When he saw Demon Lord Kongming slain, Yin Fenghai was utterly stunned.
He had never imagined that the mastermind behind this world's upheaval of heaven and earth—a being nearly at Dao integration, stronger even than the legendary Deathless Immortals—could not withstand even a single move from Huang Tian, and was killed with ease!
"Fellow Daoist Huang... just how strong is he? What has he been through these years?"
While he was still dazed, a voice suddenly reached his ear. "The trifles are done. Fellow Daoist Yin, come back with me to the Five Directions Realm, and share in the joy with our friends—"
At those words he jolted awake. "The Five Directions Realm? A thousand years have passed. I wonder how things have changed there!"
"A thousand years here is only ninety in the Five Directions Realm. The old friends of those days are all still living."
Huang Tian spoke, then swept his sleeve. In the next moment Yin Fenghai felt heaven and earth spinning. His vision blurred, and he found himself above a mass of layered clouds.
"This is—Fellow Daoist Yin?!" Upon the layered clouds, Pavilion Master Xuanji stared at the suddenly appearing Yin Fenghai, his face full of shock.
Wan Shenyang was just as astonished. "Didn't Fellow Daoist Yin ascend to the upper world long ago? How have you returned today?"
Wei Shen was startled as well, but he recovered quickly and looked toward Huang Tian seated at the head. "Was this the senior's doing?"
Everyone looked at Yin Fenghai in amazement. Yin Fenghai himself glanced around and, sure enough, saw many old acquaintances—Wan Shenyang, whom he had once thought highly of; Pavilion Master Xuanji, who loved compiling all sorts of idle rankings; and Master Longding, the Mountain-Carrying Arhat, whom he had once slapped straight into the ground—
"Everyone, it has been many years. My greetings." A smile on his face, Yin Fenghai walked to a cloud table and sat down.
"All of you are here. We may drink and be merry—" Huang Tian said with a smile, and the layered clouds at once grew lively.
Cups clinked and laughter rose. Still, they mostly talked over old times with Huang Tian and Yin Fenghai, while asking the two of them with curiosity what they had gone through these years.
Drinking immortal brew and eating fine dishes, Yin Fenghai told them what the world after ascension was like.
When they heard that he had become a Quasi-Emperor after a thousand years there, everyone sighed. Gold, it seemed, shone wherever it went. And when they heard that Huang Tian, across the vast cosmos, had suppressed and slain Demon Lord Kongming in a single move, every one of them was struck dumb.
They knew the Huang Tian of today was very strong. If he were not, he could not have drawn them all to the clouds from thousands and tens of thousands of li away. Strength like that, they could still understand and accept. But to kill, across endless time and space, a mighty being whom Yin Fenghai called nearly at Dao integration—
Such divine power!
It was utterly beyond their imagination. Even the immortals and gods of myth and legend could not compare!
Instructor Xu, Bai Yuanfu, Wei Shen, and the others all cast astonished looks at Huang Tian. The latter gave a light laugh and explained the various realms of cultivation to them.
In countless worlds, cultivation was basically divided into ranks one through nine. Once a cultivator advanced to the seventh rank, they could generally attain longevity, so this realm was also called immortal, god, or sovereign—
Beyond the seventh rank, every step forward was exceedingly difficult. Without a great opportunity, great will, and outstanding comprehension, one could hardly attain the eighth rank, or the ninth.
The ninth rank was nearly the strongest existence in many great realms.
Above that was Daluo—nearly omnipotent, and imperishable through all ages!
Yet Daluo beings were like divine dragons, showing their heads but never their tails. They were simply nowhere to be seen. Even if one trudged and searched through the boundless Sea of Chaos for hundreds of millions of yuanhui, it was hard to find a single Daluo being.
Unless they chose to meet you, you would never encounter them.
"So, Senior, you... you have advanced to Daluo?!" Wei Shen was so startled he nearly lost his grip on his wine cup.
Huang Tian nodded.
Everyone was shaken. Wan Shenyang, for one, had only to think that ninety years ago Huang Tian had still been an existence of the same rank as himself, and that after a mere ninety years he stood at the summit of the endless worlds of the Sea of Chaos, and his head began to buzz.
Was this even reasonable?
Only ninety years! Many hale mortals could live past ninety!
To attain the Dao of Daluo in so short a time—it was truly beyond belief. Yet the fact was right before him, and he had no choice but to believe it.
"Immortals and gods, Daluo—" Instructor Xu's mind swam, and a thought rose in his heart. "I actually... once gave a supreme existence his first lessons in the martial way?!"
No one present was unmoved. A thousand feelings welled up in them.
The joyful banquet lasted about half a day. When it ended, Huang Tian said, "I know the Dao of longevity is hard to seek, so I grant you an opportunity. It is called Taiyi Space. Through it, you may travel among the myriad worlds—"
As the words fell, a crisp ding sounded in everyone's ears, and an illusory screen of light appeared before them. A line of small characters jumped onto the screen: "Welcome to Taiyi Space!"
