Thus, Hong Jun took a deep breath and shouted again.
"Die!"
As soon as the words fell, Hong Jun struck. He directly summoned a gigantic palm that blotted out the sky and covered the earth. As the palm wind descended, Rahula resisted with all his strength. However, before Hong Jun's full-powered blow, he had no chance of defending himself at all. He was sent flying and slammed deep into a mountain.
When the dust settled, Rahula's figure was revealed.
He looked utterly miserable. Blood covered his body, his robes had been shredded into strips hanging from him, and he could barely remain standing even with the God-Slaying Spear supporting him.
Fortunately, though the light of the Twelfth Grade Black Lotus beneath his feet had dimmed considerably, it still firmly protected his body and blocked Hong Jun's previous attack.
Knowing full well that he was no match for Hong Jun, Rahula paid no heed to his wounds. He suddenly straightened up, a strange "kekeke" laugh rumbling from his throat, his tone filled with arrogance. "Old Hong Jun, you really do have some skill!
But I have long said that I am the Demon Ancestor. I am Heaven, I am the Dao, and I am an undying, indestructible existence!
With that trifling skill of yours, you think you can kill me? What a foolish dream!"
His words rang out forcefully. Even at a disadvantage, his bearing did not weaken in the slightest. His ability to talk big was truly impressive.
Faced with Rahula's provocation, Hong Jun showed no anger whatsoever. He merely said calmly, "All things have their ordained fate. Today, you are destined to perish here. This is your fate.
"You have committed evil everywhere, stirred up the War of the Three Tribes, and caused the living beings of the Primordial World to suffer. How could the Heavenly Dao tolerate you?"
The moment his words fell, winds and clouds abruptly churned across the battlefield, and Heaven's Secrets suddenly revealed themselves. Beneath this heavenly phenomenon, Rahula and Hong Jun instantly understood everything.
With Heaven's Secrets revealed, Rahula's expression turned incomparably grim, while Hong Jun's expression suddenly relaxed. He had won.
Rahula, who had refused to accept his fate until now, slowly straightened his body. Raising a hand to wipe the blood from the corner of his mouth, intense killing intent burst from his eyes as he stared fixedly at Hong Jun. "Hmph, Hong Jun! You cut off my path to attaining the Grand Golden Immortal of Primordial Unity. I will not let you off easily either!"
The instant Heaven's Secrets had appeared, he had completely seen through his own ending. Now, only fierce resolve remained on his face. "You destroyed my Great Dao, so you must pay the price as well!"
Before his words had even faded, Rahula's demonic body abruptly swelled, demonic energy surging around him like a tsunami.
Then, a thunderous boom rang out!
Rahula actually detonated his own demonic body, setting off countless formations he had previously buried within the western earth veins as well! In an instant, terrifying shockwaves and towering heat swept in every direction. Even Hong Jun and the three corpses he had split off were sent flying by the force!
Had Hong Jun not possessed supreme treasures such as the Jade Creation Disc to protect himself, he would certainly have suffered grave injuries from that strike.
Seeing Hong Jun badly wounded, Rahula's Essence Spirit could no longer suppress its wild delight. Its laughter was sharp and piercing. "Hahaha! Old Hong Jun, this is only the beginning. Enjoy the 'great gift' I have prepared for you!"
Before the words fell, his Essence Spirit had already floated into the air, his face twisted in a smug grin.
Then Rahula's Essence Spirit abruptly rose higher and hovered beneath the heavens. His voice suddenly became solemn, as though swearing an oath to heaven and earth. "Heavenly Dao above! I, Rahula, know my sins are grave. I am willing to integrate myself with the Dao, transform into an extraterritorial heavenly demon, and eternally guard the dark side of the Heavenly Dao!"
He paused, his gaze sweeping over Hong Jun below, his tone carrying a hint of temptation and certainty. "Light and darkness give birth to one another; righteousness and opposition depend upon each other.
"Since I am the dark side of the Heavenly Dao, then someone must integrate himself with the Dao and become its bright side, teaching and guiding the beings of the Primordial World.
