Primordial Era: Starting with the Immortals of the Jie Sect to Prove the Dao of Hunyuan

The six saints gathered at the summit of Kunlun.

The six sages—Laozi, Yuanshi Tianzun, Tongtian Jiaozhu, Nuwa, Jieyin Daoren, and Zhunti Daoren—each sat in one direction, their bodies intertwined with holy light, causing the heavens and earth to change color.

Laozi spoke first: "Since our parting at Zixiao Palace, the six sages have gathered together for the first time today. Now, we have all taken in disciples, passed on our lineages, and brought glory to the Xuanmen. This is truly a cause for celebration!"

"Laozi is relying on his status as the senior disciple of the Xuanmen Sect to try and bring my Western Sect under their wing! But Hongjun Daozu doesn't treat my senior brother and me as disciples at all; instead, he restricts my Western Sect at every turn. How can I accept this!"

After pondering for a moment, Zhunti Daoren remained silent and smiled, saying, "The gathering of the six sages is truly the greatest blessing in the primordial world. Why don't we each expound our own wondrous methods, allowing our disciples to learn from the strengths of the sages, broaden their horizons, and avoid falling into demonic traps? What do you think?"

Yuanshi Tianzun glanced at Zhunti Daoist, then at Jieyin Daoist with a troubled expression, and thought to himself, "These two are trying to test us. If we don't suppress their arrogance, wouldn't they be underestimating the true lineage of Pangu?"

Then he spoke: "That's excellent."

Having said that, he first unleashed the auspicious clouds, the Pangu Banner fluttered in the wind, and endless chaotic sword energy tore through the void, only to continuously mend itself under the power of the saint.

Beneath the banner appeared a vast expanse of gold, within which thousands of golden lamps burned eternally, their flickering flames reflecting the birth and death of countless worlds.

Below, the twelve Golden Immortals of the Chan Sect each had a golden lamp on their head, the flames flickering like dripping water from the eaves, continuous and unbroken.

"Fellow Daoist Yuanshi has already attained the Samadhi of the Great Dao of Pangu, but I cannot let you dominate the scene alone. My fellow disciple and I have no predecessors to inherit our legacy, yet we have also comprehended the Great Law of the West. Excellent, excellent!"

Amidst the auspicious clouds surrounding the Daoist Zhunti, the Seven Treasures Tree swayed gracefully, its seven colors of light—gold, silver, lapis lazuli, glass, tridacna shell, red pearl, and agate—intertwining to form a rainbow.

Above the rainbow, a golden Bodhi statue sits with its hands in mudra, and Bodhi flowers bloom and wither around it, evolving from nirvana to rebirth.

Western disciples chanted sutras in unison, manifesting relics that shone brightly.

Within the Chan Sect camp, when the Daoist Ran Deng saw the Bodhi flowers blooming around the Daoist Zhun Ti, he suddenly smiled, and the aura of annihilation around him intensified.

Seeing the behavior of the Lamp-Burning Daoist, the Guide Daoist knew that he had a connection with the West. So, a golden body, sixteen feet tall, appeared on his head, its golden light shining brightly and illuminating the void.

The golden statue sits atop a twelve-petaled lotus of merit, its petals inscribed with the wondrous teachings of the West.

Surrounding the golden body were the phantom images of three thousand divine kingdoms, each with chanting and sermons emanating from it, each sound representing the cycle of formation, existence, decay, and emptiness.

The two saints echoed each other, their powerful momentum overwhelming and suppressing the auspicious clouds of the Primordial Heavenly Venerable.

The Primordial Celestial Venerable was furious. The Three Treasures Jade Ruyi above the auspicious clouds emitted divine light of red, blue, and yellow, charging left and right between the two auspicious clouds of the Western Saints.

Julusun, Manjushri, Samantabhadra, and Cihang looked at the golden Dharma image in the sky, each with their own thoughts.

"These two are showing off their unorthodox methods; it's time for me to reveal the true essence of Pangu!"

Seeing that the two of them were suppressing Yuanshi Tianzun, Laozi frowned. Three streams of pure energy shot into the sky and transformed into three red lotuses, each with twelve petals.

Three lotus flowers support a Xuanhuang pagoda, from which countless streams of Xuanhuang energy descend. At the top of the pagoda, a Taiji diagram rotates endlessly, and the Yin and Yang energies transform into two giant dragons that coil and intertwine.

