At Kunlun Mountain Peak, azure auspicious clouds enveloped the sky, and the Dao's rhythm arose naturally.
The Origin Qi transformed from Primordial Violet Qi was pure and vast, containing the most primordial power of creation.
It divided into four streams and floated before the Three Pure Ones and Hongjun.
This sight left the four greatest figures of the Primordial World stunned once more.
Again?
More?!
And this time... it was even more "nourishing" than before?
The Three Pure Ones looked at the azure stream before them, their primordial spirits practically cheering with joy.
They had only just sampled the wondrous taste of this Origin Qi. The sensation of reaching straight to the Origin of the Great Dao and instantly loosening their Cultivation Bottleneck was far more satisfying than any heavenly treasure.
Now, an even larger "extra serving" lay before them. Who could resist?
"Cough, cough..." Tongtian Jiaozhu was the first to break the silence.
He stared at the thickest azure stream before him, the one that belonged to him, and his eyes nearly glowed green.
Rubbing his hands together, he looked at his precious disciple with a slightly embarrassed smile. "Um... Beloved Disciple, this... is for Master too?"
Lin Shen had just broken through to the Golden Immortal realm and was feeling thoroughly comfortable and warm all over.
Seeing his masters staring eagerly at those "clouds" in the sky, he thought they wanted some too.
As a good child who respected his masters, of course he had to share tasty food with them!
He nodded vigorously, then stretched out his chubby little hand to point at the four streams before pointing at the Three Pure Ones and Hongjun in turn, babbling, "Yiya, yiya!"
(Share! Share it all! Everyone gets some, so don't fight!)
To the Three Pure Ones and Hongjun, his gesture meant, "I prepared these especially for you. Hurry up and eat."
"Hahaha! I knew it! My disciple is the most filial!" Having received "permission," Tongtian Jiaozhu could no longer hold himself back. He laughed loudly and inhaled.
The stream of Origin Qi that belonged to him was completely drawn into his body like water sucked in by a great whale.
"Third Brother!" Yuanshi Tianzun frowned, feeling that Tongtian's table manners were far too crude and beneath the dignity of a Primordial Golden Immortal.
Yet while his mouth criticized him, his body was far more honest.
With a sweep of his sleeve, the Origin Qi that belonged to him also turned into a streak of light and entered his body.
Taiqing Laozi merely smiled. The Tai Chi Diagram above his head slowly unfurled, wrapping around that stream of Origin Qi and refining it at an unhurried pace, his movements graceful and composed.
While the Three Pure Ones began "enjoying" their feast without the slightest reservation, Hongjun was still hesitating.
He looked at the Origin Qi before him. Though slightly smaller than the Three Pure Ones' portions, it was still vast and pure, and his feelings were a tangled mess.
What had he come here for?
He had come to offer a gift and forge a good connection, while also seeing whether he could recruit this anomaly of the Primordial World into his Mystic Gate faction.
Yet what happened instead? His gift had not even been given away; they did not care for it.
Instead, he had first watched an earthshaking spectacle of "tearing Primordial Violet Qi apart with bare hands," and now he was being "fed" a lavish meal in return?
What sort of situation was this?!
When had he, the lofty Hongjun Daozu and future spokesperson of the Heavenly Dao, ever taken such an enormous advantage of someone else?
"Little friend, this item is far too precious. I would be ashamed to accept it." Hongjun gave Lin Shen a slight bow and spoke sincerely.
He wanted to refuse.
However, Lin Shen tilted his little head and looked at him with utter confusion.
(Why aren't you eating? Does it not taste good? Or do you not like this flavor?)
Lin Shen felt that this seemingly formidable old grandpa was actually quite kind. He had come over and given him "Popping Candy" to eat.
Now that Lin Shen had something good, naturally he had to share some with him.
Seeing that Hongjun would not "eat," he assumed he had not given him enough.
So, he stretched out his little hand and laboriously pushed the stream of Origin Qi before Hongjun again.
"Yiya! Yaya!" (It's for you! Eat more!)
Following his movement, that stream of Origin Qi actually grew another size, its color becoming even deeper.
Hongjun: "..."
He could sense that this Origin Qi contained a goodwill and karmic affinity that even he could not refuse.
If he forcibly rejected it, he would instead form bad karma with this mysterious little friend.
So be it.
Perhaps this was fate.
Hongjun sighed inwardly and no longer declined.
He solemnly bowed to Lin Shen once more. "Then I thank you, little friend, for bestowing this Dao affinity upon me."
