[Preparing for the Worst, Preserving Life]

The Sword Evasion Technique was an escape divine ability he had created exclusively for himself by combining the Great Five Elements Evasion from the Thirty-Six Heavenly Dipper Techniques with the sword dao taught by Sect Master Tongtian.

Of course, that was just him flattering himself!

In truth, it was merely a mutated version of Metal Evasion. He entrusted his physical body and primordial spirit to a Magic Sword; with a single sword tearing through the air, he could travel hundreds of thousands of li in an instant!

Still, his spirit of innovation had earned Sect Master Tongtian's approval. Sect Master Tongtian loved the sword dao and naturally wished to see it flourish and develop new sword dao divine abilities.

At present, the Three Pure Ones still got along rather well. Whenever the three preached the Dao, disciples from each other's lineages would attend as listeners. Chi Jingzi and Yu Ding of the Chan Sect often did so.

Likewise, Xuan Qing and Daoist Duobao often went to hear Primordial Lord of Heaven explain the way of Artifact Refining and the methods of Talisman Crafting, and occasionally listened to Taiqing Laozi expound upon the Elixir Dao.

The Grand Pure lineage primarily cultivated the Inner Elixir Method, centered on the Golden Core Great Dao. It gathered yin and yang, refined the five elements, and returned to the origin—sharing much in common with Elixir Refining.

The Jade Pure lineage emphasized returning the acquired to the innate, evolving ancestral qi from Innate Spiritual Qi, and merging ancestral qi with the Great Dao. Its core principle was that all methods returned to one qi, treating one's own body as an artifact to be refined.

The Supreme Pure lineage, meanwhile, encompassed all manner of paths: one sword broke ten thousand laws, one formation evolved heaven and earth, one talisman transformed into myriad phenomena. Sect Master Tongtian placed no restrictions on his disciples' paths.

Thus, among the Jie Sect's four Personal disciples, not a single one specialized in either the sword dao or Formation Dao. Only because Sect Master Tongtian advocated teaching without distinction had there been no talk of expelling disciples from the sect.

Xuan Qing rather enjoyed this arrangement.

The first thing he had cultivated had actually been the Inner Elixir Method of the Grand Pure lineage. Later, after becoming Sect Master Tongtian's disciple, he learned quite a few Dharma Gates of the Supreme Pure lineage. Whenever Primordial Lord of Heaven preached the Dao, he would also study the immortal arts of the Jade Pure lineage.

Golden Immortals had inexhaustible lifespans. So long as they did not encounter external tribulations, they need not worry about their lifespan running dry. He had ample time to explore the methods of the three lineages and find the Great Dao best suited to himself, using it to attain Daluo.

Before Daluo, there was still a path to follow. But after reaching Daluo, even a Sage could only explain the Great Dao Laws; one had to comprehend the rest oneself!

Therefore, both Primordial Lord of Heaven and Sect Master Tongtian intended for their disciples to study more methods, laying a solid foundation for their future advancement to Daluo.

"This should be the place!"

After spending nearly a hundred years traveling, Xuan Qing finally arrived at his destination.

Along the way, he had stopped and gone at leisure, appreciating the majestic grandeur of the Primordial World while comprehending the Dao and cultivating. He had not spent all his time rushing onward.

Speaking of which, this was his first time leaving the mountain. Even the route to Zhongnan Mountain had been described to him by Zhao Gongming. As the chief outer disciple of the Jie Sect, Zhao Gongming had joined the sect with prior cultivation. He had taken form from Qing Feng, and while traveling to Kunlun Mountains to become a disciple, he had passed through Zhongnan Mountain and briefly stayed there.

Whenever he had nothing to do, Xuan Qing also enjoyed speaking with him, learning of curious tales from the Primordial Wilderness or listening to accounts of his past travels.

"Who goes there?"

Zhongnan Mountain possessed Blessed Lands. Though they had yet to be discovered, quite a few living beings still dwelled there, although most had low cultivation.

Xuan Qing had not kept the Golden Cloud Crown activated to conceal himself the entire time. Before long, two True Immortal demon beasts spotted him and charged toward him to kill him.

"Boom!"