"And you, Hong Jun, hold the Jade Creation Disc and cultivate the Dao of Fate. You are precisely the ideal candidate to integrate with the Dao as its bright side and teach all living beings!"
As soon as these words fell, the sky abruptly changed color. A cold, gigantic eye appeared out of thin air above Rahula's Essence Spirit. The enormous eye was incomparably majestic. Then, a huge character meaning "Approved" silently emerged high in the sky, seemingly the Heavenly Dao's response to Rahula's oath.
At this sight, Rahula's Essence Spirit could no longer contain itself and burst into hearty laughter. "Hahahaha!"
His laughter echoed throughout the entire west, carrying the wild arrogance of one whose scheme had succeeded.
After laughing, he looked at Hong Jun, whose expression had grown increasingly ugly, and said disdainfully, "Hong Jun, I will be waiting for the day you integrate with the Dao."
The instant his words fell, an invisible yet powerful force suddenly swept over and carried away Rahula's Essence Spirit. In the blink of an eye, it vanished without a trace, leaving only Hong Jun standing where he was, watching it all with a gloomy expression.
But Hong Jun's troubles were far from over. The power of the Heavenly Dao was not something he could resist, much less the destruction of the western continent's earth veins.
Although this had been caused by Rahula's self-destruction, Hong Jun, as one of the combatants, could not escape blame.
Sure enough, moments later, a ball of crimson flame descended from the sky and shot directly into Hong Jun's body.
This was no ordinary flame, but karmic fire bearing heavenly punishment!
Because Rahula had already integrated himself with the Dao and become part of the Heavenly Dao's system, the Heavenly Dao naturally would no longer place karmic fire upon him.
As a result, all the Karma from the destruction of the western spiritual veins during the battle fell upon Hong Jun. Such was the inescapable power of causality in the Primordial Chaos world.
Karmic fire blazed fiercely within Hong Jun's body. Wherever it passed, his cultivation plummeted like a falling cliff. In but an instant, he fell from a realm beyond peak Quasi-Saint to the mid-stage Quasi-Saint realm.
One had to know that he had previously been only one step away from attaining the Grand Golden Immortal of Primordial Unity. Yet because of this karmic entanglement, the Great Dao that had been within reach was forcibly ruined. Such a loss was truly agonizing.
Even harder for him to accept was that, in order to repay this overwhelming Karma, he was forced to form a contract with the Heavenly Dao. It was equivalent to selling himself to the Heavenly Dao, leaving him bound by it from then on.
Only at this moment did Hong Jun suddenly realize that the Heavenly Dao had been plotting against him in secret from beginning to end!
But his realization came too late. The die had been cast, and he no longer had the power to alter this predetermined outcome.
Fortunately, while the Heavenly Dao delivered its punishment, it also pointed him toward a new path. It bestowed upon him the mission of Primordial Dao Ancestor, ordering him to teach and guide the beings of the Primordial World as the Dao Ancestor in the future, gradually repaying his karmic debt through the merit of his teachings.
This arrangement seemed to exchange his freedom and cultivation for a grueling task, a deal that truly appeared to leave him at a loss.
However, the Heavenly Dao was not entirely harsh. As his state of mind churned, a brand-new insight quietly poured into his sea of consciousness. It was actually the true meaning of the Great Dao belonging to the Grand Golden Immortal of Primordial Unity!
Thus, the knot in Hong Jun's heart eased somewhat. Though he had lost his cultivation and freedom, he had glimpsed the path to Primordial Unity. This seemingly losing transaction was not such a loss after all.
The war between Dao and demon had lasted several thousand years. After a bitter battle, Hong Jun ultimately claimed a costly victory. Forced to form a contract with the Heavenly Dao and sell himself to it, this long and drawn-out war finally came to a complete end.
However, from another perspective, this act of selling himself was also a special kind of employment for Hong Jun. Not only did he rightfully become the spokesperson of the Heavenly Dao, but he also became the first Sage of the Primordial Chaos world, gaining the supreme qualification to preach the Dao across the lands of the Primordial World.
Thus, he became the Primordial Dao Ancestor!
The first person beneath the Heavenly Dao!
Before you continue