“Ah… Martial Uncle actually couldn’t defeat a fourth-level puppet?”

“How is this possible? Among us, this is considered below average, right?”

“Is he really a disciple of the Patriarch?”

The other cultivators looked at each other in disbelief. Some even felt a hint of contempt towards Martial Uncle, thinking that he was nothing special.

“Do you have any objections? So what if he can’t defeat a fourth-level puppet!”

Only Yiji, the Divine Demon, was delighted. He felt that he should be closer to Martial Uncle. Unable to bear the criticism from the people around him, he couldn’t help but shout at them.

Xu Zong, on the other hand, was completely unaware and didn’t feel offended at all.

Based on his current understanding of the Dao, it was normal to not be able to defeat a fourth-level puppet.

After all, even Ji Ning, who had participated in the Immortal Destiny Conference, had already comprehended two complete minor Daos and even reached the Sword Domain. He had barely defeated a fourth-level puppet.

Sword Dao was one of the eighty-one great Daos, and it was the most proficient in attack among the Daos. Ji Ning’s understanding of the Dao at that time was much stronger than Xu Zong’s current understanding!

Naturally, Xu Zong was completely unaware and even felt like laughing.

In the original work, it took Ji Ning thirty years to defeat a ninth-level puppet. Who knows how long it would take him?

“Shut up, you fools!”

However, the Celestial God, Yinyue, frowned. His emerald green pupils suddenly turned into vertical slits like a wild beast, and he coldly looked at the people around him, exuding a chilling and sinister aura.

The cultivators, divine demons, and demonic beasts all fell silent, lowering their heads in fear, afraid of being targeted by the Celestial God.

“A group of shortsighted fools! You can’t see the astonishing talent of my junior martial brother. No wonder you have achieved nothing until now!”

Yinyue, the Celestial God, looked at the group of people with a strong killing intent. The intense killing intent emanating from him made even the Return to Void Divine Demons tremble in fear, as if facing a natural-born killer.

Even Xu Zong, who was not within the range of his killing intent, couldn’t help but feel his heart race.

“Junior martial brother, let’s go inside.”

Yinyue, the Celestial God, turned his head and looked at Xu Zong, his face instantly losing the killing intent and smiling brightly.

“Uh, okay.”

Xu Zong’s mouth twitched. Did he change his expression too quickly?

Yinyue, the Celestial God, completely ignored the cultivators who dared not retort after being scolded by him and walked into the nine-story tower. Xu Zong followed suit.

“There are two Dao Palaces on Mount Fangcun, namely the Immortal Palace and the Three Realms Palace. Both of these Dao Palaces were created by the Patriarch and contain many Dharmas and divine abilities from the Three Realms. As you know, our Master dreams of the Three Realms, so collecting these divine abilities is very easy.”

As they walked into the wooden nine-story tower, Yinyue, the Celestial God, introduced Xu Zong.

“This nine-story tower is the Immortal Palace, with nine levels. Each level has higher-level Dharmas. The seventh level is already the Pure Yang level, and the eighth level is the Great Luo level.”

The so-called Pure Yang level Dharmas were generally created by True Immortals, while the Great Luo level Dharmas represented the creations of Dao Ancestors.

In the Three Realms, there were also mentions of Pure Yang True Immortals and Great Luo Dao Ancestors.

“On the first level of the Immortal Palace, there are countless tall bookshelves neatly arranged. Each bookshelf contains a large number of Dharma books.”

One of the bookshelves was engraved with a line of characters.

“Sweep the mountain road once and you can choose one.”

In other words, as long as one swept the mountain road once, they could choose a book from this bookshelf, and they were free to read and learn the Dharmas written on it.

Similar conditions were written on the other bookshelves nearby.

“How about it? Isn’t this test simple?”

Seeing Xu Zong looking around, Yinyue, the Celestial God, smiled and asked.

“The Dharmas on the first level are the cheapest on Mount Fangcun. Tests like sweeping the mountain road only take half a day to complete, so all living beings on Mount Fangcun can come and learn.”

The test on the second level was something like wiping the tables, which only took three days to complete. The test on the third level was to remove weeds within a hundred miles, which took a month. The fourth level took half a year, the fifth level took three years, the sixth level took twenty years, the seventh level took a hundred years, and the eighth level took a thousand years.

As for the ninth level, there was no test. In other words, it was impossible to learn the Dharmas on the ninth level by completing tests. One could only learn them by defeating a ninth-level puppet.

“Junior martial brother, you have defeated a first-level, second-level, and third-level puppet once each, so you can choose one Dharma from the first, second, and third levels.”

Yinyue, the Celestial God, pointed out to Xu Zong.

“For each victory, you can choose a Dharma corresponding to the level. For example, if you defeat a third-level puppet once, you can choose one Dharma. If you defeat it twice, you can choose two Dharmas. If you defeat it a hundred times, you can choose a hundred Dharmas.”

Xu Zong secretly complained.

What was the meaning of these conditions?

Today, he could defeat a third-level puppet once, so he could definitely defeat it a second time. The third-level puppet was not his opponent at all. However, he still had to defeat it once to choose a Dharma on the third level.

Why couldn’t it be that defeating a third-level puppet allowed him to freely learn any Dharma on the third level?

Xu Zong asked this question, causing Yinyue, the Celestial God, to burst into laughter.

“At first, I didn’t understand why Master set up these rules, but later I understood.”

