Zixiao Storm

"Eldest Brother, look. What is that thing on those Fellow Daoists? Its defensive power is incredible."

Taiqing and Yuqing had only made it halfway when they encountered two innate divine beings shrouded by great bells, prompting them to appraise the pair.

Taiqing stroked his beard and examined them closely.

"Judging by its form, like a great bronze bell, could that be the Chaos Bell?"

"The Chaos Bell?"

Yuqing froze!

"That is an extraordinary defensive treasure! Those two Fellow Daoists must be the brothers Dijun and Taiyi from the Sun Star."

"They are two Three-legged Golden Crows in human form!"

Upon hearing this, Yuqing curled his lip and said disdainfully.

"Hmph! I thought they were some remarkable innate divine beings, but they are merely two furred, armored beasts born from dampness and eggs."

"Giving the Chaos Bell to creatures like them is simply a waste."

Taiqing helplessly shook his head.

Yet Dijun and Taiyi, not far away, had heard every word clearly.

Taiyi was about to step forward and argue, but Dijun stopped him and shook his head.

"Listening to the Dao is what matters. Their strength surpasses ours, so do not act rashly. Endure for a moment and the winds will settle; take a step back and the sea and sky will open wide."

"Yes, Eldest Brother!"

After casting a glance toward Taiqing and Yuqing and silently remembering them, the brothers resumed their journey toward the Purple Firmament Palace.

Beyond the Thirty-Three Heavens was bustling and clamorous at this moment!

Those whose cultivation had reached Daluo Golden Immortal all entered Chaos.

Previously, several beings at the Taiyi Golden Immortal Peak had been mercilessly shredded by the Chaos Gang Wind. Those who arrived afterward all stopped in their tracks.

Go or not?

In the end, there were still those unafraid of death who entered, only to meet the fate of body and Dao perishing.

"Brother Zhen Yuanzi, wait for me!"

"Oh, fellow daoist Hong Yun! It has been many years, yet your bearing remains as splendid as ever! Hahahaha!"

"Brother Zhen Yuanzi, do not mock me. I have been craving your Ginseng Fruit. Since our last parting, I have been in seclusion for a long time."

Zhen Yuanzi smiled and shook his head, then took out two Ginseng Fruits and handed them to Hong Yun.

The friendship between the two Fellow Daoists was beyond question—the Primordial World's finest pair.

Taking the Ginseng Fruits, Hong Yun tossed them into his mouth and swallowed them whole.

"Hahahaha! Wonderful! This is still exactly to my liking! Many thanks, Brother Zhen Yuanzi."

"No matter. Listening to a Saint expound the Dao this time will greatly benefit our comprehension of the laws. We should hurry to the Purple Firmament Palace and secure good seats."

"That is true. Then let us go!"

Immediately afterward, Hong Yun summoned his true form and carried Zhen Yuanzi swiftly into Chaos.

Before long, they overtook Dijun and Taiyi, arriving behind Taiqing and Yuqing.

Following close behind was Kunpeng. He had been delayed by some matters and arrived a step late, but he was extremely fast, trailing only behind Zhen Yuanzi and Hong Yun.

Next came Queen Mother of the West and Duke of the East.

Duke of the East had transformed from innate yang qi, while Queen Mother of the West had transformed from innate yin qi.

Perhaps it was their innate attraction, but Duke of the East had always pursued Queen Mother of the West.

However, Queen Mother of the West had never been particularly interested in him. At most, they were friends.

"Hehe! Fellow daoist Queen Mother of the West, the Purple Firmament Palace is not far ahead. When we get there, we should choose good seats. When the Saint expounds the Dao, the closer one is, the better the insights gained."

Queen Mother of the West nodded.

"Let's go!"

A coffin followed behind them. It belonged to Randeng, who had spent a long time recovering from his injuries.

After Feng Xuan had blasted him away with a single strike last time, his origin had been severely damaged. His cultivation had nearly fallen to Taiyi Golden Immortal, but fortunately, by a stroke of luck, he had been saved by a pool of Three Lights Divine Water.

Yes, an entire pool of Three Lights Divine Water.

When Randeng awoke, he was stunned beyond belief! Then he became overjoyed.

With the aid of the Three Lights Divine Water, his realm had not fallen, but his origin had truly been damaged, and he had spent a long time healing.

Thus, he had even fallen behind the other beings on the way to hear the Dao at the Purple Firmament Palace.

Because of this, he hated Feng Xuan to the bone and swore that once he became stronger, he would definitely settle the score.

But he could only think about it. In this lifetime, he likely had no hope of reaching Hunyuan Daluo Golden Immortal.

