Although the vast majority of Heavenly Gods and True Immortals in the Three Realms had apprenticed under Dao Ancestors, the resources available to disciples of Dao Ancestor Chiming and Daoist Three Pure Ones were naturally different.
The most famous example was the Eight-Nine Profound Art.
If you apprenticed under someone like Dao Ancestor Chiming or Holy Fire Dao Ancestor, you wouldn't get this divine ability at all.
"Your body-refining method is the Crimson Bright Nine Heavens Map, created by Chiming. That's acceptable, but your Qi Refining Path method is lacking. Switch to my Daoist Sect's Three Pure Ones Qi Derivation Art."
As Daoist Three Pure Ones spoke, the entire Dao Palace began to change. An immense world appeared, containing countless Daos. The ones that stood out most were the few Wu Yun mainly cultivated.
Ancestor Bodhi taught his disciples by letting them dream for a thousand years, giving them a quick tour of the entire Sword Dao.
Daoist Three Pure Ones, on the other hand, outlined the complete map of the Great Daos. His own level of comprehension was unfathomably high; he had fully understood many Heavenly Daos, and nearly all ordinary Great Daos.
Light, darkness, space, and the Dao of the Staff all appeared directly before Wu Yun.
Daoist Three Pure Ones hoped his disciples would build a solid foundation, so he showed Wu Yun so many Great Daos, allowing him to progress along them together.
Of course, this also had to do with when he was teaching his disciples. Ji Ning had been born after Wujian Gate and the Nuwa Faction became mortal enemies, so he had to grow quickly. There wasn't time for him to slowly comprehend so many Daos.
Wu Yun was still in the God-Demon Era, with time to spare. He cultivated several Great Daos: Flowing Light, space, the Dao of the Staff, darkness, and some other ordinary Daos.
That was why Daoist Three Pure Ones had outlined such a world.
"This..." Wu Yun's pupils contracted. His thoughts soon became completely immersed in cultivation, as if swimming through an ocean of Great Daos. It was intoxicating.
He had no idea how much time passed. It seemed like an instant, yet also like tens of thousands of years. Wu Yun gained a clear understanding of the complete Great Dao of Space, the Streamer Great Dao, and the others.
Ancestor Dongyan could never have done that. At most, he could let Wu Yun experience the Great Daos he himself cultivated.
"Stop." Daoist Three Pure Ones spoke softly. "You only needed to experience them. The true Great Daos aren't so simple. When you normally cultivate, you'd also do well not to neglect body refinement. The truly powerful almost always cultivate both."
"Yes." Wu Yun answered respectfully. He had been utterly absorbed by the complete Great Daos, but that wouldn't actually help his own level of cultivation.
It was only an experience, like a guiding light.
"Stay in the Dao Palace for a hundred years before leaving to make your way in the world." Daoist Three Pure Ones reminded him solemnly, "With your talent, becoming a Heavenly God and True Immortal should pose little difficulty. But you have little chance of becoming a True God Dao Ancestor unless you keep working hard."
"Yes. I'll do my best." Wu Yun knew that his years of cultivation weren't exactly few.
In the Three Realms, he was better than some, but not as good as others.
Hou Yi was a true prodigy. As a Heavenly God, he had slain a True God Dao Ancestor, despite having cultivated for an astonishingly short time. Later, he had even become strong enough to slay peak Ancestor Gods.
But Wu Yun wasn't discouraged. Talent varied in how it manifested, early or late. Had Luo Feng really been such a prodigy at the beginning?
On Earth, he had been no match for Hong and Thor, and in the Genius Battle, he had lost to Bo Lan.
Yet Luo Feng had ultimately become a Hunyuan Overlord, even the strongest in Hunyuan Space.
"My master is letting me stay in the Dao Palace for a hundred years. That's a good thing." Wu Yun understood the Daoist Sect's rules. The Dao Palace was its most important place.
Besides Daoist Three Pure Ones, great Daoist Sect figures like Celestial Xiaoyao also lived there. From time to time, he might hear them lecture on the Dao. The Dao Palace held the very essence of the entire Daoist Sect.
