Three-Corpse Severing Method, Xiao Teng's Choice

A solemn, reverent aura permeated Purple Cloud Palace. Xiao Teng and White Lotus went straight to the front, found their own meditation cushions, and slowly sat down.

Hongjun had said at the end of his previous sermon that the seating would remain unchanged this time, so everyone took their seats according to their former positions.

Of course, quite a few living beings had fallen during this eon, leaving several seats vacant. These seats were occupied by newly advanced Zenith Heaven Golden Immortals.

Once Hongjun arrived, the second sermon began.

With his arrival, the entire Purple Cloud Palace instantly fell so silent that a needle dropping could be heard. Everyone's eyes were fixed firmly upon him.

Hongjun's voice was deep and mellow, like great bells and sonorous chimes, echoing through Purple Cloud Palace. "The Dao I shall expound today is the Dao of the Quasi-Saint."

"A Great Luo possesses an immortal Dao body and an eternally existing true spirit. The body of a Great Luo is the end of the Dao; its Dao Fruit may be called complete."

Upon hearing this, everyone felt a wave of confusion rise within them.

"If the Dao Fruit is already complete, then how can one attain the rank of Sage?"

Hongjun had long perceived their confusion. After a slight pause, he continued, "A complete Dao body is not the end of cultivation. Such completeness is, in truth, a form of self-imprisonment. One takes oneself as a cage, confining the true spirit within, making transcendence difficult."

"I have created a method that can break the completeness of the Dao body. It is called the Three-Corpse Severing Method, and it is the Dao of Sages."

"A Sage can transcend myriad calamities, remain unstained despite touching karmic cause and karmic debt, live as long as heaven and earth, and arise and perish alongside the Great Dao."

Hongjun's gaze slowly swept across the crowd before he began explaining the Three-Corpse Severing Method in detail.

To sever the Three Corpses, one needed the aid of treasures. The grade of the treasure directly determined the strength of the severed Three Corpses, which in turn affected whether one's future Dao Path would proceed smoothly.

Once one successfully severed one Corpse, one could enter the realm of the Early Quasi-Saint. Severing two Corpses would make one a Middle Quasi-Saint, and so on.

Only after the Quasi-Saint realm was complete could one seek the supreme Dao of the Sage.

Sitting upon his meditation cushion, Xiao Teng's thoughts churned.

He had once heard it said that becoming a Sage by severing the Three Corpses was the weakest among the many methods of attaining Sainthood.

Even so, severing the Three Corpses was exceedingly difficult.

To entrust one's Dao Fruit to the Heavenly Dao and thereby achieve the exalted station of Sage was by no means easy, nor was everyone qualified to do so.

Otherwise, why would there be only six Heavenly Dao Sages in the Primordial World of the future?

Though the Dao of severing the Three Corpses was a broad and open road, Xiao Teng did not wish to set foot upon it lightly.

Still, this method offered him several ideas worth drawing upon.

Xiao Teng silently sorted through the methods of proving the Dao that he knew. Besides attaining Sainthood by severing the Three Corpses, he knew of four others.

The first was Merit Sainthood, which required the accumulation of boundless merit to attain Sainthood. Nuwa and Houtu had chosen this path.

If Xiao Teng wished to walk this road, it would not be difficult for him. He could fully draw upon the methods by which the Six Sages attained Sainthood and earn enough merit.

If all else failed, he could learn from Zhunti and Jie Yin and borrow merit from the Heavenly Dao. He could slowly repay it later.

The second was Fortune Sainthood, which meant gathering fortune as vast as an ocean. Incense-offering fortune also counted as one kind.

Though attaining Sainthood through fortune seemed like a shortcut, it concealed a tremendous problem.

Once one chose this road, it was like walking a tightrope. If one's believers encountered misfortune and their faith wavered, one might fall from the Sage realm in an instant.

Those who chose Fortune Sainthood were the Human Emperors of successive generations. When drawing upon the fortune of the Human Race, they could barely reach the Sage realm. Yet once the fortune of the Human Race declined, their realms would decline with it.

Naturally, Xiao Teng would not choose Fortune Sainthood. He did not like placing his fate in the hands of others.

The third was Proving the Dao Through Force. This road required one to rely on one's own unmatched strength, continuously tempering one's laws, mana, fleshly body, and Primordial Spirit until one shattered the shackles of the Sage realm.

Great God Pangu was the legendary model of Proving the Dao Through Force. He cleaved open heaven and earth, shaping this Primordial World with supreme divine might.

Yet this road was covered in thorns. Every step forward demanded an unimaginable price, but once successful, the formidable power gained would be enough to grant him the strongest power beneath the heavens of the Primordial World.

The last was World Sainthood. One could attain Sainthood by opening a world within or outside one's body, or by refining a world's origin.

Xiao Teng merely knew of this method; he had yet to see anyone succeed with it.

As for which one to choose, Xiao Teng still hesitated somewhat. At present, however, he leaned more toward Proving the Dao Through Force.

Xiao Teng suddenly realized that the Dao method of severing the Three Corpses created by Hongjun had effectively lowered the difficulty for living beings of the Primordial World to attain Sainthood.

If they chose any of the other methods, there might ultimately not even be six Sages.

From the realm of Great Luo to the realm of Quasi-Saint, advancing step by step, link by link—this subtle control left Xiao Teng deeply astonished.

No matter what intentions Hongjun harbored, it had to be said that what he had done truly qualified him to be called the Dao Ancestor.

This sermon continued for a full six thousand years before it came to a stop. Hongjun had only presented the Three-Corpse Severing Method and explained it in meticulous detail, without mentioning how to prove the Dao and attain Sainthood.

The method for proving the Dao and attaining Sainthood was likely being reserved for the third sermon.

After the sermon ended, Hongjun did not drift away as he had last time. Instead, he sat there quietly, his gentle gaze sweeping over the crowd.

He was preparing to resolve everyone's doubts.

After entering the realm of Zenith Heaven Golden Immortals, everyone had encountered increasingly numerous doubts on their Dao Paths. Most could be resolved by themselves or through discussing the Dao with other fellow cultivators.

But some were simply too difficult, and no one had a good solution. Yet Hongjun's sermon this time had resolved these problems one by one.

Problems that the crowd found exceedingly difficult amounted to nothing in Hongjun's eyes.

Once nearly all of everyone's questions had been answered, this sermon could be considered formally concluded.

However, Wood Duke suddenly rose to his feet and said, "The Patriarch has expounded the Dao for us, benefiting all living beings with boundless merit. Having received the Patriarch's grace, we must not forget his kindness in transmitting the Dao. This poor Daoist believes that we may address the Patriarch as the Dao Ancestor."

The gazes of three thousand living beings all turned toward Wood Duke.

Many slapped their foreheads, suddenly regretting that they had not thought of it themselves. They had not expected Wood Duke to snatch away this chance to flatter him.

How they wished that they had been the ones to rise and speak those words. Jie Yin and Zhunti especially felt that they had missed far too much.

Hongjun gave no response.

Seeing that Hongjun did not refuse, Wood Duke hastily bowed in salute and addressed him as the Dao Ancestor.

At the same time, the innate living beings who followed Wood Duke also rose one after another to echo him.

The other innate living beings exchanged glances. Now that matters had reached this point, it would not look good if they did not follow suit.

Thus, everyone rose together and addressed him as the Dao Ancestor.