“I, the Eastern Prince, have come to pay my respects to the three Daoist friends.”
On this day, a voice crossed space from outside Kunlun Mountain — it was the Eastern Prince visiting.
Yuan Yi stepped out of his cave and looked toward the outer area of Kunlun.
What was the Eastern Prince doing here at Kunlun? Was he trying to win over the Three Pure Ones (Sanqing)?
Besides that, Yuan Yi couldn’t think of any other reason.
As for coming to provoke them — Yuan Yi didn’t believe the Eastern Prince would have the guts.
“Please, fellow Daoist, come in.”
A voice responded from the main peak of Kunlun Mountain.
Three figures appeared in the void — it was the Three Pure Ones.
This was the first time Yuan Yi had ever seen the eldest of the Three Pure Ones — their First Senior Uncle, Taiqing.
An old man in appearance, with white hair and beard, his face calm and serene, and his aura extremely peaceful.
Standing there, he actually seemed less imposing than Yuqing and Shangqing, exuding an ancient, unadorned simplicity.
But Yuan Yi knew — this seemingly unimpressive old Daoist was an absolute top figure in the prehistoric world (Honghuang) — he had been so in the past, and was even more so now.
In fact, Yuan Yi couldn’t think of anyone in Honghuang, besides the Dao Ancestor Hongjun, who could break through his defenses.
He already wielded a Postnatal Merit Treasure, known as invincible when standing on the ground and immune to all magic.
Now, with the addition of the Innate Treasure Taiji Diagram protecting him, his cultivation was simply unfathomable.
Perhaps only the legendary Twelve Heavenly Fiends Formation of the Twelve Ancestor Witches could give him a trial.
Outside Kunlun, a figure took a step and entered Kunlun — vitality of all things emanated from him, he wore a nine-fold crown, robes like clouds and mist, and carried an extraordinary air — the Eastern Prince.
The four greeted each other, then ascended Kunlun and disappeared from sight.
“So that’s the Eastern Prince, the leader of male immortals? Why did he come to see our master and senior uncles?”
Bixiao, who had somehow snuck over again, stood to the side, gazing curiously toward the Kunlun main peak.
Yunxiao glanced at Yuan Yi, but Yuan Yi had no intention of speaking.
“Maybe he came to invite our masters,” Yunxiao replied briefly.
This one wasn’t foolish — she seemed somewhat aware of the situation in Honghuang, hence her guess.
“But such matters have little to do with us. Our cultivation is still shallow. It’s better we focus on improving ourselves. Bixiao, you shouldn’t keep disturbing Senior Brother’s cultivation.”
She scolded Bixiao along the way — since among the three sisters, Bixiao was indeed the least diligent in cultivation and had the slightly weaker realm.
Yuan Yi agreed with Yunxiao’s words.
At the moment, all they could do was watch and listen to the great affairs of Honghuang from afar.
Being able to quietly cultivate under the protection of Kunlun, without being swept up into the tides of great events, was already an incredible fortune that countless beings could only dream of.
Without such protection, they would have struggled just to control their own fates, let alone participate in the grand affairs of Honghuang.
Without sufficient vision and understanding, those who tried would only end up as cannon fodder — perhaps even a mere aftershock from some battle could erase their existence.
This was not yet their era — this was the era of the Innate Divine Beings.
Right now, Yuan Yi only had interest in observing and listening to Honghuang’s affairs.
He neither had the strength to participate nor much desire to do so.
His main goal was simply to protect himself. Fortunately, time was still abundant for him.
Especially since he harbored too many doubts in his heart — there were far too many mysteries of Honghuang that he could not yet see through.
Without firm understanding, he dared not speak carelessly or act recklessly.
No rush, there was still time.
First, he would watch the innate divine beings fight it out, wait for the seniors to “drop gold coins” (reveal opportunities), and carefully observe the true state of this Honghuang world.
Hundreds of years later, the Eastern Prince left Kunlun.
What he had discussed with the Three Pure Ones (Sanqing), Yuan Yi and the others did not know — they could only guess, but none of them took it to heart.
Yuan Yi’s guess was the same as Yunxiao’s: the Eastern Prince had probably come to seek an alliance with the Three Pure Ones to plan major events in Honghuang.
But it was highly likely he had been rejected.
It was almost impossible that they would agree — not to mention submitting under someone else; even being considered equals with the Eastern Prince was probably unacceptable to them.
