On the other side, Cang Wu was also lost in the profound confusion of the three lifetimes.
Between the three cycles of reincarnation, Qing Ling and Cang Wu simultaneously heard the voice of the Earthly Path.
"Do you wish to preside over the Earthly Path?"
Cang Wu's face lit up with joy: "I do!"
Qing Ling fell silent for a moment, memories of cause and effect devoid of any basis flashed through him, and he slowly said, "It matters not."
The Daoist sound resounded again.
"Are you willing to sacrifice yourself for the Earthly Path?"
Cang Wu struggled for a moment, then shook his head: "I am not willing." As a great power of heaven and earth, he was virtually immortal; to sacrifice his life for an opportunity was not worth it.
Qing Ling, naturally, refused as well.
The voice of the Great Dao echoed once more within their primordial spirits.
"If a true master descends upon the Earthly Path, are you willing to submit to him?"
Cang Wu's primordial spirit flickered slightly, but it was sensed by the will of the Earthly Path. The intention of the primordial spirit could not be hidden from It.
Qing Ling nodded indifferently. He did not cultivate the Earthly Path; his primary path was Wood. Naturally, he would not abandon his foundation to change paths midway.
It was precisely because of this that the Earthly Path's allure to him did not lead to him becoming lost and forgetful.
On the Three Lives Stone, a faint light flashed and shone into Qing Ling's primordial spirit.
The earth trembled, the Sea of Blood churned, the Yellow Springs and the River of Oblivion surged, and the figure of Qing Ling appeared on the Three Lives Stone.
The majestic power of the Heavenly Dao descended from the east. The Earthly Path, showing weakness, retreated underground, sinking deeper into the earth.
Qing Ling's primordial spirit instantly perceived the wonders of the entire Primordial World. Majestic mountains and rivers, spiritual valleys and lakes, all responded to his will.
The nascent Great Dao of Reincarnation within the Earthly Path was also integrated into his primordial spirit, transforming into a bridge and grafting onto his spiritual platform.
The Earthly Path, upon its birth, was only half a path. Furthermore, it had chosen Qing Ling, a Da Luo of the fifth heaven. Compared to the Heavenly Dao, it was incomparably weaker.
Therefore, when faced with the pressure of the Heavenly Dao, the Earthly Path spontaneously sank, and sank again, drilling eighteen layers of dense earth deeper into the ground, hiding at the lowest spatial limit of the Primordial World to conserve its strength and await an opportunity.
And as Qing Ling accepted the will of the Earthly Path, his primordial spirit cultivation smoothly broke through the shackles of heaven and earth under the vast and boundless will of the Earthly Path!
The chains of heaven and earth rules were shattered by the will of the Earthly Path, and the confinement of the Dao realm vanished.
Qing Ling's primordial spirit also strengthened by several heavens, and standing on the earth, he was comparable to great powers of heaven and earth.
Although his cultivation had not substantively changed, he had received an immense fortune!
He would no longer face the bottleneck of reaching the realm of great powers of heaven and earth. He would not need to seek external methods, but could ascend to the eleventh heaven through the Earthly Path.
Qing Ling's heart trembled. This not only meant a smooth path forward, but more importantly, he would not need to sever his corpse!
This had already surpassed the future heavenly and earthly Dao realm of Dao Ancestor Hongjun.
If this were in the future era of Saints, it would be absolutely impossible.
But in this era where all Daos competed for brilliance, many great elders and ancestors walked paths other than corpse-severing.
Now, Qing Ling would be another one.
After his primordial spirit adapted to the will of the Earthly Path, Qing Ling looked at Cang Wu and smiled, "Do you still plan to invite me to Qilin Cliff?"
Cang Wu's expression was extremely grim. After a long while, he reacted and said coldly, "Well done, Qing Ling Snake Ancestor. Given the momentum of the Earthly Path, I will spare you today. But you must know that by accepting the Earthly Path, you are opposing the supreme Heavenly Dao of Hongjun, and you are also in a Great Dao dispute with the Earthly Path of my Qilin clan.
You should consider how you will die."
Qing Ling said dismissively, "You don't need to worry about that. Also, from now on, you must call me Qing Xuan Dao Master!"
"You! Don't push your luck!"
Cang Wu was furious. It was unbearable for him to call a junior "Dao Master."
Qing Ling smiled, pointed at the earth, and the realm trembled. All the earth was called to his will, and the Great Dao of Earth bore down upon Cang Wu.
The power of the Earthly Path's will, though only half, incomplete, and even a small part, represented the authority of heaven and earth far exceeding that of great powers of heaven and earth, even comparable to the authority of peak great powers.
Cang Wu's face changed dramatically. Without using the authority of heaven and earth, he could manipulate this junior however he wished. But now that he was the master of the Earthly Path, he could counter him.
A Qilin of Earthly Virtue, in panic, broke through billions of thick earth and fled back to Qilin Cliff without looking back.
Qing Ling did not pursue. He did not have the strength to do so. Even with the authority of the Earthly Path, it was suppressed by the Heavenly Dao under eighteen layers of thick earth. The authority of the earth he could wield was extremely limited. Even in the Nine Netherworlds, he could at most gain a three-point advantage over Cang Wu.
