Quasi-Sages! Emerge

"This lecture will last three thousand years and concern the path to attaining the Dao beyond the Daluo Golden Immortal realm. You must all listen closely."

At Hongjun's words, the mighty figures below all perked up, gazing at Dao Ancestor Hongjun above with fervor in their eyes.

They had come to the Purple Firmament Palace, even setting aside their pride as Daluo Golden Immortals to pay Hongjun the respects due from disciples, all to seek the Dao and advance their cultivation another step.

"One gives birth to two, two gives birth to three, and three gives birth to all things, reaching the nine mysteries before returning from nine to one. Such is the truth of the Dao."

"Thus there are three corpses: the first is obsession, the second good, and the third evil."

"To attain the Dao, one must first cast off the three corpses, be serene and free of desire, still the spirit and illuminate one's nature, and accumulate good deeds. Only then can one become a Sage."

The lingering sound of the Great Dao echoed through the Purple Firmament Palace. The mighty figures listened as if spellbound, immersed in the Great Dao of Severing the Three Corpses that Hongjun expounded.

Auspicious Clouds surrounding Daluo Dao Fruits flew forth, billions of rays of divine light blooming as they revealed each listener's insights and the fruits of their cultivation.

Auspicious Clouds were manifestations of a Daluo Golden Immortal's Dao Fruit of cultivation. Since Dao Fruits could not be shown to others lightly, when mighty figures discussed the Dao, they made contact through their Auspicious Clouds to exchange their insights into their respective Great Daos.

Of course, not everyone did so.

The Twelve Ancestral Witches did not cultivate the Immortal Dao or sever the three corpses, so the Great Dao Hongjun spoke of naturally held little appeal for them.

They simply stared fixedly at Dijun, Eastern Emperor Taiyi, and the Daluo cultivators around them whom they had recruited into the Demon Race.

Though they knew full well that the Ancestral Witches would not dare make a move in the Purple Firmament Palace, the hostility prickling their backs like thorns still left them uneasy and unable to concentrate on the lecture.

As the Great Dao expounded by Dao Ancestor Hongjun above grew ever more profound, however, the Daluo cultivators of the Demon Race finally ignored the Ancestral Witches' scorching gazes and immersed themselves in the sound of the Dao.

But...

"Haha, the Dao Ancestor is merciful! I have attained my Dao!"

A rough voice suddenly rang out, jolting the mighty figures nearby awake from their wondrous state.

They glared angrily and turned toward the speaker, only for everyone to freeze.

Among the Twelve Ancestral Witches, Zhurong wore a look of excitement. A presence far surpassing Daluo radiated from him in all directions, without the slightest restraint.

Dijun, Eastern Emperor Taiyi, and the mighty figures of the Demon Race were another matter. If the others had merely been awakened by the commotion of Zhurong's breakthrough,

then they had been singled out by that oppressive force and forcibly dragged from their wondrous state.

As if noticing the angry glares of the mighty figures around him, Zhurong immediately looked embarrassed, his face bright red.

"Hehe, sorry about that. I broke through and couldn't control it. Please bear with me, everyone."

The mighty figures' faces all turned exceptionally dark.

It was not just because Zhurong had interrupted their comprehension of the Dao, but also because they had discovered that the fellow had actually broken through to the Quasi-Sage realm.

And he had clearly not attained the Quasi-Sage realm through the Dao Method of Severing the Three Corpses that Dao Ancestor Hongjun was expounding.

They were all Daluo cultivators listening to the Method of Severing the Three Corpses, yet none had broken through. An Ancestral Witch, on the other hand, had listened to the method and broken through using a different one.

Was he implying that they were not even as good as the Twelve Ancestral Witches of the Witch Race?

On the raised platform, Dao Ancestor Hongjun continued to expound the Dao of Severing the Three Corpses with an air of complete composure, yet he was the one most at a loss for words.

He knew perfectly well that Zhurong had relied on the breakthrough method Gonggong had obtained from Ao Changsheng to reach the Quasi-Sage realm.

Still, a breakthrough was just a breakthrough. It was only a matter of time before the Twelve Ancestral Witches reached the Quasi-Sage realm, and he did not mind Zhurong breaking through while he expounded the Dao Method of Severing the Three Corpses.

But...

Hongjun knew very well that, of the Twelve Witch Ancestors, aside from Gonggong, who had already broken through, Zhurong had been the only one silently cultivating just now.

And only after Zhurong broke through did another Ancestral Witch begin cultivating.

