Cao Guojiu, originally named Jingxiu, was the son of Prime Minister Cao Bin.

Cao Guojiu had a younger brother named Cao Jingzhi, who abused his power and committed countless evil deeds. One year, Cao's brother set his sights on the wife of a scholar journeying to the capital to take the imperial exam. In a quarrel, he killed the scholar.

Later, the scholar's friend reported this matter to Bao Zheng. Upon learning of this, Cao Guojiu, out of a twisted sense of care for his brother, even instructed him to kill the scholar's wife, aiming to eliminate all evidence.

The scholar's wife was brought to Cao Mansion, and just as she was about to be thrown into the well—

A brilliant light illuminated the sky, and a swordsman descended from the heavens.

"Do you still not recognize your mistakes, Cao Jingxiu?"

Song Lin stared coldly at the figure in official robes not far away.

Cao's brother and his cronies, witnessing this otherworldly occurrence, were immediately terrified to the point of losing control, shaking violently.

Cao Guojiu, being a man with some sense of shame, regained clarity of mind at this moment. Realizing that his crimes had been exposed by the divine, he was overcome with guilt. He picked up a treasure sword nearby to commit suicide.

Song Lin flicked his fingers lightly, and the treasure sword shattered.

"This case is still salvageable. Your brother's crime does not implicate you, but your act of instigating the murder of the scholar's wife must be compensated for."

"Thank you, Immortal, for your guidance."

Cao Guojiu respectfully led the scholar's wife out of the mansion. Afterwards, he took his brother and all those involved in the case to Kaifeng Prefecture to turn themselves in.

In the end, Cao's brother and his accomplices were sentenced to immediate execution by Bao Zheng for murder. Cao Guojiu, having attempted but failed to commit murder, voluntarily surrendered and paid half of his wealth to the scholar's family and the other half to the court.

He was given a lighter sentence, serving three years in prison.

That night, Bao Zheng dreamt of the Pure Yang True Man. In the dream, the True Immortal praised him for his impartiality and uprightness.

This incident quickly spread among the populace. Coupled with the testimony of the scholar's wife, the reputation of the Pure Yang Immortal soared to unparalleled heights. Even Emperor Renzong of Song heard of the matter; upon verifying the details, he bestowed several titles upon Song Lin.

This led to an era of reverence for Taoist practices during the Song dynasty.

The Jade Emperor became the mainstream focus of official rituals, gradually replacing the mythical status of other Heavenly Emperors.

Years later, news reached the Heavenly Court. The Jade Emperor was overjoyed, praising Lvu Chunyang as his lucky general.

Three years passed.

Cao Guojiu was released from prison.

Having lost his brother and family fortune, he nonetheless felt an inexplicable sense of relief.

At that moment, the Seven Immortals descended to welcome him.

Leading them was the Pure Yang True Man, who sternly shouted, "Cao Jingxiu, why won't you wake up now!"

Cao Guojiu instantly recovered his memories; Xuan Su returned to its rightful place!

The Eight Immortals were officially reunited.

The successive awakenings led Song Lin to deeply comprehend the Heavenly Heart Platform, achieving near mastery of the principles of the Taiyi Jinhua Scripture.

"With the eight gathered, we can now begin Harmonization," Song Lin declared to everyone.

The Eight Masters.

Heaven and Earth, Yin and Yang, Sun and Moon, Four Seasons.

Song Lin prepared to harmonize with the Innate Yang Qi Dao of the Yang Lord.

Yet, the Two Ways of Heaven and Earth were not entirely comprehensive, and he himself was not primarily focused on that path.

"Very well!"

From then on, the Eight Immortals traveled through the Mortal World, leaving countless legends in their wake. The Heavenly Court observed all of this in silence.

Meanwhile, they were secretly attuning themselves to the Eight Masters' Dao, casually exterminating demons and deepening tensions with the Four Sea Dragon Kings, even clashing frequently with eminent monks from the Buddhist Sect.

Although the Eight Immortals did not go too far, avoiding immediate backlash from the Buddhist Sect, accusations against them in the Heavenly Court had piled high.

To divert attention, Song Lin instructed the Queen Mother of the West to host the Peach Banquet.

The grand event immediately drew the attention of the Three Realms.

Kunlun's flat peaches were renowned far and wide; they were almost never shared with others, except in extremely rare circumstances.

Now, suddenly offered openly—could it be that Kunlun had finally bowed to the Heavenly Court?

For a time, the Three Realms were thoroughly captivated by Kunlun's developments, making the affairs of the Eight Immortals appear insignificant in comparison.