While the crowd studied Taiyi Space in delighted surprise, Huang Tian looked at Heng'er, who stood to one side pouring wine for him, and said, "The opportunity is before you, and the Great Dao after. Cultivate well. When your merit is complete, you will live long; when your Dao advances, you will not die—"
With his power, a wave of the hand could let someone step into the realm of immortals and gods, to live forever and never die. But the Dao was sought by oneself, and leaping to the heavens in a single step was not necessarily a good thing. With Taiyi Space, there was no worry of dying. So long as Heng'er and the others kept their Dao hearts firm and cultivated diligently, they would eventually attain longevity.
Heng'er nodded hard at his words. Huang Tian smiled, and then his figure dispersed like smoke—
"Hua—"
In the next moment, within the boundless Chaos, Huang Tian stood with his hands clasped behind his back, thinking, "After attaining Daluo, I still have not uncovered the origin of my special ability. Is my realm not high enough, or has the time not yet come?"
After a moment's thought, he gazed into the distance. "When I was in the Earth Immortal Realm, I obtained the coordinates of a world called Daluo Heaven. I might as well go and take a look. Perhaps there will be something to gain—"
Thinking so, he did not hesitate. He took one step and headed for Daluo Heaven.
This boundless Chaos was like a shoreless sea, vast and hazy, without heaven or earth, day or night, up or down, left or right, and with no way to tell past from present, coming from going.
Yet with a single stride, Huang Tian crossed a distance beyond knowing. Countless worlds fell like shooting stars, some born and some extinguished, some hidden and some revealed, all flung far behind him.
He traveled for a long time, roaming the empty expanse, then suddenly halted. Ahead, a great light blazed forth, and auspicious qi steamed upward.
Looking closely, he beheld a vast and magnificent sight.
An incomparably enormous cluster of worlds, formed of eighty layers of heavens, came into view.
It was Daluo Heaven!
The eighty layers of heavens were stacked one upon another, like a treasure pagoda piercing the sky, like a lotus blooming upon the sea.
Each layer of heaven held myriad upon myriad great realms. Suns and moons hung in illumination, stars were spread in array, mountains and rivers wound in grandeur, and immortal clouds and immortal light drifted faintly about.
Who knew how many worlds the eighty heavens held altogether? Yet this was undoubtedly the most enormous cluster of worlds Huang Tian had yet seen in the Sea of Chaos.
Even as Huang Tian studied Daluo Heaven, within it, in a heavenly region so remote it was hard to find, an ancient palace appeared.
Upon the palace were written three characters: Zixiao Palace.
The palace stood towering, thrusting straight into the heavens. Purple qi coiled and spread through the surrounding sky, and a sacred rhythm of the Dao flowed without cease. Whoever saw it could not help but be entranced.
"Weng—"
Then, within Zixiao Palace, a heavenly bridge suddenly stretched forth. Like a long dragon lying upon the waves, it extended straight from the palace gate, passed through layer upon layer of heavens, and came to rest at Huang Tian's feet.
"Fellow Daoist, please." A faint, distant voice came.
Huang Tian lifted a brow slightly, then stepped onto it. With every step a lotus bloomed, and the rhythm of the Dao followed him. Beneath the bridge the starry river reversed, and rosy clouds kept him company.
In a flash he arrived before Zixiao Palace. He stepped inside and saw dozens of Daluo Supreme Saints within, each displaying their own majesty.
Some sat upright upon lotus thrones; some reclined against cloud couches. Behind them, endless strange phenomena manifested—some showed dragons and serpents taking to the land, with stars wheeling overhead; some transformed into blue seas becoming mulberry fields, as the years flowed on—
And there were several whose Dao rhythms were the most profound of all. Auspicious clouds crowned their heads and evolved the myriad phenomena; rosy light circled their bodies, Dao talismans danced, Buddha-light shone everywhere, and Sanskrit chants lingered—
"Yuanshi greets Fellow Daoist!"
"Randeng greets Fellow Daoist!"
"Gonggong, Xuanming, Duobao—we greet Fellow Daoist!"
Seeing Huang Tian, the Daluo all smiled and greeted him courteously, curiosity and envy in their eyes.
Huang Tian returned the courtesy, and at the same time was somewhat surprised. These people's names were almost the same as figures in the myths of Blue Star: the Three Pure Ones, Shakyamuni, Randeng, Jieyin, Empress Wa, Emperor Xi, Duobao—
"I imagine Fellow Daoist has no small number of questions—" Yuanshi, crowned with auspicious clouds, smiled. He pointed a finger, and a stream of light flew out. Huang Tian raised a hand and caught it, and at once understood everything.
It turned out that within this boundless Chaos there were quite a few civilization-level powers, and Daluo Heaven was one of them.
A so-called civilization-level power was one whose existence would, unseen, influence the timelines and the course of fate in other worlds throughout the Chaos.
Blue Star, for instance, had been influenced by Daluo Heaven. Legends of Pangu, Heavenly Venerable Yuanshi, and Shakyamuni circulated there, and there were even historical records of the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors.
The Earth Immortal Realm had likewise been influenced by Daluo Heaven, which was why a destined great trend similar to Journey to the West had formed, and why the True Sage Equaling Heaven had been driven by fate to become a tribulation bearer.
