Was the Three Corpses Severing Method a Dead End?

Hongjun narrowed his eyes and swept his gaze over the two men below. An ominous feeling stirred in his heart.

One man having a supreme treasure about to emerge at his Daoist Abode was one thing. But both of them, at the same time?

What kind of treasure was so important that each needed a Quasi-Saint incarnation to guard it personally?

As the thought crossed his mind, Hongjun kept his expression calm. Hidden in the void, his Self Corpse had already begun using the Fragment of the Creation Jade Disc to calculate the locations of their Kind Corpses.

Both men had lower cultivation than Hongjun, and the bond between teacher and students tied them to him through profound Karma. He found their Kind Corpses without the slightest difficulty.

The moment he worked out where they were, Hongjun nearly coughed up blood.

Those two rebellious disciples had sent their Kind Corpses to Yingzhou Island to listen to the Heaven-Earth Daoist preach!?

Anyone else would have been bad enough, but these two were his direct disciples! They had gone to Yingzhou Island too?

It was a disgrace to his school!

Though he was furious, Hongjun felt the curious gazes of the eight hundred Great Firmament Golden Immortals below. He could only pretend he knew nothing and nod.

He turned to Jieyin and Zhunti.

"Then you two, summon your Kind Corpses..."

Shame crossed Zhunti's face.

"Teacher, the Kind Corpses we severed are guarding our Daoist Abodes in the West. They didn't come."

Beside him, Jieyin nodded slowly.

"Teacher, Spirit Treasures are about to emerge at our Daoist Abodes too..."

At those words, the crowd below exchanged baffled looks. Hongjun's face turned as black as the bottom of a pot.

Laozi's and Yuanshi's Daoist Abodes were in the Kunlun Mountains, a land blessed with exceptional people and rich Primordial Spiritual Qi!

It would be difficult for such a place to nurture an Innate Spiritual Treasure that had yet to emerge, but not impossible!

The Western Land, however, was another matter. Luohou had detonated all its Spiritual Veins back then! (He had placed some in a Spirit Treasure's inner space beforehand, though no one knew that.)

Who in the Primordial World did not know the West was barren? Even a Golden Immortal demon would shake his head on arriving there, leave behind a spirit fruit out of pity, and depart!

How could a place like that nurture a Spirit Treasure? Did they take everyone here for fools?

Hongjun's expression darkened. His Self Corpse made another quick calculation in the void, and he almost laughed in anger.

Zhunti's and Jieyin's Kind Corpses had gone to Yingzhou Island as well!

Whatever else could be said of his four disciples, they certainly thought alike on this!

As furious as he was, Hongjun could not bring himself to expose them before the crowd. Whatever happened to those four, his own reputation as Dao Ancestor would be ruined!

If people saw his direct disciples listening to someone else preach, they might think Hongjun had nothing worth teaching!

He closed his eyes briefly and nodded, saying nothing more about having them reveal their Kind Corpses.

"Today, in this final lecture, I will explain the Sage Dao..."

On the Jade Platform, Li Yi had just appeared, and he looked equally bewildered.

Wait, that's not right. The others are one thing, but why are there four Early Quasi-Saint incarnations here?

A brief examination was enough for Li Yi to guess who they were, though he had never met them.

He shook his head slightly and chose not to expose them.

He had set out to spread his teachings across the Primordial World. Even if the four did not listen here, they could search the souls of Golden Immortal demons elsewhere and learn what he taught today.

Of course, since those four had already used the Three Corpses Severing Method to become Quasi-Saints, their paths forward were effectively cut off.

Once the Three Corpses were severed, they could become Sages only through the Three Corpses Severing Method, or use Heavenly Dao Merit to become Merit Sages.

It was too late for them to devote themselves to his Law Dao now!

So there was no harm in letting them listen.

And if they did gain some insight in the future, they would owe him a debt of Karma!

A debt of Karma owed to Dao Ancestor Hongjun was hard to repay. One owed to him, the Heaven-Earth Dao Ancestor, would be no easier!

Li Yi cleared his throat and began to preach to the crowd below.

"Today, I will explain the Sage Dao!"

"But first, let us briefly review the Law Dao and Primordial Unity Dao I spoke of last time..."

Everyone below held their breath and listened intently. Yuanshi and Laozi were no exceptions.

Tongtian had explained it to them before, but his account fell well short of what Li Yi was teaching now!

Li Yi spoke for roughly five hundred years. Then, all at once, strange phenomena appeared around a Red-Robed Daoist below!

The faint image of a red cloud rose from him and drifted between Heaven and Earth.

Immortal light blossomed within the cloud. Its red gradually faded, giving way to the myriad colors of chaos.

His aura surged, and he broke through to the Primordial Unity Supreme Immortal Realm in one stroke!

The moment he broke through, joy filled his face. He knelt and bowed deeply to Li Yi.

"I, your Disciple Hong Yun, thank you for teaching me, Teacher!"

Li Yi nodded slightly. Hong Yun's identity came as no surprise.

The Primordial World might have more than three thousand Great Firmament Golden Immortals now, but very few had the talent to reach Quasi-Saint. Hong Yun was among that select few.

"Good!"

Everyone cast envious glances at Hong Yun's breakthrough. Yuanshi's gaze, however, was complicated.

Having reviewed the path to Quasi-Saint he had explained last time, Li Yi moved on to the Dao of Sanctification.

"There are three paths to becoming a Sage!"

"First, the most orthodox path is the Law Dao I have described!"

At this, the incarnations of Yuanshi, Laozi, and the others frowned.

They had all become Quasi-Saints through the Three Corpses Severing Method, so they naturally regarded their own method as orthodox. Hearing Li Yi call his Law Dao the orthodox path left them uneasy.

If the Heaven-Earth Daoist's Law Dao was orthodox, did that make theirs a lesser, unorthodox path?

Li Yi sensed the four men's unease, but paid it no mind and continued.

"The Law Dao borrows no power from artifacts, seeks no union with the Heavenly Dao, and uses no merit to make up for what it lacks! Through an utterly pure understanding of laws, it strengthens the body and Primordial Spirit, shatters the Heavenly Dao's shackles, and achieves the Supreme Sage Dao!"

"Only those who attain the Dao this way truly break free of the Heavenly Dao's restraints and become supreme Sages of Heaven and Earth!"

"Of course, though this path is orthodox, it is also the hardest of the three!"

Longing rose in the eyes of the Great Firmament Golden Immortals below as they listened.

To lesser demons, these Great Firmament Golden Immortals seemed to enjoy complete freedom. But they knew the truth: beneath the Heavenly Dao, all were ants!

The higher they stood, the more keenly they felt how small they were. If the Heavenly Dao brought down a Calamity Cycle, they too might die and see their paths end. That fear made them yearn for the true freedom Li Yi described!

After a brief explanation, Li Yi turned to the second path.

"The second is the Three Corpses Severing Dao! Dao Ancestor Hongjun taught this path, and he follows it himself..."

A faint smile appeared on Li Yi's face as he reached this point.

"This path takes a shortcut, and worse, it leads to a dead end!"

"Apart from Hongjun himself, no one can attain the Dao through it!"