When they saw Huang Tian attain True Immortality, Xuandong Mountain fell into momentary silence before erupting into a thunderous uproar!
Master Yuyang’s hands trembled as he let out three booming laughs. "It is done! It is done! He has succeeded!!"
Yet after laughing, tears soaked his robes.
Several millennia ago, that immortal tribulation had dealt him far too devastating a blow. Although he had long since adjusted his mindset, faced his past failure with composure, and cultivated diligently in hopes of overcoming the ninefold loose immortal tribulations, that failed tribulation remained a thorn lodged deep in his heart, an enduring regret.
Now, watching Huang Tian attain True Immortality, even if it was not he himself ascending, brought profound solace to his aging heart and fulfilled a cherished wish!
While Master Yuyang wept tears of joy, the disciples cheered and leapt about in jubilation.
"He did it! Senior Brother Huang has become an immortal!"
"From this day forth, his lifespan equals the heavens, his Dao arts boundless!"
"Senior Brother was born an immortal seed. From the moment he entered the sect, I knew he was destined for immortality!"
"A True Immortal! I never imagined I would see someone overcome the tribulation and attain immortality with my own eyes in my lifetime! And to think it's my senior brother—"
"Haha, from now on, I'm the junior brother of a bona fide True Immortal! Our Xuandong Mountain is an orthodox lineage, no mere side door!"
"I wonder if I'll ever become an immortal in this life... No, I don't dare hope for immortality. Just stepping into the Yang Spirit realm and becoming a great cultivator would be enough."
Standing in midair, sensing the Yuanji Dao Seed within his body growing ever more harmonious and natural after weathering the Dao-Interrogating Lightning, Huang Tian felt immensely satisfied.
*The Dao Seed is established; what follows is blossoming and bearing fruit.*
First establishing the Dao Seed makes one a True Immortal.
When the Dao Seed blossoms into a Dao flower, one becomes a Heavenly Immortal.
When the Dao Seed bears fruit—the Dao fruit—one becomes a Golden Immortal.
As for how to make it blossom and bear fruit, that required plumbing ever deeper into the profound mysteries of the Dao, further perfecting and mastering one’s own path. Once mastered completely, one could be hailed as a Dao Lord, a supreme Golden Immortal.
*My spiritual mind resides at the dawn of creation in the late Han world, where the environment for comprehending the Dao is peerless. Combined with my inherent comprehension and the differing flow of time between the two worlds, my progress in fathoming the Great Dao will advance by leaps and bounds. It won't take long before I can bloom a Dao flower.*
The most arduous hurdle—fusing Yin-Yang and the Five Elements to condense the Yuanji Dao Seed—had already been crossed. Converted into Earth Immortal Realm time, it had taken barely more than a year.
Causing the Dao Seed to blossom would not be too difficult for him. The road had already been paved; he only needed to continue walking along it. By Earth Immortal Realm reckoning, three to five years at most would suffice.
He pondered quietly, *Presently, the greater trouble is accumulating dharmic power.*
Advancing from early Great Ascension to Great Ascension completion had taken him a full year, and that was with continually ingesting and refining spirit pills.
Accumulating enough dharmic power to progress from an initial True Immortal to peak True Immortality would undoubtedly take far longer, not to mention that he currently possessed no immortal pills capable of augmenting a True Immortal’s dharmic power. Relying solely on absorbing the ambient spiritual qi of heaven and earth was far too slow; even several decades would not be enough.
*I must plan carefully for this. Perhaps joining a major faction is the answer?*
To tell the truth, he felt quite helpless. Other cultivators were perpetually bottlenecked by realms, unable to break through, whereas he was consistently held back by the mere accumulation of quantity—realm comprehension posed virtually no obstacle to him.
As these thoughts flickered through his mind, numerous voices reached his ears.
"Congratulations, Senior, on attaining the immortal path and entering eternal bliss!"
"I am the master of the Clear Moon Abbey. Congratulations to Fellow Daoist on attaining immortality! May we visit often in the days to come to discuss the immortal Dao together."
"Congratulations—"
Voices arrived from all directions, transmitted from observers who had watched from afar. Most were Great Ascension cultivators, with a rare few local True Immortals, all offering congratulations and felicitations.
Yet despite their congratulations, none rushed to visit. Having just completed his breakthrough, Huang Tian would surely want to converse with his master and fellow disciples; how could he have leisure to receive guests?
Furthermore, they needed to investigate Huang Tian's background and origins thoroughly before they could properly engage in formal exchanges.
