A single bell toll sounded, shaking the Three Realms. Gu Xichen's Three Corpses Primordial Spirits manifested above his head, the Primordial Yin Mystic Pearl and the Primordial Yang Mystic Pearl reflecting each other brilliantly. The Chaos Bell hung high in the void, emitting a dull, resonant roar that violently spun the stars of the heavens, caused the Thirty-Three Heavens to tremble, and struck terror into the hearts of every living being in the Three Realms.

The Fire Crow had vanished without a trace; a wisp of primordial spirit nurtured within it for years had now merged completely with the Primal Heavenly Demon. The robust Primal Heavenly Demon, flawless in every aspect of his physique, emanated a chilling, evil light from his eyes. He offered a strange, bowing smile toward Gu Xichen, then a Daoist robe materialized upon him.

Following this, he transformed into a streak of spiritual light and vanished into the Chaos Bell. The Primal Heavenly Demon seated himself at the core of the Chaos Bell. The Bell continuously generated an endless flow of Chaos Spiritual Qi, which the Demon used to cultivate while simultaneously comprehending the supreme Heavenly Dao recorded within the Bell—a Dao originating from another universe.

Gu Xichen's main body sat upon his throne, gazing down upon Daoist Xiaozhang and Daoist Zhengyi from a superior vantage point. Endless mysteries of the Heavenly Dao slowly flowed through Gu Xichen’s heart. Purple Qi rose within his Sea of Consciousness, golden light illuminating the surroundings.

The colossal Taiji vortex that had long resided in his Sea of Consciousness began to spin rapidly, and that aged voice started reciting its understanding of the Heavenly Dao once more. However, this time, the voice had barely uttered a few sentences before Gu Xichen’s eyes narrowed. Billions of streaks of purple, green, and gold divine lightning roared down into his Purple Mansion and Sea of Consciousness, smashing the Taiji vortex to pieces.

A strand of spiritual consciousness hidden within the vortex transformed into a beam of light, soaring upward, attempting to escape Gu Xichen’s Sea of Consciousness. Just then, the Chaos Bell boomed mightily, and a massive hand reached out from within, grasping that wisp of spiritual consciousness. The Primal Heavenly Demon burst into maniacal laughter: "Hongjun, it was a wisp of your primordial spirit causing trouble!

Heh, I'll eat you!" Opening his maw wide, the Primal Heavenly Demon swallowed Hongjun’s fragmented spirit without hesitation. Although it was merely a fragment of Hongjun, it contained an immensely vast power. The Primal Heavenly Demon’s form swelled slightly, and the arm that had been destroyed by the tricolored sword qi instantly recovered.

As the Hongjun fragment parasitic in Gu Xichen's Sea of Consciousness was annihilated, boundless streams of chaotic airflow erupted from Gu Xichen's body. A sheet of brilliant light manifested behind him and his Three Corpses Primordial Spirits, suddenly illuminating the Three Realms. His spiritual perception was sharp, his mind clear; under Gu Xichen's gaze, every being and object in the Three Realms was perfectly visible.

Looking down upon the terrified and weak-kneed Daoist Xiaozhang and Daoist Zhengyi, Gu Xichen scratched his head with a hint of annoyance. "Alas, this is a headache. I took Zhao Gongming’s Sea Calming Pearls, and haven't settled that karmic debt, yet I’ve just blasted him into ashes." Frowning deeply, Gu Xichen calculated using his fingers for a moment, remaining thoughtful for a full quarter of an hour before finally letting out a cold laugh.

"Forget it. They indeed left a fallback. Within the guiding lamps before their master, they left a sliver of their spiritual essence.

Though their main bodies were destroyed, their souls were not utterly annihilated." Nodding, Gu Xichen stated calmly, "The countless years of hard cultivation by Grand Master Xuandu and Yun Zhongzi have gone to waste. But as for Zhao Gongming, I stole his Sea Calming Pearls, so I will repay him with a physical body equivalent to a Da Luo Golden Immortal. That should balance the scales.

Should we meet again in the future, his demise is destined." After a few cold chuckles, Gu Xichen frowned as he pondered. "The Heavenly Dao is now nearly complete. This position of Sage...

Alas, without achieving Sainthood, even grasping all the rules of the Heavenly Dao leaves one without proper authority. Driving the power of the Heavenly Dao is proving difficult." He lowered his head in contemplation for a moment, yet Gu Xichen understood a subtle aspect of the Heavenly Dao regulations that wasn't listed in the rules of the Heavenly Dao. This structure of the Heavenly Dao was akin to the functional departments of a government in the mortal world: only by holding a specific position could one wield a certain measure of authority.

