Qing Ling immediately understood the intentions of the Wu clan.
However, his heart suddenly jolted, and the step he had taken halted.
Within the world of ethereal destiny above Qing Ling's head, the vast wood-element destiny transformed into Jian Mu.
The destiny Jian Mu stood tall, dividing left and right.
The left side was represented by the radiant Golden Crow of the Great Sun, symbolizing the destiny of the Heavenly Court's Demon Ancestor. The right side, a giant shadow, represented the wood-element destiny of the Earth's Wu clan's Wood Master.
The Wu and Yao were natural enemies, destined to be irreconcilable and mutually destructive.
Qing Ling looked at the manifestation of destiny upon his body and thought of the fate of the Wu and Yao.
He fell into a moment of silence. Whether it was the five emperors of the demon clan or the twelve ancestral witches of the Wu clan, whether they were the great demon saints of the heavens or the Wu of the earth, they were all beings of immense power forged by the creation of heaven and earth. Yet, they were destined to turn to ash in the great tribulation of the Heavenly Dao.
He had previously lamented the fate of the Dragon and Phoenix clans, where countless heroes had fallen, but he was powerless to intervene.
Now, he had become a top-tier existence in heaven and earth, perhaps even surpassing Hongjun Dao Ancestor. Perhaps, things could be different.
Under the allowance of the Heavenly Dao, the Dao Ancestor, and the Saints, he would seek a new path.
Not the endless internal strife and consumption of the Primordial World, but prosperity and flourishing!
Qing Ling gazed at the depiction of destiny above his head for a long time, remaining silent.
In Qing Ling's heart, the Primordial World should be one where a thousand paths contend endlessly, a world where myriad paths coexist and all races rise within the Great Wilderness.
But for such a scene to materialize was difficult, impossibly difficult, harder than achieving Hunyuan.
Qing Ling sighed, a burden of sorrow settling upon him.
He was merely a seeker of the Dao; why must he bear such universal benevolence and responsibility?
Perhaps, as his abilities grew, so too did his responsibilities.
Qing Ling walked westward at an unhurried pace, traversing the vast, golden sands.
His journey lasted thirty thousand years.
For thirty thousand years, he traveled west, experiencing the grandeur of the desert.
On this day, he raised his head and saw, three million li to the west, golden lotuses emanating a brilliant aura. A daoist, clad in coarse hemp and barefoot, approached.
The daoist smiled brilliantly, his radiance blending with the sunset, bestowing boundless warmth.
"Greetings, Dao Master."
He bowed first.
Qing Ling returned the bow with a smile, "Daoist Zhun Ti, do you intend to travel east?"
Zhun Ti clasped his hands together, "Indeed. My Ten Directions Vows."
Qing Ling's primordial spirit stirred, and he murmured, "Ten Directions Vows?"
Zhun Ti looked puzzled, then continued to smile, "Dao Master, you jest. This is merely Zhun Ti's personal aspiration, not something of great consequence.
I vow to travel to the ten directions, to enlighten a thousand lifetimes of beings. I vow to attain Bodhi, to bring great goodness to three thousand paths."
Qing Ling was suddenly struck, and he burst into laughter, "Well said, 'Ten Directions Vows'! My path is viable!"
Zhun Ti's face showed surprise, then he said, "Then, congratulations, Dao Master."
Qing Ling smiled, "Thank you, Daoist friend. A personal aspiration, if it holds great virtue, becomes a universal truth, achievable by all, regardless of their position."
Zhun Ti replied with a smile, "Dao Master flatters me. Where are you headed, Dao Master?"
"I wish to travel to the Westernmost end, to observe the Three Thousand Worlds."
"Zhun Ti travels east on his path, I fear I cannot accompany Dao Master."
"It is no matter, Daoist friend. Go forth."
They bid farewell and parted ways, one heading west, the other east, both pursuing their great paths.
The scorching sun baked the boundless yellow sands, turning them golden. The sky was clear for ten thousand li, an expanse of desolation. Qing Ling, a lone figure, ventured into this desert.
The yellow sands stretched for ten thousand li, devoid of life, only sand and more sand.
This was the pure land of the West, pure and singular, with only sand.
Qing Ling stepped onto the ancient accumulated sands, his footsteps crunching, the sound lingering in the vast desert.
He raised his head and gazed at a point in the void ahead of the desert. He stopped there, standing still, watching the desert not far away.
After a long while, the void where he gazed shimmered, and an ancient figure suddenly appeared. He respectfully walked before Qing Ling, "Bai Shuo, elder of the White Tiger clan, pays his respects to the Dao Master."
Qing Ling replied indifferently, "You recognize me?"
The elder of the White Tiger clan gave a wry smile, "In all the heavens and earth, which great power would not recognize you?"
"Then it seems you have some idea of my intentions for coming here?" Qing Ling surveyed the elder, a formidable presence at the fifteenth heaven of Da Luo, and asked slowly.
Bai Shuo self-deprecatingly said, "Dao Master, you are not here to ask my clan to emerge, are you?"
Qing Ling smiled, "Precisely!"
"What!" Bai Shuo's small eyes widened instantly, his disbelief causing him to gasp, "Dao Master, my clan is a divine beast, and our ancestor is one of the Four Sacred Venerables. Even if you are now a peak great power, you cannot command my clan to obey!"
Qing Ling shook his head, "The White Tiger clan is indeed a divine beast of heaven and earth, and I have no intention of disturbing you.
