Gathering of Innate Divinities

An Enlightenment Tea Tree several zhang tall stood quietly, each leaf shimmering with different Great Dao patterns. When the breeze passed, the leaves rustled softly, giving off faint Dao tones that drew one toward enlightenment.

Beneath the tea tree, a young man leaned against its roots, asleep. Clad in an apricot-yellow Daoist robe, his features handsome, he slept with his eyes closed and his breathing long and steady, echoing the Dao resonance descending from the Enlightenment Tea Tree as though he resonated with the Dao itself.

Time flowed on, silent between the rising sun and setting moon, pausing for no being. Yet for innate divinities who shared Heaven's lifespan, the passing years found it difficult to leave even the slightest trace.

Suddenly, thunder exploded beneath clear skies. Without warning, a bolt of Jade Pure Divine Thunder came crashing down, aimed directly at the young man sleeping soundly beneath the tree!

"CRACK—!"

The lightning struck his crown with unerring precision.

"Aaargh—!"

Lightning flared violently and thunder boomed, yet the tea tree beside him was not harmed in the slightest.

The one whose entire body convulsed from the shock, every strand of hair standing on end, was Yellow Dragon.

Yellow Dragon sprang upright, his eyes wide, lingering lightning and bewilderment still in them as he instinctively roared.

"Who did this...?" As he spoke, a wisp of bluish smoke carrying the smell of scorched flesh even drifted from his mouth and nose.

Before he could finish, another divine thunderbolt struck down.

"Master, this disciple was wrong!"

Finally fully awake, Yellow Dragon sensed the incomparably familiar Jade Pure Dao resonance. Before the second divine thunder could fall, he dropped to his knees with lightning speed and loudly admitted his fault toward Three Purities Peak.

Just then, a succession of grand and solemn bell chimes rang out.

"Dong—"

"Dong—"

"Dong—"

The bells rang clear, cleansing the souls of all living beings. Their echoes rolled through the Kunlun mountains and fell distinctly upon Yellow Dragon's ears, even as black smoke still rose from his head.

The Three Purities Bell! Yellow Dragon shuddered and finally came fully to his senses.

"I actually slept for more than six hundred years..."

His fingers moved in calculation as Yellow Dragon muttered, then his expression abruptly changed.

"Oh no! It is already time for the three masters to expound the Dao!"

At this thought, Yellow Dragon did not dare delay any longer.

Mana coursed through his body, and his Daoist robe, blackened by lightning, instantly regained its former luster. His upright hair was tied once more into a jade topknot. Even the scorched marks on his cheeks vanished, restoring his handsome appearance.

Riding a streak of escaping light, Yellow Dragon flew straight out through the protective formation around his own Daoist abode. With a light beckoning gesture, the pagoda that had been condensing the essence of the Five Elements gave a soft chime, transformed into a stream of light, and entered his body.

The central plaza of Three Purities Peak was incomparably broad, paved with innate white jade, while countless profound runes flickered in and out of view.

At this moment, South Pole, Duobao, and the others were already standing in the plaza. Their auras were deep as abyss and their Dao resonances long and unbroken. Clearly, after breaking through following the previous Dao lecture, they had improved considerably once again.

Yellow Dragon's handsome face grew slightly warm. Sure enough, he was the last to arrive again. He somewhat regretted building his Daoist abode so far from Three Purities Peak. Later, he absolutely had to learn a top-tier escape art divine ability.

As Yellow Dragon landed in the plaza, he immediately drew everyone's attention.

"Senior Brother Yellow Dragon, you finally came. I thought you had become so absorbed in cultivation that you forgot the time." A voice tinged with concern sounded out.

The speaker was Xuandu, Supreme Pure Sage's sole personal disciple, who had ascended Kunlun alongside Yellow Dragon back then.

Duobao, standing nearby with a slightly plump figure and treasure light flowing all around him, said, "Exactly. When the bell rang and you still hadn't appeared, Junior Brother Xuandu was so anxious he was practically hopping in place."

Yellow Dragon hurried forward and exchanged greetings with South Pole, Duobao, Xuandu, and the others. Apologetically, he said, "Thank you, senior brothers, for your concern. I nearly delayed an important matter."

South Pole Immortal Elder, already a Great Luo, smiled and said, "It is good that you came."

