Primordial Era: Cultivation level equals the sum of the Jie Sect's total; the Three Pure Ones a

In the chaotic void, Xuandu moved through the surging gray-white air currents.

His pace was slow, yet each step covered an immense distance, as if he were measuring the breadth of chaos.

In the beam of light that Xu gave him, besides the bottleneck cultivators in the early and middle stages of the Hunyuan Taiji, there were several deeper markings.

The markings were hidden very deep, their aura extremely concealed, like a giant beast sleeping in the deep sea.

If one did not deliberately perceive them with the mind of someone at the half-step transcendence level, they would never have discovered their existence.

Those beings were cultivators at the late stage or even the peak of Hunyuan Taiji, stuck before the final step, unable to take that half step.

Xuandu headed toward the first deep mark, which was located in an extremely remote, chaotic corner.

The chaotic energy in that area was so thin that it was almost a vacuum, with only extremely fine gray-white air currents flowing slowly in the void, like a forgotten, unclaimed land at the end of time.

He crossed the edge of that area and stopped.

A figure hovered in the void, like a sculpture frozen in ice.

The person had a cold and aloof face, a slender figure, and was covered with a very faint layer of grayish-white crystals, as if he were wrapped in ice.

His aura hovered slightly at the edge of the peak of Hunyuan Taiji, like a live volcano about to erupt but always being suppressed.

Xuandu sensed the level of that aura.

It was confirmed that this person's cultivation had already reached the peak, but he had never been able to truly cross it.

It's like someone standing on a threshold, but hesitant to take that step because of the uncertainty behind it.

He was silent for a moment, then spoke:

"The Dao Realm has been opened. If you wish to enter, you can use your martial will to break through that final half step."

The figure slowly opened its eyes, its grayish-white gaze fixed on Xuan Du, and remained silent for a long time.

Then he spoke, his voice clear and cold, yet carrying a relaxed quality he had never possessed even at a billion-dollar event:

"I sit here in silence, surrounded by billions of dollars, yet I still dare not take that final step."

"It's not because I can't do it, it's because I don't know what awaits me after I get over it."

"If your Dao Realm can give me the answer, then I will go with you."

Xuan Du looked at him, sensing the longing beneath the caution, and nodded slightly: "The Dao Realm will not give you an answer."

"The Dao Realm will only give you a place where you can find the answers yourself."

The figure remained silent for a moment, then slowly stood up.

As he stood up, the grayish-white crystals peeled away piece by piece, revealing a young yet weathered face beneath.

"it is good."

He spoke, his voice carrying a solemnity never before seen in a billion-dollar event:

"I'll go with you."

The second deep mark is located deep within an area called the "Silent Sea".

That area was extremely empty, like a huge cave that had been hollowed out, with no floating land or debris.

Only one figure sat cross-legged in the center of the void. The person's aura was like nothingness, as if it would completely dissipate at any moment, yet it maintained its existence in an extremely stubborn way.

Despite possessing the peak cultivation level of Hunyuan Taiji, he was still unable to transcend it, like a caged beast trapped in a cage, knowing the prison door was right in front of him but unable to push it open no matter what.

Xuan Du sensed the almost desperate stubbornness in that aura and said nothing more.

It landed three zhang in front of that person, spreading out the aura of the Dao Realm.

The man remained silent for a long time, so long that Xuandu thought he wouldn't respond.

Then the figure moved slightly, like a sculpture that had been asleep for many years finally awakening:

"lead the way."

The third deep mark is at the bottom of a ley line node.

The person merged their essence with the spiritual vein, using the spiritual energy of the vein to maintain their last breath.

The aura of the peak Hunyuan Taiji was extremely weak, but its foundation was still surprisingly profound.

Xuan Du landed before that spiritual vein node, sensing the fluctuations of that aura, and remained silent for a moment.

The person didn't open their eyes, but only tilted their head slightly, as if sensing something.

Sensing the stubbornness beneath that weakness, Xuandu uttered a brief word of guidance.

The aura remained silent for a long time, then slowly gave a very soft response:

"it is good."

Three deep marks, three bottlenecks at the peak of Hunyuan Taiji.

Xuandu led them through the chaotic void, through the surging dark currents and gray-white air currents.

They slowly made their way toward the pale golden border of the Dao Realm.

The moment they stepped into the Dao Realm, the martial will of the entire world surged for a moment, as if sensing three giant stones falling into a chessboard.

The nine laws simultaneously glowed faintly, as if each was welcoming the newcomers in its own way.

Xuan Du stood atop the mountain peak in the very center of the world, hands behind his back, watching the three figures taking their places.

The greyish-white figure landed at the edge of the time law region in the due north direction, sat cross-legged, closed its eyes, and merged into the flowing time order.

The figure that awakened in the silent sea landed at the boundary between due west and due east, merging its almost ethereal aura into the gap between the laws of void and the laws of destruction.

The figure of that spiritual vein node landed at the intersection of due north and due south, resonating with the laws of life and time.

After the three figures took their positions, the boundaries of the Dao Realm began to expand at a visible speed.

The interweaving of the laws becomes more intimate, as if a denser and larger net is being woven.

Those first-generation beings who had already been cultivating in the Dao Realm sensed the addition of those three profound auras and opened their eyes, their gazes filled with shock and anticipation.

They knew that the addition of those three beings would further stabilize the laws and order of the Dao Realm.

Those first-generation beings stuck at the bottleneck can also gain a better opportunity to break through by taking advantage of the residual Daoist aura of those three peak beings.

Xu slightly opened his eyes from the direction of due north.

He sensed the three profound auras merging with the laws, and his voice carried a faint hint of approval:

"The people you chose are indeed more suitable for the Dao Realm than the first batch."

"Although those three beings are each stuck at a bottleneck, their foundations are extremely deep. Once they break through, they will be beings above the peak of Hunyuan Taiji."

"Their breakthrough will raise the upper limit of the Dao Realm to another level."

Xuan Du sat atop the peak, sensing the three auras that were slowly merging into the laws, his gaze as calm as ever:

"I've just paved the way for them; whether they can take that step is ultimately up to them."

"But I have a feeling they won't keep me waiting too long."