Set the sun and moon in motion—
And the Primordial World, along with the All Heavens and Myriad Realms taking shape throughout the cosmos, would know the change from day to night.
From that change would come the turning of the four seasons, a calendar to mark them, and still more natural transformations!
These—
Were the opportunity Dan Jing had come to understand during this journey across the Primordial Land.
Of course.
It would not be quite accurate to say he had understood it entirely through this journey!
As someone who had crossed over—
Dan Jing naturally knew about day and night, the cycle of the seasons, and even the finer divisions of time and the calendars that tracked them!
But this was no little blue ball. It was the boundless Primordial Cosmos.
Even knowing all about day and night and the changing seasons, Dan Jing had never seriously considered whether he could bring them to the Primordial World.
For one thing.
Before his birth, Dan Jing's first priority had been to absorb all of his own origin and emerge into the world!
After that.
Once he had emerged, Dan Jing went to hear the old Sage preach at the Violet Cloud Palace.
Then he had focused on strengthening himself and attaining the Hunyuan Golden Immortal Dao Fruit.
He had not yet had time to work out the laws governing day and night or the changing seasons.
Much less calculate and refine a calendar to mark them.
For another.
Setting the sun and moon in motion, bringing about day and night, might not even suit the Primordial Cosmos.
Since the creation of heaven and earth, the Primordial Cosmos had existed more or less in perpetual daylight.
The sun shone without cease, its glorious light bathing the cosmos.
The moon had hung in the heavens since time immemorial, cool and pale.
As for the Heavenly Circumference Stars—
They hid behind the light of the Sun Star and Lunar Star, never revealing themselves in the Primordial World!
The only differences were these—
Some places received more sunlight and were brighter; some received more moonlight and were a little dimmer; and in some, sunlight and moonlight fell in equal measure, making for a most peculiar sight.
Now, someone might ask.
Brother—
Was there nowhere in the Primordial Cosmos locked in perpetual night?
There was.
Oh, there was, brother—
Across the Western Lands, you could find whole swathes of such places!
Back when Demon Ancestor Luohu tried to prove his Dao through slaughter, butcher the Primordial World, and devour all things to attain the Dao-Proven Realm, he blew apart the Western Lands. Amid that shattered land, he left countless Demon Abysses, Demon Caves, and Demon Realms.
Into those places—
Natural sunlight, moonlight, and starlight could not penetrate at all!
And so.
Those places had always—
Remained in perpetual night to this day!
But back to the matter at hand.
Once Dan Jing understood the opportunity, a hint of longing for home appeared on his face.
He stood atop a golden auspicious cloud and headed back toward the Sun Star.
He pondered to himself:
"Set the sun and moon in motion, and use the change between day and night to reveal the division of yin and yang within Qiankun."
"Then bring about the cycle of the seasons, the changing calendar, and all the rest, before refining the finer divisions of time along the way!"
"Once day and night exist, the Starry Sky will appear before the eyes of every living being in the cosmos at night."
"This one move—"
"Won't just increase the importance and weight of the Sun Star, Lunar Star, and Heavenly Circumference Stars in heaven and earth. It'll also earn a great deal of Heavenly Dao Merit!"
"I need to think it through carefully!"
The Primordial Cosmos placed great importance on duality.
For instance—
Heaven and earth, Qian and Kun, yin and yang: concepts of two forces giving rise to each other could be found everywhere in the Primordial Cosmos!
To set the sun and moon in motion and bring about day and night,
The change would have to accord with those paired forces and the transformations of yin and yang within Qiankun.
It sounded simple—
But putting it into practice would be fraught with difficulty!
Merely deducing, refining, and finally establishing the laws of Sun-Moon Circulation was far easier said than done.
How important were the Sun Star and Lunar Star to the Primordial Cosmos?
Even a slight increase in their radiance might trigger changes across heaven and earth.
Let alone setting both in motion!