With that, he opened his mouth and inhaled, drawing the stream of Origin Qi into his body as well.
Boom!
The instant this purest Origin Qi of creation, transformed from Primordial Violet Qi, entered their bodies—
The four greatest beings of the Primordial World trembled violently at the same time!
The Three Pure Ones had only just reached the initial stage of the Primordial Golden Immortal realm, and their cultivation was still somewhat unstable.
Yet under the cleansing rush of this Origin Qi, they felt their Dao foundations being tempered and consolidated at an unbelievable speed.
The Primordial mana within their bodies circulated wildly, and every cell rejoiced.
A realm that should have taken countless epochs to completely stabilize became as steady as a rock in merely a few breaths!
And it was not over yet!
The energy within this Origin Qi was simply too immense. Even after it had fully stabilized their initial-stage cultivation, a great deal of energy remained.
That energy transformed into the purest nourishment, pushing their cultivation toward an even higher level!
Peak initial stage of the Primordial Golden Immortal realm...
A bottleneck!
The barrier they had only just broken through appeared before them once again.
But this time, before that vast Origin Qi, the barrier seemed incredibly fragile.
"Break!"
Tongtian Jiaozhu was the first to unleash a long howl. His howl became a sword and shot into the heavens!
The bottleneck within his body shattered in response!
An even more powerful and sharper aura erupted from his body!
Mid-stage Primordial Golden Immortal!
Immediately afterward, Yuanshi Tianzun and Taiqing Laozi broke through in succession as well.
The phantom of the Pangu Banner above Yuanshi Tianzun's head became more solid, while the Chaos runes on its surface evolved the ultimate truths of heaven and earth.
The Tai Chi Diagram behind Taiqing Laozi slowly revolved, Yin Yang energies merging into Chaos.
The auras of the three brothers connected as one, and their overwhelming pressure made the entire Primordial World tremble!
Countless great cultivators in seclusion were jolted awake from meditation by the successive waves of terrifying pressure. Each was dumbfounded, questioning their very existence.
What was happening today?
Had those three on Kunlun Mountain started treating breakthroughs like meals?
They had just broken through once—why were they breaking through again?
Were they not going to let anyone else live?!
Hongjun's situation, however, was different.
He was already at the crucial point of Slay Three Corpses and unite with the Dao. He was only one step away from the Sage Realm.
What he lacked was not mana, nor was it cultivation. It was an opportunity.
An opportunity that would allow him to perfectly unite with the Dao, wield the Heavenly Dao, and yet avoid being assimilated by it.
And this Origin Qi from Lin Shen was precisely that opportunity!
This power originated from Primordial Violet Qi, yet transcended the Heavenly Dao, containing the most primordial "creation" and "change."
The moment it surged into Hongjun's body, a light of creation exploded within the sea of his primordial spirit!
He saw it!
He saw Pangu's Creation of the World, his body transforming into all things.
He saw the Heavenly Dao being born and operating without end.
He also saw, beneath the predetermined greater course of the Heavenly Dao, that single thread of escaping vitality—the endless, boundless variables!
Following the heavens did not mean complete obedience.
It meant that while conforming to the greater course, one must grasp that share of change and guide all things in heaven and earth toward a better future!
This was true "union with the Dao"!
Not becoming a puppet of the Heavenly Dao, but becoming its "helmsman"!
"My Dao... is complete!"
Unprecedentedly brilliant light burst from Hongjun's eyes.
The aura around him, one that harmonized with the Heavenly Dao, reached a state of perfect unity at this moment.
A supreme Sage's might, surpassing the Primordial Golden Immortal realm and standing above the entire Primordial World, slowly radiated from his body.
Though he had not truly taken that final step, he had already found his path and seen the threshold of the Sage Realm!
Once he returned to Zixiao Palace, entered seclusion, and fully absorbed today's insight—
The first Sage of the Primordial World would be born!
And all of this had come from the little baby before him, who was still licking his fingers and savoring the flavor of the meat stew.
Hongjun slowly opened his eyes and looked at Lin Shen, his expression incomparably complex.
There was shock, gratitude, reverence, and even a trace of... envy.
He had cultivated for countless epochs and calculated innumerable karmic ties, only barely touching the threshold of Sagehood.
Yet this little fellow before him had stood at the end of all Great Daos from the very moment of his birth.
Perhaps this was the true "Dao."
Hongjun was filled with emotion. Facing Lin Shen, he solemnly bowed deeply.
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