When the Cosmos Ruler Fell, Zhao Gongming's Twenty-Four Heavens Were Truly Becoming Worlds

Deep within Treasure-Dividing Cliff.

Zhao Gongming sat cross-legged.

Twenty-four Sea-Calming Divine Pearls revolved around him, while the Cosmos Ruler hovered above his head. Countless profound yellow Dao rhythms continuously descended from the ruler, each merging into one of the twenty-four pearls.

The First Heaven.

Heaven and earth gradually separated.

Although Zhao Gongming had previously evolved the outlines of mountains, rivers, and seas within that space, it had essentially remained nothing more than a phantom sustained by magical power.

Once the magical power was withdrawn,

the world would vanish.

But now,

a thread of Dao rhythm descended from the Cosmos Ruler.

The space, which had originally required Zhao Gongming's constant maintenance, began to stabilize on its own for the first time.

The heavens would no longer collapse when he stopped sustaining them.

The earth was no longer merely an illusory projection.

Though it remained far from becoming a true small world with living creatures and complete laws of heaven and earth,

at the very least,

its framework had been established.

Zhao Gongming's Primordial Spirit trembled.

A question he had pondered for countless years

had swiftly found its answer after the Cosmos Ruler appeared.

The twenty-four Sea-Calming Divine Pearls were responsible for bearing the worlds.

The Cosmos Ruler was responsible for defining heaven and earth and stabilizing the world.

One treasure opened worlds.

Twenty-four pearls bore worlds.

These two Supreme-grade Innate Spirit Treasures

were practically born to be placed together.

"The First Heaven."

Zhao Gongming spoke softly.

The Cosmos Ruler trembled lightly once more.

The second Sea-Calming Divine Pearl lit up.

Then the third.

The fourth.

One Heaven after another began undergoing the same transformation.

Several Great Luo and Quasi-Saints nearby, who had originally been fighting over treasures, gradually turned their attention in this direction.

Treasure-Dividing Cliff held countless opportunities.

Yet scenes like this, where two sets of top-tier spirit treasures complemented each other and directly drove a Great Dao transformation, remained exceedingly rare.

Someone could not help sighing.

"Zhao Gongming has gained quite the opportunity this time."

"Quite the opportunity? It is far more than that."

"The twenty-four Sea-Calming Divine Pearls were already a set of Supreme-grade Innate Spirit Treasures. Now that he has acquired the Cosmos Ruler as well, if he truly opens all twenty-four spaces, who at the same realm would be willing to take that head-on?"

Another Great Luo's mouth twitched as he listened.

Twenty-four worlds smashing down in turn.

Just imagining it gave him a headache.

Most importantly,

Zhao Gongming had only recently entered the Great Luo realm.

Yet he had already begun perfecting a true Great Dao system of his own.

The growth rate of those Penglai disciples truly became more unreasonable with every one of them.

As for Luxuan,

he paid no attention to the discussions outside.

Because each time Zhao Gongming successfully stabilized one Heaven,

a hundredfold comprehension of the World Great Dao surged into his Primordial Spirit in tandem.

The first world.

Zhao Gongming had merely allowed its heaven-and-earth space to stabilize on its own.

But for Luxuan,

the hundredfold comprehension had already begun completing the cycle of yin and yang.

The second Heaven.

Zhao Gongming comprehended the upper and lower aspects of the cosmos.

Luxuan began deducing the World Fetal Membrane.

The third Heaven.

Zhao Gongming attempted to use the water-element origin that had originally existed within the Sea-Calming Divine Pearls to evolve an ocean.

Within Luxuan, a complete comprehension directly emerged of how to make the water-element laws part of a world's cycle.

Layer after layer.

Even Luxuan could not help feeling moved.

This disciple had been worth taking in.

Very worth it.

He had only recently allowed Penglai to truly begin transforming into an independent world.

What did he lack most now?

Precisely more mature experience in constructing worlds.

Every time Zhao Gongming opened a small world,

it was equivalent to conducting a small simulated experiment for him.

Zhao Gongming tried it once,

and he directly gained a hundredfold version.

If the occasion had been more appropriate,

Luxuan would have wanted him to open all Twenty-Four Heavens right here at Treasure-Dividing Cliff today.

However, the World Great Dao was not something like eating spirit fruit.

It could not be completely accomplished with a single thought.

After the Twelvefold Heavens had successfully stabilized,

Zhao Gongming's face had clearly turned pale.

His magical power, having only recently entered the Great Luo realm, was ultimately limited.

Maintaining the transformation of twelve worlds at once consumed an enormous amount.

Luxuan immediately spoke.

"Stop."

His voice rang directly within Zhao Gongming's Primordial Spirit.

Zhao Gongming, who had still wanted to continue deducing, instantly regained clarity.

The twelve Sea-Calming Divine Pearls that had initially stabilized slowly withdrew.

The remaining twelve returned to stillness.

The Cosmos Ruler also fell into Zhao Gongming's hand.

"Master."

"This disciple feels that he can continue."

Luxuan shook his head.

"You can continue."

"That does not mean you must continue now."

"The Twelvefold Heavens have only just formed, and even you have not fully adapted to them yet."

