After coming out of seclusion, you immediately visited your Master to express your gratitude for his guidance. At the same time, your Master taught you a Wuji Divine Ability. Even with your Celestial Golden Immortal Realm cultivation, you felt that this Divine Ability possessed infinite mysteries.
On this day, auspicious clouds filled the sky of the Immortal Realm. His Majesty the Heavenly Emperor invited Xuantian Dao Venerable to visit the Heavenly Court as a guest. Your Master took you and several of your senior and Junior Brothers along. You saw the Heavenly Emperor and your Master chatting freely in the Lingxiao Palace, where dao-rhythm flowed through the hall and laughter and conversation continued without end.
When the Heavenly Emperor spoke of the Immortal Realm's future and the younger generation of prodigies, he suddenly mentioned you, his eyes full of praise:
"Fellow Daoist Xuanji, your Disciple Yun Wuji possesses peerless talent and a steady Heart-Nature. He is already in the Celestial Golden Immortal Realm and possesses a heart for protecting the Dao. Looking at his aura, he quite resembles this Emperor in my younger years. I shall be direct today: are you willing to follow this Emperor to the Heavenly Court and take over the position of Heavenly Emperor, ruling the world of the Immortal Realm?"
As soon as these words were spoken, silence fell both inside and outside the hall. The immortals of the Heavenly Court and the Disciples of the Xuantian Dao Palace were all shocked. The position of Heavenly Emperor was the Supreme seat of the Immortal Realm, a dream for billions of Cultivators. For the Heavenly Emperor to personally invite you to succeed him, such an Opportunity was rare throughout history.
Hearing this, you bowed to the Heavenly Emperor, your expression calm and without a single ripple. Your tone was firm yet respectful: "Thank you for your favor, Your Majesty the Heavenly Emperor. However, this Disciple's ambition lies in the Great Dao, and I have no intention of wielding the authority of the Immortal Realm. The position of Heavenly Emperor carries a heavy responsibility that this Disciple is not fit to handle. This Disciple has a Junior Brother named Lin Feng, who possesses great Luck and cares for all living beings. He is more than capable of ruling the world. If Your Majesty seeks a successor for the Heavenly Emperor, Junior Brother Lin Feng is truly the best candidate."
You refused decisively and even took the Opportunity to recommend your Junior Brother Lin Feng, speaking with such openness and sincerity that there was not a hint of falsehood.
The Heavenly Emperor was stunned at first, his eyes filled with surprise. He had thought that no one in the world could refuse the temptation of the Heavenly Emperor's position, yet he hadn't expected you to be completely unmoved. With his cultivation, he could naturally see that your words came from the bottom of your heart without any deception, and he admired your Heart-Nature even more.
"Actually, there are quite a few people who don't care for your position," Han Xuanji grumbled silently, while a sense of satisfaction welled up in his heart.
Han Xuanji grumbled silently, while a sense of satisfaction welled up in his heart.
Back then, you brat of a Heavenly Emperor messed with my Disciple; today, my other Disciple slaps your face.
The tables have turned.
The Heavenly Emperor snapped back to his senses and laughed heartily. He stepped forward and patted your shoulder, saying, "Good! What a fine 'ambition in the Great Dao, with no love for power'! This Emperor has truly seen it today; Fellow Daoist Han has taught a fine Disciple! Although you have no interest in the throne, this Emperor sees your infinite potential. If you have leisure in the future, feel free to visit the Heavenly Court often to discuss the Dao and chat with me. You may also enter any of the Heavenly Court's Secret Realms at will."
You bowed and thanked the Heavenly Emperor for his great favor, accepting the invitation. The Heavenly Emperor then chatted with your Master for a long time before leading the immortals of the Heavenly Court away.
Following this event, your deed of "rejecting the position of Heavenly Emperor and recommending the worthy" spread throughout the Immortal Realm. It caused various forces to treat you with even more respect and awe, as they marveled at the firmness of your Dao Heart. For a time, it became a legendary tale within the Immortal Realm. Meanwhile, Lin Feng, who was in seclusion at the Xuantian Dao Palace, was deeply moved upon learning of this and secretly vowed not to fail his Senior Brother's expectations.
