Chapter 509
by fanqienovelChapter 509: Heavenly Dao Effects, The Dao Lord Ranking Emerges
Above Canglan City, Heaven’s Secret Pavilion hovered like a celestial palace, with Palaces stretching endlessly. Each Palace evolved from its own space and time, appearing like countless overlapping spaces at first glance.
A jade step extended downward from Heaven’s Secret Pavilion, laid before its entrance.
Mysterious divine patterns were carved upon the jade steps, embodying profound truths of the Great Dao. A mere glance sparked boundless insights and endless reflection.
The stars in the sky, evolved from Dao Sovereigns’ Dao fruits, paled in comparison to Heaven’s Secret Pavilion.
Now,
Heaven’s Secret Pavilion stood surrounded by stars, dazzling the mortal realm.
"So conspicuous. If he weren’t an Invincible Sovereign, he’d be dead without knowing how." Xuan Du Ancient Immortal fumed with anger and fear when a chilling question suddenly struck him.
"The Master of Heaven’s Secret Pavilion never takes action without profit. Such ostentation surely hides a scheme."
"Could it be…"
Xuan Du Ancient Immortal shuddered. "Could the Dao Lord ranking be emerging?"
Admittedly, his guess hit the mark.
Heaven’s Secret Pavilion.
Ye Xu walked to the entrance with Lu Chengfeng and Yi Tianxing, gazing down upon the world. The stars formed from Dao Sovereigns’ Dao fruits seemed close enough to touch.
Yet on closer inspection, it was clear they existed in separate spaces.
The invincible domain covered 640,000 square miles—naturally including the sky above.
"How about plucking two stars as lanterns?" Ye Xu teased.
"…"
Yi Tianxing and Lu Chengfeng exchanged a look, nodding in silent agreement.
"Cough… Don’t jest, Master."
Just then, two Dao Sovereigns flew over. Both had attained enlightenment within Canglan Immortal Domain and anchored their Dao fruits in its void. Ye Xu’s words made them break into cold sweat.
"Relax, Daoist friends. It was just a joke." Ye Xu smiled.
How could they believe him?
"Return," Ye Xu said lightly. "If I truly wanted your Dao fruits, your resistance would be meaningless."
The pair offered bitter smiles, though they inwardly cursed.
Back inside Heaven’s Secret Pavilion, Ye Xu murmured to himself: "Now that every elite across the realm is focused here, it’s the perfect moment to unveil the Dao Lord ranking."
"System, create the Dao Lord ranking immediately."
"And… let’s shake the heavens a little?"
Previous rankings had only alerted those listed—far too subtle for impact.
His image demanded invincibility.
Quiet releases didn’t suit him.
“Add money.”
The System was concise.
“How much?”
“One hundred million Hongmeng points can mobilize the power of Heaven’s Secret Pavilion, connect with the Dao of Heaven for ten breaths, and make the Dao Lord Ranking resonate with the heavens, ensuring all living beings under heaven will know.”
Ye Xu looked stunned; this was essentially adding special effects to the Dao Lord ranking.
“Deal!”
Ye Xu agreed.
【Congratulations, Host. You have spent 40 million Hongmeng points. The Dao Lord Ranking has been successfully created.】
【Publish immediately?】
“Wait a moment. Let me take a look first.” Ye Xu’s Divine Sense surged into the golden scroll, absorbing the information on the Dao Lord Ranking at a glance.
“The Eldest Young Master… isn’t on the list?”
Ye Xu felt perplexed.
The Dao Lord Ranking contained exactly two hundred spots.
1. Second Young Master: Peak of Nine Tribulations Dao Lord, Young Master of the Destiny Sect.
2. Third Young Master: Peak of Nine Tribulations Dao Lord, Emperor of the Immortal Court.
3. Fourth Young Master (Female) : Peak of Nine Tribulations Dao Lord, Saintess of the Bodhi Temple.
4. Fifth Young Master: Peak of Nine Tribulations Dao Lord, Young Master of the Time Palace.
5. Sixth Young Master: Peak of Nine Tribulations Dao Lord, Imperial Majesty of the Martial Dynasty.
6. Seventh Young Master: Peak of Nine Tribulations Dao Lord, Young Master of Wu Ji Palace.
7. Eighth Young Master: Peak of Nine Tribulations Dao Lord, Rogue Cultivator.
8. Ninth Young Master: Peak of Nine Tribulations Dao Lord (Cultivation level restored), Disciple of the Reincarnation Hall.
9. Dugu Ming: Peak of Nine Tribulations Dao Lord, Celestial Calamity Star, Celestial Calamity Star.
10. Primordial Dao Lord: Peak of Nine Tribulations Dao Lord,
11. Long You: Peak of Nine Tribulations Dao Lord.
12. Lei Yan, Holy Master: Peak of Nine Tribulations Dao Lord.
…
(The rankings of the eight Young Masters follow no particular order.)
“It seems this Eldest Young Master, who has remained elusive as a dragon glimpsed only by its head and not its tail, has taken the step ahead of the eight Young Masters and advanced to the Dao Sovereign realm,” Ye Xu thought to himself.
He did not publish the Dao Lord Ranking immediately. Instead, he looked at Lu Chengfeng and said, “The Dao Lord Ranking is complete, but how to set the price… that is the question.”
Perhaps, like the lower realms, set a monetary threshold?
“Master, might I have a look?” Lu Chengfeng inquired.
