Chapter 98: Eight Steps to Sainthood, the Eastern Sovereign, and Taiyi

Chapter 98: Eight Steps to Sainthood, the Eastern Sovereign, and Taiyi

The Great Perfection Sage Body had more than once slain the progeny of the Forbidden Zone, provoking the terrifying beings within to personally intervene.

Many witnessed a dark beam slicing through the universe, severely wounding the Great Perfection Sage Body and leaving an indelible curse upon it.

Even with the Western Emperor Pagoda in hand, the Great Perfection Sage Body couldn't protect itself.

Shaohua's eyes flickered as the Immortal's Tear Emerald Gold Pagoda's deity recreated the scene.

"It was a Heaven-Piercing Nether Treasure. I remember its aura; it was wielded by a Supreme Emperor. I was no match for it", the deity of the Emerald Gold Pagoda said.

The Immortal's Tear Emerald Gold Pagoda merely showed signs of evolving into an immortal artifact, at best qualifying as a quasi-immortal artifact.

The Heaven-Piercing Nether Treasure, on the other hand, was already a near-immortal artifact, needing only a slight transformation to become an immortal artifact. The two were incomparable.

"That wasn't your fault", Shaohua comforted her.

She pondered for a moment. Upon learning that those who emerged from the Forbidden Zone had been moving various ancient battlefields filled with dark auras and launching large-scale attacks on the ancestral grounds of various races to dig up graves, she vaguely guessed what the Supreme Emperors intended.

They were merely trying to transform the Heaven-Piercing Nether Treasure into an immortal artifact.

An immortal artifact was a heart-stirring prize.

Moreover, after being suppressed for so many tens of thousands of years, they were no longer content with the status quo and wanted to stir up the world.

Even after severing their own paths and retreating into the Forbidden Zone, no longer the invincible rulers they once were, they could still change the world at will and display their supreme authority.

More importantly, with eighty thousand years almost passing, some of the old ones were probably about to reach their limits.

Shaohua chuckled coldly to herself. Despite her family eliminating many Supreme Emperors, very few were truly forced to emerge due to their approaching limits.

The Corpse Sovereign had been outmaneuvered and restrained by a killing array.

The Yama Sovereign and the Yu Shen were close to dying in the Forbidden Zone.

The Free and Easy Celestial Sovereign and the Lord of Reincarnation had misjudged their own strength.

As for the two Supreme Emperors who died or became immortals when her mother attained the Dao, there was no need to elaborate.

Only the three from the Primordial Ancient Mine, persuaded by the Netherworld, and the one from the Immortal Mountain, who had little time left, were truly forced to emerge.

Without her altering the course of history, these four would have emerged over the past eighty thousand years, and this era would still have seen other Supreme Emperors reaching their limits.

It couldn't be helped. With millions of years passing since the Primordial and Mythical Ages, many were approaching their limits.

With the Path to Immortality opening soon, they needed to emerge to replenish their vitality and extend their lives.

When Supreme Emperors emerged, they would try to avoid eras dominated by Great Emperors, only making their final stand when they could no longer endure.

To this day, the number of Supreme Emperors hidden in the major life-restricted zones remains significant, especially in the Primordial Ancient Mine.

Fortunately, the situation wasn't yet at its most critical. The Great Perfection Sage Body could still intimidate the Forbidden Zone, but it was already old and injured, and could only hope that a new Great Emperor would arise soon.

"Ancestor, please forgive my frankness, but now might not be the right time for you to emerge", the Jade Pond Holy Sovereign said seriously, also offering advice.

This was the daughter of the Eastern Sovereign. Though she had no cultivation, the Western Emperor Pagoda's recognition was infallible.

With the imperial stars shining brightly and many being hailed as having the potential to achieve the Dao, it didn't seem like a good time for their young mistress to emerge.

Forget about the notion that imperial descendants can't achieve the Dao; that didn't apply in the Jade Pond Holy Land.

With two Great Emperors already, why couldn't there be another?

Shaohua understood her meaning. The imperial path was nearing its end, and she had just emerged with no cultivation at all.

A few decades of hard work might allow her to catch up, but a few centuries? How could she compete?

But she wasn't really her daughter.

With the Primordial Sage Body Dao Embryo and the Heavenly Emperor's re-cultivation, if she still had to follow the same arduous path as the so-called geniuses of this era and compete for resources, then her first eighty thousand years had been wasted.

She might as well drown herself in the Immortal Pool!

The morning light bathed the Jade Pond Holy Land, filling the dawn with vitality.

Shaohua stood up, releasing the Immortal's Tear Emerald Gold Pagoda and stepping forward.

In the vast universe, each grain of sand was a world, and the human body contained countless "gates." Cultivation was about discovering one's true self and opening these gates.

The first realm of cultivation was the Sea of Wheels.

With one step, she attained the Sea of Wheels!

The young girl exuded a tranquil and serene aura, pure and unblemished. In that moment, she ascended to the sky, standing in mid-air with her clothes fluttering, like a celestial being descending to the mortal world.

Shaohua closed her eyes slightly, feeling the confusion of the Divine Bridge realm.

Most people would encounter a fog blocking their path, unsure of which direction to take. She could have easily bypassed it, but she chose to follow her heart and experience it again.

"A great enlightened one once said, 'The sea of suffering is boundless, but the shore of enlightenment is within reach.' But the path of cultivation is long and arduous; if you don't advance, you will retreat. How can one easily turn back?"

"Another with great determination believes that the other shore is not on the opposite side; it has always been there, and there is no need to seek it. The place where you stand is the other shore!"