They were clearly preparing to break through one by one and disturb the others listening to the lecture.

But Hongjun could say nothing. After all, he might govern heaven and earth, but could he govern whether the Ancestral Witches cultivated?

Hongjun glanced indifferently at the Twelve Ancestral Witches below. After a brief consideration, he abandoned the idea of intervening.

After all, he was about to merge with the Dao. At a time like this, it was best to become involved as little as possible, whether with good causes or bad consequences.

The struggles of the Primordial World could be left for its own living beings to handle.

That was what Hongjun thought, and then... the mighty figures listening to the lecture in the Purple Firmament Palace suffered terribly.

One of the Twelve Ancestral Witches broke through every few dozen or hundred years, releasing oppressive force. Though it was not directed at them,

each time they sensed an Ancestral Witch breaking through, they could not help feeling aggrieved.

As for Dijun, Eastern Emperor Taiyi, and the forces of their Demon Race, they truly suffered.

Whenever an Ancestral Witch broke through, the oppressive force directed at them was not restrained in the slightest. Instead, it was intensified, making it impossible for them to listen to the lecture properly.

Another burst of oppressive force from an Ancestral Witch breaking through to the Quasi-Sage realm swept outward.

"Exhilarating, truly exhilarating! The Quasi-Sage realm really is powerful..." Rushou, the Ancestral Witch of metal, laughed.

The formidable oppressive force around him swept past the other mighty figures before bearing down without restraint on those of the Demon Race.

The Demon Race's mighty figures, immersed in listening to the Dao, were jolted awake and nearly spat blood.

Dijun and Eastern Emperor Taiyi's eyes seemed ready to split as they glared at the Twelve Ancestral Witches, the fury in their eyes nearly bursting forth.

Had they not been in the Purple Firmament Palace, the two of them would probably have rushed up to fight the Twelve Ancestral Witches to the death long ago.

This scene also made the hearts of quite a few Daluo cultivators who had intended to join Dijun's Demon Race forces tremble.

They immediately decided to put aside the idea of joining for now. At the very least... they would wait until they had heard the lecture in the Purple Firmament Palace through to the end.

Time passed, and nearly a thousand years went by in the Purple Firmament Palace amid the strange atmosphere created by the Twelve Ancestral Witches' occasional breakthroughs.

"Hiss-"

Another surge of Quasi-Sage pressure far surpassing Daluo erupted, filling the entire Purple Firmament Palace.

The vast, unrestrained pressure jolted the mighty figures awake, and they immediately prepared to glare at the Twelve Ancestral Witches.

However...

The Auspicious Clouds filling the sky, radiating a Dao rhythm beyond Daluo, made it abundantly clear that the Twelve Ancestral Witches were not the ones who had awakened them this time.

"Sever!"

A clear shout suddenly rang out from the front row of the Purple Firmament Palace.

Then, within the Auspicious Cloud above Laozi of the Three Purities, a stream of dark yellow merit Qi circulated.

An Innate Spirit Treasure flew from Laozi's sleeve into the cloud, and an aged figure emerged from it. The figure then dispersed and merged into the Auspicious Cloud.

But all the mighty figures present understood.

Laozi had successfully severed a corpse and broken through to the Quasi-Sage realm!

Before the mighty figures could react, Yuanshi and Tongtian, seated beside Laozi, opened their eyes at the same time, their Qi linked to his breakthrough. Each gave a clear shout.

"Sever!"

"Sever!"

The Auspicious Clouds above them immediately churned and rose. Two Innate Spirit Treasures flew into them, and two figures flickered in and out of sight within the clouds.

Vast Quasi-Sage pressure immediately poured from the two of them.

The Three Purities had severed their corpses in succession and attained the Quasi-Sage realm!

The mighty figures all gazed enviously at the Three Purities, who looked utterly composed. They did not know whether it was an illusion.

They felt that the pressure from the Three Purities after severing their corpses was even more formidable than that released by the Twelve Ancestral Witches when they broke through.

Finally, we've broken through!

Though Laozi, Yuanshi, and Tongtian appeared composed, all three felt a burden lifted from their shoulders and breathed a sigh of relief.

After all, they had always regarded themselves as the legitimate heirs of Pangu and looked down on the Twelve Ancestral Witches, who called themselves Pangu's descendants.

Apart from the Demon Race, who had been directly affected, the Three Purities had been affected most severely by the Twelve Ancestral Witches' successive breakthroughs.

Now, sensing that their own cultivation had clearly surpassed that of the Witch Race, they finally felt they could breathe a sigh of relief.