Time passed, and twenty years flew by in the blink of an eye.
For ordinary mortals, twenty years might be nearly a third of a lifetime, long enough for a staggering child to grow up, marry, and have children.
But for cultivators, even just those who had broken through mundane boundaries, undergone spiritualization, connected their qi with heaven and earth, and transformed their divine soul into a Yin Spirit at the first level of the Spirit Realm, twenty years was no more than a somewhat lengthy period of seclusion.
What cultivators in the world were most looking forward to was the merging of the two realms, preparing for the Energy of Creation after the Heavenly and Earth Ascension to enhance their power.
However, after Pei Xuanjing further perfected the Golden Core Dao and then promoted it, it immediately attracted countless cultivators from heaven and earth to try and switch to the Golden Core Dao.
In these twenty years, an innumerable number of cultivators stepped onto the Golden Core Dao. Some succeeded, some failed. Some naturally gifted individuals switched to the Golden Core Dao and didn't succeed, wasting their cultivaion time and becoming indistinguishable from others; yet some originally ordinary cultivators serendipitously succeeded in switching, forged a Golden Core, survived the Thunder Tribulation, and took a step further with the help of the Energy of Creation after transforming their bodies.
This is cultivation; no one knows what will happen next. A genius may fade away, or an ordinary cultivator might surprisingly rise up.
Even though the Golden Core Dao had begun to gain popularity and quite a few people had switched successfully within those twenty years, making it one of the mainstream cultivation systems of heaven and earth, this wasn't the most shocking thing.
What was truly astonishing was that in these twenty years, cultivators at the eightfold level of the Spirit Realm were able to break through the shackles of the eightfold level, and then cross the Heavenly Chasm, ascending to the ninth level of the Spirit Realm and becoming supreme strong, securing their position at the very pinnacle of the world.
The first among these Spirit Realm Eightfold Cultivators to break through hailed from the Xuantian Sect, leading everyone to acknowledge that indeed, as the leader of the Righteous Path, the sect had profound depth.
Then, following closely, a supreme strong was born within the Sword Sect, leading some cultivators to sigh that the Sword Sect was indeed capable of contending with the Xuantian Sect for the position of the leading force on the Righteous Path, and was in no way inferior.
Dragon Tiger Mountain, Xuan Du Guan, Taisu Sect, Buddhism School, Taoist School…
When the news came one after another that supreme strong had been born within these top forces, all the cultivators became excited and incredibly shocked.
The ascension of a supreme strong is extremely difficult; sometimes, not one would emerge for thousands of years. Apart from Pei Xuanjing, the last one to ascend as a supreme strong was initially the Taixu Venerable. After his breakthrough, he elevated the Taixu Sect from a first-rate force to a top-tier one.
For many ordinary cultivators, the rise of a supreme strong was a rare event; some ordinary cultivators might live their entire lives without ever witnessing such an ascension.
But now, since Pei Xuanjing broke through to the supreme strong of the Nine Realms of Spirit just dozens of years ago, the continuous emergence of supreme strong in heaven and earth surpassed more than ten individuals. This was truly bizarre.
With such a strange situation arising, many cultivators, even without any source of news, were amazed and speculated that something significant might be about to happen in heaven and earth.
If the ascension of only one or two supreme strong could be accepted as a fortuitous coincidence, the birth of supreme strong from all top forces couldn't be so simply explained by chance.
As a result, the gaze of many cultivators began to fall on the first-rate forces. They understood that among these forces, the existence of Spiritual Realm Eightfold Cultivators had a great chance of breaking through. They wondered whether these individuals would also ascend during this time.
As expected, while doubts and curiosity swirled around, Wu Shijiu, a guest official of the Great Ming Divine Dynasty, the former rebel of the Witch Deity Teaching, and a once-dominating Witchcraft powerhouse of the Sky Wasteland, also broke through the Heavenly Chasm of the ninth level of the Spirit Realm to ascend as a supreme strong.