Just like Hongjun, who was the supreme leader of the government, he commanded the entire Heavenly Dao. The various Sages were the heads of the government's various ministries; they too could command immense power from the Heavenly Dao. Now, although Gu Xichen held mastery over all the regulations of the Heavenly Dao, he had not yet become a Sage.

This equated to being an external contractor for the government. Though he understood the operational rules, the efficiency of every department, and understood everything thoroughly, he was not an official member of the government. Even if he could leverage his personal connections to mobilize various forces to his will, it remained improper, making it difficult to smoothly command the power of the Heavenly Dao.

After musing briefly, Gu Xichen sighed softly and looked up at the sky. "Today, the wind is gentle and the sun is fair, the weather is pleasant. Hmm, the timing isn't bad either.

While it isn't an auspicious date on the calendar, there are no major calamities or obstacles. Having resolved so many troubles and uncovered so many roots of karma and destiny, my luck is quite good." "Forget it, I'll just casually take advantage of this opportunity to become a Sage. It’s not a major event; no need for a grand ceremony." Shrugging his shoulders, Gu Xichen let out an utterly casual, heaven-shaking roar.

"There are no Sages left in the Three Realms. Now, my good fortune allows me, Gu Xichen, to ascend to the Dao smoothly, preparing to oversee the Heavenly Dao for the long term, acting as its guardian!" Back when the Sages achieved their enlightenment in the Primordial Era, it truly caused the Three Realms to shake, with all manner of celestial phenomena arising spontaneously. All beings understood that a Sage had arrived and would bow in worship toward that direction.

But Gu Xichen’s great shout was supposed to resonate throughout the Three Realms as well; however, he casually unleashed a spiritual incantation, forcibly confining that shout within the Lingxiao Grand Hall. Aside from those within the Lingxiao Grand Hall, no one else knew that a new Sage had emerged in the Three Realms. Aside from those within the Lingxiao Grand Hall, no one else knew that a Heavenly Dao Spokesperson Sage, who now controlled the Wheel of the Heavenly Dao and overshadowed all other Sages, had been born.

The Wheel of the Heavenly Dao was right before Gu Xichen’s eyes, and his divine sense controlled its entire functionality. Under his control, no purple Qi rose in the Three Realms, no heavenly flowers descended, no celestial music delighted the ears—none of the usual phenomena of achieving Sainthood occurred. Just as Gu Xichen had said, he was becoming a Sage casually; it wasn't a big deal, so no elaborate display was necessary.

This way of thinking stemmed from Gu Xichen having inherited the mindset of the ancient Demon Gods. Only those ancient Demon Gods, whose casual power rivaled that of a Sage, would truly not regard achieving Sainthood as anything remarkable. Becoming a Sage was merely acquiring a functional position within the governmental structure established by the Heavenly Dao.

Those Demon Gods, however, were like regional overlords who carved out their own domains; their power was in no way inferior to these official functionaries, so naturally, they paid no heed to Sages. Flicking his sleeve and dusting off his backside, Gu Xichen stood up. He spat out a gout of true fire, completely refining all the restrictive formations within the Lingxiao Grand Hall.

He condensed the control methods for these formations into several dozen spiritual essence orbs and flung them across the void toward the lower realms. Emperor Corpse, Guo Hua, Siren, Prajna Mahā, and the others felt a sudden itch between their brows; each received a spiritual essence orb, instantly gaining mastery over the control methods for the Thirty-Three Heavens. In the orb, Gu Xichen casually informed them that he had achieved Sainthood and that the title of Evil Dragon Sage Lord was now truly deserved.

They only needed to know amongst themselves; there was absolutely no need to boast or spread it wildly outside. In Gu Xichen's words within the spiritual orb: "It's not a grand matter, merely achieving Sainthood. There's no need to flaunt it outwardly, lest people say that the disciples of our Nine Nether Dao are uncultured bumpkins who make a fuss over trifles." Emperor Corpse was speechless.

Guo Hua was speechless. Everyone was struck dumb. Achieving Sainthood...

without any discernible phenomenon, this fellow had just become a Sage? How could the ancient Sages feel about this? This fellow achieved sainthood with such nonchalance.

