Tonggu stared at Zhu Long.
His eyes widened.
At first, he hadn’t paid much attention when Lu introduced Zhu Long. Hearing her call Lu “Father,” he assumed Lu wanted him to guide his daughter.
To build rapport with Lu—and perhaps pull the starry saint behind him to Primordial Immortal Domain—he hadn’t refused. He figured it was a chance to do a favor.
But one look—and he was stunned.
The girl stood there, her aura not particularly strong—half-step Extreme Emperor level—but…
Tonggu felt an inexplicable chill. Vaguely, he sensed something familiar in her aura, as though he’d encountered it somewhere before.
That deep, stirring familiarity…
Tonggu narrowed his eyes.
His gaze shifted to Lu. He drew a deep breath, his expression turning serious.
“Who is her mother?”
After a long pause, those words finally escaped his lips.
The atmosphere grew awkward.
Lu was dumbfounded.
Zhu Long froze too.
This old daoist… so direct?
How would Lu know who Zhu Long’s mother was…
The system… counts… right?
“Ahem…”
Realizing his question might have been a bit indelicate, Tonggu smiled and shook his head with a sigh.
“I merely sensed a familiar aura from this Zhu Long—one that originates deep in the ancient starry void. I once felt something similar…”
Tonggu said.
Then he looked deeply at Zhu Long.
That aura wasn’t human. It seemed faintly connected to one of the terrifying chaos creatures in the starry void…
“Little brother, this girl… has limitless potential.”
“If not for your master’s arrangement, I’d have wanted to take her back to the human ancestral land…”
With the aura Zhu Long carried, if guided personally by a saint,
she might one day become another quasi-saint for humanity!
Tonggu sighed in admiration.
Then he raised his hand, smiled, and a faint golden light shimmered on his fingertip.
He tapped it gently on Zhu Long’s brow.
If his guess was correct, forming a good connection was only right.
Hum…
An invisible profound energy spread out. Zhu Long’s hair fluttered. The bottleneck that had held her back shattered like broken glass, losing all restraint.
In an instant, she completed her comprehension and broke through to ninth-turn Golden Immortal.
In truth, Zhu Long’s fortune accumulation had long been sufficient. What she lacked… was merely an opportunity, a breakthrough catalyst.
Seeing Tonggu help Zhu Long break through with a single tap, Dantai Xuan, the Overlord, and the others’ eyes lit up.
No one lingered in the void. They headed toward the Five Phoenix Continent.
Tonggu seemed familiar with Zhu Long’s aura.
Lu narrowed his eyes. When he created the Heavenly Dragon Seed through the system, Zhu Long was the most special. Even when he later tried to create another like her, he couldn’t.
Even with the system, it was a one-time thing. Back then, Lu knew Zhu Long was unique.
Now it seemed… her origins were extraordinary.
But Lu remained calm—very Buddhist in mindset.
No matter how extraordinary her origins, she was still his precious little cotton-padded jacket.
The Five Phoenix Continent had grown even vaster. It was formed mainly of continental plates, surrounded by life-bearing stars. Powerful beings lived on those stars, along with many races from the Nine Heavens.
Though Tonggu and Chai Feng were experienced, this was their first time seeing an immortal-martial world structured this way.
Chai Feng was surprised, but Tonggu was even more astonished.
The construction of the Five Phoenix immortal-martial system gave him inspiration.
He looked at the entire Five Phoenix starry void like he’d found treasure, praising it endlessly.
Entering the Five Phoenix Continent, Lu led Tonggu and Chai Feng to Lakeheart Island.
After all, to pull wool, he had to show some enthusiasm.
Chatting and laughing with Tonggu, they entered the White Jade Capital pavilion.
Ning Zhao, Ni Yu, and Yi Yue were slightly surprised. It was the first time their Young Master had been this warm toward an outsider.
But they exchanged glances. The more enthusiastic Young Master was, the more suspicious it became.
This old daoist… had probably been targeted by Young Master.