If Wu Shijiu's reconciliation with the Witch Deity Teaching, suggesting ascent from a top force could be disregarded, then the news that the king of the Da Jiang Ancient Country and the old ancestor of the Big Xue Ancient Country had broken through to become supreme strong made the cultivators of heaven and earth dare not harbor the slightest bit of luck anymore. They were confident that something beyond their knowledge must be occurring in heaven and earth.
And they realized it wasn't just that. Many well-informed cultivators discovered that not only the human race but also the Demon Race experienced the birth of several supreme strong within these twenty years.
Each of these messages might seem insignificant on their own, but their simultaneous appearance made things very intriguing.
Many cultivators, especially Independent Practitioners, paid a huge price to seek out the Sky Mechanism Pavilion to uncover this secret; they were desperate to know what had happened.
For Independent Practitioners, the challenges they face in their cultivation journey are already much greater than those from large Sects. Without a backing or support, many situations that disciples from large Sects could easily handle would be life-threatening for them.
In such an environment, nearly all Independent Practitioners became extremely cautious, and those who lacked this cautious nature have all fallen and did not survive for long.
Moreover, this time it was not just the Independent Practitioners but also many cultivators from third-rate forces who were very fearful because their forces, despite being protected by Great Cultivators of the Seventh Level of the Spiritual Realm, were still unclear about the situation, increasing their concern.
There are no absolute secrets in the world, especially when the secret is known to more than one person, it is impossible to keep it completely confidential.
However, after the news of the advantages and disadvantages of supreme strong ascension spread, it was meaningless for many cultivators to know about it, for the stronger the power, the greater the enhancement would be before and after the Heavenly and Earth Ascension. Even if they knew it wouldn't help, it wouldn't be too useful.
While it was useless for most Independent Practitioners and forces, it was quite awkward for some cultivators and forces stuck in an intermediate state.
They realized that with effort, they could qualify, but they lacked the necessary foundation, ultimately leaving them helpless, adding only to their worries.
Of course, where there is success, there is failure. For those top forces, even if they failed to ascend, it meant only that they would get less benefit after the Heavenly and Earth Ascension, which would not affect their status.
But for those first-rate forces, this was an all-in gamble. Should they succeed, it would be like ascending to heaven in a single step, but failure meant that thousands of years of accumulation would be wasted.
Success would mean ascending to the heavens in one leap, while failure would see the accumulations of thousands of years go down the river.
So, should they attempt it or not? For these first-rate forces, it was actually a difficult question to decide.
After careful consideration, most of the first-rate forces with the qualifications to take the gamble chose to follow suit, for if they missed this opportunity, the future would be even more difficult, and it was uncertain if they would encounter such a rare opportunity again.
Of course, for those first-rate forces that gave up, their choice was not necessarily wrong, because they still had the opportunity to follow after the ascension of heaven and earth, albeit a step slower. As long as they persisted, there was still a slim possibility of catching up.
Regardless of the choice to gamble or to conservatively step back, the consequences they faced after making such a decision needed to be borne by themselves, with no chance of regret and certainly no opportunity for a redo.
As for all this, Pei Xuanjing was not at all concerned, because it had nothing to do with him. While everyone was focused on these matters, his true body stepped out of the Longevity World and descended quietly into the Taihe Mountain True Martial Sect.
After more than twenty years, with Pei Xuanjing's substantial help in the beginning, the Zhenwu Plan of the True Martial Sect finally reached a critical moment—the incarnation of the True Martial Emperor deity was about to be born.
Everything that followed was crucial for the True Martial Sect—its rise or fall hinged on this battle.
"How are the preparations?"
Pei Xuanjing's words rang in Qingxu Taoist's ears.
The Qingxu Taoist, who had long prepared for this moment, was not too surprised by the sudden voice. He turned around and said, "Everything is ready. What's left is to place the divine sword that accompanied our founder into it, allowing for the fusion of the founder's remaining True Spirit with the nurtured deity."
