Rewriting Investiture of the Gods — Chapter 15

"After three sermons, my merit is complete. Cultivate well, and attain the Dao of Primordial Unity as soon as possible!"

With a sweep of the Grand Pure Sage's hand, the three hundred thousand humans who had listened to the Dao vanished from beneath Shouyang Mountain in an instant, leaving only Xuandu behind. Immediately afterward, an enormous Taiji yin-yang fish appeared between heaven and earth, shrouding the entirety of Shouyang Mountain.

It was precisely the Two Forms Micro Dust Great Array. With the Grand Pure Sage personally setting it up, the array's power had been brought to its utmost limit.

A single mote of dust was a vast and boundless Great Thousand World. Within the great array lay three thousand Great Thousand Worlds, nested together layer upon layer, endlessly cycling. At every moment, Great Thousand Worlds perished, while new Great Thousand Worlds were born.

As the three thousand worlds revolved, anyone below the Sage realm who entered would be trapped within the array forever. Even a Sage would need to expend considerable effort to force their way through.

Xuandu stared at the scene before him in shock. As expected of a Sage—truly formidable.

Only Xuandu and Grand Pure remained on the vast Shouyang Mountain. Xuandu called out somewhat awkwardly, "Master."

"Mm."

"Follow me."

At the same time, the three hundred thousand humans appeared together in the Human Ancestral Land.

"Xuandu truly has fine fortune," Suiren said with a sigh.

They had all listened beneath the Sage's seat, were all Innate Humans, and were all among the first fifty Innate Humans to be created. Yet Xuandu was a personal disciple, while they were merely registered disciples.

"Each has his own fortune. To be able to listen beneath a Sage's seat is already an immense blessing."

"Indeed. The Grand Pure Immortal Method has boundless wonders. What a pity, what a pity—my aptitude is dull, and I could only comprehend a small part of it." Suiren spoke with a face full of regret.

Jiang Haofeng smiled but said nothing. It's fine if you didn't comprehend it all. I did. When I have time, I'll teach you.

"Enough. A Sage's sermon is incomparably precious. Go back and enter seclusion to comprehend it. Once you emerge, pass the Golden Core Great Dao on to the clansmen. At last, our human race has a cultivation method we can practice openly and honorably."

With a sigh from Suiren, everyone dispersed and entered seclusion to digest what they had gained from the sermon.

In Jiang Haofeng's cultivation ground—well, calling it a cultivation ground was a bit generous—it was really just a small treehouse beside the Ancestral Pavilion, barely over ten square meters, where Jiang Haofeng cultivated daily.

Jiang Haofeng took out the Qiankun Diagram. Once he imprinted it with his mark, he would be able to initially wield this Ultimate Innate Spirit Treasure.

Of course, this was only the most superficial initial wielding; he had not even refined it. Of the forty-eight layers of Innate Dao restrictions within the Qiankun Diagram, he had refined not a single one.

But for the current Jiang Haofeng, leaving his mark was enough. The instant the mark was formed, the Qiankun Diagram's functions appeared in his mind.

The Qiankun Diagram specialized in capturing and suppressing enemies. Once unfurled, it could instantly sweep an enemy into the painting, suppress their immortal body, seal their magic power, imprison their Primordial Spirit. Once sealed within it, they could not mobilize even the slightest trace of their magic power; even their thoughts would be suppressed.

No matter how long one was suppressed, their memories would forever remain at the instant before their suppression. Once someone was sealed within the Qiankun Diagram, escaping through their own power was essentially impossible.

Other than that, it had no other function. Furthermore, the Qiankun Diagram could suppress only one person. If one wished to suppress a new cultivator, the person previously suppressed had to be released first.

Its function was extremely singular, but precisely because it was so singular, that sole remaining function had become extraordinarily powerful.

The Qiankun Diagram was an Ultimate Innate Spirit Treasure, one of the strongest Magic Treasures beneath the Sage realm. All its power was focused on trapping enemies. One could well imagine how formidable it was at doing so.

With this treasure in hand, he could easily suppress cultivators stronger than himself. At Jiang Haofeng's current strength, if he used it properly, suppressing a Zenith Heaven Golden Immortal would not be a problem.

Time passed once more, and a thousand years vanished in the blink of an eye. Jiang Haofeng had sorted through all the contents of the Grand Pure Sage's three sermons. Aside from the Thirty-six Heavenly Dipper Great Divine Abilities, which he had yet to study in depth, he had more or less mastered everything else from the three sermons.

Jiang Haofeng emerged from seclusion, gathered the members of the Hidden Lineage, and began his second sermon.

Jiang Haofeng had specifically instructed those of the Visible Lineage not to reveal anything about the Human Hidden Lineage. At present, only the two hundred thousand members of the Humanity Teaching knew that the human race possessed a Hidden Lineage. The rest of humanity did not know there was another lineage within their race.

