Time passed like a white horse leaping a gap, and in the blink of an eye, three years had gone by.
With a sudden burst of laughter that shook the heavens, Taishang Laozi achieved a successful breakthrough, becoming a rare Quasi-Saint powerhouse in the wake of the Dragon Han Initial Tribulation.
Dao Ancestor Hongjun had not yet begun his second round of lectures, nor had he expounded upon the Dao of the Quasi-Saints. Consequently, the Three Corpses Severing Method had not yet been passed down.
Present-day practitioners of the Great Desolate could not compare to the Dragon, Phoenix, and Qilin Three Clans, nor could they possess innate fortune.
Thus, the realm of the Great Luo Golden Immortal was already the limit they could grope toward on their own.
Such a massive commotion within the Taiqing Palace naturally alarmed Yuanshi Tianzun and Tongtian as well. The two hurried to their feet and made their way toward the Taiqing Palace.
Upon entering, they first offered their congratulations to Laozi, and then eagerly asked Taishang Laozi where the opportunity to become a Quasi-Saint had come from.
Taishang Laozi smiled and glanced at Chen Xuan standing off to the side, which inevitably left Chen Xuan bewildered, What on earth does this have to do with me?
By then, Taishang Laozi had already begun to speak. "I originally intended to teach Chen Xuan the Tai Shang Alchemy, but I never expected that his form-taking beneath the heavenly punishment would turn a disaster into a blessing."
"He used the Nine Revolutions Golden Pill given to him by our Third Junior Brother as seeds, and the Nine Heavens Breath Soil given to him by Junior Sister Nüwa as soil."
"Against all odds, he grew a Nine Revolutions Golden Pill Tree. The Nine Revolutions Golden Pills borne upon its branches are of an even higher grade than the ones I refine. Furthermore, they are endless and inexhaustible."
"It was precisely this Nine Revolutions Golden Pill Tree that moved me, allowing me to find my opportunity and break through in a single bound to the early Quasi-Saint realm."
Hearing Taishang Laozi's words, the gazes that Yuanshi Tianzun and Tongtian cast toward Chen Xuan lit up with a golden gleam.
They looked as though they wished to tuck him under their arms right then and there, carry him off to their own Dao palaces, and thoroughly search him for opportunities.
Yuanshi Tianzun spoke up without a moment's hesitation. "Eldest Senior Brother, since Chen Xuan possesses a Nine Revolutions Golden Pill Tree, there is no need for him to study the Tai Shang Alchemy with you."
"Why not let me take Chen Xuan away first and teach him my Yuqing Artifact Dao? That way, when we listen to the lectures at Purple Cloud Palace, our Three Pure Ones disciples won't be looked down upon."
Before Laozi could nod in agreement, Tongtian jumped in first. "Second Uncle-Master, if we want to avoid shaming the Three Pure Ones, then we should have Chen Xuan study the Shangqing Array Dao with me first."
"Formations embody both slaughter and defense, combining offense and defense as one. As long as Chen Xuan can master the Shangqing Array Dao, no one in Purple Cloud Palace will dare to look down on him."
Yuanshi Tianzun waved his hand. "Though your Shangqing Array Dao is fierce in slaughter and combat, who across the entire Great Desolate would dare slight my Yuqing Artifact Dao?"
With that, Tongtian and Yuanshi Tianzun began to argue, eventually going so far as to display their various divine powers in a desire to spar.
Taishang Laozi, standing to the side, could only shake his head and sigh, knowing that once his two brothers locked horns, it would take at least a hundred or eighty years for them to finish.
Without further ado, he waved his hand at Chen Xuan. "Your master and your Second Uncle-Master won't sort this out for a hundred years. Take this opportunity to go out and travel the Great Desolate Land."
Hearing this, Chen Xuan couldn't help but feel a surge of secret joy, for those three years had truly stifled him to his wits' end.
People always said that cultivators knew no time, and a blink of an eye spanned ten million years. But that referred to those in a state of sudden enlightenment, not the kind of staring contest Chen Xuan had been subjected to.
Yet Chen Xuan allowed no trace of excitement to show on his face; instead, he wore a bitter expression as he looked at Laozi.
