The Queen Mother of the Yaochi watched Hao Tian, who had been in communion with the Dao for a thousand yuan hui, with a serene gaze. Golden light filled the heavenly clouds, and auspicious clouds formed a stairway. A new Heavenly Emperor ascended the Lingxiao Palace.
The Jade Emperor pointed to the sky. The Heavenly Dao trembled. Hao Tian, transformed by his communion with the Dao, became the authority of the heavens, also known as divine right.
The aura of supreme treasures permeated the Three Realms, and divine power flowed through myriad worlds, eventually manifesting as a gilded scroll and a three-foot whip.
"Heavenly Book!"
"Primordial Treasure of Deification!"
Innumerable great powers awakened, countless thoughts flashing through their minds, leading to myriad deductions.
Alas, before the great powers could react, the Jade Emperor turned towards Kunlun and declared, "This Supreme Being specifically invites the Sage of Yuqing, Primordial Origin, to wield the treasure and enact the Deification!"
Upon hearing this, all the great powers lost their inclination to act. None dared to seize the treasure from the hands of a Sage.
On Mount Kunlun, in the Jade Void Palace, Primordial Origin did not respond immediately, pausing for a few breaths.
During these breaths, all the great powers' hearts stood still, awaiting the outcome.
After a long while, the voice of the Sage finally echoed from Mount Kunlun.
"Great Celestial Venerable, why do you choose me?"
The Jade Emperor smiled faintly and replied, "This Supreme Being follows the will of heaven. This is the decree of heaven! Thus is Hao Tian!"
Primordial Origin remained silent for a moment, then said, "Very well!"
The Jade Emperor added, "I also request the Sage to hasten the Deification, lest the vast Heavenly Court remain without deities to govern!"
On Mount Kunlun, Primordial Origin, seated on a cloud bed, did not reply. Instead, he beckoned, and the Investiture of the Gods and the Whip to Beat Gods descended into the cloud sea of Kunlun.
"The Deification begins here!"
As the words fell, the vast destiny of the Chan Sect soared into the heavens, stirring the rolling mortal dust for countless zhangs, gathering the malevolent energies of a thousand yuan hui. The Heavenly Dao commanded, the Earthly Dao responded in due time, and the Human Dao must follow.
The meaning of the Three Paths, gathering and dispersing, ultimately evolved into four characters, which entered the minds of numerous great powers and ancestors, striking them with awe.
"The Tribulation of Deification."
Witnessing this, the Queen Mother of the Yaochi shook her head and withdrew her gaze. She had already deduced that even in this tribulation, there was no opportunity for her own enlightenment.
Lao Tzu of Mount Shouyang remained silent. Tong Tian of Golden Ao Island frowned, glancing at the bustling mortal realm outside his island, the vast destiny that blurred the lines between immortals and mortals.
Zhunti and Jieyin of the West exchanged smiles and said, "Destined travelers in the mortal world, the time for the West's great prosperity is at hand."
In the Demon Realm, within the Palace of Nuwa, Nuwa, reclining on a cloud bed, let out a light laugh, "This is rather interesting. Why don't I stir the waters further? The immortal path? The demonic path? It matters not which."
On a towering, verdant jade peak, Azure Dragon stood with his hands behind his back, sighing, "A scroll of the Investiture of the Gods, shaking the nine heavens and ten earths.
Watching this tribulation rise and fall, it amounts to nothing in the end."
"Martial Uncle Grandfather, what are you sighing about?" a mischievous girl approached from behind, asking curiously.
Azure Dragon shook his head, saying, "It's nothing. Why have you come to find me?"
The girl hastily became respectful, saying, "Tao Yao pays her respects to Martial Uncle Grandfather. My master said there is a disciple in the Hall of All Beings whose fate is uncertain, and it is for you to decide."
"Oh? What disciple is it that even your master, Bei Xu, cannot decide?" Azure Dragon expressed surprise, "If that is the case, I shall take a look."
On Mount Fuyu, before the Fuluo Palace, a clearing was made amidst a sea of shore flowers, where Bei Xu stood at the head, with Bai Fu, Hei Xuan, and You Du standing by his side. Before them knelt a disciple, and many juniors were gathered nearby to witness.
When Azure Dragon arrived, everyone in the square bowed low, "Paying respects to Martial Uncle (Martial Uncle Grandfather)!"
"Rise," Azure Dragon said calmly, "What is the matter?"