"Rushing for speed will only make your foundation unstable later."

Zhao Gongming immediately dismissed the thought of continuing when he heard that.

"This disciple understands."

Of course he would listen to his master at a time like this.

After all, Luxuan had helped illuminate this path of the Great Dao for him from the very beginning.

Bixiao had already hurried over.

"Brother."

"Did it work?"

Zhao Gongming raised his hand.

Twelve Sea-Calming Divine Pearls slowly emerged.

They were entirely different from before, when they had contained only vague phantom images of worlds.

Now, when one looked inside them,

one could truly see the sky.

The earth.

Even vast seas formed from water-element origin.

Though the worlds remained empty,

with no vegetation,

no living creatures,

and countless Great Dao laws still blank,

they were no longer mere illusions.

They were true worlds of space that could exist in stable form for a long time.

Bixiao's eyes gleamed.

"Can I go inside?"

Zhao Gongming considered it.

"In theory, you can."

Bixiao was already preparing to dive in.

Yunxiao quickly grabbed her and pulled her back.

"The newly formed worlds are still unstable."

"Stop fooling around."

Bixiao looked somewhat regretful.

"I only wanted to take a look."

Zhao Gongming's mouth twitched.

Once she went in, who could guarantee that she would merely "take a look" rather than casually test whether the Golden Flood-Dragon Scissors could cut through the World Fetal Membrane?

He had painstakingly opened twelve worlds.

It was safer to guard against this junior sister for now.

Luxuan likewise glanced at the twelve newly born Heavens.

A clearer judgment of Zhao Gongming's future Great Dao had already formed in his heart.

After all Twenty-Four Heavens had stabilized,

the next step would be to complete the five elements, yin and yang, time, and other foundations of a world.

After that,

the worlds would need to develop independent cycles of spiritual energy.

If one day all Twenty-Four Heavens grew to the level of complete Great Thousand Worlds,

when Zhao Gongming launched a strike,

he would likely no longer be merely "smashing people with spirit treasures."

He would truly be taking twenty-four worlds and slamming them onto someone's head one after another.

That image

was somewhat brutal.

But Luxuan liked it.

Especially after the hundredfold return,

what he himself could gain

was even more worth anticipating.

Zhao Gongming solemnly put away the Cosmos Ruler.

"Thank you, Master, for bestowing the Sea-Calming Divine Pearls upon me before."

"Without the twenty-four Sea-Calming Divine Pearls, even if the Cosmos Ruler had appeared today, this disciple likely would not have obtained this opportunity."

Luxuan waved his hand.

"I gave you the treasure

because it suited you."

"Being able to reach this point was something you comprehended yourself."

Zhao Gongming said nothing more.

His sense of belonging to Penglai's Great Dao only grew deeper.

Nearby.

The gray-robed Daoist who had recognized the Cosmos Ruler earlier finally withdrew his gaze.

Though he felt some regret at missing out on a Supreme-grade Innate Spirit Treasure.

The treasure was clearly fated with Zhao Gongming.

And looking at Luxuan and his disciples' current lineup.

He ultimately turned around rationally and continued searching for other opportunities.

There were so many treasures on Treasure-Dividing Cliff.

There was no need to fixate on the one in someone else's bowl.

Cultivation was about opportunities.

And about knowing the times.

The Three Cloud Sisters likewise began sensing for other treasures.

But after obtaining the Nine-River Celestial Chart, the Sword Casket, and the Space-Locking Ring, none of the three forced the matter any further.

They had never lacked spirit treasures.

Obtaining what truly suited them was enough.

Bixiao, on the other hand, walked along while looking around.

From time to time, she would reveal an expression of hesitation whenever she saw some Great Luo fighting over a Low-grade Innate Spirit Treasure.

Each time the words nearly reached her lips.

She remembered her master's earlier reminder.

And forcibly swallowed them back down.

The whole way, Zhao Gongming wanted to laugh but did not dare.

He was afraid that if he laughed, his junior sister would return and challenge him with the Space-Locking Ring and Golden Flood-Dragon Scissors.

Luxuan, meanwhile, did not continue taking treasures himself.

At his current level.

Ordinary Innate Spirit Treasures no longer meant much.

What truly piqued his interest instead.

Was Treasure-Dividing Cliff beneath his feet.

At first, the auras of countless spirit treasures had been mixed together.

So he had not paid it much attention.

Now, as most of the treasures were taken away by the Purple Cloud Guests, the aura of the entire black stone cliff itself gradually began to reveal itself.

It was faint.

Yet exceptionally ancient.

Most crucially.

Luxuan actually sensed a trace of space intertwined with World Origin deep within the mountain.

His steps slowly came to a halt.

He lowered his head and glanced at the stone beneath his feet.

"Hmm?"

Bixiao turned around.

"Master, what is it?"

Luxuan did not answer immediately.

His divine sense merely continued downward through the interior of the stone cliff.

The deeper it went.

The more distinct that World Origin became.

Until, at the deepest point.

A wisp of Chaos aura completely unlike ordinary Great Wilderness mountain stone truly appeared in his perception for the first time.

Luxuan narrowed his eyes slightly.

This Treasure-Dividing Cliff.

Seemed not to be ordinary stone either.