Without further ado, the disciples vanished into invisibility without asking any more questions.
Faced with this sudden change, most of Jiejiao's disciples did not show much a sense of loss; on the contrary, many felt a wave of excitement and thrill, seemingly as joyful as if they had the chance to experience a new world outside. Only a few still harbored a trace of lingering regret. Meanwhile, Zhang Tianchen felt that as early as their return journey, he already had a premonition that this day would come sooner rather than later. Returning to his small wooden hut to pack his belongings, he transplanted a generation-old flat peach tree along with various other spiritual herbs, leaving nothing else that needed to be taken away.
When Zhang Tianchen returned to the gathering point, he found that the others had already finished preparing for their departure.
"Master, where are we going to find a new daoist sanctuary?" Duodao Taoist asked, feeling deeply reluctant to leave Mount Kunlun.
Master Tongtian pondered for a moment and replied, "We are heading to the East China Sea. That place is far removed from the disputes between the Wu Clan and the demon clan, making it suitable for settling down to practice."
Having made his decision, Master Tongtian led the various cultivators of Jiejiao speeding toward the East China Sea.
With a Sage's cultivation, a mere movement of the primordial spirit was enough to instantly traverse the Primordial world, but because he still needed to carry a large group of people, he had no choice but to slow down and travel leisurely.
One thousand five hundred years later.
Master Tongtian and the Jiejiao disciples arrived at the edge of the East China Sea.
"Oh?"
Just as he set foot on the seashore, Master Tongtian sensed something. He calculated with his fingers, then laughed heartily, "Truly, Heaven has a virtue of cherishing all life, bestowing upon my Jiejiao a location for our daoist sanctuary!"
Our Lady of Turtle Spirit asked with a puzzled look, "Master, what is this about?"
"You will understand once you follow me."
Master Tongtian smiled slightly without giving detailed explanations, then flew straight toward the East China Sea. The Jiejiao disciples quickly followed behind.
Zhang Tianchen guessed that Master Tongtian must have sensed the exact location of Jin'ao Island.
In less than a century, they came to a halt.
Many looked around, only to find absolute nothingness here.
Zhang Tianchen released his divine sense, carefully perceiving the surrounding environment, and discovered a certain formation hidden within the sea below. If Master Tongtian had not brought everyone here and triggered the response of the Heavenly Dao to reveal its aura, it would have been utterly impossible for him to detect the existence of this mysterious formation.
"Open!"
With a spiritual incantation cast, an opening appeared above the formation on the surface of the sea. A captivating island gradually came into view.
"Please follow closely behind me as we enter together."
With these words, Master Tongtian stepped into the formation's portal first, and the Jiejiao disciples followed him in.
As Zhang Tianchen stepped into the island, he saw scenery so breathtakingly beautiful that it drew endless praise. On the island, the majestic momentum was matched by a dense abundance of spiritual qi: when silver breakers rolled, fish went into hiding; when giant snow-white waves surged, mirages of rare wonders appeared; south of the flames, high earth was piled up; east and west of the precipices, sheer peaks soared; the cinnabar cliffs displayed dazzling multicolored splendor, while Qilin rested exclusively upon the steep crags; golden pheasants sang out in chorus from time to time, and dragon shadows flickered in and out of sight; spiritual deer and auspicious beasts coexisted in the forests, while colorful phoenixes soared endlessly among the treetops; rare flowers bloomed in all four seasons, and verdant pines stayed green as if it were eternal spring.
Peach trees laden with immortal fruits grew across the island, faint white clouds constantly hovered amidst the surrounding bamboo groves, vines grew thickly in the depths of the ravines, and tender green grass carpeted the riverbanks nearby—truly a sanctuary akin to a paradise on earth!
"This is truly a place fit for Divine Immortals to dwell!" Zhang Tianchen thought that this place called Jin'ao Island was almost comparable to Mount Kunlun, and a sincere praise welled up from the bottom of his heart.
"This place named Jin'ao Island is the transformed remains of the Black Tortoise. From now on, this place shall be the sacred ground of our Jiejiao," Master Tongtian introduced the island and continued, "Everyone can choose a suitable place on this island to build your caves and dwell; if you have no intention of staying here, you are also free to choose other places to establish your cultivation abodes."
The disciples chorored their thanks.
Because he already had his cave in the Wuyi Mountains as a residence and had no desire to build a new dwelling place, Zhang Tianchen did not take part in the pioneering work. However, hearing that there would be opportunities in every subsequent epoch to personally receive a century-long lecture on the Dao filled the hearts of the Jiejiao disciples with great joy; they knew that not every one of them possessed such exceptional talent as to fully comprehend the profound meaning in a single listening, and the overwhelming majority would still need to contemplate and study repeatedly for many years after hearing it the first time before truly grasping the mysteries within.
If they had further opportunities to listen to Master Tongtian lecture on the Dao, it would save them many detours.
...
The Three Pure Ones each established their own sects, and their fates were likewise split into three.
The various living beings in the Primordial world soon sensed the changes brought by this situation.
The West.
"Brother, with the Three Pure Ones separating, our Western Teaching can finally look forward to a day of vigorous rise." Daoist Zhunti was extremely excited upon learning that the Three Pure Ones had separated.
His lifelong wish was to see the Western Teaching rise. However, due to the depletion of spiritual power caused by Luohua, the West suffered from a shortage of resources and a lack of talent.
When the East still had the Three Pure Ones holding sway over destiny, their hopes of revitalizing the Western Teaching were practically nonexistent.
Yet now, as the Three Pure Ones separated, a glimmer of hope finally appeared in his heart for this expectation.
"One should not speak of joy and form so lightly. After all, the Three Pure Ones have not completely ruptured their ties, and the truly great fortune of our Western Teaching has not yet arrived," Daoist Jieyin gently shook his head in warning.