Lakeheart Island had a relaxed atmosphere. Tonggu and Chai Feng were quite pleased.
Cultivators should have such immortal grace.
“Interesting… did you create this cultivation holy land, little brother?”
As a quasi-saint, Tonggu’s divine soul was incredibly strong. A casual sweep revealed the hidden “Fortune Tower” in the giant whale’s belly.
The Fortune Tower used god-demons as resources, harnessing their power to cultivate Five Phoenix cultivators.
This concept made Tonggu’s pores open wide—refreshing!
“Raising the might of humanity!”
Tonggu clicked his tongue in wonder, eyes shining. The more he looked at the Five Phoenix, the more he liked it.
To use the overlords of the ancient starry void—god-demons—as raw materials… what audacity, what genius design.
In Tonggu’s eyes, the Fortune Tower was peak among innate spiritual treasures—nearly on par with innate supreme treasures!
Tonggu’s quasi-saint aura was immense.
The Five Phoenix Golden Immortals flew over one after another, gathering around Lakeheart Island. Above the vast sea, Golden Immortals hovered.
Zhu Long had received Tonggu’s guidance and instantly reached ninth-turn Golden Immortal.
Naturally, they hoped for guidance too—Young Master Lu had been hinting nonstop.
In the ancient tomb.
Lu Changkong hadn’t finished cultivating the Immortal Mandala, but upon learning Lu had invited a major human figure from the ancient starry void, he stopped his seclusion.
He brought Bu Nanxing and left the tomb, heading to Lakeheart Island.
Lu Changkong’s appearance surprised Lu slightly. Then his smile grew even brighter.
“This is my father.”
Lu introduced him to Tonggu.
Tonggu’s eyes lit up. To raise a prodigy like Lu, his father must be extraordinary.
“I am Lu Changkong. Greetings, senior.”
Lu Changkong smiled, neither humble nor arrogant.
He extended his hand to shake Tonggu’s.
Bu Nanxing, seeing this, hesitated to speak. After all…
Lu Changkong’s constitution was special. Now researching the Immortal Mandala, his poison body had become even more terrifying.
Tonggu also sensed something wrong. The moment he grasped Lu Changkong’s hand, it began turning green…
A patch of green spread like creeping grass from his fingertips.
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“Oh my! What potent poison!”
Tonggu’s eyelids twitched. He pursed his lips.
He was a quasi-saint. Quasi-saint bodies were near energy-form—immortal and indestructible, with foundations of longevity.
Yet he’d been mildly poisoned.
“This special constitution… has something!”
Another talent!
Tonggu was surprised. He stared at Lu Changkong’s body, eyes narrowing.
Lu Changkong withdrew his hand, slightly embarrassed. In the excitement of the moment, he’d forgotten his poison body’s effect.
“Apologies, senior. My body carries deadly poison… I was so delighted to meet you that I forgot.”
Lu Changkong said apologetically.
He wiped his hand on his clothes, a bit sheepish.
Tonggu’s expression remained unchanged. He waved it off. The green on his palm vanished instantly.
Suppressed by his immense power.
“Just a minor poison—nothing serious, hahaha…”
Tonggu said calmly.
But inwardly, he was shocked. To him it was minor, but even a Heavenly Emperor-level powerhouse touching it would suffer agonizing torment.
“As expected of little brother Lu’s father—a tiger father begets no dog son.”
Tonggu laughed.
Then the three chatted more and more enthusiastically, talking freely.
Tonggu sat in Lakeheart Island, discussing the current state of the ancient starry void, the oppression humanity faced from god-demons.
“Humanity is weak—there’s no helping it. God-demons are born from chaos—known as the three thousand god-demons, though that’s just a figure of speech. Their true numbers are terrifying, and they’re stratified.”
“Ordinary innate god-demons are divided into initial-rank, high-rank, immortal-rank… Above immortal-rank are great-path rank god-demons. They comprehend mysteries and possess terrifying divine abilities—very strong. The Qiang Huo you killed with one arrow, little brother Lu, was a prodigy among great-path rank god-demons.”
