After spending an entire day conversing with his master, Tian Hao gained a broader understanding of cultivation and grew even more eager for the path ahead. With renewed determination, he set off toward Dao Court.
Several decades later.
Tian Hao's name had spread across all the dominant powers of the world. As long as one was not from some remote corner of the world, they would have heard of his reputation.
During the Eternal Heavenly Prodigy Gathering, he overpowered all the heroes of the world and became the greatest prodigy in history!
Such immense fame only pushed him to cultivate even harder. Upon returning from Dao Court, every breakthrough he made sent shockwaves throughout the world.
Time flew by.
20,000 years passed in the blink of an eye.
The mortal world had taken on a new landscape. Dao Court remained the strongest sect, yet many powerful orthodox Daoist factions had risen as well. If they were to unite, they would possess the power to overthrow Dao Court.
Despite its self-righteous nature, Dao Court never actively declared war on other sects or empires, which allowed relative peace to persist. However, from a cosmic perspective, this was merely a surface-level peace.
At Wushi Dao Field, even the weakest cultivators had reached the Heaven and Earth Flying Immortal Realm. Lu Xian, An Xin, Blood Prison Saint, and Tian Yao'er had all attained the Unrestrained Primordial Immortal Realm.
As for Tian Hao, he had stepped into the Wondrous Mystical Spirit Immortal Realm, and not just at the early stages—he had reached the ninth layer! Compared to him, all other so-called geniuses paled in comparison.
Moreover, with three Dao treasures bestowed upon him by Gu An, no one below the Dao Repository Free Immortal Realm could hope to match him.
These three treasures were three long spears, each imbued with a different Grand Dao power—named Divine Punishment, Heavenly Punishment, and Immortal Punishment.
Despite Gu An's favoritism toward Tian Hao, none of the disciples at Wushi Dao Field harbored any resentment. They all acknowledged Tian Hao's unparalleled talent. Even Blood Prison Saint had no choice but to concede.
20,000 years had passed, and Tian Hao had become the one they all sought to surpass.
Under the vast starry sky, atop the peak of a colossal mountain, stood a serene palace.
Inside the palace, Ji Xiaoyu sat in meditation upon a jade platform, gray mist swirling around her—an embodiment of Dao power.
A figure suddenly appeared in the great hall—it was none other than Sun and Moon Nether Emperor.
Bowing deeply, Sun and Moon Nether Emperor raised his head to look at Ji Xiaoyu and reported, "Your Majesty, the one known as the greatest prodigy of the world, Tian Hao, has arrived in the Yin-Yang Immortal Domain. He has stepped into our territory, claiming he seeks the Yin-Yang Reincarnation Flower. Judging by his posture, he is determined to obtain it. He wields three supreme treasures, each no weaker than a World-Tier Supreme Treasure. Our people cannot stop him."
As he spoke of Tian Hao, his expression was incredibly complicated.
As early as 20,000 years ago, he had already heard that a peerless prodigy had emerged in the central region of the Great World. At first, he assumed the rumors were exaggerated.
However, now that he had encountered Tian Hao in person, he realized that not only were the rumors true, but they might have even underestimated him.
Tian Hao's cultivation talent was already heaven-defying, but his combat talent was even more terrifying.
Ji Xiaoyu slowly opened her eyes, gazing down at Sun and Moon Nether Emperor as she asked, "You mentioned before that he hails from Qiankun Sect. What exactly is the background of this sect?"
Sun and Moon Nether Emperor responded, "It is truly strange—Qiankun Sect has no world-shaking figures, yet they have produced such an unparalleled genius. However, I did hear a rumor that an Immortal resides within their sect's forbidden grounds. That Immortal supposedly only protects Qiankun Sect's native land, though the truth of this remains unknown."
Upon hearing this, Ji Xiaoyu's gaze flickered with intrigue.
She fell silent for a moment before saying, "Let him proceed. Let him venture into other territories as well. There is no need to inform the other Three Emperors."
Sun and Moon Nether Emperor was startled but did not question her decision. He merely nodded in acknowledgment before swiftly departing.
Watching the endless night sky beyond her palace, Ji Xiaoyu murmured to herself, "Is it you… Tian Hao? An Hao… You truly are remarkable. No matter the era, you always manage to cultivate an unparalleled genius."
She calculated with her fingers, her expression growing increasingly complicated.
Tian Hao's rate of cultivation was utterly astonishing, making even legendary prodigies of the past seem insignificant in comparison.
