Daojun, start from Penglai foundation building

"Master."

In the Eastern Heaven, inside the Kaiyuan Heavenly Palace, the young attendant beside the Kaiyuan Heavenly Venerable hesitated.

Kaiyuan Tianzun looked at the child with affection and asked, "Is there anything you don't understand, little boy?"

The young boy hesitated for a moment before asking, "Master, why do you and the two Heavenly Venerables think so highly of that Penglai Spirit Abyss?"

"Is it because he's very capable and intelligent?"

Upon hearing this, Kaiyuan Tianzun laughed heartily and patted the boy's head: "You're capable, you're clever, you're smart."

"However, none of these are the most important things. The main thing is that he himself is very hardworking."

As he spoke, Kaiyuan Tianzun gave the boy an example: "Boy, look, there are two bottles in front of you, both sealed. You shake them, and one bottle makes a water sound, while the other does not. Now that you are thirsty, which bottle would you choose?"

Without hesitation, the boy said, "Of course it's the one with the sound of water; there must be water inside."

Kaiyuan Tianzun nodded: "That's it. There may be water in the other bottle, but you can't be sure. However, there is definitely water in the bottle where you can hear the sound of water."

"In our Eastern Heaven, whether it's the Milky Way, Penglai, or Qinghua, there are many outstanding people. Some of them are intelligent, some are diligent, some are highly skilled, and some are blessed with good fortune. You could say they are all promising talents."

"As for Lingyuan, he is not only intelligent and diligent, but also possesses advanced cultivation and profound personal fortune and merit, making him exceptionally outstanding."

"Whether it's the Zhao generation of our Tianhe Dao Sect, the Yuan generation of Penglai, or the Hong generation of Qinghua, don't be fooled by their long experience in the Five Tribulations Dao and their thorough preparation. They may not necessarily succeed. Otherwise, all the true disciples of each generation would have already become Pure Yang."

“But Lingyuan is different. Lingyuan is destined to become a Pure Yang, so we should help him now to make his foundation more solid and his foundation more profound. When he ascends to Pure Yang in the future, our Eastern Heaven Daoist School will be able to produce another peerless Daoist Lord.”

Upon hearing this, the young boy looked at Kaiyuan Tianzun and asked, "Ancestor, is it a peerless Dao Lord like yourself?"

Kaiyuan Tianzun laughed and said, "Hahaha, he may be an unparalleled Dao Lord, but he is not an unparalleled Dao Lord like me, the Ancestor."

"Throughout history, those who have achieved pure Yang have never been mere imitations of others."

The little boy nodded, but seemed confused. Kaiyuan Tianzun was not annoyed. He held the little boy's hand and slowly walked through the Heavenly Palace, saying, "You are still too young. You will understand when you are older."

"In the future, I don't want you to blindly follow my example. A person should be true to themselves so as not to lose their true self and to go further."

The South China Sea, the Jade Flowing Sea Realm, a Little Penglai Wonderland.

On Little Penglai Island, Jiang Sheng, dressed in a bamboo hat and green robe, was looking at the various celestial birds and mythical beasts on the island. Ling Qiu chattered away beside him, but Jiang Sheng was not annoyed.

"Those are the Moonlit White Carp and the Green Duckweed Water Spirit!"

"I've been searching for that Moonlit White Carp for so long, I never expected to see it here with my senior brother!"

Lingqiu gazed at the spirit carp swimming in the vast spirit pool and the duckweed swaying like auspicious clouds, her eyes sparkling with emotion.

Jiang Sheng smiled and said, "If you like them, take some back with you and put them in your cave."

Lingqiu stroked the spirit cat in her arms, smiling sweetly and charmingly: "Thank you, Senior Brother!"

Lin Fan, standing to the side, complained, "Yuan Chen, why are you so generous with Junior Sister Ling Qiu? You give her things like the Nine-Tailed Spirit Cat and the White Carp Water Spirit without hesitation, but you won't give me anything?"

Jiang Sheng snorted: "If I gave it to you, you'd probably die in three days, and then have the nerve to come back to me for it, right?"

Lin Fan was quite dissatisfied: "I can't pretend I didn't hear that. If it weren't for a few jugs of immortal wine, don't expect me to forget about this."

Jiang Sheng waved his hand: "Then you can remember it. Anyway, you've been eyeing my things for a long time."