While the group chatted and teased one another, Supreme Pure's voice sounded beside South Pole's ear. "Guests have arrived. South Pole, lead them to receive them at the mountain gate."

"Do not neglect proper etiquette!" Another voice followed.

The voice was calm, yet it carried immense majesty. It was his own master.

South Pole Immortal Elder immediately grew solemn and bowed as he accepted the command. "This disciple obeys the Dharma decree."

He looked toward Yellow Dragon and the others. "Junior brothers, follow me."

At once, led by South Pole, Yellow Dragon, Duobao, Xuandu, and the others all rode escaping lights, slicing through the clouds as they flew toward the entrance of Kunlun Mountain.

At Kunlun's mountain gate stood two enormous stone pillars that seemed naturally formed, like two divine guards watching over Kunlun. Dao patterns flowed across them, and clouds and mist coiled between them. This was one of Kunlun Mountain's primary entrances and exits.

The group descended on either side of the stone pillars. After waiting only a moment, two streams of light raced toward them from afar.

"Brother Zhenyuanzi, it seems we arrived at exactly the right time!"

One red and one yellow escaping light landed together, revealing two figures. One was a Daoist in a crimson robe, a fiery-red gourd hanging at his waist, his features carrying a touch of boldness. He was Red Cloud Patriarch, known as one of the great good-natured fellows.

The other was a Daoist with an ancient, unadorned face and a helpless expression. Holding an Earth Book in his hand, his aura linked to the earth itself, his cultivation unfathomably deep—he was Zhenyuanzi, another renowned innate divinity of the primordial world.

"Red Cloud, restrain yourself somewhat. This is a Sage's Daoist abode."

Zhenyuanzi offered a quiet reminder, then cupped his hands toward South Pole Immortal Elder and the others. "Thank you all for coming to receive us."

South Pole Immortal Elder stepped forward and returned the salute. "The two seniors have honored us with your presence. My master ordered us to come receive you. Please, seniors. Junior Brother Duobao, lead the two seniors onward."

Red Cloud smiled and nodded in greeting to Yellow Dragon, Duobao, and the others, looking entirely like someone who was already familiar with everyone.

Yellow Dragon returned the smile and salute, but inwardly he knew that this ancestor had an exceptionally good nature and loved making friends. Yet he possessed the Primordial Violet Qi that countless innate divine beings coveted beyond measure, and in the end, he met the fate of body perishing and Dao vanishing.

After leading Red Cloud and Zhenyuanzi to Three Purities Peak, Duobao returned to wait with Yellow Dragon and the others for more guests to arrive.

Before long, a streak of azure light came from the east. An incomparably enormous Green Dragon Dharma Aspect swept across the sky, then immediately drew itself in, transforming into a middle-aged man in a green robe. He descended before Kunlun's mountain gate with several proud-faced members of the dragon clan.

Yellow Dragon hurried forward and bowed. "Ancestor, why have you come?"

"Greetings, Senior Green Dragon." South Pole Immortal Elder at his side also offered a salute.

"South Pole, I never expected that you too had attained the Dao of Da Luo. Time truly flies." Green Dragon nodded at South Pole Immortal Elder.

Then he turned his gaze to Yellow Dragon and smiled. "That little fellow from back then has become a Golden Immortal as well. As expected, I had not misjudged you."

Yellow Dragon said to South Pole Immortal Elder, "Senior Brother South Pole, allow me to receive Ancestor."

South Pole Immortal Elder nodded in assent.

Yellow Dragon led Green Dragon and his dragon clan disciples toward Three Purities Peak.

Green Dragon slowed his pace slightly and quietly spoke with Yellow Dragon about his cultivation in Kunlun, his tone brimming with concern for him.

Green Dragon's intimate exchange with Yellow Dragon left the Golden Immortals of the dragon clan behind them utterly astonished. They had never seen their ancestor treat any member of the dragon clan this way.

After leading Green Dragon's party to the plaza and making the arrangements, Yellow Dragon had only just returned to the stone pillars.

Another strange phenomenon arose beyond the mountain.

Celestial music drifted through the air, while rosy clouds stretched for ten thousand zhang, arriving from Western Kunlun. The dignified and regal Queen Mother of the West rode in a phoenix carriage, accompanied by a valiant and spirited Mysterious Maiden carrying a divine sword.