Within top-tier sects like the Daoist and Buddhist schools, countless prodigies struggle desperately to seize every opportunity to join and stand out. Why? One key reason is the irresistible resources these sects offer: esoteric divine arts to evade the Three Calamities, rare treasures, top-grade spirit fruits, cultivation techniques, and combat arts.
Of all these, the divine arts for evading the Three Calamities are the most critical.
Techniques like the Thirty-Six Heavenly Astral Arts and the Seventy-Two Earthly Fiend Transformations are age-old esoteric methods passed down secretly within Daoist and Buddhist circles. Throughout history, very few have been fortunate enough to receive the complete teachings.
Gaining these requires passing rigorous trials—loyalty and talent are both indispensable.
Even more demanding is the requirement for one's destiny and fortune. Without a powerful fate, it's almost impossible to be granted the complete legacy. At best, one may receive only a single technique.
Because of this, many sects affiliated with Daoist traditions have only acquired fragmented versions of these arts. The complete Heavenly Astral and Earthly Fiend Arts are virtually unattainable. Still, even these fragments provide some means of surviving the Three Calamities, though with a significant chance of failure. This is the foundation that allows sects to endure across generations.
The presence or absence of methods to survive the Three Calamities is the clearest distinction between top-tier sects and the rest.
And now, the Great Yi Dynasty has revealed such methods, raising its status in the cultivation world overnight. No matter how dazzling Great Yi had appeared in the past, many sects and even alien elites still dismissed it as the rabble—mere upstarts without a Three Calamities method. Without it, an imperial dynasty could never mass-produce top-tier cultivators.
Eventually, such dynasties would hit a ceiling.
They would fail to attract true powerhouses. Even their own elite prodigies would drift away, unwilling to stay trapped in a realm where further advancement is impossible. Watching others surpass them while they remain stuck? No true genius would endure that. They would naturally join factions that could take them further.
This isn't something that can be blamed on those who leave. It's simply that the imperial court is not strong enough.
Though this hasn't become a serious issue yet—there are still no Primordial Spirit realm cultivators in Great Yi—in the future, it would become a major problem. A bottleneck like that might be tolerable for a year or a decade, but not for centuries or millennia.
Now, with Yi Tianxing publicly demonstrating a method to survive the Three Calamities, he has cut off that hidden danger at the root.
A sense of security and stability bloomed in many cultivators' hearts—often unconsciously.
Yi Tianxing was unaware of these shifting thoughts. Even if he knew, he'd merely smile. He had never intended to hide his breakthrough. As long as he could protect the secret, publicizing it brought far more benefits than harm. The intangible rewards were immense.
In the City Lord's residence, within a secluded courtyard, Gong Qianyu—the Celestial Maiden from the Celestial Race rescued from the Abyss—sat quietly in a pavilion, gazing at the blooming garden. Beside her sat a graceful and dignified mature woman, whose elegance rivaled Qianyu's but exuded a different, more mature charm.
Were she to walk outside, she'd surely attract every gaze.
"Aunt Yun, what do you think of Emperor Yi?"Qianyu's tone was intimate—clearly, the two were close.
"He's a hero of a chaotic era, with boundless potential. I doubt the Primordial Spirit realm is his limit. The Great Yi Dynasty truly might soar to greatness. To withstand the First Calamity's Divine Thunder head-on and survive, then reveal a unique Three Calamities method… If he doesn't die, he may very well become a supreme powerhouse."The mature woman answered solemnly.
The image of that tribulation was still vivid in her mind. She'd never seen anyone directly withstand the Heaven-Opening Divine Thunder. Her jaw had nearly dropped at the time.
With a Three Calamities method, Great Yi was no longer an upstart. It now had the potential to become a Sacred Human Dynasty, or even establish an Imperial Heavenly Court.
Such a dynasty… was worth investing in.
"Humans are no simple race," Qianyu added, her expression serious. "It's said our Celestial Race contains traces of human bloodline, though we've long evolved into a new and more perfect form. Still, the potential of humanity is staggering. If their sects break free from ancient seals, their power rivals any race."
"You… want to stay in the Great Yi Dynasty?"The mature woman frowned slightly.
"Yes," Qianyu nodded. "Had I not seen the Three Calamities method, I would have simply left, leaving some treasures as thanks for the rescue. But now… I want to see for myself what secrets this dynasty holds."
The woman had arrived as soon as Qianyu had awoken. She had received Qianyu's signal—her disappearance had alarmed the Celestial Race, and scouts had already infiltrated Skyhawk Island in search. After reuniting, their original plan had been to quietly leave, leaving a reward behind.
But right as they were about to depart, they witnessed Yi Tianxing transcend the Calamity.
That scene changed everything for Qianyu.
A dynasty with a Three Calamities method was no longer optional—it was a potential future holy land for humanity.
"Very well. You may stay one year. No more. According to our tribe's divinations, something major is coming to this world soon," the woman said after a pause.
Staying in Great Yi a while might not be a bad thing. They might uncover its secrets.
"This is a unique artifact we obtained from Atlantis," she added, taking out a mystic crystal wristwatch and placing it on Qianyu's slender wrist. "It's a rune construct that can detect danger. It monitors nearby cultivators' power and shows a combat strength rating. It's not perfectly accurate, but it avoids most threats."
"Atlantis is said to have great talent in runes, crafting all kinds of miraculous tools. Their mastery of rune application is far ahead of other races. But Great Yi also has a unique wristwatch called a Communicator, which has many wondrous functions," Qianyu mused, inspecting the device.
"Great Yi's industrial prowess is said to be top-tier. Their rune studies aren't far behind. I wonder if they can replicate this artifact's capabilities," the woman chuckled.
Humans had terrifying adaptive and copying abilities.
Time passed quietly.
Before long, December arrived.
Over the past few months, the Great Yi Dynasty had undergone a dramatic transformation.
Python Island and other nearby islands had been swiftly conquered. Numerous Immortal Cities were deployed across these islands, suppressing the wilds and formally incorporating the territory into Great Yi's dominion.
A flood of people moved in.
Some were original citizens of Great Yi seeking new opportunities. But most were the billions of people rescued from the Skyhawk Royal Court, plus survivors from the wilderness.
These became the new cities' main population source.
With the Immortal Cities established, the second round of imperial exams provided a fresh wave of officials, who immediately took up posts as city lords, jumpstarting construction and governance.
Every day brought visible change.
Every day brought surging national fortune.
The Merit Cloud Sea expanded further. The Destiny True Dragon now stretched to an astounding six hundred zhang long.
These were changes seen with the naked eye.
Yi Tianxing, during these months, spent most of his time in secluded cultivation.
His mind immersed in the The Hongmeng Heavenly Emperor Tower, he sparred endlessly with Asura wraiths, analyzed various cultivation arts, and repeatedly studied the Heaven-Opening Divine Artifacts within the tower—sitting before each for days, his consciousness fused with them, unraveling their mysteries.
Whenever inspiration struck, he tested his insights in combat with the Asura wraiths, refining, correcting, and distilling his comprehension.
"Hoo..."
One day, Yi Tianxing slowly opened his eyes, exhaling a breath of turbid air. A flash of joy danced in his gaze.
"At last... success. It's still just a prototype, but the basic framework is complete. From here, I just need to refine and perfect it with my own insights."