Meanwhile, Lingqiu had already gone to another place to play. Hearing the roar of the lion and the cry of the roc in the distance, Lin Fan glanced over and said, "Is that the golden lion and the roc you raised?"

Jiang Sheng nodded: "Yes, since I attained the Dao Fruit and ascended to the Refinement Void Realm, I haven't needed them much, so I've been raising them on Little Penglai. Now they've multiplied and their clans are thriving."

Lin Fan sighed, "Everyone says you, Ling Yuan, are sentimental. What use are these golden lions, green rocs, green oxen, and white elephants to you?"

Jiang Sheng didn't care: "How is it useless? Over the years, I've given them islands to live and breed. Now their population is thriving, and they are all naturally strong demons. With a little training, they can become excellent Dao soldiers."

"The Azure Roc clan can control the heavens, the White Elephant clan can serve as a shield, the Golden Lion clan is in charge of killing, and the Azure Ox clan wields heavy weapons. When trained, they are sufficient to be used as an army."

Lin Fan thought for a moment and nodded: "That's true. We can't rely on Ming An and Buyu's clansmen for everything. Turning these demons into Dao weapons is a good way to make the most of them."

Jiang Sheng looked at Lin Fan beside him and couldn't help but ask, "Tell me, you and Ling Qiu didn't come here just to freeload, did you?"

Lin Fan laughed and said, "How could that be? I just heard that His Majesty the Heavenly Emperor is inviting talented people from all the heavens and myriad realms, and is even treating them with the highest level of Mahayana cultivation, so I came here specifically to see you."

Jiang Sheng was somewhat surprised: "Lin Yunxuan, I'm really surprised that you would consider other people's thoughts."

Lin Fan said irritably, "I came to see you out of kindness, and you don't appreciate it. Let me tell you, according to the information I have from my friends in all the worlds, the old guys in all the worlds are keeping a close eye on the location of the Judicial Heavenly Lord."

"Not only are many veteran Fifth Tribulation True Monarchs with their own methods coveting it, but even those old Mahayana Realm cultivators who haven't left the mountain for a long time have been alarmed."

“There are people from unorthodox sects, demons, deities, and even Buddhist sects all eyeing this position.”

Jiang Sheng nodded: "After all, it is a Heaven and Earth Fruit Position. Although it was forcibly created by His Majesty the Heavenly Emperor, it is still a unique judicial position in the Three Realms, in charge of Heavenly Rules, Laws, Precepts and Punishments. It would be a problem if no one cared about such a position."

"Now that all the realms and worlds are eyeing this position, doesn't that prove my good judgment?"

Lin Fan chuckled: "Jiang Yuanchen, you really don't hold back. With so many people eyeing this position, how do you plan to compete for it?"

Jiang Sheng slowly raised his hand. The essence of the sun and moon flowed and shimmered above Little Penglai, and various starlights sprinkled down, so the sky above Little Penglai was always colorful and magnificent. At this moment, looking at the vast starry sky through the gaps between his fingers, Jiang Sheng's voice was extremely calm: "I will take it with my sword!"

His calm tone couldn't hide his sharpness, and that self-assured sharpness made Lin Fan pause for a moment before he smiled and said, "In that case, the ancestors can rest assured." "Yuan Chen, a hundred years from now, the heroes and geniuses of all the heavens and myriad realms, as well as those old fogies, will gather at the South Heavenly Gate. That will be the time to compete for the position of the Judicial Heavenly Lord. At that time, the senior uncles and elders of the Eastern Heaven will personally go to the South Heavenly Gate to bolster your prestige."

"Then we'll see who's so blind as to dare compete with you for the position of the Heavenly Ruler of Justice!"

Lin Fan spoke with murderous intent, clearly showing he had no good temper.

The positions attained by the Daoist sects of the Three Realms and the Great Thousand Worlds were earned by the Eastern Heaven Daoists through the great calamity of the Xuanmen, with countless True Lords dying in battle and countless disciples perishing.

When the vast universe of the ten directions merges into the Three Realms, and the entire Xuanmen's Qi flows back to its source, only then can the Heavenly and Earthly positions within the Three Realms be conceived and formed.

Whether it's the Four Emperors and Five Elders who have reached the Dao Realm, or other positions, the Eastern Heaven Daoist School has contributed its efforts.

