No wonder Hongjun was so surprised.
One had to know that Hongjun had roamed the Primordial Wilderness for countless years and had rarely met an equal.
Even when facing Demon Ancestor Luohu, who intended to prove his Dao by destroying the Primordial Wilderness, he had dared to charge straight in and meet him head-on.
Only at the hands of that old friend, Great Immortal Yang Mei, had he truly suffered a great loss.
Back then, Hongjun had just proven his Dao and become a saint for the first time. Proud and arrogant, he only felt that in all heaven and earth, he alone reigned supreme, invincible throughout the Primordial Wilderness.
Until one day, in the chaos, he happened to encounter Yang Mei, who had proven the Daluo Golden Immortal of the Origin even earlier.
Old friends meeting again were naturally overjoyed, but a discussion of the Dao and a sparring match were unavoidable.
That time, Hongjun displayed all three thousand Great Daos he had initially comprehended. Spiritual treasures and supreme treasures flew out together from his hands, their momentum vast and mighty, yet from beginning to end he failed to harm Yang Mei in the slightest.
And Yang Mei, relying only on the single Dao of space, swallowed up every spell and spiritual treasure Hongjun unleashed until nothing remained.
As the saying went:
"Ask not how many years chaos has endured; first came Pangu, then came heaven."
"Great Immortal Yang Mei came before even that; I was a thousand years earlier than Hongjun."
This opening poem precisely showed that Yang Mei had proven the Daluo Golden Immortal of the Origin a thousand years earlier than Hongjun.
After their discussion of the Dao, Yang Mei returned the spiritual treasures to their original owner.
Only from then on did Hongjun suddenly awaken: