In the Primordial era, the Kunlun Mountains.
Known as the Ancestor of All Mountains, the Kunlun Mountains spanned the eastern part of the Primordial world, vast, boundless, and majestic. Clouds and mist lingered around the peaks, cranes flew freely, and it truly was a realm of immortals.
A thousand years ago, the Three Pure Ones established their sects and attained Sagehood, setting up a grand formation at the foot of the mountains to widely accept disciples.
Grand Preceptor Laozi advocated non-action and took only Xuandu as his sole personal disciple.
Jade Pure Yuanshi valued foundation and took twelve individuals, including Guangchengzi and Chijingzi, as personal disciples, while also accepting Daoist Randeng, who had once listened to lectures in the Zixiao Palace, as the Vice Master of Chanjiao.
Upper Pure Master Tongtian was all-inclusive, turning away no one as long as their conviction in the Dao was firm. He personally taught Daoist Duobao, Our Lady of Jinling, Our Lady of Wudang, and Our Lady of Guiling as personal disciples, while the rest were registered disciples.
Deep within the Kunlun Mountains,
Master Tongtian sat cross-legged upon a cloud platform, surrounded by over ten thousand Jiejiao disciples who listened intently to his teachings.
A Sage preaching was naturally extraordinary; the surroundings were filled with the essence of the Dao, golden lotuses rained from the heavens, white lotuses sprang from the earth, dragons and phoenixes danced in harmony, and myriad beasts chanted together.
This magnificent spectacle was not deliberately created, but rather a natural phenomenon blessed by the Heavenly Dao.
Master Tongtian had established his sect and attained the fruit of Sagehood, shouldering the heavy responsibility of guiding the destinies of all living beings. This was his first sermon after attaining Sagehood, and the support of the Heavenly Dao only heightened his majesty and status.
Among the group of disciples seated at the very outer edge was a human named Zhang Tianchen, who was at that moment immersed in the sermon, feeling refreshed and joyous.
Zhang Tianchen was a member of the postnatal Human Race, having arrived in the Primordial world over a dozen years ago.
When he first arrived, he felt immense fear.
In this world, Golden Immortals walked everywhere, and Taiyi immortals were as common as grass; only by reaching the Daluo realm could one have a slight sense of security.
As a human who did not even possess the cultivation of a Heavenly Immortal, his safety was completely unguarded, and he could easily have been obliterated by a powerful enemy without warning.
Yet, he had obtained a gift from Earth—supreme comprehension.
Upon learning that the Three Pure Ones were widely recruiting worthy individuals, he traversed thousands of mountains and rivers to reach the Kunlun Mountains. He successfully passed the mental test set by Master Tongtian and became an outer disciple of Jiejiao.
This sermon covered the fundamental Dao of immortal cultivation.
It began from the mortal-shedding stages, proceeding from refining essence to transform Qi, then refining Qi to return to spirit, and finally Void-Refining and Dao-Uniting.
Upon reaching Void-Refining and Dao-Uniting, one would then weather the heavenly tribulation to attain the Heavenly Immortal realm.
From there, it progressed step by step to True Immortal, Mysterious Immortal, Golden Immortal, Taiyi Golden Immortal, Daluo Golden Immortal, and Quasi-Sage.
Time seemed to have no meaning as three hundred years quietly slipped away.
The first sermon came to a temporary close.
Awakening from his trance, Zhang Tianchen felt a lingering sense of unfulfillment.
"Today's sermon ends here. The next one will be held a thousand years from now."
As the Master's words fell, his figure vanished from the cloud platform.
The disciples said in unison, "Farewell, Teacher." After the Master departed, they bowed to one another and left the cloud platform, returning to their respective caves or cultivation grounds for secluded meditation to further comprehend the teachings they had just received.
Zhang Tianchen also constructed a humble wooden hut in a remote and tranquil area to serve as his place of practice.
Relying on his supreme comprehension, he was able to understand and apply almost all the knowledge taught in this sermon, while also perceiving quite a few flaws.
For instance, the final step of the four mortal-shedding stages—reaching the peak of Void-Refining and Dao-Uniting—required accumulating about a thousand years of cultivation.
Yet, Zhang Tianchen believed this stage was not the true peak, and that the four mortal-shedding stages still harbored much untapped potential.
Thus, relying on his extraordinary insight, he gradually refined the shortcomings within them.
One hundred years later.
The flaws in the cultivation method for the four mortal-shedding stages were finally completely improved by him. Practicing according to this revised method, one could possess five thousand years of cultivation upon reaching the peak of the Void-Integration realm.
An ordinary cultivation method progressed as follows:
Mortal-Shedding: 0–1,000 years of cultivation.
Heavenly Immortal: 1,000–5,000 years of cultivation.
True Immortal: 5,000–...
Mysterious Immortal: ...
Golden Immortal: ...
Taiyi: ...
Daluo: ...
Quasi-Sage: ...
[Note: One yuanhui equals 129,600 years, and five yuanhui constitute one kalpa. Possessing the cultivation of one kalpa allows one to attain the Dao and become Hunyuan.]
To distinguish this cultivation method from traditional ones, Zhang Tianchen renamed his improved method the Mythological Daluo Method.
Practicing according to the Mythological Daluo Method—Mortal-Shedding Chapter, one could possess 5,000 years of cultivation upon reaching the peak of the Void-Integration realm, which was equivalent to the strength of a typical peak Heavenly Immortal.
In the blink of an eye, another five hundred years passed.
Dark clouds blanketed the sky, and the sound of thunder and lightning echoed continuously as the power of the lightning gathered.
Beneath the thunderclouds, Zhang Tianchen, through five centuries of cultivation, had reached the pinnacle of the Void-Integration realm and was at the crucial moment of ascending to immortality.
The transformation from mortal to immortal was inherently an act defying the heavens, requiring the baptism of the lightning tribulation to shed mortal flesh and enter sainthood.
The lightning tribulation was divided into four levels: the One-Nine Lightning Tribulation, the Three-Nine Lightning Tribulation, the Six-Nine Lightning Tribulation, and the Nine-Nine Lightning Tribulation.