After setting the three trials, the figures of the Three Pure Ones gradually faded away.
The gate of Kunlun Mountain, once hidden among the peaks and impossible for ordinary creatures even to approach,
finally appeared clearly in the Primordial World. Any creature that entered Kunlun territory could now sense its location!
The tens of millions of innate beings already gathered around Kunlun Mountain sensed the gate and surged toward it as one!
Most came from the eastern Primordial World. Some were beings born of heaven and earth, some were Spirit Treasures that had taken form, and others were outstanding talents from the world's many races.
All longed to become disciples of Sages, gain their protection, and cultivate their orthodox teachings.
To reach the gate first, they used every means at their disposal. Bursts of spiritual energy erupted without pause. Many were injured, and a few unlucky souls died outright.
Yellow Dragon, Nanji, and the others had been tasked by the Three Pure Ones with maintaining order, but none had expected such a flood of creatures.
Seeing the chaos, Nanji flashed into the sky. The might of a Great Luo enveloped everything within ten thousand li of the gate. Every creature in its reach froze beneath the sudden pressure and fell to the ground like rain.
Countless creatures beyond that range also stopped, not daring to make another commotion.
Nanji withdrew his aura. "Everyone, those who wish to become disciples of Sages must undergo three trials." His voice was gentle, yet it reached every ear.
"Pass even one, and you will have a chance to enter a Sage's tutelage."
Yellow Dragon and the others stepped up beside Nanji. Yellow Dragon said, "From this moment on, those taking the trials may neither cause a disturbance nor fight one another. Anyone who breaks these rules will bear the consequences!"
The crowd was excited but dared not act out. Guided by Nanji and the other disciples, they advanced in groups of a hundred thousand and entered the formation Tongtian had laid down.
Among the first to enter, Yellow Dragon spotted several members of the Dragon Race who had once followed Green Dragon. All had Golden Immortal cultivation.
In an instant, countless scenes unfolded within the formation!
Some saw their cultivation soar straight to Great Luo. They became mighty patriarchs and lost themselves in the illusion;
some encountered mortal enemies on their travels and slew them in a few moves, only to lose all drive to advance;
others struggled forward, sweat pouring off them, but kept their gazes firm as they passed through illusion after illusion.
The countless beings displayed every manner of response. This trial laid bare the strength of each one's resolve to pursue the Dao.
Three days later, only a handful had emerged from the first trial. Nanji used a divine art to cast all who failed out of Kunlun.
It took several years for every creature to attempt the first trial, yet few passed.
Of the tens of millions who took it, only a few hundred succeeded.
The second trial tested their innate gifts and fortune. Only a few dozen passed.
Among them were Taiyi, Yuding, and more than ten other innate beings who would be known as the Kunlun Twelve Golden Immortals; Wudang, who would become a renowned direct disciple of the Interception Sect; six of Saint Tongtian's Seven Attendants; and future outer disciples Zhao Gongming and the Three Xiao.
Yet when those few dozen confidently attempted the third trial, not one could comprehend the Dao diagram left by the Supreme Pure Saint.
Even Yellow Dragon and several fellow disciples secretly tried to comprehend it. None passed, though they gained much from the attempt.
When all the trials were complete, the three trials outside the Kunlun Mountain gate did not vanish. They were clearly meant to remain.
Yellow Dragon looked at the now-quiet gate and said to Nanji, "Senior brother, the work here is done. Let's take those who passed to Three Purities Peak to meet their teachers!"
"We shouldn't keep Master and his brothers waiting."
Nanji nodded and raised a cloud with a wave of his hand, carrying the disciples toward Three Purities Peak.
A short while later, the cloud landed on the vast plaza paved with Spirit Jade. Three figures appeared before the crowd.
Yellow Dragon and the others hurriedly greeted them. "Greetings, Master, senior martial uncle, junior martial uncle!"
Behind them, Taiyi and the others hurriedly followed suit.
The Three Pure Ones looked over the hundreds of creatures. Laozi remained expressionless. It seemed not one of them was destined to become his disciple!
Yuanshi glanced at Taiyi, Yuding, and the others who were destined to be his disciples, and a trace of satisfaction crossed his eyes.
But when he looked at the rest, especially Qiu Shouxian, Lingya Xian, Pilu Xian, and the others steeped in baleful bloodshed, that satisfaction turned to disgust.
Without waiting for Tongtian to speak, he beckoned Taiyi, Yuding, Dao Xing, and more than ten others to his side. "Are you willing to enter my Sect of Elucidation?" His voice was soft, but it carried an authority that brooked no refusal.
Taiyi and the others immediately knelt and kowtowed to Yuanshi. "Greetings, Master!"
Seeing that his brother had chosen only a dozen or so from the hundreds, Tongtian said, "Second brother, there are many others. You could choose a few more."
Yuanshi glanced at Tongtian, then at Zhao Gongming and the Three Xiao, whose auras were pure and clear. Unfortunately, they were not destined to be his disciples. He looked again with distaste at Qiu Shouxian and the others, shrouded in bloody malice and resentment.
"Quality matters more than quantity."
Tongtian said nothing. Instead, he turned to Laozi. "Eldest brother, has anyone caught your eye?"
Laozi looked over the crowd and shook his head. Then he vanished in a flash, taking Xuandu with him.
Tongtian faced the hundreds of expectant gazes. "Wonderful! The Great Dao numbers fifty, yet Heaven manifests forty-nine; one escapes. As High Pure, I shall seize that one chance of life for all beings! Your resolve to pursue the Dao is firm. You are all fated to study under me, and may enter my sect!"
A female immortal named Wudang stood above the rest in strength of will, purity of conviction, innate gifts, and fortune. Tongtian accepted her as a direct disciple.
He also accepted six beings of considerable strength and strikingly different forms—Wuyun Xian, Jin Gu Xian, Qiu Shouxian, Lingya Xian, Jin Guang Xian, and Pilu Xian—as his attendants.
He accepted the rest as outer disciples. Tongtian held Zhao Gongming and the Three Xiao—Yunxiao, Qiongxiao, and Bixiao—in particular regard, appointing the four to oversee the outer disciples. Their fortunes would unfold in time.
Though they had finished accepting disciples, the Three Pure Ones did not remove the trials at the gate. They issued a decree: "From this day forth, the Kunlun Mountain gate shall remain open. Any being of the Primordial World who seeks the Dao may come and attempt the three trials. Those who pass may enter our teachings according to the rules."
Yuanshi took his new disciples, along with Nanji, Guangchengzi, Yellow Dragon, and the others, into the grand and solemn Jade Pure Palace, where the essence of the Dao permeated the air.
Yuanshi imparted the Jade Pure Golden Canon, explaining the mysteries of heaven and earth, the transformations of yin and yang, the foundations of cultivation and Qi refinement, and the origins of divine arts and spells.
When Yuanshi's lecture ended and the visions it had conjured faded, Yellow Dragon slowly opened his eyes. His cultivation had grown considerably.
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