Moreover, even those who knew of the Hidden Lineage only knew its name. What exactly the Hidden Lineage was and what it did left them completely baffled. Only the three thousand Innate Humans and the three hundred thousand humans selected into the Hidden Lineage knew.

The Hidden Lineage emphasized the word "hidden." If everyone knew of it, then it would lose the very meaning of its existence.

Outside the Ancestral Pavilion, Jiang Haofeng sat cross-legged at the center, surrounded by three thousand Innate Humans and three hundred thousand humans of the Hidden Lineage.

He had previously delivered the first lecture on the Nine Tribulations Martial Scripture, but the Sage's sermon had delayed what followed. Now that the Sage's sermon had ended, it was time to make up for the missing teachings of the Martial Dao.

The three thousand Innate Humans stared intently at Jiang Haofeng in the center, awaiting what he was about to teach.

After recently digesting the Sage's sermon, the Hidden Lineage humans who cultivated the Martial Dao had suddenly discovered that the Nine Tribulations Martial Scripture they cultivated was no weaker than the Grand Pure Immortal Method!

This instantly left everyone dumbfounded. That had been a Sage's sermon. After hearing the Sage preach three times, everyone had subconsciously cast the Martial Dao to the back of their minds. After all, Haofeng was only at the Golden Immortal Realm.

The cultivation method Haofeng had created by imitating the Witch Clan surely could not compare to a Sage's Great Dao.

But the reality was not like that at all. The Nine Tribulations Martial Scripture was entirely no weaker than the Grand Pure Immortal Method, and among cultivators of the same realm, those who cultivated the Nine Tribulations Martial Scripture were even stronger than those who cultivated the Grand Pure Immortal Method!

The Nine Tribulations Martial Scripture was like a cultivation method created solely for battle. Its combat power was absurdly powerful, and paired with the Nine Tribulations True Body, its battle prowess far surpassed the Grand Pure Immortal Method.

For a time, the entire human race was thrown into an uproar. The Human Hidden Lineage, which had originally seemed destined to be overtaken by the Visible Lineage after losing its chance to become Sage disciples, once again became a prized prize.

After all, the Sage seemingly would not preach again—he had only given these three sermons, and both the Visible Lineage and the Hidden Lineage had heard them.

Yet those of the Hidden Lineage could still cultivate the Martial Dao, cultivating magic power with the Grand Pure Immortal Method and tempering their bodies with the Nine Tribulations Martial Scripture. In an instant, they once again became the object of the Visible Lineage's envy.

"Everyone, today's sermon will focus on the true intent of battling heaven and fighting earth!"

As his words fell, a vast battle intent surged forth. In an instant, everyone felt their breathing stifle. Before their eyes, Jiang Haofeng's bearing underwent a tremendous change. He was still the same man, still a cultivator of the same realm, yet the aura he erupted with was utterly different—his momentum had risen by far more than a single level!

"Martial true intent is the foundation of the Martial Dao!"

"What is martial? Strife is martial. A martial cultivator contends with heaven, contends with earth, contends with men!"

"Let you have a thousand methods and ten thousand divine abilities—I shall break them all with my own strength!"

"Martial true intent is the spirit of a martial cultivator, the belief of a martial cultivator. When one's conviction is unwavering and one charges forward without hesitation, one can condense martial true intent. With true intent upon the body, one's combat power can be greatly enhanced. Whether in attack or defense, one will receive a boost."

"..."

As Jiang Haofeng's voice spread, the listeners were utterly captivated. The martial path passed down by Ancestor Haofeng was entirely different from the immortal path passed down by the Grand Pure Sage, yet its power was not inferior in the slightest.

Another ten years passed, and Jiang Haofeng's second sermon came to an end.

Jiang Haofeng was not a Sage in the end; he could not lecture for a thousand years at a time. A Sage's sermon expounded the Great Dao, encompassing all things beneath heaven. Setting aside everything else, even among those listening to the Grand Pure Immortal Method, no two people comprehended exactly the same immortal method. Each person possessed a Grand Pure Immortal Method uniquely their own.

Though the cultivation methods everyone practiced sprang from the same source and were passed down in one continuous lineage, nearly everything they learned was best suited to themselves.

Strictly speaking, the Grand Pure Immortal Method was not a fixed cultivation technique, but the Taiqing Immortal Path. The Sage had opened up the Great Dao and pointed out the direction forward; each person had their own way of walking it.

But Jiang Haofeng could not accomplish that with his sermons. When he taught a cultivation method, he taught a cultivation method—the Nine Tribulations Martial Scripture. One person lectured, three hundred thousand listened, and in the end, all three hundred thousand cultivated the very same method.

That was also why the duration of their sermons differed by a hundredfold.

In terms of effectiveness, a Sage's sermon was certainly better. After all, every person was different, and cultivation methods could not be lumped together under one rule.

Yet Jiang Haofeng's sermons were not bad either. The Nine Tribulations Martial Scripture could likewise lead to the end. Even if some people were unsuited to it, they would merely take a detour for a stretch; at the very least, it suited the overwhelming majority.