As he spoke these words, even someone with a heart as cultivated over the years as Qingxu Taoist couldn't help but become agitated. He was unable to maintain his usual calm composure; the excitement in his expression was unmistakable, and his voice altered slightly as he spoke.
No wonder Qingxu Taoist was excited. They had waited too long for this day. Ever since the revival of heaven and earth, when they enfeoffed gods during the revival, they had this plan in mind.
To this day, the True Martial Sect had thrown everything into this plan, paying a sufficient price, staking all possibilities on it. However, should they fail, the sect would completely lose the chance to rise again. Even if they continued to pass down their legacy, they'd become mediocre like everyone else, without any chance to ascend to the heavens in one leap.
Therefore, this plan could only succeed; it could not afford failure.
"Actually, I am somewhat curious," Pei Xuanjing's gaze fell on the center of the formation, where the Power of Incense Fire enshrouded the area.
With the deputy volume of the Golden Book and Jade Scroll that Pei Xuanjing controlled, and the Divine Position he held akin to that of the Jade Purity True Monarch, he could clearly sense that indeed, life was being nurtured within, almost ready to transform and succeed.
"What would you like to ask, Master?" Qingxu Taoist looked at Pei Xuanjing with slight confusion.
He had shared almost everything about this plan with Pei Xuanjing, as withholding any information would have prevented Pei Xuanjing from helping them wholeheartedly.
They needed Pei Xuanjing's power to help shape the Innate Deity, while Pei Xuanjing needed to observe the birth process of this deity to refine his own Tao. It was a mutually beneficial situation, without any secrets.
So now, hearing Pei Xuanjing speak thus, Qingxu Taoist couldn't help but startle, worried if he had overlooked anything.
"I wish to know, when Master Sanfeng's remaining True Spirit fuses with it, will the born deity True Martial Emperor be a rebirth of Master Sanfeng?" Pei Xuanjing's eyes then shifted to the divine sword in Qingxu Taoist's hands.
As the pioneer of the Longevity World, Pei Xuanjing, through the existence of the Longevity World, had some characteristics of a True Immortal. As long as his Primordial Spirit was not completely annihilated, he could be reborn after a lengthy time, nurtured and healed by the Longevity World.
But would such a rebirth still be himself?
If it were a complete Primordial Spirit, Pei Xuanjing could ensure that the resurrected being would be him. But what if it were only fragments of the Primordial Spirit, patched and nurtured by the world's will—would the reborn person still be him?
On this matter, Pei Xuanjing was actually quite doubtful.
It wasn't that he underestimated Master Sanfeng—the talent and mastery of this Taoist School predecessor were undeniable, and Pei Xuanjing admitted this, considering the other to be a culmination of his Daoist generation.
But there was one thing: the other's era had not yet witnessed the revival of heaven and earth, and even if he attained a Divine Soul by strength and preserved a True Spirit, it definitely was not complete; otherwise, there would be no need to be housed in a divine sword.
With Pei Xuanjing's current power, even with the bolstering of the Longevity World, he could not be certain that if his Primordial Spirit was incomplete, he would still be the same upon revival.
So, with this True Spirit lodged in the divine sword, even if it merged with the True Martial Emperor deity, accomplishing the spectacular feat of substituting a mortal for a god, who would the resulting deity be in the end—the True Martial Emperor or Master Sanfeng?
Upon hearing Pei Xuanjing's words, Qingxu Taoist fell silent for a moment.
After a long pause, he spoke heavily, "To tell the truth, I do not know."
It was but a sliver of hope for them, an implementation of doing all that is humanly possible and leaving the rest to Heaven's will.
In truth, they didn't really believe that this sliver of True Spirit could resurrect their founder; they merely hoped that after merging with the deity, the resulting True Martial Emperor would possess some of the founder's memories and thus feel a sense of belonging and closeness to the True Martial Sect.
"I understand now," Pei Xuanjing nodded, saying no more.
From the other's response, he could roughly grasp the True Martial Sect's thoughts and expressed his understanding.
