Dao Lord: Starting from a Top-grade Golden Core

When the eight great Demon Sects still existed in the Profound Yellow Realm, the Innate Demon Sect was already hailed as their leader. It had once even ruled over the Shen Zhou Land, holding the power of life and death over countless beings.

However, after the rise of the Shenzhou Xuanmen, the demonic influence was swept away in a single stroke. Of the eight great Demon Sects, two were destroyed at that time, and another left the Profound Yellow Realm, venturing far beyond the heavens.

But the remaining five great Demon Sects did not see their lineages severed. They simply went into seclusion, sealing their mountain strongholds and lying dormant in the shadows, stirring restlessly as they awaited their return.

The Innate Demon Sect was no different. After so many years of dormancy, there was no telling how much of its strength it had recovered. Although it was showing faint signs of re-emerging, whether it could replicate the fearsome might of ancient times remained to be seen.

However, the person who attacked the party of the Immoral Taoist and Jide Taoist possessed Divine Techniques so profound that they surpassed the scope of an ordinary Primordial Spirit True Man. His origins were a complete mystery.

"The tribulation path can be considered one of the fundamental Dao Skills of the Innate Demon Sect. They manipulate tribulation-fate and command disaster. It’s incredibly formidable."

"Legend has it that when a powerful expert who has cultivated the tribulation path to a profound level and refined a Primordial Spirit fights another, they can even draw upon tribulation qi to inflict the Three Calamities upon their opponent. The very thought is terrifying, and their sinister reputation is known far and wide."

"But in turn, a Tribulation Practitioner’s life is fraught with a thousand tribulations and a hundred hardships. Their path is a rocky one. Or, to put it another way, only such individuals are qualified to master this path in the first place."

"Of course, for any Cultivator, calamity and opportunity are two sides of the same coin, and this is especially true for a Tribulation Practitioner. If a Tribulation Practitioner can overcome a calamity, their Dao Skill will immediately advance by leaps and bounds, and their cultivation base will multiply... there are all sorts of wondrous benefits."

"But the more a Tribulation Practitioner progresses, the more dangerous it becomes. It is a never-ending, unceasing cycle. This is especially true after refining a Primordial Spirit, when the path becomes fraught with immense difficulties. Every time they study the tribulation path to increase their cultivation, they risk triggering the early arrival of the Three Calamities."

"Therefore, those who walk this path are often like meteors in the sky—dazzling for a time, but ultimately fleeting. The most outstanding among them might even refine a Primordial Spirit within a mere thousand years, pass several of the Three Calamities, and easily surpass the cultivation others have accumulated over tens of thousands of years. But in the end, they vanish in a flash."

"Therefore, although that person’s Dao Skill is incredibly high, his years of cultivation might not be that long. He is likely not some old monster who has been cultivating for ages. I do not know his origins, but based on his Divine Techniques, I’m afraid he has already passed one or two calamities. Among Primordial Spirit True Men, his cultivation has reached an extremely high realm."

In the void, the Wine Immortal Gourd shot forward in a straight line at its top speed.

Xuzhuang listened as Bitu unraveled the history of the Innate Demon Sect’s tribulation path, nodding slightly.

The cultivation levels of a Primordial Spirit True Man were not as clearly demarcated as those of the Golden Core or Nascent Soul realms. Instead, as their cultivation grew to a certain limit, it would attract the Three Calamities.

These Three Calamities were the Wind Calamity, the Fire Calamity, and the Thunder Tribulation! There was no fixed order between them; as a calamity drew near, the Primordial Spirit would naturally sense which of the three was about to descend.

Therefore, whether one passed the Wind Calamity, the Fire Calamity, or the Thunder Tribulation first, the transformation was the same, with no distinction in superiority. In the end, one had to pass all three calamities to have any hope of attaining the Supreme Merit of the Pure Yang realm.

However, because the intensity of the calamities varied with the level of a Primordial Spirit True Man’s cultivation, each successive calamity was more perilous than the last. This led to a rough distinction among Primordial Spirit True Men based on their cultivation level, referring to them as "one-calamity" or "two-calamity" practitioners.

This distinction might seem crude, but according to the Daoist Scriptures of the Tai Su Orthodox Sect, there were some Primordial Spirit True Men who lacked a Superior Dao Skill to guide them. They could only circulate their Primordial Spirit, comprehend the Great Dao, and let their cultivation grow naturally.

There were others whose cultivation had been greatly damaged in battle, making it difficult for them to advance for a long time.

Still others had lost their true nature, growing to fear the Three Calamities and no longer daring to advance with courage and diligence...

For all these various reasons, if their cultivation did not progress enough to reach the threshold that triggered a calamity, one would descend upon them naturally after a full 10,800 years—a period also known as a Calamity Cycle.

And even then, various Secret Techniques and treasures could be used to delay the arrival of the Three Calamities. It was unknown how many years of cultivation Master Xu Chi of the Dharma Origin Sect had, yet he was still able to hide in the Dharma Origin Grotto Heaven and evade the Fire Calamity for over ten thousand years.

Therefore, the difference between each calamity level for a Primordial Spirit True Man could represent tens of thousands of years of cultivation. If what Bitu said was true, then the Primordial Spirit True Man from the Innate Demon Sect had already passed one, or even two, calamities. His cultivation was unimaginably high.

As Xuzhuang was pondering this, a voice suddenly called out from ahead, "Something’s wrong!"

The Immoral Taoist seemed to have remembered something. His expression changed slightly, and he cursed under his breath, "That plague-ridden Innate Demon Sect!"

Without any visible action from him, the Wine Immortal Gourd began to accelerate. Although Xuzhuang found it difficult to perceive such a difference in speed, he still had a feeling it was moving faster and faster. Before long, the Guangyuan Realm, encircled by its jade-like belt, suddenly came into view. The Wine Immortal Gourd plunged headfirst into the Celestial River, following its guiding force as it streamed downward, arriving in Weiyun Immortal City.

Now that they were back in Weiyun Immortal City, under the jurisdiction of the Guangcheng Dojo, not even the most powerful and vicious experts would dare cause trouble. Yet, the Immoral Taoist did not relax. He continuously formed hand seals, and after a moment, he let out a soft sound of surprise.

He glanced at the Jide Taoist, who slowly nodded and replied, "The ebb and flow of fortune shows no drastic decline. It should be nothing serious."

Seeing that the Jide Taoist’s divination matched his own, the Immoral Taoist finally breathed a sigh of relief. He thought for a moment, then said, "You lot can disperse. I still have important matters to attend to."