Chapter 498: Chapter 437: Changes in Every Meridian, A Brilliant Array of Stars
World in the Pot.
Beside Song Lin stood a purple-gold skeleton, almost as tall as himself. From the deep sockets of its eyes, violet-red flames burned fiercely, now dozens of times larger than the palm-sized flames seen last time.
Its strength had clearly increased significantly.
"It actually has this kind of ability?"
Song Lin exclaimed in surprise. He hadn’t expected this thing to absorb others’ blood and Qi to regenerate itself. If it continued absorbing and restoring endlessly, wouldn’t it eventually recover to Chiyou’s peak state?
After all, Chiyou was, in the end, a Harmonization-level cultivator.
Coupled with his formidable physique, he was practically a one-man weapon of mass destruction, capable of massacring countless demons effortlessly.
In the future, he would surely become a stand-alone general.
"I need to find an opportunity to send him to a battlefield to absorb some demon blood and Qi."
After studying Chiyou’s skeleton, Song Lin turned his attention back to the Golden Flower within his Spirit Platform.
The reason for his explosive combat power last time ultimately boiled down to sensing the Great Dao.
The levels of sensing the Great Dao could generally be divided into four stages: sensing the Dao, knowing the Dao, entering the Dao, and enlightenment.
Each stage was more difficult than the last.
Heavenly Masters relied on the Heavenly Master Seal to barely attain the level of sensing the Dao. Furthermore, these Daos were acquired ones, much weaker than Song Lin’s innate Dao.
In the current age, almost all masters focused on acquired Daos. Acquired Daos were easier to comprehend and cultivate, whereas innate Daos were notoriously difficult to find.
One couldn’t simply sit idly and experience epiphany for the Dao to emerge; at the very least, there needed to be a sample or an opportunity, only then could one successfully sense it.
Were it not for the story world, Song Lin might have had to choose from the Five Mountains Dao or the Xuanying Dao.
The innate Dao was the foundation for establishing the Heavenly Court; it defined the primary nature of the Small Heavenly Court.
Song Lin was aligned with the Pure Yang Innate Dao; thus, the Heavenly Court would undoubtedly embody a Pure Yang and righteous atmosphere.
Having received Song Lin’s approval, Shi Yinhua quickly issued notices for the upcoming Liturgy Ceremony and Great Dao Conference across various regions.
This time it wasn’t merely a Dharma Assembly but the grandest event since the founding of the Taoist School, also providing others with the chance to shine before Song Lin.
Eight Sceneries World.
This world, thanks to continuous waves of immigrants, now boasted nearly ten million inhabitants. Over the past few years, the emergence of new generations had turned the realm into one of thriving vitality.
Under Song Lin’s deliberate decentralization, the Cultivation Forest had transformed significantly, predominantly dividing into seven sects and Taoist temples.
The Li Fire Sect, Gui Water Sect, Yimu Sect, Geng Metal Dao, Earth Mountain Sect, Taoist Xuan Sect, and Sword Casting Mountain Villa.
Since Song Lin promoted the Spirit Root Method, cultivators here began grouping by their Spirit Roots into respective sects, with the latter two specializing in alchemy and artifact refining.
Take the Li Fire Sect, for example, which was designated for cultivators with fire-aligned Spirit Roots.
This sect was located on a volcano.
Whoosh!
Suddenly, a dazzling sword light pierced through the void.
"Haha, Huo Yu! Did you reach perfection in your Divine Skill just to flaunt it before me?"
A hearty laugh echoed from below the Li Fire Sect, as Fire Cloud soared upwards.
A sword and a flame clashed in the skies, leaving no trace of their wielders visible—only lingering afterimages and multicolored flashes of fiery light.
Suddenly, a concealed presence descended—it turned out to be a small mountain.
Boom!
Reacting swiftly, the two combatants separated.
The mountain crashed into the site of their previous duel, embedding itself deep into the ground. Cracks spread across the earth for more than ten miles.
As the dust cleared, two young men appeared in the sky.
One stood atop a Fire Cloud, his brows unrestrainedly tilted, radiating an aura of defiance against all.
This man was the Sect Master of the Li Fire Sect, the first-generation Spirit Root cultivator, third-generation disciple of the Donghua Taoist Sect, and a Core Formation Realm cultivator at the sixth level named Zhu Baichuan.
Spirit Root cultivators were most remarkable for their specialization; once tested for their elemental affinity, they devoted themselves entirely to development in that aspect.
Regardless of their mindset, foundational Dao cultivation, or other auxiliary practices like talismans or Taoist soldiers—they ignored them all.
Progress was exceptionally fast; as Sect Master of the Li Fire Sect, Zhu Baichuan, who had once been a Taoist of the Cultivation Truth Temple, started out as a Qi Refinement cultivator.
