Chapter 230

Seeing the two leave seclusion, Qi himself knew he had lingered long in Chaos; it was time to return to the Heavenly Realm.

After bidding farewell to Yang Mei, the five turned into escape light and departed; it was not that Qi did not wish to invite Yang Mei into the Heavenly Court, but his aspirations lay elsewhere, and he declined Qi's invitation.

But fortunately, the words were not exhausted; he only said that when he felt inclined in the future, he might consider it a bit.

After seeing the five depart, Yang Mei casually destroyed this realm, which existed only because of people; now that the people are gone, it perishes on its own.

Faced with Qi's invitation, Yang Mei originally intended to straightforwardly refuse and take no further action, but he worried that if he later changed his mind, upon joining he would inevitably be teased by Qi, so he did not speak fully about this.

After the world was utterly destroyed, Yang Mei then turned and went toward the Primordial Wasteland; now he has already attained the Dao of Primordial Unity, the Primordial Wasteland heaven and earth can no longer obstruct him; the karmic debt with Hongjun from before has come to the time of reckoning.

Yang Mei made a decision in his heart, that regardless of the outcome of this time, he would have no further entanglement with Hongjun thereafter.

If Hongjun cannot escape this calamity, perishing and his Dao vanishing, then the karma will naturally dissipate.

If Hongjun can escape with his life, then it is simply the fate of the Five Elements and others; he has already exerted his utmost effort, and if he still cannot succeed, there is no other way.

Judging others by oneself, if he were to fall into Hongjun's hands, Yang Mei would harbor no resentment in his heart.

Although Yang Mei does not look down on Hongjun, he also knows that Hongjun will not implicate the innocent; Qi and the others will surely be unharmed.

This time, Yang Mei did not enter the Primordial Wasteland to search; he merely, outside the membrane of heaven and earth, handwrote a visitation note and sent it into Jade Capital Mountain.

Naturally, Hongjun was not in his cave abode; Yang Mei was fully aware of this and had long anticipated it.

However, once this note arrives, Hongjun will surely sense it, for after all it is a Dao Chang, and with enemies seeking him outside, how could he not have left some means?

Chaos

In the Purple Azure Palace, Hongjun opened his eyes; only to see that at this moment the five qi circulated within him, the Great Dao manifested of its own accord, purple aura swirled around him, indeed he was extraordinarily noble.

Upon sensing Yang Mei's visitation note sent into Jade Capital Mountain, Hongjun felt somewhat surprised, feeling utterly astonished, which was not like Yang Mei's character.

Within the Dao Chang there was no one present, yet the visitation note fluttered on its own; although Hongjun was far away in Chaos, the contents of the note could be easily perceived.

Hongjun gazed at the contents within; after a long while he let out a long sigh and said, 'How have we come to this between us?'

In the letter, Yang Mei invited Hongjun to a duel, agreeing that the time would be within this aeon; the exact moment could be decided by Hongjun.

Likewise, the choice of battlefield was the same; whether in Chaos or within the Primordial Wasteland, it was entirely up to Hongjun to select.

Regardless of the outcome of this battle, the karma between the two will be completely exhausted, life and death aside.

Hongjun's heart was moved; although he knew that Yang Mei had most likely attained the Great Dao and achieved the status of Primordial Unity Infinite Luo Heaven Honored God, he himself was not inferior.

By his calculations, this aeon that Qi and the others have delayed is precisely a crucial moment for Hongjun; although the joining of the Dao has not yet begun, he too can attain Primordial Unity.

"Yang Mei Dao brother, your humble Daoist knows that my methods are not shameful; I have deliberately delayed in order to achieve the Primordial Unity Great Dao, so that you lose the opportunity to kill me."

"But what I say is also not false; should Divine Qi choose the sage's fruition, I will naturally lend my aid a bit."

"Since Dao brother has already made up his mind, your humble Daoist will not disappoint you; however, let us just have a bout, for your humble Daoist has just entered Primordial Unity and also wishes to see what exactly distinguishes immortals from gods."

Yang Mei remained outside the membrane of heaven and earth, never concealing his form; Hongjun needed only a casual glance to know his position.

In the Purple Azure Palace, Hongjun made no visible movement, yet golden characters appeared in the air, forming the script; he set the time for a thousand years hence, confining the battlefield to Chaos. The note flew out of the palace gates and landed straight into Yang Mei's hand; upon viewing it, Yang Mei laughed loudly and said:

"Still having a bit of courage and vigor, it is not considered a lifetime of empty cultivation."