However, the entire Tiger clan is not considered a divine beast. I am here for the tiger clans other than the White Tigers."
Bai Shuo's expression eased slightly, but it was still grim. "But my Tiger clan has always revered the White Tiger. The White Tiger and the Tiger clan are, in essence, one."
Qing Ling smiled, "I am here to give the Tiger clan a place to belong, not to covet your bloodline.
Tigers roar in the mountains, kings of a hundred beasts. All the demon races, feathered and furry, are present. If the Tiger clan is absent, in millions of eons, who will recognize the tiger in this world?
In the Ninth Heaven, the Demon Emperor and the Demon Sovereign await you."
With that, Qing Ling continued westward, no longer paying attention to Bai Shuo, who was still lost in his anxieties.
In the vast desert sky, the western wind blew yellow sand and the setting sun, an unchanging scene of the West.
The golden sands, stretching for ten thousand li, were a land of death. Yet, beneath the golden sands lay precious mineral veins, slumbering with the desert through the ages, awaiting their time.
It was only at the Westernmost end that Qing Ling saw a hint of green emerge.
This was followed by a magnificent and dustless Sumeru Mountain.
Treasure light radiated from the mountain, its glazed aura filling the heavens. The divine mountain was sacred, and at its peak bloomed a purifying white lotus, shining upon the ten directions, inspiring a sense of reverence.
Qing Ling did not ascend the mountain, for its owner was absent.
Lao Zi had journeyed west, Zhun Ti east, Tong Tian south. It was likely that Jie Yin, as one of the Six Saints, had also gone out in search of the Dao.
He took a step spanning a hundred million li, standing at the edge of the Western world, in the void.
The Western world had already been destroyed, reduced to nothingness.
However, the Dao Ancestor had placed the Three Thousand Worlds at the Westernmost end, and with Sumeru as the boundary, had created the West.
Before the void lay worlds of various sizes.
Lesser Thousand Worlds, Middle Thousand Worlds, Greater Thousand Worlds.
They were all the Dao Treasure Worlds of ancient Da Luo Golden Immortals.
There were even Dao Treasure Worlds of those Qing Ling knew.
The Three Thousand Worlds was merely a collective term; in reality, there were more than three thousand.
Since Pangu's demise and transformation into all things, most of the Dao Treasure Worlds of all Da Luo Golden Immortals who had ever existed and perished were located here.
Another half of the Dao Treasure Worlds had been transformed by the Heavenly Dao into smaller worlds and lower realms scattered throughout the Primordial World.
Qing Ling entered the Three Thousand Worlds. The first was the Dao Treasure World of Patriarch Yin Yang, the Tai Ji Great World.
The world was a Greater Thousand World, where everything was in opposition and mutual generation of Yin and Yang, the Dao of Tai Ji present everywhere.
Mountains were divided into Yin and Yang, waters flowed on shores of Yin and Yang, the Great Sun had two layers of Yin and Yang, the Great Yin had extremes of Yin and Yang...
Qing Ling traversed one world after another, experiencing the Three Thousand Worlds and the myriad Great Daos, all firsthand.
Whether it was a Greater Thousand World or a Lesser Thousand World, whether it was the Three Thousand Great Daos or the one hundred and eight thousand minor Daos, he absorbed them with his heart.
This was an excellent place for comprehending the Dao, but also a realm of peril. Without the attainment of a peak great power, one would be trapped within the Three Thousand Worlds forever.
The masters of the Three Thousand Great Daos had once contended with each other, but after their deaths, their realms could merge into one, coexisting here.
Qing Ling felt as though he had found the turning point of the Wu-Yao tribulation.
Concurrently, in the northern Bei Ming, Kun Peng soared through the sky, his waters striking three thousand li, soaring to ninety thousand li, passing through the Southern Heavenly Gate, and ascending the Ninth Heaven's Celestial Palace.
In the West, the White Tiger Blessed Land, tigers were born with wings. A hundred tigers emerged from the Western sands, their lethal energies spanning thirty thousand li. Fierce tigers flew into the sky, ascending the Celestial Palace, their roars shaking the heavenly court.
In the East Sea, Flood Dragons navigated the waters, transforming into dragons upon entering the sea and ascending to the Celestial Palace. Their roars caused winds and clouds to gather for ten thousand li. The Dragon Kings of the Four Seas collectively ascended the Ninth Heaven, their storms and rain reaching the azure heavens.
In the South, colorful auspicious clouds arose. From the Southern Immortal Volcano, birds sang, their tails adorned with vibrant, five-colored feathers. The Peacock fanned its plumage, covering the southern mountains, then spread its wings and soared to the jade heavens.
The destinies of the four directions ascended to the heavens. The primordial destiny of Kun Peng in the North, the killing destiny of the White Tiger in the West, the flourishing destiny of the South, and the auspicious destiny of the Eastern True Dragon all entered the Demon Court. The four regions now supported the Heavenly Court of the demon race, which was no longer just a demon court, but had become the Primordial Heavenly Court!
Thus, the demon race began its grand ascent, with the potential to dominate heaven and earth!
Kun Peng in the North, and the Dragons and Tigers of the East and West, all ascended to the Heavenly Court because of Qing Ling. The son of the Phoenix Ancestor, Peacock, in the South, ascended to the Heavenly Court through the Golden Phoenix under Nu Wa's tutelage.
The great prosperity of the demon race and the unification of all races would no longer be a matter of the future.