LIGHTNOVELONLINE Chapter 2: Birth of the Three Purities
After fighting off three thousand chaos fiendgods, Pangu did not have the energy to complete the creation of the new world. The birth of the world represented his way, his Dao, and he was not willing to give up.
Pangu sacrificed his body to complete the new world, like he had done with the three thousand chaos fiendgods.
His breath formed the wind and clouds. His voice made lightning and thunder. The sun came from his left eye, and the moon his right. He molded the five regions from his limbs and torso, shaped his blood into rivers. His meridians became roads, his muscles formed fertile lands, his hair shifted into the stars of the night sky. His fur became vegetation, his bones and marrow turned to minerals and precious jewels, and his sweat turned to rain.
The whole process lasted one hundred twenty-nine thousand and six hundred years. And so, each eon was now one hundred twenty-nine thousand and six hundred years.
The newly born world took the name Great Desolation.
When he finished, Pangu's consciousness faded. His body still carried twelve drops of blood and parts of his spirit. The twelve drops of blood fell near the base of the Buzhou Mountain, formed from Pangu's spine, the pillar separating heaven and earth.
As for Pangu's spirit, it turned into three azure qi that flew onto Kunlun Mountain. If Buzhuo Mountain was the Great Desolation's number one mountain, Kunlun Mountain was the number two mountain.
At first, the world was barren and lifeless, but as the eons passed, life began to appear. Over a hundred different species were born, but the most prominent ones were the dragon, phoenix, and qilin. They, along with the other creatures, became known as the Hundred Clans.
However, as the Hundred Clans prospered and fought for hegemony, the Great Desolation's tribulation began. The grudges and malice left behind by the slain chaos fiendgods conglomerated and birthed the fiends, fierce beasts that only knew destruction and caused havoc.
Among the fiends, five stood out among the rest and became the Fiend Kings.
First was Shenni, the strongest of the fiends. The second was Taotie, who delights in swallowing everything, even heaven and earth. Then Qiongqi, who reversed good and evil. The fourth was Hundun, who distorts right and wrong. And finally, Taowu, arrogant and stubborn to the extreme.
Shenni soon defeated the other four Fiend Kings. He became the Fiend Emperor and had ambitions to destroy the Great Desolation. Only when the Hundred Clans allied themselves with Rahu and Hongjun did they manage to exterminate the fiends in an event that came to be called the Fiend Tribulation.
After the Fiend Tribulation, the Way of Heaven was born. Hongjun and Rahu disappeared, on a journey to break through their current cultivation realm. In contrast, the dragons, phoenixes, and qilins began to absorb the other Hundred Clans and fight for dominance once more.
During this time, they split the Hundred Clans into three factions. The Dragon Clan controlled the scaled creatures, the Phoenix Clan controlled the feathered creatures, and the Qilin Clan controlled the furred creatures.
But none of this had anything to do with the three azure qis on Kunlun Mountain. Born from Pangu's spirit, they could be considered Pangu's descendants, and thus, the world protected them.
The rocks, vegetation, the spiritual veins, and even Kunlun Mountain itself formed a protective array that shielded them from the outside world and ensured their safe development. Not even the Great Desolation's tribulation could disturb them.
Inside a cave, the three azure qis floated above grand. The first one exuded a grand aura, the Grand Pure Qi; the second one exuded a jade-like aura, the Jade Pure Qi; and the third exuded a supreme aura, the Supreme Pure Qi.
'Where am I?' The thought echoed inside the consciousness inhabiting the Supreme Pure Qi.
It was puzzled for a moment as the scene of Pangu opening heaven replayed itself in its mind. 'Pangu opening the heavens? The scene stopped after the Chaos Fiendgod of Time died. Does that mean I'm the Chaos Fiendgod of Time?'
'No, I shouldn't be. I recall living in the twenty-first century! But, what's my name? How did I even get here?' the consciousness thought. It tried to explore, but it couldn't even speak aloud, much less move.
'Eh, there are two other balls like me? Grand Pure Qi and Jade Pure Qi? Does that mean I'm the Supreme Pure Qi?' The consciousness's mind blanked for a moment. 'I was somehow transported into the mythological era and became the Heavenly Venerable of Numinous Treasures?!'
The Supreme Pure Qi began to vibrate and blast waves of energy. The other pure qis responded in kind, calming down the consciousness.
'Okay, this isn't too bad. The two others—I mean, my brothers, should also have developed consciousness, but we can't do anything yet since we haven’t transformed. Even if I don't have my memories, I became one of the Three Purities, and my life is pretty much set without any dangers.'
A moment of silence passed.
'Pei! I don't want to laze around, I want to do something! Although I'm not too familiar with Investiture of the Gods, I know that Tongtian, the Supreme Purity, aka me, got ganged up by my two brothers, Laozi and Yuanshi. Fuck, this ending is terrible. Must avert that ending.'
While the consciousness organized what it knew, it felt a fluctuation inside itself. Upon searching for the source, it discovered a gray shard. 'This didn’t come from the three pure qis. Rather, it resembles a shard of the Chaos Fiendgod of Time's lifebound spiritual artifact. Had it carried a trace of the chaos fiendgod's soul, and I happened to absorb it?'
