Daojun, start from Penglai foundation building

On the vast land, amidst mountains and rivers.

The mountain gods, local deities, and city gods all looked up at the golden light shining down from the Central Plains. Even though they were thousands of miles apart, they could still see the Taoist ascending to heaven.

In the radiant golden light of that day, one could see flowers falling from the sky, the clear radiance rippling, celestial birds and cranes circling around, and golden carp and jade dragons manifesting.

Amidst the rosy glow and auspicious mist, the Taoist's features were not clearly visible, but the mountain gods, local deities, city gods, and water gods were certain that he was a handsome and dashing figure.

Even in a bamboo hat and simple clothes, his true nature could not be concealed. He was an immortal who had ascended to heaven, leaving only the echoing sound of his Dao. The extraordinary phenomena of heaven and earth were dazzling, making the beings of the ten kingdoms extremely envious.

Such extraordinary celestial phenomena can be clearly seen not only from tens of thousands of miles away, but even from the ends of the earth.

This is not only for the beings of this world, but also for all the talented young cultivators participating in the competition:
The first Qingchi contestant has emerged; you all need to step up your game.

"The Emperor of Heaven's decree—this person is truly fortunate; he has already been appointed as an official in the Heavenly Palace."

"Now that they're true gods in heaven, when will we, these humble mountain spirits, ever catch the Emperor's eye...?"

"That's the renowned Sword Immortal Jiang in recent years. I've heard he's free-spirited and hates evil like poison. It seems he's accumulated enough merit over the years by punishing evil and promoting good, slaying demons and monsters, which is why the imperial edict has been issued..."

The local deities were all talking about it with great envy, as if entering the Heavenly Palace meant enjoying endless blessings and longevity...

This world is ultimately a small realm created by the Heavenly Emperor. No matter how high their status, the beings in this realm are always bound within this world and cannot leave.

Without seeing the vastness of chaos and the grandeur of the heavens, no matter how high one's position or how strong one's cultivation, one is nothing more than a frog at the bottom of a well.

Therefore, it's not surprising that these native gods reacted this way. However, the geniuses from all the realms who came to participate in the competition had different expressions: It's only been less than a hundred years, and someone has already successfully ascended, and it's that one from the Eastern Heaven Daoist School...

Dragon Leap Kingdom, capital city.

Within this magnificent human palace, atop the kingdom's dragon vein, a divine and powerful dragon, ten thousand feet long, with two horns on its head, four claws on its belly, and two wings on its back, slowly raised its head.

The Demon Lord Yingtian, who had already become the symbol of a nation, looked up at the sky and at Jiang Sheng, who had received the talisman to guide him. His expression was inscrutable: "After cultivating the Dao for over a hundred years, I have fulfilled the aspirations of the people by punishing evil and promoting good."

"Seeking out the cries of suffering, saving the demons and monsters, the sword's light vanishes and evil is silenced."

"Is he really the True Lord of Penglai Lingyuan? How spirited and unrestrained he is! He has entered the hall of gods with the foundation of immortality. Could this be the immortal path of the Eastern Golden Flower Mountain lineage in the Three Realms?"

"Unfortunately, it is indeed not easy to transform oneself into a dragon vein and then replace the destiny of a country. I'm afraid I won't be able to compete for the top ten in this round."

Having said that, the massive and majestic Yinglong lowered its head again, wrapped itself around the dragon vein, and quietly absorbed power, planning its next move.

Nanzhao Kingdom.

At this time, the Kingdom of Nanzhao was filled with Buddhist temples and pagodas.

Having already attained the golden body of Buddhism, Miyin looked towards the Central Plains with a somewhat suspicious expression.

For these people, although they were somewhat bewildered when they first entered this world, now that decades have passed, how could they not know where the various geniuses and Daoists are, and where those who are qualified to compete for the top ten positions are?
"The Central Plains Kingdom, isn't that the place of ascension chosen by Immortal Lord Fuyun?"

"Wasn't that immortal lord single-mindedly focused on converting incense offerings and merits, intending to use the power of an entire nation to support his ascension? How come he ended up ascending to Penglai Spirit Abyss?"

"Could it be that Immortal Lord Fuyun was defeated in his own dojo?!"

The thought startled Mi Yin: If Immortal Lord Fuyun was truly defeated by Jiang Sheng in his own dojo, then who in the ten kingdoms of this land could stop him?

Thinking of this, Mi Yin looked at Jiang Sheng, who had already ascended to heaven, and her expression became even more helpless: "Alas, we are still cultivating hard and waiting for incense offerings and merits, but this one has already ascended to heaven."

"Not to mention that its momentum is already established and unstoppable in the future; even now, who can stop it?"

