Qing Ling returned to Du Guang and announced to all beings in the heavens and earth, "Henceforth, for the three hundred and sixty-five days of the year, they shall be divided into four seasons, each season comprising ninety-one days. The four seasons shall cycle through the four cardinal directions of heaven and earth, with the last day being the day of returning to the primordial state."
All beings in the heavens and earth understood. From then on, a new system of timekeeping emerged for them.
Qing Ling did not mention the twelve months. Although the heavens and earth would surely obey if he uttered them, it would certainly offend the Lunar Star Lord and divide the lunar energy.
Qing Ling descended back to the Jianmu tree, with the Four Seasons Celestial Diagram suspended high in the firmament.
He rotated the divine diagram, and the four divine personas on his body lit up simultaneously.
In the celestial diagram, the Spring season merged with the power of his divine personas. The Eastern lands entered Spring, the Northern lands entered the East, the Western lands entered Autumn, and the Southern lands entered Summer.
The divine diagram rotated ceaselessly, albeit slowly. Each rotation of ninety degrees required ninety-one days, turning almost one degree per day, in a counter-clockwise direction.
When the diagram shifted from the North aligning with the north to aligning with the west, the Western lands would enter Winter. Simultaneously, the Southern lands would transition from Summer to Autumn, the Eastern lands from Spring to Summer, and the Northern lands from Winter to Spring.
The divine diagram rotated in the opposite direction of the sun and moon. Daily, the sun and moon rose in the east and set in the west, moving clockwise. One in opposition to the other, this corresponded precisely to the celestial positions of the moon and sun.
Qing Ling deliberately added an extra day at each stage, not for any special significance, but to leave himself some leeway.
If he were to doze off and lose focus, causing the Four Seasons Celestial Diagram to slow down slightly, the seasons would become chaotic.
A few instances would be harmless. However, over time, if beings complained and heaven and earth became displeased, he, as the Divine Lord of Seasons, would naturally be held responsible.
Little did he know that this extra day he added would become the difference in future calendrical systems.
Qing Ling sat on the Jianmu tree, needing to guard the divine diagram to prevent anyone with ill intentions from tampering with it. He also used the combined power of his divine personas and the divine diagram to control the weather and climate of the Primordial World.
He executed this task with great discretion. Even if someone were to steal his divine diagram, without the authority of the Four Seasons divine personas, they could not control much.
However, to the powerful beings in the heavens and earth, the Four Seasons Celestial Diagram was a coveted treasure, and they overlooked one crucial point.
Qing Ling had left his indelible mark on this era. He had become a renowned existence since the ancient times, and in terms of authority over heaven and earth, he was now on the same level as Ancestral Dragon, Phoenix Ancestor, Rahu, and Hongjun.
Although Qing Ling was at the lowest rung of this tier, they occupied the highest.
Yet, even the lowest rung represented the pinnacle of the Primordial World.
Qing Ling began to lie low. Just as a single tree standing tall in a forest invites the wind, constant displays of power attract trouble. A momentary flash of brilliance might be overlooked by the true powerhouses, but daily displays would be suicidal.
Besides, he had already accomplished all that was necessary. In this era, he could focus on cultivating with peace of mind.
The Du Guang wilderness became the center of the four seasons, where the cyclical changes of the year were absent, as all four seasons coexisted simultaneously.
The beings inhabiting the Du Guang, born into this blessed land, although fortunate, had lost their sense of crisis.
They never concerned themselves with cultivation or external conflicts, merely living and multiplying in peace within Du Guang.
Only the tribes of Boundary Protectors guarding the four directions diligently cultivated, as they were permitted to enter and exit Du Guang.
Qing Ling divided Du Guang into inner and outer regions. Beings within the inner Du Guang were forbidden to step beyond its confines.
The outer Du Guang served as the dwelling place for the Boundary Protector tribes.
As time passed, the transformed beings in the inner Du Guang could not help but become curious about the outside world, much like celestial maidens dwelling in the Heavenly Court who yearned for mortal love.
Qing Ling paid no mind to the thoughts of these younglings. He began to focus solely on his cultivation.
