"I haven't broken through because I'm waiting for an opportunity, one that can break through the Great Dao's restraint," Nuwa said.
"Break through the Great Dao's restraint?"
"That's right."
Nuwa nodded gently and said, "I'm not the only one. Even my fellow Three Clarities Daoist Brothers haven't ascended as Primordials. They, too, are waiting for such an opportunity to arise."
Not everyone was an anomaly like Chu Kuangren, who was capable of easily breaking through the Great Dao's restraints.
It would be extremely hard for Nuwa and the others to break through that restraint. During the ancient Immortal times, they did not have the opportunity to do so and had to ascend as Primordials by fusing nine types of Dao.
However, right now, they could sense that the opportunity for them to break apart the Great Dao's restraint was happening soon.
That was why everyone was waiting for that opportunity to present itself.
"An opportunity…"
Chu Kuangren suddenly recalled his conversation with the Dark Demonic Ruler.
Within every universe, a pair of gates could be found.
It was a pair of gates that led to the source of the Infiniverse, the Great Hongmeng Universe!
It meant that the pair of gates were opening soon.
Chu Kuangren understood that might be the opportunity that Nuwa and the others were waiting for.
After that, Chu Kuangren asked her about the hollow willow branch.
However, to Chu Kuangren's surprise, even Nuwa had no idea where the hollow willow branch was from. All she said was, "My fellow Three Clarities came into this world earlier than me. They might know something about this."
Chu Kuangren was becoming increasingly curious.
'Even Nuwa doesn't know about the origins of this hollow willow branch.'
'How mysterious can this individual be?'
After bidding farewell to Emperor Nuwa, Chu Kuangren and his party headed to the Three Clarities' residences.
Their first destination was the Kunlun Secret Realm.
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtTwo ancient Immortal Great Ones were living there. One was the West Ruler Matriarch, while the other was the Divine Primeval Jade Clarity Imperial, one of the Three Clarities.
Chu Kuangren first visited the West Ruler Matriarch.
Upon his arrival, he also met an old friend.
"It's been a long time, Yu Zhi."
A woman dressed in white robes and possessed delicate features and snowy white skin was standing before him. She also exuded a faint air of elegance as if she was a noblewoman.
It was none other than Yu Zhi, one of the Black Heaven Nine Stars.
She was also the former Maiden Sage of the Immortal World's Jade Pool Sacred Land.
"How long has it been, Brother Chu? I heard you flew into a fit of rage upon your return to the Immortal World. I was planning to pay you a visit, but considering that you just returned and must be quite busy for a while, I thought I'd wait. I didn't expect you to be the one to visit the Kunlun Realm instead," Yu Zhi said with a chuckle.
Since Luo Hou and the others had waged an attack on the Empire, it was no doubt that Chu Kuangren would first deal with them upon his return.
"Why are you here?" Chu Kuangren asked curiously.
"I'm now one of the West Ruler Matriarch's disciples," Yu Zhi said.
"Dear, your cultivation is already on par with mine, yet you still call yourself my disciple. I hope you're not saying this to amuse me." A peal of soft laughter sounded.
That was when they saw a majestic woman in long white robes slowly approaching them with her body surrounded with divine kinds of Immortal Sparks.
It was none other than the West Ruler Matriarch.
"Master, you possess high proficiency and deep understanding of various forms of Dao, surpassing mine easily. I still have many things to learn from you, so it's natural for me to address you as my Master."
"Oh, you…" The West Ruler Matriarch shook her head and let out a helpless smile.
Then, she looked at Chu Kuangren and the others.
After some casual chatter, Chu Kuangren requested to mentally spar with her.
Sure enough, she did not reject his request.
From that mental sparring match, Chu Kuangren finally understood why a Multi-Embodier like Yu Zhi would willingly become a disciple of the West Ruler Matriarch.
The West Ruler Matriarch possessed many types of Dao, such as Longevity Dao, Carnage Dao, Life and Death Dao, and many more.
Most importantly, she had achieved Ultimate Dao with each of her Dao.
In other words, with her understanding of any one of her Dao, the West Ruler Matriarch could have used it to fuse the other types of Dao and become a Primordial. However, she was also waiting for that opportunity to appear.
"She is no doubt the leader of all female Immortals from the ancient Immortal era. She is truly an extraordinary cultivator!" Chu Kuangren thought out loud.
Compared to the West Ruler Matriarch, the so-called Eastern Patriarch King paled in comparison. In fact, he did not even deserve to be compared to her.
Well, one was given the title by others who acknowledged her with respect, while the other self-proclaimed himself as such.