It would surely bring earth-shaking upheaval—
One misstep, and forget earning Merit. Dan Jing would not be surprised if sky-high Karmic Power came crashing down on him!
In short—
The opportunity promised abundant Merit, but it would also be immensely difficult!
Of course.
Dan Jing had plenty of time to work it out—
Unlike the Sun God Divine Office, the opportunity to set the sun and moon in motion and bring day and night to the Primordial World was not a position reserved for one specific person.
But it was still one of the great undertakings assigned by heaven and earth to the Sun God and Moon God!
It could belong to none other than Dan Jing, as Sun God, and the future Moon God.
At present—
Neither Xi He nor Chang Xi had claimed the Moon God Divine Office, so the opportunity was beyond their reach!
At most.
When Dan Jing claimed it, he could let the two breathtakingly beautiful sisters take part, make a contribution, and receive a share of the Merit!
After returning to the Sun Star,
Dan Jing went straight into seclusion inside the Sun God Palace.
He would—
Complete the deductions on his own and claim every bit of the credit that did not absolutely require the Lunar Star's cooperation!
Give Xi He and Chang Xi a share?
Not a chance!
I, Dan Jing, am a sigma. Beauty holds no sway over me!
In the blink of an eye,
Several more cosmic cycles passed.
The time set by the old Sage for his Third Sermon was nearly upon them.
On the Sun Star,
Dan Jing, looking thoroughly at ease, rode a golden auspicious cloud toward the Chaos beyond the heavens!
"He should be handing out the Primordial Purple Qi at this sermon, shouldn't he?"
Dan Jing pondered:
"What a shame."
"I emerged too late to grab one of those cushions. Otherwise, I'd have claimed a Sage Throne myself, just to see what it was like!"
Of course.
Dan Jing knew he still had a chance to become a Sage—
The throne of Heavenly Emperor, ruling the heavens and earth of the Primordial World, the All Heavens and Myriad Realms, and every living being in the cosmos, was a true Sage Throne!
If he, Dan Jing—
Conquered the beings of the Primordial World, defeated the Twelve Ancestral Witches and the Witch Race who could summon Pangu to fight on their behalf, then amassed enough achievements and Destiny Aura, he too could refine Primordial Purple Qi and become a Heavenly Emperor Sage.
What was more.
If he actually succeeded—
His Heavenly Emperor Sage Throne would carry far more weight than those of the other Sages.
Admittedly.
Becoming a Sage through World-Creation Merit, gaining Merit by creating Acquired Sentient Beings, or attaining the Sage Realm through a grand vow and then fulfilling it—none of these paths was easy!
But.
If you were measuring how much a Sage Throne was worth—
One fought for through a Calamity Cycle stood above the rest!
Being a Sage sounded wonderful.
But then again—
He, Dan Jing, might want a taste of a Sage Throne, but he wanted to put his feet up even more!
Besides.
When all was said and done—
A Sage Throne also meant shouldering the responsibility of maintaining heaven and earth!
Too restrictive. Too much trouble.
It hardly suited someone like Dan Jing, who lived for a little fun.
As he mulled it over,
Dan Jing entered Chaos—
Before, he had needed the protection of a magical treasure to withstand the erosion of its baleful energy.
Now, as Dan Jing stood within Chaos, a ray of Primordial Unity golden light flowed around him, keeping its baleful energy at bay.
And while he was at it,
He suppressed that energy across a safe region spanning hundreds of millions of li!
"The Primordial Origin Golden Immortal realm really is something else!"
Sensing how his own aura resisted and suppressed Chaos's baleful energy, Dan Jing smiled with satisfaction.
He could not, like a Sage or someone who had attained the Dao-Proven Realm, appear in Chaos and utterly suppress a whole corner of it.
But this was still quite impressive.
He was only at the middle stage of the Primordial Origin Golden Immortal realm—
No need to set his standards so high!
Not long after,
Dan Jing once again arrived safely at the gates of the Violet Cloud Palace—first of them all!
Before you continue