Moreover, Feng Xuan's cultivation was far beyond that. As a true disciple of the War-ending Sect, her Saint arts were no joke. Once she returned to Floating Pagoda Island and Chi Yu gave her new Saint arts, breaking through to Hunyuan Taiji Golden Immortal would only be a matter of time.

Before long, another hundred years passed.

That day, Chi Yu appeared before Hongjun.

He thought it over. There was nothing pressing in the sect for the moment, so there was no harm in coming to take a look.

This gave both Heavenly Dao and Hongjun a terrible fright!

Heavenly Dao Red Eye trembled as he hid to one side, while Hongjun knelt prostrate on the ground.

If the beings who had come to hear the Dao saw this, who knew what they would think.

"O-Old Daoist greets the War Ancestor!"

"Mhm. Rise."

Hongjun wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and then asked:

"May I ask why the War Ancestor has come to my Purple Firmament Palace?"

"Oh! This Seat merely came to have a look."

"Rest assured, This Seat will not interfere with your expounding of the Dao."

Chi Yu knew what Hongjun was thinking and stated it directly.

Both Heavenly Dao and Hongjun relaxed, thinking to themselves:

"It is good as long as he does not interfere! Good, as long as he does not interfere!"

In truth, Chi Yu had always harbored an idea: he wanted to take in the Primordial World, though he was still considering it.

After all, the Primordial World belonged to Pangu. He still did not know Pangu's purpose, so it was not convenient for him to act. Besides, Pangu had shown him kindness.

Now that Pangu was not in this world, managing the Primordial World on Pangu's behalf to repay that kindness was not impossible.

Of course, Chi Yu was still considering the matter and had not made up his mind.

Coming back to himself,

Chi Yu looked at Heavenly Dao Red Eye, who was still trembling beside him, and smiled as he shook his head.

"You, come here!"

Heavenly Dao Red Eye did not dare disobey and floated before Chi Yu.

Chi Yu carefully examined Heavenly Dao Red Eye.

As far as he knew, Heavenly Dao Red Eye was merely a servant sent by the Chaos Great Dao to govern the Primordial World.

But now that the Chaos Great Dao had retreated into seclusion, Heavenly Dao Red Eye had developed the ambition to monopolize the Primordial World.

The Chaos Great Dao had sent three servants to govern the Primordial World. The other two had yet to awaken: Earth Dao and Human Dao.

Originally, the Primordial World was meant to be jointly governed by the Three Daos.

Furthermore, to better govern the Primordial World, these three servants had been emotionless machines.

Then why was Heavenly Dao Red Eye now possessed of independent consciousness and seeking to monopolize the Primordial World?

He had even secretly joined forces with Hongjun, colluding with him to prevent Earth Dao and Human Dao from awakening.

The answer had to be found through Heavenly Dao Red Eye.

Chi Yu thought for a moment, then glanced at Hongjun.

"Why are you still standing here? Should you not go out and expound the Dao?"

Hongjun froze, then came to his senses. He hurriedly rose and bowed!

"Yes, yes, yes! Old Daoist will go out at once! War Ancestor, please make yourself at home!"

Then Hongjun vanished from the place.

After Hongjun left, Chi Yu continued questioning Heavenly Dao Red Eye.

Yet after questioning him for a long time, Heavenly Dao Red Eye did not utter a single word.

Chi Yu pressed a hand to his forehead in surprise.

"Ah, I forgot you have no mouth and cannot speak."

With a wave of his hand, the Creation Law descended upon Heavenly Dao Red Eye.

Then a middle-aged man dressed in red, with a pointed mouth, monkey-like cheeks, and a rather ugly appearance, appeared before Chi Yu.

"Red Eye greets High Lord. Thank you, High Lord, for the grace of enlightenment!"

"Mhm."

"Speak. This Seat is all ears!"

Red Eye continued to stammer, not knowing how to explain himself.

Elsewhere,

The doors of the Purple Firmament Palace opened, and two Attendants stepped out.

"The expounding of the Dao begins. All beings, enter the hall!"

Then they withdrew to one side. The beings rushed into the Purple Firmament Palace in a chaotic scramble, utterly lacking order. It was simply incomparable to Floating Pagoda Island back then.

The first thing that appeared before the beings was six enormous cushions, each a different color. One glance was enough to tell that they were no ordinary objects.

Taiqing and Yuqing rushed onto the first and second cushions, then sat down cross-legged.

Since Shangqing and Nüwa had not arrived, Dijun and Taiyi took the third and fourth cushions.

Seeing that only two cushions remained, Zhen Yuanzi grabbed Hong Yun and tossed him out.

With a bang, Hong Yun landed on the fifth cushion. He then turned back and looked at Zhen Yuanzi with a resentful expression.

Zhen Yuanzi helplessly nodded at him.

