The Primordial Era: Starting with Jingwei Filling the Sea

The Daoist Ran Deng's devotion to the Dao was truly moving, no wonder even the Primordial Heavenly Venerable was moved by his plight and made an exception to accept him into the Chan Sect. However, he was still a peer of the sages, and they could not possibly treat him as a junior.

The saints were willing to give gifts to Fang Yang, Grand Master Xuandu, and others because these people were their juniors. It is perfectly normal for elders to reward juniors.

The Taoist Master Ran Deng was their fellow Daoist, and they addressed the same person as their teacher; they were true fellow disciples without formal titles.

When Hongjun Laozu preached, he didn't give any special treatment to the saints. He imparted knowledge, taught skills, and resolved doubts fairly to everyone. Even when distributing treasures, everyone received a share. Therefore, it's perfectly reasonable to say that the guests in Zixiao Palace were all from the same school.

In the eyes of Yuanshi Tianzun, Randeng Daoren was not his disciple, but his subordinate.

If the Taoist Ran Deng performs his duties well, it would be reasonable for the Celestial Venerable of Primordial Beginning to reward him with something as his superior.

But the Daoist Ran Deng shamelessly participated in the juniors' debate, regardless of whether he won or lost. Just his presence on the debate platform brought shame upon the Chan Sect. Under such circumstances, what reason did the Primordial Heavenly Venerable have to reward the Daoist Ran Deng?

Even Yuanshi Tianzun, his superior, wouldn't reward Randeng Daoren, let alone other sages.

"Fellow Daoist Ran Deng has a profound background and possesses the potential to become a Quasi-Saint. This is a Great Wilderness Imprisoning Heaven Pill, containing a powerful divine ability. Once you consume it, you will be able to directly cultivate this divine ability."

"Fellow Daoist, you cultivate diligently and possess immense potential. I hereby bestow upon you the Jade Purity Supreme Golden Immortal Technique. I hope you will continue your efforts and strive to break through to the Quasi-Saint Realm."

"I have always been fond of array formations and have gained considerable knowledge in them. Back then, the Zhou Tian Xing Chen Grand Array of the demon race was awe-inspiring throughout the primordial world. I had a deep understanding of this array and thus I passed on its cultivation method to you, fellow Daoist."

......

When it was Ran Deng Dao Ren's turn to receive the reward, the quality of the prize plummeted. Not to mention the Three Pure Ones, even the Two Sages of the West only gave him a token gift, passing on the Divine Might Heavenly Dragon Dharma Image and the Ten Directions Dragon Elephant Scripture to Ran Deng Dao Ren.

The two Western Saints weren't stingy; when they were trying to win over Daoist Ran Deng, they passed on to him the entirety of the Three Corpses Severing Technique (which they themselves had learned). However, Daoist Ran Deng's comprehension was limited; even after the two Western Saints took turns explaining the Dao to him, he still didn't understand.

The two Western Saints dared not impart too profound supernatural powers to the Daoist Ran Deng, lest he suffer a qi deviation from cultivation. They were fully aware that the Daoist Ran Deng had destroyed half of his natal world by severing his good corpse.

The Taoist Ran Deng accepted the reward with a happy expression, but only he knew the resentment in his heart.

He was clearly second place, so logically his reward shouldn't be so much less than Fang Yang's. Putting everything else aside, at least he should be rewarded with a Primordial Spiritual Treasure to make it fair.

The Taoist Ran Deng had a beautiful plan, but reality was not as beautiful as he imagined. When the Taoist Ran Deng stepped forward to accept the reward, a hint of mockery flashed in the eyes of all the powerful beings in the heavens.

Competing against a group of juniors was already embarrassing enough for the guests of Zixiao Palace, but after the competition, they actually had the nerve to stand up and accept the reward. The powerful figures decided that they must stay away from Daoist Ran Deng in the future, lest people think that they were birds of a feather flock together.

