Xuan Heng Takes Form

In the Primordial World, years went uncounted; ten thousand years slipped by in the blink of an eye.

"Ah, Fourth Brother, Fourth Brother—who knows how many years it's been already. Why can't you take form yet?"

Tongtian sat beside the spirit pool, holding a stalk of spiritual grass as he continually prodded the lotus leaves.

"Third Brother, didn't Eldest Brother say that Xuan Heng is at the crucial stage of taking form? Don't disturb him without cause. His origin is stable now, and for the time being, the three of us needn't nurture him any longer."

Yuanshi descended from the sky and landed beside the spirit pool, looking at Tongtian as he spoke.

"Second Brother, you're being so stern again. I'm just talking to him, helping him get familiar with the Primordial World. Otherwise, when he comes into the world, won't he understand nothing at all?"

Tongtian did not take it to heart. Yuanshi was always like this.

"Enough, the two of you. Every time you meet, it's like this. Xuan Heng's origin is stable now; he merely lacks an opportunity. Until that opportunity arrives, it will likely be difficult for him to take form. There is no need to be so cautious."

Taiqing drifted down and spoke leisurely.

"See? Eldest Brother says it's fine too. Second Brother, stop holding onto me all the time."

Hearing Taiqing's words, Tongtian immediately burst into laughter, as though one of his childhood misdeeds had just been approved.

Watching Tongtian's current appearance, then thinking of his miserable fate after the Investiture of the Gods Calamity, imprisoned within Purple Cloud Palace, Xuan Heng could not help but sigh inwardly.

Yet as the three chatted idly, calamity qi surged between heaven and earth. The entire Primordial World seemed to be pressed down by a pair of invisible hands.

"The calamity qi in the Primordial World is growing ever denser. Friction between the dragon, phoenix, and qilin clans is becoming increasingly severe." Yuanshi looked up at the heavens, his brows knitting slightly.

"Mm. The great calamity is approaching. In the days ahead, do not run about recklessly, lest you become tainted by the karmic force of the great calamity."

Taiqing turned to Tongtian and said.

"Eldest Brother, why are you looking at me? I'm not a child anymore. At a time like this, I definitely won't go running around."

Hearing their conversation, Xuan Heng gained a rough grasp of the current point in the timeline. It seemed they were already nearing the First Calamity of Dragon and Phoenix, the conflict between Dao and Devil.

At the same time, he truly began to feel a sense of urgency. Once Hongjun became a Saint, the Primordial World's plotline he knew would begin. If he still failed to take form, he might miss out on many great opportunities. He still wanted to snatch a few more treasures from the Western Sect at Treasure Distribution Cliff.

With those thoughts in mind, Xuan Heng only felt his consciousness grow increasingly listless. Before long, he fell asleep once more.

The years flowed on, and who knew how much time passed. One day, the Three Pure Ones arrived at Xuan Heng's side together. Seeing the grave expressions on their faces, Xuan Heng knew that something momentous was likely about to happen.

After arriving beside Xuan Heng, the three did not speak.

Taiqing gazed solemnly in the direction of Western Ox-Heaven Continent. Yuanshi stood to one side with an equally grave expression, pure immortal qi swirling around him as an invisible barrier enveloped the three of them and Xuan Heng.

Tongtian, meanwhile, gripped his sword, his eyes brimming with boundless fighting intent.

Outside Kunlun Mountain, a wind blew in. It carried the scent of blood—faint, yet it had crossed countless miles of mountains and rivers to reach Kunlun.

"Something has happened outside." Smelling that bloody scent, Tongtian spoke in a low voice.

Yuanshi looked toward the western sky.

"The dragon, phoenix, and qilin clans have sunk deeply into slaughterous calamity. The Sha Qi of heaven and earth has fallen out of balance. Someone is using the conflict among the three clans to nurture the Devil Dao."

Taiqing remained silent for a long time. Then he opened his eyes and said, "Luo Hou, Devil Ancestor of the West, has already established the Immortal-Slaying Sword Formation."

The Immortal-Slaying Sword Formation! Xuan Heng's heart jolted at those words!

The First Calamity of Dragon and Phoenix—the conflict between Dao and Devil—had arrived!

Almost the instant Taiqing's words fell, boundless devil qi suddenly surged skyward from the distant western horizon.

The clear radiance between heaven and earth was pressed into dimness. Then, a vast Dao voice rang out from the depths of the Primordial World.

"Luo Hou, today this calamity shall be settled." The voice was calm, yet it spread through all the heavens.

Hongjun had appeared!

The next moment, four beams of sword light pierced through the heavens over the western lands.

Immortal-Slaying.

Immortal-Butchering.

Immortal-Trapping.

Immortal-Ending.

The four swords rang out in unison, their killing intent sweeping across the Primordial World.

Within Kunlun Mountain, the Twelve-Rank World-Purifying White Lotus abruptly drew its petals shut, firmly protecting Xuan Heng deep within its lotus heart.

Yet Xuan Heng still heard a low, deep laugh.

That laughter came from the west, carrying towering devilish intent, as though it sought to drag the entire Primordial World into a slaughterous calamity.