Both fell into silence, then focused their attention on the continuously operating Zhenwu Array before them.
And just as Qingxu Taoist welcomed Pei Xuanjing's arrival warmly; in fact, if Pei Xuanjing hadn't taken the initiative to visit, he would have extended an invitation.
Using a cultivator's force to induce the birth of a deity was an unprecedented act; at the very least, the True Martial Sect had no prior example of such a precedent.
Until now, their plan had indeed been running smoothly, but until the final step was completed, they were unaware of any accidents that might occur.
Initially, if they had condensed a deity of the Seventh Level of the Spiritual Realm, even if the deity was hostile, the True Martial Sect's own strength would have been sufficient to cope with a malevolent deity.
But the fact was not so.
Based on Pei Xuanjing's conjecture, a True Martial Emperor born from the absorption of such a vast Force of Faith Incense would at least be a being at the peak of the Eightfold Spirit Realm, or even possessing the combat power of the Spiritual Realm Level Nine Strongest under the blessing of the Will of Heaven and Earth was not impossible.
Such a situation had already gone beyond their control, which was why it was essential for a powerhouse like Pei Xuanjing to be present; otherwise, if a malevolent deity emerged with ill intent towards them, not only would the True Martial Sect face disaster, but the Heaven and Earth might also be stirred into calamity, which was something they didn't wish to see.
Therefore, inviting Pei Xuanjing was like taking out an insurance policy, which would allow them to suppress any unforeseen incidents that might arise, preventing them from causing too much harm.
Time went by; in the blink of an eye, more than a month had passed, and the divine embryo nurturing the True Martial Emperor deity had completely taken shape. The Qingxu Taoist said to Pei Xuanjing, "The time has come; I am preparing to send the True Spirit of our ancestor into it, please be prepared, National Preceptor."
The closer it was to the final critical moment, the less room there was for the slightest negligence. The Qingxu Taoist, although mentally he had rehearsed and prepared countless times, still didn't have full confidence at this moment; hence, he reminded Pei Xuanjing, hoping that the latter would lend a hand when necessary.
"Sect Leader, rest assured. I will naturally take action when necessary," Pei Xuanjing assured the other party that there was no need for worry, as he was ready.
After receiving an affirmative response from Pei Xuanjing, the Qingxu Taoist nodded and then with a clang, the divine sword was unsheathed from his hand.
This divine sword, once carried by Master Sanfeng, would be considered merely a common Ten Thousand-Forged Divine Weapon nowadays, not being particularly valuable to cultivators who had stepped into the Fourth Level of the Spiritual Realm, but as the personal Divine Weapon of Master Sanfeng, who was once the world-conquering Number One, it carried his True Spirit and was beyond comparison to ordinary Ten Thousand-Forged Divine Weapons.
The instant the divine sword was unsheathed, there was no brilliant light shooting from the simple and unadorned blade, but a penetrating sharpness invaded the soul, so much so that even Pei Xuanjing couldn't help but slightly turn his gaze in surprise upon feeling this sharpness.
"Please let the ancestor return to his position!"
The Primordial Qi in the Qingxu Taoist's body circulated, uniting spirit and intention; murmuring incantations, he then called out loudly as if striking a bell of great resonance.
As soon as his words ended, a faint and ethereal stream of transparent light escaped from the divine sword, shooting towards the core of the Zhenwu Array and the divine embryo that was nurturing the True Martial Emperor.
The light speeded swiftly, lightning-fast, but in Pei Xuanjing's eyes, it seemed as if there was nowhere it could hide; he could clearly see that this transparent light was actually Master Sanfeng's True Spirit. Although it no longer had the grandeur of his original divine embryo, both the appearance and aura were identical to Master Sanfeng as Pei Xuanjing had once seen in his dream returning to Taihe Mountain through the Page of the Netherworld's Book.
The nurturing divine embryo seemed to have no rejection towards Master Sanfeng's True Spirit, and in the blink of an eye, it entered the divine embryo.