“In the Three Realms, there are countless living beings, but only a very small number of people can successfully cultivate. The vast majority of people live their lives in the cycle of reincarnation without the opportunity to cultivate. Master is teaching us that every Dharma is not easily obtained. It is something that countless mortals yearn for. Even the lowest-level Dharmas should be cherished.”

Xu Zong suddenly realized.

Because he had many cheats, he had forgotten such a simple thing.

“Are there any books on spear techniques here?”

“Yes, there are many.”

Yinyue, the Celestial God, led Xu Zong through the bookshelves, finally finding the bookshelf containing spear technique Dharmas.

Xu Zong flipped through the books on this bookshelf and was suddenly shocked.”Goodness gracious, the Dharma Door of the first level has such a profound understanding of the Dao. If practiced to the highest realm, one could master a minor Dao!”

Upon reaching the second level, Xu Zong spent some time flipping through. The Dharma Door here, if practiced to the highest realm, could generally allow one to grasp the true meaning of the Great Dao! The Dharma Door of the third level, if practiced to the highest realm, could generally allow one to master the Domain of the Great Dao!

As for the Dharma Door of the fourth level, Xu Zong could no longer read it. However, according to the Celestial God of the Silver Moon, the Dharma Door of the fourth level had already gone far within the Domain of the Great Dao. If practiced to the highest realm, it would be enough to compare with the Heavenly Immortal in the realm of Earth Immortal!

“What a massive treasure trove this is. If only I could browse through it freely, how wonderful that would be!”

Xu Zong sighed deeply in his heart.

But it was just a sigh.

He was currently only a nominal disciple of the Bodhi Ancestor. This was the rule of the Bodhi Ancestor. Only after surviving the Heavenly Tribulation and becoming an immortal Heavenly Immortal could he become a direct disciple of the Ancestor.

Of course, his treatment was actually the same as that of the Ancestor’s direct disciples. However, there were rules among the Ancestor’s followers, and he could not be allowed to browse freely.

Due to the rules, Xu Zong chose a spear Dharma Door from the first, second, and third levels respectively.

“There are two Dao palaces on Mount Sumeru. This Immortal Palace only collects ordinary Dharma Doors. The Three Realms Palace collects the famous Great Divine Powers in the Three Realms!”

The Celestial God of the Silver Moon pointed to a very inconspicuous pavilion in the distance. The pavilion was made entirely of wood and was only a few dozen feet high. If you didn’t pay attention, you might think it was a house built by a disciple of Mount Sumeru.

Xu Zong left the Immortal Palace and came to the Three Realms Palace.

In front of the gate of the Three Realms Palace, there was no one gathered. There was only a thin monk in a ragged kasaya, sleeping on a chair.

“Brother Ji Dian.”

Xu Zong stepped forward and called out to the thin monk.

“Little junior brother is here?”

Ji Dian was originally sleeping, but upon hearing Xu Zong’s voice, he suddenly opened his eyes and smiled at Xu Zong.

“Thank you for your guidance, senior brother!”

Xu Zong respectfully saluted Ji Dian.

Ji Dian had helped him a lot. Without the Space Dao he had taught, Xu Zong would not have been able to comprehend the true meaning of space within three years. Moreover, the Nuwa Diagram he had passed on had greatly increased his comprehension and made his soul power extraordinarily strong, giving him the divine consciousness that only a Yuan Shen Daoist would have!

“If you can become successful, that would be the best reward for me.”

Ji Dian laughed heartily, not taking it to heart.

Over the years, he had guided many talents in his dreams of the Three Realms, but very few of them could actually come to him. Xu Zong could be said to be one of the best among them.

“Although we are not strangers, it’s your first time here, so I should give you a welcome gift.”

Ji Dian pondered for a moment, then broke into a smile.

“Here, take this bead.”

He handed a bead filled with water vapor to Xu Zong.

Xu Zong initially wanted to refuse, but upon seeing the bead, he was suddenly stunned.

“This, this is…”

“A Yuan Water Bead, a little thing that can cultivate a second Yuan God.”

Ji Dian waved his hand, speaking nonchalantly.

“The second Yuan God is precious, but not everyone can cultivate it. You must remember, only when your divine consciousness is cultivated to cover a radius of a thousand miles can you use the second Yuan God technique. Hmm, the second Yuan God technique is also in the Immortal Palace, on the first level. You can find it yourself.”

“Thank you, senior brother. I will not be polite then!”

Seeing the Yuan Water Bead, Xu Zong’s heart warmed, and he no longer refused. He saluted Ji Dian and then left.

Before leaving, Xu Zong looked at the Three Realms Palace with some longing.

The Great Divine Powers collected in the Three Realms Palace were famous throughout the Three Realms. Unfortunately, to enter the Three Realms Palace, one must defeat a ninth-order puppet, and must be a direct disciple of the Bodhi Ancestor, or someone he approves of.

Xu Zong’s treatment was equivalent to a direct disciple, but he also had to pass through the Immortal Palace to learn those Great Divine Powers in the Three Realms Palace.

“I am currently only at the realm of the Purple Mansion, cultivating the body of a god and demon. Even if I get those Great Divine Powers, I can’t cultivate them. The Divine Powers in the Immortal Palace are enough for me to learn.”

Xu Zong quickly came to terms with this in his heart. Moreover, he still had the two great time-space divine powers passed down by the Ancestor to cultivate. His current cultivation schedule was full, and he had no room to be distracted.

Back in the Immortal Palace, Xu Zong defeated a first-order puppet again, found the second Yuan God technique on the first level, and then left.

(End of Chapter)