Now, the Golden Emperor has severed his position with a single stroke and openly made it up for all the heavens and myriad realms to compete for. This was originally meant to disgust the Eastern Heaven Daoist School, but there are actually people in all the heavens and myriad realms who dare to compete for it!

Lin Fan sometimes really wanted to ask, what are they anyway, that they dare to compete with the Eastern Heaven Daoist School?
“You have a lot of good stuff in your little Penglai. I’ll pick a few that I like to take back with me.”

Having made his stance clear, Lin Fan didn't stand on ceremony and directly reached out to Jiang Sheng for the things. Jiang Sheng looked at Lin Fan's matter-of-fact expression and sighed, "I knew it."

Finally, Lin Fan left Xiao Penglai with a batch of rare and precious materials and celestial birds and beasts, completely satisfied.

Lin Fan certainly didn't lack these things, but what he owned was definitely different from what he got from others, especially what he took from Jiang Sheng. Lin Fan found them particularly comfortable to use, leaving Jiang Sheng quite helpless.

After seeing off Lin Fan and Ling Qiu, these two "unwelcome guests," Jiang Sheng had no intention of continuing his seclusion to study the Dharma. Whether it was the nourishment of his physical body, soul, and magic treasures by his fortune and merits, or the refinement of his physical body and magic treasures by his Xuanhuang Qi, these were not things that could be accomplished in a short time, but rather things that required long-term effort.

Therefore, there is no need to continue the seclusion. As long as everything is as usual, Jiang Sheng's physical body, soul, magical treasures, and supernatural powers will gradually improve as day and night pass.

Such a comprehensive improvement cannot be achieved through seclusion and arduous practice.

Over the course of a century, Jiang Sheng wanted to cultivate his character and temperament in Xiaopenglai, while also concealing his sharpness and nurturing his sword and soul.

"Little Jiu."

"Master, your disciple is here."

Zhang Xiaojiu ran over, with the nine-tailed cat Jiuxue running in his arms. It was unclear whether the nine-tailed cat had been with Zhang Xiaojiu for a long time or not, but it didn't like being cared for by others. It wouldn't let anyone touch it, not even Tian Ming'an or Qiu Buyu. It was either in Jiang Sheng's arms or in Zhang Xiaojiu's arms.

Jiang Sheng simply went along with it.

Jiang Sheng has always been very tolerant of these celestial birds and beasts. Perhaps it's because these beasts are indeed cute and intelligent, making them much more comfortable to be around than other people.

Jiang Sheng pulled the nine-tailed cat from Zhang Xiaojiu's arms and ruffled its fur. "You've become lazy since you came to this Little Penglai. Oh well, whatever you want. The Nine-Tailed Cat's growth in the Three Realms depends on you."

Jiang Sheng stroked the nine-tailed cat and said, "Little Nine, you've never been to Penglai. I'll have Senior Brother Chun and Senior Brother Ping An take you to Penglai in the East Sea so you can see where our lineage's roots are."

Zhang Xiaojiu nodded and was about to go find Li Jianchun and Huang Ping'an when Jiang Sheng thought for a moment and then instructed, "Have your two senior brothers call Jinshi, Baixiang, and Qingpeng over. Don't let them slack off in Xiaopenglai."

Jiang Sheng only had four demon beasts under his command. The Green Ox used to be Jiang Sheng's mount, but now it had the best relationship with Tian Ming'an. Whether it was traveling or doing things for Jiang Sheng, Tian Ming'an always traveled with the Green Ox.

Qiu Buyu had her own magic boat, and she looked down on the Green Ox, Golden Lion, White Elephant, and Green Roc. However, after the Moon-Tail Fox arrived, Qiu Buyu took a great liking to it, and Jiang Sheng went along with it.

As for Li Jianchun and Huang Ping'an, these two lads are the most carefree. They would set off to wander the world with just a sword, doing chivalrous deeds, without even a mount. This left the Golden Lion, White Elephant, and Azure Roc with nothing to do all day long on Little Penglai.

During the great calamity of the Xuanmen, they did contribute a lot of Dao soldiers, but they themselves didn't move much. Jiang Sheng had been enjoying such good days for a long time, so he decided to let them move around a bit as well.

