Mythic Cultivation: My Tongtian can’t be this Cute

Outside the Three Realms, Tongtian sat in a lotus position. Chaotic energy swirled around her, condensing into a black liquid filled with countless motes of light that resembled the night sky and streamed into her body. The inside of her body reflected her surroundings. Her Daofruit absorbed countless streams of chaotic energy, surrounded by a sea of stars.

Countless characters written in Dao Script flitted across the fruit's skin. The more chaotic energy the Daofruit absorbed, the brighter the characters shimmered in silver-gold brilliance. And as the luminescence increased, so, too, did the Daofruit’s innate charm. Those too weak of will would become mesmerized by the fruit’s beauty, unable to emerge from their fantasy.

Space and time vibrated, twisted, and shattered around the Daofruit. Slowly, the skin started to shine until its radiance matched the Dao Script. When fruit and script fully merged into one, the glow dimmed.

Moments later, the Daofruit exuded a gentle golden light resembling moonlight. Its skin took on an argent color and appeared without blemish, but upon closer inspection, Dao Scripts in a darker tone still flitted across it.

The spacetime surrounding the Daofruit was locked, and all that neared it would be frozen in time and shackled by space. Anyone who bore witness would perceive it with perfect clarity. No matter the distance, anyone who glanced at it would never forget the sight.

After the transformation, Tongtian's eyes opened, revealing their silver-gold luster. She exhaled, and a turbid mist exited her mouth. "Finally, I've entered the Intermediate Primordial Origin Realm. Unfortunately, my Saint Corpse is still stuck at the Third Heavenly Layer."

Tongtian crossed her arm and hugged her Xuanhuang Qingping Sword to her chest. "In the end, a Corpse's foundation is still lacking compared to my true body. Even if it became a Saint, it still relied on Karmic Merit. Do I have to use Karmic Merit to ascend it?"

She shook her head. If her Saint Corpse used Karmic Merit, it might increase his power in the short-term, but it would make it harder to cultivate long-term. Besides, she warned her disciples not to rely on merit. Where would her face as their master go if she did the very thing she warned them about?

'Forget it, cultivation can't be rushed,' Tongtian thought. She turned around and stared at the chaotic boundary.

Tongtian sighed in amazement. Despite gaining the ability to absorb chaotic energy thanks to becoming a Chaos Immortal, she could not compare to the chaotic boundary’s efficiency.

Naturally occurring events could not triumph over purposeful action, leading her to conclude that the chaotic boundary was actually an array. Just like how she created the array to guard Kunlun Mountain, the chaotic boundary was an array that protected the Three Realms, but that wasn't its true purpose. No, its true purpose was to convert chaotic essence into nutrients to fuel the Three Realm's growth.

Yet, it was so natural that she hadn't noticed. It was as if it was an invisible law that governed the world, common sense no one thought twice about. One plus one is two, or how the sky was blue. Everything was as it should be.

In fact, Tongtian still couldn't detect any signs of formation techniques. All this was just her conjecture. Perhaps this was the highest mastery of formation techniques, or at least, the current peak she saw. True formation mastery should make the formation seem natural with no artificial tampering.

Although she had studied it during her years of cultivating, she barely made a dent in figuring out the intricacies of the chaotic boundary. It was like giving a caveman a state-of-the-art computer chip and asking him to replicate it. Tongtian was said caveman, or rather, cavewoman, and the chaotic boundary was the computer chip.

Tongtian sighed. She had already ruminated on it for over a hundred thousand years. A few more years won't suddenly allow her to magically understand it. What she needed was an inspiration or an epiphany. It was time to return to the Three Realms.

She entered the highest level of the Heavenly Realm, the Supreme Purity Heaven. Inside Eminence Heaven Palace, Tongtian sat back on her throne, merging with her Present Incarnation, Shangtian, in the process. Next, Lingbao emerged from her body and flew towards Kunlun Mountain.

For now, Lingbao will act as her liaison with her brothers. She needed to organize the celestial army now. War was on the horizon, and the alien world was in visible sight. Soon, even Golden Immortals of the Great Firmament who entered the chaotic boundary would be able to see it. No use hiding the information any longer.

A ball of light appeared in Tongtian's hand. Seconds later, the ball of light flew out of her grasp and out of Eminence Heaven Palace. It stopped above the Supreme Purity Heaven and transformed into a silver scroll with glittering gold text. The scroll released a divine light that reached every corner of the Heavenly Realm.

This was Tongtian's Heavenly Decree. Every heavenly official who saw it must appear in the throne hall of Eminence Heaven Palace.

In less than an hour, the silent throne hall was filled to near capacity. Even Shuixing, the laziest heavenly official ever, was present with his fellow luminaries, standing behind Luya. The number of officials had increased since she had first become the Jade Emperor, and it truly resembled the Heavenly Court that ruled the Three Realms. Most of the officials were empyreans with a few Golden Immortals, but there were still some positions that were not yet taken.

