Hong Yun Is Such an Honest Man!

Outside Purple Cloud Palace, the Chaos Qi Stream still surged violently, yet the plaza was several degrees more eerily... quiet than usual.

Great powers from every direction arrived on beams of various colors, tearing through chaos. After landing, they all restrained their auras and calmed themselves. At most, they nodded in greeting to one another; there was absolutely no clamor.

Even Di Jun and Taiyi, who were usually the most arrogant, merely swept cold gazes across the crowd this time. After glaring fiercely toward the Witch Clan, they found seats near the front and closed their eyes to rest, no longer rushing forward as eagerly as last time.

The reason was simple: the Dao Ancestor had shown his power last time and directly thrown the noisiest group out of the palace, banning them outright. His lingering authority remained.

No one wanted to provoke him at such a moment. If they missed this final teaching on the Saint's Dao, they would have nowhere to cry.

Chen Song indeed kept his promise. Like an obedient child, he followed the Three Pure Ones to the edge of the plaza, found an inconspicuous corner, and imitated his Master by sitting cross-legged. He watched his nose, his nose watched his heart, and he tried his best to look like he was "earnestly sensing the lingering essence of the Great Dao."

Over on the Witch Clan's side, the eleven Ancestral Witches were unusually "well-behaved."

They gathered around Houtu and stood at the edge of the plaza on the other side. Each of them tried to straighten his back and wear a solemn expression, attempting to create an air of "solemn Dharma protectors." Unfortunately, the overwhelming vitality they could not suppress and their occasional furtive glances around made the effort seem rather comical. Di Jiang even firmly held down the pouch on Gonggong's back, warning him with his eyes not to expose the "entertainment supplies" inside.

Feeling her brothers' "heavy" concern, Houtu was touched yet helpless. She could only silently recite a calming mantra, hoping everything would go smoothly.

This delicate calm lasted until the gates of Purple Cloud Palace slowly opened.

Two young attendants emerged and announced brightly, "The time has come. Please enter the palace and listen to the Dao."

As the palace gates opened wide, that profound and indescribable aura of the Great Dao spread out, and all the great powers were invigorated.

This time, while there was none of the chaos from before, the temptation of the six cushions at the front was too great, and a scramble broke out!

Led by the Three Pure Ones, they were the first to step inside, heading straight for the first three cushions. However, Di Jun and Taiyi transformed into golden light and overtook them from behind, intending to seize the initiative with the Golden Crow Rainbow Transformation Art! Taiyi even summoned the phantom of the Chaos Bell. Its chime shook the air as he tried to slow the Three Pure Ones' advance.

"Hmph, ignorant of Heaven's will!" Laozi snorted coldly. The phantom of the Heaven and Earth Mysterious Yellow Exquisite Pagoda appeared, impervious to all techniques, and directly suppressed the Chaos Bell's resonance. That was right—Chen Song felt that he was right under his Master's watchful eye, so he had asked his Master to take back the Heaven and Earth Mysterious Yellow Exquisite Pagoda. It was definitely not because he felt like the pagoda had been monitoring him.

With a sweep of Yuanshi's sleeve, the Three Treasures Jade Ruyi flashed, and an invisible force stalled the two golden streaks. Sect Master Tongtian was the most straightforward. Though the Qingping Sword remained sheathed, its sword aura already shot into the heavens, making Di Jun and Taiyi's skin crawl. They had no choice but to avoid its edge.

The Three Pure Ones joined forces and effortlessly thwarted Di Jun and Taiyi's attempt, steadily taking the first, second, and third cushions.

The struggle for the fourth cushion unfolded between Nuwa and Kunpeng.

Relying on his peerless speed, Kunpeng flashed in a streak of black light and was about to sit down when Fuxi began playing the zither nearby. The lingering notes subtly resonated with a formation, disrupting Kunpeng's mind. Nuwa seized the chance to step forward. Creation energy flowed around her as she calmly sat on the fourth cushion. Seeing this, Kunpeng knew he could not seize it by force. He could only give up with a dark expression and turn his attention to the cushions behind them.

As for the remaining two cushions, Ancestor Hong Yun still wore his cheerful, good-natured expression. Seeing Nuwa take her seat, he stepped forward and occupied the fifth cushion. The sixth cushion was claimed by that unwilling streak of black light—Ancestor Kunpeng.

He took the form of a sinister Daoist, coldly sweeping his gaze over the surroundings. An unapproachable aura radiated from him, clearly showing that he was still bitter about his earlier defeat.

"Big Brother, you..." Seeing that Fuxi had helped her while failing to obtain a cushion himself, Nuwa hesitated.

Fuxi merely smiled at her. "It's all right, little sister."