"Hongjun, if you cannot break my Immortal-Slaying Sword Formation, then this Primordial World ought to be decided by the Devil Dao."

At the moment devil qi surged into the sky from the west, Kunlun Mountain could not remain entirely uninvolved either.

The Primordial World was vast, but the conflict between Dao and Devil affected not merely a single region. It concerned which Dao lineage would rule heaven and earth from then on.

Devil Ancestor Luo Hou established the Immortal-Slaying Sword Formation, using the slaughterous calamity of the three clans to nurture the Devil Dao. Sha Qi boiled across the western lands, while countless savage, violent devilish thoughts spread in every direction along the spiritual currents of heaven and earth.

Kunlun Mountain was guarded by the Three Pure Ones and suppressed by the clear qi Pangu had left behind when he opened the heavens, so it should not have suffered an invasion of devil qi.

But Xuan Heng was different. He had yet to take form, and his origin was linked to the Twelve-Rank World-Purifying White Lotus. The World-Purifying White Lotus was born to restrain devilish thoughts; it was also the most sensitive to changes in the turbid qi between heaven and earth, and thus the most likely to draw the notice of devil qi.

Above the spirit pool, the petals of the World-Purifying White Lotus folded shut layer by layer.

Strands of black-red demonic qi crossed the outer sea of clouds surrounding Kunlun Mountain, only to be blocked outside the lotus pool by purifying white light. The instant that demonic qi drew near, it gave off faint sizzling sounds, like ice and snow falling into blazing fire, its viciousness washed away by the white light in an instant.

Yet after the demonic qi was purified, it did not dissipate completely. It transformed into extremely faint streams of gray-white air and sank into the lotus pool.

Supreme Purity stood beside the lotus pool, his gaze shifting slightly.

"The World-Purifying White Lotus is refining the demonic qi."

Yuanshi watched the gray-white currents gradually rise from the lotus pool, his brows faintly furrowed.

"Though this qi no longer possesses a demonic nature, it still carries tribulation qi. Xuan Heng's origin has yet to stabilize; he may not be able to withstand it."

Tongtian gripped his sword as he guarded Xuan Heng's side. The demonic winds outside grew ever fiercer, yet he did not look westward, his eyes fixed solely on Xuan Heng within the lotus heart.

"What if he withstands it?"

Yuanshi did not answer at once.

After a moment of silence, Supreme Purity said, "Tribulation qi is a double-edged sword. If he can truly refine it, he may take form today."

Deep within the lotus heart, Xuan Heng's consciousness had already been surrounded by that gray-white current.

Pain—piercing, bone-deep pain, worse than when he had first awakened.

It was not pain of the flesh, but his Primordial Spirit being scoured again and again by some invisible force. Every wisp of tribulation qi that fell was like a mark being carved into his still-unformed origin.

Xuan Heng knew full well that this thing was dangerous.

Though the World-Purifying White Lotus had cleansed the ferocity from the demonic qi, it could not wash away the intent of heaven and earth's tribulation brought by the war between Dao and Demon itself.

But he sensed something else as well: his opportunity to take form had arrived!

He had been nurtured by the Three Pure Ones for many years. His Primordial Spirit, origin, and pure qi had all stabilized. He lacked only a true external force to push him out of the lotus.

If he missed this chance, who knew how many aeons he would have to wait for the next opportunity?

Xuan Heng clung to that last point of clarity deep within his consciousness and actively drew upon the white light within the World-Purifying White Lotus.

The white light flowed, and the gray-white tribulation qi was drawn bit by bit around his origin, like layer upon layer of whetstones grinding away the impurities within him that had yet to fully meld.

Supreme Purity's eyes narrowed slightly.

"He is actively drawing tribulation qi into his body."

Yuanshi's expression darkened.

"It is too risky. One misstep, and he will be doomed beyond redemption."

Yet Tongtian suddenly laughed.

"He has guts."

Yuanshi looked at him.

Tongtian did not avoid his gaze. "Second Brother, if he relies only on our protection, he will forever remain a Dao embryo within the lotus. The primordial world is not merely one Kunlun Mountain. Sooner or later, he must walk out on his own."

Yuanshi frowned, but said nothing further, for he could not find the words to refute him.

Above the lotus pool, the Twelve-Rank World-Purifying White Lotus slowly unfurled.

The Dao embryo within the lotus heart gradually became clear.

First came a hazy human form, then bones, meridians, flesh and blood, and features.

Xuan Heng felt as though he were breaking free from a long, endless dream.

When the gray-white tribulation qi surged into his origin one final time, his Primordial Spirit shook with a thunderous crash. The next instant, the lotus's purifying white radiance shot into the heavens.

The pure qi throughout Kunlun Mountain surged in an instant.

Supreme Purity Peak, Jade Purity Peak, and Upper Purity Peak responded at the same time. Three streams of pure qi rose from the mountains and converged with the fourth stream of pure qi within the white lotus.

The twelve-rank lotus bloomed in full.

A young Daoist opened his eyes from within the lotus heart.