After specializing in the fire Spirit Root, it took him less than twenty years to reach Core Formation, achieving it by forty or fifty years old—a genius by any standard.
The man opposite him, with sword-like brows and a starry-eyed gaze, was Huo Yu, a cultivator of the Qingyun Sect from the Swordman Forest lineage.
Both men simultaneously turned their sights toward the direction where the mountain had descended.
The mountain soared into the sky, rapidly shrinking, eventually landing in the hands of a plain and honest man.
This was Lus Yunqing, the manor owner of Sword Casting Mountain Villa.
"Both of you have reached Core Formation? Impressive, impressive. This magic ceremony shall surely herald the world’s acclaim for the Eight Sceneries Realm," Lus Yunqing said in an elderly tone.
The three clearly shared a long friendship; the fiery tension from Huo Yu and Zhu Baichuan’s earlier duel had dissipated.
They descended to the mountaintop of the Li Fire Sect.
"Lus, you haven’t even reached Core Formation—what makes you so confident?"
Zhu Baichuan teased.
"Indeed, the third-generation disciples’ prodigies mostly reside in Core Formation. If we intend to stand out among them, it’ll certainly be challenging."
"Hah, you know nothing. I’ve been researching the Taoist Methods and the Cultivation Refinement principles of Sword Casting Mountain Villa. At the very least, I could pen an article for Taoist Method Meeting."
Lus Yunqing dismissed their remarks.
In the past, cultivation paths were barebones, consisting only of basic Qi Cultivation without tailored spells; even those available, like Thunder Skills, were barely compatible.
They were all disciples of the Thunder Department back then.
Over several decades of development, the cultivation path gradually matched with diverse spells, enhancing its versatility.
Practices previously unrelated to cultivation, such as alchemy and artifact refining, had also been explored deeply, especially the notoriously complex artifact refining.
Artifact refining demanded exceptionally strong Divine Thought to analyze the internal structure of a magic artifact, a stage unfamiliar to cultivators without prior experience—naturally leaving deficiencies in this area.
Lus Yunqing had persevered in research and finally created the groundbreaking theory of refining artifacts with Qi.
From a theoretical standpoint, this innovative concept was bound to shine brilliantly.
"Good, this ceremony shall undoubtedly bring fame to the Taoist lineages of the Eight Sceneries Realm!"
...
Yin Fu Jungle.
Boom!
The earth at the rear mountain suddenly quaked.
A gigantic nine-headed snake stood like a mountain, its crimson pupils gazing down upon the world.
Atop the nine-headed snake stood twenty-four Taoists with identical appearances yet distinct auras.
The central Taoist crossed his arms, draped in a crimson cloak, exuding an air of elegant darkness with strikingly handsome features.
This was Hua Long, the strongest disciple of the Yin Fu lineage and a second-generation cultivator of the Donghua Taoist Sect.
Why was he deemed the strongest disciple? This was credited to Song Lin; the Five Qi Jungle refined the five organs within, while the Qimen Forest refined puppets externally.
The former faced difficulty in Qi refinement, and the latter struggled with puppet control, often resorting to gruesome blood sacrifices.
Later, Song Lin successfully combined the two practices, using Qi Gods to control puppets, with puppets in turn nourishing the Qi Gods.
Hua Long was the first to master this combination, achieving unprecedented success. This synergy even made assembling large puppets straightforward, with the nine-headed snake Xiang Liu being his proudest creation.
"Geniuses, I’m here!"
...
Yin Spring Jungle.
Daoist Master Dai Yinzi opened his crimson eyes as Demonic Qi slowly dissipated.
"Notify the others to prepare for the Dao Discourse at Xuanyu City."
The Divine Demon Magic Vein would also take part.
"Interesting, interesting. I want to join too!"
Under the Mother Tree of All Things, Wu Chen jumped up. Her face flushed red, and her eyes sparkled with excitement.
For a moment, the entire Donghua Taoist Sect and Six Prefectures and Nine Forests were set into motion.
Cultivation, Swordsmanship, Yin Fu, Yin Spring, Taoist Soldiers, Corpse Gu, talismans, alchemy, artifact refining, body refinement, and original Holy Might... Every cultivator wanted to make a name for themselves in this event.
Donghua Taoist Sect.
Wang Ziyue gazed at the three disciples before him, feeling immense pressure.
The sheer number of talented masters was overwhelming—a true constellation of stars.
Most of the prodigies originated from Donghua Jungle, though being descended from branch families, they couldn’t be considered direct kin.
The disciples before him had learned talismans, Taoist soldiers, and Thunder Skills—the three mainstream magic veins of Donghua—but while their cultivation had broken through to Core Formation, Wang Ziyue couldn’t help but wonder whether they could hold their ground against so many geniuses.