In the Longevity World, this small thousand world, according to Pei Xuanjing's perception of the Great Ming World, had already been opened for ten years. But from the perspective of the Longevity World's time, it was difficult to say how long exactly had passed.
After all, time flowed differently in these two worlds, and with the Longevity World continuously absorbing the origin of the Taixu Venerable, this world was also evolving ceaselessly.
After all these years of evolution, although the innate gods and fierce beasts in the Longevity World were still fighting one another incessantly, the overall situation was beginning to calm down, and started to form standoff between factions.
After these fights between the innate gods and the fierce beasts, when they died, they returned to heaven and earth, which made the Longevity World breed more postnatal spirits. The emergence of these postnatal spirits became the third force in the Longevity World.
Although the postnatal spirits were still weak at this moment and could not compare with the innate gods and fierce beasts that were born with control over laws, their tribes were indeed growing, while the innate gods and fierce beasts could rarely increase once they died.
Pei Xuanjing did not intervene in these matters, instead, he allowed them to evolve gradually.
While many innate gods, innate fierce beasts, and postnatal spirits were developing stands in the Longevity World, numerous streaming lights flashed past unknowingly, arriving in the Longevity World.
These streaming lights were none other than powerful individuals like the Blood Fiend Ancestor who had been invited by Pei Xuanjing to come to the Longevity World.
The moment these people arrived in the Longevity World, they could feel that this was a completely different world, or rather, a world they had never experienced before.
"This world seems to have thick traces of the Incense God Path?" The Blood Fiend Ancestor felt the rich power of incense faith in the world and frowned.
The other strong practitioners of the Demonic Way also nodded: "That's right, I heard that his national teacher established countless Taoist academies in the Great Ming Divine Dynasty, attracting cultivators and martial artists to study, accumulating power of incense faith, and then using the infinite power of faith to open up this small thousand world."
"If that's the case, it's no surprise that this world leans towards the Incense God Path." One of the strong practitioners naturally said.
Although they had not yet opened up a small thousand world, they could have opened up a forbidden place known as the blessed land once they reached their state. They also had their own blessed lands within their sects, so they were not unfamiliar with a small thousand world.
It was generally known to them, that whether it's a forbidden place, blessed land, cave heaven, or a small thousand world, the attributes and features that it encompasses usually align with the one who created it, carrying their Taoist skill and principles.
When Pei Xuanjing established Taoist academies, he also put the skills he practiced into the skill library of the academies for disciples and cultivators to learn. Although the required points were substantial and only a few could afford, the initial foundation building skills were exchangable.
Merely from the basics Pei Xuanjing had put out, these powerful practitioners could guess and deduce what Pei Xuanjing's path was like.
Thus, when they entered this small thousand world, they originally thought and guessed that this should be a world that leans towards the Thunder Path or Sword Path. This was because Pei Xuanjing used sword arts against Taixu Venerable and the Nine Heavens Divine Thunder.
But when they entered, they found this place was more like a Divine Tao World, as the abundant divine Tao laws, divine authority and power of laws formed the mainstream of this world.
"I really didn't expect the National Teacher to have such great achievements in the Incense God Path." A powerful practitioner sighed.
It had been thought that Pei Xuanjing only used the accumulated power of incense faith, but now it seemed that he had profound attainment in the Incense God Path.
"Haha, that one has condensed the heavenly divine position of the Jade Purity True Monarch. With so much favor from the world's will and having divine authority, it's impossible for him to lack attainment in the Divine Tao."
An accompanying powerful practitioner sneered.
Now, the heavenly divine position Pei Xuanjing obtained from promoting the Great Ming Divine Dynasty is the divine position of the Jade Purity True Monarch. With the favor he had received from the world's will and having divine authority, even if he didn't deliberately seek it, his understanding of the Divine Tao deepens every day.
"But how did he resolve the erosion of the world's laws on himself?" One strong practitioner raised a question: "It seems that he has no influence from the world's will."
They knew much about this heavenly divine position, but they found that Pei Xuanjing showed no signs of being eroded, which was astounding.
"Stop pondering this. Instead, we should seize the time to comprehend this world, that is the Righteous Path." Blood Fiend Ancestor interrupted their debate.
Although this world was different from what they had imagined and was not a world of Pei Xuanjing's Taoist Skill or the Sword Path, but even so, for the Blood Fiend Ancestor and the others, it was still a rare opportunity.
After all, the Taoist skills and principles of the world here were unheard-of, unseen, and may greatly assist their cultivation.
Simply put, people like Blood Fiend Ancestor did not pay attention to this gamble at all. Instead, their main focus was on comprehending this world, which was the most important.
Even, from the moment Pei Xuanjing invited them into this world, they knew it wasn't important whether they agreed with Pei Xuanjing's plan. What was important was that they could comprehend this world, so they did not care if they lost the bet.