Standing in front of all the officials were the Six Great Emperors or acting emperors. There was the East Great Emperor of Greenflower, Haotian; the West Great Emperor of Curved Array, Yaochi; the Acting South Great Emperor of Longevity, Antarctic Immortal Weng; the Acting Great Emperor of Heaven Bearing, Daoist Randeng; and the Acting North Great Emperor of Polaris, Luya. 

"""We pay our respects to the Supreme Jade Emperor, the Genesis Divinity and Grand Dictator of Time!"""

All the heavenly officials kneeled and bowed until their forehead touched the jade floors of the Eminence Heaven Palace, kowtowing nine times in total. The great emperors gave a ninety-degree bow to show their utmost veneration for the ruler of the Three Realms despite their official status being only slightly lower than the Jade Emperor.

Tongtian said nothing as her eyes scanned her retainers. For most of them, this was the first time they had ever laid eyes on her. Whenever her gaze landed, a suffocating pressure appeared, causing the target to involuntarily break out into a cold sweat.

None felt this more than the two Quasi-Saints, Haotian and Yaochi. Haotian thought he had made great progress in his cultivation, but the pressure emanating from Tongtian only increased, not decreased, adding onto his unease. Yaochi had perfectly schooled her expression so no one knew what she was thinking.

Tongtian observed the progress they made. Luya had progressed to the Peak Great Unity Realm, and he would only need a chance to enter the Great Firmament Realm. Antarctic Immortal Weng had entered the Golden Immortal Realm and was close to catching up to his senior brothers and sister, the Twelve Golden Immortals.

As for Daoist Randeng, she frowned upon laying eyes on him. Despite allowing him to take the position of Acting Great Emperor of Heaven Bearing, she couldn’t detect any advance in his cultivation after breaking through to the Early Quasi-Saint Realm using merit except for the stabilization of his cultivation base.

She recalled in the original trajectory, Daoist Randeng entered the Quasi-Saint Realm after the Investiture of the Gods. However, he betrayed the Enlightenment Sect in the process and took Zhao Gongming's Twenty-Four Sea Calming Pearls, becoming the Dipankara Buddha.

'I had hoped he would have enlightened himself by understanding the Law of Mortality and temper his Qi to enter the Quasi-Saint Realm, but it seems that I have to bestow upon him a suitable spiritual artifact and have him rely on the Three Corpse Method,' Tongtian thought.

Finally, Tongtian retracted her gaze and released them from their torment. "You may rise.”

"""We thank Your Eminence for this great grace!"""

Tongtian placed her elbow on the throne's armrest and rested her chin on her knuckle. "Great Emperor Curved Array, what is the state of Heavenly Court's army?"

All the officials couldn't help but wonder why Tongtian asked such a question. Was a war on the horizon? Who would become the Heavenly Court's target, the Earth Celestial League? Why else would the Jade Emperor ask about the army the first thing after summoning them all?

Yaochi, who met Tongtian over a hundred thousand years ago, had an inkling but not the whole picture. She stepped forward and cupped her fist in her palm. "Answering Your Eminence, the celestial army is composed of five legions. Each legion is led by ten Golden Immortals and comprises one thousand Profound Immortals, ten thousand Sky Immortals, and a hundred thousand Earth Immortals. In addition, there are forty-nine Golden Immortals of the Great Firmament, two hundred and fifty-one Golden Immortals of the Great Unity, and nine hundred forty-eight Golden Immortals."

Inwardly Tongtian sighed. The Supreme Heavenly Court's power had far outstripped the Demon Heavenly Court led by Di Jun, but that was only because of her existence. If you removed her, the Supreme Heavenly Court was far from the height of the Demon Heavenly Court's power despite eons passing.

In the Demon Heavenly Court's heyday, it possessed three hundred and seventy-nine Golden Immortals of the Great Firmament, one thousand two hundred and eleven Golden Immortals of the Great Unity, and four thousand six hundred and thirty-four Golden Immortals. There were ten legions composed of a total of seventy-six thousand Profound Immortals, over nine hundred thousand Sky Immortals, and countless Earth Immortals.

Ignoring the difference in numbers between the three types of Golden Immortals, even Yaochi's frequent Peach Banquet could not make up for the disparity between the two eras' Profound Immortal, Sky Immortal, and Earth Immortals. It could not be helped. The density of the essence of heaven and earth had not yet recovered to when Pangu split the chaos.

'Looks like I have to make a contribution system in order to encourage rogue immortals to participate,' Tongtian thought. However, that was for another time. "Your thoughts are correct: war is on the horizon."

"However, Our enemy is not any force within the Three Realms, but outside!" Tongtian said. Despite the clarity of her words, many of the officials appeared confused. "The Three Realms is not the sole world in the chaos. There is another, and it is fast approaching."

Tongtian's words were like a bolt of lightning that struck them. Confusion and panic settled among them as hushed conversation erupted. A frown appeared on her face, and immense pressure descended, crushing any conversation. "Silence."