Seeing Master Sanfeng's True Spirit smoothly entering the divine embryo, the Qingxu Taoist, who was slightly tense, let out a sigh of relief, and the surrounding disciples and elders of Zhenwu Sect maintaining the Zhenwu Array exhibited the same relief.
This successful first step undoubtedly alleviated their worries somewhat. The next moment, those elders and disciples of the True Martial Sect began to operate their Divine Positions with all their might, converting more Power of Incense Faith before infusing it into the divine embryo to accelerate its nurturing.
The Qingxu Taoist did the same, activating his Divine Position to convert the Power of Faith Incense as well.
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Although they did not request Pei Xuanjing's help, he was not willing to delay, his slender white palm extended, the Sanbao Jade Ruyi appeared out of nowhere on it. Pei Xuanjing began to activate the Sanbao Jade Ruyi, and a surging torrent of the Power of Faith Incense Fire cascaded out just like a tide, entering into the divine embryo through the Zhenwu Array.
It must be said, even though Pei Xuanjing intentionally restrained himself and did not use his full strength, the divine power he alone converted was still far greater than what the present elders and disciples of the True Martial Sect had collectively mustered, and the difference between them was immeasurable.
As such an immense amount of divine power transferred into the divine embryo, its aura also began to change, speeding up its nurturing. One could even hear the 'thump thump thump', akin to the beating of life, resounding in the unknowable depths.
While Pei Xuanjing was converting the Power of Faith Incense into divine power and channeling it into the divine embryo, he was using his Primordial God Power to constantly sense the changes within it. Every minute fluctuation occurring to the divine embryo at every moment did not escape Pei Xuanjing's perception.
From nothing to something, from small to large, from weak to strong, Pei Xuanjing could clearly feel the Divine Position contained within the embryo expanding and growing stronger. Furthermore, the embryo became increasingly lively, attracting countless fortunes into its fold.
"Hmm? Has even Heaven and Earth taken notice?" A divine light flashed in Pei Xuanjing's eyes.
With the Sanbao Jade Ruyi in hand, even though he had not yet ascended to the Divine Position of Jade Purity True Monarch, he could distinctly feel the influence of the Will of Heaven and Earth. Clearly, he could sense that as this divine embryo grew increasingly powerful, a portion of the Will of Heaven and Earth seemed to descend upon it.
"However, why do I have some bad premonitions in my heart, as if sensing some malevolence?" Doubts arose in Pei Xuanjing's heart.
At his level of Realm, he could sense and prepare for any malevolence aimed at himself as soon as it manifested, much like the whims that the legendary Heavenly Secrets Skill could bring about.
And at this moment, as the divine embryo grew, Pei Xuanjing could feel traces of malevolence targeting not only himself but everyone present.
"This divine embryo is a naturally born entity, and I have had no interactions with you. Why would it suddenly harbor evil thoughts against me, along with all these living beings?" Pei Xuanjing was somewhat perplexed.
According to the rules of Heaven and Earth, naturally born deities should be without evil or good, in a state of nascent vagueness. However, this one, not yet fully born, was emitting malevolence towards living beings, which had all the hallmarks of an evil god's birth.
However, producing an evil god normally requires exceedingly stringent conditions, and the deity they were agglomerating was absorbing the Power of Faith Incense from the collectively worshipped Zhenwu Demonslaying Emperor. How could it possibly be the birth of an evil god then?
Keep in mind, Zhenwu Demonslaying Emperor is a deity known for slaying demons and evil, safeguarding all beings. How could it harbor malevolence towards them?
Now he began to slowly let the Will of Heaven and Earth join him. After taking charge of the authority of Jade Purity True Monarch, he could confirm with ample confidence that the divine business gathered at the moment certainly belonged to the Zhenwu Demonslaying Emperor.
In such a situation, it surprised Pei Xuanjing, a man with profound understanding and thorough knowledge of the Divine Position, not knowing where a deviation or issue had arisen.
Could it be because of the remnant True Spirit of Master Sanfeng?