This era saw the heavens and earth undergo drastic changes, marked by the great calamity of dragons and phoenixes.
Following the conflict between the Dao and Demonic factions, the world approached a state of stability. The Heavenly Dao governed all, and the order of things became immutable.
Therefore, he intended to accomplish what he needed to while the Heavenly Dao was weakened. Otherwise, he would never have another chance.
Qing Ling once again walked into the East Sea, his steps gliding through the waves.
The wind, originating from the Eastern Pole, swept across the vast ocean. Clouds followed the wind, drifting westward.
From east to west, beginning in the east and ending in the west, all the winds and clouds of heaven and earth followed this pattern.
This was because the east was the region closest to the sun and moon. The powers of yang and yin collided and separated within the heavens and earth, generating boundless energy. When energy moved, wind arose; when wind arose, clouds stirred.
Speaking of the sun, he recalled the brilliant and handsome fragment of Tai Yi's soul, Qu, who outshone even the sun.
Qu had once said that the Primordial World was round above and square below. The heavens moved, while the earth was still. Thus, it was the heavens that revolved, and within the cosmos and starry sea, the sun and moon also moved. However, their directions were opposite to that of the heavens, making them appear relatively stationary from the perspective of the great land.
Only those who could perceive the movement of the heavens could clearly discern the paths of the sun and moon.
Each day, the Tai Yin and Tai Yang rose from the east, traveled to the south, and set in the west.
As for why they did not approach the north, Qu explained that it was too cold there, and a great black turtle, so immense it could truly swallow the sun, resided there. He was afraid.
Qing Ling chuckled at the memory. It turned out that even the lofty sun had something to fear.
The East Sea was immense. The combined waters of the Four Seas were not smaller than the Primordial World. This was why the Dragon Clan ruled the Four Seas with various subordinate races; otherwise, no matter how fertile the dragons were, they could not control them all.
In the northwest of the East Sea lay a sea region called Rizhao.
This was the place where the first ray of sunlight, as the sun was born each day, touched the Primordial Great Land.
A supreme clan resided here, known as the Yangyu Clan, who were masters of the Great Dao of Water and Fire.
Qing Ling traveled thousands of miles to this place, solely to seek the Fusang Divine Wood.
Above the sea, the waters for hundreds of millions of miles around were golden, a dazzling and magnificent spectacle.
Qing Ling stood barefoot on the surface of the sea, motionless. Ripples spread from beneath his feet in all directions.
He had traveled the Buzhou Mountain for a million years, and his feet had gained a terrifying precision in their perception of all things on earth. Even walking on water, he could still sense the undulations of the waves, the leaping fish, the birds diving into the water to catch prey, and even the growth rate of coral beneath the sea every second.
Qing Ling closed his eyes, his mind focused, lost in his own world.
A large fish suddenly leaped out of the water, transforming into a human with a fish's tail. Wielding a trident, it looked at the crimson-robed Daoist before him and demanded, "Hey, cultivator, from what place and clan do you come? This is the territory of my Yangyu Clan, retreat quickly!"
To his surprise, the Daoist figure remained completely still, as if he hadn't heard him speak.
The merfolk creature was slightly angered and shouted again, but the person before him still did not move.
He grumbled, "So you're deaf! Or perhaps dead!"
No sooner had the words left his mouth than the sky above changed dramatically. The bright, calm sunlight turned into dark clouds, and a fierce wind blew. A bolt of lightning split the sky, accompanied by a deafening roar.
The merfolk creature's expression changed drastically. He quickly shouted, "Bad news! Come quickly, fish! Come quickly, fish!" He then swam frantically towards the deep sea.
However, to his misfortune, as he swam into the deep sea, he encountered a sea monster halfway, which swallowed him whole with a gaping maw.
To his death, he never knew that his doom was brought upon him by his own words.
Standing before him was a mighty being of heaven and earth. He was merely a Celestial-rank creature. Though it was only a single malicious remark, he had offended Qing Ling.
