There was a mountain in the Primordial World, called Jade Capital.
Within one of its caves sat an old Daoist, his white hair and beard flowing, a damaged Jade Plate of Creation suspended above his head.
As the Daoist cultivated with his eyes closed, a Purple Halo permeated his surroundings, while the Golden Wheel of Merit behind his head slowly turned.
The Daoist had been cultivating peacefully when a sudden impulse stirred within him. His eyes snapped open, and he raised a hand to calculate. His brows immediately furrowed tightly.
"Why is this happening? It seems one of my opportunities has been lost. How strange."
Since it was an opportunity, having it vanish into thin air was truly infuriating.
What puzzled the Daoist even more was that, if it was an opportunity, he should have sensed it beforehand. Yet this time, there had been no warning at all before the sudden notification. This was the first time such a thing had happened.
After calculating with his fingers for some time, he discovered that not a trace of heavenly secrets had been revealed.
After a while, the old Daoist seemed to give up and slowly lowered his calculating hand.
Sitting upon the cushion, he felt somewhat helpless.
"So be it. Dwelling on this will only bring more trouble. I should hasten to attain the Dao. Only then can I unite this Primordial World and prove my Great Dao."
"I, Hongjun, shall become the first Sage of this Primordial World!"
The old Daoist was none other than Daoist Hongjun.
He sat there with his eyes closed, preparing to continue his contemplation and strive to attain Sagehood as soon as possible.
Yet for some reason, his heart remained unsettled. There was even a warning from the Heavenly Dao.
"What is going on? It is only an opportunity, yet I cannot calm myself for so long?"
"Even the Heavenly Dao has intervened personally. Could this concern becoming a Sage?"
Left with no choice, he activated the Jade Plate of Creation above his head and forcibly calmed his emotions.
Then he resumed calculating. The damaged jade plate above his head emitted a Seven-Colored Divine Light, which flowed into Hongjun's hands.
Yet Hongjun found the matter increasingly strange. The more he calculated, the less he could discern.
All he could see was a hazy expanse, as though the heavenly secrets had been obscured by something.
Still, alarm bells rang loudly in his heart, and he managed to calculate a few things related to this matter.
It did indeed concern becoming a Sage, but it was not an opportunity for him to attain Sagehood.
He had obtained his own opportunity long ago. Yet through his calculations, he discovered that this matter seemed to concern events after becoming a Sage.
As for exactly what it was, he could not calculate it.
His mind went blank for a moment before he let out a sigh.
"Child, come here."
At his summons, a young boy appeared outside the cave dwelling and stood there respectfully.
"Master, what is your command?"
Unable to calculate the answer himself, Hongjun naturally needed to ask someone. He spoke directly.
"Has anything happened recently in the Primordial World?"
The boy thought for a moment. Aside from two powerful living beings being born on the Sun Star, and twelve brutes appearing near Mount Buzhou who did not cultivate Primordial Spirits and called themselves Pangu's legitimate descendants, nothing else seemed to have happened.
However, his master already knew about all those matters.
It seemed that nothing significant had occurred.
"Nothing major has happened recently in the Primordial World."
Nothing major had happened?
After thinking it over, Hongjun realized that asking the boy servant had been pointless. They were both recluses; if even he did not know what had happened, the boy likely knew even less.
He waved a hand and dismissed the boy.
Sitting on the cushion, Hongjun felt somewhat uneasy.
Something had stirred his emotions and even prevented the Heavenly Dao from calculating its cause.
It was probably a major matter.
A major matter of the Heavenly Dao—if a flaw arose in such a matter, then after he became a Sage, he would still need to make up for it.
In that case, it would still be his job. After sitting there and pondering for half the day, anger began to rise within him.
"No matter who you are, you stole my opportunity. Once I become a Sage, I will calculate this matter again. This karmic debt has been forged, and I will settle it then!"
He gritted his teeth, but there was truly nothing he could do at present.
He wanted to call upon the Heavenly Dao for help, but Naihe, he was not yet a Heavenly Dao Saint.
This opportunity might be great or small, but if he lost it, he feared he would regret it beyond measure later.
"Heavenly Dao, could you lend this poor Daoist a hand? Since you know of this matter and even notified me, it certainly cannot be insignificant. If it is delayed, I fear it would be inappropriate."
As soon as he finished speaking, a massive rift exploded open beside Hongjun.
Within it, an emotionless eye appeared before him.
Seeing the Eye of the Heavenly Dao appear, Hongjun's body trembled slightly.
As though he understood the Heavenly Dao's intent, Hongjun frowned, then waved his hand after a moment's thought.
"My Three Corpses have yet to unite. How can I attain Sagehood? No, no."
The Heavenly Dao glanced at the Golden Wheel of Merit behind Hongjun's head before vanishing.
Hongjun's expression was no better.
The Heavenly Dao's demand upon appearing had been simple: attain Sagehood.
If Hongjun attained Sagehood now, it would let him know the cause behind this matter.
But Hongjun had ambitions of his own.
It was not impossible for him to attain Sagehood now. He only needed to use the merit upon him, together with the Primordial Violet Qi granted by the Heavenly Dao.
But he did not want to attain Sagehood in such a manner.
He wanted to complete his Three Corpses method. If the Three Corpses united as one, then even after attaining Sagehood, his realm would not be low.
Only then would the wild ambitions in his heart have a greater chance of being realized.
The Heavenly Dao was unwilling to help, leaving Hongjun exceedingly furious.
It was like knowing he had lost money but being unable to remember where he had dropped it.
In the end, he could only sigh.
"I will remember this matter. There will surely come a day of reckoning."
For the moment, he could only commit the matter to memory.
With a wave of his hand, a furious-looking man stepped out of Hongjun's body.
This man was no different from Hongjun, save that he wore black robes and had a black beard, giving him a somewhat sinister air.
Hongjun looked at him and spoke.
"I must trouble you, Daoist friend, to take a trip through the Primordial World and see whether there are any clues."
Black-Robed Hongjun nodded, then waved his hand.
"You and I are one. You are the Original Body; there is no need for such courtesy. This matter is also my duty. I shall make the trip."
Hongjun nodded. Although he did not know exactly what he had lost—
—sending the Evil Corpse to investigate should uncover some clues.
The Evil Corpse turned and departed, vanishing into Jade Capital Mountain.
Hongjun closed his eyes and continued contemplating his Great Dao.
The restless thoughts in his heart were all suppressed.
Yet a thorn remained, constantly reminding him.
Someone had stolen one of his opportunities right from under his nose.
For the first time, Hongjun understood what it meant to endure for a moment and find peace, only to grow angrier the more he thought about it after taking a step back.
But there was nothing he could do. He could not calculate anything at all, so he could only let the Evil Corpse investigate.
After leaving Jade Capital Mountain, the Evil Corpse casually glanced around, chose a direction, and flew away.
After all, he had no idea what had happened. He could only search at random; perhaps he might stumble across something.
For now, he could only act like a headless fly. There was no other way.
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