At this time, Antarctic Immortal Weng stepped forward and saluted. "Your Eminence, may I ask a question?"

"You may, Acting Great Emperor Longevity."

"Is war inevitable? Can we not coexist peacefully with the alien world?" Antarctic Immortal Weng asked.

Tongtian shook her head. "We already sent a probe into the alien world. None of their actions suggest anything but aggression. During the short probe, We gained valuable intel. This war is both a calamity and an opportunity. The laws that formed the alien world are unique and have their own advantages. Should we win and absorb the alien world, you will gain the opportunity to break to the next level. Achieving the Primordial Origin Realm is not impossible."

Hearing this, excitement flushed their faces. How could they not be? The Primordial Origin Realm represented Saint-level strength. They would no longer be ants in front of Saints.

"However, this is still the Three Realms' first contact with another world, and all possibilities must be taken into account and prepared for," Tongtian waved her hand, and one hundred and twenty-nine thousand and six hundred sword-shaped innate and acquired spiritual artifacts appeared. "We have created a formation known as the Myriad Sword Formation."

"There are five levels. The first level is composed of ten swords, the second level is composed of a hundred swords, the third level is composed of a thousand swords, the fourth level is composed of ten thousand swords, and the fifth level is composed of a hundred and twenty-nine thousand and six hundred swords. At the fifth level, its offense exceeds even that of the Starry Sky War Array and Ten Thousand Immortals Formation." Tongtian's words sent ripples through the officials.

The Three Realms had three supreme formations in its history, and each could unleash strength comparable to a Saint's. The first was the Pangu Genesis Formation. Most major powers thought that the technique was lost to history, not knowing that the Three Purities learned the technique from the titans during an exchange. But it could no longer be used because it needed twelve titans to form.

The second was the Starry Sky War Array used by the Demon Heavenly Court. However, it was no longer usable. Not because it was a lost technique but because the requirements were too harsh. Bai Ze and Ji Meng knew the formation, and so did Sovereign Fuxi, the reborn Western Emperor of the Demon Clan. It required three hundred and sixty-five Golden Immortals of the Great Firmament to control the power of the three hundred and sixty-five major stars and forty-eight thousand Golden Immortals to control the power of the forty-eight minor stars to display power comparable to a Saint.

The third and final supreme formation, the Ten Thousand Immortals Formation, was only displayed once by the late Dong Wanggong and Violet Manor. The deceased King Duke of the East learned the formation from the Ten Thousand Immortals Book, but after Violet Manor's fall, the book disappeared, and so, too, did the formation become mere history.

Compared to the three supreme formations, Tongtian's Myriad Sword Formation was a level lower. True, its offensive capabilities could rival and exceed them, but its other attributes, such as defense and support, were not comparable. Tongtian didn't mention this because she wanted to raise morale.

"Come forth, Great Emperor Curved Array," Tongtian ordered. Antarctic Immortal Weng stepped back while Yaochi stepped forward.

Tongtian waved her hand, and the one hundred and twenty-nine thousand and six hundred swords floated to Yaochi. Yaochi's eyelashes couldn't help but tremble. Of the one hundred and twenty-nine thousand and six hundred swords, only around nine thousand were top-grade innate spiritual artifacts, but this was still far more than ten Quasi-Saints' net worth.

However, she dared not take Tongtian's swords without permission. "Great Emperor Curved Array, We will impart the Myriad Sword Formation, and you will form a legion solely dedicated to establishing the Myriad Sword Formation as the vanguard of the Three Realms."

"Subject-emperor obeys!" Yaochi said.

Tongtian nodded and ordered her to step in line. Next, she summoned the Seven Luminaries. """Subject is present!"""

"Go and descend onto the Earthly Realm. Enlighten all beings and guide them onto the Immortal Path," Tongtian ordered.

The leader of the Seven Luminaries, Solar Luminary Taiyang, stepped forward and asked. "Your Eminence, we only know of the Celestial Path. How are we to guide them onto the Immortal Path?"

Tongtian raised her hand, and a scroll appeared. The scroll shone with endless merit and gleamed like it was cast from gold. "We have created a method that will allow the cultivator to cultivate the Immortal Path and the Celestial Path. Cultivators who cultivate the method can switch from the Immortal Path to the Celestial Path, but the reverse is not true. We name this method the Celestial Immortal Canon. Now, go!"

After receiving the golden scroll, six of the seven luminaries flew out of Eminence Heaven Palace, followed by the twenty thousand empyreans to complete their assigned task. The only exception was Shuixing.

"Why aren't you going?" Tongtian questioned.

"Eh, let the other luminaries go. Even if they are short of me, it won't make much of a difference," Shuixing said without a care, not realizing Tongtian's increasing anger.

"This is a golden opportunity to gain merit! Do you not want to cultivate faster?!"

"I have enough merit. Master, did you forget about my previous rein—!?"

"Scram!" Tongtian shouted and waved her sleeve, sending Shuixing out of Eminence Heaven Palace and into the Earthly Realm faster than a flying sword.