Then the heavenly tribulation descended directly overhead, and nothing could be seen within it until the eighty-nine heavenly tribulation came to an end, from which two figures emerged, both dressed in imperial robes.
"Donghuang Taiyi pays respects to Lord Shengxia," said Donghuang Taiyi. "The Empress pays respects to Immortal Master Shengxia." Shengxia nodded in satisfaction and said, "Continue listening to the Dao."
Shengxia expounded upon the operation of the Great Dao and the application of laws using the simplest Dao and principles.
After three thousand years of preaching, Shengxia closed his mouth and spoke no more, while the various tribes below were still immersed in enlightenment.
As this sermon came to an end, golden light flashed brilliantly across the sky, and a hundred thousand mu of auspicious clouds of Merit poured down toward the top of Shengxia's head.
Shengxia did not use the Merit for cultivation; instead, he stored it in the system space, preparing to cultivate a Golden Body of Merit.
The various tribes who had been listening to the Dao awoke and returned to the great world of Honghuang.
Meanwhile, after Hongjun left his cave dwelling in Mount Yujing of Kunlun and traveled halfway, he suddenly felt a void in his heart. Pinching his fingers to calculate, he found that some unknown person had usurped his destined opportunity.
Down below, eleven burly men and one young girl had not yet left. Shengxia thought to himself that they must certainly be the Ancestor Witches.
*Ding!* At that moment, the system sounded: "Take the twelve Ancestor Witches as disciples. Reward: Chaos Da Luo Golden Immortal cultivation, the Twelve Heavenly Godsfiend Grand Formation, the Pangu Body-Refining Art: Eight-Nine Arcane Art, and twelve drops of Pangu's essence blood."
"Holy shit, these are the cultivation techniques and gifts the system prepared for the twelve Ancestor Witches!"
Shengxia walked up close to the Ancestor Witches and asked, "The sermon is already over. Why aren't you leaving?"
The twelve Ancestor Witches already possessed the cultivation of Taiyi Golden Immaterial. They did not cultivate using the spiritual qi of heaven and earth, but rather used the earthly fiend qi of Honghuang. Because the twelve Ancestor Witches had no primordial spirit and cultivated only physical strength, having the cultivation of a Taiyi Golden Immortal made them already extremely powerful.
The twelve Ancestor Witches had originally been transformed from twelve drops of Pangu's essence blood in the Pangu Hall. They bowed only to Pangu and to no heaven, yet they still revered the strong.
"You twelve share a karmic affinity with me, and I wish to take you as my personal disciples. What do you think?"
Leaving aside the Cataclysm of Witches and Demons, the mere fact that the Wu clan was naturally fond of battle meant that all the killing karma they caused in Honghuang would have to be borne by Shengxia. But Shengxia possessed an overpowered system: all cultivation was simply given, and if it wasn't given, he could just check in. Regardless of karma or no karma, as long as the disciples were successfully accepted, he would obtain the cultivation of a Chaos Da Luo Golden Immortal.
With this realm, he could remain untainted by karma, step outside of Honghuang, walk within the long river of time, and stand beyond fate. No one would be able to scheme against him ever again.
The Ancestor Witch of Time, Dijiang, and the Ancestor Witch of Earth, Houtu, conferred with each other on what path to take.
Dijiang, Houtu, and the other ten Ancestor Witches immediately bowed down. "Master is above! We, the twelve Ancestor Witches, pay respects to Master!"
"Good, good, good!" Shengxia said the word "good" three times in succession, and then added, "Having entered my gate, you must remember: fellow disciples must not slaughter one another; you must love and care for one another; the strong must not bully the weak; and you must not recklessly create murderous karma. Otherwise, you shall be dealt with according to sect rules."
"This is your gift for acknowledging your master." With a flick of his finger, he sent twelve drops of Pangu's essence blood toward the foreheads of the twelve Ancestor Witches, followed by the Twelve Heavenly Godsfiend Grand Formation. Naturally, whatever the system rewarded was a masterpiece: the Eight-Nine Arcane Art, a growing cultivation technique that had been modified by the system to lead directly to the Heavenly Dao Realm.
The twelve Ancestor Witches expressed their gratitude, and Shengxia sent the twelve Ancestor Witches back to the Wu clan to cultivate.
The greatest reward from this system event was still the realm of the Chaos Da Luo Golden Immortal, and Shengxia was the one who gained the most.
Shengxia returned to his cave dwelling, sat cross-legged in meditation, and used his divine sense to retrieve the energy of the Chaos Da Luo Golden Immortal from the system space, fusing it into his body.
Then, purple qi surged from the east for thirty thousand miles, lotuses sprang from the void with a pure fragrance, true immortals blew horns, ancient sages chanted ancient scriptures, chaotic qi currents transformed into innate essence, withered grasses sprouted once more, iron trees blossomed anew, Buddhas uttered true mantras, and all things bowed before the Sage!
The majestic pressure of the Sage swept out toward the vast land of Honghuang, toward the void, and toward the long river of time!
The auspicious clouds of Merit that had just dissipated returned once more, filling the sky with golden light as the First Sage of Honghuang emerged.