SWDnovel Chapter 23 The First Establishment of the Heavenly Court
Chapter 23 The First Establishment of the Heavenly Court
The Thirty-Third Heaven, the Lingxiao Palace.
This place should have been a blessed land with auspicious clouds and purple mist filling the sky, but at this moment it is filled with an extremely oppressive and gloomy atmosphere.
On the imperial throne, Di Jun's face was deathly pale, and his aura was weak.
Beside him, Donghuang Taiyi looked even more miserable.
A gruesome sword wound ran deep across his chest, revealing the bone, and was covered with dark red Asura killing intent and pitch-black laws of destruction.
"Cough cough..."
Taiyi clutched his chest, coughing up a wisp of blood streaked with golden sparks, his eyes filled with resentment:
"Brother, that Kunpeng has gone too far! I, Taiyi, swear I will not rest until this grudge is avenged!"
"Revenge? What will you use to avenge me?"
Di Jun opened his eyes, his gaze filled with exhaustion and helplessness. "In that battle, we used all our trump cards, even the Hetu Luoshu and the Chaos Bell. What was the result?"
"If we were to fight again, unless we could both break through to the Great Luo Golden Immortal level, going to the Northern Underworld would only be a humiliation, or even... suicide."
Upon hearing this, Taiyi clenched his fists so tightly they cracked, but ultimately he was powerless to refute it.
The power Kunpeng displayed in that battle was a nightmare for him.
Especially after that Demon Banner was unleashed, under its suppression, he couldn't even activate his innate treasures. That sense of despair still haunts him to this day.
"Are we just going to let this go?" Taiichi gritted his teeth.
"Of course it doesn't count."
Di Jun took a deep breath, a ruthless determination flashing in his eyes, "With conventional cultivation, it's impossible to catch up with the Kunpeng, who possesses several laws and is protected by merit."
"The only way is... to leverage existing momentum!"
"Borrowing the power of heaven and earth, gathering boundless fortune, we can use this to cleanse our karma, heal our spiritual wounds, and forcibly elevate our cultivation!"
Taiyi suddenly looked up: "Big brother, you mean...establishing a Heavenly Court?"
"Excellent! Establish a Heavenly Court!"
Di Jun stood up and looked down at the mortal realm. "Although the time is not yet ripe and our cause is not right, we have no way out."
"Only by forcibly establishing a Heavenly Court, proclaiming it to the primordial world, and gathering the vital energy, can we have a glimmer of hope!"
……
Three days later.
A grand and majestic voice descended from the Thirty-Three Heavens, resounding throughout the entire primordial land.
"I am Di Jun (Taiyi). Now, feeling that the primordial world is in chaos and all races are without a leader, I have established the 'Heavenly Court' outside the Thirty-Three Heavens!"
"I am the Heavenly Emperor, and Taiyi is the Eastern Emperor!"
"The Heavenly Court is established to govern the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths, acting as the guardian of Heaven! All ambitious individuals of the primordial world may ascend to Heaven to serve and participate in this grand undertaking!"
"Heavenly Court, stand firm!"
Rumbling--
As the vow was made, Heaven responded and bestowed merit.
Compared to the earth-shaking events and boundless merits of Kunpeng's establishment of the Demon Sect, Dijun's establishment of the Heavenly Court, though also grand in scale, seemed somewhat superficially strong but inwardly weak.
Even more awkwardly, long after the vow was made, the vast land was shrouded in deathly silence.
The scene that Di Jun had envisioned—ten thousand demons coming to pay homage and heroes responding—did not occur at all.
Apart from the giant star beasts that had long followed them and some desperate rogue cultivators, the hundreds of millions of demons on the prehistoric land did not dare to move!
Why?
Because in the Northern Underworld, there is a demon cult leader who holds a demon-summoning banner!
Since Kunpeng has not spoken, who would dare to seek refuge with the so-called Heavenly Court?
Isn't that a clear indication that they don't respect the Demon Ancestor?
"Why is it so deserted here, with Emperor Jun standing in the Heavenly Court?"
"Shh! Watch your words! Didn't you see that Bei Ming hasn't made a move? This Heavenly Court may be good, but without his approval, it's just an empty shell."
"Yes, in comparison, the Purple Mansion Celestial Court of the Eastern King Duke is truly bustling. I heard that millions of immortals have already gathered there."
Throughout the vast wilderness, discussions abounded.
This awkward situation made Emperor Jun Taiyi, who sat high in the Lingxiao Palace, turn as black as the bottom of a pot.
Although they managed to suppress the Dao injuries within their bodies by taking advantage of the fortune of the Heavenly Court, their predicament of being "commanders without troops" made them a laughing stock in the eyes of the powerful beings of the prehistoric world.
Especially compared to the Eastern King's Celestial Court above the East Sea, where banners fluttered and immortals came to pay homage, this Thirty-Three Heavenly Court seemed rather shabby.
……
Time flies, and thousands of years have passed in a flash.
On this day, the ancient, melodious bell tolled once again from the once peaceful depths of chaos.
"Thump—"
The second lecture at Zixiao Palace has begun!
This bell tolled, instantly breaking the stalemate of the primordial world.
Whether it was Kunpeng, who was stationed in the Northern Sea, or Dijun and Taiyi, who had an awkward ending, or Dongwanggong, who was riding high, they all put down their affairs immediately.
The sage preaches the Way, which is of paramount importance. Any grudges or personal grievances must take a back seat in the pursuit of the Way.
