The Dao Ancestor is Born, The Foremost Under the Heavenly Dao

Thus, Hong Jun took a deep breath and spoke again.

"Die!"

As the word fell, Hong Jun struck, directly summoning a giant palm that blotted out the sky. Where the palm wind landed, Rahula resisted with all his might, yet facing Hong Jun's full-powered strike, he had no chance of defense. He was sent flying, heavily embedded into a great mountain.

When the dust settled, Rahula's figure was revealed.

His appearance was utterly wretched—drenched in blood, his robes torn to shreds hanging from his body, barely able to stand by leaning on the God-Slaying Spear.

Fortunately, the Twelfth Grade Black Lotus beneath his feet, though its light had dimmed greatly, still firmly shielded his body, blocking Hong Jun's earlier attack.

Knowing full well he was no match for Hong Jun, Rahula paid no heed to his wounds. He suddenly straightened up, letting out a harsh, grating laugh from his throat, his tone brimming with arrogance: "Old man Hong Jun, you do have some skill!

But I told you long ago, I am the Devil Ancestor—I am heaven, I am the Dao, an indestructible existence!

With your paltry tricks, you think you can kill me? That's nothing but a pipe dream!"

These words rang out with force; even at a disadvantage, his momentum was undiminished, his verbal prowess truly formidable.

Facing Rahula's provocation, Hong Jun showed no trace of anger, merely speaking calmly: "All things have their destined course. You are fated to fall here today—that is your lot.

You have wrought evil everywhere, incited the War of the Three Tribes, plunged the Primordial Chaos world into suffering. How could the Heavenly Dao tolerate you?"

As his words faded, the battlefield suddenly saw winds and clouds reverse, and Heaven's Secrets abruptly manifested. Under this celestial anomaly, both Rahula and Hong Jun instantly understood everything.

With Heaven's Secrets clear, Rahula's expression turned grim beyond measure, while Hong Jun's face relaxed—he had won.

Rahula, who had refused to accept his fate, slowly straightened up, raised a hand to wipe the blood from the corner of his mouth, and his eyes blazed with intense killing intent as he stared at Hong Jun: "Hmph, Hong Jun! You have cut off my path to proving the Grand Golden Immortal of Primordial Unity, and I will not let you off easy!"

In the moment Heaven's Secrets had revealed themselves, he had fully grasped his end. Now, only ruthless resolve remained on his face: "You've destroyed my Great Dao—you'll pay the price!"

Before the words faded, Rahula's demonic body suddenly swelled, demonic energy surging around him like a tsunami.

Then, with a thunderous roar!

Rahula directly self-destructed his demonic body, simultaneously detonating the countless formations he had buried in the Western earth veins! In an instant, a terrifying shockwave, accompanied by towering waves of heat, swept in all directions, even flinging Hong Jun and the Three Corpses he had manifested flying!

If not for Hong Jun's protective treasures like the Jade Creation Disc, he would have surely suffered severe injury from this blow.

Seeing Hong Jun gravely wounded, Rahula's Primordial Spirit could not suppress its ecstasy, its laughter sharp and piercing: "Haha! Old man Hong Jun, this is just the beginning. Enjoy the 'gift' I've prepared for you!"

As his words fell, his Primordial Spirit drifted into midair, his face twisted in triumphant sneers.

Then, Rahula's Primordial Spirit suddenly rose high, hovering beneath the firmament, his voice turning solemn, as if swearing an oath to heaven and earth: "Heavenly Dao above! I, Rahula, know my sins are heavy. I am willing to integrate myself with the Dao, transforming into an Outer Realm Heavenly Demon, eternally guarding the Yin of the Heavenly Dao!"

He paused, his gaze sweeping over Hong Jun below, his tone carrying a hint of seduction and certainty: "Light and darkness give birth to each other; right and wrong depend on each other.

Since I am the Yin of the Heavenly Dao, there should be one who integrates with the Dao as the Yang of the Heavenly Dao, to teach the beings of the Primordial Chaos world.