In the Lingxiao Grand Hall, Gu Xichen, leading the immortals and deities who revered him as a god, approached Daoist Xiaozhang and Daoist Zhengyi. He stated coldly, "You did not work diligently enough when you were on the mining planet back then!" With a long sigh, Gu Xichen sneered, "Given the lingering thread of connection between Kunlun, Zhongnan, and my Nine Nether Dao, return from whence you came. This time, I wonder who dares to rescue you." With a sweep of his great sleeve, all the immortals and cultivators in the Three Realms who practiced the Daoist methods of the Kunlun and Zhongnan schools suddenly felt their vision go dark.

They were instantly transported to a mineral planet buried deep underground, filled with tunnels and mining pits. Gu Xichen's cold and ruthless voice echoed in their ears: "Here, you shall remain laborers for eternity. This is the Heavenly Dao’s punishment for you!" Millions of Nine Nether Dao disciples and Hadwoll soldiers appeared in the mine shafts.

Gu Xichen imprinted some information onto their primordial spirits; they now understood their mission: they were the overseers of the Kunlun and Zhongnan disciples. If those disciples dared to slack off or fail to mine diligently, the overseers could deal with them as they saw fit. The phrase "deal with them as they saw fit" carried an implicit, bloody weight.

In Sanlian City, the storm was gathering. Within the control core of Sanlian City, countless slender, dark shadows flickered rapidly within the enormous crystal sphere—the Rainbow. The voices of Mahabrahma, Shiva, and Vishnu were heard, each accusing and harshly reprimanding the others.

Listening closely, it was clear they were blaming others for failing to advance together with a unified effort, accusing them of dragging their own feet. They were all roaring, suggesting that if not for being delayed by the others, they would have seized the Thirty-Three Heavens long ago and achieved Sainthood successfully. Having been entangled in the Buddhist sects for so many years, coupled with their cultivation of secret demonic arts derived from the Ancient Demon Gods, these Protector Heavens possessed formidable life-saving divine abilities.

Grand Master Xuandu and the others had annihilated the main bodies and divine souls of Mahabrahma and his peers, but the sliver of true spirit they had left in Sanlian City allowed them to retain all their memories and life imprints. Had the immense demonic power of Sanlian City still existed, they could have used that formidable energy to rapidly restore their main bodies and magic power from that single thread of true spirit, even if their physical forms were destroyed and their divine souls shattered. Unfortunately, the vast demonic power of Sanlian City had been tricked away by Grand Master Xuandu and his company.

The remaining power within Sanlian City was only enough to restore the physical body and magic power of any one of the three: Mahabrahma, Shiva, or Vishnu. With such scarce demonic energy, how could they decide? Naturally, they could only engage in mutual shouting, cursing, and mutual roaring accusations.

Just as the leaders of this group of Protector Heavens were cursing each other with deep-seated hatred, a faint breeze suddenly swept through the main control room. Gu Xichen, hands clasped behind his back, elegantly appeared before the crystal sphere. Mahabrahma and the others screamed in terror, hastily transforming into gusts of wind, attempting to flee.

But the moment the winds rose, they instantly dissipated. The true spirits and magic power of Mahabrahma and the others were entirely extinguished; they could only remain clustered within the crystal sphere, utterly unable to escape. Gu Xichen gazed coldly at the Protector Heavens and suddenly sneered, "Killing you all would truly be a waste." With a flash of his form, the Primal Heavenly Demon suddenly appeared before them.

A surge of demonic power, trillions of times purer and its aura billions of times more ancient than that of Mahabrahma and the others, swept out. The Protector Heavens stared blankly at the Primal Heavenly Demon, then abruptly shouted in unison: "Ancestor! Why are you here?" Gu Xichen smiled.

A quarter of an hour later, the Protector Heavens each offered a sliver of their true spirit, which Gu Xichen inscribed into a Primordial Spirit restriction tablet. The Protector Heavens became the guardians of Gu Xichen's Primal Heavenly Demon avatar. Day and night they worshipped the Primal Heavenly Demon, offering him endless streams of faith power.

With the Thirty-Three Heavens secured in his grasp, the Protector Heavens became his personal guard. After finishing all this, Gu Xichen quietly returned to the mortal realm. Re-establishing the order of the Three Realms and rebuilding the functional departments of the Three Realms would require the superb administrative skills of Fu Ya and Ming Gao!

Little Gu had become a Sage, and new disputes and conflicts were yet to unfold... Two chapters today, over 105,000 words total. Pig Head is resting now.

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