Yangmei: I Saw Through Your Schemes Long Ago!

Upon hearing this, Hongjun was greatly startled. In just a moment, he saw the Hollow Willow Branch already sweeping against the Four Swords of Zhu Xian.

Like the many treasures before them, the Four Swords of Zhu Xian were all collected into its grasp.

A flicker of shock passed through his heart, but he quickly grasped the crux of the matter.

This Yangmei!

"You scoundrel, back when you fought Luohu, you never used your full strength."

Yangmei naturally nodded, now speaking the truth.

"Before that, I had already seen through your schemes. But at the time, I had already attained the Dao of the Primordial in the chaos, so I simply sent an incarnation. Your schemes, your actions—I saw them all."

"Now, though you are a Heavenly Dao Saint, I have long since proven the Dao. This place holds no Heavenly Dao authority for you to wield. In this Primordial World, you are far from my match."

Hearing this, Hongjun was shocked. He hadn't expected Yangmei to have proven the Dao so early.

Nor had he expected that the one who helped him back then was merely an incarnation.

He hadn't even fully seen through its nature as an incarnation.

Such cultivation. He looked at Yangmei and could only sigh in the end.

At this moment, he was no match for Yangmei.

If they were within the Primordial World, with the authority of the Heavenly Dao in hand, it would be a different story.

But this place was chaos. In chaos, only the Great Dao existed. The Heavenly Dao was but a junior here, unable to wield much authority.

"Fellow Daoist, your cultivation is admirable. I am not your equal."

Yangmei nodded at this, then took out countless spiritual treasures and placed them before Hongjun.

Looking at the treasures before him, Hongjun felt a bit of anger. He hadn't expected that in such a brief clash, he would lose all his spiritual treasures.

But Yangmei didn't want them. He pushed them back.

"These spiritual treasures are useless to me. I roam the chaos, seeking the Great Dao. I should not rely on the advantage of treasures to win. I prove the Dao by force. With this Hollow Willow Branch in hand, that's enough. Fellow Daoist, you may take back all the treasures."

Hongjun was stunned, then overjoyed inside.

He hadn't expected to get these treasures back.

But Yangmei's words also awakened him.

He had been amassing a vast number of spiritual treasures in the Primordial World, and now he felt somewhat reliant on their advantage.

He was about to preach the Dao. Why not distribute the many Postnatal Spiritual Treasures and some Innate Spiritual Treasures in his hands?

These many karmic ties would fall upon the Great Powers of the Primordial World, likely bringing him no small benefit.

But Yangmei couldn't help adding, "Fellow Daoist, you scheme much. You must also relax your mind. Too many schemes may interfere with your own cultivation."

At this moment, it seemed that the true seeker of the Dao was not Hongjun, but Yangmei before him.

Without many schemes, he had proven the Dao before Hongjun, single-mindedly pursuing the Dao, dwelling in this chaos—without up or down, left or right, barren and lonely.

Though Hongjun wavered, thinking of his schemes, he steadied his resolve.

The method of replacing the Great Dao with the Heavenly Dao was a plan he had long devised.

He would prove it was right. He would walk to that line Pangu had never touched.

"Fellow Daoist, I must return to the Primordial World to preach the Dao. I take my leave."

Yangmei nodded, watching Hongjun's departing figure, feeling somewhat speechless.

In the end, he couldn't help shaking his head.

"Though he has a heart for the Dao, he is burdened by too many thoughts. The path of the Dao will be arduous."

Just as he was about to turn back and cultivate, he sensed something in the void.

There seemed to be an opportunity for him within the Primordial World.

Yangmei was slightly startled. An opportunity for him in the Primordial World?

He calculated for a moment but couldn't see through what that opportunity was.

Still, he was a bit curious. After so long in chaos, this was the first time he felt he had an opportunity.

With that, he glanced at the Primordial World.

Then he deliberated for a moment. He might as well go take a look. Perhaps it held a chance to prove the Dao of the Primordial Limitless.

Now, with his speed fully unleashed, Yangmei's aura had already reached the peak of a Zenith Heaven Golden Immortal of the Origin.

To reach such a level in so short a time—few would believe it if told.

But when he reached the edge of the Primordial World, he hesitated.

The Primordial World was the Heavenly Dao's home ground. Here, with his current cultivation, he couldn't contend with it.

Thinking it over, he sighed, disguised himself slightly, and only then felt at ease entering the Primordial World.

When Hongjun returned to the Purple Cloud Palace, there was a hint of dejection on his face.

He had assumed that, as the first Heavenly Dao Saint of the Primordial World, he would naturally be unmatched in this era.

Unexpectedly, a nameless Great Power had appeared before him, surpassing his expectations, and then there was Yangmei, who also proved to be stronger.

After scheming for so long, it now seemed he could only rank third.

The intensity of his sense of failure went without saying.

A moment later, he sensed the situation at the Purple Cloud Palace once more.

Still, not a single person had arrived.

He looked again at his own Purple Cloud Palace, its Purple Halo rising like a beacon within the Primordial World.

And yet, no one had found it.

Coupled with the recent blow to his pride, a hint of anger stirred within him.

"These fools—can they not even find this place?"

But after that single remark, he calmed down. Then, upon reflection, he realized that this chaos had no distinction of up, down, left, or right.

Searching for it here was like fishing for a needle in the vast ocean.

Left with no choice, he tapped his finger, and a stream of information spread into the minds of the Great Powers across the Primordial World.

The many figures searching for the Purple Cloud Palace in the chaos suddenly paused, then their faces lit up with joy.

"Found it, found it—the Purple Cloud Palace!"

With that, they all set off toward the palace.

Among them, Nuwa also received the message.

She immediately followed, heading for the Purple Cloud Palace.

She was not far from it now.

After flying for a stretch, she spotted a massive palace floating in the chaos, suffused with a rising Purple Halo, and knew at once—this was the Purple Cloud Palace.

Finally stepping inside, she saw three figures standing in the empty plaza.

An elder, a middle-aged man, and a youth.

The three shared a connected aura, as if from the same source, and their features bore a certain resemblance.

As Nuwa arrived, the youth among them stepped forward.

"Fellow Daoist, you've come quite quickly."

Nuwa studied the three, and after a moment's thought, concluded they must be the Kunlun Three Pure Ones.

She clasped her hands in greeting.

"I greet you, three fellow Daoists. Might you be the Kunlun Three Pure Ones?"

The youth, Tongtian, burst into laughter.

"Fellow Daoist, we are indeed the Three Pure Ones. I am Shangqing Tongtian."

Nuwa nodded at this, then subtly shifted a step away from him.

It seemed a gesture of avoidance, for her master had once told her:

"Among those attending the lectures at the Purple Cloud Palace, aside from the Great Immortal Zhenyuanzi, not a single one is a simple character."

The reason Zhenyuanzi was considered simple was that he later became a complete recluse.

Bearing the title of Ancestor of Earth Immortals, he never flaunted his power, spending his days cultivating quietly in his temple.

He was one of the more stable ones. The rest were all unreliable sorts.

Too much karma, far too dangerous—so Nuwa couldn't help but keep her distance.