Chapter 506: Chapter 445: The Secrets of the Mystical Sect, The Gathering of the Spiritual Treasures
Thirty-Six Cloud Seals spread across the sky, each seal transformed into various spells, supplemented by the Twelve Yuan Chen, successfully pacifying all the ghosts of the underworld here.
"Hmm? Taoist friend, how do you also know my elder brother’s method of All Heavens Cloud Seal?"
"I obtained it by sheer luck. I can also be considered a follower of the Sanmao Heavenly Dao, but I still primarily focus on cultivating Innate Pure Yang."
"So, Taoist friend, are you an Innate deity? Or a demigod abnormal soldier?"
Mao Zhong had never seen Song Lin nor heard of his name, yet this person possessed the Innate Pure Yang Dao, seemingly appearing out of thin air. Other than being an Innate deity, there was no other plausible explanation.
Song Lin said nothing to confirm or deny.
He intentionally guided others to believe he was an Innate deity; otherwise, there was no way to explain his origins.
Additionally, having interacted extensively with The Queen Mother of the West, he knew specific traits of Innate deities, ensuring his performance was convincing enough.
Jiufeng Mountain.
Song Lin and Mao Zhong interacted over several days, learning about past causes and consequences.
He roughly understood the tasks of this realm and the other factions involved.
This world was called Jiaxuan World, part of the Small Thousand Worlds. It did not belong to the subsidiary worlds of the Sanmao Heavenly Court but was situated at the crossroads of several Heavenly Courts.
If he guessed correctly, this world should be the precursor of the Real World.
It was originally part of the domain of the Primordial Emperor Daojun, but due to the Demon Tribulation, they lifted the restrictions on this world.
The True Monarchs of the Sanmao Heavenly Court found this place desirable, sending Mao Zhong with others to aid its recovery and expand Heavenly Court influence here.
Generally, Heavenly Courts rarely directly seize territories, except for subsidiary Small Thousand Worlds that form their own Medium Thousand Worlds; any neutral and unclaimed Small Thousand or Medium Thousand Worlds can be divided by multiple factions.
After the ninth Demon Tribulation struck this realm, it largely fell into demonic hands. Several thousand years later, Mao Zhong and his team came to reclaim it.
Unexpectedly, they were confined by someone for several thousand years. Upon emerging, they discovered it was yet another Demon Tribulation.
"So, this is now the tenth Demon Tribulation?"
"Exactly."
"I see..."
Song Lin thought to himself—so it seems to be over 200,000 years in the past.
The Upper Pure Demon Tribulation occurs once every 10,000 years. The Real World lies between the conclusion of the thirty-fifth Demon Tribulation and the onset of the thirty-sixth.
The story of this realm predates that timeline by over 200,000 years.
No wonder the Sanmao Heavenly Court’s three pillars, including Xiao Mao True Monarch, have strength comparable to his own.
The youngest brother among the three siblings was likely the last to attain enlightenment.
"What exactly is the Demon Army?"
"They devour wisdom, destroy Taoist skills, and corrupt virtuous karma, hence called demon. Demons are not limited to humans, gods, ghosts, or demons—they bring the purest destruction to the world."
Song Lin began to understand. The so-called conflict between demons and the Heavenly Court was a struggle between chaos and order, filth versus righteousness.
Perhaps due to some inherent flaw in the Great Dao, every 10,000 years sees an outbreak of Demonic Qi, during which the Demon Army seizes the opportunity to besiege cities and seize territories.
If the Demon Army fully occupies a world, the Small Thousand World will become demonized, endlessly producing demons, turning into a demon stronghold.
The entire history of the Great Thousand World follows a cycle: Demon Tribulation begins, demonic forces rise, the Heavenly Court retreats step by step.
As the demonic tide subsides after several decades or centuries, the Human Clan gradually reclaims territories.
Considering the timing of the demonic tide’s outbreak, Mao Zhong’s defeat was unsurprising.
After all, the Great Thousand World had amassed 10,000 years of impurities.
Even in this small underworld alone, millions of years of accumulation brought billions of ghosts, let alone the Great Thousand World.
The legendary tales of hundreds of millions or even trillions of Heavenly Soldiers and demon armies might not be exaggerations.
(The Great Thousand World uses the numerical concept of "Number Exhaustion Transformation": ten million equals a billion, a billion squared equals a trillion, a trillion squared equals a quadrillion, and so on to quintillions, octillions, nonillions, and beyond—until even Medium Thousand Heavenly Courts cannot comprehend the numbers beyond quadrillions.)
"The integer count of the Great Thousand World has no ceiling. It’s hard to imagine the terrifying strength of trillions upon trillions of Heavenly Soldiers and ghosts resisting their own equally powerful opponents."
Song Lin pondered.
Above the Primordial Spirit lies Harmonization, the pinnacle of Small Thousand Worlds.
Above Harmonization lies the Heavenly Immortal, representing strength that transcends the boundaries of Small Thousand Worlds, breaking free from the limitations of the Three Realms of Small Thousand Worlds and the Five Elements. Beyond Heavenly Immortal are True Immortal, Golden Immortal, and so forth.
"Are there any Medium Thousand Worlds occupied by the Demon Army?" Song Lin asked.
Mao Zhong gave him a peculiar look.
