Chapter 292: The Sage Unknown and Being Born from Nothingness_2
For everyone present, this single seed quota was the threshold to the Unity Realm Stage, undoubtedly a vast opportunity.
Although it was possible to obtain a ranking without the seed quota, the chances were slim.
In the Luotian Realm, there were many powerful experts, and not even those at the Void Refining Stage could necessarily enter the top hundred, let alone the top thirty-two.
Thus, everyone here was vying for that one spot from Shen Yuan.
The most likely candidate, Ji Zhaoyang, lost his chance by pursuing Ji Xuanyi, so naturally the seed quota should belong to them.
Everyone was tempted, but Jian Qingyun from the Qingming Great World threw cold water on their aspirations.
"All the decision-making power lies with the master, so what's the use of your quarrels?
As long as the master is willing, even letting that Green Ox participate is possible."
As soon as these words were spoken, everyone's expressions froze for a moment, then their gazes collectively turned to the long-closed loft in quiet anticipation.
Within the loft, unseen by all below, Shen Yuan had ceased his cultivation.
In these three months, the assembly in the courtyard had offered up a total of six top-tier Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures, from which Shen Yuan, through the Taoist Status Grid, had invariably glimpsed the Great Tao True Words.
After resolving them all with the True Words of Supreme Tao Impartation, Shen Yuan felt as though he had gained control over a part of this realm.
The Procreative Nature Gate bestowed upon Shen Yuan an endless supply of the power of heaven and earth.
Melding with light, Shen Yuan merged with the heavens and earth, severing Tianji and obscuring causality, past and future alike indiscernible.
The Celestial Mortal Path expounded on the way of destiny, giving Shen Yuan deeper insights into the Incense Offering Divinity Path, and the grand trend of the Human Path.
Prosperity and calamity went hand in hand…
…
With each absorption of the Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures, Shen Yuan felt himself grow closer to this world.
However, after completely integrating the seven Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures, including the Procreative Nature Gate, Shen Yuan instead felt a form of resistance from heaven and earth.
The Luotian Realm seemed to be consciously opposing Shen Yuan, almost as if trying to expel him from the Luotian Realm.
If it were not for Shen Yuan's now partial control over the realm, which marked a significant improvement from when he first arrived, he would have been forcibly thrown out of the Primal Chaos Realm.
Even so, Shen Yuan felt as if he was nearing his limit.
"Is it because I've stolen the ways of this realm's heaven and earth that I've incited the resistance of the great Dao?"
Shen Yuan had an inkling, feeling that there had to be a deeper reason for this.
Yet, he wasn't particularly regretful about this outcome.
The All-Worlds Luotian Convention had already been quite rewarding, particularly since the Nine Breaths Qi Absorption Great Divine Power had advanced to the Second Realm a few days prior with the aid of the Procreative Nature Gate.
Even a return to his former state was acceptable to Shen Yuan at this point.
Besides… Shen Yuan vaguely sensed that the All-Worlds Luotian Convention might not be the endpoint of his journey in the Luotian Realm.
"If I could participate in the Luotian Convention of the Great Yin Imperial Dynasty thousands of years ago, then it's possible that thousands of years later the convention might open again. Could I then re-enter the Luotian Realm?"
Shen Yuan seemed enlightened.
At that moment, his gaze suddenly shifted towards the outside of the courtyard.
There, a disheveled figure in tattered Taoist robes approached the courtyard's main gate. It was the Great Yin Crown Prince, Ji Xuanyi.
An element of surprise flashed in Shen Yuan's eyes.
"Ji Zhaoyang has already sent people after him, how is it that this Great Yin Crown Prince is still alive?"
But that was as far as his interest went; Shen Yuan himself had no intention of acting.
He had already given Ji Zhaoyang enough help, and there was no need for Shen Yuan to compromise his identity as a Taoist in order to kill Ji Xuanyi.
Ji Xuanyi knelt outside the great gate, holding up two storage treasure boxes, and declared in a loud voice:
"Crown Prince Ji Xuanyi beseeches an audience with the Taoist by offering two Great Dao treasures!"
Upon hearing this, an uproar ensued among the inhabitants of the grotto heavens.
They had struggled to procure a single Heavenly Material and Earthly Treasure through their sect's ancestral heritage, so the fact that Ji Xuanyi could produce two was beyond their expectations.
"Let him enter,"
A fleeting voice arose, as if not belonging to this world, ready to transform into an immortal being and ascend at any moment.