"This world…"
The Ancestor Celestial Master and all others also had entered this world, their initial feeling was more or less the same as the Blood Fiend Ancestor.
However, for the strong practitioners from the Dragon Tiger Mountain and other Taoist schools, they are not resistant to this world, which leans towards the Divine Tao. After all, many of their cultivation methods involve the Divine Tao and they have conducted a lot of research on it.
This Divine Tao world, to them, was far more useful than the many powerful practitioners of the Demonic Way, and they could gain more insights.
These powerful practitioners who entered the Longevity World did not think of what Pei Xuanjing said before about how to escape from this world, but instead they all calmed down to begin to comprehend this world, understanding the laws, principles of heaven and earth, and Taoist skills.
"Haha, it really is so!" Pei Xuanjing laughed, with these people performing just as he had expected.
As the creator of the world, Pei Xuanjing naturally knew everything about the Longevity World and seeing the performance of these strong practitioners, a satisfied smile appeared on his face.
Would Pei Xuanjing sustain a loss by allowing these powerful figures to assume forms and enter the Longevity World, allowing them to comprehend the ultimate principles and laws of Taoist Skill within the Longevity World?
Pei Xuanjing wouldn't suffer a loss. To him, the ultimate principles and laws of Taoist Skill of Longevity World are merely there. It doesn't matter who comprehends them, it wouldn't result in any loss for him.
However, when these powerful figures attempt to understand Taoist Skill, they would naturally try to stimulate their own insights. This would be of great help to the Longevity World. Their Taoist Skill and cultivation insights would be integrated into the Longevity World and be absorbed by it.
Although it doesn't compare with the origin snatched from the Taixu Venerable, supplying to the Longevity World the insight of so many powerful figures together is a great supplement that will speed up the progress of the Longevity World.
On the other hand, the entry of many powerful figures of the Demonic Way immerse them in the understanding of Taoist Skill. They had in fact given up on the bet and supported the plan Pei Xuanjing was pushing for. This was also a good plan.
Pei Xuanjing let these people be, turning his gaze to the remaining cultivators in the hall, smiling and saying, "Those of you who are interested can also try entering this Small Thousand World."
To Pei Xuanjing, he never minded sharing this. The stronger these cultivators became by entering the Longevity World and if they could leave more insights, it would be a good thing for the Longevity World.
"Thank you, Master Pei!" Many cultivators quickly thanked Pei Xuanjing.
How could they not long for this Small Thousand World? Just because the ones who previously spoke up were all powerful beings, they didn't have any qualifications to demand anything from Pei Xuanjing.
But now that Master Pei had initiated the invitation for them to enter it, how could they give up this opportunity?
So when Pei Xuanjing spoke, they naturally accepted without giving Pei Xuanjing any room to back down.
Pei Xuanjing chuckled softly, waving his sleeve. An entrance appeared, indicating that everyone could enter.
…
Cultivators successively entered. At this moment, besides Pei Xuanjing, one person still sat in the original place in the grand hall, not entering the Longevity World.
"Master Pei." Zhu Houji said slowly.
Surprisingly, the person who hadn't entered the Longevity World wasn't someone else but Zhu Houji, the current emperor of Great Ming Divine Dynasty.
When all cultivators hastily entered the Longevity World to comprehend the Divine Tao and the ultimate principles and laws, fearing Pei Xuanjing might retract his offer, Zhu Houji, who urgently wanted to increase his strength, actually stopped his steps and did not immediately enter the Longevity World.
From the way he spoke to Pei Xuanjing, it seemed that there was something important he wanted to discuss or consult with Pei Xuanjing.
"Your Majesty, please speak!" Pei Xuanjing saw through Zhu Houji's thoughts and responded directly when he heard Zhu Houji speak.
He had long foresaw that Zhu Houji had something to discuss with him. Ever since he left the Taoist Academy of Tiandu to return to Shenxiao Mountain, Emperor Zhu Houji had sent people several times to Shenxiao Mountain, wanting to see him. However, Pei Xuanjing had not had much spare time, so he chose to decline.
He had originally planned to deal with everything after the Dao Debating Conference at Shenxiao Mountain this time, but unexpectedly, Zhu Houji was willing to miss this chance in order to talk to him first.
You must know that Zhu Houji, who himself was practicing Refining Spirit and Incense God Path, would undoubtedly gain a huge benefit from Pei Xuanjing's world which favors the Divine Tao World. Even facing such a temptation, he could suppress it. This proves how important this matter was to Zhu Houji, so Pei Xuanjing did not want to refuse any longer.
Zhu Houji looked around and didn't immediately state his purpose. He first asked Pei Xuanjing, "Master Pei, what about them?"
