The Dao Ancestor gazed at the three thousand great powers seated before Him for the first time. His eyes swept across each of their faces, slowly yet briefly.
"After the Three Sermons, the Purple Heaven Palace shall not emerge again unless the world faces a great calamity."
The expressions of the great powers shifted slightly, yet they understood the path to survival in the world from then on.
Ignoring the myriad thoughts swirling within them, the Dao Ancestor continued, "The Great Dao is fifty, and the Heavenly Dao is forty-nine, with only one remaining. After Pangu opened the heavens and earth, more than half of the three thousand divine demons perished. I have cultivated for eons to complete the forty-nine aspects of the Heavenly Dao.
However, Tai Geng, one of the Nine Great Divine Kings, fell prematurely during the Calamity of Fierce Beasts, and thus, His share of the divine king's Dao opportunity was lost.
Therefore, I shall integrate myself to complete this final thread. From this moment onward, there shall be no Hongjun Daoist in the world, only the Heavenly Dao Hongjun!"
Upon hearing this, the great powers, though harboring some suspicions, were stunned.
They themselves had attempted to merge with their own cultivated Great Daos. But the Dao Ancestor was merging with the Heavenly Dao itself! While it seemed like becoming the spokesperson for the Heavenly Dao and wielding its authority, in another sense, it was self-annihilation, a form of death!
To merge with the Dao for the sake of all living beings!
If they were in His position, they would never make such a sacrifice.
"Teacher's compassion!"
The three thousand great powers bowed in reverence.
Hongjun shook his head gently. "I merge with the Dao not for the sake of all living beings, nor for you, but for my Dao. You revere me as the Dao Ancestor. Though I am not a creature born of Pangu's world, I shall give you one last opportunity.
After I merge with the Dao, you may go beyond the chaos and create your own heavens and worlds to guard the Primordial World.
Though it will be arduous and your Daos may be difficult to achieve, it will still be a path to enlightenment!
Those who wish to protect the Primordial World cannot re-enter it, but with the protection of the Heavenly Dao, you may find refuge."
The great powers, with their diverse ambitions, began to scheme for their own gains.
Hongjun observed their thoughts without disappointment. He simply stated, "Outside the Purple Heaven Palace lies the Treasure Distribution Cliff, where all the innate treasures lie. You may take what you wish. Those who wish to create worlds in the chaos must enter within a thousand years. After that, there will be no more!"
With that, the Dao Ancestor vanished from His high seat, leaving behind the great powers immersed in their own plans.
At this moment, Nuwa was the first to step out of the Purple Heaven Palace, rushing towards the Treasure Distribution Cliff.
Zhunti and Jieyin followed suit.
The Three Pure Ones saw this and also hurried along, followed by Kunpeng and Hong Yun. Only then did the other great powers recall the treasures on the Treasure Distribution Cliff outside the palace.
Instantly, they all transformed into streaks of light and ascended into the sky, each displaying their unique abilities to rush towards the Treasure Distribution Cliff.
On the Treasure Distribution Cliff, Empress Nuwa cradled the Qiankun Cauldron in her left hand and unfurled the River and Mountain Map in her right. The rolling divine light of creation, without needing to be actively deployed, resonated with numerous spiritual treasures.
One by one, spiritual treasures were placed into the Qiankun Cauldron by Nuwa. Her treasure-collecting speed far surpassed that of my Qing Ling's chaotic body.
Among them were the Xuan Yuan Jade Ruyi, the Bi Xie Spiritual Ring, the White Jade Mountain, the Blood Dissolving Bead, the Spiritual Spring Jade, the Innate Nine-Colored Bottle, the Innate Jade Pipa, the Heavenly Spirit Hairpin, the Xuan Xu Brush, the Heaven, Earth, and Man Three Brilliant Rings, the Boundless Umbrella, the Demon Refining Pot, the Heaven Stabilizing Hairpin, the Misty Heaven Entwining Belt...
Zhunti unleashed the Seven Treasures Wonderful Tree, which could brush out ten thousand divine lights in an instant. Even Kunpeng marveled at its speed. Although his methods of acquiring treasures were not particularly refined, with the rapid sweeping of the Seven Treasures Wonderful Tree, his treasure-collecting speed was still remarkably fast.
He also acquired several treasures consecutively: the Innate Bitter Bamboo, the Futu Seal, the Ping Tian Staff, the Golden Cloud Robe, the Moon Gazing Fan, the Yingluo, the Liuli Bead, the Seven Emotions and Six Desires Painting, the Mirror of Detachment, eighteen Mind Stabilizing Beads, the Golden Bowl, the Nine Heavens Ten Earths Void-Crossing Mirror...
As for Jieyin, he was somewhat lagging. The white lotus blooming and spreading for miles only managed to attract a few spiritual treasures.
Seeing this, he sighed and said, "What is mine by fate, I am fortunate to have; what is not, I accept. Striving forcefully is useless."
With that, he collected the Innate Human Seed Bag, the Treasure Tong, the Nine Heavens Liuli Seal, the Demon Subduing Pagoda...
Then, Laozi released the Taiji Diagram, engulfing and collecting several treasures consecutively, including the Eight Views Palace Lantern, the Wind Fire Meditation Cushion, the Qiankun Diagram, the Doushuai Furnace, the Purple Mansion Sword, the Pure Yang Sword, the Yin Yang Banner, the Heavenly Machine Disk, the Boundless Stone, the Heaven Restraining Net, the Separation and Combination Sword...
