Chapter 23: Everyone Recruits Disciples, The Three Purities Separate

  This war between the two tribes of witches and demons lasted for ten years, finally coming to an end with the strong intervention of Hong Jun. The losses on both sides were heavy, with only about 200,000 people barely escaping disaster out of millions of troops. What a mutual destruction!

  The ancestor witch Zongheng was killed, and the great witch suffered countless losses. The demon clan was also miserable, with many demons lost, including two of the most powerful ones who were severely injured. Emperor Jun even lost his incarnation of the He River Map, and although he still had the Luoshu in his hand, his power was greatly reduced. Donghuang Taiyi was hit by Zongheng's "困兽之击" (a powerful attack), but managed to kill him with the power of the Donghuang Bell. However, the bell was severely damaged and could not be used for a short time, and his own cultivation was also greatly reduced.

  Under Hong Jun's dominance, the two tribes no longer fought and returned to their respective domains, one side recuperating and rejuvenating, while the other enjoyed the rights and status obtained at a great cost. The Wu tribe first renovated the mountain god temples in various places, dispatching Wu people to supervise the vast expanse of land. The Yao tribe then enfeoffed various Yao gods as Zhou Tian Dadi, each governing their respective domains. The Yao tribe was not satisfied with just obtaining the heavenly court's high position and, seeing that they could no longer take action in the vast expanse of land, decided to occupy the waterways. They then enfeoffed river gods and river masters in various rivers, lakes, and wetlands. At the same time, they coerced the Four Seas Dragon Tribe with their powerful forces, and the Four Seas Dragon Tribe, accustomed to enjoying pleasure for a long time and not skilled at fighting with others, was forced to surrender and acknowledge allegiance, thereby obtaining a position as a heavenly god, governing the four seas from then on.

  The Desolate World, after this Witch Demon Great War, although the living beings were devastated, the environment was not greatly damaged. After all, at that time, the two tribes were fighting for the Desolate Land. Neither of them wanted to destroy it, because if they seized a piece of ruins, no one would be willing to take it. Therefore, there were many hand-to-hand combats, but the methods of destroying the sky and exterminating the earth were rarely used. Without these witch demons' killings and plunderings all over the world, the living beings in the Desolate World had obtained a good development environment.

  Many mysterious beings with unknown origins began to appear on the Desolate Continent, traveling and wandering about in search of a master. It turned out that during the Great War between Sorcerers and Demons, ordinary people may not have witnessed it personally, but they had heard rumors of those brutal scenes, which frightened many people's hearts.

  Then people began to seek out famous teachers, one of whom was for that mysterious cultivation method. The Desolate World was different from the past, and many cultivation methods had not yet appeared, while the Daoist techniques of those great gods were not as widespread as they would be later on. Many people were like Zhou Cheng in the Primordial Era, relying on instinct to cultivate, swallowing and spitting out, gathering the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, filling themselves with the Desolate World's spiritual energy, and rapidly increasing their magical powers. However, their Dao heart did not make progress, cultivating the Great Dao but not entering the gate of the Dao, and there were countless such people.

  Secondly, it is desirable to seek a good refuge, so as to avoid suffering from unforeseen calamities when great difficulties arise. If one can obtain the protection of a superior being, then one can feel at ease in studying the great Tao and reciting the Huang Ting (Yellow Court) scriptures.

  The Witch-Yao Great War had a far-reaching impact on the gods, and the powerful destructive power of both tribes made even the great gods blush. As for the death of Zu Wu Zong Rong, it was even more astonishing, he was also one of the first gods to fall and return to nothingness since the creation of heaven and earth.

  Under the intimidation of the great gods, they all had a moment of consideration.

  Wuzhuangyuan announced to the entire Honghuang first, and then closed his eyes and did not come out. He thanked the guests for a thousand years. The two old turtles actually hid even deeper, from then on they made up their minds that except for listening to lectures in the Purple Mansion, they would never come out again, and they would carefully ponder the Great Way, so as to avoid ending up like Zhu Rong, whose body was destroyed and disappeared.

  Others are just the opposite. First, Laozi descended to the world and passed by Mount Songyang. He saw a man kneeling towards the mountain and asked him out of curiosity. It turned out that he was a cultivator who had been searching for a master. This person was also a spiritual being who had attained the Tao, but he had been searching for a famous teacher in the mountains and rivers. Every time he arrived at a place, he would kneel and worship for three months, regardless of whether there was a famous teacher in the mountain or not. If he didn't succeed after three months, he would go to another place. Laozi's method of cultivation emphasized non-action and required great perseverance and determination to learn. When he met this person, he calculated with his fingers and found that they had a master-disciple relationship, and the man's heart was firm and strong, like an unpolished jade.

  Laozi immediately accepted him as a disciple, gave him the name Xuandu, and no longer traveled, but returned directly to Mount Kunlun.

  The original method was different from Laozi's, he directly spread the news to Honghuang, all those who were destined, except for the Wu and Yao tribes, could go to Mount Kunlun to pay homage. At that time, countless people rushed to Mount Kunlun with excitement. When everyone arrived at Mount Kunlun, they found it was not easy to enter, far from what they had imagined earlier. It turned out that Mount Kunlun was covered with a large illusion array, and only those who could pass through it could become Yuanshi's disciples. In the end, thirteen people passed through the illusion array. Yuanshi immediately accepted twelve of them as his disciples, giving each of them a name, and they became the twelve Golden Immortal Masters of the Tianyi Sect later on. Only one person was left behind, who had a benevolent appearance.