It seemed that this matter was very secretive, and Zhu Houji didn't want other people to hear it.
"Rest assured, no third person will know." Pei Xuanjing said.
This Heavenly World was created by him. Everything was under his control. Even if the true bodies of those powerful beings appeared here, they couldn't listen to their conversation as long as he didn't want them to.
Zhu Houji settled down and began to tell Pei Xuanjing what he wanted to say.
"Master Pei, do you know about the many trades I've made with the Witch Deity Teaching?"
Pei Xuanjing nodded, "Naturally."
As for their trades, although Zhu Houji did not elaborate, the Witch God Sect Leader spilled the beans in order to gain Pei Xuanjing's trust.
Zhu Houji then said, "During this period, when I practiced the skill passed down by the Ancient Ruler obtained from the Witch Deity Teaching, I discovered a secret."
"Oh?" Pei Xuanjing became a little curious.
The Ancient times, for Pei Xuanjing, was a period he had not experienced, and the current world did not have many records passed down from that period. Most of them were preserved in ancient forces and were not easily known to people.
Even though he obtained the Witch God Sect Leader's promise to access the Witch God Sect to investigate those documents, the time hasn't come yet, and he hasn't had time to review them.
Now hearing Zhu Houji mentioning this period in Ancient times, he naturally became interested.
Zhu Houji spoke seriously, "The information is too vast to be explained in a few words. I have recorded the information, please review them, Master Pei."
While he was speaking, he took out a jade charm that stored information from his sleeve. Floating from his hand, it arrived in front of Pei Xuanjing.
Pei Xuanjing held the jade charm and then released his spiritual consciousness, starting to investigate the information within. With the power of Pei Xuanjing's immense primordial spirit, this information was understood in the blink of an eye.
Everything started with the cultivation method of the Ancient Ruler that Zhu Houji acquired from the Witch Deity Teaching.
Originally, Zhu Houji took the path of refining the spirit. However, as the ruler of the Great Ming Divine Dynasty, once he received the Incense Fire God Refining Skill from Pei Xuanjing, he naturally began to practice the Incense God Path, harnessing the infinite power of Incense Faith.
One could even say that, because of the support of the Great Ming Divine Dynasty, he constantly received the supplement of the power of incense faith. His strength progressed by leaps and bounds and he now had the fighting power comparable to a cultivator at the Spirit Realm Eightfold level.
However, everything stopped there. As the Heaven and Earth completely revived and the days of the rapidly rising strength of the Great Ming Divine Dynasty had passed, his strength had entered a bottleneck.
But with the arrival of powerful figures from the Sky Wasteland, Zhu Houji was equally eager to enhance his own strength. In this situation, his cooperation with the Witch Deity Teaching was a natural fit.
When he practiced the cultivation method of the legendary Ancient Ruler obtained from the Witch Deity Teaching, he discovered a huge secret.
In ancient times, for many cultivators in the Daming World, regardless of whether they were from the Ancestral Land or the Sky Wasteland, their perception of the ancient age was one of the very first era. It was a time when cultivation had just begun, the human race was just emerging, and it was an age of tribal clans.
In that era, the human race did not yet have the complete cultivation system of today. Numerous cultivation methods were born, pioneers blazed the trails and set the foundation for today's prosperous cultivation era.
As rulers of the human race in ancient times, each of them was a formidable figure between heaven and earth, virtuous and wise, their cultivation methods were not inferior to any supreme being.
The cultivation method presented by the Witch Deity Teaching was that of an ancient nameless ruler of the human race, who reached the pinnacle on the Incense God Path. At his peak, he suppressed the human race and deterred foreign tribes, making them dare not show the slightest disrespect.
His cultivation method seemed ordinary, but it was only when Zhu Houji truly started cultivating it that he found it to be exceptionally suitable. He also received a brand left by the ruler of the human race, which carried a great secret about the human race.
The Heavenly Court of the Human Race!
In the information left by the ruler of the human race, the past rulers of the human race, faced with the precarious situation of the human race, once made a plan. That was to open up a Small Thousand World as a retreat for the human race. If, in the future, the human race in the Ancestral World could no longer survive, they would migrate to this new world as a backup. This would preserve the last spark of the human race, preventing its demise.
Of course, as the human race grew stronger over time and the danger of extinction was eliminated, this plan was not abandoned but was instead modified by a powerful ruler of the human race who came up with another idea.
That was to create a Heavenly Court to sustain the strong ones among the human race. It would serve as a backup and foundation for the human race, ensuring they always had the power to protect themselves.
You could even say that this Heavenly Court, high above the nine heavens, would make the human race the strongest amongst heaven and earth, forever standing tall in this world, overlooking all tribes.
However, the opening of a Small Thousand World is extremely difficult, not even these rulers of the human race truly succeeded, what they opened were merely similar to the Heavenly World where Pei Xuanjing is currently located!