"No one can stop that person from taking first place in the seventh round. I should also prepare myself and think about what ranking I should aim for."

While pondering, Miyin sent messages to Mijian, Putai, and Puhua to discuss how to maintain their ranking.

In the Northern Water Kingdom, at the summit of the First Mountain, a magnificent temple stands tall and solemn, bathed in golden light.

As Shenxiao Dijun gradually conquered the surrounding areas from the position of the Mountain God of Chaotic Rocks, he is now the Great God of the First Mountain, with his incense offerings and beliefs covering several prefectures and counties.

Inside the temple, the Divine Firmament Emperor stood with his hands behind his back, gazing at Jiang Sheng slowly ascending into the sky, his eyes filled with apprehension: "The four divine lords once feared me, and the eight demon Buddhas avoided my trace; now I have received the Heavenly Decree of the Supreme Emperor, and will reside in the Immortal Palace as the Ancestral Stream..."

"How arrogant! What a boastful tone!"

"The Spirit Abyss of Penglai is truly a delightful surprise..."

"The outcome of this round is not yet decided!"

The Divine Emperor spoke in a low voice. Behind him, a massive army of incense-wielding soldiers had been trained and was about to lead them to conquer all directions and take over the entire Northern Water Kingdom in one fell swoop!

Meanwhile, in other capitals, the Demon Lord Qingyu, who was about to take control of a country and was mingling in the harem, leaned lazily against the dragon bed, a half-smile on his face: "Heh, it seems the outcome of this round has already been decided."

“Penglai Lingyuan entered the Heavenly Palace first. With his cultivation and abilities, whether he blocked the mortal world or mobilized troops to besiege him, from the moment he first set foot in the Heavenly Palace, he was considered to be invincible.”

"Let's just enjoy this challenge."

As she spoke, Demon Lord Qingyu settled into a comfortable position, lazily sprawling on the dragon bed. Soon, several delicate white hands reached out and began to massage Demon Lord Qingyu's muscles and bones...

Meanwhile, in other countries, among the talented individuals living amidst mountains and rivers, the scene unfolded with composure, showing little sign of resentment.

Originally, the divine path had the advantage in this challenge. Buddhist cultivators could use incense and merit to refine a golden body and obtain a divine position, but for the demon race's celestial demons, such a restrictive divine position was meaningless.

The demon race does not like to restrain their nature; they prefer freedom. Therefore, in this pass, the initial plan of the group of demon prodigies was to kill and set fires and then accept amnesty.

If this trial hadn't restricted the use of divine powers from the outset, these demon race's celestial demons would have already been killing the local gods and waiting for the Heavenly Palace to issue its decree.

The Golden Lion Demon Lord and the White-Armored Demon Lord stood side by side on the mountain peak. The Golden Lion Demon Lord sighed, "I originally thought that the Divine Path would win first place, but it seems that I underestimated that one from the Eastern Heaven."

"However, this would mean the Shinto's reputation would be completely tarnished, and the eighth level might be quite interesting..."

The Golden Lion Demon Lord seemed to enjoy watching the excitement. She had come to broaden her horizons and, incidentally, to compete with her peers from all the heavens and myriad realms to determine her own level among them.

Now that we've seen the world and eaten the divine fruit, all that's missing is a real, hard-fought battle.

However, through his performance in the previous levels, the Golden Lion Demon Lord gained a better understanding of his own strength. Originally, the Golden Lion Demon Lord thought that he was at most a first-tier to second-tier top-tier, but he never expected that he would actually rank among the first tier in all the heavens and myriad realms.

Although she can't compare to those Mahayana practitioners, apart from Mahayana practitioners, who in the myriad realms with the cultivation of the Five Tribulations dares to confidently say that they can definitely defeat her?
Of course, Jiang Sheng had already been subconsciously ignored by the Golden Lion Demon Lord.

Because Jiang Sheng has reached the third kalpa of cultivation, not the fifth kalpa...

...

Inside the Lingxiao Palace, the immortals, Buddhas, and saints looked at the small world before them with varying expressions.

The Heavenly Emperor used immense divine power to move that small realm, in the form of a mustard seed and Mount Sumeru, into the Lingxiao Palace.

Now, that small realm was presented to the Pure Yang beings of Lingxiao Palace like a sand table, allowing them to watch a good show.

Unfortunately, this turn of events was completely unexpected by the Heavenly Emperor: the seventh trial seemed to have a winner. Even the Heavenly Emperor hadn't anticipated that Jiang Sheng would be the first to ascend. In the Heavenly Emperor's original plan, if not the Divine Firmament Emperor, then it should have been someone like the Liu Yuan Emperor, not Jiang Sheng…

Qiongyun Daojun looked at the hall full of immortals, Buddhas, and saints. He saw the Emperor Huangtian looking puzzled, as if he were calculating and deducing. He also saw the Maitreya Bodhisattva drinking imperial wine with a smile. Nothing seemed to surprise him.