Yuan Yi vaguely noticed that after leaving Kunlun, the Eastern Prince did not return to his own eastern Daoist temple, but instead headed west.
It seemed that his master and senior uncles were not his only intended visitors.
The Eastern Prince’s visit had no impact on Kunlun’s current situation — everything continued as usual.
The Three Pure Ones remained in secluded cultivation, meditating and discussing the Dao.
Yuan Yi and the others would occasionally listen to their teachings, then cultivate on their own.
Yuan Yi was even fortunate enough to visit the main peak of Kunlun a few times — it was magnificent and majestic, but somewhat plain.
There were no grand palaces or luxurious cave dwellings — only a simple, unremarkable courtyard, which was the shared residence of the Three Pure Ones.
Aside from the profoundness in terms of Dao, in terms of external grandeur and comfort, it was actually less luxurious than the cave dwelling Yuan Yi had built for himself.
In this aspect, Yuan Yi was more indulgent — he had slightly more worldly desires.
He had initially refined the mid-grade innate spiritual treasure, the Crown of Dust, and had made some progress in the Five Element arts.
The innate Yin-Yang energies he was refining also showed advancement — all areas of his cultivation were steadily improving.
In fact, his cultivation speed was even a little faster than the three Xiaos (Sanxiao) who had entered Kunlun around the same time, including Yunxiao, who was the most diligent.
In cultivation, time became meaningless.
Yuan Yi had gradually adapted to the concept of time in Honghuang, where even a shallow period of closed-door cultivation could span several thousand or tens of thousands of years.
As for deeper cultivation retreats — there was no upper limit.
Yuan Yi had sometimes thought about venturing out to explore, but unfortunately, his strength did not allow it.
The fame and protection of the Three Pure Ones were enough to shelter them within Kunlun, but not enough to let them roam freely across Honghuang.
Thus, most of his time was spent in secluded cultivation, occasionally wandering around Kunlun, at most teasing Qiongxiao and Bixiao whenever they came by to visit.
Yunxiao was too serious, and thus, less entertaining.
Cultivation had actually become the thing Yuan Yi enjoyed the most.
However, the baleful aura he was forcibly suppressing became harder to contain — it showed signs of worsening.
Because of this, Yuan Yi often kept Bixiao and the others at a distance for a long while.
Although he hadn’t become close friends with others like Duobao, he had become somewhat familiar with them.
Duobao was a money-lover.
Jinling had a fiery temper, strong combat abilities but average communication skills.
Wudang was like a transparent person — seemingly without temper or presence.
Among the three, Jinling had the strongest cultivation on the surface, while Wudang appeared to be the weakest.
But Yuan Yi suspected that the true weakest might actually be Senior Brother Duobao.
Of course, since Duobao had a lot of treasures, if he started hurling spiritual treasures in battle, his strength might rise to another level.
However, Duobao loved seeking treasures — much like a fisherman who loved the act of fishing more than eating the fish itself.
Thus, his control over his spiritual treasures was somewhat lacking — he had quantity but not refinement.
The Southern Pole Elder under the second senior uncle’s tutelage — Nanji Xianweng — was someone whose cultivation depth Yuan Yi couldn’t quite gauge.
He could only roughly guess that it was about the same as Jinling’s, and that he was close to ascending to the Taiyi Realm.
His combat abilities were not weak, but he wasn’t particularly fond of fighting.
Deeply influenced by the second senior uncle, he was very proper and disciplined, rarely taking action even during Daoist debates.
Unknowingly, nearly a whole yuanhui (an ancient time unit, often tens of thousands of years) had passed.
What startled Yuan Yi out of his secluded cultivation was a major event that shook the entire Honghuang world.
Over the East Sea, the Eastern Prince established the Immortal Court on Three Immortals Island, announcing to all beings of Honghuang his intent to set order among the world’s living beings and to lead the immortal way.
A majestic, overwhelming voice echoed across all of Honghuang, resonating within the hearts and minds of all beings.
Borrowing the title of “First among Male Immortals” bestowed by the Dao Ancestor, he declared himself the sovereign of male immortals.
Many innate divine beings gathered to follow him, and vast waves of destiny converged upon the Three Immortals Island.
At that moment, golden lotuses bloomed across the void, auspicious clouds stretched for ten thousand miles, the sound of the Dao filled the air without cease, and countless miraculous phenomena appeared.
