The Dao Ancestor taught the Dao, Dao sounds ethereal, pointing directly at the source. The nine people sitting properly on cushions—including Tang Xiaoqi, Mu Xue, Ao Qin, the palace-robed woman, Ling Jueyi, the black-robed cultivator, Mysterious Turtle Elder, Master Hui Ming, and the bronze-skinned burly man—had all completely immersed in the baptism of that supreme Dao rhyme. The Dao rhyme around their bodies produced deep resonance with the cushions beneath them and this law void, their auras becoming deeper and purer at a visible rate.
The cushions were like keys granted by the Dao Ancestor, increasing the efficiency of listening to the Dao sound by more than ten times! Every breath's comprehension of the Great Dao's origin was equivalent to several years or even decades of bitter cultivation outside. This was a shocking fortune sufficient to establish the foundation for a future supreme Dao!
However, fortune often accompanied contest and trial.
Just as the nine were immersed in enlightenment, lawsentwined around them, almost merging with the cushions, several more figures rushed in through the open gate of the Transmission Hall!
These people were precisely those who had been bitterly pondering before the stone stele in the front courtyard, unable to pass the test in the first moment, or attracted by the fortune that escaped after Xiao Qi opened the hall gate. They had eventually relied on their own Dao or special means to barely pass through the chaotic mist and stele interrogation, arriving late. Their numbers were about seven or eight, with varying strength levels, but being able to arrive here undoubtedly made them all prodigies or old monsters from various sides.
Upon rushing into this law void, these people were immediately shaken by that supreme Dao sound, but then, their gazes locked dead onto those nine floating cushions producing mysterious connections with the Dao Ancestor phantom!
Especially seeing the people on the cushions' auras rapidly climbing, their Dao rhymes becoming increasingly complete, even fools knew those cushions were the greatest fortune here!
And the nine cushions were already occupied.
Greed, jealousy, unwillingness... various emotions madly burned in these latecomers' eyes. In the contest of the Great Dao, a single line's difference meant heaven and earth! If one could snatch a cushion, it meant an opportunity to ascend to the heavens in a single step!
"Only nine cushions exist—how can fortune be enjoyed alone?!" An old man wearing blood-colored robes with a sinister face took the lead in shouting sternly. Blood light surged around him—he was actually a rare blood path cultivator. His gaze directly locked onto the one among the nine whose aura seemed relatively most "gentle"—Tang Xiaoqi sitting on the "vitality purification" cushion! In his view, this young man's cultivation didn't seem top-tier—perhaps a soft persimmon.
"Amitabha, fortune is determined by heaven; forcing it may give rise to heart demons." The cushion beneath Master Hui Ming emitted merciful Buddhist light. He didn't open his eyes, only chanted a Buddhist prayer, yet his voice clearly entered everyone's ears, carrying a soothing and warning power.
"Hmph! Determined by heaven? I am heaven!" The bronze-skinned burly man, though immersed in power laws, was still violent. He roared once, sound waves like solid substance causing void ripples, warning meaning fully evident.
Dragon shadows circled around Ao Qin as imperial majesty naturally flowed forth, coldly sweeping his gaze over those latecomers. Mu Xue's ice eyes opened and closed, chill piercing to the bone. The sword Ling Jueyi held emitted clear sword cries, killing intent awe-inspiring. Formation patterns faintly appeared at the palace-robed woman's fingertips. The black mist around the black-robed cultivator grew even more dense and deep. The Mysterious Turtle Elder sat steadily as a mountain, Wutu aura incredibly thick.
Though the nine cushion owners hadn't communicated, at this moment, facing external competitors, an invisible alliance had already formed. They knew deeply that the cushions were the foundation for enlightenment and must not be lost!
"Attack! Snatch the cushions, and it's creation!" The blood-robed old man no longer hesitated. He screamed sternly, both hands suddenly grabbing forward! In the void instantly condensed two massive ghost claws made of filthy blood light, carrying evil power that corroded souls and defiled foundations, directly grabbing toward the cushion beneath Xiao Qi—actually wanting to flip both person and cushion together!
Someone took the lead, and several other latecomers' eyes revealed fierce light as they also struck!
An evil cultivator driving three white bone demon vultures commanded them to spit miserable-green phosphorus fire burning toward Mysterious Turtle Elder; a female cultivator holding double rings danced while emitting soul-seizing demonic sounds, interfering with Master Hui Ming; two more joined hands, sacrificing a sky-covering black net, on which countless wailing resentful souls were wound, shrouding toward Ao Qin and Mu Xue! Another person's form was like smoke, rushing straight at the palace-robed woman, trying to use strange body techniques to approach and seize.