When Laozi made his move, the chanting in the Sanqing Hall stopped instantly. The Tongtian Sect Leader frowned, and the four killing swords above him rang out joyfully.

The four swords, Zhuxian, Luxian, Xianxian, and Juexian, were arranged in four directions, their murderous aura soaring into the sky. They plunged straight into the auspicious clouds of the two Western Saints and joined forces with Yuanshi Tianzun. Then, the four sword lights were gathered together by a clear light, without leaking out even a bit.

Nuwa remained silent, glanced at the crowd below, released auspicious clouds, but did not manifest any extraordinary phenomena.

The Three Pure Ones besieged the Two Saints. Although the Two Saints were no match for them, they stood close together, manifesting a scene of Bodhi lotus flowers leaning on each other on Mount Sumeru, desperately defending their territory.

The next moment, Lao Tzu began to preach.

"The Tao that can be told is not the eternal Tao..."

Li Qing felt a sudden explosion in his mind, as if the divine runes had come to life and entered his sea of ​​consciousness, transforming into insights.

He dared not be negligent. He unleashed his auspicious cloud, and the Tai Chi symbol above his head flew out. The Yin and Yang energies transformed into a Tai Chi diagram that spun endlessly, and black and white mysterious light descended to protect him.

Beneath the Taiji diagram, five white waves surged back and forth, and within the waves, an indestructible seed of spiritual light shone brightly under the polishing of the Great Dao of Taiqing.

When Lao Tzu spoke, the other five sages also spoke. On Mount Kunlun, various great principles intertwined, and the disciples below were all captivated.

The pagoda atop Duobao Daoist grew ever brighter, and divine runes lit up on the seventh level of the pagoda. A flash of enlightenment crossed his eyes, indicating that he had clearly encountered some kind of obstacle.

Auspicious clouds surged atop the South Pole, and the aura of the Great Golden Immortal became increasingly harmonious.

The relics on the heads of Western Buddhist disciples, representing the emptiness of all phenomena, shone brilliantly.

Li Qing's condition was different from everyone else's.

During the sermons of the Six Sages, the light in his heart grew ever brighter.

"What is the Way? Where is my Great Way?"

This deep contemplation led him into a profound state, where the cultivation technique given by the Tongtian Sect Master operated on its own, and the earth element energy became as thick as a mountain, with a phantom of a Qilin emerging from the earth.

He recalled that time on Mount Tai, when his resentment turned into anger, and his wood element energy surged, causing a phantom of a blue dragon to burst out from his head.

"Using the seven emotions to cultivate the five elements, how interesting!"

Seeing Li Qing's actions, the Taoist Zhunti at the head of the table became interested.

With a wave of the Seven Treasures Tree, the power of the Seven Emotions spread, aiding Li Qing in his enlightenment.

"Heh, you seem quite interested in my disciples!"

The Tongtian Sect Leader did not stop him, but he did not want to owe Zhunti Daoist a favor. With a wave of his hand, a small breeze rose from the clouds and gradually grew into a raging torrent.

The murderous aura of the Four Swords of Zhuxian transformed into a pure path of slaughter during the sermon. Each sword struck the Daoist's heart, cutting away confusion and leaving behind clarity.

The Daoist Zhunti's Seven Emotions and Six Desires Dao landed in Li Qing's heart. In an instant, he thought of the hardships he had endured along the way, and of the countless living beings in the primordial world who turned to ashes in the great calamity. Sorrow welled up within him.

Then, thinking of the impending calamity of the Investiture of the Gods, and that as a disciple of the Intercepting Sect, his fate was to be afflicted by this calamity, fear arose within him.

Sorrow arises from gold, and a phantom of a white tiger roars forth.

Fearing the water would rise, a phantom image of Xuanwu slowly coalesced.

As the three illusory figures manifested, their corresponding cultivation levels in the Five Elements increased rapidly.

Finally, having exhausted his cultivation, Li Qing felt immense joy, and his fire element surged, causing a phantom of a Vermilion Bird to fly out from beside the Azure Dragon.

Azure Dragon, Vermilion Bird, Qilin, White Tiger, and Black Tortoise—five divine beast phantoms simultaneously appeared within Li Qingqing's cloud!

The five divine beasts roared to the sky, swallowing the evolutionary transformation formed by the six sages' teachings, the Great Dao, and the innate spiritual energy. They then began to advance triumphantly towards the perfection of the five elements!