“Look.”
Ye Xu waved his hand, and the information of the Dao Lord ranking appeared in the minds of Yi Tianxing and Lu Chengfeng.
"This ranking is far too simplistic," Lu Chengfeng sighed with a wry laugh. It listed barely more than a name and cultivation level, leaving everything else entirely blank.
"Master," he suggested, "you could set a threshold and let cultivators pool their contributions. Once that standard is met, the information of the Dao Lord ranking can be unveiled to the world."
Ye Xu nodded; Lu Chengfeng’s idea perfectly mirrored his own thoughts.
"Master," Lu Chengfeng pondered for a long moment before asking slowly, "can this Dao Lord ranking be manipulated?"
"Of course not," Ye Xu replied firmly. "I established the Dao Lord ranking to earn money, yes, but also to elevate the reputation of Heaven’s Secret Pavilion. However, everything must be founded on complete impartiality and fairness."
"The credibility of Heaven’s Secret Pavilion is paramount."
From the moment he entered the trade, although Ye Xu was cunning and set his prices entirely at his own discretion, he had never made the slightest error concerning his reputation.
Fabricating a ranking? That was something he absolutely would not do.
Lu Chengfeng smiled bitterly. If the ranking couldn’t be manipulated, the only way to earn more money from it would likely be to wait until after its release, when the listed Dao Lords, and perhaps the entire populace, would begin probing and competing, testing each other’s depths.
"Chengfeng, you must understand," Ye Xu elaborated, seeing through things clearly, "if our credibility is ever compromised, then no matter how powerful Heaven’s Secret Pavilion becomes, no matter how invincible I might be, no one will place their trust in us."
"Making money requires a step-by-step approach."
"System," Ye Xu commanded mentally, "publish the Dao Lord ranking immediately."
Ding!
[Congratulations, Host! You have spent one hundred million Hongmeng points to commune with the Dao of Heaven.]
Boom!
In the next instant, a streak of golden light shot out from Heaven’s Secret Pavilion. The heavens above suddenly manifested wondrous, strange phenomena. Countless blooms, petals formed of the Great Dao, blossomed in the void.
A resplendent golden list shone brilliantly, entwined with divine patterns of the Great Dao. The sound of the Dao, deep and resonant like the chime of bells, reverberated across the Heavens.
"The Heavenly Dao responded?"
The very moment the Dao of Heaven communed with the Dao Lord ranking, countless stars trembled. Powerful auras stirred to life within the Hongmeng Dao Realm – the Dao Lords awakening.
Simultaneously.
Even more ancient and formidable presences revealed themselves across the breadth of the Hongmeng Dao Realm. Countless eyes seemed to watch from all directions, fixing their gaze upon the Dao Lord ranking.
"Today," Ye Xu’s voice, amplified through the Dao of Heaven, shook the fabric of time itself, "Heaven’s Secret Pavilion proclaims the Dao Lord ranking, encompassing the one hundred mightiest Dao Lords within the Hongmeng Dao Realm."
"Should any dear friends wish to witness its content, you may contribute divine stones to the Dao Lord ranking. Once a total of 1.2 billion divine stones are gathered, the list shall be unveiled for all to see."
"The master of Heaven’s Secret Pavilion possesses terrifying power! To commune with the Dao of Heaven through sheer individual strength and harness its might to empower the Dao Lord ranking!"
"Who exactly is this person?"
Countless threads of Divine Sense buzzed and whispered in private communication.
Ten breaths later.
The experience time for the Dao of heaven concluded.
The grand celestial phenomena gradually dissolved, their strange visions fading away as a golden scroll list hung in the sky, mysterious and extraordinary.
Yet, during this period, the news of the Dao Lord ranking’s emergence had already spread throughout the Hongmeng Dao Realm.
"One billion two hundred million divine stones. Who would be willing to produce that?"
A Dao Lord scoffed mockingly.
"Idiot."
"The intention of the master of Heaven’s Secret Pavilion was clearly that crowdfunding was possible," a Nine Tribulations Dao Lord said with interest. "Don’t you want to know the contents of the Dao Lord ranking?"
"Perhaps you and I are both on it."
"Impossible?"
That Nine Tribulations Dao Lord voiced his skepticism, "Though we are Nine Tribulations Dao Lords, within the Hongmeng Dao Realm, we are merely small players. How could we possibly be listed?"
"We’ll know once we look."
"Exactly."
"One hundred divine stones mean nothing to us. If we can gather the twelve billion divine stones, we can see who the top Dao Lords in the Hongmeng Dao Realm truly are. Even if we fall short, the money spent is negligible."
A Dao Lord flew towards the Dao Lord ranking, and one hundred divine stones vanished into it.
More and more cultivators flew over.
However, the weakest among them were Sovereigns of the World at their peak.
It should be known.
For a Sovereign of the World, even a single divine stone represented considerable wealth. How could they be willing to spend it?
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
One divine stone after another sank into the Dao Lord ranking.
The one billion two hundred million divine stone goal drew ever nearer.
Ye Xu maintained his unhurried demeanor.
The price of twelve billion divine stones was not overly high, and with it being a collective effort, gathering the sum was merely a matter of time.
At the headquarters of the Canglan Merchant Alliance.
Xuan Du Ancient Immortal stared at the Dao Lord ranking in the sky, his aged face looking awful.
"Now it’s over…"
"The master… has ascended the list…"