Book One: The Witch-Ages Cataclysm, Part 196 — The Three Pure Ones Leave Mount Kunlun, and the Chance That Came to Summon the Enlightened One

"However, Brother, I still do not quite understand!"

Taiyi looked at Di Jun in bewilderment.

Seeing this, Di Jun could only smile and say to him, "Taiyi, do you remember what happened when we established the demonic race, and when we entered the Heavenly Court?"

At those words, realization dawned on Taiyi.

"So that is what you mean, Brother—the mandate of fortune? But is that not something almost impossible to achieve? Has Brother forgotten what happened with the three ancient clans?"

"Yet this is the only path before us now. Only by becoming saints can we truly decide our own fate!"

At that moment, Di Jun suddenly remembered the words Hongjun had spoken during the sermon: those who do not become saints are forever ants.

"Brother, is there not still the possibility of scheming for Hongyun's share?"

After hearing this, Taiyi asked with deep suspicion.

"Setting aside whether we can even obtain that share, why can the two of us not both attain sainthood together?"

Di Jun sat upon his throne with an overbearing air, looking down upon all beings from on high.

Seeing Di Jun so confident, as though the whole world belonged to him alone, Taiyi too seemed to be infected by that conviction and felt a swell of pride.

Kunlun Mountain.

"Eldest Brother, recently I have felt that we are not far from severing the third corpse!"

Tongtian said this to Yuanshi and Tai Shang.

At the same time, Tai Shang looked toward Yuanshi.

"I feel the same!"

"In that case, let us make a trip to Mount Buzhou. Our materials are already fully prepared. As for me, I have also gained a clear understanding of my own path. I only wonder how well the two younger brothers are prepared!"

After hearing this, Tai Shang directly asked Yuanshi and Tongtian.

Both nodded at once.

Then Tongtian said, "I also have the feeling that this journey will bring something connected to me."

Thus, after sealing Kunlun Mountain, the three of them first went in the direction of Tongtian's intuition, and only then set out for Mount Buzhou.

Flame Cloud Cavern.

"In the blink of an eye, several hundred thousand years have passed. This injury has finally healed as well. I had not expected that, in the end, I would still need to rely on the pills bestowed by that senior back then; otherwise, I would still not have recovered."

A Daoist suddenly opened his eyes, and his gaze burst forth with several streaks of brilliant light.

"Although I have now severed the three corpses, my strength is still insufficient."

Having spent considerable time in the company of Zhen Yuanzi, Hongyun knew very well that his current strength still lagged far behind what he had once felt from Zhen Yuanzi.

"This pill is also an exceedingly precious thing even to that senior. It ought to have remarkable effect on me as well."

Trusting Qing Xuan completely, Hongyun swallowed one without hesitation.

The next instant, countless crimson lights spread over Hongyun's body, and the aura of the Dao emerged.

At the same time, he felt himself entering an extraordinary state.

Hongyun knew this was the supreme realm pursued by countless cultivators.

In that same moment, endless laws and profound truths, together with questions that had once troubled Hongyun, surged toward him one after another, each being gradually comprehended.

Mount Buzhou.

Just as Zhun Ti was on the verge of losing patience, Qing Kong appeared before him.

"Come."

Qing Kong seized Zhun Ti at once and vanished from Mount Buzhou.

In the next instant, Zhun Ti found himself already at Mount Sumeru. Seeing Qing Kong's use of the laws of space, he could not help but sigh in admiration.

"We have arrived just like that?"

"Otherwise? Did you expect to walk here slowly? If necessary, I could send you back and have you walk here yourself."

"No, no, Senior! I was only speaking casually."

"Go and tell your senior brother first. I have a matter to attend to."

With that, Qing Kong vanished again before their eyes.

"Senior's divine powers are truly convenient indeed!"

Watching Qing Kong appear and disappear like a phantom, Zhun Ti was filled with envy.

He then hurried off to speak with Jie Yin.

"You have returned, junior brother!"

Just as Zhun Ti was about to look for Jie Yin, he found his senior brother already standing before him.

"Come, junior brother, quickly come and see the disciples your senior brother has accepted!"

Then Zhun Ti saw several people walking out from behind Jie Yin.

"Greetings, Master Zhun Ti!"

The group bowed and greeted him at once.

They then introduced themselves to Zhun Ti one by one.

Only then did Zhun Ti learn that while he had been away, his senior brother, the Daoist Jie Yin, had also made a trip to the Western lands and taken in several disciples, including Medicine Master, Great Strength Attainer, and Earth Treasury.

In Zhun Ti's view, however, only Earth Treasury, Medicine Master, and Great Strength Attainer possessed truly outstanding talent.

"Senior Brother, what is this?"

"Junior Brother, your senior brother had no choice. I have sensed that they have a great destiny with us, and that it is very likely tied closely to the matter of becoming saints!"

Jie Yin stopped there, and upon hearing this, Zhun Ti asked no further questions.

"Oh yes, junior brother, did you gain anything from this journey out?"

Zhun Ti nodded and then recounted to Jie Yin everything that had happened at Mount Buzhou.

The two had spoken for less than a moment when Qing Kong arrived at Mount Sumeru together with Zhen Yuanzi.

Upon seeing this, Jie Yin and the others hurried forward to offer their greetings.

"Greetings, Senior Qing Xuan!"

Qing Kong did not mind and waved a hand dismissively. Then he looked at the Earth Treasury and the others behind them.

"These are all disciples of your Mount Sumeru? Since this is our first meeting, let these serve as a gift."

With that, Qing Kong took out several jade bottles and handed them over.

"Why are you not thanking the senior at once?"

Jie Yin and Zhun Ti's eyes lit up at the sight, and they quickly prompted the others.

"Many thanks for the senior's generosity!"

The others hastily thanked Qing Kong and then put the items away.

"Presumably Zhun Ti has already told you everything. I wonder what your thoughts are."

Qing Kong then looked at Jie Yin and asked.

"Please be assured, Senior. Since my junior brother has already made an agreement with you, Jie Yin will have no objection."

Upon hearing this, Qing Kong nodded.

Thus Qing Kong proposed first resolving the matter of Zhun Ti's true form, the innate Bodhi tree.

The eyes of Jie Yin and the others instantly shone when they saw Qing Kong take out a piece of chaotic fertile soil.

Had it not been Qing Kong who produced it, the two of them would have rushed forward to seize it.

Then Zhun Ti and the others watched as Qing Kong used every manner of method to raise Zhun Ti's true form, the innate Bodhi tree, to just short of the threshold of becoming a chaotic spiritual root.

At last, they saw the Bodhi tree take root directly within chaos.

"Ah!"

After the transformation succeeded, Zhun Ti suddenly let out a cry of sheer comfort.

"Junior Brother, what is the matter with you?"

Hearing this, Zhun Ti replied excitedly, "Nothing, Senior Brother. I have never felt this well before!"

Jie Yin breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing that.

The next moment, he discovered that Zhun Ti's cultivation, physique, and various other aspects had all improved greatly in that instant.

This change made even Jie Yin envious beyond measure.

"Senior!"

At the same time, Jie Yin looked at Qing Kong with eager eyes.

"Enough. I am only able to do this in special circumstances, helping innate beings whose roots allow spiritual plants to take human form. You are not among that number; there is nothing I can do."

Seeing Jie Yin's burning gaze and the look of someone almost ready to kneel before him, Qing Kong hurriedly spoke to cut him off.

Then, before the two of them, Qing Kong directly took several cuttings from the main branches of the innate Bodhi tree, and the two of them said nothing more.