Facing their congratulations, Huang Tian smiled and offered courteous replies before taking a step through the void back into Xuandong Mountain.
Standing before Master Yuyang and looking around at his fellow sect members, he said with a smile, "Fortunately, I did not fail your expectations."
Master Yuyang laughed heartily. "Fail them? You have exceeded them by far!"
He looked Huang Tian up and down, nodding repeatedly. "Aura clear and pure—truly an undefiled immortal body!"
Chen Guangsu, Xiao Chong, Long Ling, and the other disciples all stepped forward with radiant smiles to offer their congratulations.
Huang Tian replied to each in turn, then looked toward Master Yuyang. "After breaking through, this disciple gained deeper insights into the immortal Dao. I would like to explain them to Master and my fellow disciples."
The crowd rejoiced, and Master Yuyang stroked his beard in gratitude.
"A minor matter."
Huang Tian waved his hand dismissively and flew alongside everyone toward Lecture Peak.
Once everyone had taken their seats, Huang Tian sat cross-legged upon the high platform, facing them, and began slowly, "I shall begin from Qi Refinement, covering the tempering of dharmic power, magical arts and divine abilities, and realm bottlenecks all the way through to Great Ascension, before expounding upon the Dao Seed of Yang."
He chose to expound upon the Yang Dao Seed because the Miasma-Burning Rosy Clouds sought by Master Yuyang were a subordinate branch of the Great Sun, which was itself a branch of Yang.
Seated below on the left, Master Yuyang felt his spirits lift, silently musing, *It seems the Dao Seed he condensed is Yang.*
Clearing his throat, Huang Tian spoke in a clear, ringing voice: "All who enter the gate of cultivation must first practice Qi Gathering—"
He had only been lecturing for a short while when his expression paused slightly. *Someone is divining my fate!*
This had been anticipated. A True Immortal, even one who had only just broken through, held considerable weight in the Earth Immortal Realm. The various factions could not possibly refrain from probing his origins.
*My Calamity-Evading Immortal Robe great divine ability can ward off not only curses and evil influences, but also the calculations of others... Yet there is no need.*
If a supreme being truly possessed the power to deduce his real identity across endless time and space, then the moment his spiritual mind descended into this world, he would have already fallen under their watchful gaze. Activating the Calamity-Evading Immortal Robe now would be entirely meaningless.
And if they lacked such power, the most they could deduce was his identity within this realm. There was nothing shameful about that identity; at most, people would marvel at him becoming an immortal within a few short years, but they would not be overly shocked, because—
"So this man has ties to that monkey. No wonder he cultivated so quickly!"
Within a radiant, rainbow-hued immortal palace in the Heavenly Court, Star Lord Jinde pinched his fingers in divination, enlightenment dawning upon him.
That monkey was a full-fledged Heavenly Immortal! Bolstered by the Equaling Heaven Dao Seed he had verified, his magical arts and divine abilities were peerlessly formidable; ordinary opponents of the same rank could not subdue him even three to one.
Back then, he had clashed with the Buddhist sect, fighting several pitched battles that left several Bodhisattvas in utter disarray. In the end, Formless Pure Stream Buddha himself intervened to pin him beneath the mountain, declaring it a trial to temper his temperament.
"It seems he obtained the monkey’s guidance and assistance to reach peak Great Ascension in mere years. What marvelous fortune. Still, his innate comprehension must be extraordinary; otherwise, the single hurdle of condensing a Dao Seed would have stalled him for years."
Star Lord Jinde pondered, *With such a clean background, a True Immortal like him could well be recruited into Heaven as an official. Conveniently, there is a vacancy beneath my banner for the True Lord of Demon-Quelling in the South... When he underwent his tribulation, I observed his methods from afar. His attainments in magical arts and divine abilities run exceedingly deep, and his combat prowess is by no means weak. He is indeed a prime candidate!*
With this thought, he summoned a trusted confidant and gave detailed instructions. The confidant assented, exited the immortal palace, mounted an auspicious cloud, and flew toward Southern Jambudvipa.
Not just the Heavenly Court—once Huang Tian's background had been investigated, envoys from various factions departed for Xuandong Mountain.
Meanwhile, upon Lecture Peak, Huang Tian had systematically explained the cultivation essentials from Qi Refinement to Great Ascension and had begun expounding upon the Yang Dao Seed and its branches, focusing especially on the Miasma-Burning Rosy Clouds.
