In the netherworld, the phantom flowers bloomed and withered, red as blood, vibrant as blood.
Qing Xuan, standing amidst a sea of crimson, faced his original self across a temporal displacement and asked softly, "Have you made your decision?"
Qing Ling nodded and said, "I will grant you new freedom. From now on, you will have absolute freedom, but it also means I cannot absolutely protect you. The great calamity ahead is immense, and life-or-death crises are inevitable!"
Daoist Qing Xuan chuckled, "Great crises are also great opportunities. You should understand what I seek in my heart, after all, you, I, and Huang Long are of one mind!"
"Good, then let us begin!"
"Good!"
Both responded.
At both ends of the Jianmu tree, a long bridge of time and space was erected, one end connected to the highest heavens, the other to the deepest earth.
In the East Sea's ancestral cave, Huang Long watched intently, not daring to be distracted for a moment.
The bridge of time and space was pure and mysterious, like moonlight from the heavens descending, moistening hearts.
In the netherworld, Daoist Qing Xuan stood up and smiled, looking at the Black and White Impermanence beside him, "From now on, the netherworld will depend on you two!"
Black and White Impermanence were momentarily bewildered. This was the first time the Lord of the Underworld had addressed them as such. This time, the Lord of the Underworld was truly leaving!
Both Black and White bowed in unison, "The Lord of the Underworld's great kindness, Black and White Impermanence will never forget. In heaven and earth, we recognize only you as our master!"
Qing Xuan smiled and helped them up, "In my eyes, I have never treated you as servants. If we meet again by fate, we shall address each other as fellow Daoists!"
Black and White Impermanence felt their eyes well up. Together, they said, "Your subordinates shall call you Lord of the Underworld one last time."
As they spoke, the two bowed again, touching their heads to the ground in a triple bow and nine prostrations, performing the ultimate禮. Prostrating on the ground, they said, "Your subordinates, Black and White Impermanence, respectfully send off the Lord of the Underworld!"
At this moment in the netherworld, thousands upon thousands of guiding emissaries and countless avatars of Black and White Impermanence all bowed in one direction!
"Your subordinates, Black and White Impermanence, respectfully send off the Lord of the Underworld!"
Amidst the soul-speech of Black and White Impermanence, Qing Xuan smiled and stepped onto the bridge of time and space. Pure white like blood, the grand and luminous bridge illuminated Qing Xuan's face.
He walked step by step up the bridge, step by step leaving the nine nether realms.
His authority over the netherworld flowed, piece by piece, into Qing Ling's being.
His Wood Dao power flowed, piece by piece, into Qing Ling's being.
Qing Xuan grew lighter with each step, his form becoming fainter, gradually disappearing from the eyes of all beings in the netherworld.
Black and White Impermanence raised their heads, watching the Lord of the Underworld in their hearts depart.
For tens of Yuan Hui, he had patiently taught them, saved their brotherhood from peril, guided them with fatherly affection and personal example. He had bestowed upon them immense fortune.
Everything they possessed was given by him.
Ten thousand years of deep affection, how could they bear it?
In Fengdu City, the Ghost Ancestor chuckled bitterly and said, "I underestimated him."
The netherworld now had six Yama Kings, six great powers of the Ghost Dao, each managing a region of the netherworld. They watched that departing figure with a sense of loss, but also a hint of secret joy.
On the Jianmu tree, winds and clouds churned.
The bridge of time and space was like a magnificent white beam of light shrouding Qing Ling's head, infusing him with piece after piece of netherworld authority and Wood Dao power!
With every bit of power Qing Ling gained, Qing Xuan weakened by a fraction.
Qing Xuan walked step by step from the earth to the heavens.
He ascended into the sky with a smile, even as his aura grew weaker.
His cultivation, at the realm of the twenty-seventh heaven, fell step by step, descending to the nineteenth, the eighteenth... to the eleventh heaven.
At the other end of the bridge, Qing Ling's cultivation soared at an astonishing rate, each moment equivalent to ten thousand years of cultivation. It was a reversal of time, the infusion of his future self.
Beneath him, the Jianmu tree began to grow at an extreme speed once more, reaching for the heavens, resisting the pressure of the sky as it pushed upwards!
In the East Sea, on Penglai Immortal Island, the Immortal King sat at the highest point among all immortals. His face, previously full of pleasantries, instantly turned somber as he looked towards the East Wilderness.
The assembled immortals, unaware of the cause, observed him cautiously.
Dong Wang Gong let out a cold snort and beckoned, and the Immortal Scepter flew into the sky, transforming into a colossal mountain that struck towards the East Wilderness.
Heaven and earth seemed to be divided into blue and white. The eastern skies churned with azure energy, filling the cosmos, as if to envelop the heavens!
Qing Ling, seated at the apex of Jianmu, remained unfazed, still focused on operating the flow of time.
A world-shaking dragon roar erupted from the dragon seas, and a golden river spanned the firmament.
A vast expanse of the Yellow River domain appeared, blocking the path of the azure giant tree.
Dong Wang Gong coldly transmitted, "Huang Long, the Ancestor of Dragons, are you intending to drag the entire Dragon Clan into this?"
Huang Long, from the depths of the sea, scoffed, "When has our Dragon Clan ever feared water? What a joke!"
Dong Wang Gong's expression turned grim. He beckoned to the immortals below him, "Fellow Daoists, lend me your strength to stop this ungrateful wild dragon!"