The Green Ox guarding the gate, upon hearing these words, pushed open the grand doors, ushering Crown Prince Ji Xuanyi into the courtyard.
The moment he stepped into the courtyard, Crown Prince Ji Xuanyi finally let out a sigh of relief, his eyes flashing with the fortune of surviving a calamity.
Initially, relying on information left by the predecessors of the Great Yin Imperial Family and the protection of Marquis of Xinyang, Zhao Yuan, Ji Xuanyi easily obtained the first of the top-grade Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures.
But Ji Xuanyi was not content to be just an ordinary disciple in his sect. He wanted to contend with Ji Zhaoyang, so he set his sights on the shadow of a second Heavenly Material and Earthly Treasure.
For this, Ji Xuanyi plotted for months on end, seizing the treasures amidst the chaos of battles among various powers.
Just when he had succeeded, Ji Zhaoyang arrived with several Void Refining powerful experts to ambush him. Ji Xuanyi exhausted all his trump cards and, with Zhao Yuan's desperate assistance, only just managed to escape into Linzi City.
But his greatest reliance, Marquis of Xinyang Zhao Yuan, also fell amidst the attack of several Void Refining powerful experts.
For those two Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures, Ji Xuanyi had paid too much, so much so that he began to wonder if his painstaking plans were truly worth it at that moment.
But just a moment later, Ji Xuanyi suppressed the chaotic thoughts in his mind and his eyes regained their firmness.
As he stepped into the courtyard, Ji Xuanyi knelt down on both knees and voluntarily opened the two storage treasure boxes in his hand, revealing two strange Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures to everyone present.
One looked like a phantom of the moon's radiance, condensing into a figure sitting cross-legged, named: The Saint With No Name.
The other was merely a pitch-black void, as if nothing existed within it, named: Something from Nothing.
Inside the loft, Shen Yuan beckoned with his right hand, and the two Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures disappeared from Ji Xuanyi's hands.
Then the Great Tao True Words appeared and instantly merged into Shen Yuan's body.
With the two fragments of Great Tao True Words back in place, the powerful repulsion of the world reached its limits instantly, and everything in this world seemed to actively resist Shen Yuan's existence.
His originally solid figure now bore a faint sense of illusion as if peeling away from the world itself.
Forcefully suppressing the repulsion, Shen Yuan looked down at Ji Xuanyi and asked,
"What do you seek?"
With an excited expression emerging on his scar-covered face, Ji Xuanyi replied loudly,
"Disciple wishes to fight in the debate ceremony on behalf of Taoism, to bring fame to the Taoist!"
This was Ji Xuanyi's true purpose.
Taoism's Great Disciple was indeed extraordinary, but eventually, everyone would have to leave the Luotian Realm and return to the Primal Chaos Realm. After that, the title of Taoism's Great Disciple would no longer hold importance.
In contrast, the spot to participate in the debate ceremony almost represented a direct path to the Tao Harmony Stage, with a future value even surpassing that of the Great Disciple of Taoism.
One must know that even the current Mortal Emperor of the Great Yin was only at the Tao Harmony Stage; if Ji Xuanyi could climb to Tao Harmony, the throne of the Mortal Emperor would be within easy reach!
The chosen ones of other forces moved their lips to argue, yet they didn't know how to begin.
Everyone was aware that the two top-grade Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures were too important; they simply couldn't influence the Taoist's will.
Inside the loft, Shen Yuan watched expressionlessly Ji Xuanyi's fervent face and the corners of his mouth curved slightly upward.
"Good!"
The bland voice echoed within the courtyard. Ji Xuanyi's face lit up with ecstasy, about to respond.
The next moment, time and space within this realm seemed to freeze.
Then, a voice as commanding as heavenly decree rang in the ears of all the heaven-defying Tao Test participants,
"Due to the emergence of karmic variances, this All-Worlds Luotian Convention concludes prematurely!"
Dark vortexes appeared beside each participant, effortlessly engulfing them, vanishing from the Luotian Realm.
This naturally included Ji Xuanyi, whose expression was frozen in ecstasy.
Once all the heaven-defying Tao Test participants had disappeared, it seemed as though their absence had no effect on the Luotian Realm, caught in a temporal standstill.
Shen Yuan's gaze pierced through the universe, taking in the entirety of the frozen Luotian Realm. Then, a tremendous presence quietly emerged beside him.
Shen Yuan slowly stood up and stepped into it, leaving behind but a brief message echoing through the Luotian Realm,
"I look forward to our next encounter!"