Matters involving the Dao Seed were profoundly abstruse. Most of the fellow disciples below could no longer follow, leaving only Master Yuyang, Chen Guangsu, and Xiao Chong—who had broken through to the Great Ascension realm not long ago—able to grasp portions of it.
The three of them shifted between deep thought, sudden enlightenment, and clapping in delight, thoroughly entranced.
"...And that is roughly the essence of the Miasma-Burning Rosy Clouds."
Huang Tian waved his hand, and a ribbon of golden-red rosy light materialized out of thin air. Pure, luminous, and brimming with righteous qi, it carried an aura of completion even greater than what Master Yuyang had once displayed.
Gazing at the golden-red clouds floating in midair, Master Yuyang felt as though struck by lightning. His thoughts drifted into a daze, floating light as air, as if sinking into an epiphany.
Seeing this, Huang Tian fell silent, and Chen Guangsu and the others kept utterly quiet.
Time slipped past, and roughly an hour later, the dazed Master Yuyang’s eyes suddenly shone with brilliant light. He rose to his full height, let out several booming laughs, and soared straight into the upper skies.
In an instant, dark clouds rolled across the firmament, and dragons of lightning and serpents of thunder rampaged wildly!
"Master is about to cross the eighth tribulation!" Long Ling cried out in shock.
Chen Guangsu said gravely, "By reckoning, the eighth tribulation was not due for more than six hundred years. This time, Master must have experienced an epiphany and actively summoned the tribulation!"
Xiao Chong was overjoyed. "Since ancient times, very few have survived eight loose immortal tribulations. If Master weathers it smoothly, there is genuine hope of re-attaining True Immortality!"
Everyone was thrilled, feeling that blessings had arrived in pairs: first Huang Tian successfully attaining immortality, then their master gaining an epiphany and summoning his tribulation!
*Rumble! Boom!*
Deafening rolls of thunder shook the sky as torrents of lightning crashed down toward Master Yuyang in midair. Yet he neutralized them with ease, deploying an array of minor divine abilities to extinguish the thousands of berserk bolts completely.
The lightning tribulation lasted for half an hour before finally subsiding. The dark clouds dispersed into nothingness, and the brilliant sun revealed itself once more.
"Hahaha!"
His face beaming with joy, Master Yuyang flew back down to Lecture Peak and bowed earnestly to Huang Tian. "That I could successfully break through this tribulation today is entirely thanks to your guidance."
Huang Tian smiled. "Even if this disciple had not lectured today, given Master’s deep foundation, passing the eighth tribulation would not have been an issue."
Master Yuyang shook his head, his tone solemn. "Perhaps, but what matters far more is that my understanding of the Miasma-Burning Rosy Clouds has deepened. I can sense vaguely that perfection is not far off. Once achieved, I will have the confidence to face the ninth tribulation!"
At these words, everyone grew even more elated.
"If Master overcomes all nine tribulations to attain immortality, our Xuandong Mountain will boast two True Immortals!"
"Our sect's great flourishing is at hand!"
While Xuandong Mountain was steeped in jubilation, outside the mountain, envoys from various factions began arriving one after another.
Among them, the most prominent were undoubtedly the envoys from the Heavenly Court, the Western Paradise, and the Daoist lineages: Daoist Baoguang, a trusted aide of Star Lord Jinde; Arhat Yindeng of the Buddhist sect; and Old Daoist Minghua of the Daoist sects.
Beyond them were envoys from other factions. Some came to recruit Huang Tian, some sought to forge ties, and others wished to curry favor and pledge allegiance.
Huang Tian welcomed the envoys into the mountain, speaking first with the representatives of the three great factions while Master Yuyang, Chen Guangsu, and the others received the rest.
That night, all the envoys rested at Xuandong Mountain. Having met with the three primary envoys, Huang Tian gathered with Master Yuyang in a private chamber.
"What terms did they offer?" Master Yuyang asked with concern.
He had never objected to disciples joining other major factions after reaching Great Ascension. The higher the cultivation realm, the greater the difficulty, and the more precious resources were required; clinging stubbornly to Xuandong Mountain would only lead to an impasse.
Especially someone like Huang Tian, whose comprehension was peerless and whose Dao path was vast, should never remain confined to these mountains. He needed to seize the opportunity to enter a great power and pursue the path of a Heavenly Immortal!