His fortune was instantly devoured by the might of the heavenly and earthly being, leading to a decline in his luck and the invasion of death and calamity.
The heavenly phenomena above the sea changed unpredictably. The sea monsters in the depths were merely hungry and foraging. However, all of this coalesced into a calamity, and this merfolk creature could not escape, dying an unnatural death.
This was not Qing Ling's will, nor his intention, but merely the instinct of his fortune. His union with the authority of heaven and earth, the authority of the Wood Dao, the authority of the Earth Dao, the Dao of Marriage, and the authority of the Spring God, granted him dominion over heaven and earth that surpassed that of ordinary supreme beings.
Simply by standing there, this place became a forbidden zone, inaccessible to ordinary beings.
Qing Ling had been sensing all movements within this sea region, perceiving any abnormalities.
The sea was vast, with countless fish, plants, corals, shells, and living creatures bustling about. His mind performed tens of thousands of calculations every second.
One calculation spanned ten thousand years.
For ten thousand years, Qing Ling had not moved an inch, yet he was fully aware of every gust of wind and ripple of water in this sea.
Finally, after countless deductions, he sensed something unusual.
Amidst the constantly shifting waves, three areas of the sea experienced extremely subtle convergences of undercurrents every thousand years.
Qing Ling finally opened his eyes. One glance spanned ten thousand years. The sky remained the sky, the sea remained the sea. In the span between closing his eyes and opening them again, ten thousand years had passed. He couldn't help but sigh inwardly.
The supreme being Shi Tian had informed him that every thousand years, there was an opportunity to enter Tanggu in this Rizhao sea region. However, it required the use of a treasure, the Three Luminaries Divine Mirror.
This treasure, once belonging to Mu Gong, had apparently fallen into the hands of the ancestor of the Yangyu Clan.
Qing Ling took a step, and the vast sea region for hundreds of millions of miles trembled. The seabed at the bottom of the deep sea was forcefully raised by three feet, and waves thousands of feet high spontaneously surged on the surface, churning the waters in all directions, unleashing a colossal tsunami that swept across the region.
Uncountable sea creatures fled in panic, or burrowed deep into the earth. The palaces deep underground were in disarray, and the clan hall of the Yangyu Clan would have been destroyed by this single surge had it not been for the protection of a magic formation.
The Golden Immortal Venerables of the Yangyu Clan flew out of the sea to quell the tsunami. Three Grand Unity cultivators, sensing the source of the disturbance, surrounded Qing Ling.
However, upon probing him, their expressions changed drastically. This was a mighty being! The imposing aura they had intended to use to suppress the troublemaker was withdrawn.
A thin man among them said sternly, "Esteemed senior, why do you wreak havoc in our Yangyu Clan's territory?"
Qing Ling smiled faintly and said, "Have your clan elder come to see me. It would be best if you do not ask further questions, lest no one can protect you."
The three Grand Unity cultivators of the Yangyu Clan were startled and immediately sent a message to the clan elder in seclusion. However, they dared not retreat nor advance, and could only stand their ground.
A moment later, a golden light rose from the sea, and a hunched old man, also of slender build, stepped out of the water and looked at Qing Ling.
"Yang Ji of the Yangyu Clan greets the esteemed senior. My three junior disciples have been presumptuous, please do not be angry." He then turned to the three Grand Unity cultivators and berated them, "You have eyes but fail to recognize a mountain; how dare you offend a senior? Retreat quickly."
Upon hearing their ancestor refer to Qing Ling as "senior," the three Grand Unity cultivators were even more shocked. This person was clearly beyond the level of a supreme being! Filled with dread, they bowed and quickly departed.
Qing Ling's smile did not diminish, but he spoke, "Wait."
The three Grand Unity cultivators' hearts tightened, their tension reaching their throats.
Yang Ji saw this and quickly said, "Esteemed senior, these three juniors truly offended you unintentionally. Please do not be angry. Although these three are but insignificant ants, they are the future of our Yangyu Clan. I beg for your forgiveness."