Even the personal disciples of ordinary True God Dao Ancestors weren't qualified to live there, let alone for a hundred years. Wu Yun would have to make the most of this opportunity.
"My original body in the Swallowed Star World and my incarnation here can't share memories, so I'll have to work even harder to cultivate and strengthen my soul."
His original body in the Swallowed Star World still had the help of a cheat. Here in the Desolate Era World, he truly had to rely entirely on his own efforts. At most, his knowledge of the plot could help him avoid a few detours.
The Dao Palace was boundlessly vast. From outside, it appeared to be only tens of thousands of zhang across, but inside, it contained a world of its own.
For example, outside the great hall where Wu Yun had spoken with Daoist Three Pure Ones were numerous small worlds. They had no living beings, but were instead filled with immortal materials cultivated for alchemy.
To the left of the great hall lay the Dao Palace's heart: a place that housed countless divine abilities and secret manuals. Daoist Three Pure Ones was fair to his disciples. Each registered disciple could choose one divine ability and one Qi Refining Path manual.
The same went for personal disciples. After that, they had to rely on their own strength.
A wooden post stood at the entrance. Daoist Three Pure Ones had crafted it himself. Heavenly Immortals who had reached the Pure Yang True Immortal level could choose two additional techniques, while the choices of Heavenly Gods and True Immortals were determined by the level of their power.
For instance, reaching the third level of spacetime power allowed one to choose a technique, while reaching the fourth level granted one more.
If a Heavenly God and True Immortal could reach the power of an Ancestor God, or even the level of someone like Hou Yi, they could choose anything inside.
"Junior Brother Wu Yun." A middle-aged man dressed in a green robe, with an immortal sword on his back, walked in. He looked exceptionally carefree, and people couldn't help but feel drawn to him.
"You must be Senior Brother Lu Dongbin." Wu Yun clasped his hands and replied, "I've heard so much about you. It's an honor to finally meet you."
Ancestor Lu's reputation in the Three Realms was no secret.
Before reincarnating, he had been Emperor Donghua. After reincarnating, he had become Lu Dongbin and apprenticed under two masters: Daoist Three Pure Ones and Celestial Xiaoyao.
"I heard Master took on a junior disciple, so I came to have a look." Lu Dongbin was very friendly. "You're going to choose some divine abilities, right? I'll help you decide."
Wu Yun already had a plan in mind, but he didn't want to slight Lu Dongbin. He answered, "I'd be grateful for your guidance, Senior Brother."
Lu Dongbin smiled, clearly pleased. He wasn't the least bit arrogant, had an excellent temper, and was willing to be friends with anyone. As soon as he heard that he had a new junior disciple, he had come right over.
That was why his friends could be found throughout the Three Realms. Among Heavenly Gods and True Immortals, there was hardly anyone who could match him.
"Junior Brother, your God-Demon Body Refining progress is very slow. You've only just reached Primordial Spirit perfection. If you don't want to give up cultivating both paths, I recommend choosing the Eight-Nine Profound Art."
Lu Dongbin led Wu Yun into the Dao Treasury Pavilion and, relying entirely on his memory, took out a scroll containing a divine ability. "You probably haven't heard of this before. It's the strongest divine ability below the level of a True God Dao Ancestor."
Wu Yun pretended to look astonished as he accepted it, and said he would definitely choose it.
As for his Qi Refining Path manual, it was indeed helpful to have Lu Dongbin advise him. Wu Yun also planned to choose a movement technique and an explosive attack technique.
He was somewhat tempted by the Star-Plucking Hand, but Immortal Juhua was still alive. Even if Juhua died, Wu Yun couldn't do anything about the Star-Plucking Mansion, where seven Heavenly Gods stood guard. He would need the power of a True God Dao Ancestor to get in.
Meanwhile, before his training period ended, Wu Yun quietly entered the Virtual Universe and arrived at the Tongtian Bridge Plane.
Bafen, dressed in a red robe, looked up at Wu Yun. He knew this "notorious" World Lord well; Wu Yun had only attempted the Heavenly Bridge a few times.
The entire upper echelon of the Giant Axe Arena had no clear idea of Wu Yun's strength, and nobody thought much of him. He would have to leave the Giant Axe Secret Realm after the next Qualification Battle.
