear completely overwhelmed his Dao Heart.
He knew that in the eyes of this newly ascended Hunyuan senior brother, he was already as good as dead.
Xuandu wasted no more time. He took a step, merged into the void, and headed toward the East Sea Coast.
This matter concerned the Human Race's Survival, and whether he could unlock Cultivation Technique Sum Feedback. It was of vital importance!
His cultivation as a Golden Immortal of the Origin gave him the confidence to intervene.
Before you continue