The Way of arrays still held immense utility; otherwise, the arrays of Jiejiao would not have shone with such dazzling brilliance during the Investiture of the Gods era.
With only humble strength, one could leverage an array to harness the Great Dao power contained within it and use it to combat enemies. Without an Xiantian Spiritual Treasure or comparable Daoist magic and divine powers, an opponent simply stood no chance.
Zhou Chen felt he could use arrays to test whether he could condense the shadows of the Zhou Tian worlds within his vital acupoints.
Just as Zhou Chen was preparing to deduce this, Master Tongtian concluded his sermon, and the many Jiejiao disciples who had been immersed in the Great Dao awoke one after another.
Outside Biyou Palace, the various living beings who had come to listen to the Dao also awoke, though they did not rush to leave, waiting quietly instead.
Master Tongtian opened his eyes, swept his gaze over the assembly, and slowly spoke.
"If any of you have doubts, you may put them forward, and I shall answer them for you."
Hearing this, everyone inside Biyou Palace stood up and bowed respectfully toward Master Tongtian.
"Many thanks, Teacher."
After speaking, everyone resumed their cross-legged sitting postures. Then, Duobao, as the senior grand disciple of Jiejiao, took the lead in raising his doubts.
To Zhou Chen, these questions and answers were exceedingly simple, so he paid them no mind. Instead, he continued to ponder how to use arrays to condense the shadows of the heavens and myriads of worlds within his own vital acupoints.
A century passed amidst questions and answers. On this day, it was finally Zhou Chen's turn to ask.
Everyone looked at Zhou Chen, waiting for his question. Zhou Chen did not hesitate and asked Master Tongtian directly:
"Teacher, what are the Heavens?"
Master Tongtian gave Zhou Chen a deep look and slowly spoke.
"The Heavens refer to multiple worlds. In fact, once the term 'the Heavens' is proposed, the worldview of the Heavens is multi-dimensional—not composed of a single great world or a finite number of great worlds, but consisting of endless worlds as numerous as the sands of the Ganges, forming the so-called Myriad Worlds of the Heavens.
And since not every world is suppressed by the Heavenly Dao like the Primordial World, there will be many timelines, which gives rise to the infinite dimensions of the Myriad Worlds of the Heavens.
In truth, it is not that the Primordial World lacks other timelines, but the Primordial World does not permit the reversal of timelines or the creation of new timelines, because..."
Master Tongtian did not voice the rest of his words, and Zhou Chen could clearly perceive that Master Tongtian had suffered a backlash.
Other than the Heavenly Dao, Zhou Chen simply could not think of anything else capable of inflicting a backlash upon Master Tongtian. Surely it couldn't be Pangu?
Wait!
Other worlds could easily distort timelines, which showed that the cost of distorting timelines was not very high, and many people could resist the backlash of time. So why couldn't the Primordial World do so?
Just now, Master Tongtian said it was not permitted—who did not permit it? Was it the Heavenly Dao? Perhaps the Heavenly Dao did not permit it either, but it certainly wasn't just the Heavenly Dao. After all, the Wu Clan held no reverence for the Heavenly Dao; if the timeline could be reversed at will, those madmen would have resurrected Pangu even if it meant paying the price of utter destruction. Yet the Wu Clan within the Primordial World had not done so, which indicated that Great God Pangu did not consent. As for why he did not consent, Zhou Chen quickly thought of the reason.
Powerphuls, especially those who had already cultivated their own Great Dao, possessed a dignity uniquely their own. A loss was a loss; though they had failed, their Great Dao still endured.
Phrases like "better to live a ignoble life than die a glorious death" only applied to mortals, and ordinary ones at that, whereas Great Divine Powerholders would never do such a thing. *Hear the Dao in the morning, and you may die content in the evening!* That was no empty boast.
With timelines that could not be reversed, all those Great Divine Powerholders who had fallen in the past remained entrenched before the timelines of their demise. To attempt to reverse the timeline might provoke attacks from these very Great Divine Powerholders. Just thinking about these fallen Great Divine Powerholders made Zhou Chen's scalp tingle.