“Above great-path rank are heaven-god rank god-demons—equivalent to human quasi-saints. The Elemental Gods of the Elemental Realm are among the best of heaven-god rank.”
“The ancient starry void is vast beyond imagination. Legend says it was created by a supreme being. After creating it, that being vanished. Since then, myriad races flourished, but god-demons dominate the starry void.”
“God-demons are born powerful, while humans are born weak. The earliest days were humanity’s hardest. But as we developed and gave birth to saint-level supreme beings, we finally gained some breathing room. Now, humanity can barely resist the tyranny of god-demons.”
Tonggu spoke calmly about the current state of the ancient starry void.
His words were unrestrained, spreading across Lakeheart Island and beyond, letting the Five Phoenix Golden Immortals hear clearly.
Their eyes gleamed.
They hadn’t realized the world beyond the Five Phoenix was so vast.
They’d thought the Nine Heavens was the pinnacle. Now it seemed not.
Of course, they’d already encountered innate god-demons and knew their power.
The Nine Heavens had fallen partly because of god-demons.
But they hadn’t expected the situation between humanity and god-demons to be this severe.
“God-demons suppress humanity’s growth by devouring the origin and Dao source of worlds humans create…”
“Any human world that qualifies to advance to immortal-martial faces powerful suppression…”
Tonggu sighed.
“Originally, Primordial Immortal Domain—the human ancestral land—should send powerhouses to help these starry worlds qualifying for immortal-martial ascension.”
“But the ancient starry void is too vast. Our ancestral land is sealed by god-demons. It’s hard to locate newborn immortal-martial worlds. Many worlds on the verge of ascension send powerhouses into the starry void seeking help, only to be killed by god-demons.”
“That’s what happened to the Nine Heavens. Back then, many Nine Heavens Extreme Emperors left through the passage into the starry void, but the ancient starry void is boundless. Most got lost and were hunted down by god-demons.”
“This time, if not for the commotion little brother Lu caused, I might have missed the Five Phoenix too.”
Tonggu’s words carried a heavy tone.
The human prodigy Chai Feng sat silently nearby.
Lu fell into thought. He now had a clear understanding of the ancient starry void’s situation.
It matched his earlier guesses.
In the ancient starry void, god-demons dominated. Humanity was weak and suppressed. Other neutral races mostly followed the god-demons’ lead.
So god-demons were truly powerful.
He’d felt it clearly in the comprehension ground.
“But little brother Lu need not worry…”
“Humanity isn’t defenseless. With saints in residence, god-demons dare not wage open war against us.”
“Besides, with a starry saint behind you, little brother, when I leave, I’ll spread the word. The Elemental Gods won’t dare touch you.”
Tonggu smiled.
“Offending a saint over a newborn immortal-martial world… not worth it.”
Lu’s mouth twitched.
If only he really had a saint backing him.
Unfortunately, he was just bluffing.
But he said nothing. Silently, he resolved to strengthen the Five Phoenix quickly.
And accelerate the wool-pulling.
Lu’s mind stirred.
He recalled the quasi-saint voice from before—it had accelerated the Five Phoenix’s immortal-martial fusion. Now, with a living quasi-saint here,
Lu might stir up some ideas.
“Sigh, Senior Tonggu may not know—my master wanders the starry void and rarely involves himself with the Five Phoenix. Otherwise, with master here, the Five Phoenix would have become immortal-martial long ago.”
“Now, I’ve raised the Five Phoenix single-handedly.”
Lu spoke with a touch of melancholy.
Tonggu immediately became solemn. Chai Feng’s eyes filled with admiration.
Creating an immortal-martial world—what audacity!
“If little brother has any difficulties, feel free to ask this old dao. If I can help, I won’t hesitate.”
Tonggu narrowed his eyes.
“How could I trouble senior… actually, it’s nothing. The Five Phoenix has just achieved immortal-martial status—fusion isn’t complete. If senior has free time, perhaps you could preach the Dao and accelerate the Five Phoenix’s immortal-martial fusion.”