Moreover, anyone who attained Daluo in one of these influenced worlds could obtain the world coordinates of Daluo Heaven. It was a kind of reception by the Dao.
And the eighty layers of heavens that made up Daluo Heaven had all been opened by Daluo Supreme Saints. In other words, from ancient times to the present, this heaven and earth had eighty Daluo in all!
It looked like many, but in truth it was very few, because Daluo Heaven was very likely the strongest among the civilization-level powers.
Several other powers, such as the Wizard Supreme Realm, had forty-two Daluo beings, or the Thirty-Three Yang Council, which was thirty-three Daluo—
Of course, besides the civilization-level powers, there were also those who liked to travel alone, or in twos and threes. They wandered the Chaos with single-minded purpose, exploring all manner of secrets, or shut themselves away to cultivate, and paid no heed at all to the various powers.
After all, once one attained Daluo, one neither died nor perished, and suffered neither calamity nor tribulation. Even if killed by a great divine-ability being, there was still a chance of returning after hundreds of millions upon millions of years. So one need give face to no one at all.
A so-called great divine-ability being was in fact also at the Daluo realm, only stronger. A newly advanced Daluo was a "newbie," while a great divine-ability being was a "veteran."
"All who attain Daluo have exceedingly fine fortune. But the abundance of Fellow Daoist Huang's fortune is still enough to make one envious." Suddenly, Emperor Xi spoke, and the others nodded along.
Huang Tian knew why they envied him. It had to do with Daluo Heaven.
Any cultivator deeply bound to the civilization of Daluo Heaven, upon attaining Daluo and coming to this realm, could open a new layer of heaven. This heaven could merge with the existing heavens. After the merger, the foundation and origin of Daluo Heaven would grow ever deeper, and the one who opened it would also gain enormous benefits.
"Our Daluo Heaven is also called the Honghuang Realm. Honghuang now has eighty layers of heaven. With Fellow Daoist Huang's arrival, the eighty-first layer will be opened, completing the number of nine times nine—"
Emperor Xi was full of feeling. These Daluo beings had always been curious about who would one day open the eighty-first heaven. That person's fortune would absolutely be profound to the extreme.
Grand Master Xuandu spoke and asked, "May I ask when Fellow Daoist Huang intends to open the new heaven?"
After digesting all the information, Huang Tian was inwardly astonished that he had actually fulfilled the number of nine times nine. On the surface he smiled and said, "Right now will do."
As the words fell, his figure vanished. When he appeared again, he was already outside the Honghuang Realm, within the Sea of Chaos.
In the next moment, the Daluo also arrived in the Chaos. Across the vast distance, they watched from afar as Huang Tian created a new heaven.
"I wonder what changes will be stirred when the new heaven merges with the heavens?" Empress Wa asked curiously.
Emperor Xi pondered. "We joined the heavens together in order to forge Honghuang into an eternal realm, and to pursue the realm above Daluo. Once eighty-one layers of heaven gather, perhaps a trace of the profundity above Daluo can be born?"
"Above Daluo... is there truly still a path?" Randeng murmured.
The Sea of Chaos was indeed boundless. Even the Daluo of the Honghuang Realm had never explored its edge. Yet over countless years, the most enormous cluster of worlds they had found was the Honghuang Realm itself, and the strongest existences were only Daluo of the same rank.
Of anything above Daluo, there was not the slightest trace—
Under the gazes of the Daluo, Huang Tian stood with his mind gathered. Suddenly his right hand brought its fingers together like a sword. He wielded the divine ability Good Fortune from the Great Void and made a single stroke through the void.
In the Chaos, two lights of yin and yang suddenly burst forth. The two lights mingled and became a yin-yang Taiji Diagram, spraying forth endless qi of creation. The clear rose, the turbid sank, and heaven and earth were divided for the first time.
Then yin and yang differentiated and blossomed into five colors—azure, crimson, yellow, white, and black—becoming five pillars of light that stretched across all directions and spun without cease. Within the pillars, earth, water, fire, and wind churned; metal, wood, soil, and stone condensed; mountains and rivers grew; and rivers and seas surged.
The world was complete!
With a thought from Huang Tian, the Yuanji Dao Fruit within his body leapt out and floated above the world, shedding boundless radiance. As if time had quickened, the world changed at tremendous speed, growing ever vaster. In an instant it grew from a single world into myriad worlds, and every one of them was a realm as large as the Earth Immortal Realm.
"This is Zhonghuang Yuanji Heaven!"
Huang Tian spoke with the authority of heaven in his mouth and fixed the realm's name.
In the next moment, a mass of dark-yellow auspicious cloud emerged from Zhonghuang Yuanji Heaven. The cloud lightly touched the Honghuang Realm, and then the two merged with each other.
The original eighty layers of heavens suddenly seemed to have been given a soul. They gained a measure of natural, harmonious Dao rhythm, sent out profound fluctuations, and bloomed with endless purple light.
Just as the Daluo craned their necks in wonder, Huang Tian's expression stirred. He discovered that a point of his soul's light had fallen with a crash into the Honghuang Realm of eighty-one heavens.
Then, following this realm's long river of time, it rapidly traced its way upstream!
Chapter 228