Daoist Chixiao stroked his beard and nodded repeatedly, his face beaming with smiles, seemingly not expecting Jiang Sheng to be number one; Jinmu Yuanjun remained calm, sipping the immortal fruit as if she had anticipated it.

The Great Bodhisattva Mingguang was calmly speculating with the Great Bodhisattva Jinglian about which of their disciples would pass the test first; the Great Sage Shenfeng was whispering something to Daoist Jingxuan.

The Bodhisattva Zhenque looked disappointed, seemingly very unhappy to see Dongtian win, while the Emperor looked at Jiang Sheng with suspicion, as if he had thought of something.

His Majesty the Heavenly Emperor, however, remained calm and composed, sitting atop his throne and watching the performances of the various prodigies with a smile…

The crowd in this hall was quite interesting to Daoist Qiongyun, since Daoist Qiongyun had long since withdrawn from the struggle between the Eastern Heaven and the Western Heaven, and was no longer involved in the conflict between the Heavenly Court and the two sides.

Qiongyun Daojun is more like a detached observer, neither offending nor provoking anyone. If the conflict between several families deepens, he will even step in to mediate...

This renowned benevolent man of the Heavenly Court, observing the various scenes unfolding within the hall, smiled at the still suspicious Emperor Huangtian and said, "Fellow Daoist Huangtian, the outcome of this trial is already decided. Let Jiang Sheng come out first."

The Emperor frowned slightly: "Shenxiao, Liuyuan, Tianyun, and others all have the potential to contend for first place, but Jiang Sheng is only temporarily in the lead..."

As he spoke, even the Emperor himself couldn't continue.

Jiang Sheng's performance in recovering to the level of the Refining Emptiness Daoist realm in just a few decades is truly astonishing.

This is beyond what can be described as monstrous.

The Emperor originally set up this trial to create a first place in the Divine Path. He even considered the possibility of realm suppression during the trial and specially sealed the Divine Path, making everyone start from scratch.

But who would have thought that a group of Great Ascension Realm Divine Lords and Demon Venerables didn't get first place, and so many Divine Lords and Venerables with Five Tribulations of Daoist Cultivation didn't get first place either, and in the end, it was Jiang Sheng, who always seemed to be a carefree hermit, who got first place with Three Tribulations of Daoist Cultivation.

Indeed, Jiang Sheng is only temporarily ahead, but one step ahead leads to another. With Jiang Sheng's current cultivation and his ability to be unrestricted by the divine path, he can completely eliminate everyone in this trial. Otherwise, why would the Heavenly Emperor have issued a decree to send Jiang Sheng to heaven?

Ultimately, it's all about avoiding embarrassment. They want to first place and elevate Jiang Sheng to a higher status so that the Divine Firmament Emperor and the others have a chance to shine. Even if they don't compete for first place, being second, third, or fourth is fine.

But as Qiongyun Daojun spoke, the Emperor Huangtian realized that if Jiang Sheng's first place was uncertain, this contemporary leader of the Eastern Heaven Daoist School would probably really sweep through the seventh level with his Refining Void Daoist cultivation.

Thinking of this, the Emperor Huangtian couldn't help but sigh. He had originally intended to let the Divine Path show its face, but who would have thought that Jiang Sheng would be such a variable?
Qiongyun Daojun further advised, "Fellow Daoist Huangtian, please give the younger generation of the Divine Path, Immortal Path, Demon Race, and Buddhist Sect a way to survive. We can't let Lingyuan wipe everyone out in the seventh level, can we?"

The others were still within the divine system and were restricted by the laws of heaven from acting arbitrarily. However, Jiang Sheng appeared out of nowhere and became a cultivator of the Void Refining Dao, making it difficult for the Heavenly Emperor to restrict him, because Jiang Sheng had never entered the divine path from beginning to end!
With such a true dragon appearing at the seventh level, how could a group of geniuses from all walks of life, who were still in the Golden Core and Nascent Soul stages, bear it?
Shall we team up and cross borders to fight the Demon King?

Stop joking!
"Hey…"

With a long sigh, the Emperor Huangtian waved his hand, and the scene before Jiang Sheng, who had just ascended to heaven, changed, and he found himself in the Lingxiao Palace.

Upon meeting the lofty and supreme Heavenly Emperor who ruled over the Three Realms, and the three Great Emperors, three Buddhas, and a host of Dao Lords, Bodhisattvas, and Great Sages, Jiang Sheng calmly bowed: "Penglai Lingyuan greets His Majesty the Heavenly Emperor, and greets all the Great Emperors, Buddhas, and Venerables..."