"But this is not the path I choose. In cultivation, only sincerity and perseverance matter. No matter how many challenges and difficulties lie ahead, I will continue to walk this path!"

Shaohua neither turned back nor stopped, but continued forward. If this path were endless, she would be willing to walk it forever.

The path is long and arduous, but as long as one remains true to their original intention, they will reach their destination. If she wants to walk, the road lies beneath her feet!

With her second step, the young girl’s aura soared once more, and the Dao Palace opened. The chants of her life and the Dao resounded, filling the air with the sound of the Great Dao.

On her third step, the Four Extremes were formed, and the wonders of earth, fire, water, and wind appeared.

With her fourth step, the Dragon Spine Ascension began, and the Nine Transmutations Gazing Immortality echoed through the heavens.

On her fifth step, she ascended to the Immortal Platform.

The sixth and seventh steps brought her to the Second Immortal Stage and Path Severance, respectively.

This time, she defied the Great Dao that blocked her path.

Walking her own path, she didn’t need to borrow anyone else’s, nor did she need to walk alongside others.

By defying the Great Dao, she truly transcended, creating her own supreme law that surpassed all others.

Finally, she took her eighth step, achieving sainthood in one stride!

Endless heavenly tribulations rained down from the sky, but they never ceased since the moment Shaohua took her first step.

But even the most terrifying heavenly tribulations couldn’t stop her. She brushed them aside with a wave of her hand, shattering all calamities as if pushing them away with sheer force.

In a sense, the heavenly tribulations became a source of power, transforming into nourishment for her cultivation.

"Is it enough now?" Shaohua turned around, looking down from her elevated position, and asked calmly.

Eight steps were not her limit, but the limit of the young girls' psychological endurance.

If she took even half a step more, the Holy Sovereign and the elders of the Jade Pond Holy Land would likely collapse before her.

They all stared in shock, unable to speak, their resilient hearts shattered and on the verge of collapse.

This was beyond what any prodigy or genius could describe; it was utterly heaven-defying.

Even if she had reached this realm before, and perhaps even had a higher cultivation level, it would still be impossible to re-cultivate from scratch with such ease.

Well, in a certain sense, it was indeed one step at a time.

Each step represented a new realm, breaking through as naturally as breathing.

Was this not the arrival of a divine being?

Heaven be praised, these sages had lived for thousands of years, thinking they had seen everything, but today’s scene was truly unprecedented.

After the shock, an unparalleled joy followed.

They finally came to their senses, remembering that this was their own little ancestor. So what if she was heaven-defying?

They instantly became overjoyed, the usually composed and noble ladies of the Jade Pond Holy Land now dancing and celebrating uncontrollably.

The Jade Pond Holy Land would rise again!!!

"Congratulations, little ancestor! We celebrate your achievement and the imminent ascension to the rank of Supreme Emperor!" They all bowed to Shaohua, their hearts filled with admiration and reverence.

Shaohua: "..."

What are you little girls thinking? I feel like the Jade Pond Holy Land of the future has become a bit unreliable.

Not long after, Shaohua returned to her own Jade Pond Holy Land.

"Jade Pond, I’m back."

Standing before the gate of the holy land, she whispered to herself, her mind filled with the memory of Xiaowushi’s call and her parents walking toward her.

The place had changed, the familiar faces were gone, and everything was new.

She finally understood the feelings of those who had sealed themselves away to become the foundation of the holy land. When they awoke from their slumber, they found no one they recognized, and everything was different yet the same.

Jade Pond was still Jade Pond, but it was no longer the Jade Pond of the past.

This was why Shaohua had the descendants move, why she stayed behind, and why she hadn’t entered Jade Pond for tens of thousands of years.

The Jade Pond Holy Land she knew was long gone...

"Little ancestor?" the Western Queen Mother asked softly.

"Nothing." Shaohua shook her head and smiled, coming back to her senses.

The current Holy Maiden of the Jade Pond Holy Land had already embarked on the ancient star path, so the Western Queen Mother directly appointed Shaohua as the new Holy Maiden.

Of course, Shaohua was no longer called Shaohua; she now referred to herself as Taiyi, and it seemed amusing.

The daughter of the Eastern Sovereign was Taiyi, the thought made her smile.

The people of the Jade Pond didn’t suspect anything; they naturally assumed the name was chosen by the Eastern Sovereign, and that was indeed the case.

However, the name Taiyi was too grand for an ordinary person to use.

The Great Dao of Yin and Yang, the Supreme Taiyi.

Taiyi, the ultimate and supreme, is the center of the universe and the origin of all things.

Only the Eastern Sovereign had the grand vision to name her daughter Taiyi.

The appearance of a new Holy Maiden in the Jade Pond Holy Land didn’t attract much attention. They naturally wouldn’t spread Shaohua’s new name, calling her Holy Maiden in public and respectfully referring to her as little ancestor in private.

Shaohua quickly adapted to this world, not rushing to make any further breakthroughs.

Her cultivation was sufficient; the eight steps to sainthood were merely to reassure the younger generations.

Continuously advancing in realms held no meaning for her.

If she wished, she could reclaim her past Dao Fruit at any time, but it wouldn’t bring any improvement and would only waste this life’s opportunity, which she couldn’t accept.

What was more important was to find new insights and revelations, to pave the way forward, broaden the Great Dao, and seek the transformation of her Dao Fruit.

"The Primordial Sage Body Dao Embryo is indeed remarkable. When I have free time, I can create a scripture to leave for Xiaowushi", Shaohua thought to herself.

As for the transformation of her Dao Fruit, she had some ideas...

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end