"The Great Thousand World consists of cycles of life and death, yin and yang, left and right. The concept of ’medium’ is inherently abstract, subjective, and unstable—it represents the perspective of intelligent beings. Medium Thousand Worlds merely signify entities that transcend Small Thousand Worlds and integrate numerous smaller realms. Once a Heavenly Court falls, it naturally disintegrates into countless Small Thousand Demon Worlds."
"Thus, demons don’t have Medium Thousand Worlds. Perhaps this is also the source of the conflict between the Heavenly Court and demons."
Demons strive to return the world to its original chaos, while the Heavenly Court emphasizes universal order.
Everything about cultivation may stem from the pursuit of "medium."
In the Great Thousand World, things are either born or die, yin or yang. Cultivators, however, defy natural order, transcend life and death, escape yin and yang, striving towards the concept of "medium."
"We have too few allies. To deal with the Demon Army, we must proceed gradually. I have a plan," Mao Zhong proposed.
"What is it?" Song Lin asked.
"Develop our own Taoist allegiance. When the timing is right, we can reverse the heavens and strike back. As long as this realm isn’t completely demonized, we still have a chance. We don’t have to solely rely on ourselves to defeat them—obtaining the Tiger Talisman to communicate with the Heavenly Court and call down Heavenly Soldiers will suffice."
"Alright, let’s go with that."
From then on, the Pure Yang Dao and Mao Mountain Dao secretly developed within the mortal world.
A hidden golden gate on Jiufeng Mountain served as the base for both Taoist allegiances to expand in secrecy.
Song Lin secretly dispatched his avatar into the mortal realm to search for promising cultivation seeds.
His covert maneuvers also succeeded in supporting the establishment of a more reasonable royal branch of emperors.
Although their rule remained laissez-faire, it was at least more enlightened than before.
"Taoist friend, your Thirty-Six Cloud Seals remain unfinished; it’s best to complete them to maximize their potential."
Mao Zhong generously shared several excellent spells with Song Lin to transform into the remaining nine Cloud Seals.
The nine spells included: Lin, Shan Hai, Stone, Jia, Treasure, Purify, Fortune, Ghost, and Blade.
With less than eight days until negotiations with the Real World began...
Equivalent to roughly half a year in the story’s timeline, Song Lin’s current talent made transforming them into Cloud Seals manageable.
During this time, Song Lin also inquired about the Heaven and Earth Xuan Sect.
The Heaven and Earth Xuan Sect was an acquired magical treasure of the Sanmao Heavenly Court, leaving behind a Heaven and Earth Xuan Gate every time it infiltrated a world.
The Xuan Gate’s master could use the Heavenly Court’s Tiger Talisman to summon Heavenly Soldiers, resources, spells, immortals, and more—or to serve as an independent Small Cave Heaven.
The treasure itself possessed immense power, often sufficient to guard a Small Thousand World.
"The Spirit Treasure Celestial Master might lack an authentic Heavenly Court inheritance, or his lineage was severed when it reached him."
Song Lin speculated.
Because this individual didn’t know the All Heavens Cloud Seal, only the lower-tier ancient characters.
If the inheritance truly had been severed, perhaps he merely performed a rudimentary refinement on the Heaven and Earth Xuan Sect without the Tiger Talisman.
In which case, Song Lin’s opportunity significantly increased.
Six months later, Song Lin successfully integrated himself, forming a close friendship with Mao Zhong.
The reason was Song Lin’s spells were remarkably similar to those of the Sanmao Heavenly Court—apart from being slightly eclectic, they resembled authentic lineage, even earning recognition from the Nine Elders Immortal Capital Seal.
Mao Zhong didn’t delve too deeply. Perhaps one of his elder brothers had left a Taoist allegiance in some Small Thousand World.
Moreover, Song Lin’s Pure Yang Primordial Spirit convinced him that this man wasn’t an evil demon. That alone sufficed—after all, everyone had their secrets.
Half a year passed.
The Pure Yang Sect co-founded by Song Lin and Mao Zhong now boasted a thousand disciples, with Song Lin as Sect Hierarch and Mao Zhong as Great Elder.
During this half-year, Song Lin also gained partial access to the Heaven and Earth Xuan Gate’s control.
This authority was second only to Mao Zhong.
He knew this level of control exceeded that of the Spirit Treasure Celestial Master.
...
Real World.
Clouds churned in all directions.
Chu Country, Shu Country, the Two Major Taoist Alliances, South Sea Demon Clan, East Sea Demon Clan—various factions sent emissaries to discuss alliance terms with the Human Clan.
Xuan Yu City.
Taihua Heavenly Master, Zhonghuang Zi, Song Lin—three great Primordial Spirits—and several trusted high-level representatives from both sects gathered here.
Elite disciples from the Yuzhen Dao Sect and Donghua Dao Sect convened under the guise of a Daoist Conference.
Such events had long been commonplace among other sects.
After all, the two sects had allied early on. Further deep cooperation was natural; a Daoist Conference was no surprise.
Yet who would have thought it concealed even deeper implications?
"What should we do? Stick to the plan?" Taihua Heavenly Master asked with a solemn expression.
Taihua’s concerns mirrored those of everyone else.
If negotiations succeeded and the Human Clan became mere vassals to demons, the two sects might be drained to death.
"I didn’t expect them to sign this deal. It seems appropriate to turn the page today."
Song Lin smirked coldly.
He then boarded the Sun Jade Car with Taihua and headed to the Spirit Treasure Sect.