  "How dare you, great immortal, not accept me as your disciple." The benevolent-looking man seemed somewhat indignant, having also passed that test fairly and squarely, why couldn't he become a disciple?

  "You and I have a master-disciple relationship, but no master-disciple distinction. However, you've passed that test, and not giving you an explanation would be unfair." The original thought for a moment, "You can temporarily be considered my nominal disciple, and there's no need to show respect or loyalty to the sect; you're free to leave at any time."

  "Please let the teacher give us a name!"

  "Very well, then let us give you the name of Lamp."

  "The lamp-wielding disciples pay their respects to the teacher!"

  Tongtian's actions were not as troublesome as expected. He directly chose a location on the vast land of Honghuang, set up a Daoist platform, and began to preach the great Dao every day. Those who came to listen would be accepted as disciples if they had fate with him; otherwise, their names would still be recorded. Suddenly, another wave of frenzy swept across Honghuang, as various spiritual beings and scattered cultivators from different tribes went to pay homage and join his sect. Tongtian was delighted to see so many people coming to listen to his teachings, and in the end, he accepted dozens of disciples, including a few who were quite pleasing to him - namely San Xiang, San Mu, and Duobao. The rest were all recorded as nominal disciples and brought back to Kunlun Mountain together.

  Tongtian returned once and the old face of Yuanshi immediately fell down.

  "Tongtian, you are indeed foolish and ignorant of the ways. It's fine that you've taken in disciples, but how could you be so reckless and bring back a multitude of followers, with humans and demons mixed together, and many being flying creatures and beasts? The Heavenly Way has its order, taking in disciples requires careful consideration of their qualifications and destiny, how can it be like this? Originally, the great Kunlun Mountain was majestic, but now it's been turned into a place of darkness and chaos, where is there even a hint of the scenery of an immortal paradise? Why not disperse the majority, leave behind only a few, and pass on the orthodox teachings, wouldn't that be enough?"

  "You're really overestimating yourself! Under the great Tao, all paths are equal. I'm willing to pass on my teachings to the masses of Honghuang, but you're not like that, hoarding your own secrets. Normally, I wouldn't bother with you, but now that I'm taking in disciples, you have the nerve to point fingers and draw pictures? Do you really think I'm afraid of you?"

  "You, you're being unreasonable! Everything I said is right, but your words are deceiving me."

  "You two, stop arguing as well. Everyone has their own way, and different paths are nothing to be surprised about." The old man looked at the tens of thousands of people waiting outside the temple for arrangements to pay their respects, but he also felt a headache. This Kunlun Mountain seems to have no peace now "It's just that there are so many people, it's not easy to arrange. Kunlun Mountain is likely to lose its serenity!"

  "Hmph, Big Brother Master, since you speak like that, I'll take the disciples to find another place to settle down, and won't occupy this humble Mount Kunlun of yours."

  "Hmph, very good!" Yuanyuan was overjoyed when she heard what Tongtian said. She had been looking down on him earlier, but now she was willing to send the plague god on his way, so as not to disturb her own cultivation.

  "If that's the case, then I'll find another way. Under the heavens, nothing is eternal, and the Three Pures are no longer united as one." Laozi saw the two of them arguing incessantly, without a shred of unity or harmony, and suddenly felt disheartened and listless.

  "That's great!" Opinions were quickly unified. The reason is simple, when you can't stand someone and can't take action to teach them a lesson, the best way is to stay far away from them, out of sight, out of mind.

  Laozi went to the place where he accepted his disciples, Mount Xiong'er, and built a temple called Zhong Ruo Gong. Every day, he would discuss Tao with Xuanyu, and in his spare time, he would refine elixirs in his furnace. Tongtian went to Jinhai Island in the Eastern Sea, which was not far from Qingqiu Mountain. He gathered thousands of immortals every day to expound on the great Tao of Hongyuan. Yuanshi saw off his two fellow disciples and immediately built a temple called Yuxu Gong at the top of Kunlun Mountain. Every day, he would open the temple and lecture on Tao, living more freely than before.

  After Zhou Cheng returned to the mountain, he was as usual, except for opening the altar to lecture on Taoism every day, and playing with his disciples. There wasn't a hint of being a saint. During this time, he often sensed that two people had come to deceive the living by leading them to the Western Pure Land, starting to spread the doctrine of no birth and no destruction. Some living beings were attracted to the extremely joyful world and entered his door. Zhou Cheng didn't care; they were all insignificant creatures, and if they could be saved, he would save them.

  While the people of Honghuang were busy recruiting disciples, he did not recruit any disciples and did not open the mountain gate. Outsiders were not allowed to enter, and those who went out were not concerned with their lives or deaths. Even so, the number of bystanders continued to increase, and the stone steps were no longer sufficient. The crowd sat on the ground, and the crowd began to spread to the foot of the main peak.

  Little Fish rushed to the internet cafe after class this afternoon, ready to update. I took a look at the situation this week, and it's half good and half bad. The clicks for fantasy novels are around 10 or so, while everything else is nowhere to be seen, including new book performances. Little Fish doesn't know what to say, it's still the same old saying, the big shots are being suffocated by votes, but they don't care about those few votes, what they want is monthly tickets. And if everyone just gives a small portion of their votes to Little Fish, Little Fish might become Big Fish!! There will be another update this afternoon, hoping for everyone's support. It's hard being a new author, and it's even harder for new authors who write in internet cafes.