But the most pressing matter now was under Jianmu.
Qing Ling flicked his wrist, drawing lines of green silk from his pulse. These verdant green threads then weaved into a net in the air, illuminated by twenty-four innate divine prohibitions.
He had refined twenty-four divine prohibitions of the Sky-Mending Rope. While not fully refined, this top-grade innate spiritual treasure, sealed for countless years, could finally see the light of day.
During the previous battle, Qing Ling had not used the Sky-Mending Rope, as it would have been useless.
Facing an eight-heaven Da Luo who had accumulated power for a long time, he, a pseudo-mighty being, had no means to defeat him.
The only thing he could rely on was the majestic Jianmu behind him. Only by borrowing the immense celestial power of Jianmu, which bore the weight of heaven and sank into the earth, could he suppress it.
Qing Ling pointed a finger, and the Sky-Mending Net enveloped the space like a void, casting down a green curtain. Wherever the light brushed, all the Golden Immortals and Tai Yi beings who had not yet regained consciousness were drawn into the Sky-Mending Net.
Within the Sky-Mending Realm, there were innate Dao prohibitions. Once one entered the Sky-Mending Realm, their Dao methods would be sealed. No matter if you were a Golden Immortal or Tai Yi, you would be unable to escape!
The Sky-Mending Net shrank to half a foot in size and returned to Qing Ling's hand. These people would not be dealt with for now.
"You four, hurry back and continue guarding the mountain?"
This shout instantly jolted everyone from their shock back to their senses.
Hei Bao asked doubtfully, "But Dao Lord, didn't you say that as long as the boundary monument is here, you wouldn't be affected?"
Qing Ling chuckled, "You believe that?"
Everyone was stunned. If he wasn't affected, why could the Dao Lord display the power of a mighty being just now? Why could he forcefully suppress a Da Luo?
"Actually, that old man Chongming was right. As long as the Four Directions Realm was broken, I would be affected.
But I also knew this weakness of mine, so I set up the Four Directions Boundary Monument as a backup. It's just that the Four Directions Boundary Monument could only temporarily maintain my power as a mighty being.
If the old man Chongming had been more patient, I might have truly been captured."
Only then did everyone understand. They immediately returned to their respective four directions to continue guarding the Four Realms.
After the four left, Qing Ling said to the dozen or so juniors from his clan, "You all shall stay with me for a while. After I finish dealing with things, I will bestow upon you an opportunity."
Chi Li, who was at the forefront, hurriedly bowed, "Ancestor, you are too serious. It was we who almost put you in danger. We are all filled with trepidation. Your not punishing us is already a great kindness."
Qing Ling couldn't help but smile slightly, "You little fellow, you're Chi's descendant, aren't you? Not only is your bloodline close, but your way of speaking is also similar."
Chi Li bowed again, his eyes wide with surprise and joy, "So Ancestor actually knows my ancestor. I am Chi Li, a blood relative of Elder Chi."
Qing Ling's eyes seemed to hold a trace of recollection, "Chi has already become a Tai Yi. I haven't returned to Xi Shan to take a look in a long time. Is everyone in the clan doing well?"
"Ancestor, rest assured, everything in the clan is well!"
Qing Ling nodded and waved his hand, dismissing the juniors.
Although he had not returned to Xi Shan, every generation of his clan who came here, he would ask, "Is everyone in the clan doing well?" It was a concern for Xi Shan, a sustenance for his heart.
He had sat motionless for fifteen Yuan Hui. Although Duguang had granted him the power of a mighty being, it had also effectively imprisoned him.
Although Qing Ling was ignored by everyone in Duguang now, as soon as he stepped out of Duguang, his power would revert to Tai Yi, and there would be too many people in the world who would harbor ill intentions towards him, the creator of Jianmu.
Therefore, until he became a Da Luo, he truly could not return to Xi Shan.
Qing Ling walked under Jianmu, into the Midsummer Diagram.
At this moment, within the divine diagram, divine birds were in chaos, burning everything in their path with a grand, blazing inferno.