With the cushions occupied, it seemed the matter had been settled. Outside the palace, Chen Song watched from afar and muttered inwardly, Well, well, that was quite a fierce fight! Brother Hong Yun got lucky, but... the real main event is still coming!

Sure enough, just as Dao Ancestor Hongjun's figure was about to manifest upon the Cloud Bed, a sorrowful cry suddenly rang out from outside the palace:

"Senior Brother! We hurried as fast as we could, yet we still arrived one step too late! The road to the West is far, its earth veins barren, and the journey was filled with hardship and danger. We nearly missed the Dao Ancestor's Sermon!"

Jieyin and Zhunti came rushing into Purple Cloud Palace, travel-worn and grief-stricken. Zhunti in particular beat his chest and stamped his feet as though he had missed his chance to become a Saint—which, in a sense, he had—and staggered inside.

Their gazes swept across the hall. When they saw that all six cushions had already been taken, their faces immediately turned "pale," their eyes filled with "despair."

Daoist Zhunti swept his gaze over the six cushions. He did not dare provoke the Three Pure Ones or Nuwa, while Kunpeng clearly looked difficult to deal with. In the end, his gaze settled on Hong Yun, who seemed the easiest to talk to.

He staggered over to Hong Yun. Before he could speak, tears began to flow. "Fellow Daoist Hong Yun! My Senior Brother and I have come from the West, enduring countless hardships along the way, all so that we might hear the Saint's Dao and enlighten the Beings of the West. Yet our karmic affinity is too shallow, and we do not even have a place to sit! Fellow Daoist, you have always been known as the greatest benevolent person in the prehistoric world, compassionate and kind-hearted. Could you... could you take pity on the suffering of the Beings of the West and temporarily lend this seat to my Senior Brother? I would be endlessly grateful, and the Beings of the West would also remember your great kindness!"

This performance of singing, reciting, and acting was full of emotion, waving the banners of "the West's barrenness" and "the suffering of all beings" with great vigor.

How had Hong Yun ever encountered such a scene? He was already softhearted, and now he had been crowned with the lofty title of "the greatest benevolent person in the prehistoric world." He immediately became somewhat flustered.

Although Chen Song had reminded him while they were playing cards at Wuzhuang Temple not to be overly sympathetic toward the Two from the West in the future,

Hong Yun looked at the grief-stricken Jieyin and Zhunti, then at Zhenyuanzi's empty seat beneath him. Feeling the gazes of the many great powers in the palace upon him, his good-natured instincts took over. He figured that listening while standing would not be so bad, so he gritted his teeth and rose to his feet.

"Alas, Fellow Daoists, there is no need for this. Since the Beings of the West all suffer, I shall yield this seat to Fellow Daoist Jieyin."

With that, he truly gave up the fifth cushion!

Jieyin immediately thanked him and plopped down onto it, the grief on his face lessening somewhat.

Hong Yun's yielding of his seat utterly screwed over Kunpeng, who was sitting on the sixth cushion!

Seeing his Senior Brother obtain a seat, Zhunti immediately turned his gaze toward Kunpeng. He used the same speech again, though his eyes carried an almost imperceptible pressure. "Fellow Daoist Kunpeng, look... our West..."

The atmosphere within Purple Cloud Palace grew even heavier. The Three Pure Ones at the front closed their eyes to rest, as though they were uninvolved. Empress Nuwa lowered her gaze, lost in thought. The other great powers were even more delighted to watch the show.

Yet it was precisely this silent pressure, along with Zhunti's incessant talk of "the West's suffering" and the faintly emanating pressure of a Quasi-Saint, that made Kunpeng feel an isolation more humiliating than verbal abuse.

He clenched his fists tightly, veins bulging on his forehead. If he refused, he would form a deadly enmity with the Two from the West and might even be seen as disregarding "the greater good of the prehistoric world." If he yielded, how could he endure such utter humiliation?

In the end, beneath Zhunti's seemingly endless lamentations and the silent stares of the entire hall, Kunpeng squeezed out a word through gritted teeth. "...Fine!" He abruptly rose to his feet, ignored Zhunti completely, and walked straight to the back, where he found a corner and sat down gloomily. Yet his venomous gaze remained locked on Hong Yun. It was all because that fool had started it!

Zhunti got his wish and sat down on the sixth cushion with a smile.

Outside the palace, Chen Song, whose Grand Unity Golden Immortal cultivation allowed him to hear everything clearly, held his forehead. It's over, it's over. Senior Hong Yun, Senior Hong Yun, you really are such an honest man. But this time, you've not only doomed yourself—you've also offended Kunpeng to the death! This karmic entanglement is huge. Those two from the West are no good people...

Within Purple Cloud Palace, the six cushions were finally settled: the Three Pure Ones, Nuwa, Jieyin, and Zhunti.

Dao Ancestor Hongjun's figure silently appeared upon the Cloud Bed.