Hongjun's arrival this time was completely different from the last.
Last time, although he was already a Quasi-Saint, with an ethereal and vast aura, he was ultimately still within the Heavenly Dao of the prehistoric world.
This time, he had Proved the Dao and Become a Saint, merging himself with the Heavenly Dao.
He was the Heavenly Dao, and the Heavenly Dao was him.
He stood there without releasing the slightest pressure, yet the Three Pure Ones and Nuwa, all four Primordial Golden Immortals, felt a suppression born from the very level of life itself.
It was the instinctive awe lower-dimensional life felt toward a higher-dimensional existence.
"Congratulations, fellow Daoist, on bringing your merits to completion and attaining Sainthood."
Taiqing Laozi was the first to recover. He cupped his hands toward Hongjun in congratulations, his tone neither servile nor overbearing.
Though they had not become Saints, the path they walked was the Primordial Dao that transcended the Heavenly Dao. In terms of potential, they were not necessarily beneath Saints.
Thus, they respected Hongjun, but did not fear him.
"Likewise, likewise."
A gentle smile rested on Hongjun's face as his gaze swept over the Three Pure Ones and Nuwa before finally falling on Lin Shen, who was holding the little kitten and curiously studying him.
His gaze was gentle enough to melt ice that had lasted through the ages.
"If not for the enlightenment you bestowed upon me that day, little friend, I do not know how many eras I would have lingered before the gate of Sainthood."
Hongjun spoke with utter sincerity.
"I shall remember this karmic debt in my heart."
He knew that Lin Shen's mouthful of "grape-flavored Popping Candy," as well as the Origin Qi of creation that had later nourished him in return, had played a decisive role in allowing him to Prove the Dao and Become a Saint so quickly and perfectly.
That power had not only allowed him to glimpse the "variable" beyond the Heavenly Dao, but had also enabled him to retain more of his "self" when merging with the Dao, rather than being completely assimilated by the Heavenly Dao.
It could be said that Lin Shen was not only his opportunity to attain the Dao, but also the one who protected his Dao!
This debt of gratitude was greater than the heavens!
"Hong... jun... Grandpa..."
Lin Shen looked at the familiar yet unfamiliar old man before him and called out in his babyish voice.
He felt that this old grandpa had become stronger this time—and prettier, too.
He was sparkling all over, prettier than even the gemstones carved by Second Master.
Hearing that "Grandpa," Hongjun froze for a moment before bursting into hearty laughter.
"Ha ha ha! Good! Good indeed!"
He laughed with incomparable delight. At that moment, all the majesty of a Sage vanished, and he seemed like an ordinary old man hearing his grandchild call for him for the first time.
"Since little friend recognizes me as his grandpa, then Grandpa cannot come empty-handed."
Smiling, Hongjun spread open his palm.
Two radiant treasures appeared in his hand.
One was an ancient stone platform, upon which the laws of the three thousand Great Daos circulated. It was the Treasure Distribution Rock formed from the incomplete Jade Plate of Creation.
The other was a verdant bamboo staff covered in countless runes that flickered in and out of existence. It was his Companion Spiritual Treasure, the Jade Staff of Creation.
"These two items are treasures that accompanied me from birth and have followed me for countless eras."
Hongjun spoke casually, as though he were not giving away two supreme treasures that would make every great power in the prehistoric world fight to the death, but two worthless little toys.
"Today, I shall give them to little friend as something for self-defense."
Hiss—
The Three Pure Ones and Nuwa all sucked in a sharp breath.
They felt as though their hearts had been shocked into numbness today.
Had this Old Man Hongjun gone mad?
Giving away Primordial Violet Qi as toys last time was one thing.
But this time, he was actually giving away both his Companion Spiritual Treasure and the treasure he had used to attain the Dao?
Such extravagance could no longer be described as merely lavish!
He was practically emptying out his entire fortune just to curry favor with their disciple!
"Fellow Daoist, absolutely not!"
Yuanshi Tianzun was the first to step forward in opposition. With a stern face, he said righteously, "Such supreme treasures concern the foundation of your Dao path. How can you treat them so lightly?"
"Lin Shen is still young. He cannot accept such a heavy gift!"
Tongtian Jiaozhu nodded repeatedly. "Exactly, exactly! Old Man Hongjun, did becoming a Sage ruin your brain?"
"If you give this to our disciple, he would even find it too hard to use as a washboard!"
It was not that they did not want them, but that they did not dare accept them.
The karma was far too immense!
If they accepted these two treasures, Kunlun Mountain would likely never be able to hold its head high before Hongjun again.
"It is no matter, no matter."
Hongjun waved his hand, a profound and inscrutable smile on his face.
"Now that I have merged myself with the Heavenly Dao, such external objects are of little use to me."
As he spoke, he gently pushed the Treasure Distribution Rock and the Jade Staff of Creation toward Lin Shen.
"Treasure is given to heroes, and spiritual treasures are matched with those fated for them. I see that little friend has great affinity with these two items."
Lin Shen blinked curiously at the two "toys" flying toward him.
That stone platform looked square and neat, with so many sparkling patterns on it. It should make fine building blocks for constructing a house.
That bamboo stick looked so green. It should also be fun to use as a little wooden rod for knocking things around.
He stretched out his chubby little hands and swept both treasures into his embrace.
Then, before everyone's eyes, he raised the Jade Staff of Creation, which could stir up storms across the prehistoric world and stabilize Qiankun.
Smack!