"Grand Uncle Master, the Witch and Demon Races are currently running rampant across the Great Desolate. Even if Golden Immortals aren't as common as dogs, Great Luo Immortals are everywhere. If you send your disciple out to wander the Great Desolate like this, how is it any different from sending me to my death?"
"Besides, your disciple's cultivation is merely at the Golden Immortal realm. Of course... unless Grand Uncle Master is willing to bestow one or two magical treasures upon this disciple, this Great Desolate Land might not be entirely unvisitable."
Seeing that bitter expression on Chen Xuan's face, Laozi broke convention and smiled. "Speak. Which of my magical treasures have caught your eye?"
Dao Ancestor Hongjun had not yet opened the Treasure Distribution Cliff at this point, so even the Three Pure Ones did not possess any decent Innate Spiritual Treasures among them.
However, Chen Xuan had not set his sights on the Innate Spiritual Treasures in Taishang Laozi's possession, instead looking at the Diamond Cutter worn on his wrist.
Others might not know the might of this Diamond Cutter, but Chen Xuan was crystal clear on it.
Do not be fooled into thinking this Diamond Cutter was merely an Acquired Spiritual Treasure, for even Innate Spiritual Treasures stood little chance of displaying their power before it.
"Grand Uncle Master, that Diamond Cutter on your wrist looks rather nice. Why not bestow it upon this disciple?" Chen Xuan said with a grin.
Taishang Laozi raised his head and looked at the Diamond Cutter on his own wrist. "You mean this? This was prepared by me for a future mount."
"If you want it, you may have it, but when you return from your trip to the Great Desolate, you must bring me back a proper mount."
Chen Xuan did not refuse, nodding his agreement on the spot. He happily took the Diamond Cutter from Taishang Laozi's hands.
In his heart, he couldn't help muttering, To use such a fine treasure to pierce a bull's nose—aside from this Taishang Laozi, I doubt a second person could be found under the heavens.
With that, he bowed to Taishang Laozi and took his leave, all the while terrified of alarming Yuanshi Tianzun and Tongtian. If that happened, he figured he wouldn't be leaving at all.
Chen Xuan shifted his form, transforming into a billow of surging wave. The wave rolled in place once before surging up toward the azure skies.
Watching Chen Xuan depart from the Taiqing Palace, Taishang Laozi nodded and said, "That escape art is rather interesting. If practiced to the pinnacle, I fear it will become the foremost escape art in the world."
Taishang Laozi was not mistaken; the technique Chen Xuan had unleashed was his natal escape art, the Profound Origin Wave Transformation Art.
Chen Xuan had yet to fully master it, but once he did, he truly would be able to traverse ten million miles in the blink of an eye.
At that time, Chen Xuan would only need to transform his body into water mist, and in the very next instant, he could rely on that mist to manifest his true form wherever he wished to appear.
Riding the Profound Origin Wave Transformation Art, Chen Xuan wandered aimlessly across the Great Desolate Land.
The present-day Great Desolate Land spanned far more than ten million miles; even describing it as boundless felt somewhat inaccurate.
In the depths of his heart, Chen Xuan even felt that this was a true, vast cosmos. Compared to this Great Desolate Land, the Earth of later generations truly was no larger than a pellet.
Just as Chen Xuan was aimlessly riding his escape art and walking the Great Desolate, he suddenly felt a monstrous wave of killing intent surging from ahead.
He immediately manifested his true form mid-air and gazed intently, only to discover two groups of figures fighting fiercely halfway up a mountain. Upon closer inspection, they turned out to be members of the Witch Race and the Demon Race.
Although the Witch and Demon Races did not yet jointly rule heaven and earth, they were already as incompatible as fire and water, making a great battle inevitable whenever they crossed paths.
Having seen enough, Chen Xuan intended to turn and leave. After all, as the old saying went, mind your own business and avoid unprovoked disasters.
Yet before Chen Xuan could transform back into a wave and depart, he heard someone calling out to him from not far away.
"Senior Brother, save me quickly! Otherwise, this disciple is bound to perish here today!"
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