"Speaking of the origins of Upper Immortal Qingqing, they are truly immense."
Lei Lie said, "Old Senior, I imagine you, venerable elder, should know of the Longevity Pavilion?"
"I say, you little brat, does this old man look like one of those ignorant bumpkins who've never seen the world?"
Huode said somewhat irritably, "The thirty-six Grotto Heavens and seventy-two Blessed Lands passed down since antiquity—I'm not a fool, how could I not know?"
"Old Senior, don't misunderstand, this junior doesn't mean that. This junior merely wishes to tell you that Upper Immortal Qingqing is a disciple of the Longevity Pavilion."
"Oh ho, it seems her background really is no small matter."
In the Myriad Heavens and Worlds, among those who roam the Great Desolate, almost no one is unaware of the thirty-six Grotto Heavens and seventy-two Blessed Lands.
Legend has it that the thirty-six Grotto Heavens and seventy-two Blessed Lands are the most ancient existences within the Great Desolate, said to be the places with the purest spiritual energy between heaven and earth. Since antiquity, they have produced countless legendary figures renowned throughout the Great Desolate, and have even given birth to Sages.
Some say that of the ten parts of Heavenly Mandate, the thirty-six Grotto Heavens and seventy-two Blessed Lands claim three for themselves.
In other words, from the Primordial Era, through the Ancient Era, the Archaic Era, and up to the Present-Ancient Era—whether it be the Primordial Heavenly Mandate Imperial Authority, the Ancient Heavenly Mandate Emperor's Seal, the Archaic Heavenly Mandate Throne, or the Present-Ancient Heavenly Mandate Star Lords—three-tenths of the Heavenly Mandate have belonged to the thirty-six Grotto Heavens and seventy-two Blessed Lands.
There are even rumors that people from the thirty-six Grotto Heavens and seventy-two Blessed Lands are spread throughout the Three Thousand Great Daos, many of them being ancestral patriarchs of various Daos.
One can imagine how terrifying an existence the thirty-six Grotto Heavens and seventy-two Blessed Lands are.
To become a disciple of the thirty-six Grotto Heavens or seventy-two Blessed Lands would be a fortune far greater than a carp leaping through the Dragon Gate.
Don't be fooled into thinking the status of an Upper Immortal bearing an Immortal Dao decree is noble. Compared to the status of a disciple from the Grotto Heavens and Blessed Lands, it simply cannot be mentioned in the same breath. If one could trade the status of an Upper Immortal for that of a Grotto Heaven or Blessed Land disciple, probably every Upper Immortal in the entire Great Desolate bearing an Immortal Dao decree would scramble to make the exchange.
The status of an Upper Immortal bearing an Immortal Dao decree is noble, yes, but only noble in the eyes of ordinary immortals. After all, in the Present-Ancient Era, Upper Immortals are far too numerous. While it's not as exaggerated as Huode said—that you could bump into one taking a piss—it's not far off.
However.
The status of a Grotto Heaven or Blessed Land disciple is entirely different.
With such a massive background as the Grotto Heavens and Blessed Lands, it's no exaggeration to say that not only would such a disciple not be overshadowed before an Upper Immortal bearing an Immortal Dao decree, but even standing before a Star Lord bearing the Heavenly Mandate, a disciple of the Grotto Heavens and Blessed Lands would not be one bit inferior.
However.
That said, not just anyone is fortunate enough to become a disciple of the thirty-six Grotto Heavens or seventy-two Blessed Lands. It requires not only peerless talent of unparalleled aptitude but also immense fortune (fortune and destiny) to even have a chance.
Being a peerless talent with unparalleled aptitude, coupled with training in places like the Grotto Heavens and Blessed Lands—reputed to contain the purest spiritual energy between heaven and earth—and guided by the eminent masters there, it would be hard not to excel.
Some say.
Any disciple casually pulled from the thirty-six Grotto Heavens or seventy-two Blessed Lands could dominate a single celestial domain.
This might sound somewhat exaggerated.
However.
It is true that disciples from those Grotto Heavens and Blessed Lands are each exceptionally formidable. When Huode was adventuring in the Great Desolate, he had encountered disciples from the Grotto Heavens and Blessed Lands. Their cultivation and strength were each more divinely powerful than the last. Most importantly, the aura they exuded just by standing there was not something ordinary people could match. Even more commendable was that disciples from the Grotto Heavens and Blessed Lands were not like some second-rate geniuses—overbearing, arrogant, and looking down on everyone with disdain, acting outrageously arrogant.