Yuanshi used the Pangu Banner to directly carve through the sky. Any restrictions on spiritual treasures were easily shattered, making treasure acquisition incredibly effortless.
He collected the Five Fire Seven Birds Fan, the Jade Void Liuli Lamp, the Golden Bell, the Qiankun Circle, the Soul Falling Bell, the Male and Female Swords, the Eight Trigrams Purple Ribbon Immortal Robe, the Fang Tian Hua Ji, seven Immortal Beans, the Dust Sweeping Robe, the Yin Yang Mirror, the Nine Dragon Divine Fire Hood, the Dragon Vanishing Stake, the Taiji Talisman Seal, the Immortal Slaying Sword, the Primordial Chaos Banner...
As for Tongtian, it was even more exaggerated. He directly erected the Four Swords of Zhu Xian, covering half of the Treasure Distribution Cliff. An unparalleled killing intent surged through the area, and spiritual treasures rained down.
Twelve Sea Stabilizing Divine Pearls, Dragon and Tiger Jade, Four Symbols Pagoda, Seven Fragrance Chariot, Plague Bell, Form Plague Banner, Plague Pointing Sword, Plague Umbrella, Purple Lightning Hammer, Sun and Moon Pearls, Primordial Chaos Hammer...
The great powers scrambled to snatch treasures. Seeing Tongtian snatch away four to five hundred spiritual treasures in one go, they all cursed him for being shameless.
Tongtian merely let out a hearty laugh. He released the killing intent of the Four Swords of Zhu Xian, startling everyone and causing them to scatter.
After the remaining individuals had their turn at scrambling, some left empty-handed, while others excitedly returned with several spiritual treasures. However, without a doubt, Tongtian and Nuwa were the ones who obtained the most treasures. The other four Sages combined only acquired over two hundred.
After the great powers departed, Hao also ascended the Treasure Distribution Cliff and obtained over a dozen spiritual treasures.
Following that, the Treasure Distribution Cliff plummeted into the Primordial World, and hundreds of spiritual treasures, like streams of colorful light, scattered towards various parts of the Primordial land, awaiting those with predestined affinity.
Qing Xuan also obtained two mid-grade innate spiritual treasures on the Treasure Distribution Cliff: one was the Wood Birth Bead, and the other was the Tidal Qin.
Qi only managed to obtain one spiritual treasure, which was a top-grade spiritual treasure with twenty-seven layers of Dao prohibitions, the Fate Cutting Saber!
This treasure was extremely compatible with him, merging with his Great Dao, making its might comparable to an ultimate-grade spiritual treasure with twenty-eight layers of Dao prohibitions.
As for Chaos, he gifted over two hundred spiritual treasures to Qing Ling in the starry sky, keeping only one: the Primordial Chaos Golden Dou.
Aside from this item being an ultimate-grade spiritual treasure, the remaining treasures were mostly low-grade spiritual treasures, with only over twenty mid-grade and seven top-grade spiritual treasures.
And among these seven, there was one treasure that brought Qing Ling a sense of sorrow!
He saw the Golden Dragon Scissors!
The Golden Dragon Scissors contained two dragon souls. It was precisely because of these two dragon souls that these scissors could even sever a Da Luo Golden Immortal!
This was because the dragon souls within the scissors were the nearly half soul power of the Ancestor of Candle Dragon and the nearly half soul power of the Black Dragon Ancestor!
Qing Ling no longer pondered whether Luo Hu or Hong Jun had forged them. The acquaintances of the past were long gone, and things had changed.
The dragon souls within the treasures lacked sentience, and it was likely that the true spirits of the two ancestors had already fallen into the River of Destiny.
Qing Ling collected over a hundred spiritual treasures, and his primordial spirit crossed the void, sending the Golden Dragon Scissors to the Myriad Dragon Ancestral Cave, entrusting them to the Ancestor of Yellow Dragon.
In the Heavenly Court, Kunpeng swallowed dozens of spiritual treasures snatched from the Treasure Distribution Cliff, then swallowed the Heavenly Master's Palace. Within his abdomen, wind and water intertwined, using his body as a furnace to refine the supreme treasure.
On Longevity Mountain, Hong Yun's eyes were red. He bowed three times to Zhenyuanzi and said, "Brother Zhenyuan, I do not know when we will meet again. I implore you to take care!"
Although Zhenyuanzi felt reluctance, he still smiled and said, "Do you not trust my abilities? Go with peace of mind. From now on, beyond the heavens, you will no longer have the company of Longevity Mountain's waters, nor will you have me by your side. You must prioritize your own safety!
I will wait for your return at the Five Zhuang Temple. Then, we shall roam the world together, traversing all corners!"
"Take care!"
"Take care!"
A fiery cloud of red light ascended, soaring beyond the thirty-three heavens. The magnificent flames illuminated the sky, signifying the departure of a great power from the Primordial World.
Zhenyuanzi gazed at the heavens for a long time without speaking. The two young boys beside him, Qing Feng and Ming Yue, had red eyes, deeply missing their kind martial uncle who would secretly take them out to play, tell them stories, and sneak them ripe ginseng fruits.