"[The Heavenly Lord bestowed this weapon, to be wielded in utmost wrath.]"
Tiantuo's voice sounded somewhat strange as he continued, "A Heavenly Lord is a cultivator of the ancient Immortal Dao who has truly ascended beyond the heavens. Only then may they use that title. They are vastly different from those who cultivate the Present-Age Method."
"So a Golden Core cultivator who attained the Dao through purple gold cannot be called a Heavenly Lord, even if they later ascend into that Immortal Heaven?"
"Precisely."
"Where exactly does the difference lie?"
"The ancient Immortal Dao is called [ascension by transcendence], while the Present-Age Method is known as [Purple Mansion Golden Core]. The difference between them actually lies in the golden rank."
"The golden rank is the union of [authority], [cause], and [history]."
Only now did Tiantuo truly begin explaining the mysteries of Golden Core. Only someone like him, who had obtained the Lesser Yang Daoist Canon, could understand them so well. Without a True Lord's guidance, how could anyone comprehend such mysteries?
"[Authority] needs little explanation. Altar thunder governs heavenly punishment, Wu Earth represents the center, Lesser Yang symbolizes new birth, and Lesser Yin signifies decline and death.
"As for [cause]... before the golden rank, minor cultivators like us have no selves. We are not real. The thoughts and desires, loves and hatreds of all beings below Golden Core are merely ripples stirred by these [first causes]. Only the words and deeds of higher cultivators can influence lower cultivators. Never can a lower cultivator influence a higher one!"
"As for [history], it is the history of that Dao lineage, the traces left by every deed involving that Dao, past and present-acts of augmentation, diminution, concealment, and manifestation. The golden rank also has its likes and dislikes, and even remembers its former