On the contrary.
Disciples from the Grotto Heavens and Blessed Lands, the men all appeared as refined, gentle, and modest gentlemen like warm jade; the women each resembled transcendent, ethereal celestial maidens descended to the mortal realm, untouched by worldly cares.
Be it character or temperament, they were utterly admirable.
Huode had dealings with disciples from the Grotto Heavens and Blessed Lands, and in his memory, it seemed to be with the Longevity Pavilion, one of the seventy-two Blessed Lands. Thus, his impression of the Longevity Pavilion was very good, and he held considerable respect for it in his heart.
"Old Senior, do you know whose disciple Upper Immortal Qingqing is?"
"Didn't you just say she's a disciple of the Longevity Pavilion, you brat?"
"What this junior means is, does Senior know who Upper Immortal Qingqing's master is?"
"Go on, tell me."
"Speaking of Upper Immortal Qingqing's master, that's even more extraordinary."
As he spoke, Lei Lie wore an expression full of admiration, tinged with a hint of pride.
"I say, you little brat, if you have something to say, say it; if you have to fart, fart. Don't put on that damn annoying expression, alright?
Look at you. Anyone who didn't know better would think Upper Immortal Qingqing was your Immortal-Fated Dao Companion. What the hell do you have to be proud of about someone else's master?"
Scolded like this by Huode, Lei Lie's face instantly turned red as a monkey's butt, filled with shame and embarrassment. If it were anyone else, given Lei Lie's temper, he would have long since slapped them across the face. But facing a venerable senior like Huode, he truly didn't have the guts.
So, he could only endure it.
"I say, little brat, don't just stand there dumbfounded. Hurry up and say it. Who is Upper Immortal Qingqing's master?
Tell this old man, let me hear it."
Huode glanced at Gu Qingfeng and laughed, "As this lord here would say, let us also broaden our horizons and gain some knowledge while we're at it."
Having been thoroughly berated by Huode just now, Lei Lie didn't dare to keep anyone in suspense anymore and said honestly, "Upper Immortal Qingqing's master is Emperor Jun Fusheng."
Hearing 'Emperor Jun Fusheng,' Huode's old face showed considerable surprise. "Ai yo! This Emperor Jun Fusheng is a truly remarkable great personage."
"How remarkable?"
Gu Qingfeng, with his arms around the slender waists of the two brothel girls, asked with a smile, "Say it, let this lord also gain some knowledge."
"Kid Gu, you haven't heard of Emperor Jun Fusheng?"
Gu Qingfeng thought carefully. He truly hadn't heard of any Emperor Jun Fusheng in the Great Desolate.
Back in the day.
When he was roaming the Great Desolate, he had single-handedly challenged experts of the Three Thousand Great Daos—all sorts of patriarchs, thrones, great emperors, a whole messy bunch. For those who left a deep impression, he could remember their names. However, most left little impression, and he couldn't be bothered to remember the titles of these great emperors and thrones.
"This old man forgot. You kid slept for so many years and just woke up not long ago. It's normal you don't know Emperor Jun Fusheng."
"What, from the sound of it, this so-called Emperor Jun Fusheng only emerged in the Present-Ancient Era?"
"Reportedly, yes."
Huode nodded. "In the years this old man has been adventuring in the Great Desolate, I've heard people mention the name Emperor Jun Fusheng plenty. They say this person is quite extraordinary. He has no powerful background or family lineage, just originated as an ordinary mortal immortal from a minor secret realm. He rose straight to the top, not only attaining the Heavenly Mandate Star Lord but also the Heavenly Mandate Great Emperor, becoming an Immortal Dao Emperor Jun. It's said that the famous minor attainment 'Rainbow Piercing the Sun,' pursued and admired by countless Upper Immortals throughout the Great Desolate, was comprehended and created by him."
"This old man has also heard that Emperor Jun Fusheng is open and aboveboard, righteous and heroic to the extreme. He is not only an idol worshipped by all mortal immortals in the Great Desolate but also a generation's hero and outstanding figure, renowned throughout the Present-Ancient Era and awe-inspiring across the Great Desolate!"