Roadside Encounter with Zhenyuan, Heaven-Chosen Good Buddy

"Ah-choo!"

With the Twelve Ancestor Witches behind him, all of them rubbing their fists and eager to make a grand show of themselves, Hong Yun suddenly sneezed on the road.

"Which reckless fool is trying to scheme against this poor Daoist?"

Hong Yun muttered inwardly. Cultivators generally possessed a sixth sense in the unseen.

This sensation became especially intense whenever they encountered danger.

But if Hong Yun knew what Zhunti was thinking at this moment, he would probably be unable to stop himself from laughing.

The advantage is ours?

When the two of them surrounded Hong Yun, twelve Ancestor Witches with incredibly strong battle urges would leap out of the grass. How would they deal with that situation then?

That scene would be truly beautiful!

The great powers of the Primordial Wilderness all set out together, each using the fastest escape art they had ever mastered.

They were all afraid of falling behind.

The path of seeking the Dao was already difficult. Being one step slower meant being slower at every step. No cultivator was willing to become one of those at the bottom of the pack.

The Primordial Wilderness was unimaginably vast, but compared to Chaos, it seemed extraordinarily small.

The only place where it surpassed the boundless Chaos was that it was filled with vigorous life.

Chaos was further divided into the Inner and Outer Chaos.

The Inner Chaos was a thin layer opened up by Great God Pangu that enveloped the outside of the Primordial Continent.

The Inner Chaos was much quieter and more peaceful, unlike the Outer Chaos, which was fraught with danger.

Of course, that was only relative.

Without cultivation at the late Grand Unity Golden Immortal stage or a spiritual treasure for protection, anyone who rashly entered would only be annihilated by the currents of Chaos Qi.

"Be careful, Younger Sister Houtu!"

Hong Yun held the Primordial Measure Heaven Ruler, which glowed with purple light, and struck apart a stream of Chaos Qi attacking Houtu from behind.

"Thank you, Elder Brother Hong Yun!"

Houtu replied softly.

It was not that she could not withstand this stream of Chaos Qi. As the Ancestor Witch of earth, her defensive attributes were practically maxed out. She would merely appear somewhat disheveled.

After Hong Yun and the Ancestor Witches passed through the Chaos Membrane, they felt extremely oppressed the moment they entered the Inner Chaos.

The Chaos Qi constantly eroded their physical bodies.

Fortunately, whether Hong Yun or the Ancestor Witches, all of them had tempered their physical bodies until they were as strong as spiritual treasures. They could still endure it.

With more than a dozen of them joining forces, they became the first group of powerful figures to enter the Inner Chaos.

Within Chaos, everything was gray and hazy, with no sense of direction whatsoever.

Hong Yun and the others could only rely on their sixth sense in the unseen to search for the road leading to Purple Cloud Palace.

No one knew how many years had passed. Perhaps several hundred years, or perhaps more than a thousand.

The great powers of the Primordial Wilderness tirelessly wandered through the Inner Chaos, searching for traces of Purple Cloud Palace.

In the gray and hazy world, occasional screams could be heard.

Some people with weak cultivation were either assimilated by the Chaos Qi or killed for their treasures.

The immense Inner Chaos was like a filtering checkpoint, completely cutting off those without the necessary fate before the road to Purple Cloud Palace.

The Heavenly Dao was impartial, and also heartless!

The "those with fate" whom Dao Ancestor Hongjun spoke of were the powerful, extraordinarily gifted, and deeply blessed.

Only these types of people could listen to his Dao and help him spread it throughout the Primordial Wilderness.

"Brother Hong Yun really didn't deceive me. The Primordial Wilderness truly is filled with powerful figures!"

"Just now, we encountered that fellow covered in blood and carrying two long swords, as well as that gloomy-looking fellow who resembled both a fish and a bird. Judging from their auras, neither was weaker than us. It would be great if I could fight them!"

Zhurong's eyes shone brightly as he looked over one great power after another who had come to listen to the Dao.

Hong Yun rolled his eyes and gave him two contemptuous looks.

Zhurong, you sure know how to pick your opponents.

Could the two fellows you mentioned really be weak?

One was Minghe, the "Old Sixth," master of the Netherworld Sea of Blood, known as "As long as the Sea of Blood does not dry up, Minghe will not die."

The other was Kunpeng, the future Demon Master of the Heavenly Court. During the Witch-Demon War, he had snatched the River Diagram and Luo Shu before turning around and fleeing, then remained holed up in the Northern Darkness Sea without ever leaving.

Every one of those two brothers would outlive Zhurong, and their attacks were ten or a hundred times more ruthless than his.

Thinking of this, Hong Yun warned Zhurong, "Don't cause trouble. This place is dangerous. If you dare to attack on your own, don't blame me and Brother Dijiang for beating you together!"

"Hehe, of course I know. My hands are just itching. You know what I mean, right?"

Zhurong looked sheepish at Hong Yun's words, then turned around and continued using divine abilities to blast apart the Chaos Qi ahead.

Hong Yun turned his head away and ignored him, continuing to remain vigilant of his surroundings.

However, in the next moment, he spotted a yellow barrier of light not far away.