Lu smiled.
Tonggu froze, then laughed dumbly. Lu had dug this pit long ago, waiting for him to jump.
But Tonggu didn’t refuse.
His divine soul spread, sweeping the entire Five Phoenix.
He indeed sensed the Five Phoenix’s instability. A newborn immortal-martial world needed hundreds of thousands of years to stabilize and accumulate.
But with a quasi-saint’s help to reinforce it, the time could be greatly reduced.
A rare immortal-martial world for humanity—one that could strengthen the race—how could Tonggu refuse?
After preparing himself,
he began preaching the Dao.
Lu quickly summoned all Five Phoenix cultivators. Centered on Lakeheart Island, above the vast sea, Five Phoenix cultivators sat cross-legged, eagerly awaiting.
Closest to Lakeheart Island were the Five Phoenix Golden Immortals.
Further out were Profound Immortals, True Immortals, Human Immortals…
Layer upon layer.
Tonggu smiled faintly. He was used to grand scenes and remained calm.
His body instantly grew to ten thousand zhang. Purple qi surged from him. His expression was serene.
As he slowly spoke, quasi-saint voice resounded.
He’d thought people would be shaken by quasi-saint voice.
But to his slight surprise, the Five Phoenix cultivators were calm—as though they’d already experienced quasi-saint voice baptism before.
This made Tonggu narrow his eyes in astonishment. It seemed he’d have to bring out some real skill.
Even Chai Feng sat cross-legged, listening attentively. Quasi-saint preaching benefited him greatly too.
On Lakeheart Island.
Lu arranged for Ning Zhao, Ni Yu, Yi Yue, and the others to attend as well.
But Lu himself didn’t listen to the quasi-saint voice.
He had his own preparations.
His mind sank into the preaching platform.
The challenge mission’s activation excited Lu. After all, randomly drawing one of Tonggu’s divine abilities… how could he not be thrilled?
This was a quasi-saint, after all.
So Lu put serious thought into this comprehension ground setup.
“Should I follow the template of the original comprehension ground?”
Sitting cross-legged on the preaching platform, Lu frowned.
But after thinking, he dismissed the idea. He wouldn’t copy the original. He had his own vision.
His hands formed seals, continuously casting array words.
Array words stacked, like lines of code.
Soon, after repeated simulations and reconstructions, a prototype of the comprehension ground took shape.
“A pyramid template—nine thousand nine hundred ninety-nine layers of stairs from the base to the top. At the peak, place the adorable little Beast Ancestor statue… the statue’s power will transmit down the pyramid stairs. The higher one climbs… the more Gold Origin mysteries they comprehend.”
This was Lu’s brand-new comprehension template.
And it was fair.
Everyone started from the bottom. The higher they climbed, the more Gold Origin mysteries they gained.
As for gathering the sea of mysteries, Lu kept that feature.
The visual spectacle was still necessary.
Not only was fairness ensured, but the spectacle remained.
After a few more simulations, Lu was very satisfied with this comprehension ground.
In the challenge mission, prodigies from Primordial Immortal Domain and Five Phoenix cultivators would compete. For victory, Five Phoenix cultivators had to win.
Originally, Lu could have built a comprehension ground favoring Five Phoenix cultivators.
But after thinking, he decided to keep it fair.
His mind withdrew from the preaching platform.
Unknowingly, ten days had passed.
Tonggu’s preaching was nearing its end.
Lu’s divine soul swept out. Joy appeared on his face—the Five Phoenix’s immortal-martial fusion was nearly complete.
Not only that, Tonggu’s preaching this time was as effective as the previous quasi-saint voice.
The Five Phoenix cultivators’ cultivation had improved dramatically.
Among the Five Phoenix Golden Immortals, many had gained insights and could confidently break through to sixth-turn Golden Immortal.
Many Profound Immortals had sufficient comprehension—they only lacked fortune accumulation. Once they had enough, they could enter Golden Immortal realm.