Moreover, a mighty flood of Heavenly Merit rained down, engulfing heaven and earth, pooling into a vast sea.
Yuan Yi and the others stepped out of their cave dwellings, gazing towards the East Sea.
Countless others across Honghuang did the same.
However, people’s reactions varied.
Among the Three Pure Ones, only two revealed their forms and stood in the sky — the eldest senior uncle did not show himself at all, seeming utterly indifferent.
Regardless, for all beings of Honghuang, the founding of the Immortal Court was a monumental event, one destined to be a brilliant stroke across the long river of time.
But was this truly the beginning of a new golden age?
Time would tell.
The Immortal Court aimed to guide the immortal way, to set rules and order for all the immortal beings of Honghuang — no easy task.
Even with the prestigious title of “First among Male Immortals” recognized by the Dao Ancestor, not everyone would accept his authority.
The Eastern Prince was no ordinary innate divine being, but his personal prestige was still far from enough to command universal respect.
In terms of power, it was even worse — true cultivation and Dao attainment were the foundation of standing tall.
Yuan Yi lazily sat in the pavilion before his cave dwelling, his golden eyes gazing eastward.
The first person to step onto the center stage of this era had appeared.
Unfortunately, in Yuan Yi’s view, it would have been better to accumulate resources steadily and declare kingship later.
No — Yuan Yi shook his head — it wasn’t a matter of timing.
The Eastern Prince had never truly had a chance from the start.
The further along the timeline stretched, the less advantageous it would become for him.
Instead, he would only gradually erode the little prestige he had as the “First among Male Immortals.”
The Eastern Prince should have acted earlier — perhaps during the time when the Dao Ancestor was still manifest in the world.
Otherwise, he should have given up entirely, for he lacked the foundation and the power to truly succeed.
Clearly, the Eastern Prince was unwilling to resign himself to mediocrity.
His previous visit to Kunlun — apart from extending an invitation — might also have been an act of probing.
Would there be any spoils to pick up if the Immortal Court collapsed and the Eastern Prince was eliminated?
Yuan Yi pondered briefly, then immediately gave up on the idea.
He didn’t have the strength for it — he wasn’t even qualified to “pick up trash.”
What was he thinking?
As for relying on his master Tongtian (one of the Three Pure Ones)?
The more Yuan Yi observed, the more he realized how deep and treacherous the waters of Honghuang were.
Things were not as simple as he had initially thought — his shallow understanding was useless to the level of quasi-saints.
Tongtian certainly wouldn’t base decisions on the words of a mere Golden Immortal.
No quasi-saint would.
Besides, for Yuan Yi, having a rough sense of the overall trends of the world was his only advantage.
If he changed anything without being able to control the outcomes, he would lose even that advantage — gaining nothing, and possibly courting disaster.
Sure, he would love to meet the ancestral witch Houtu, or at least get familiar with her.
But did he dare?
If he went, he’d likely just be cannon fodder — “familiar” alright, roasted familiar — and not even guaranteed to qualify to be presented before Houtu herself.
Smoothing out his messy hair and stretching lazily, Yuan Yi simply lay down — sitting wasn’t as comfortable as lying flat anyway.
The affairs of the world fall into two categories:
Those that concern me, and those that do not.
Right now, they did not concern him.
Rather than worry about the quasi-saints’ struggles, it was far more meaningful to figure out a way to trick Bixiao into getting scolded by Yunxiao again.
Although, it wasn’t easy to trick Qiongxiao — that one was quite black-hearted herself.
Every time she tried to push the blame onto Bixiao, she usually ended up getting caught by Yunxiao anyway.
Raising his hand lazily, a spirit fruit from within the cave flew into his grasp.
Yuan Yi was just about to take a bite when he paused, lowering his head to inspect the fruit — the corner of his eye twitched.
Which scoundrel had put a half-eaten fruit into his fruit plate?!
It still had clear teeth marks!
Was some rat cultivating into a spirit?
Very quickly, Yuan Yi’s face darkened — every spirit fruit in the plate had teeth marks.
This wasn’t a rat — this was the work of a damn monkey spirit!
Such wanton waste… Only a certain Great Sage from the Peach Garden would do something like this.
Was it Qiongxiao’s doing? Or did Qiongxiao push Bixiao to do it?
When did they do it?
How utterly immoral.
Looking at the bitten fruits, Yuan Yi’s eyes were full of disgust.
He casually buried them in the ground.
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