Within the barrier stood a Daoist dressed in a yellow-brown Daoist robe, with an honest and simple face and a Yellow-Glow Book floating above his head.

For some reason, Hong Yun sensed a feeling of familiarity from this person.

It was a kind of familiarity different from the bloodline resonance he shared with the Twelve Ancestor Witches.

In his previous life, Hong Yun had no friends. After arriving in the Primordial Wilderness, the Twelve Ancestor Witches were not friends either, but family.

This was the first time Hong Yun had ever conceived the thought of befriending someone without any benefit in mind.

When Hong Yun saw this person, the Daoist seemed to sense something as well and looked toward him.

As though drawn together by their very natures, Hong Yun and the Daoist could not help flying toward each other.

"This poor Daoist is Hong Yun. Greetings, fellow Daoist! Your bearing is extraordinary, truly enough to win anyone's admiration."

"This poor Daoist is Zhen Yuanzi. Greetings, fellow Daoist!"

Hong Yun and Zhen Yuanzi spoke at the same time.

Afterward, they both froze, then looked at each other and smiled, as though they had been close friends for many years.

[Ding! The host praised Zhen Yuanzi. Congratulations, host! You have randomly obtained the following reward: Ginseng Fruit x2.]

"So it really is you, my heaven-chosen Good Buddy, Brother Zhenyuan."

Hearing the system's notification, Hong Yun was filled with emotion.

One had to know that the original Hong Yun and Zhen Yuanzi had been one of the few pairs of close friends in this treacherous Primordial Wilderness.

Their friendship had even reached the point where they could entrust their lives to each other.

According to the original timeline of the Primordial Wilderness, Hong Yun should have met Zhen Yuanzi long ago, and the two would have traveled together to Purple Cloud Palace to listen to the Dao.

However, Hong Yun's arrival had changed everything.

Aside from coincidentally meeting Dao Ancestor Hongjun, he had instead focused wholeheartedly on heading to Buzhou Mountain, causing the two to miss each other until now.

Fortunately, it was not too late. Seeing Zhen Yuanzi's genuine nature, Hong Yun resolved to help him obtain a Primordial Grand Unity position in the future.

"Virtuous Younger Brother Hong Yun, are you planning to head to Purple Cloud Palace to listen to the Dao?"

"That's right. Brother Zhenyuan, you should be going there as well, shouldn't you? Why not travel with us?"

"Good!"

Hong Yun's invitation had been very presumptuous.

In the Primordial Wilderness, unless they were Life and Death Friends, people would not rashly invite others to travel together through such a dangerous environment.

Zhen Yuanzi's answer was equally presumptuous.

He had agreed without even thinking.

The main reason was that the two of them were simply too compatible.

They were so compatible that Zhen Yuanzi instinctively believed Hong Yun would not harm him.

No wonder. Hong Yun had been transformed from Pangu's hot blood combined with the First Innate Cloud.

The First Innate Cloud contained the origins of wind, water, and fire.

Zhen Yuanzi's true form, meanwhile, was the Innate Earth Essence, representing the origin of the earth.

Earth, Wind, Water, and Fire were the four elemental foundations for evolving a world. It was only natural that they attracted one another.

This was also why Hong Yun and Houtu had the best relationship among the Ancestor Witches.

Just then, the Twelve Ancestor Witches arrived.

Hong Yun grabbed Zhen Yuanzi's hand and said, "Come, I'll introduce you to these twelve brothers and sisters of mine..."

"I am Zhen Yuanzi. Greetings, fellow Daoists."

Zhen Yuanzi was very happy that Hong Yun was introducing his friends to him, and therefore treated the Twelve Ancestor Witches with great respect as well.

As for the Ancestor Witches, they were equally enthusiastic.

After all, who was Hong Yun?

He was their wild brother from outside, someone who shared their bloodline. By extending affection from the one they loved to the one associated with him, they naturally had to treat Zhen Yuanzi well.

"A friend of Brother Hong Yun is a friend of the Wu Clan. Fellow Daoist Zhen Yuanzi, there's no need to be so polite."

Dijiang also had a very good impression of Zhen Yuanzi.

Just based on his appearance alone, he was far better than the blood-soaked and coldly imposing fellows Zhurong had mentioned earlier.

In his previous life, Zhen Yuanzi had become the Earth Immortal Ancestor and befriended the Three Pure Ones, the Saints of the Xuan Sect. His countless friends were no exaggeration.

At least compared to the meddlesome Old Ancestor Hong Yun, Zhen Yuanzi was the true king of connections in the Primordial Wilderness!

"This is great. Dao Ancestor Hongjun, the Twelve Ancestor Witches, and my Brother Zhenyuan... Jiejiejie..."

"This poor Daoist is probably not far from the days of never having to eat beef. I really want to see which unlucky fool dares to attack me."

An insidious smile unconsciously appeared on Hong Yun's face.

At the same time, Zhunti, who had just arrived from the West and entered Chaos, shuddered for no apparent reason.

Beside him, Jieyin's sorrowful expression deepened.

Something's wrong! Could it be that my junior brother's Inner Demon is running rampant?

What a sin!