At this pace, he would become the undisputed strongest within a million years.
Even the once-mighty Saint Tian, were he still alive, would only serve as a stepping stone for him.
Taking a deep breath, Ji Xiaoyu's gaze toward the starry sky hardened with resolve.
Perhaps… it was time for her to take that step forward.
At dawn, Gu An was accompanying Shen Zhen in painting. The two sat beside a waterfall, surrounded by mountains and rivers, the scenery breathtaking.
Shen Zhen was painting the Heavenly Spirit God exorcising demons, while Gu An was painting Ji Xiaoyu cultivating.
Glancing at his work, Shen Zhen snorted, "It seems you really miss your Third Miss. Why don't you go look for her in the cycle of reincarnation?"
Gu An replied, "She's not within reincarnation."
Shen Zhen had no interest in Ji Xiaoyu. Since he said so, she didn't pursue the matter further. Instead, she turned her focus back to her own painting, asking, "Look at mine. Did I capture the divine presence?"
Her Dao of Karma was becoming stronger. Even though her cultivation was far lower than the Heavenly Spirit God, she could still paint his past. Gu An knew that the Heavenly Spirit God himself had never noticed this.
After taking a glance at her work, Gu An said, "Not bad. But simply peering into his past—don't you find that a little dull?"
"This process helps me deepen my comprehension of the Grand Dao. Besides, it's not as boring as you think. I see many things that others cannot," Shen Zhen said smugly.
In her understanding, the Heavenly Spirit God was second only to Gu An. Since she couldn't paint Gu An, she could only paint the Heavenly Spirit God.
Gu An mused, "Perhaps you should create your own divine ability—one that only you can wield."
"Divine ability?"
Shen Zhen fell into thought.
Her cultivation was also at the Heaven and Earth Flying Immortal Realm, despite her lack of serious effort in training. This made her more and more confident, even believing she could surpass Tian Hao one day.
Gu An didn't believe she could catch up to Tian Hao, but her potential was truly limitless.
It wasn't just due to Fairy Yao Xuan's Dao of Karma, but also because of the Great Karma Monument that Yongsheng had utilized.
The Great Karma Monument was located within the River of Karma, which itself was a manifestation of the Grand Dao. To exist eternally within the Grand Dao, the Great Karma Monument was undoubtedly an unfathomable entity.
By sacrificing himself, Yongsheng had infused a portion of the Great Karma Monument's power into Shen Zhen. The longer she lived, the stronger this power would grow.
Gu An could foresee everyone's future, except for Shen Zhen's, whose future became increasingly obscure to him. It was as if some force was unraveling her karma, making him anticipate her growth even more.
While Shen Zhen was lost in thought, Gu An also contemplated his own Dao.
He realized it was time for him to develop a second Dao.
With the Dao Sovereign Art, Gu An had already begun glimpsing into the Three Thousand Daos, though he had only understood them at a conceptual level, not yet fully mastered them.
He sought to comprehend a supreme Dao—not something as profound and unpredictable as Karma, Fate, or Reincarnation, but something purely powerful.
Like the radiant sun in the sky, brilliant and awe-inspiring.
The Three Thousand Daos was merely a collective term; in truth, the number of Daos was uncertain. At the very least, Gu An had already glimpsed more than Three Thousand Daos.
From among them, he wished to choose the strongest and most direct Dao.
A Dao of Pure Strength!
After much deliberation, Gu An decided on the Dao of Strength.
The Dao of Strength was not merely physical strength, but rather, the embodiment of all power—to push all forms of manifested strength to their absolute limits. That was the Dao of Strength.
To prove the Dao through strength, one must prove it through great power, through boundless might.
The Dao of Strength existed everywhere. All living beings possessed physical strength, cultivated mystical power, demonic power, and other types of spiritual forces. All of these were possible because of the Dao of Strength.
Without hesitation, Gu An activated Lifespan Projection and chose the Dao of Strength.
As before, he expended 100 billion years of lifespan, and notifications flooded his vision in an instant.
However, this time, something was different!
He saw the Heavenly Spirit Great World!
Almost instantly, he felt a subtle shift in the Heavenly Spirit Great World.
It was as if a new existence had appeared.
Gu An calculated with his fingers, and his expression grew strange.
He couldn't discern his projected self, but he could see that Tian Hao had encountered a formidable enemy in the Yin-Yang Immortal Domain—his first-ever rival whom he could not defeat at the same cultivation level.