The last two tenths of the twenty-fourth-grade Azure Lotus's origin flowed into the Nine Heavens and vanished.
The Three Pure Ones did not forcefully seize it, nor did Qing Ling snatch it away.
Destiny and fortune, one is fortunate to have it, but one cannot force it.
On Buzhou Mountain, four supreme spiritual treasures emerged, emitting boundless radiance. Azure, red, white, and green light illuminated the heavens.
Even if Buzhou's heavenly secrets were not revealed, the supreme innate spiritual treasures had their predetermined numbers.
Originally, three spiritual treasures corresponded to the Three Pure Ones, and the Dao light only appeared in Kunlun. However, with Qing Ling as an unexpected variable, something unintended arose.
The old Daoist on Jade Capital Mountain felt a twitch in his eyelids and, without any hesitation, appeared on Buzhou Mountain, at the very end of the Nine Heavens.
The Three Pure Ones were startled, and Qing Ling was frightened.
The Three Pure Ones were fixed destinies; he was a variable, an anomaly.
No need for further words, in this era, those who could traverse the void on Buzhou Mountain could be counted on one hand.
The newcomer wore a grey Daoist robe, his demeanor as serene as water. His face was aged, his hair white, and his aura as ordinary as an old man's.
Dressed like this, it could only be Dao Ancestor Hongjun, and if he was here to see the Three Pure Ones, it had to be his true form!
Qing Ling did not dare to hope to be Hongjun's disciple, only wishing that Hongjun would not target him.
Hongjun looked at the Three Pure Ones and asked, "Are you three born of Pangu?"
The Three Pure Ones exchanged glances. Taiqing stepped forward and said, "We are all born of Pangu.
I am Taiqing."
"I am Yuqing."
"I am Shangqing."
Qing Ling stood to the side, feeling a little guilty, not interjecting. Hongjun had spoken of three, not four.
Hongjun nodded and said, "Are you three willing to join my Dao?"
Taiqing hesitated for a moment and asked, "What is it to join the Dao? We already have our own Dao, why must we join yours?"
Hongjun shook his head, "This Dao is not that Dao. Joining my Dao is joining the Dao of Heaven, the Dao of Immortality.
By joining my Dao, you can become my disciple and call me Master."
Yuqing asked with confusion, "What is a Master?"
Hongjun's voice became solemn, "A Master is one who imparts the Dao, teaches knowledge, and resolves doubts."
Shangqing asked with a smile, "Then what is imparting the Dao? What is teaching knowledge? What is resolving doubts?"
Hongjun looked at him twice, and a hint of emotion appeared in his eyes: a trace of a smile.
"I will impart the Xuanmen Dao, teach the Heavenly Dao position, and resolve your primordial confusion."
Qing Ling had thought of many things; perhaps in the future, he would change the course of heaven and earth.
But when the moment to truly decide the course of heaven and earth arrived, even though he was present, Qing Ling was, and could only be, a witness.
Five steps away was Qing Ling. Within five steps was Hongjun. The distance of five steps was even greater than the thirty-three layers of the Primordial World.
The Three Pure Ones fell into silence, and a stillness descended. Hongjun had not looked at Qing Ling from beginning to end.
Suddenly, Hongjun's eyebrows twitched, and he declared, "By becoming my disciple, you can achieve the primordial great Dao."
The Three Pure Ones were shaken to their core; the numbers of fate were set.
The Three Pure Ones bowed simultaneously and said, "Greetings, Teacher."
"Wait!"
A cold and stern voice echoed, piercing the heavens and earth.
But it was too late; the Three Pure Ones had already bowed.
Before this, there were no Masters in heaven and earth. After Hongjun, Masters appeared in heaven and earth, hence Hongjun was the first Master in this world!
The original meaning of Master was not the hierarchical relationship of "a day as a teacher, a lifetime as a father" between elders and juniors, but a relationship of mutual respect as friends.
This was why the popular poem about Dao Ancestor Hongjun said, "One Dao passed to three friends," not "one Dao passed to three disciples"!
From afar, that clear and cold voice, approaching from a distance, reached Buzhou.
The newcomer wore a black robe with flowing patterns that fit him perfectly. His brows were expressive, and his suppressed aura swept across the heavens and earth. Beneath the vast dark energy, he stood tall and heroic.
The newcomer's black eyes reflected Hongjun and the Three Pure Ones, his eyes filled with unbridled rage.
"Hongjun, you have quite the scheme!"
Hongjun smiled in the face of his old rival's anger.
"Alas, you still discovered it."
As he said this, he, for the first time, glanced at Qing Ling.
"However, you are still one step too late."
Hongjun smiled and said, "Three of you, come with me to Jade Capital."
The Three Pure Ones nodded. They glanced at this newcomer radiating killing intent. Taiqing remained unmoved, Yuqing turned his head away, and only Shangqing looked at him a few more times.
As the Three Pure Ones departed, they did not forget Qing Ling and said to him, "Dao Brother, we shall take our leave first."
Upon hearing this, Hongjun's eyes showed surprise, as did Rahu's.
In an instant, a black shadow appeared before Qing Ling; it was Rahu standing in front of him.
Not only Qing Ling was stunned, but even Hongjun was taken aback, his expression slightly changing. However, after glancing at the furious Rahu, he left.
He departed with Pangu's destiny. Hongjun took in the Three Pure Ones, and their Pangu destiny merged with the Heavenly Dao, greatly increasing the fortune of the Eastern world.