Hearing Jiang Sheng's instructions, Zhang Xiaojiu was naturally delighted. He had also gone with Tian Ming'an and Qiu Buyu to meet the group of great demons on Xiaopenglai. He was truly fond of those enormous demons, which were as large as mountains. Now that he had the opportunity to ride these great demons out, Zhang Xiaojiu was very excited.

Watching Zhang Xiaojiu leave, Jiang Sheng looked south, towards the direction of the Southern Heavenly Palace beyond the Three Realms: "A hundred years from now, we will compete for the Heavenly Fruit position."

"Over the past century, countless beings from all the heavens and myriad realms have poured into the Three Realms. After learning about the prosperity of the Three Realms, they are probably unwilling to leave."

"Those who are qualified to compete for the position of the Heavenly Lord of Justice, even if they fail, are still rare talents, and the Heavenly Court will certainly not let them go."

"A Dharma assembly for the struggle for fruition, held to disgust my Eastern Heavenly Daoist family, not only proclaims the prosperity and grandeur of the Three Realms and the majesty of the Heavenly Court, but also gathers talents from all heavens, strengthens the power of the Heavenly Court, and ultimately adds another batch of talents to the Three Realms and gathers the fortune of all realms. Those who return will also spread the word about the Three Realms and the Heavenly Court everywhere."

"As expected of His Majesty the Heavenly Emperor, his actions, though seemingly driven by anger, were all imbued with profound meaning."

"This is an open conspiracy, a conspiracy that all the heavens and myriad realms have no choice but to comply. Anyone who wants to understand the situation in the Three Realms, anyone with a brain, will inevitably send people to the Three Realms."

Considering the purpose of the Golden Palace Heavenly Emperor's setting up this fruit position competition, Jiang Sheng couldn't help but admire the Golden Palace Heavenly Emperor's far-sighted strategy. It also made Jiang Sheng wonder: Was the Golden Palace Heavenly Emperor really forced into a corner by the Eastern Heaven and, out of anger and embarrassment, cut off the fruit position of the yet-to-be-formed God of Justice?
The more Jiang Sheng thought about it, the more he felt there was some secret hidden in it.

After all, that Heavenly Emperor has ruled over a region of gods for tens of millions of years and is now the supreme ruler of the Three Realms. With his cultivation of the True Yang and his nature of governing all the heavens, how could he be so angry and ashamed because of a little gain or loss?
Jiang Sheng couldn't quite understand what His Majesty was thinking or plotting, since he was only at the third level of cultivation and couldn't see through the thoughts of the Pure Yang experts.

"Perhaps the patriarchs were aware of the Heavenly Court's plans. Maybe the loss of their positions was a tacit understanding between His Majesty the Heavenly Emperor and the three Heavenly Venerables."

After thinking for a moment, Jiang Sheng shook his head.

The plans of powerful beings of the Pure Yang realm are often calculated over tens of thousands of years. Moreover, with the Three Realms and the Great Thousand Worlds settling into the Central Universe, the return of all the heavens and myriad realms is already a foregone conclusion. The final calamity of the Yuanhui will no longer be a catastrophe of the fall of the Pure Yang beings of the heavens.

According to the predictions of the patriarchs, as long as all the great worlds in this Yuanhui return to the Three Realms and reshape the ancestral realm, then even the final calamity of the Yuanhui will not be able to overthrow the Eastern Heaven Daoist School, which has a deep and long-lasting fortune and merit. The Eastern Heaven Daoist School can prosper for a long time, and the Eastern Heaven will not perish as long as the ancestral realm does not collapse.

Now, there's no need to worry about the powerful Pure Yang cultivators who are facing the final tribulation of the Yuanhui era. Their plans could potentially last for several Yuanhui. Jiang Sheng, who hasn't yet reached the Pure Yang realm, can't consider things from that perspective. This makes Jiang Sheng feel even more pressured. As long as he doesn't reach the Pure Yang realm, he's still just a pawn, and everything is under the control of others. He rarely has any freedom.

This feeling of knowing nothing and having to act solely according to others' plans left Jiang Sheng feeling very frustrated and helpless.

Recalling Yuan Yi Zhenjun's question about why he was so urgent and dared not slacken for even a moment, Jiang Sheng couldn't help but sigh softly:

"Only by transcending the Three Realms and being outside the Five Elements can one attain true freedom and liberation, and become truly unrestrained."

"Pure Yang!" (End of Chapter)