Bei Xu stated, "Martial Uncle, this child is an emissary of the Crimson Bright Realm. He possesses great wisdom and has made no small contributions to the Hall of All Beings. However, he now wishes to abandon the Hall of All Beings and join the Buddhist faith. I request Martial Uncle to handle this."
Azure Dragon listened, his expression unchanged, and said, "Raise your head. May I have your Dao name?"
The young man raised his head. His appearance was ordinary, but he possessed a perseverance uncommon to others.
"Junior Qing Ye pays his respects to Grand Martial Uncle!"
Azure Dragon asked, "Why do you wish to abandon our path and enter Buddhism?"
Qing Ye replied sincerely, "This disciple has not abandoned the Hall of All Beings. Rather, the Hall of All Beings is for all beings. The Dao is also for all beings, and Buddha is also for all beings. Demons, spirits, sorcerers, and witches are all beings. This disciple enters Buddhism for the sake of all beings, not to abandon my master's path, but to propagate the path of all beings."
Azure Dragon fell silent for a moment, then said, "If that is the case, then go!"
Qing Ye exclaimed with joy, "I thank Grand Martial Uncle! I thank all the Martial Ancestors and Martial Uncles!"
Upon hearing this, Bei Xu sighed lightly and waved his sleeve, sending Qing Ye away.
You inquired, "But according to precedent, those who abandon their sect should have their cultivation abolished! Moreover, Qing Ye has deeply inherited our Dao lineage..."
Azure Dragon said, "Since this child has left, then let him go. In the end, it is merely a Taiyi. Will Floating Jade Mountain lack the Great Dao methods?"
"Yes! We respectfully obey Martial Uncle (Grandfather)'s teachings!"
No one dared to disobey.
Azure Dragon asked, "Has Kong Xuan emerged from his seclusion?"
Bai Fu shook his head, "Senior Brother Kong Xuan has been in seclusion meditating on his past self for eighty yuan hui and has yet to emerge."
Azure Dragon looked at everyone and said, "A tribulation is about to begin in the world. You must also be careful, discipline your disciples, and the emissaries of the Hall of All Beings in all the myriad worlds.
When do you think your master will return?"
Hei Xuan sighed, "No matter when Master returns, we will guard Floating Jade Mountain and await Master's return! Moreover, within Floating Jade Mountain, there are many Da Luo, numerous great powers, and with you, Martial Uncle, overseeing, what is there to fear in this world, as long as no Sage emerges?"
Since the Sages fell into slumber a thousand yuan hui ago, Kong Xuan had already grasped the true meaning of his past self and was on the verge of entering the Ancestral realm.
Bei Xu, Bai Fu, You, and Hei Xuan, disciples who had followed the Sage of All Beings since the Primordial Age, had also entered the realm of great powers.
Shen Nong had also achieved great power by severing one of his three corpses, leveraging the destiny of one of the Six Imperials.
Although Chai Daohuang had not yet reached the realm of great powers, he had already reached the peak of Da Luo tenth heaven, just a thread away from becoming a great power!
Qi was the highest in cultivation among them, not only having reached the ultimate realm but now standing at the twenty-sixth heaven of Da Luo.
Bai Ze had also accumulated for over a thousand yuan hui and finally reached the ultimate realm, becoming the Northern Emperor of the Demon Race, at the twenty-first heaven of Da Luo.
As for the other disciples, many of the third generation had entered the Da Luo realm, but many had been hindered by time, stopping at Golden Immortal, and many had even perished under the three calamities and five tribulations.
After all, a thousand yuan hui was too long. The poison of time in the Primordial World was not something everyone could avoid. Many Primordial Golden Immortals had fled into the smaller and medium worlds beneath the Primordial World, living in seclusion to evade the three calamities and five tribulations, thus attaining eternal life in the world.
Amidst the rolling mortal dust, two young men ascended Mount Kunlun. One, dressed in white with black hair, was elegant and amiable. The other, in black with white hair, had a sharp brow.
On Mount Kunlun, Primordial Origin sat in deep thought. After a long while, he sighed softly, "The Great Dao arises and perishes, all returns to the Primordial Origin, all is without beginning.
White Crane Boy, go and bring the two people at the mountain gate!"
"Chirp~"
A resonant crane's cry echoed through the sky, heralding the prelude to the Deification.
On the majestic trunk of the Myriad Worlds Tree, a profound light gently ascended, devoid of dust, of clarity, of Dao, of mortal existence, almost reaching emptiness.