Amidst the chaos, radiant light shone.
Kunpeng was still dressed in a dark blue Taoist robe, standing on a twelve-petaled karmic fire red lotus, with a pure white lotus on his head and a golden wheel of merit appearing and disappearing around him. He calmly passed through the chaotic gale.
When he stepped into the gates of Zixiao Palace again, the once noisy hall instantly fell silent.
All eyes were on him, filled with awe, apprehension, and even jealousy.
Especially when they saw him walk straight to the first prayer mat and sit down, even the Three Pure Ones, who were the true descendants of Pangu, only twitched their eyelids, but none of them dared to speak disrespectfully.
In the battle of Beiming, Kunpeng fought against two opponents and severely injured Taiyi, who was wielding a supreme innate treasure. Such ferocity had already spread to the ears of the great powers of the prehistoric world.
Who would dare to provoke him at this time?
Before long, Dao Ancestor Hongjun appeared, and the second lecture officially began.
"What I am about to say is the way of the quasi-sage."
Hongjun's voice was faint and ethereal, pointing directly to the core of the Great Dao:
"Above the Great Luo realm is the Primordial Golden Immortal, which I call the 'Quasi-Saint'."
"To attain quasi-sainthood, one must sever the three poisons of good, evil, and ego."
"Severing one corpse signifies the early stage of Quasi-Saint. Severing two corpses signifies the middle stage of Quasi-Saint. Severing all three corpses signifies the late stage of Quasi-Saint. When the three corpses are united, one can attain the Primordial Golden Immortal realm and achieve the Dao Fruit of Sainthood!"
These words caused a stir throughout the room.
Everyone pricked up their ears, afraid of missing a single word.
This is the supreme method to break through the bottleneck of the Great Luo Golden Immortal realm and reach a higher level!
Kunpeng, seated in the head seat, heard the most clearly.
Although he follows the path of proving the Dao through laws, his method of severing the three corpses has its unique aspects.
"To sever the Three Corpses, one must rely on innate treasures. The higher the grade of the innate spiritual treasure, the greater the potential and strength of the Three Corpses that are severed."
Upon hearing this, Kunpeng's heart stirred slightly.
Others might worry about lacking high-level innate spiritual treasures, but does Kunpeng lack them?
Red lotus, white lotus, black lotus, Yuan Tu, Abi, Demon-summoning banner, Jingyang bell, ...
He possessed so many top-grade innate spiritual treasures that he couldn't count them all on two hands!
"If I entrust three lotus platforms to the three corpses of good, evil, and self respectively, and after all three corpses are eradicated, the three lotuses will unite as one, and then combine with my Dao of Laws..."
Kunpeng's eyes gleamed, and a clear path to heaven had already formed in his mind.
This method of severing the three corpses was like adding wings to a tiger for him!
Hongjun's lecture lasted for a full three cycles.
After the sermon ended, Hongjun's figure disappeared, leaving only the words, "After the First Yuan Assembly, there will be three more sermons at Zixiao Palace, at which time the treasures will be distributed and the Dao will be united," before vanishing without a trace.
Inside the main hall, everyone slowly awoke.
Most people wore undisguised joy on their faces, clearly having found a way to break through to the Great Luo Golden Immortal realm.
Kunpeng also got up, but he did not leave in a hurry. Instead, he stood there, looking intently at the empty Dao Ancestor's futon on the high platform, his mind racing with thoughts.
"The next sermon will be the time for the distribution of treasures at the Treasure Distribution Rock."
"According to the original order of days, Laozi of Taiqing sat on the first futon, so Hongjun bestowed upon him the Taiji Diagram, one of the three treasures of creation."
"Yuanshi obtained the Pangu Banner, and Tongtian obtained the Four Swords of Zhuxian."
"Now, I, Kunpeng, have defied fate and seized the first prayer mat in Taiqing, even pushing the Three Pure Ones to the back."
"Then..." A mixture of anticipation and trepidation flashed in Kunpeng's eyes:
"Will Hongjun bestow this Taiji Diagram upon me in accordance with the established order of succession, or will he forcibly bestow it upon Laozi for the sake of the so-called grand scheme of things?"
The Tai Chi diagram was formed from the back of the Heaven-Opening Axe. It possesses the supreme power to pacify earth, water, fire, and wind, transform yin and yang and the five elements, and suppress the fortune of major sects. It is the foremost of the three great innate treasures.
If one could obtain this treasure, and combine it with his Yin-Yang principles and the Five Elements Fruit Tree, his strength would surely surge to an unbelievable level.
But there are too many variables involved.
Hongjun is, after all, the representative of the Heavenly Dao, and what he seeks is the balance of the Heavenly Dao's power.
If I were to obtain the Taiji Diagram, what would happen to the Three Pure Ones? Would the Heavenly Dao collapse?
"So be it. If I gain it, I am fortunate; if I lose it, it is my fate. With the three great lotus platforms and the Demon-Summoning Banner in my hands, even without the Taiji Diagram, I am still the most powerful being in this primordial world."
Kunpeng quickly adjusted his mindset, and his eyes regained their firmness and indifference.
Just as he composed himself and prepared to turn around and leave Zixiao Palace.
Suddenly, two figures blocked his way.
Kunpeng raised an eyebrow and looked closely, only to see that the newcomers were none other than Dijun and Taiyi, who had been severely injured by him but had now barely recovered some of their strength.