There was Dongwanggong of the Celestial Court; Luohou the Demon Ancestor, Ancestor Qiankun, and Ancestor Yinyang from the Dao-Demon War; and Ancestor Dragon, Ancestor Qilin, and Ancestor Feng from the contention of the Three Clans. Next was Shenyi the Beast Emperor of the Fierce Beast Tribulation. Most absurd of all were Pangu and the three thousand Chaos Demon Gods from the Heaven-Opening Tribulation. With such supreme bosses guarding the timelines, who would dare attempt to reverse time? Wasn't that simply courting death?
Having figured this out, the corners of Zhou Chen's mouth twitched slightly. He shook these chaotic thoughts out of his mind, thanked Master Tongtian, and stepped back down.
The exchange between Master Tongtian and Zhou Chen left the people of Jiejiao completely bewildered, wandering in a fog of confusion. Seeing that Zhou Chen was merely at the Heavenly Immortal Realm yet asked such questions, some inwardly labeled him as reaching too high and aiming too far.
Only Our Lady of Jinling frowned. Though she had little contact with Zhou Chen, she understood her own master well. If Zhou Chen had truly asked irrelevant questions or questions beyond his own strength, her master would not have explained in such detail, let alone added a subsequent warning against aiming too high.
Yet her master had done no such thing. This meant the question was either a pressing need for Zhou Chen or he was qualified to understand this realm. Only thus would it align with her master's usual temperament and character.
Our Lady of Jinling took a deep breath, looking toward Zhou Chen—who was only at the Heavenly Immortal Realm—with a flicker of complexity in her eyes. The pride of having just broken through to the Taiyi Golden Immortal realm vanished completely without a trace.
After recovering somewhat, Master Tongtian spoke directly.
"This sermon has concluded. Upon your return, you must earnestly contemplate the Great Dao lectured upon today and cultivate diligently. Ah yes, when I listened to the Dao in Zixiao Palace back then, the Dao Ancestor bestowed upon me many magic treasures. They are of no use to me just keeping them, so today I shall bestow them upon you all."
At these words, all the Jiejiao disciples grew extremely excited.
Among Primordial World cultivators, there was no one who did not wish to possess a powerful magic treasure.
However, the number of Xiantian Spiritual Treasures was limited, hard to come by and impossible to seek.
As for wanting to forge a powerful acquired spiritual treasure oneself, most lacked the necessary capability.
Zhou Chen's heart stirred with anticipation as well. Although he now understood the utility of Xiantian Spiritual Treasures, he too desired one for self-protection. Yet he also knew that the monks were many and the porridge was scarce; there might not be a share for him. Furthermore, he had previously asked Master Tongtian for one, but the Sage had not bestowed any, so he had no idea if he would be included this time.
"Duobao, as the senior grand disciple, this Xiantian Spiritual Treasure, the Golden Veil Crown, is bestowed upon you."
Master Tongtian flicked his sleeve, and a golden head crown flew before Duobao.
"Many thanks, Teacher."
Duobao reached out with both hands to catch it and bowed respectfully.
Daoist Duobao was a disciple Master Tongtian had taken before achieving sagehood, and he had previously been bestowed many spiritual treasures. This time, Master Tongtian merely gave him the Golden Veil Crown as a symbolic gesture.
"Jinling, this time I shall give you a immortal sword!"
Master Tongtian flicked his sleeve, and an immortal sword exuding the aura of an Xiantian Spiritual Treasure flew before Our Lady of Jinling.
"Many thanks, Teacher."
Our Lady of Jinling calmly put away the spiritual treasure. She had not yet recovered from her speculations regarding Zhou Chen's strength; otherwise, she would not have remained so serene. Even if she wasn't overly excited, she should have felt some joy—unlike her current utter calmness!
"Wudang..."
"Guiling..."
"Wuyun..."
"Jinju..."
"..."
Master Tongtian next played the role of the treasure-distributing boy, continually producing Xiantian Spiritual Treasures and bestowing them respectively upon the two personal disciples Wudang and Guiling, as well as the Seven Attendant Immortals including Wuyunxian.
The disciples of Jiejiao could be divided into four tiers.
The first tier naturally consisted of the four personal disciples: Daoist Duobao, Our Lady of Jinling, Our Lady of Wudang, and Our Lady of Guiling.
Next were the Seven Attendant Immortals: Wuyunxian, Jinjuxian, Biluxian, Qiushouxian, Jinguangxian, Lingyaxian, and Dingguangxian. Though these seven lacked the title of personal disciples, they were permitted to stay by Master Tongtian's side to listen to the sermons.