Just as everyone was fighting over the last cushion, a blurred figure swiftly landed upon the sixth cushion.

"You feathered brute, do you not understand the principle of first come, first served?"

Duke of the East pointed angrily at Kunpeng.

"Hmph! This Seat has arrived, so This Seat will not leave."

"You—"

Kunpeng then ignored Duke of the East, who continued hurling veiled insults.

Eventually, perhaps Duke of the East had grown tired. He let out a sigh, went to Queen Mother of the West's side, and sat down properly.

Suddenly, holy light appeared upon the high platform, and a white-haired elder with a prominent forehead appeared before the beings.

His eyes remained tightly shut, with no sign of opening, as though he were still waiting for someone.

Just as Haotian and Yaochi thought no one else would come, two women rushed over, panting heavily.

"W-Wait!"

"Wait, you two Attendants! We have not entered yet!"

Yes, two women. They were the western Jie Yin and Zhun Ti.

As for why they were women, that went back to ten thousand years ago.

It had been during the Final War of Dao and Demon. Luo Hou's self-destruction had severely injured Jie Yin and Zhun Ti, who had been in seclusion at the time.

Then Chi Yu sensed the two of them and, seized by a playful impulse, waved his hand. Two strands of Creation Law silently slipped into Jie Yin and Zhun Ti's bodies.

Both Jie Yin and Zhun Ti had felt something at the time, but they did not know exactly what it was.

Not until they took human form.

They had both been utterly dumbfounded!

"By me! Where did my brother go?"

From then on, Jie Yin and Zhun Ti had taken on female forms.

Still, their appearances were hard to praise—women with masculine faces.

No wonder people said Bodhisattvas could take countless forms, male or female alike.

"Hurry inside! The palace doors will be closing soon."

Yaochi obediently stepped aside and let them enter.

Once inside, Jie Yin and Zhun Ti saw the six cushions at the front, and their eyes lit up!

"Those six cushions are extraordinary. If we sit upon them to hear the Dao, our insights will surely be better than elsewhere."

"Senior Brother, they are all occupied already!"

"No matter. Follow my lead."

Jie Yin and Zhun Ti both looked toward Hong Yun, who seemed easiest to persuade, and began to weep.

"Wuwuwu~"

"Fellow daoist Hong Yun, everyone says you are the renowned great benefactor of the entire Primordial World. Look at us—we have come from the poor, desolate western lands, from so far away, and are utterly exhausted. Could you let us sit there and rest for a while?"

Jie Yin and Zhun Ti looked pitifully at Hong Yun.

Hong Yun had the air of a hopelessly kind man. Hearing Jie Yin and Zhun Ti praise him made him especially excited, and he rose to give up his seat before Zhen Yuanzi could persuade him otherwise.

Jie Yin seized the opportunity and swiftly sat down upon it, remaining unmoved from then on.

"Uh..."

"Thank you, fellow daoist Hong Yun, for yielding your seat! Fellow daoist Hong Yun truly deserves the title of the Primordial World's great benefactor!"

Hong Yun had initially felt somewhat resentful, but upon hearing that, he instantly perked up and replied with a cheerful grin:

"Hahahaha! It is nothing! You two Fellow Daoists have come from afar and must have had a difficult journey. This old man lives closer, so it is only right that I yield my seat."

All the beings pressed hands to their foreheads!

"That idiot!"

Zhen Yuanzi shook his head speechlessly.

Seeing that the seats were already spoken for, Hong Yun came over to Zhen Yuanzi's side and sat down cross-legged.

"Fellow daoist Hong Yun, you... sigh..."

"Hehe! It's fine! It's only a seat!"

"Sigh... forget it, forget it!"

Meanwhile, Zhun Ti was eyeing another meditation cushion.

She carefully weighed her options.

She could not afford to offend the Three Pure Ones, nor could she take their seats.

She could not afford to offend Dijun and Taiyi either, nor could she take theirs.

That only left Kunpeng.

Seizing the right moment, she resorted to the same trick, approaching Kunpeng with a pitiful expression.

But Kunpeng was not falling for it. He shouted,

"Get lost!"

Yuqing heard this and said disdainfully,

"Hmph! A wet-born creature hatched from an egg, a fur-clad beast in armor, daring to sit alongside us—what a disgrace to propriety!"

Then he stood up, pointed at Kunpeng, and began berating him.

Unable to contain his fury, Kunpeng likewise rose to his feet, ready to fight him!

The moment he stood, Zhun Ti darted forward and dropped onto the meditation cushion.

Kunpeng was furious!

Just as Kunpeng was about to make a move,

Hongjun opened his eyes.

"Quiet."

"The seating order has been decided and cannot be changed. The lecture begins!"