The gradually slowing growth of the Jianmu tree began to alleviate as Qing Ling commenced his cultivation.
The boundless spiritual energy of the four directions converged into Qing Ling's body, refining and condensing tenfold through the circulation of the grand and minor heavenly cycles, transforming Qi into water, and water accumulating into clouds.
Qi was the most tenuous form of celestial energy. When introduced into the body and transformed into water, it became the first level of purity, known as the power of law.
As this power of law condensed and refined, it integrated with the cultivation of the Great Dao laws, ascending into clouds and merging with the auspicious clouds of Dao manifestations, reaching the highest level and becoming the power of the Great Dao.
Though Qing Ling had not cultivated with focused intent for over twenty Yuan Hui, the Great Dao circulating within him could spontaneously transform Qi into water, and water into clouds.
Qing Ling had suppressed the ancestor of the Yang Yu tribe beneath the Jianmu tree, in the form of a flower. Although it was exceedingly difficult to kill an immortal and indestructible Grand Unity cultivator, he could forever suppress him beneath the Jianmu tree. As long as the Jianmu stood, he could not escape.
A person perpetually living under suppression was no different from being dead.
Mu Gong had been rescued by Hongjun and revived. He would surely seek revenge in the future, and given his backing by the Dao Ancestor, Qing Ling had to be cautious.
Leaving the ancestor of the Yang Yu tribe behind would undoubtedly serve a purpose.
Qing Ling's primordial spirit directed his physical body, transforming Qi into clouds, strengthening the auspicious clouds, and simultaneously, the Daocang Realm within him was being nourished by the Jianmu tree within the Daocang Realm.
The taller the Jianmu grew, the larger his Daocang Realm became.
Upon the Jianmu tree in the Daocang Realm, a short saber floated, nurturing its divinity.
Within the Dantian of his physical body, the Azure Jade Umbrella and the Heaven-Encompassing Rope were being nourished.
Beneath the Jianmu tree, Luo Sheng flowers bloomed, swaying in the wilderness.
Here, there were sprites transformed from a hundred flowers, beings who had cultivated from immortal herbs, spiritual rabbits playing, spiritual deer grazing, spiritual foxes frolicking, and a small snake coiled lazily in the sun, basking in its warmth...
This was a paradise, thanks to Qing Ling's presence.
Meanwhile, in the Netherworld, his future self sat by the Stone of Three Lives, guarding the three rivers.
Deep within the Netherworld, countless ghost cultivators entered Fengdu City, where they cultivated the Great Dao anew.
Every day, countless beings were born and died in the Primordial World. Those whose primordial spirits were intact could have their physical bodies remolded and continue their cultivation.
However, those with incomplete primordial spirits had nowhere to go, gradually perishing over time, their souls returning to heaven and earth.
Now, with the emergence of the Ghost Dao, thousands of departed souls entered the city daily. Those who could reach Fengdu City relying solely on their primordial spirits, having endured hardships along the way, were at least of Heavenly rank, and most of them were primordial spirits of Golden Immortals.
Although they only possessed their primordial spirits and had to re-cultivate the Ghost Dao, they were still Golden Immortals, and their cultivation speed was astonishingly fast.
At this time, there was no orthodox path in the world, no opposition between immortals, gods, demons, and ghosts. Thus, they had almost no natural enemies, and ghost cultivators enjoyed unique advantages.
Indeed, a Grand Unity realm ghost cultivator was about to emerge in Fengdu City!
In Xi Mountain, after multiple selections, the Xi Mountain Serpent Clan decided to go all out in preparation for Ke's ascension to the Great Power realm.
The Xi Mountain Serpent Clan now had over twenty to thirty Grand Unity cultivators. However, only five possessed the potential to break through to the Grand Unity Golden Immortal realm.
Among them were Ke and Qi.
One was a primordial world anomaly, the Ice Chi of Chaos, with an exceptionally extraordinary foundation.
Qi was a mutated descendant of the Eight-Headed Serpent, with boundless potential and extremely rare talent.
These two were the Grand Unity cultivators in Xi Mountain most likely to achieve Grand Unity Golden Immortal status.