The sky was filled with brilliant light, and flowers of the Great Dao bloomed, transforming into dazzling fireworks.
Beneath Ji Mo's feet, clusters of rule runes condensed into lotuses, spreading in all directions.
Fan Jingxing and Huineng listened, entranced, completely immersed.
The Nine- 변 Heavenly Silkworm, the Heavenly Peng, the Xuan Ao, and the entire pond of Dragon Fish all entered a state of enlightenment. Boundless Dao rhythms surrounded them, and various insights flooded their minds.
"Heavenly flowers falling, golden lotuses springing from the earth! Who is it that has triggered such celestial phenomena!"
All cultivators in the Xuan Ling Realm were shocked. It had been ten thousand years since they had lost contact with the Upper Realm, and such a scene had not occurred in all that time.
What was happening?
Had a divine being from the Upper Realm descended?
Or had a peerless talent achieved enlightenment?
This scene also brought joy to countless powerful beings, for they saw hope.
Hope to break through their limitations.
"The golden age of the Xuan Ling Realm is about to arrive."
A Spirit Emperor gazed at the sky, tears of excitement streaming down his face.
Other powerful beings silently deduced the heavenly secrets, their gazes fixed on the south.
"The center of the phenomenon is located in the Southern Domain. How could such a powerful being emerge from that barbaric land?"
As everyone knew, the Xuan Ling Realm was divided into five great regions and four great oceans, with the Southern Domain being the most barren and even considered a wasteland.
Yet, the place where the phenomenon occurred was in the Southern Domain, which shocked everyone.
Instantly, a tempest swept across the entire Xuan Ling Realm. Major powers dispatched their experts to the Southern Domain, intending to ascertain the identity of the peerless expert.
Ji Mo lectured for a while before stopping.
It was too infuriating. He had been teaching so earnestly, yet these two fools had fallen asleep.
"Two stupid donkeys, too foolish to be taught."
In a fit of anger, Ji Mo kicked Fan Jingxing and Huineng each once and returned to his room to sleep in frustration.
He slept soundly, but the entire world had been turned upside down by him.
As soon as Ji Mo returned to his room, the courtyard was filled with flashes of colorful light.
First, the Heavenly Peng broke through, advancing to the Spirit Venerable realm. Its size had doubled, its black feathers shimmered with dark light, and golden runes flashed in its eyes, making it exceptionally majestic.
In the pond, the Dragon Fish leaped, and masses of dragon energy emanated, creating rippling waves. Within the shimmering water, one could faintly see small flood dragons transforming.
The Dragon Fish's divine dragon bloodline became even purer, evolving towards the flood dragon form.
Xuan Ao, Fan Jingxing, and Huineng all experienced a surge in their strength, reaching the late stage of the Spirit Venerable realm.
This enlightenment was equivalent to a hundred years of arduous cultivation.
However, Fan Jingxing and Huineng did not show the joy of breakthrough. Instead, their faces were filled with bitterness, looking as if they had eaten a green-headed fly.
What had they heard?
Mr. Ji had called them stupid donkeys, too foolish to be taught.
They considered their cultivation talent to be exceptional among humans, yet in Ji Mo's eyes, they were like foolish donkeys, which made them incredibly ashamed.
"It's all my fault for being so stupid. If my talent were a little brighter, I would surely have transcended mortality and achieved sainthood, breaking through to the Spirit Saint realm."
Fan Jingxing blamed himself immensely, feeling that he had wasted Ji Mo's efforts in nurturing him.
Then, he noticed that Ji Mo had not taken the formation diagram with him, and his spirits lifted.
This must be an opportunity given to him by Mr. Ji. As long as he worked hard to construct the Innate Eight Trigrams Formation, Mr. Ji would not drive him away.
Huineng also felt a sense of crisis. How could he demonstrate his value and make Mr. Ji keep him?
He had accumulated a large amount of spiritual materials and treasures over the years and decided to bring them all out to construct the Innate Eight Trigrams Formation with Fan Jingxing.
To avoid being despised by Ji Mo, they almost spared no effort, contributing all their energy and their life savings.
After being severely beaten, Hong Qiantu was ostracized and became much more honest out of despair.
He no longer dared to covet Ji Mo, but he still noticed something unusual.
Fan Jingxing and Huineng had stopped farming and started clearing land instead.
Something was wrong. These two seemed to be up to something, a massive project that required countless resources.
Hong Qiantu made discreet inquiries and learned that Fan Jingxing was extensively acquiring various formation materials, while Huineng had emptied the treasuries of his sect.
"These two have truly gone mad. Not only are they slaving away for Ji Mo, but they are even investing their entire fortunes now?"
Hong Qiantu couldn't understand what evil methods Ji Mo had used to make these two so devoted.
He continued his investigation and was even more shocked.
Fan Jingxing and Huineng's cultivation had actually surged by two minor realms, reaching the late stage of the Spirit Venerable realm.
Originally, their strength was comparable, but now they were far behind.
And that Heavenly Peng had actually become a Demon Venerable.
The creature he could easily defeat before was now on par with him in strength!
"Can anyone tell me what exactly happened?"
Hong Qiantu tore at his hair, his mind aching from trying to figure it out.
Then, he thought about it and realized there might be some clues.
It seemed that anyone who befriended Ji Mo reaped immense benefits.
First Lin Zhan and Qiao Surong, then the Heavenly Peng, Tang Xueyi, Xuan Ao, and others. Without exception, after interacting with Ji Mo, they had all encountered great fortune.
"Old Hong, you don't understand."
"Don't disturb us brothers from enjoying our blessings!"
Hong Qiantu carefully recalled his conversation with Xuan Ao and the other two, and his body trembled. He finally realized it belatedly.
Could it be that Ji Mo was the source of all this? Was he truly the hidden peerless master residing here!
Thinking of this, Hong Qiantu couldn't help but gasp, and his old heart ached.
If this were true, wouldn't he have missed out on a colossal opportunity?
To prove his guess, Hong Qiantu, under the cover of darkness, secretly went to search through the construction waste discarded from Ji Mo's courtyard.
He found a withered grass root, endured the disgust, and put it into his mouth.
As soon as he chewed, his mouth watered.
A large mass of dense spiritual energy instantly surged into his meridians, causing him to involuntarily utter a sound of comfort.
No wonder Xuan Ao and the other two ate grass with gusto every day. This wasn't wild grass; it was clearly a spiritual medicine!
Then, he discovered some special moisture in the soil.
"Nectarous spiritual liquid!"
Hong Qiantu almost cried out. Such a treasure was being used to water the plants?
What a waste of heavenly resources!
He could no longer care about his status or dignity and burrowed into the garbage heap, searching for spiritual liquid and grass roots to consume.
"Hey, isn't that Old Hong? What are you doing eating mud?"
Xuan Ao emerged from the ground and, with a sweep of his claw, scattered a large pile of earth and stones.
During the day, Xuan Ao could only be an ordinary old turtle. It was only at night that he could use his abilities to move and discard some construction waste.
This thousand-year-old Xuan Turtle, who controlled the power of the earth, had made significant contributions to the smooth setup of the Innate Eight Trigrams Formation.
As soon as Xuan Ao poked his head out, he was startled to encounter an old acquaintance.
Hong Qiantu's old face turned red with shame, and he hastily wiped his mouth.
"Don't be embarrassed. I eat wild grass every day too," Xuan Ao said self-deprecatingly, without mocking Hong Qiantu.
"Brother Xuan Ao, please show me the way."
Hong Qiantu fell to his knees before Xuan Ao on the spot.