After speaking, Yang Mei's form dissipated, leaving no trace in the outside world; within the Purple Azure Palace, Hongjun closed his eyes, nurturing his essence and storing his sharpness, restraining his edge, hoping that when he reveals himself he will astonish everyone with a single cry.

Heavenly Realm

Qi and the others had only just arrived, unaware that a major event was about to occur in Chaos, and were still carefully observing the changes in the Heavenly Court.

Before an aeon had passed, having only just entered the Heavenly Court, Qi, together with Di Jun and Taiyi, were astonished at the flourishing of the Dao of Immortals.

Within the Heavenly Court, there actually were already innate gods who had turned to cultivate the Dao of Immortals! The first among them was originally the person of the Supreme God Taiyi; this time he went to Chaos to listen to lectures, perceived the profundity of the Dao of Immortals, felt that cultivating the Divine Dao was arduous, and upon returning he thus turned to join the Immortal Dao sect.

His cultivation proceeded smoothly, encountering no obstacles; he easily passed the threshold, attaining the rank of Golden Immortal of the Great Luo, his strength formidable, not inferior to ordinary people.

From this precedent, countless people rushed to emulate it; the subtlety of the Dao of Immortals in the Purple Azure Palace, this alone spread widely, causing the whole world to be startled.

Although Ying Long himself did not turn, what he gained from listening to the Dao in the Purple Azure Palace he also transmitted in letters to the dragon clan; the nine sons got to see it, as if catching a glimpse of a supreme treasure.

For a time, the number of those practicing the Dao of Immortals throughout the world became a prevailing trend; not to mention the Supreme God Taiyi, even some of the Luo Heaven Honored Gods also turned to follow the Dao of Immortals.

The leader among them was the renowned innate god of the Eastern Sea, named Mu Gong, also called Dong Wang Gong by some.

Dong Wang Gong cultivated the Pure Yang Dao, whose foundation was already deep; after transmitting the cultivation of the Dao of Immortals, he was not inferior to before.

Using cause with two from the West to contend for the fortuitous lingbao, one against two; although he did not obtain the fortuitous opportunity, he also retreated intact, thereby gaining great fame.

Many innate gods were bred in Kunlun Mountain; the master of West Kunlun, Gou Hui, after listening to the Dao, his disciple Lu Wu who followed him also turned to follow the Dao of Immortals.

Gou Hui's fame was widespread, yet he rarely appeared in person; Lu Wu, as her foremost divine general under her command, was also an innate god, and most foreign visitors were received by him.

Now, however, he has turned to the Dao of Immortals, causing everyone to begin to ponder whether the present immortals are not inferior to the gods.

Furthermore, with the trend in the Heavenly Court, the five heavenly emperors all remain unseen, and many also speculate whether they too are in the midst of turning to cultivate; under this influence, not a few innate gods have turned to the Dao of Immortals, but fortunately most are still observing, thinking to wait for those great gods to appear, see the results, and then decide.

Gou Hui and the Three Pure Ones, these topmost great gods, are those who cultivate in seclusion; ordinary people find it difficult to see them, so they have no reference, but the heavenly emperors are different.

As the leader of a faction, it is fine to remain unseen in the short term, but if it persists long, there will surely be a loss.

Those innate gods also know this point, so most are not overly urgent; after all, although the Dao of Immortals has made progress, for now the world still belongs to the Divine Dao.

As long as the five heavenly emperors have not changed, they need not bother to turn to cultivate.

The Divine Dao is arduous and takes a long time; this has long been a consensus in the Primordial Wasteland, but as long as those topmost innate gods remain unmoved, it means the Dao of Immortals is still incomplete.

What these innate gods lack least is time; they can easily wait until it is perfected before turning to cultivate, and while they wish to progress swiftly, they are not afraid of slowness.

As innate gods, what they fear most is straying onto the wrong path of the Dao, thereby cutting off the road to heaven.

The five sovereigns simultaneously returned to the Heavenly Court; this action instantly drew the gaze of all beings in the Primordial Wasteland, and many innate gods outside began to clench their fists and rub their palms, preparing to enter the Heavenly Court in hopes of meeting the heavenly emperors.

(End of chapter)