'Whatever. Since it came from a chaos fiendgod, it's definitely not ordinary. Right now, I shouldn't be distracted by it. I should build my foundations first.'
After calming down, the consciousness discovered a cultivation method in its mind, the Supreme Pure Scripture. Its brothers must have the Grand Pure Scripture and Jade Pure Scripture too.
'Father God is actually quite generous,' the consciousness thought, not realizing that it changed how it addressed Pangu.
The consciousness began to cultivate the Supreme Pure Scripture, and the azure light of the Supreme Pure Qi became brighter and denser. It wasn't alone, as the two other pure qis also cultivated their own methods.
After an unknown amount of time, the Grand Pure Qi flew out of the cave. Above it, the tribulation clouds began to form. All creatures that transform must undergo heavenly tribulation.
The lightning streaked across the tribulation cloud as it gathered power and roared. The Grand Pure Qi stayed calm as if it didn't hear the thunderous roar. Just before the first bolt of tribulation lightning descended, an exquisite pagoda flew out from the azure qi.
The pagoda was the Heaven and Earth Pagoda, the Grand Pure Qi's lifebound spiritual artifact. It was formed using the Xuanhuang Qi birthed from the creation of the world. The top-grade spiritual artifact was a cardinal spiritual artifact that possessed an unrivaled defense. If it claimed to be number two in defense, no spiritual artifact would dare to claim to be number one.
Cardinal meant it was born from the creation of the world and contained the law within. Even if a spiritual artifact with more extraordinary powers appeared later, it could only be an innate spiritual artifact at best.
Even under the nine-nine set of tribulation lightning, eighty-one bolts, the pagoda did not shudder in the slightest. After the final bolt descended, the heavenly clouds dispersed, and the Grand Pure Qi transformed.
Standing where the ball of azure qi had once been was an elderly man with long white brows and hair wearing white robes. He had slight bags under his eyes, but his skin was tender and white, like a baby's.
He stretched out his hand, and the Heaven and Earth Pagoda shrunk until it fit snugly in his hand.
"I am Laozi, the Grand Purity. Descendant of Father God Pangu's orthodox lineage!"
Laozi's words defied physics and echoed throughout the Great Desolation.
The Supreme Pure Qi couldn't help but think, 'Do you have to be so ostentatious? Don't you know how to be low-key? Ugh, well, it's not like Eldest Brother could help it. There's no way his voice could travel so far, so it must be the Way of Heaven.'
After announcing his presence, Laozi stepped aside and gave way for the Jade Pure Qi that flew out of the cave. Although the Jade Pure Qi did not have a lifebound treasure, it still withstood the heavenly tribulation without a scratch.
With the heavenly tribulation over, the Jade Pure Qi transformed into a middle-aged man with long black hair and wore a black robe. His forehead had a few wrinkles, giving him a severe appearance despite his fair skin.
"I am Yuanshi, the Jade Purity. Descendant of Father God Pangu's orthodox lineage!"
Yuanshi nodded to his Laozi and stepped out of the way. Both of them looked inside the cave and waited for the Supreme Pure Qi. The Supreme Pure Qi stalled in nervousness. It had human memories, so it naturally feared being struck by lightning.
Steeling its heart, the Supreme Pure Qi exited the cave, and the tribulation clouds gathered once more. Luckily, it was a ball of azure qi. Otherwise, it would have been sweating buckets.
After several tense moments, the first bolt of tribulation lightning descended. To the Supreme Pure Qi's surprise, it didn't hurt at all. If anything, it felt a warm and soothing sensation all over its body.
It was not only the first bolt but all the other subsequent bolts of tribulation lightning. Finally, the Supreme Pure Qi realized the truth. 'I'm one of the three pure qis formed from Father God's spirit, so it's normal to have special treatment from the world. Plus, our strength really isn't ordinary.'
Mortals currently did not exist in the Great Desolation, so all creatures were born as gods and immortals. Gods were creatures that inherited the chaos fiendgods’ inheritance while immortals were natural born life forms of the Great Desolation. Immortals had several stages: Earth Immortal, Sky Immortal, Profound Immortal, Golden Immortal, Golden Immortal of the Great Unity, and Golden Immortal of the Great Firmament.
Aside from the Three Purities, perhaps no other creatures had the right to be born as Golden Immortals of the Great Firmament. The titans born from drops of Pangu’s blood did not count since they couldn't really be categorized as immortals.
The Supreme Pure Qi also successfully crossed its heavenly tribulation and transformed.
"I am Tongtian, the Supreme Purity! Descendant of Father God Pangu's orthodox lineage!"
Tongtian turned around to look at Laozi and Yuanshi. "Greetings, Eldest Brother, Second Brother."
Laozi and Yuanshi had shocked expressions on their faces. They both gazed at Tongtian with unblinking eyes. Not just them but Tongtian also stared at his hands in shock.
When Tongtian spoke earlier, the voice wasn't that of a young man's. There's no way a man's voice could be so crisp and melodious. His jade-white hands had smooth and unblemished skin. Robes of vibrant red covered the arms and body, but there was one feature Tongtian couldn't ignore.
Two mounds on his chest.
Sucking in a breath, Tongian's hands reached between his crotch. He, or rather, she let go and took a deep breath.
"MOTHERFUCKER!"