The Peach Festival was scheduled for thirty years later, coinciding with the maturation of the flat peaches. The Queen Mother even promised that each subsequent harvest would see half distributed as gifts.

Thus began the celebration held once every five hundred years.

Twenty years later, at the East Sea.

On this day, at the hour of Heavenly Dawn.

At midnight, along the shores of the East Sea, a blazing sun rose.

Golden light immersed the coastal waters, killing countless demons with its righteous and overwhelming energy.

"How dare you!!!"

Roar!!

Suddenly, a thunderous dragon roar erupted.

A golden, crimson-maned, five-clawed Divine Dragon broke through the water.

It was the enraged East Sea Dragon King himself.

"And what of it?"

The sun condensed into a golden dharma image, every gesture brimming with the resonance of the Great Dao.

The Pure Yang Dao, Harmonization!

Song Lin had actually achieved Harmonization!

Man and dragon clashed over the East Sea, stirring its waters into chaos.

The Four Sea Dragon Kings were united as one entity, and war appeared on the brink of erupting.

At this critical moment, White Dragon Guanyin descended to mediate.

"Stop! All of you, stop!"

White Dragon Guanyin materialized a dharma image.

A Heavenly Lady tread upon a treasure lotus, chanting mystic sounds, as a white dragon coiled around her.

Guanyin's true form was a White Dragon, an Innate Divine Being born from the Small Thousand World within the Four Heavenly Kings Heaven.

Being a Half-step Heavenly Immortal, she stood between the two parties, completely unaffected.

This battle ended in a draw.

Due to the conflict, the Jade Emperor refrained from rewarding Song Lin, who had just ascended to become an immortal. For now, they remained Independent Immortals.

Song Lin's breakthrough was so awe-inspiring that it overshadowed Zhongli Quan and Iron Crutch Li, who had respectively harmonized with the Two Ways of Heaven and Earth.

This was also Song Lin's reason for such a grand display—to prevent others from realizing that there were actually three harmonizations.

Although the others hadn't yet become Harmonization Immortals, each of them had grasped a portion of the Eight Masters' Great Dao.

With the Eight Immortals and Eight Gods restored on this day—

The Kunlun Heavenly Court Acquired Immortals now had key pillars to contend with the Heavenly Court.

Yet, this still wasn't sufficient. Song Lin felt they could delay until all eight achieved Harmonization.

They had already undergone a hundred lifetimes without losing themselves, proving their profound Taoist cultivation. Adding the insights from the Taiyi Jinhua Chapter, Harmonization seemed just within reach in the coming years.

There were ten years remaining until the Peach Festival.

In ten years, they would slay the Dragon King and rebel against the Heavenly Court.

At Penglai.

The sect hierarch Hou Yi and Lady Turquoise Pool were teaching their disciples the art of cultivation, each taking charge of either male or female disciples.

At this moment, Song Lin descended from beyond the skies.

"Greetings to the Pure Yang Ancestor," Hou Yi bowed deeply.

"Would you like to become the Heavenly Emperor?"

"What?"

"Just prepare yourself." With an enigmatic expression, Song Lin's figure vanished.

In this world, the reputation of the Jade Emperor had been inflated under Song Lin's orchestration. How could he possibly cede such power to an enemy?

Thoroughly enjoying the thought, Song Lin was eager to see the expression on the Jade Emperor's face when the truth was revealed—discovering that Song Lin himself was the Eastern King and that the Heavenly Court's Acquired Immortals had all defected.

Was Lvu Dongbin really going to be the Heavenly Court's loyal servant?

Ten years.

Equivalent to 120 days in the Real World.

During this time, Song Lin intended to return to the Real World to achieve Harmonization.

Being a soul-crossing rather than body-crossing entity, many things couldn't be brought back as easily.

Harmonizing within 120 days?

Difficult, but Song Lin was determined to attempt it.

The shared timelines gradually converged.

The Story World and the Real World approached their final showdown.

The alliance of the Three Kingdoms' demon clans was immensely powerful.

The Human Clan had endured for over a decade but was now retreating step by step, forced to shrink back to the central regions.

The demon clans believed that the so-called Shenzhou Land Sinking plan had long been abandoned, given the Human Clan's loss of cities and territory.

No one believed the remnants could produce any miracles.

At the Northwest Xuan Sect Shangqing Dao Alliance, faced with mortal peril, they had to make an ultimate choice.

Southward toward humanity? Northward toward demons?

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