The immortals below hesitated. Penglai Immortal Island had just been established, and it was only proper that they show their strength.
If it were merely a single great power of heaven and earth, they would naturally attack in full force.
But this was the Ancestor of the Dragon Clan!
The shadows of the three ancient clans still loomed in their hearts. Even with Patriarch Hongjun now presiding over the heavens, they resisted the idea of fighting the Dragon Clan's ancestor.
Furthermore, among the assembled immortals were the ancestors of many clans that were once subordinate to the Dragon Clan. How could they dare to openly oppose the Dragon Clan?
Even the Dragon Clan, now in decline.
These shrewd old fellows remained silent, but there were always some impetuous youngsters who, eager to prove themselves, stepped forward.
"Reporting to the Immortal King, I, True Person Miao Li, though untalented, am willing to offer my humble strength! After all, you are the foremost among male immortals in the world. Those who oppose you are rebelling against the will of the Heavenly Dao. We all must set an example, otherwise, how can we prove our loyalty to you, Immortal King?"
At these words, Dong Wang Gong was overjoyed and laughed heartily, "True Person Miao Li truly possesses great spirit! All immortals should be like this!"
The old fellows below cursed True Person Miao Li inwardly, forcing them into trouble just to show his loyalty!
Seeing that the crowd remained unmoving, Dong Wang Gong smiled and said, "After this matter, I will begin lecturing on the fourth volume of the Patriarch's direct transmission, the Huang Ting Jing, the method of contemplation for the Quasi-Saint realm!"
"And later, there will be the fifth volume, the method of severing the three corpses!"
At these words, the hearts of the Daoists could no longer remain calm. Their reverence for Dong Wang Gong as the Immortal King was fundamentally rooted in his mastery of Daoist scriptures!
Immediately, someone seconded, "I, Daoist Han Qi, am willing to fight for the Immortal King!"
"I am Kuang Li, willing to fight for the Immortal King!"
"I, Floating Qiou Loose Immortal, am willing to fight for the Immortal King!"
...
With the first few taking the lead, others could no longer restrain themselves and rose one after another.
Dong Wang Gong was inwardly delighted. With these individuals taking action, at the very least, Huang Long could be delayed.
Whether from a personal perspective or from the Heavenly Dao's standpoint, no one wished for that Daoist in the East Wilderness to ascend any higher or go any further!
Thus, a group of loose immortals, over twenty great powers, set out grandly from Penglai. Some rode auspicious clouds, others sat on spiritual treasures, and some were accompanied by purple qi and spiritual light. All headed towards the depths of the East Sea, their momentum immense, startling countless sea creatures.
Ancestor Huang Long let out a cold laugh. A few Quasi-Saints practicing incomplete Dao of Severing Corpses, and over a dozen great powers who had attained their cultivation through Qi cultivation, dared to seek trouble with him?
Ancestor Huang Long let out a resounding roar, his dragon might vast, the waters churning, the sky changing color, winds and clouds converging. The entire East Sea trembled.
Ancestor Huang Long appeared on the East Sea, suddenly manifesting before the group of great powers.
Several Quasi-Saint great powers were startled and shouted, "You are Ancestor Huang Long?"
Huang Long sneered, "You establish yourselves in our Dragon Clan's territory and still dare to seek trouble with me?"
Huang Long waved his hand, and a thousand treasures rose behind him, forming a magnificent tidal current. Four high-grade spiritual treasures were positioned at the four cardinal directions, with a thousand treasures arrayed in a formation of five elements, eight trigrams, and nine palaces. The winds and waters of the East Sea shifted, wind and water merging. A dragon vortex, spanning heaven and earth, formed.
Using the spiritual treasures as water and the East Sea winds as power, the winds generated the waters, and in a cycle of wind and water, the host of great powers were swept into it.
These assembled immortals were at most at the Great Power cultivation level. Only four had attained the so-called Quasi-Saint realm, but they were imperfect Quasi-Saints. Before the peak great powers of the Primordial Era, they were far from sufficient.
Moreover, this was the East Sea, the Dragon Clan's home ground. No one dared to fight the Dragon Clan in the East Sea.
Ancestor Huang Long trapped twenty-six great powers and coldly watched Dong Wang Gong, who had already made his move.
The Immortal Scepter was like an immeasurable giant mountain, carrying the full power of a peak great power's strike, the true strike of a Quasi-Saint who had severed two corpses, descending like heavenly might.
However, before it could reach the East Wilderness, a divine diagram slowly rose. The scenes of the four seasons, spring, summer, autumn, and winter, unfolded beneath the Immortal Scepter, supporting the heavens.
Dong Wang Gong suppressed the urge to personally descend to the East Wilderness because the East Wilderness was Qing Ling's dojo. Within his dojo, it was the opponent's home ground, and there was also the Jianmu tree that could suppress peak powers. He truly dared not risk his life.
Thinking of this, Dong Wang Gong flicked his finger. Thirty-six Sea-Calming Divine Pearls descended from the firmament, each heavier than the last, exerting immense force that pressed down on the Four Seasons Divine Diagram.
The heavy power of sea and sky rotated the Four Seasons Divine Diagram, alleviating the force of the Sea-Calming Divine Pearls.
These were the treasures of the Ancestral Dragon, once collected by Patriarch Hongjun, and now bestowed upon Dong Wang Gong.
Ancestor Huang Long squinted upon seeing this and muttered to himself, "He actually dares to use Dragon Clan treasures in front of me. My calculations are truly divine!"