The will of the Earthly Path merged into his body. Qing Ling's will was the will of the Earthly Path, but the will of the Earthly Path was not his will.
Their relationship was more like cooperation than the control relationship between Hongjun and the Heavenly Dao.
Above Qing Ling's head, in the virtual world of destiny, it was invisible to anyone but the most supreme.
Endless Xuan Huang Qi entered the body of the green python. The python's body instantly expanded explosively, a thousand zhang, ten thousand zhang, a hundred thousand zhang.
Furthermore, through the connection, the python of Xi Mountain's destiny also grew considerably, as did the destinies of the four realms of Du Guang Zhi Ye, all rising, resembling the saying that one man's ascent brings prosperity to his fowl and dogs.
Qing Ling waved his hand, and the Three Lives Stone flashed. Thirteen great powers awakened one after another, scrambling out of the Yellow Springs River in a sorry state, without obtaining a single drop of Yellow Springs water.
"You may all return to your respective paths!"
The great powers present hesitated. They feared defeat if they left, yet they were reluctant to give up the opportunity.
Seeing this, Qing Ling could not help but chuckle. He waved his hand, and the Yellow Springs water surged.
The Three Lives Stone protected the River of Oblivion and the Yellow Springs River. To obtain their waters, one had to first break the riddle of the three lives. This was the Earthly Path's protection of its treasures.
"A drop of Da Luo's blood, a drop of Yellow Springs water."
The thirteen great powers were stunned. They were all Da Luo below the tenth heaven. Qing Ling had awakened them when he became the master of the Earthly Path, specifically to let them witness his power over Cang Wu, to awe them.
Now, after weighing their options, the thirteen gritted their teeth, cut their wrists, and exchanged blood for water.
The thirteen great powers were not in human form. Their true bodies were extremely colossal, on the scale of a hundred thousand zhang. Thus, shedding a few hundred catties of blood was something they could endure.
Qing Ling smiled gleefully and used the spirit gourd he had used to nurture puppets in the past to collect the thousand catties of Da Luo blood.
Then he pointed at the Yellow Springs, and the Yellow Springs water moved. Under his will, it finally flowed before the great powers.
The great powers, their faces pale from heavy bleeding, were now ecstatic and carefully collected the Yellow Springs water as if it were a treasure.
"Many thanks, Dao Master!"
A honest-looking middle-aged man, with good sense, flattered him.
The rest of the group, after realizing what had happened, also paid their respects.
Qing Ling smiled kindly, "Fellow Daoists, you are all great powers of the Earthly Path. Since you do not join the Qilin clan, the world is vast, and only here can you find refuge.
If you have nowhere to go in the future, turn back, and this will be the other shore."
"Many thanks, Dao Master!"
The thirteen great powers bowed again. Their faces showed no change, but who knew their inner thoughts?
As great powers, how could they not have pride? Thus, Qing Ling did not intend to forcefully subdue them, but treated them with gentleness, allowing them to become fond of him, and thus, fond of the Earthly Path.
After all, there were only these thirteen great powers of the Earthly Path. Perhaps in the future, they would be the key to the Earthly Path's opportune arrival.
Since he had accepted this position, he would bear its responsibilities, as long as his own life was not endangered.
The old Daoist on Yujing Mountain nodded slightly. The Earthly Path was still weak. It had chosen such a casual Dao Master, rather than someone with grand ambitions to change the world and create great trends.
This was the best outcome for the Earthly Path.
At the very least, it had reassured Hongjun, allowing it to be born early and to survive.
The earthly realm gradually returned to silence. The great powers of heaven and earth knew that there was a Qing Xuan Dao Master in the earthly realm, who presided over the Earthly Path.
There were those who were well-intentioned, those who were malicious, and those who were merely observing. People occasionally visited the earthly realm, but no one could enter the sea of Bian Hua, and they could only gaze at the earthly realm from the banks of the Sea of Blood.
Beside the blooming, vibrant blood-red sea of Bian Hua, the Yellow Springs and the River of Oblivion flowed, the Yellow Springs encircling the earthly realm, and the River of Oblivion spanning east and west.
And over the River of Oblivion, a bridge, extremely blurry but with a discernible outline, gradually appeared.
On the illusory bridge stood a young man, who gazed at the three lives, then at the River of Oblivion, then at the Yellow Springs, his gaze spanning ten thousand years and again ten thousand years.
The youth in green walked on the River of Oblivion, and wherever he walked, the bridge followed.
On the bridge, the youth in green held a jade-green gourd, its mouth tilted, blood ceaselessly pouring out, watering the Bian Hua. The flowers bloomed even more vibrantly, and the connection between the other shore and the Earthly Path of Reincarnation deepened.
Watered by the blood of Da Luo, the Bian Hua bloomed with Dao aura. The flowers bloomed for a thousand years, their leaves green for a thousand years, then withered.
As the flowers fell into the river water, the Dao aura also entered the river water. The Dao aura of all the great and small Daos was absorbed into the Earthly Path, propelling its evolution.
As time flowed by, the youth saw reincarnation again.
After a full thirty thousand years, the primordial energy within the youth's body was replenished, and he began to consume the First Generation Flat Peaches.
In the earthly realm, he spent a total of ninety thousand years, eating peaches, planting flowers, tending flowers, cultivating the bridge, ... leisurely yet not relaxed.