And so, for the sake of a tiny bit of profit, Daoist Ran Deng severed himself from the circle of guests in Zixiao Palace. In the future, if any major events were to occur in the world, he would only be able to sit at the same table with juniors such as Grand Master Xuandu, Daoist Duobao, and Guangchengzi; no one of his peers would accept him.

The Burning Lamp Daoist was an exception; subsequently, Grand Master Xuandu, Holy Mother Jinling, Chi, and others received extremely generous rewards. Holy Mother Jinling, in particular, was bestowed with a set of the Lesser Heavenly Cycle Star Sword Formation by the Primordial Heavenly Venerable.

This sword formation consists of 365 high-grade acquired spiritual treasure swords. Once activated, it can condense a starlight sword spirit, making it invincible in slaying enemies.

According to Yuanshi Tianzun, to unleash this sword formation, one must possess at least the cultivation level of a Quasi-Saint. The magical power of a Great Luo Golden Immortal is insufficient to simultaneously activate 365 superior-grade acquired spiritual treasures.

However, as long as the Golden Spirit Mother activates this formation, even a powerful being in the late Quasi-Saint stage will find it difficult to break through the Lesser Heavenly Cycle Star Sword Formation.

Yuanshi Tianzun's actions today are clearly a statement of his attitude to Tongtian Jiaozhu. Yuanshi Tianzun wants to tell Tongtian Jiaozhu that he has no prejudice against the disciples of the Jie Sect; what he dislikes are only those who are born with fur and horns and are born from eggs.

The Sage of Taiqing gave Fang Yang a Golden Pill of Wishes, and the Master of Tongtian reciprocated with an equally generous gift.

The Tongtian Sect Leader produced the heart of a Chaos Demon God. Upon seeing this heart, all those below the level of a Saint present instinctively clutched their chests, for their hearts beat in unison with its pulse.

This heart belongs to the Chaos Wolf.

In the battle of the Eastern Heaven back then, the Tongtian Sect Leader joined forces with Mengzhang Divine Lord to suppress the Chaos Demon Wolf. Afterwards, the two of them dismembered the Chaos Demon Wolf, leaving only its primordial spirit to be suppressed beneath the Azure Grassland.

The Tongtian Sect Leader originally intended to use this heart to forge the Six Soul Banner. Only the most core part of the Chaos Demon God could transform an acquired treasure into a Primordial Spiritual Treasure.

However, seeing that the Sage of Taiqing had actually given the Golden Pill of Wishes to Fang Yang, the Master of Tongtian gave up on refining the Six Soul Banner.

Without saying much, the Tongtian Sect Leader directly injected the heart of the Chaos Demon Wolf into the body of Grand Master Xuandu and helped him refine it.

Having refined the heart of the Chaos Demon God, Grand Master Xuandu's foundation underwent an immediate transformation. He became much closer to the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth, and his comprehension and magical power were greatly enhanced.

If there were another match, Fang Yang might not be able to defeat Grand Master Xuandu.

Of course, once Fang Yang fully absorbs the treasures he has acquired, he will surpass Grandmaster Xuandu. Fang Yang is preparing to create his own cultivation system, and this is the wish he made for the Golden Core of Wishes.

Although Chi's battle record wasn't impressive, he was still a talented individual in the Xuanmen sect. He obtained a top-grade innate spiritual treasure from the Taiqing Sage, called the Azure Lotus Earth Core Cauldron, a treasure coveted by cultivators of the Artifact Dao.

Besides these few disciples at the peak of the Great Luo realm, the other outstanding disciples also obtained the opportunities they desired. The Sages held this grand assembly precisely to cultivate the next generation; otherwise, would the Sages really enjoy watching a bunch of inexperienced juniors fighting amongst themselves?

The Six Immortals of Penglai witnessed the entire process of the saints distributing rewards, and harbored deep resentment within them.

They were suppressed by Fang Yang and dared not participate in the conference, thus losing their opportunity to shine. Otherwise, they too would have received rewards from the sages.

However, while harboring resentment, they were also filled with anxiety.

They had all witnessed Fang Yang's strength; even the six of them combined couldn't defeat him. They only hoped that Daoist Duobao would return soon.