A thousand years passed in the blink of an eye. During these thousand years, you did not enter seclusion but instead traveled the Immortal Realm under the pseudonym "Yun Xiaoyao," gaining insights into the Dao of the Mortal World. Not only did you create many peerless methods, but you also spread the teachings far and wide, capable of reaching the Hunyuan level above and enlightening mortal Cultivators below. The name "Carefree Emperor Venerable" became widely known in the Immortal Realm.
While traveling the Immortal Realm, you also took in three Disciples. None of them possessed peerless talent, but each had unique highlights in their Heart-Nature: one was an orphaned girl who survived a war, whom you taught to overcome hardness with softness and protect the weak; one was a taciturn Cultivator obsessed with alchemy, to whom you passed on the method of Great Dao Alchemy Fusion; and one was a Sword Cultivator who kept fighting despite repeated defeats, whom you enlightened to reach a Clear Sword Heart, not clinging to victory or defeat. You taught your Disciples not to seek quick success, but to focus only on their Dao Heart.
Many years later, you returned to the Xuantian Dao Palace and established the "Wuji Dao Platform" to open an altar and preach the Dao. Everyone from Primordial Chaos Experts to Outer Sect Disciples who had just entered the immortal path could listen. When you preached, you did not rely on words but transmitted from heart to heart. Wuji dao-rhythm flowed around you, manifesting the phenomena of the birth and death of heaven and earth. Those who heard the teachings either experienced a sudden realization or achieved a Breakthrough on the spot. Even some reclusive Powerful Experts let go of their obsessions and achieved an instant Epiphany upon hearing your lecture.
Meanwhile, your cultivation also advanced by leaps and bounds, reaching the Middle Stage of the Celestial Golden Immortal Realm in a short period.
On this day, you felt a premonition of an ill omen in your heart.
You looked up and saw that beyond the Chaos, countless Chaos Demon Gods clad in hideous armor and Chaos Vicious Beasts with sky-blotting bodies had appeared, each one incredibly overbearing and possessing world-shaking power.
Every one of these terrifying existences was at the Hunyuan level, with the majority being in the Celestial Golden Immortal Realm.
Leading the charge were dozens of Chaos Demon Gods whose auras far exceeded the Celestial Golden Immortal Realm. Their Chaos Devilish Qi condensed into World-Destroying Dharma Images, and with a single breath, they swallowed endless Chaos Qi, causing countless worlds at the edge of the Immortal Realm to shatter.
"Crack—!"
As a massive sound echoed through the Immortal Realm, the barrier between the Immortal Realm and the Chaos actually shattered with a bang under the impact of countless terrifying strikes!
A war unseen for eons was about to erupt.
Standing at the Xuantian Dao Palace, your gaze pierced through layers of clouds toward the boundary between the Immortal Realm and the Chaos. Primordial Chaos dao-rhythm flowed naturally around you as the kunlun mirror hung high, shedding a faint clear light that smoothed out all the tremors in the surrounding space.
You saw the worlds opened by the Ancestral Witches bear the brunt of the impact. Twelve towering figures of the Ancestral Witches stepped out into the void, but even as they formed a Supreme array, they still appeared powerless against the siege of the various Chaos experts.
But soon, you saw the ancient powerhouses of the Immortal Realm emerge one after another. Figures stepped out from various Secret Realms and immortal mountains, all of them existences that had been silent for countless eons.
Taishang Dao Venerable came from the Tushita Palace riding a green ox, holding a whisk as Wuji dao-rhythm permeated the surroundings. With a light wave of the whisk, he dissolved several World-Destroying Dao Principles of the Chaos Demon Gods into nothingness. As he softly recited Daoist Scriptures, the violent Chaos currents around him became peaceful. Shakyamuni Buddha Venerable of Spirit Mountain sat in the full lotus position as the phenomenon of Ten Thousand Buddhas Paying Homage to the Ancestor appeared behind him. Buddha-light shone everywhere, purifying the Chaos Devilish Qi as Buddhist chants shook the Chaos. The Ancestral Emperor of the Golden Crow Divine Clan spread his nine golden wings, and his body burned with True Solar Fire, dyeing the entire edge of the Chaos a deep crimson.
Each of these ancient powerhouses had left behind endless myths in the Immortal Realm. The collision of Great Dao Laws caused even the Chaos Void to tremble. An endless rain of blood fell, and even the aftershocks alone were enough to cause the physical bodies of Cultivators below the Hunyuan level to shatter.