"Even so, I firmly believe that sooner or later they will break apart, and when that time comes, our Western Teaching will also usher in its glorious moment," Daoist Zhunti said with conviction.
City in the Sky,
"Brother, with the Three Pure Ones developing separately, from now on we will no longer fear them." Upon learning that the Three Pure Ones were developing independently, the Solar God Eastern Emperor Taiyi hurried to see Dijun and said.
Dijun, however, was not as joyful as Eastern Emperor Taiyi: "Although we have a Sage as our backing, she is not of one heart and mind with us—this is clearly reflected by the fact that Nuwa did not help us eliminate the Wu Clan."
"Even so, apart from her help, we also possess a powerful array capable of rivaling the strength of Sages—the Zhou Tian Star Chart!" Eastern Emperor Taiyi replied full of confidence.
"Although the Star Chart can withstand the pressure of a single Sage, we still have our shortcomings. If we truly want to become the masters of all things in this world, the only way is to defeat the Wu Clan so that we may gather the worldly Qi veins and achieve perfection in the Dao," Dijun stated.
"Please trust your brother, our deployment of the Star Chart is growing increasingly proficient, and in the battles to come, we will definitely wipe out that pack of the Wu Clan," Eastern Emperor Taiyi promised his elder brother.
In Pangu's lair,
All twelve Ancestral Witches gathered here.
"Eldest brother, what do you make of the fact that those three are now going their separate ways?" Candle Jiuyin, the Ancestral Witch of Time, asked aloud.
"What does that have to do with us?" Dijiang, the ruler of space, did not care about it at all, and added, "This Primordial continent was created and opened up by our father, so it naturally belongs to our entire clan. Whoever dares to try and hinder us, we will cut them down in one stroke!"
"What eldest brother said is right! Whichever fellow dares to obstruct our clan from ruling the Primordial world can just wait to be greeted by the executioner's axe—as for those two three-legged birds, the Eastern Emperor and the Solar God, one day I'm going to twist their bird heads off and see for myself," responded Qiangliang, who commanded lightning.
"Their heads are my trophies! Don't even think about sharing with me," shouted Zhurong, the Witch of Fire.
"Stop bragging. You've fought them several times and never won," Gonggong, the Witch of Water, taunted.
"You want to scrap? The two of us can settle it right now." Zhurong was provoked into a rage.
"Let's go then, who's afraid of whom?" Gonggong accepted the challenge without hesitation.
Witnessing that a conflict was about to break out between the two sides, Houtu, the Ancestral Witch who controlled the earth, and Xuanming, the Ancestral Witch of Rain, hurriedly pulled the two apart.
Looking at this group of hot-tempered individuals before him, Candle Jiuyin's gloomy expression concealed a deep worry for the clan's future prospects.
Zhang Tianchen did not stay long on Jin'ao Island; he was anxious to return to the Wuyi Mountains' Boundless Cave, worried that the second-generation flat peach tree and various spiritual herbs would wither as a result. His main purpose in following Master Tongtian to the East China Sea this time had been to determine the exact location of Jin'ao Island.
After flying for about two hundred years, while passing through a mountain range, Zhang Tianchen suddenly felt a strong wave of attraction, as if something special was calling out to him.
Stopping in his tracks, Zhang Tianchen entered the mountains to search for the source. Relying on this special guidance, he soon discovered a barrier guarding a certain treasured land.
"I wonder what supreme treasure is hidden inside here?"
After ten years of painstaking study, Zhang Tianchen finally unraveled the secrets of this complex formation.
"Open!"
He pointed his finger and traced a profound incantation in the air. As the gesture concluded, the incantation merged into the protective array, successfully opening a passageway.
The very moment the formation opened, a rich fragrance of medicinal herbs rushed toward his face.
Stepping into the protective array, Zhang Tianchen was astonished to find a world of its own within this herb garden. Although the garden was not exceptionally large, spanning only dozens of acres, almost every single spiritual herb planted inside was over one hundred thousand years old; herbs aged from a century to ten million years were everywhere.
What was even more unique was that a tripod hung suspended in stillness within the herb garden. Although it might have been psychological, a faint, ethereal fragrance seemed to emanate from the tripod as well, instantly drawing all attention to it.
Zhang Tianchen flashed toward the tripod like lightning, certain that compared to those spiritual herbs, the tripod before him was likely the truly priceless treasure.
——"Chaos Tripod."
Upon grasping the tripod in his hand, a portion of the Chaos Tripod's information flowed into his mind.
Legend had it that out of the boundless Chaos, five supreme entities existed—the Chaos Treasures. They were the World-Creating Green Lotus, Pangu's Axe, the Creation Jade Disk, the Chaos Bead, and the Chaos Tripod.
Unfortunately, during the creation of the world, a devastating heavenly tribulation struck, causing Pangu's accompanying treasures to fracture—the green lotus shattered, Pangu's Axe was damaged, and parts of the Creation Jade Disk were scattered among mortals. The World-Creating Green Lotus broke apart into numerous rare objects, with parts of it transforming into various divine items.
Meanwhile, the Chaos Bead and the remaining portions remained missing to this day, their whereabouts an unresolved mystery.
The Chaos Tripod had been cleaved into fragments by Pangu at the moment of opening the heavens and earth, with its two most important pieces transforming respectively into the Qiankun Tripod and the Creation Tripod.
The Qiankun Tripod excelled at refining magical treasures, possessing the miraculous power of turning the acquired back into the Xiantian, and currently belonged to Hongjun.
The Creation Tripod, on the other hand, specialized in alchemy, capable of nurturing pills and elevating their grades.
"This time I've truly struck absolute gold."