Qing Ling smiled and took two steps forward, approaching Yang Ji. He looked at Yang Ji's hunched form and lowered his head slightly, chuckling, "Ancestor Yang Ji, since you care for the Yangyu Clan, how could you commit acts of rebellion against the Dragon Clan? Would this not bring the calamity of extermination upon your clan?"
Yang Ji's expression changed drastically, and he spoke with great indignation, "Esteemed Senior Qing Ling, even if you are from the faction of the Azure Dragon Ancestor, do not go too far! You arrive and immediately cause trouble in our sea territory, and furthermore, you slander our clan by relying on your cultivation. Even if the Azure Dragon Ancestor holds great power within the Dragon Palace, there are still the Black Dragon Ancestor and the Candle Dragon Ancestor."
Qing Ling's smile vanished. His emotionless eyes fixed on Yang Ji and said, "You even know my title. Could it be that an old friend from within informed you? Yang Ji, you harbor and collude with a fugitive of the Dragon Clan. Where else do you intend to seek justice?"
Yang Ji sneered, completely unconcerned, "You are framing me! When did I ever harbor a fugitive of the Dragon Clan?"
Qing Ling spread his hands and said, "Hand over the Three Luminaries Divine Mirror, and I shall pursue this matter no further."
Upon hearing this, Yang Ji's face paled in surprise, and he then said, "This artifact is the treasure of our clan! How can we easily lend it to someone with ill intentions? So you intended to seize our clan's treasure and have come here to slander me! I shall immediately request aid from the Dragon Palace and invite the Dragon Guards of the Four Seas to bear witness to my innocence!"
Qing Ling sneered, "Too late!"
Yang Ji's heart pounded. He quickly produced a divine token from the Dragon Palace.
However, Qing Ling was a step faster. The sea beneath his feet instantly ascended into the sky, and the waves rose to encircle an area of a million miles.
Concurrently, the divine patterns on his brow flickered. The Luo Sheng Flower, planted within Yang Ji's body at their first glance, instantly grew at an accelerated rate, greedily absorbing his vital energy and divine soul.
Yang Ji's dragon token was ignited, and myriad divine lights scattered in all directions, but they were contained within the million-mile encirclement of the sea.
Within the seawater, threads of red light were hidden, filling the void and trapping the divine patterns.
Yang Ji's expression changed drastically. Three divine mirrors appeared in his hands. As they unfolded, they emitted a brilliant, scorching sun, its light illuminating all directions. At the same time, he opened his mouth and spat out a mouthful of heart blood, which transformed into a strange blue flame, burning on the red threads and burning through them, creating cracks. He then waved his sleeve, intending to send the three Grand Unity cultivators out of the heavenly net.
Qing Ling let out a scoff. The divine patterns on his brow blazed, and he automatically released two of the Grand Unity cultivators, leaving only the thin man.
"Yang Ji, if you leave behind a clone to hide, then you will truly bring about the destruction of the Yangyu Clan!"
Yang Ji's face contorted with ferocity, and he sneered, "Indeed, a mighty being of heaven and earth. You have seen through this as well. However, I am unaware that Mu Gong is dead. Even if this was once Mu Gong's dojo, on what grounds do you accuse me of harboring a fugitive?"
Qing Ling smiled and said, "Because Shi Tian, the supreme being who imprisoned Mu Gong, informed me that Mu Gong fought him for tens of Yuan Hui, yet only had one of his two supreme treasures with him. This Three Luminaries Divine Mirror must have been his contingency plan. Since it has fallen into your possession, it is natural that you colluded with Mu Gong."
"Nonsense! Although I know high-grade spiritual treasures are rare, why would I harbor a fugitive for a mere spiritual treasure?"
"Heh, true. Mu Gong is one of the ten great fugitives of the Dragon Palace. A single spiritual treasure would certainly not be enough to bribe him. But for a Daoist seeking the Dao, is everything not ultimately for the sake of the Dao? If the spiritual treasure is insufficient, what about a secret technique to break through to the level of a mighty being of heaven and earth? I ask all Grand Unity cultivators in the world, who would not be tempted?"