And accumulating fortune was simple—complete missions in the Fortune Tower.
So for them, it was as good as already half-stepped into Golden Immortal.
This preaching was a bountiful harvest.
Moreover, the entire Five Phoenix starry void underwent transformation under Tonggu’s Dao sound—some comprehended, some broke through…
Though Lu didn’t check, he could already feel the skyrocketing spiritual energy reserves on the system panel!
His cultivation realm was nearing an upgrade!
What did Lu love most?
Naturally, the Five Phoenix people growing stronger—so his share of spiritual energy increased.
Sensing this massive change, Lu sighed. Tonggu really was a good person.
He almost felt bad pulling wool.
If only he could do this a few more times.
Of course, Lu only thought that. More sessions would diminish the effect and make Five Phoenix cultivators dependent—gains not worth the losses.
Lu sat in the Thousand-Blade Chair, leaning against the railing and listening to the wind.
A chessboard lay before him.
On the board, countless spiritual energies converged like a vortex, forming intersecting lines.
Vaguely, they shaped a pyramid.
This was the comprehension ground Lu had built on the preaching platform.
Hum…
Tonggu finally finished preaching.
The surging purple qi around him slowly receded. His massive illusory body gradually dissipated.
The vast sea grew calm.
Five Phoenix cultivators remained in meditation, savoring the profound mysteries Tonggu had shared.
Tonggu smiled with satisfaction. He had to admit—the Five Phoenix cultivators had excellent talent. He could feel the entire Five Phoenix growing firmer. The once-unstable immortal-martial foundation had finally stabilized.
He’d done a great deed.
Tonggu smiled contentedly.
He didn’t disturb their meditation.
Stepping on auspicious clouds, he descended onto Lakeheart Island.
“Hm?”
Suddenly, Tonggu paused.
On the pavilion, Lu sat in white robes, smiling and nodding slightly.
“Thank you, senior.”
“Without senior’s golden words, who knows how long the Five Phoenix would have taken to complete its immortal-martial tempering?”
Lu smiled.
“My master foresaw senior’s arrival during his starry travels, so he already prepared a Gold Origin mysteries comprehension holy land…”
Lu said.
Tonggu froze. Then his eyes lit up like morning stars.
A comprehension ground for Gold Origin mysteries?
“Little brother Lu, is it built using the Beast Ancestor statue?”
Tonggu’s breathing quickened slightly.
He’d personally witnessed Lu taking the Beast Ancestor statue in the Elemental Realm’s comprehension ground.
Back then, he’d been shocked—concluding a saint was behind it.
Now, this Gold Origin mysteries comprehension ground belonged to humanity!
For humanity, always at a disadvantage, this was tremendous fortune!
On the White Jade Capital pavilion.
Lu’s white robes fluttered. He smiled faintly.
He picked up a chess piece from the box.
Rolling up his sleeve, he slowly placed it.
Pop!
Boom!
Between the Five Phoenix heavens and earth, a beam of light descended from the sky, tearing through the firmament and landing on an uninhabited life-bearing star just beginning to awaken outside the Five Phoenix Continent.
Tonggu’s gaze sharpened.
He sensed a vast, terrifying aura being born on that star.
Whoosh!
Space compressed beneath Tonggu’s feet.
In the blink of an eye, Tonggu appeared on that star.
“This is my master’s arrangement—all for humanity.”
“Oh, right—my master said this Gold Origin mysteries comprehension session can let prodigies from Primordial Immortal Domain compete with Five Phoenix cultivators to increase competitiveness.”
Lu smiled.
Tonggu nodded repeatedly, thrilled. He hadn’t even fully heard Lu’s words.
His gaze shifted to the star. There, a golden pyramid rose from the ground, towering into the clouds—nine thousand nine hundred ninety-nine layers.
Tonggu was overjoyed.
His gaze moved upward, soon landing on the trophy-sized golden statue at the pyramid’s peak.
It was exactly the Gold Origin Beast Ancestor statue that had once been in the Elemental Gods’ hands!