"I don't know if I've violated any taboo or committed any wrongdoing, so why have I left the checkpoint?"

Looking at Jiang Sheng, who was neither humble nor arrogant, and was calm and confident, Huang Tian laughed loudly: "Ling Yuan, you are the first in this seventh level. You have already won, so you will naturally come out."

Jiang Sheng nodded, secretly regretting it.

Jiang Sheng originally planned to enter the Heavenly Palace and then use his power and status to control a batch of divine weapons before going down to the mortal realm to forcibly eliminate those people from the divine path.

Unfortunately, the plan was interrupted before it could be implemented.

The Emperor Huangtian's lips twitched slightly as he looked at Jiang Sheng's somewhat regretful expression. It was true that Daoist Qiongyun was right; this man was indeed planning to wipe out everyone in the seventh level.

If that's the case, then what's the point of having levels eight and nine?

Wouldn't this grand banquet for attaining official rank set up by His Majesty the Heavenly Emperor become a joke?
Thinking of this, the Emperor secretly breathed a sigh of relief, and then smiled and said, "Lingyuan, you were first in the first, second, third, sixth and seventh trials, which is truly outstanding."

"Let's sit down in this Lingxiao Palace and wait for the outcome of the seventh round."

Jiang Sheng thanked them generously, then looked around before finally choosing an empty seat to sit down. The immortals, Buddhas, and saints in the hall smiled without saying a word as they watched Jiang Sheng sit down, while the emperors and immortals in the hall looked slightly surprised.

This is because the empty seat Jiang Sheng chose was the very seat of the Divine Firmament Emperor.

The Divine Firmament Emperor had already left to participate in the trial, leaving his seat vacant. Jiang Sheng won too quickly, so the seat naturally fell into his hands.

The divine emperor intended to offer a reminder or admonition, but just as he was about to speak, the Great Emperor Huangtian said, "Prepare a new feast for True Lord Lingyuan."

A decree sealed off all the words that the emperors and gods had not spoken.

After Jiang Sheng thanked them, he sat down calmly, ignoring the awkward expressions of the gods and emperors around him, and began to quietly watch the others perform.

...

With Jiang Sheng no longer a variable, the seventh level finally went as the Emperor Huangtian had predicted, with several divine cultivators performing exceptionally well.

Emperor Liuyuan, as the underworld emperor of a nation, received the imperial edict and became the second person to enter the heavens.

Next came the Divine Emperor of Shenxiao, a powerful emperor who conquered the divine realm of an entire country and entered the heavens as the Lord of the First Mountain.

Subsequently, the Spring and Autumn Divine Lord, the Heavenly Fortune Emperor, the Yingtian Demon Lord, and the Duoming Daoist entered Heaven one after another, though it took them longer than the former…

One day the sun sets over the Lingxiao Palace, and ten years pass in the Xiaojie Realm.

The seventh level lasted for fifty days, equivalent to five hundred years in the small world.

Of the 108 people excluding Jiang Sheng, half passed the test and were allowed to enter the eighth trial.

Including Jiang Sheng, there were fifty-five people who passed the seventh level, but the Emperor of Heaven only gave ten rewards.

As all those who had passed the test appeared in the Lingxiao Palace, fifty-four people stood together, while Jiang Sheng took his seat at the banquet.

The Divine Emperor's expression towards Jiang Sheng was utterly cold. Jiang Sheng had stolen his first place and taken his spot. He had entered the Heavenly Palace full of confidence, leading a large number of divine soldiers to compete with Jiang Sheng for first place, only to be told upon arriving in Heaven that the outcome was already clear...

That feeling made the Divine Firmament Emperor almost look like a clown; how could he not be angry or annoyed?
What's more, Jiang Sheng is trying to take his position...

"Penglai Spirit Abyss..."

Shenxiao Emperor looked at Jiang Sheng, suppressing his anger, while Jiang Sheng leisurely raised the wine cup on the table and gestured to Shenxiao Emperor.

That calm and composed expression made the Divine Firmament Emperor's Dao Heart even more unsettled. However, the Divine Firmament Emperor did not notice that his every move was being observed by the Golden Palace Heavenly Emperor, the Imperial Heavenly Emperor, and other beings.

Seeing the Shenxiao Emperor, who was struggling to contain his emotions, the Huangtian Emperor sighed silently: Is a divine position really that important?
Does losing that divine office mean one is no longer a Mahayana Emperor?

Or is it that they are greedy for power and neglect their own fundamentals?

Seeing the Divine Firmament Emperor, who was completely blinded by greed and unable to control himself, the Great Emperor Huangtian slowly shook his head, gently erasing the last trace of affection he had for the Divine Firmament Emperor. (End of Chapter)