True Immortals might have held some standing in later ages, but in the current Primordial Wilderness, they were mere cannon fodder. Xuan Qing casually unleashed two bolts of Supreme Pure Divine Thunder, annihilating both demons.

Under the leadership of Demon Emperor Jun, the Demon Clan was flourishing and standing at the height of its power. Yet, there were already faint signs of oil poured onto blazing flames.

Knowing the future, Xuan Qing understood that the Demon Clan's decline was inevitable. Leaving aside their mortal enemies, the Witch Race, such an enormous race consumed an incalculable amount of spiritual qi every day. To the Primordial World, they were an immense burden. Heaven's Dao would naturally seek a way to eliminate most Demon Clan beings.

Looking at the two demons' corpses, Xuan Qing could not help thinking of the Jie Sect's future. He shook his head. "I hope the Demon Clan's future will not become the Jie Sect's future!"

After the Witch and Demon races, humanity would rise, and the Mystic Gate would flourish. The Jie Sect was said to have Myriad Immortals come to court, yet it possessed no object to suppress its Fortune. Moreover, most disciples cultivated only their fate, not their nature, becoming tainted with boundless Karma. During the Investiture of the Gods Tribulation, they would naturally become the primary targets of Heaven's Dao cleansing.

Xuan Qing also wanted to change that.

But at present, the Three Pure Ones had not yet split. Although Sect Master Tongtian had accepted quite a few disciples, there were fewer than a hundred of them. The drawbacks of teaching without distinction had not yet emerged.

However...

Xuan Qing had already begun preparing for the worst!

Right now, he was doing everything he could to raise his cultivation and increase his influence. Once the Jie Sect grew stronger in the future, he would strive to purge a batch of disciples heavily burdened by Karma.

Naturally, he was also doing his best to reconcile the conflict between Primordial Lord of Heaven and Sect Master Tongtian. He hoped the Three Pure Ones would not split apart, preventing matters from developing into the day when brothers turned against one another.

Even if that day truly came, he hoped that, for the sake of their present relationship, Primordial Lord of Heaven and Taiqing Laozi would not exterminate the Jie Sect's disciples entirely.

At the very least, core disciples such as Golden Spirit Holy Mother, Zhao Gongming, and the Three Cloud Sisters should not have their true spirits enter the Investiture of the Gods. If it came down to it, having their physical bodies enter the list would also be acceptable.

"Where exactly is the Wind Thunder Immortal Apricot?"

In Xuan Qing's plans, the Wind Thunder Immortal Apricot was the key to increasing his cultivation. It could also suppress Fortune, so he had to claim it for himself.

Unfortunately, he had lingered in Zhongnan Mountain for three months without finding the entrance to the Blessed Lands.

After careful consideration, he finally came up with a risky method.

Triggering an upheaval in the earth veins!

Even if Blessed Lands were sealed, they still needed to connect to the earth veins to obtain the spiritual qi that sustained them.

And for a superior blessed land like Zhongnan Mountain, which contained a top-grade Innate Spiritual Root, the amount of Innate Spiritual Qi required was even more immense. As long as the earth vein essence qi erupted into turmoil, he could follow the traces of its flow and find the entrance to the Blessed Lands.

However, this carried risks as well. If anything went wrong and damaged the earth veins, Karma might fall upon him, turning him into someone despised by Heaven's Dao.

Only because Xuan Qing possessed Merit and was protected by Fortune did he dare take such a risk. Ordinary people would never dare attempt it, fearing that they might unknowingly become tainted by Karma.

"Break!"

After making repeated deductions, Xuan Qing immediately used the divine ability Submerging Abyss Shrinking Earth to evade into Zhongnan Mountain's earth veins, then struck one of their weak nodes with a bolt of Supreme Pure Divine Thunder.

In an instant, the earth vein essence qi erupted into turmoil, and all of Zhongnan Mountain shook. Yet it soon returned to normal under the earth veins' powerful capacity for self-repair.

"Found it!"

Naturally, he would not miss this opportunity. Carefully sensing the direction in which the essence qi flowed, he soon noticed something unusual and found the gateway to Zhongnan Mountain's Blessed Lands.

Seeing this, Xuan Qing acted decisively. Forming a hand seal, he used the Golden Cloud Crown to conceal the entrance to the Blessed Lands, while he himself entered them in an instant.

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