Xi He stood amidst the lunar frost, her gaze lingering on Ling Xiao. "The condition is this: we haven't decided yet. We will call upon you when the time is right."
She spoke with a crystalline clarity that brooked no argument. "Rest assured, we will not demand the impossible. It will be a task within your capabilities."
Ling Xiao felt the weight of the sisters' gazes. Behind him, Dijun was practically vibrating, sending frantic mental signals. Agree, Third Brother! It's a bargain!
"Fine," Ling Xiao nodded, a faint smile tugging at his lips. In the shifting sands of the Honghuang, a debt to be paid later was a small price for the secrets of the Moon. "I agree to your condition."
With the pact sealed, the tension bled out of the crater. Dijun wasted no time. Holding the River Chart and Luo Scroll, he stood in the center of the Taiyin ley lines, his spirit merging with the silver light. He wasn't just observing; he was inhaling the very architecture of the Moon's defense.
Eons—or perhaps just moments—passed in the timeless lunar void. On the day Dijun awoke, his aura had changed; it was cooler, more balanced. He had mastered the Taiyin Great Array.
The three brothers departed the silver star, leaving Xi He and Chang Xi watching their golden trails with a complex mixture of envy and lingering curiosity.
"Obtaining the Taiyin Array is worth more than ten thousand spirit stones," Dijun sighed as they streaked back toward the Sun. He turned to Ling Xiao, his expression softening. "Third Brother, if not for you, we would have been buried in that moon-dust."
"We are of the same source, Brother," Ling Xiao shrugged. "But tell me—have you considered fusing the two? If the fire of the Sun and the frost of the Moon were to intertwine, the resulting formation might be truly peerless."
Dijun's eyes caught fire. "I've had the thought, but the friction between Yin and Yang is like grinding mountains. I have no map for such a synthesis."
"Think of it not as a clash, but a cycle," Ling Xiao suggested, drawing on the advanced formation theories of his past life's reading. He began to describe concepts of the Two Poles Subtle Dust and the Five Elements flow.
Dijun listened, his chaotic thoughts suddenly snapping into a crystal-clear geometry. "Ingenious! Third Brother, your mind is a treasure in itself! I see it now—the clouds are clearing."
"One more thing," Ling Xiao interrupted. He reached into his sleeve, and a brilliant white light illuminated the void. In his hand sat the Twelve-Grade Pure World White Lotus.
"This is for you, Eldest Brother."
Dijun froze, his breath hitching. "A Twelve-Grade Lotus? A Supreme Grade Innate Treasure? No, Ling Xiao. This is far too precious. You found it; you keep it."
"I have the Cauldron and the Ruler," Ling Xiao pressed the glowing lotus into Dijun's hand. "I am a fortress. But you? Your treasures are for calculation, not for holding the line. In the last fight, you were a hair's breadth from falling. Take it. For the sake of the Three Crows."
Tai Yi let out a sharp, barking laugh. "Take it, Brother! Unless you enjoy being the one we always have to carry!"
Dijun's face flushed. He glared at Tai Yi, but his fingers closed around the cool, divine petals of the lotus. He didn't speak, but the resolve in his eyes was absolute. He would never be the weak link again.
The Dawning Call
Back on the Sun Star, the brothers descended into the deepest silence. Ling Xiao sat within the roots of the Fusang Tree, his spirit diving once more into the Chaos Pearl.
The Honghuang was a ladder of divinity. Below the Immortal realms lay the dust of mortality. Above them:
Earth Immortal / Heavenly Immortal / True Immortal
Profound Immortal / Golden Immortal
Taiyi Golden Immortal (Where the brothers now stood)
Grand Unity Golden Immortal (Daluo) (The peak of freedom)
Beyond that lay the paths to Sainthood: Enlightenment through Strength, the Three Corpses Method, or Enlightenment through Karma (Merit). For Ling Xiao, only the first path mattered—the path of the sovereign who bends the laws of the universe to his will.
Years turned to dust. Ling Xiao's aura refined until it was as smooth as polished jade. He didn't just reach the Late Stage; he pushed until he touched Taiyi Perfection. He was a coiled spring of cosmic power.
One by one, his brothers awoke.
"I have reached the Late Stage!" Dijun declared, his new lotus glowing faintly at his waist. "Surely, I have caught up to you both!"
"I am also at the Late Stage, Brother," Tai Yi said with a modest tilt of his head.
Dijun's grin faltered. He looked at Ling Xiao. "And you, Third Brother?"
"I was fortunate," Ling Xiao said, his voice carrying the resonance of the void. "I have reached Perfection."
Dijun stared at his younger brothers for a long, silent minute. "You two... are monsters. Absolute monsters."
But before the laughter could start, the air in the entire Honghuang world suddenly grew heavy. A pressure, vast and ethereal, descended from the highest heavens. A voice, carrying the weight of the Great Dao itself, echoed in the soul of every living being.
"I am Hongjun. Today I attain Sainthood. In three thousand years, I will preach at Zixiao Palace. All who are fated may come."
The era of the Sun had begun, but the Era of the Saint had just announced its arrival.