"Such hidden secrets are unheard of." Pei Xuanjing furrowed his brows.
He could never have imagined that he would receive such information from Zhu Houji, which was completely beyond his expectations.
"Does the Small Thousand World, or rather the Cave Heaven, that was opened up still exist?" Pei Xuanjing asked Zhu Houji.
The creation of a Small Thousand World is incredibly challenging. Pei Xuanjing only managed to open up the Longevity World by a fortunate coincidence. Even if he was given sufficient resources, he wouldn't dare guarantee being able to accomplish the same thing again.
The worlds opened by these rulers of the human race cannot be called Small Thousand Worlds per se. At most, they can be referred to as Cave Heavens or a Blessed Land.
Of course, even a Cave Heaven or a Blessed Land holds massive value in Pei Xuanjing's eyes.
The rulers of the human race from the ancient era were revered by countless members of the human race and had tribes clans serving under them. Their influence might surpass even the rulers of many Divine Dynasties that came after them. The Cave Heavens these rulers opened must certainly hold many treasured items.
Not to mention the exotic and precious treasures, even the insights into cultivation left by these rulers of the human race would be of great use to Pei Xuanjing.
What's more crucial is that the intentions of these rulers and Pei Xuanjing are remarkably aligned.
These rulers of the human race wanted to create a Heavenly Court for the human race, allowing them to reside high above the nine heavens, and become an eternally powerful race in this world. Pei Xuanjing also has the idea of opening a Heavenly Court.
However, Pei Xuanjing's current power is limited; even if he gave his all, he only managed to open this one-domain world as it is now. In comparison to the complete Heavenly Court or Heavenly World he envisioned, there is still a long way to go.
Therefore, if he could find the location of these Cave Heavens or Blessed Lands left behind by these rulers of the human race, and if there is a chance of integrating them into Pei Xuanjing's Heavenly World, it would save Pei Xuanjing a considerable amount of effort.
"I'm not aware." Zhu Houji shook his head, then explained, "This secret is too big, I dare not search for it openly, I can only send trusted ones to search slowly and quietly."
Undeniably, since the revival of heaven and earth, countless Forbidden Places and Blessed Lands have emerged. Countless people have entered them, attained legacies and treasures, thus reversing their fate and rising to power.
However, these emerged Forbidden Places and Blessed Lands, apart from those left behind by the supreme ones from the Nine Realms of Spirit, the rest, even when all summed up, are incomparable to the Cave Heavens left by these rulers of the human race.
According to the information he received, these Cave Heavens created by the rulers are no less than the Blessed Lands and Cave Heavens possessed by the top powers which have inherited for tens of thousands of years. Not to mention the resources hidden within, just the value of the Cave Heavens itself is priceless.
A Forbidden Place evolves into a Blessed Land, and a Blessed Land transforms into a Cave Heaven, which then morphs into a Small Thousand World.
This is a road to Becoming Immortal acknowledged by innumerable cultivators and is a method of Becoming Immortal.
Apart from this, it is also a symbol of power.
This Cave Heaven opened up by the ruler of the human race, even if one does not care about its resources and only refines it to become the master of the Cave Heaven, it would make even ordinary cultivators immediately possess great power. They would stand shoulder to shoulder with many cultivators of the Spirit Realm Eightfold, and if they stay within the Cave Heaven, even the supreme beings of the Nine Realms of Spirit would be helpless under the circumstances where they are unable to attack the Cave Heaven.
In Zhu Houji's view, once the Cave Heaven is refined, it would be like the strange items produced by the Forbidden Places and Blessed Lands back then. Although there were restrictions, they also obtained huge gains.
For ninety-nine percent of the cultivators in this world, even if they exhaust all their cultivation efforts, the number of cultivators able to step into the Spirit Realm Eightfold is minute, less than a thousandth, ten thousandth, or even a hundred thousandth.
Thus, such a secret, how could Zhu Houji investigate it openly? He could only send trusted ones to search secretively.
However, with the ceaseless emergence of countless Forbidden Places and Blessed Lands in this world, attempting to find it would be incredibly difficult, akin to finding a needle in a haystack.
As such, he was purposefully mentioning it to Pei Xuanjing today to see if the other party would be interested and if he had any means.
It's not that Zhu Houji wasn't tempted by these things or hadn't thought about monopolizing them.
However, he was more aware of the situation of this world. The Great Ming Divine Dynasty seems to be blooming exuberantly on the surface, but in fact, it's like sitting on pins and needles, with undercurrents surging beneath. One careless move could lead to disaster.
If he were to lose Pei Xuanjing's protection because of these things at this time, even if he had the opportunity to find these Cave Heavens later, he would not have the opportunity to refine and own them.