The Three Pure Ones' Brotherhood, and Red Dust Calamity Aura

Lingxiao sat upright on his meditation cushion, seeing everything as clearly as fire in the palm of his hand.

His divine sense swept through his Consciousness Sea. The Eight Treasures Divine Whip shimmered with rainbow light, the Starry Sky Gourd glistened with starlight, and the three divine swords of Sun Star and Lunar Yin hung over the gourd's mouth. Their auras intermingled, seamlessly fused into one.

The corners of his lips lifted into a knowing smile:

The Eight Treasures Divine Whip and the Starry Sky Gourd both came from the Creation Gourd Vine, making them excellent Same-Origin Spiritual Treasures for Corpse-Slaying;

Though the Sun God Sword was not innately of the same origin, it had undergone later transformations. The three treasures for attaining the Dao were now interconnected, supporting and complementing one another.

Not of the same origin, yet better than being of the same origin!

When he performed Three Corpses Severance in the future, it would surely go more smoothly for him than for others.

Moreover, Lingxiao understood even more clearly that Three Corpses Severance was ultimately merely a method of proving the Dao, a means rather than the final goal:

No matter how perfectly one severed the Three Corpses, without Primordial Purple Qi as the bridge and key, one could never break through into the Heavenly Dao Sage realm!

This had nothing to do with any scheme. It was simply because the Primordial World's carrying capacity was limited:

Beyond the Dao Ancestor and the six Heavenly Dao Saints, that was already the limit the Primordial World's Heavenly Dao could bear, perhaps with at most one more strand of Primordial Purple Qi originally meant for Hong Yun.

—If the Primordial World had the chance to rise in rank in the future, more Primordial Purple Qi and Saint positions would naturally be born;

Conversely, if heaven and earth declined, the world was damaged, and the Dharma Ending Age arrived, then even Saints who had already proved the Dao would perish alongside the world!

Of course, Lingxiao had no intention of wasting his time solely on the path of becoming a Heavenly Dao Sage through Three Corpses Severance.

Three Corpses Severance was good, and Proving the Dao through Merit and Proving the Dao through Force were not bad either.

Yet none of those was the path Lingxiao intended to walk.

Or rather, not purely.

What he wanted was a unique path that fused all three into one furnace. After the gathering ended, he planned to seek private guidance from the Dao Ancestor...

"Many thanks for Teacher's guidance!"

"Many thanks for the Dao Ancestor's guidance!"

As Hongjun Dao Ancestor's voice faded, the eyes of the Innate Sacred Beings flickered, and each began making their own calculations.

Innate Supreme Treasures were far too rare, and only a handful existed in the Primordial World. Same-Origin Innate Spiritual Treasures, however, were something that could be plotted for.

"Hahahaha!"

Tongtian suddenly burst into hearty laughter. Removing the Green Duckweed Sword from his waist, he offered it before his two elder brothers. "Red flower, white lotus root, green lotus leaf—born from the same root, they are perfect for severing all Three Corpses. My two elder brothers possess profound cultivation and should become Quasi-Saints first. This Green Duckweed Sword shall be given to you!"

Though reluctance showed on his face, his gaze was utterly sincere. In Tongtian's heart, brotherhood outweighed any Supreme Treasure.

"This... Third Brother, you..." Yuanshi was deeply moved, his voice trembling faintly.

Laozi's pupils contracted. Even his normally still-water expression revealed a rare smile as he said lightly, "We brothers are of one heart, with no distinction between yours and mine. Whoever severs their corpse first may use the Three Treasures of the Green Lotus to prove the Dao."

With that, he hung the Green Duckweed Sword back at Tongtian's waist.

Tongtian and Yuanshi both agreed. The three brothers exchanged smiles, and the aura of the Three Pure Ones, bound together like branches from the same trunk, surged and fused with a roar, making the surrounding space-time ripple faintly.

"Hiss!"

The Three Pure Ones, proud as they were, naturally made no effort to conceal this scene. All the other Violet Firmament Guests witnessed it, deeply shaken by the brotherly affection among the three.

They did not know the precise grade of Tongtian's Green Duckweed Sword, but since he had solemnly worn it at his waist, it could hardly be low-grade. At the very least, it was a Mid-Grade Innate Spiritual Treasure.

A single Mid-Grade Innate Spiritual Treasure was not particularly precious, but if three formed a set, they would be no inferior to an ordinary Upper-Grade Innate Spiritual Treasure.

What was more, this was a special time—a time when one could take a shortcut through Same-Origin Spiritual Treasures. Their value thus rose another level!

