Chapter Two: The Twelve Celestial Sages

Daoist title, Azure Void? Could it be that I am now the last among the Twelve Golden Immortals of the Chan Sect, the Azure Void Daoist Lord of Virtue? Wang Xuan mused to himself, yet hurriedly bowed and saluted, addressing his master.

Seeing Azure Void (from now on, referred to as Azure Void) so respectful and well-mannered, the Primordial Lord felt another surge of joy.

As time passed, Azure Void sat cross-legged on a primordial mat beneath the altar, quietly waiting for the disciples of the Chan Sect to assemble. The Primordial Lord set up an illusory formation as a test: within forty-nine days, only those not of the Witch or Demon clans could pass and enter his tutelage.

Bored, Azure Void could not help but turn his thoughts to the innate talent that had accompanied his transmigration—the "Investiture of the Gods System." He promptly probed his master with this system.

[Pangu’s Jade Purity Primordial]
Level: 100
Immortal Dao Realm: Early Saint
Divine Powers: Unlocked
Merit: Innate merit unknown? Acquired merit unknown?
Karma: Unknown

"Level 100? Damn! That’s insane! But divine powers, merit, and karma are all unclear. Looks like the Investiture of the Gods System still needs to be activated by myself," Azure Void thought to himself.

While Azure Void was lost in his myriad thoughts, primordial beings were occasionally admitted by the Primordial Lord into the Jade Void Palace.

Nothing had really changed, except that the position of first disciple, originally belonging to Guang Chengzi, was now taken by Azure Void.

The Twelve Immortals of Chan: Azure Void Daoist Lord of Virtue, Guang Chengzi, Red Essence Child, Jade Cauldron True Man, Taiyi True Man, Yellow Dragon True Man, Manjusri Broad Wisdom Heavenly Lord, Samantabhadra Daoist, Guanyin Daoist, Lingbao Grand Master, Ju Liusun, Dao Xing Heavenly Lord.

Under the Investiture of the Gods System, Azure Void could see at a glance the talent, foundation, cultivation realm, and divine abilities of his eleven junior brothers, though merit and karma remained hidden. Whether this was because all twelve of them had similar level and cultivation, or because the system was not fully activated, he could not tell.

"From now on, you will be my disciples, inheriting the Dao tradition of the Chan Sect. You must cultivate diligently."

"Your disciples shall obey, Master!"

With the Twelve Immortals of Chan having taken their places, the Primordial Lord began preaching, expounding on the Jade Purity Immortal Law. As for the Saint’s realm of the Grand Unity Dao Fruit, it was far too profound for Azure Void and the others to comprehend at this stage.

The Jade Purity Immortal Law was created by the Primordial Lord, drawing upon the essence of Pangu’s primordial spirit and the teachings he heard at Zixiao Palace from Hongjun. Merging the two, it was vast and profound, as boundless as the sea of clouds—refining qi, controlling methods, making talismans, divine abilities… hundreds of branches in total. To achieve mastery in even one required at least a hundred years; even the most gifted would need thousands of years to learn them all, and this was only the latter part of the Jade Purity Immortal Law.

A Saint’s sermon was truly extraordinary—celestial flowers rained down, golden lotuses sprang from the earth, and words of virtue entered the ear, starting from the shallow to the deep, making the Twelve Immortals listen as if intoxicated, immersed in the mysteries of the Dao, unable to extricate themselves. As the saying goes, "If I hear the Dao in the morning, I can die in the evening!"

Compared to his eleven junior brothers, Azure Void’s Dao heart was not as pure, but with the many scriptures and texts of his former life, his comprehension was no less than theirs—perhaps even superior. Furthermore, the Investiture of the Gods System automatically recorded the contents of the Primordial Lord’s sermon, allowing him to review and understand it later, a benefit the other eleven could not match.

Time flowed swiftly. A hundred years passed like water. Tongtian, Jieyin, and Zhunti all achieved sainthood in turn, establishing the Sect of Interception and the Western Buddhist Sect. For a time, the four great sects stood supreme in the Great Desolation.

After a century of cultivation, Azure Void had already advanced to the peak of the Spirit-Transformation stage; his primordial spirit was strong enough to lay the Foundation of the Dao.

(In the Great Desolation, the levels from lowest to highest are: Qi Refining, Golden Core, Spirit Transformation, Earth Immortal, Celestial Immortal, Profound Immortal, Taiyi True Immortal, Da Luo Golden Immortal, Quasi-Saint, Saint. Each realm is divided into early, middle, late, and peak stages.)