Everyone else must have been trying to preserve his ego, hence paying him no heed. After all, many among the male Immortals were strong enough to defeat the Eastern Patriarch King.
Aside from the Three Clarities, there were many other qualified male Immortals, like the Underworld River Forefather, Luo Hou, Zhen Yuanzi, and more.
How could any of them be weaker than the Eastern Patriarch King?
After his mental sparring match with the West Ruler Matriarch, Chu Kuangren went to visit the other ancient Immortal Great One, the Divine Primeval Imperial.
His residence had an abundance of spiritual qi, and many of his disciples were outside the gate waiting.
Upon seeing Chu Kuangren's arrival, everyone quickly sprung to action.
Soon, he was welcomed into the great hall.
Dressed in white robes, the Divine Primeval Imperial had white hair and possessed a youthful appearance. He exuded an aura of magnificence, shown by the Immortal Sparks swirling around him.
"Long time no see, Immortal King."
"How's life after reincarnation, Divine Imperial?"
"Ha! Whether good or not, it's all in the past now." The Divine Primeval Imperial chuckled.
Then, Chu Kuangren immediately stated his reason for visiting. After their mental sparring match, he asked the Divine Primeval Imperial about the hollow willow branch.
This time, he was not disappointed.
"Before Chaos was developed, there existed three thousand celestial demons. Among them was a huge hollow willow tree, a master in Spatial Dao. After Pan Gu opened up the Chaos and created new worlds, the remaining Celestial Demons died, leaving the hollow willow tree the only one to have survived. Hoping to avoid being purged by the Great Dao, this being abandoned its Celestial Demon vessel and started its journey of cultivation toward the Immortal path…"
"His name is… the Great Immortal Yang Mei!" the Divine Primeval Imperial revealed.
"Do you know where he is now?"
"He is the most mysterious and ancient being during the ancient Immortal era. Besides my teacher, Hong Jun, I'm afraid no one can find him."
"If that's the case, how did Luo Hou convince him to help?"
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏm"From what I heard, Luo Hou was wreaking havoc in the world, sowing chaos everywhere during that time. Before becoming a Primordial, my teacher sought the help of the Great Immortal Yang Mei and killed him together. Hence, a karmic entanglement exists between the two. Perhaps it was through the connection they had that Luo Hou found him."
"I see."
'Yang Mei…'
Chu Kuangren noted the name down in his head. Previously, he was unsuccessful in deducing the hollow willow branch's origin using the Great Destiny Technique because he had no information about it. Now that he had more information, perhaps he would gain some results in his next attempt.
After that, Chu Kuangren and his party left the Kunlun Secret Realm.
Their next destination was Penglai Island.
Over there, he met the Divine Treasure Prime Clarity Imperial, also known as the Heavenly Grandmaster.
Unlike the Divine Primeval Imperial, who possessed a Daoist-like appearance, the Heavenly Grandmaster had a bold and straightforward personality. His aura was aggressive and bold, which made him seem more like a sword cultivator.
After having a mental sparring match with him, Chu Kuangren also gained something.
However, the Heavenly Grandmaster did not seem satisfied. He said, "Having a mental sparring match is a little boring. Why don't we fight for real?"
Chu Kuangren nodded when he saw the Heavenly Grandmaster getting excited.
"Very well."
Both parties readied themselves.
The battle started with some series of small exchanges, where both parties were gauging the other's capability.
Then, the Heavenly Grandmaster took out four swords and a formation diagram.
It was the ancient Immortal era's most terrifying killer formation, the Immortal Destruction Sword Formation!
The moment that formation was activated, endless sword qi filled the surroundings with terrifying might.
Chu Kuangren was not to be outdone either.
Armed with his Descendant Self Sword in hand, he faced that incoming formation with the Immortal Destruction Sword Qi.
It was a clash between Immortal Destruction Sword Qi and Immortal Destruction Sword Formation!
The strongest of the Twenty-four Sword Dao Techniques was now facing off against the most terrifying Sword Dao formation!
Strictly speaking, as the Immortal Destruction Sword Qi originated from the Immortal Destruction Sword Formation, it should be far weaker than the sword formation in theory. Unfortunately, the one casting it was none other than Chu Kuangren.
After dozens of exchanges, Chu Kuangren shattered the sword formation and stopped attacking.
The Heavenly Grandmaster naturally knew what that meant. With his most powerful sword formation destroyed, it meant he had lost.
Chu Kuangren, however, looked calm. It was as if that battle was nothing to him.
"The new generation has truly surpassed the old," the Heavenly Grandmaster lamented.