The sky seemed to have two suns hanging in it: one was the sun formed by absorbing the old man's sea of fire, and the other was the sun formed by the old man himself.
When the Chongming Divine Bird in the sky saw Qing Ling appear, it immediately soared towards him, as fast as light. The firelight and flowing flames flashed and disappeared in an instant.
But Qing Ling was faster. He struck down with a palm from the sky.
A Jianmu phantom instantly appeared on the divine bird's back. The majestic power of Jianmu even made Chongming's wings unable to support him, and it let out a mournful cry, falling to the ground.
Qing Ling stood in the sky, looking down at Chongming, suppressed beneath the Jianmu phantom, just as the old man had looked down on him like an ant for ten thousand years.
"I told you to leave long ago, but you wouldn't listen. Now you can't leave even if you want to."
Chongming bird glared with its eyes, but after glaring, it calmed down. Its defeat was frustrating.
In terms of strength, divine abilities, and magic power, it had crushed Qing Ling.
However, all these advantages became useless when facing Jianmu, a being favored by heaven and earth.
Qing Ling watched as Chongming lowered its head and buried it in the feathers of its neck, remaining silent.
Although he appeared very amiable, as a member of the Phoenix clan, he was still proud deep down! Even in defeat, there was not a trace of subservience.
Qing Ling smiled, "I like such a hard bone!"
His Spring Progression Flourishing Diagram had completed the most crucial step of its transformation, transitioning from spring to summer. This was an opportunity!
Qing Ling could not give up, nor would he dare to.
He wanted to transform the sequences into a diagram, using the four seasons of spring, summer, autumn, and winter as one diagram, combining them into a single Grand Seasonal Diagram!
This was originally impossible, as he was only the God of Spring and possessed no power of the God of Winter.
But Qing Ling cultivated the Great Dao of Life and Death and Prosperity and Decay. Through the transformation between life and death, Yin and Yang harmonious, he could generate Yin from Yang, and the four seasons could evolve, combining into a cycle of a year.
The reason Qing Ling was doing this was for his Da Luo Dao, to prepare for breaking through to the realm of Da Luo Golden Immortal.
Since the creation of heaven and earth, there have been trillions upon trillions of living beings, yet only one in a hundred million, one in a billion, or even one in ten billion has managed to enter the Da Luo realm. Even among a hundred billion living beings, only a tiny possibility exists for one to appear.
This illustrates the difficulty of becoming a Da Luo Golden Immortal! Even with his exceptional talent, protective destiny, and the augmentation of his innate divine body, he could only reach the realm of Da Luo through the tempering of time.
There are no weak Golden Immortals in the world, and certainly no Da Luo beings who are merely present to fill a number. Every mighty being is a product of miracles and the tempering of time. Even though Qing Ling had diligently cultivated here for fifteen Yuan Hui, compared to the time it took for an ordinary Tai Yi to reach Da Luo, he was still too young.
However, youth also represented unprecedented vitality and drive.
And the Grand Seasonal Diagram was a crucial step for him to become a Da Luo!
Within the divine diagram world, the sun blazed fiercely, divine birds perched on mountains, and myriad trees flourished green. The Great Dao of Life played out everywhere, teeming with vitality. From spring to summer, the spring breeze and gentle rain transformed into a brilliant sun, filled with thunderous rain, scorching sun, fierce winds, torrential rain, myriad plants, myriad beasts, vast rivers and lakes, surging waves, and the arrival of the summer solstice!
Qing Ling stood in the center of the divine diagram's world. As the Great Dao of Life within him revolved to its extreme, the Dao of Death was connected, and the aura of death gradually rose, nurturing the dying energy within the grand and vigorous summer.
The Chongming Divine Bird's boundless fire power provided the powerful energy and momentum needed for the divine diagram world's deduction. As long as Chongming did not die and its divine fire did not extinguish, Qing Ling's divine diagram world would not cease its deduction.
The divine bird was enraged, but despite its pride, it was a bird that knew when to bow its head.