"The Buddhist sect stated that if I am willing to join, I may become a Karma-Suppressing Arhat, receiving guidance from a Bodhisattva once every decade, alongside gifts of Bodhi Seeds and Mind-Awakening Lotuses for fathoming the Dao. Furthermore, accumulating merits in the future would earn various treasures.
"The Heavenly Court offers to confer upon me the title of True Lord of Demon-Quelling in the South, reporting directly to Star Lord Jinde with virtually no constraints. I would command one hundred thousand heavenly soldiers to purge and suppress the evils of Southern Jambudvipa, working in coordination with heavenly generals of the Thunder Ministry. In addition, they promise Flat Peaches and Third-Turn Immortal Pills.
"The Daoist lineages offer me the position of Gaogong, presiding over four kingdoms in Southern Jambudvipa. The local Courts of the Dao would provide regular offerings of resources, and supreme Heavenly Immortals would occasionally grant guidance."
"The Daoist terms fall somewhat short," Master Yuyang judged immediately. "The Western Paradise and the Heavenly Court are roughly on par—no, the Heavenly Court is better. Commanding a hundred thousand heavenly soldiers carries real authority, though having to battle the demons and unorthodox cultivators of the southern lands carries danger. If you seek stability, the West is also a fine choice."
Huang Tian replied, "Safety aside, I truly have no desire to become an arhat."
Not wanting to become a Buddhist arhat was one factor; another was that the immortal monkey who had originally directed him to Xuandong Mountain harbored a grievance against the West. For that reason alone, he could not possibly join them.
Even though Arhat Yindeng had made a point of explaining to him earlier today: *"We know that Great Sage Equaling Heaven granted you guidance, but you must understand that our Buddha suppressed him beneath the mountain purely for his own good, to temper his wild nature. If he amends his character because of this, an immense karmic opportunity awaits him."*
Huang Tian had neither agreed nor disputed Arhat Yindeng’s claims.
"So your final decision is to enter the Heavenly Court as an immortal official?" Master Yuyang asked.
Huang Tian nodded. "The Heavenly Court is, after all, the orthodox authority of the Earth Immortal Realm. Its mystical arts, divine abilities, immortal pills, and divine medicines are the most abundant; no other faction can compare."
What he needed most right now was not the occasional guidance of a Bodhisattva or supreme immortal, but immortal pills and fruits to boost his dharmic power, along with profound divine abilities and Dao arts. From this perspective, the Heavenly Court was undeniably the best choice.
The next morning.
Huang Tian went straight to Star Lord Jinde’s envoy, Daoist Baoguang, and spoke succinctly: "I intend to ascend to Heaven as an official."
Daoist Baoguang was overjoyed. "Splendid!"
After a few brief explanations, he hurried back to the Heavenly Court. Arhat Yindeng and Old Daoist Minghua departed with expressions of regret, and the other envoys did not linger long either, taking their leave one after another.
Three days later, immortal music suddenly drifted across the sky above Xuandong Mountain.
The disciples looked up to see an auspicious cloud descending from the heavens. Standing atop it was an immortal herald dressed in feathered robes, flanked by dozens of handsome and beautiful Yang Spirit cultivators carrying ornate regalia or strumming zithers and harps, producing ethereal melodies.
Seeing this, Huang Tian flew into the upper skies and bowed with clasped hands. The immortal herald courteously returned the salute, then unfurled the decree in his hands, reciting in a clear, carrying voice:
"—By imperial decree: Huang Tian, a cultivator of the lower realm, has kept his heart steadfast and righteous, cultivating with bitter resolve, accumulating merit in the mortal dust, and forging his true nature through fire and water. Having weathered a thousand trials, he has attained the immortal Dao, cleansing his mind upon the highest peaks to harmonize with the profound vault of heaven.
"Now that you, Huang Tian, have shed your mortal coil, it is fitting that you serve the duties of Heaven. You are hereby specially decreed the True Lord of Demon-Quelling in the South, enrolled in the heavenly ranks, with jurisdiction over Southern Jambudvipa.
"You shall oversee the eradication of demons in the south, patrol the mountains and rivers, and purge demonic miasmas. All unorthodox cultists, demons, ghosts, and fiends who sow chaos shall be executed to uphold the majesty of Heaven.
"Wield thunder as your sword and spear, and deploy righteous qi as your armor and troops. Let no phantom escape and all wicked evils be extinguished. Protect the living beings of the southern lands, secure the tranquility of the realm, and upon your accomplishments, further honors shall be recorded.
"Respect this decree!"
Chapter 194