Qingxuan Daoist returned to the Eastern Wasteland, ascended Jianmu's peak, and handed the flower, umbrella, and lantern to Qingling.
Qingling took the flower and umbrella, smiled at him, and said, "With me holding down the Eastern Wasteland, everything is worry-free. You may go as you please. Take the Ten Ultimate Heavenly Lantern with you; it will serve as a guide."
Qingxuan Daoist seemed to understand and nodded.
Qingling added, "Take the Derivative Pagoda with you as well. After all, we owe its spirit a karmic debt. Go to the realm of the earth tunnels and let it see the Three Lives Stone."
Qingxuan Daoist's brow twitched, and he asked, "Aren't you afraid it will run away?"
"As a Primordial Spirit Treasure, an item with a spirit, it has its own destiny. Forcing it is futile. Moreover, even if it leaves, it cannot escape its connection with you. After all, you yourself were formed from the origin of the Derivative Pagoda!" Qingling chuckled with understanding. "Besides, taking this superior spirit treasure with you will also serve as protection."
Qingxuan Daoist understood and turned to leave, heading west of Duguan, taking the Derivative Pagoda with him.
He wanted to see the outside world, to witness the true state of the primordial Honghuang.
Qingling did not worry about any danger to his future self. Qingxuan Daoist was his Dao body destined to become a Great Heavenly Power, possessing at least the strength of the eleventh level of Grand Unity Golden Immortal.
Great Heavenly Powers were not easily fallen beings, regardless of the era. Even if they were to die, it would be at the most terrifying conclusion of a cosmic tribulation.
Of course, someone like Mu Gong, who was simply utterly unlucky, was a unique case in the current Honghuang.
However, the intertwining of destinies within the Ten Ultimate Heavenly Lantern made Qingling understand the terrifying nature of luck.
The reason for Mu Gong's demise was his luck.
In the very beginning, he offended the Dragon Clan, competing with the Black Dragon Ancestor for the Yellow Emperor Plum spirit root and with the Azure Dragon for Fusang. This angered the Dragon Clan, and their collective destiny retaliated.
The Dragon Clan were the overlords of this era, their destiny so powerful that even peak Great Powers would retreat from them. What chance did he, merely a Great Heavenly Power, have?
The backlash of destiny weakened Mu Gong to his extreme. When his Dao clashed with Shi Tian Supreme, he encountered Qingling, a variable imbued with the Dragon Clan's destiny, and was defeated by Shi Tian Supreme.
Then, after Qingling achieved Grand Unity, he bore even more of the Dragon Clan's destiny and planted the Luosheng Flower upon him.
Millions of years of torment in the Sea of Death, eroded by the miasma, with the Luosheng Flower absorbing his vitality, left him incredibly weak.
Furthermore, as Qingling achieved the status of a Great Heavenly Power, he seized one-tenth of Mu Gong's Wood Dao authority, disrupting the balance of his internal Grand Unity Dao Treasury, leaving Mu Gong with no opportunity to resist.
This involved the Dragon Clan's destiny, Qingling's confrontation as his Dao's enemy, the life-and-death opposition of Shi Tian Supreme, and possibly even the Azure Dragon, the master of the Wood Dao, secretly suppressing Mu Gong and seizing his remaining Wood Dao authority.
The complexity was intricate, with countless threads, but ultimately, it boiled down to two things: karma and destiny.
These were two elements that no being in the Honghuang could escape.
Qingling looked at the Luosheng Flower in his hand and gently raised it. The blood-red flower floated upwards, positioning itself above his Qing Yun, where it was being refined by the vast sea of qi.
Threads of Wood Dao power flowed into his nascent soul, strengthening his Wood Dao authority.
If he completely refined this Luosheng Flower, his share of the Wood Dao authority would reach thirty percent.
In other words, within the Wood Dao, the Azure Dragon would be first, he would be second, all cultivators of the Wood Dao in the world would account for only twenty percent, while he alone held thirty percent, and the Azure Dragon held fifty percent.
This was the advantage of being born early. If some beings had emerged a few eras earlier, the entire world would have been rewritten.
If he had been born in the era of Investiture of the Gods or Journey to the West, the world would have been established, and no matter how hard he tried or how strong his opportunities, it would be difficult to reach the heights of a Great Power today.