The scene instantly lost control. The seven or eight latecomers almost simultaneously launched attacks toward different cushion owners! Their purpose was clear—not to kill, but to interrupt enlightenment, create chaos, and take advantage to snatch cushions!
"Presumptuous!"
Ao Qin angrily shouted, dragon roar shaking the heavens! He didn't even leave his cushion, only opened his mouth to spit—a blue dragon breath condensed to the ultimate roared out like the Milky Way cascading backward, instantly scattering the shrouding black net into pieces. The resentful souls on it emitted miserable screams as they successively annihilated!
Mu Xue was even more decisive. The cold energy around her suddenly erupted. That approaching black net hadn't fully fallen before being frozen in mid-air by absolute zero-degree coldness, then "cracked" and shattered, dissolving into sky-full ice crystals. She didn't even glance at the attacker, as if only brushing away a speck of dust.
The sword Ling Jueyi held suddenly unsheathed half an inch! A sword qi pure to the extreme swept past like a new moon—not slashing toward anyone, but slashing at the void before that strange figure rushing toward the palace-robed woman! With a tearing sound, space seemed to be cut open with a smooth crack. That strange figure stopped in shock, almost running into that invisible spatial blade himself!
Countless formation patterns lit up before the palace-robed woman, transforming into layers upon layers of defense, blocking all attacks. Buddhist light greatly flourished on Master Hui Ming's lotus platform beneath him, isolating the soul-seizing demonic sounds. The bronze-skinned burly man was even more violent, directly throwing a punch. Majestic qi and blood power transformed into golden fist radiance, shocking the phosphorus-fire-spitting white bone demon vulture along with its master to spit blood and fly backward!
The Mysterious Turtle Elder let that phosphorus fire fall on his surrounding Wutu light barrier, immovable as a mountain. The light barrier didn't even ripple.
Facing those two directly attacking filthy blood claws, Tang Xiaoqi finally opened his eyes.
His eyes held no anger, only a bottomless calm, as if reflecting this law void's essence. He didn't even use the Nirvana Crimson Flame Sword, nor sacrifice the Chaos Pill Fire.
He only raised his right hand, index and middle fingers together, a warm and pure platinum light halo winding around his fingertip—that was a highly condensed fusion of Guardian Sword Intent and Purification Origin.
Toward those two massive blood claws tearing through void, emitting foul filthy aura, he gently pointed one finger.
The movement was relaxed, without a trace of mundane energy.
However, the instant his fingertip pointed, those two imposing blood claws seemed to meet their natural nemesis—their forward momentum suddenly froze! The platinum light halo rippled outward like water waves, sweeping past the blood claws.
No earth-shaking explosion, no energy collision roar.
Those filthy blood claws condensed from essence blood and resentment, sufficient to defile Nascent Soul cultivators' treasures, under the platinum light halo's illumination, actually melted rapidly at a visible rate like ice and snow under sunlight—purified! The blood fiend energy within was dispersed, the resentment was delivered, finally transforming into wisps of green smoke, dissipating into nothingness. Even the mental connection between that blood-robed old man and the blood claws was forcibly severed by a gentle yet irresistible power!
"Puh!"
The blood-robed old man was heavily struck, suddenly spitting a mouthful of fresh blood. His face instantly turned pale, his gaze toward Xiao Qi filled with shock and disbelief! His signature blood fiend ghost claws were actually broken by the opponent so casually with one finger, and the backlash was so severe!
This scene not only shocked the blood-robed old man but also made several other latecomers who were preparing to intensify their attacks pause, obvious dread appearing on their faces.
They finally realized that these nine who could first occupy the cushions were not one of them easy to deal with! Each possessed terrifying strength and unique means far exceeding their surface cultivation! Wanting to snatch food from the tiger's mouth, the price would likely far exceed their imagination.
For a time, the scene fell into a strange stalemate. The latecomers dared not easily act again, while the nine on cushions again slowly closed their eyes, continuing to immerse in the supreme fortune of the Dao Ancestor's teaching. Only, amid the Dao rhyme surrounding them, there was an added awe-inspiring guardian meaning.
This cushion was the fortune they had earned through their own Dao, and also the final test set by the Dao Ancestor—whether they had the ability to guard this fortune!
Inside the Transmission Hall, Dao sounds continued, all laws returned to source. And contest and guarding became part of this ultimate enlightenment.