He struck it against the Treasure Distribution Rock that contained the laws of the three thousand Great Daos.
It produced a crisp... dull thud.
The hearts of the Three Pure Ones and Nuwa violently twitched along with that dull thud.
What a waste of treasures!
What a prodigal child!
Taiqing Laozi's eyelids twitched wildly. That was a fragment of the Jade Plate of Creation!
Yuanshi Tianzun's face turned green. That bamboo staff could create heaven and earth!
Tongtian Jiaozhu simply covered his eyes, unable to bear the sight.
Nuwa could neither laugh nor cry. This little fellow truly feared neither heaven nor earth.
Yet Hongjun laughed even more happily at the sight.
In his eyes, Lin Shen's actions were the finest proof that his Dao Heart was pure and unmoved by external objects.
"Three fellow Daoists, Fellow Daoist Nuwa, there is no need to be so nervous."
Seeing the four of them looking as if they had seen a ghost, Hongjun finally decided to stop keeping them in suspense.
His expression turned solemn as he slowly said to the Three Pure Ones, "I came here today not only to thank little friend. There is another matter I must confess to the three of you."
A confession?
The Three Pure Ones' hearts tightened, and they all listened closely.
They knew that what Hongjun was about to reveal was likely a world-shaking secret concerning the entire prehistoric world.
"Do the three of you know why I chose the path of merging myself with the Heavenly Dao?"
Hongjun did not answer directly, instead posing a question.
"You uphold Heaven's mandate and act in accordance with Heaven. Merging with the Dao was inevitable."
Yuanshi Tianzun answered in a deep voice. This was the common understanding of all great powers in the prehistoric world.
"Heh heh, yes—and no."
Hongjun shook his head.
He raised his gaze toward the endless depths of Chaos beyond the Thirty-three Heavens, his eyes becoming distant and weathered.
"I did not naturally wish to walk this path."
"My Dao came from the enlightenment and entrustment of a supreme existence."
"That supreme existence was the one who opened this prehistoric heaven and earth..."
He paused, then said word by word, "Great God Pangu!"
Boom!
Those four words were like a divine thunderbolt of World Creation, crashing fiercely into the primordial spirit sea of the Three Pure Ones!
Great God Pangu?!
Hongjun's Dao had come from the enlightenment and entrustment of their Father God?
How was that possible?!
Taiqing Laozi's hands trembled slightly.
Yuanshi Tianzun's face instantly turned deathly pale.
Tongtian Jiaozhu even rose to his feet, his eyes filled with disbelief.
"Back then, Great God Pangu opened heaven and earth, exhausting his strength and perishing."
Hongjun's voice was filled with endless remembrance and reverence.
"His primordial spirit divided into three and became the three of you. His blood essence became the Twelve Ancestral Witches, while his body became all things in this prehistoric world."
"But before all that happened, Great God Pangu used the last of his divine power to enlighten a wisp of pure qi from Chaos."
He pointed at himself. "That was me."
"He told me that the world he had opened was still imperfect, and that immeasurable calamities would surely arise in the future."
"He entrusted me, after his departure, to guard this prehistoric world for him, sort out the laws of heaven and earth, and guide all living beings toward goodness."
Hongjun's gaze slowly fell upon Lin Shen.
"To wait for the true one to appear."
"And the three of you, as well as... this little friend."
"You are the true one Father God was waiting for!"
Hongjun's words completely overturned the understanding of the Three Pure Ones.
They had always believed that they were Great God Pangu's only and most legitimate descendants.
They had always believed that Hongjun's path of following Heaven and their Primordial path of Prove Dao by Force were two entirely different, even opposing paths.
But now, Hongjun was telling them that everything he had done had been entrusted to him by their Father God!
He was not their "opponent," but the "guardian" and "guide" their Father God had left behind for this world!
"So... everything you did before was..."
Tongtian Jiaozhu's voice was somewhat hoarse. As he looked at Hongjun, the hostility and wariness in his eyes rapidly faded.
"Everything I have done was to fulfill Father God's entrustment."
Hongjun answered openly.
"Whether it was suppressing the ferocious beasts, contending with Luohu, or the upcoming preaching of the Great Dao and establishment of the Mystical Sect..."
"It was all merely to establish a relatively stable order in this imperfect world."
"To secure enough time and space for your appearance and your growth."
"Now, the three of you have attained the Primordial Dao, and little friend has also been born."
"My mission can be considered half complete."
His voice became even gentler. "From this day onward, the sky of this prehistoric world belongs to you."
"I am merely a gatekeeper."
Hongjun's words were open and forthright, without the slightest hint of falsehood.
The Three Pure Ones could feel the reverence he held for Great God Pangu, as well as his love for this world, within his words.
So... that was how it was.
So they had misunderstood Hongjun all along.
The Three Pure Ones exchanged glances, each seeing shock and guilt in the others' eyes.
Before this, they had always regarded Hongjun as an imagined enemy and guarded against him at every turn.
Who would have thought that he had been one of their own from beginning to end?
"Fellow Daoist... your righteousness is admirable."
Yuanshi Tianzun solemnly and deeply bowed to Hongjun.
That bow represented the three brothers and Pangu's True Lineage, expressing their highest respect to this "elder" who had silently guarded the prehistoric world for countless eras.
The barrier between them vanished completely at that moment.
(PS: Happy National Day, everyone! During the National Day holiday, there will be three updates daily. For every one hundred gift points, there will be an extra chapter. Please send gifts, and thank you all!)
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