Qingling was fortunate to have been born early, emerging several Yuanhui earlier and gaining a preemptive advantage in the Great Dao. No matter who cultivated the Wood Dao in the future, they would have to call him senior.
For example, Laozi of the Three Pure Ones was born tens of Yuanhui later than Qingling, so in his Taiji Yin-Yang Great Dao, there was an ancestor of Yin-Yang blocking his path.
Perhaps, his path would be paved by Hongjun in the future. Hongjun would also have to pave the way for Laozi because he inherited Pangu's destiny from Laozi, and this debt would need to be repaid with karma.
On Jianmu, Qingling continued to refine the spiritual qi of his sea of qi. The Grand Unity Dao Treasury within him gradually integrated with his Wood Dao authority, invisibly drawing wood power from heaven and earth to form a spiritual qi cycle for a Middle Thousand World.
Grand Unity Golden Immortals nurtured Small Thousand Worlds within themselves, only Great Heavenly Powers could nurture Middle Thousand Worlds, and peak Great Powers could manifest Great Thousand Worlds. As for Hunyuan, they were beings capable of creating a world.
Currently, Qingling's Dao Treasury was nearing completion, and his magical power could be said to be inexhaustible.
In another thousand years, it would be fully accomplished.
On another mountain, atop Yujing, an old Daoist calmly observed a cluster of true spirit before him, awaiting its decision.
After a long while, the cluster of true spirit finally agreed.
"I request Senior to impart the method."
The old Daoist said calmly, "I will now impart to you the method of achieving Dao through the Three Corpses.
However, you must know that your origin has vanished, and your roots are gone. The first evil corpse you sever will be used to shape your Dao body. Therefore, even if you sever the Three Corpses, you will not be able to achieve that final step."
Mu Gong's face filled with hatred, and he said, "Junior understands, but my origin is destroyed, and I have long abandoned any thought of Hunyuan. The Three Corpses method is the most suitable path for Junior."
Hongjun nodded and said, "Good! Then you shall become the second person to cultivate my method of achieving Dao by severing the corpses!"
Mu Gong was only filled with joy. To obtain such an supreme method was truly a fortunate timing for his death.
If, in the future, Hongjun's Dao were to spread throughout the world and the Three Corpses method became sought after by countless Great Powers, Mu Gong might not receive it even if he begged Hongjun.
But this was the Primordial Era, the era when the power of the Heavenly Dao was weakest.
With each additional Great Power who cultivated the Three Corpses method, the Heavenly Dao would gain more strength and a thread of authority over heaven and earth.
Hongjun imparted the teachings by word of mouth, beside an ancient tree on Yujing Mountain, explaining the Dao to Mu Gong.
"My Dao is the Immortal Dao, which aligns with the Heavenly Dao. Below the Heavenly Dao, there are eight realms of myriad Daos.
They are: Earth Immortal, Heaven Immortal, True Immortal, Grand Unity Profound Immortal, Grand Unity Golden Immortal, Grand Unity Golden Immortal, Quasi-Sage, and Sage.
A Grand Unity Golden Immortal who comprehends the evil self through my corpse-severing method and severs the evil corpse possesses transcendent strength and can be prefixed with the word 'Quasi' to indicate their status, yet they do not possess the full power of a Sage. Hence, they are called 'Quasi-Sage.'
Severing the evil corpse makes one comparable to a Great Heavenly Power, but three parts weaker.
Severing two corpses makes one comparable to a peak Great Power, but thirty percent weaker.
However, if one severs all three corpses, they can be compared to the thirty-first level of Grand Unity Golden Immortal, a half-step to Hunyuan.
The unification of the Three Corpses is Hunyuan, immortal, indestructible, omnipotent, and omnipotent.
My method of severing the corpses uses the Dao of divine abilities. When all three corpses are severed, the primordial spirit is entrusted to the Heavenly Dao, and the Three Corpses return to the physical body, achieving Dao and becoming a Sage, obtaining the Sage's position within my Heavenly Dao..."
Mu Gong was already filled with awe. The realms of the Honghuang were mostly formed by shared understanding, akin to customary law, whereas Hongjun had created codified law that was clear and applicable to all under heaven.
He had previously only thought of Hongjun as a being comparable to Ancestral Dragon and Rahu, but now, standing beside Hongjun, he realized the immensity of Hongjun's ambition and the depth of his wisdom.
If this Dao were to be achieved, Hongjun would truly earn the title of Hongjun Dao Ancestor!