But it was not as much as Hongjun had imagined, for he had lost a tenth of it.
This tenth was Qing Ling!
Without Qing Ling, Hongjun's actions could have concealed the changes in the Three Pure Ones' destiny, and Rahu would never have appeared today.
However, with Qing Ling as a variable, everything was different.
The Three Pure Ones called Hongjun "Teacher," but because of this "Teacher," Hongjun was effectively lowered by half a generation, becoming a teacher-friend to the Three Pure Ones. And Qing Ling was half a generation older than the Three Pure Ones. With this increase and decrease, Qing Ling was nearly their equal.
Furthermore, Qing Ling cherished Buzhou, returning like a wanderer. He was the dark hair of Pangu's life and was long remembered after his death. Hongjun governed heaven, while Qing Ling represented the earth, thus a tenth of the destiny was separated.
Qing Ling looked at the figure blocking his path and trembled even more.
If Hongjun was cold and unsettling, this person was terrifying.
Rahu watched Hongjun leave and sighed. The moment the Three Pure Ones bowed, or the moment they agreed, he had already been too late.
Turning around, he looked at this last "bargaining chip" and a smile spread across his face.
"Senior, this junior shall take his leave."
Qing Ling maintained a smile on his face and bowed gently, about to depart.
"Wait!" Rahu's smile did not diminish as he stepped closer, "This 'Senior,' I, Rahu, do not accept."
Qing Ling's eyelids twitched, and he changed his address, "Ancestor!"
"Hmm?" Rahu frowned lightly.
Qing Ling's expression remained composed, and he asked with a smile, "Then how should I address Your Excellency?"
"The Pangu Three Pure Ones called you Dao Brother and elevated you to Hongjun's generation. You should naturally interact with me as an equal.
Don't call me Dao Brother; it gives me a headache. Call me Brother."
Qing Ling's heart trembled, and he quickly said, "My cultivation is shallow; I dare not presume."
It wasn't that he was being fussy; it was genuinely not something one could casually say.
The Three Pure Ones called Hongjun "Teacher," and thus became the Eastern Heavenly Dao faction. If he called Rahu something, wouldn't he become the Western Demonic Dao faction?
Seeing that Qing Ling refused to acknowledge him, Rahu's eyes began to glint with malevolence. He pointed a finger forward.
"Boom!"
Heaven and earth turned blood-red, the universe inverted, time became chaotic, the void ceased to exist. Azure, white, red, and black, four-colored streams of light devoured heaven and earth.
The four terrifying auras of "Sharp," "Death," "Destruction," and "Slaughter" instantly enveloped Qing Ling. Heaven and earth had their Dao, but within this area, there was no Dao. Within the Immortal Slaying formation, only the one holding the sword was the Dao.
Immortal Slaying is sharp, Slaughter Immortal brings death, Trapping Immortal causes red light everywhere.
Destroying Immortal possesses infinite wonders, and even great Daos and immortals are stained with blood.
Rahu stood with one hand behind his back, hovering high above, looking down at Qing Ling. In this world of immense terror, he said with a faint smile, "What do you call me?"
Qing Ling's mind was in turmoil and uneasy. His primordial spirit was almost shattered by the terrifying killing Dao. At this moment, he no longer cared about the consequences, knowing what they would be if he refused.
A mere chaotic onslaught from the Four Immortal Slaying Swords.
"Qing, Qing Ling greets Elder Brother!"
"Hmm!"
It was still the same sound, but now it changed from an interrogative tone to a definitive one.
"This is you calling me willingly; no one forced you."
Qing Ling's heart was filled with tears, but a smile played on his lips, "Yes, I willingly acknowledge you as my elder brother."
Rahu nodded, and his figure vanished in an instant, reappearing beside Qing Ling a moment later. He patted his shoulder and said, "Excellent! If the East has the Pangu Three Pure Ones, then the West shall have Pangu Qing Ling!"
The killing intent of the Four Immortal Slaying Swords dissipated, and Rahu's killing intent also subsided. Qing Ling's Pangu destiny was absolutely not to be lost. It would either be used by him or destroyed, and he would act even if it meant bearing karma.
This was the way of the Ancestor of Ten Thousand Demons: those who follow me prosper, and those who oppose me perish!
On Buzhou Mountain, Qing Ling shed tears of emotion that day as he acknowledged an elder brother.
Rahu looked at the soaring peaks of Buzhou Mountain, reaching the boundless heights of heaven and earth, and murmured softly, lost in thought, "Pangu, Pangu, alas~"
After a moment of silence, he regained his composure and said, "Let's go."
"Go?" Qing Ling asked in surprise, "But I still need to climb Buzhou."
"Oh? Is that so?" Rahu raised his left sleeve again, and the terrifying aura of absolute destruction was about to erupt. "Then you may climb Buzhou at your leisure."
Qing Ling's heart tightened, and then he smiled, "Forget it, I will accompany Elder Brother."
Rahu said indifferently, "Why aren't you climbing anymore? I'm not stopping you."
Qing Ling felt indignant but dared not speak. Even with the best temperament, one could not endure such torment.
"There will be plenty of time to climb Buzhou. I will accompany Elder Brother and broaden my horizons."
Rahu nodded and said, "I didn't expect Brother Qing to have such thoughts. Since you've said so, then I shall take you to see my Demonic Dao ancestral land."