Daoist Hongjun's Fury, Dao Talisman Across the Sky

At the summit of Jade Capital Mountain, there should have been ten thousand rays of rosy light and a thousand streaks of auspicious colors, with Heavenly Dao merit pouring down like an inverted celestial river to celebrate the birth of the first Saint since the creation of heaven and earth.

Yet, in the trillionth fraction of an instant before that golden cloud of merit fully descended and the Saint Position was about to settle upon him in perfection—

A wholly different, overbearing fluctuation, carrying even a trace of "usurpation," brazenly intruded upon this solemn and sacred ceremony!

"I, Wanhua... establish the Literary Dao!"

That declaration was not a sound, yet it shook the minds of the gods more fiercely than any thunderclap;

That power did not originate from the Heavenly Dao, yet it had forcibly driven a wedge belonging to "self" and "principle" into the gears of the Heavenly Dao's workings!

Daoist Hongjun sat cross-legged upon his prayer mat, the fragment of the Jade Disk of Creation above his head flashing wildly with Clear Light.

For the first time, distinct cracks appeared upon his once still-as-an-ancient-well, nearly Dao-united face—cracks born of ultimate fury and a sliver of disbelief!

He had schemed for eternity, severed the Three Corpses, grasped the Jade Disk of Creation, and resonated with the Heavenly Dao until this day.

He was on the verge of bringing his merit to perfection, uniting his body with the Heavenly Dao, taking command of the Primordial World's Order, and becoming the model teacher of all things, the ancestral source of all Daos!

Yet at this final step, at the very instant that supreme glory was within reach—

Someone... no, some "thing," had dared to be so outrageously bold as to forcibly snatch the opportunity to be "first" from his hands!

This was not a challenge, nor a debate on the Dao, but an eerie method he had never deduced, one completely beyond his plans.

It had forcibly attained the Dao of Hunyuan, thrown the heavenly secrets into chaos, and siphoned off a share of the world's fortune that should have belonged to him alone!

This was not merely a matter of face—it was a conflict of the Great Dao, a struggle for dominance over the Dao Lineage of the future!

If this precedent were set, would it not tell all beings of the Primordial World that they could attain Hunyuan without following the Heavenly Dao path deduced by Hongjun?

Then where would the authority of the Saint Position he was about to attain be? Where would the authority of his future great undertaking of uniting with the Heavenly Dao be?!

"You brat, how dare you!!"

That icy roar did not come from Hongjun's mouth, but was the Heavenly Dao's fury issuing through his body!

The entire Jade Capital Mountain seemed unable to bear that rage. It trembled violently; rocks split apart, and the void twisted!

Almost at the exact same moment that he successfully absorbed the merit, stabilized his Saint Position, and his aura fully entered that unfathomable realm of a Saint—

Before he could even properly savor the boundless might of a Saint, he had already made his move!

There were no hand seals, no incantations, no magic treasures brought forth.

Hongjun merely raised his right hand, held two fingers together like a brush, and lightly drew them toward the East Sea—the direction from which he sensed the Anomaly's aura coming through the unseen!

That stroke appeared casual, yet it stirred the vast power of the Heavenly Dao that had only just been bestowed upon him!

"Bzzzz—!"

The void wailed, and laws retreated! A hazy purple Dao talisman condensed out of thin air.

This Dao talisman was not physical, yet it was sturdier than any divine gold or immortal iron;

The Runes upon it were not inscribed, but condensed from the most primordial meanings of "heavenly rules," "precepts," "Order," and "punishment"!

The instant it appeared, it exuded a terrifying aura capable of freezing space-time and judging all things.

Wherever it passed, space was forcibly smoothed and solidified, while the flow of time turned viscous and chaotic.

Any existence below the level of a Saint—even their thoughts—came to a standstill beneath its pressure!

The Dao talisman locked onto Wanhua, locking onto the source of the "Literary Dao" that had just attained Hunyuan and whose aura had yet to fully stabilize.

It transformed into a streak of purple light that pierced across the Primordial World, ignoring the distance between east and west, ignoring the barriers of space and time, and tore through the air bearing the Heavenly Dao's cold will to erase the "Anomaly"!

The Dao talisman spanned the heavens—a single strike of Saintly wrath!

Only at this moment did all beings of the Primordial World truly understand what a Saint's fury meant!

Unlike the spread and permeation of ideals when Wanhua attained the Dao, Hongjun's rage was naked, overwhelming, and unquestionable heavenly might!

Whether Great Powers hidden within Blessed Lands or Lesser Demons struggling amid barren mountains and wild ridges, every living being—

At this moment, their souls trembled. They involuntarily prostrated themselves toward Jade Capital Mountain, their hearts filled with vast terror and profound awe!

Above the East Sea, Wanhua, who had only just merged the three islands, established the Academy, and stood brimming with high spirits, suddenly furrowed his brow.

He felt it! A cold, pure force carrying an absolute will of annihilation had already crossed endless void and descended!

He looked up to see a streak of purple light in the firmament, as though it had existed since the dawn of creation, bearing the meaning of judgment and finality.

Ignoring the layers upon layers of spatial folds he had laid down and the newborn Academy Guardian Wenhua, it pointed directly at the core of his Hunyuan Dao Body!

Its speed surpassed thought itself!

Its pressure was powerful enough to make an ordinary Quasi-Saint's Dao Heart collapse in an instant!

So this was the might of a Saint? This was punishment made manifest by the Heavenly Dao?

Wanhua's gaze instantly became incomparably sharp.

He had only just attained the Dao. Though their realms were equal, his use and accumulation of power certainly could not compare to Hongjun, who had schemed for eternity and had just received the Heavenly Dao's full empowerment.

Taking it head-on was absolutely not the best course.

Yet he did not panic. Within his chest, his Literary Heart beat steadily, radiating a warm yet resolute glow.

"It came fast!" His thoughts raced. "This is not a divine ability, but heavenly rules made flesh—the blade of Order! To break it, brute force alone will not suffice!"

In that flash of lightning and spark of flint, the purple Dao talisman cutting across the sky had already descended with supreme heavenly might!