"Wu Yun, are you planning to clear another layer this time?" Bafen teased. "I remember someone who joined at the same time as you. He's a World Lord in the Taiwu Secret Realm, and his progress is already much faster than yours."
"I'm about to head out for some experience, so I'll try to clear a few more layers this time." Wu Yun smiled. "There shouldn't be anyone on the Universe Heavenly Bridge right now, should there?"
"No one. Go ahead." Bafen shrugged. Since the upper echelon barely paid attention to Wu Yun, he couldn't be bothered to send emails to the King-level Immortals and Venerables.
Wu Yun might just be there to clear one layer and leave again. Wouldn't that be a waste of time for those big shots?
Wu Yun cleared the first ten layers in no time. Only then did Bafen start paying closer attention, thinking that he would email the big shots once Wu Yun finished.
Bafen figured Wu Yun might manage the Thirteenth or Fourteenth Layer at most. The Fifteenth Floor was the passing mark for the Giant Axe Secret Realm and the Original Secret Realm.
"I chose to fight as a warrior, but I should really have taken the Spirit Reader path." Wu Yun defeated his opponent on the Eleventh Layer with another blow of his staff, then strode forward.
He killed his opponent on the Twelfth Layer in one blow as well.
On the Thirteenth Layer, it was another one-shot kill. There was nothing particularly subtle about it, but his opponent simply couldn't dodge. The long staff seemed to be everywhere, covering every area.
On the Fourteenth Layer, he killed his opponent in one blow again. Wu Yun's attacks weren't especially fancy; the moment he swung his staff, his opponent had nowhere to run.
The difficulty jumped tremendously between the Twelfth and Thirteenth Layers of the Heavenly Bridge, yet Wu Yun defeated his opponent with ease. The Fifteenth Layer, however, was another huge jump in difficulty.
The Fourteenth Layer of the Heavenly Bridge was at the Army Lord Immortal level.
The Fifteenth Layer was at the Marquis-Level Immortal level. They seemed to differ by only one layer, but their status was worlds apart. With an Undying Body, a Marquis-Level Immortal could completely overpower any Army Lord.
You could smash him into pieces a billion times, and a Marquis-Level Immortal would still lose nothing.
"He's already reached the Fifteenth Layer?" Bafen only realized it then. Wu Yun was moving too fast.
Every layer took just one swing of his staff. He would finish the fight and immediately fly to the next one. In just a few minutes, he had already reached the Fifteenth Layer, the Marquis-Level Immortal stage.
If he could clear it, it would mean Wu Yun had reached the passing mark for the Giant Axe Secret Realm.
Most World Lords in the Giant Axe Secret Realm and the Original Secret Realm were stuck on this layer. Every layer beyond it became harder.
The first few among them could almost all reach the Eighteenth Layer of the Heavenly Bridge. Once they broke through, they would immediately become King-Level Immortals. But there were very few who could reach the Nineteenth or Twentieth Layer.
Only a World Lord who reached the Twentieth Layer of the Heavenly Bridge could be called a genius seen only once every tens of millions of eras.
Bafen still didn't notify the big shots. He wanted to see how Wu Yun performed on the Fifteenth Layer first. If he cleared it, Bafen would send a mass email.
Clearing it would mean that Wu Yun would be taken seriously. A Universe Overlord might even accept him as a disciple, and all those old accusations that he neglected his duties and was arrogant would disappear.
On the Fifteenth Layer of the Heavenly Bridge, the fight still took place on the surface of a star.
Since Wu Yun had chosen the warrior path, his opponent used exactly the same weapon as he did: a black staff. He wore dark golden battle armor, his whole body bathed in flames.
"For a World Lord, you've come a long way. You have a bright future," the gatekeeper said coldly. "But clearing this layer won't be easy."
With that, the gatekeeper charged at Wu Yun. His moves were vastly different from those of the Fourteenth Layer. Time itself seemed to reverse in that instant.
Wu Yun simply swung his staff. A vast region shattered, completely suppressing every one of his opponent's attacks.
Boom!
After a thunderous crash, the gatekeeper was smashed apart, his divine body shattered.
Before you continue