Put simply,

If the many Innate Sacred Beings present were given a choice between two entirely unrelated Upper-Grade Innate Spiritual Treasures and three same-origin Mid-Grade Innate Spiritual Treasures,

Everyone would likely choose the latter.

—That was only because Tongtian had not publicly displayed the treasure's power, and the other Great Supernatural Beings had not probed it directly with their divine senses.

Otherwise, if they learned that these "red flower, white lotus root, green lotus leaf" were a set of Supreme-Grade Innate Spiritual Treasures, even the most low-key old monster would likely harbor greed and murderous intent toward the Three Pure Ones!

Red flower, white lotus root, green lotus leaf. Hopefully, the Three Pure Ones' ending will be different this time, Lingxiao thought.

The struggles of a Calamity were a law of natural development.

In later ages, Tongtian Cult Master established the Interception Sect and taught without discrimination. While this indeed gave all living beings an opportunity to seek the Dao, over time, those beneath him became a mixed lot, and there was no shortage of people committing evil beneath the Interception Sect's name.

Furthermore, during a Calamity, an invisible, formless Red Dust Calamity Aura filled the air—

This Red Dust Calamity Aura was formed from the killing intent, malicious thoughts, and other negative emotions produced by excessive slaughter among living beings, combined with the lingering resentment left scattered throughout heaven and earth after the deaths of the Great Dao Demon Gods.

Because the Great Dao Demon Gods stood at an exceedingly high level, even when Saints entered the game themselves, the slightest carelessness could easily lead to their minds being clouded by the Red Dust Calamity Aura, causing them to commit foolish acts!

In short: an "intelligence-reducing aura."

Near the end of the Apotheosis Calamity, Tongtian Cult Master, in a fit of rage, sought to recreate Earth, Water, Fire, and Wind and shatter the Primordial World. Beyond his own fury, he had in truth also been influenced by this.

—A Saint, no matter how lacking, had still severed the good and evil corpses. How could their Dao heart possibly be so frail?

During a Calamity, not only did immortals and gods cease to resemble immortals and gods, lacking even a trace of transcendent bearing;

Even Heavenly Dao Saints became like mortals with somewhat greater power, displaying no exceptional Dao heart at all and casually demanding to "settle this in a fight." The chief reason was precisely this.

Back then, Pangu slaughtered countless Great Dao Demon Gods, suppressing their remains together with his own body and refining them into the Primordial World.

Though most of that Resentment had long since left the Primordial World, the remaining portion could still beguile hearts and transform into Red Dust Calamity Aura, wishing nothing more than for the sacred beings of all heavens to shatter this damned Primordial World!

"Borrowing the False to Cultivate the True, borrowing things to comprehend the Dao... Are my writings not likewise borrowing things to reveal the fundamental Great Dao of heaven and earth, using written symbols to explain the laws of all things?"

Just as everyone's hearts and minds surged, Kunpeng, seated cross-legged in a corner, suddenly shuddered from head to toe. A flash of inspiration exploded within his mind.

Over the years, he had traveled throughout the Primordial World, studying the scripts of countless races and comprehending Dragon-Phoenix Script and the Qilin Tablet. Now, awakened by the Dao Ancestor's phrase "Borrowing the False to Cultivate the True," all his accumulated insights instantly merged into one.

Countless characters collided and fused within his Consciousness Sea, ultimately condensing into the embryonic forms of new symbols—ancient, simple, and directly pointing to the Great Dao Origin.

"Swish, swish, swish!"

In an instant, endless written symbols danced around Kunpeng, radiant with golden light as they stirred the laws of heaven and earth.

They contained the dominance of Dragon Script and Phoenix Seal Script, the solidity of the Qilin Tablet, and the versatility and liveliness of the scripts of countless other races.

"That is... the script of our race!" An ancient great power widened his eyes.

He was an ancient patriarch of the Aquatic Race. Yet even the Aquatic Race did not know he was still alive—nowadays, they were merely a small tribe, with their strongest members only in the Golden Immortal Realm.

"That is our Zhu You Script." Houtu, the youngest among the Twelve Ancestral Witches, smiled faintly.

When Kunpeng had traveled below Mount Buzhou and conversed with the Dragon Bo Giants, she had happened to pass by and taught him the Zhu You Script she had created.

—At this time, the Zhu You Script was precisely the Witch Script created after the Witch Race was established.

"Fellow Daoist Kunpeng has accumulated deeply and is now bursting forth. He is about to create a universal script for the Primordial World!" Eastern King Lord clapped and laughed, his eyes brimming with delight.

Kunpeng had long agreed to join the Immortal Court. The stronger he became, the more advantageous it would be for Eastern King Lord's establishment of order among the Immortal Ranks!