Once everyone's cultivation deepened and their strength grew, they would naturally be able to make slight adjustments to their methods according to their own circumstances, find their own paths, and the final result would not be affected.

After the sermon ended, another thousand years passed before Jiang Haofeng began his third sermon. It lasted ten years and taught methods for protecting the Dao—martial divine abilities!

Over those ten years, Jiang Haofeng passed down nine martial divine abilities!

They were the divine ability Heaven and Earth Manifestation, the divine ability Star Chasing Moon Catching, the divine ability Star Picking Moon Grasping, the divine ability Mountain Moving Sea Filling, the divine ability Mountain Collapse Earth Split, the divine ability Sky Splitting Cloud Piercing, the divine ability Sky Swallowing Earth Devouring, the divine ability Heaven Changing Earth Reshaping, and the divine ability Heaven Opening Earth Splitting!

All nine divine abilities came from the Witch Clan's core inheritance. Every one possessed terrifying explosive power; all nine had been born for battle!

Among them, the strongest, Heaven Opening Earth Splitting, was inherited from the supreme divine ability Great God Pangu had used to open heaven and split earth. Jiang Haofeng knew only a scrap of it—more accurately, a scrap of a scrap.

He had learned it from a Great Witch. Strictly speaking, this was not the true Heaven Opening Earth Splitting divine ability; it merely contained a thread of the will to open heaven. Yet that was already enough for this move to surpass the other divine abilities.

With the nine divine abilities fully imparted, the three sermons were successfully completed. Profound arts, true intent, and divine abilities had all been passed down in full. From this day onward, the human race had established the martial path's orthodoxy!

At the instant the sermon succeeded, an enormous pillar of merit light descended from the heavens and fell upon Jiang Haofeng. This merit amounted to roughly thirty percent of what the Grand Pure Sage had received for establishing his teaching, even exceeding the combined merit gained by Suiren, Da Chao, and Zhisheng!

Thirty percent of the merit of enlightenment was less than half of the Grand Pure Sage's, but this had been within Jiang Haofeng's expectations.

Although the Grand Pure Sage had established the Humanity Teaching and enlightened the Visible Lineage, while Jiang Haofeng had passed down the martial path and enlightened the Hidden Lineage, by rights the merit earned by the two should have been comparable.

But the problem was that the Visible Lineage vastly outnumbered the Hidden Lineage. In sheer numbers alone, the Visible Lineage held an enormous advantage. Moreover, the Hidden Lineage had also listened to the Grand Pure Sage's sermon.

Though it was to repay Jiang Haofeng's karmic debt, the Heavenly Dao would not care about such things. Whoever enlightened them received the merit.

Jiang Haofeng was already more than satisfied with thirty percent of the Grand Pure Sage's merit.

Of course, if the Grand Pure Sage had come a little later, allowing Jiang Haofeng to finish passing down the martial path first, Jiang Haofeng might have received even more merit.

The vast merit descended, turning Jiang Haofeng into a golden man of merit. Jiang Haofeng's Merit Golden Body was completely perfected. With his Merit Golden Body perfected, his merit was complete: no law could invade him, all evils would retreat, he would not enter reincarnation, would not be tainted by karma, could not be divined by heavenly secrets, and Calamity Qi would not touch him!

Of course, the primordial world did not yet possess reincarnation, so the part about not entering reincarnation was of no use for the time being.

As the Merit Golden Body reached complete perfection, a vast amount of merit still remained unabsorbed. Immediately afterward, endless merit gathered above Jiang Haofeng's head, forming a Merit Auspicious Cloud!

With the Merit Auspicious Cloud hanging above his head, an unprecedented sense of security surged into Jiang Haofeng's heart. A vague realization rose within him: throughout the primordial world, no one would dare lay a hand on him.

Not even a Sage!

So long as he remained within the primordial world, whoever killed Jiang Haofeng would be burdened by as much karmic sin as the merit Jiang Haofeng possessed!

With the merit Jiang Haofeng currently possessed, even a Sage would find it difficult to produce enough merit to offset that karmic sin. And even if they could, few would be willing to part with it.

As his Merit Golden Body reached perfection, a realization arose in Jiang Haofeng's heart. In the primordial world, when one first accumulated merit, it took the form of merit light. The smallest amount was merely a thread, contained within the True Spirit. Of course, for those who had not become immortals, it was contained within the soul instead.

As merit accumulated without end, the merit light steadily increased until it could illuminate the entire body. Once merit light shone over one's whole body, one could already be considered to possess no small amount of merit.

When merit continued to increase, it would condense into a Golden Wheel of Merit suspended behind one's head. Most of the three thousand humans had previously been at this level, though all of it had now been used to raise their cultivation.

A Golden Wheel of Merit progressed through three stages: from faint and illusory at the beginning, to solid and condensed later, then brilliant as the great sun and seemingly tangible. Advancing through each stage required an enormous amount of merit. The Innate Humans had initially possessed Golden Wheels of Merit that had only just solidified.