The Foundation of the Dao is the necessary path for those who truly seek the Dao, the starting point of enlightenment. There are innate and acquired Dao foundations; all twelve immortals of the Chan Sect are primordial beings and can cultivate the innate foundation.

Though Azure Void had cultivated for a hundred years and could have established his Dao foundation, his Dao heart remained incomplete. For the sake of his future path, he decided to wait until his Dao heart was perfected before proceeding.

Compared to a hundred years ago, his current state was worlds apart!

He activated the Investiture of the Gods System to examine himself:

[Azure Void Daoist]
Level: 29 (Qi Refining 1-9, Golden Core 10-19, Spirit Transformation and so on!)
Immortal Dao Realm: Loose Immortal (below Earth Immortal are all Loose Immortals)
Divine Powers: Earth Escape, Jade Purity Immortal Light (Beginner), Protective Golden Lotus (Beginner), Jade Purity Thunder Art (Beginner)
Merit: 15 points acquired merit (for helping many beings in Kunlun Mountain)
Karma: 0 (merit and karma cancel each other; they cannot coexist in one body. 1 point innate merit = 100 points acquired merit; 2 points acquired merit cancels 1 point karma)

After reviewing his attributes, Azure Void felt quite satisfied. To reach this level in a hundred years was no small feat.

It was true that the spiritual energy of the Great Desolation was abundant. Anyone from the later ages could become an immortal within a hundred years using the Jade Purity Immortal Law. But primordial beings were different; their innate talent and foundation were much deeper, so each level required thousands or even tens of thousands times more spiritual energy than later generations. In the later ages, with innate limitations, achieving Da Luo Golden Immortal was nearly impossible.

How could an innate Dao foundation compare to an acquired one?

An innate Dao cultivator could easily defeat ten of the same level with acquired foundations.

Guang Chengzi and the other thirteen (including the registered disciples South Pole Elder and Yun Zhongzi) lagged behind Azure Void. In a hundred years, they had barely reached the early Spirit Transformation stage, though their Dao hearts were fully perfected—a step ahead of Azure Void. Fortunately, the Dao heart could not be discerned by others; otherwise, Azure Void’s status as senior disciple would be in jeopardy.

The fourteen disciples of the Jade Void lineage of the Chan Sect lived in harmony, and because Azure Void’s cultivation was outstanding, his junior brothers respected him greatly.

One day, Azure Void was honing his Dao heart in his Supreme Mystery Cave, hoping for perfection, when his spirit stirred. He exited the cave to find a white crane flying from Jade Void Peak. He recognized this as the white crane child who served the Primordial Lord.

The white crane descended on Supreme Mystery Peak, transforming into a six or seven-year-old child, exquisitely carved and charming.

"White Crane pays respects to Senior Brother!" In the Chan Sect, hierarchy was strict; the white crane dared not be careless and saluted Azure Void promptly.

"White Crane, why are you not serving Master in the Jade Void Palace? Why have you come here?"

"I dare not conceal it, Senior Brother. It is by the order of the Grand Master; all senior brothers are summoned to the Jade Void Palace to hear the sermon."

Azure Void immediately understood. The Primordial Lord gave a sermon every thirty years, half a cycle, to answer his disciples’ questions about cultivation—imparting the Dao and dispelling doubts. Since Azure Void’s initiation, there had been four sermons, totaling ninety years. This would be the fifth, which meant he had been a disciple for one hundred and twenty years.

"I understand. Go inform the other junior brothers."

"Junior brother takes his leave!" The white crane bowed, transformed back into a crane, and flew off in search of Guang Chengzi.

Now, in the Great Desolation, the Witch and Demon clans stood at daggers drawn, and war was on the verge of breaking out. Small skirmishes were countless, and it was truly said that Earth Immortals roamed everywhere and Celestial Immortals were as common as dogs. The fourteen immortals of the Chan Sect had yet to establish their own abodes.

Azure Void performed the Cloud Riding Art, a green cloud of auspicious light forming beneath his feet as he flew toward Jade Void Peak.

The Kunlun Mountains stood in the eastern domain of Mount Buzhou, their immortal scenery unrivaled in the Great Desolation. Together with the Jade Capital Mountain of Western Kunlun, they were the pinnacle of immortal realms. The main peak, Jade Void Peak, rose to half the height of Buzhou, surrounded by dozens of other immortal mountains. Supreme Mystery Peak was the second highest, not far from Jade Void itself.