And you, Hong Jun, holding the Jade Creation Disc, cultivating the Dao of Fate, are the perfect candidate to merge with the Dao as the Yang and educate all beings!"

As these words fell, the sky suddenly shifted, winds and clouds changing color. An icy, massive eye appeared out of nowhere above Rahula's Primordial Spirit, majestic beyond measure. Then, a huge character "Approved" silently emerged in the high heavens, as if the Heavenly Dao's response to Rahula's oath.

Seeing this, Rahula's Primordial Spirit could no longer hold back, bursting into unrestrained laughter: "Hahahaha!"

The laughter echoed across the entire Western region, tinged with the arrogance of success.

When his laughter ceased, he looked at Hong Jun, whose face had grown increasingly grim, and spoke with contempt: "Hong Jun, This Seat awaits the day you merge with the Dao."

The moment the words ended, an invisible yet powerful force suddenly swept in, whisking away Rahula's Primordial Spirit, vanishing without a trace in the blink of an eye, leaving only Hong Jun standing there, watching with a dark expression.

But Hong Jun's troubles were far from over. The power of the Heavenly Dao was not something he could contend with, let alone the destruction of the Western continent's earth veins.

Though this was triggered by Rahula's self-destruction, as a combatant, Hong Jun could not escape blame.

Sure enough, moments later, a clump of crimson flame descended from the sky, drilling straight into Hong Jun's body.

This was no ordinary flame—it was Karma Fire bearing heavenly punishment!

Because Rahula had already integrated himself with the Dao, returning to the Heavenly Dao system, the Heavenly Dao naturally would not impose the Karma Fire on him;

Thus, all the Karma from the war's destruction of the Western spiritual veins fell entirely upon Hong Jun. This was the power of cause and effect that no one in the Primordial Chaos world could escape.

The Karma Fire blazed fiercely within Hong Jun's body, and wherever it passed, his cultivation plummeted like a cliff's edge. In an instant, it dropped from a realm beyond peak Quasi-Saint to mid Quasi-Saint.

To think, he had been just one step away from proving the Primordial Unity, yet now, due to this cause and effect, his nearly attained Great Dao was forcibly severed—a loss truly devastating.

Even harder for him to accept was that, to repay this immense Karma, he was forced to forge a contract with the Heavenly Dao, effectively "selling himself" to it, bound from then on.

Only at this moment did Hong Jun suddenly realize: from the very beginning, the Heavenly Dao had been scheming against him in the shadows!

But the realization came too late; the wood was already carved, and he could no longer change this predetermined outcome.

Fortunately, as the Heavenly Dao delivered its punishment, it also pointed him toward a new direction, granting him the mission of "Primordial Dao Ancestor," ordering him to henceforth teach the beings of the Primordial Chaos world as the Dao Ancestor, gradually repaying the Karma through his efforts at enlightenment.

This arrangement seemed like trading freedom and cultivation for a "thankless task"—a raw deal by any measure.

Yet the Heavenly Dao was not entirely harsh. As his mind wavered, a new wave of insights silently flooded his sea of consciousness—the true meaning of the Grand Golden Immortal of Primordial Unity!

Thus, the knot in Hong Jun's heart eased slightly: though he had lost cultivation and bound his freedom, he had glimpsed the threshold of Primordial Unity. This seemingly losing "transaction" was not entirely a loss.

The Dao-Devil War lasted for thousands of years. Hong Jun fought bitterly, ultimately ending in a pyrrhic victory, forced to contract with the Heavenly Dao, "selling himself" to it. This protracted great war was finally over.

But from another perspective, this "selling out" was a special kind of "employment" for Hong Jun: not only did he legitimately become the Heavenly Dao's spokesperson, but he also became the first Sage of the Primordial Chaos world, henceforth possessing the supreme qualification to establish a platform and preach across the Primordial Chaos lands.

From then on, he was the Primordial Dao Ancestor!

The foremost being under the Heavenly Dao!