Tongtian's axe—its power had been crystal clear for them all to see.
It was so powerful that it exceeded the imagination of every Sage.
Such a mighty being had to be unmatched!
What if probing into his origins caused the mighty being to misunderstand them?
Tongtian paused, giving the three Sages time to process it,
before saying,
"He told me... Yang Mei was actually Hongjun's puppet. As early as the Dao-Devil War, Yang Mei had already been refined by Hongjun."
"But what is strange is that Hongjun did not directly possess him. Instead, he allowed Yang Mei to live according to his own wishes in the Chaos Void!"
"What?!"
Yuanshi, Taishang, and Nuwa stared at Tongtian in shock.
Tongtian nodded solemnly. "I would not joke about something like this."
He explained,
"So now you understand why I burned a hundred million years of Merit? I knew from the very beginning that Yang Mei wanted to kill us."
"It wasn't enough to merely withstand him!"
"We had to defeat him!"
Yuanshi's face darkened as he said,
"So the one who truly wanted us dead was not Yang Mei, but... Hongjun!"
Hiss!
Jade Void Palace on Kunlun fell silent at once.
Bone-chilling cold enveloped the three Sages.
Yuanshi's face turned from black to green, then from green back to black!
He had thought the Sages' situation was already dangerous enough,
but he had never imagined
that the Mystic Gate Sages were in an even more perilous position than he had thought!
It was simply dangerous to the extreme!
Tongtian said at the right moment,
"Fortunately, the Investiture of the Gods Calamity ended with our victory! The Western Teachings did not gain enough benefits."
"Hongjun should settle down for a while!"
"But..."
Yuanshi consciously finished the thought for him,
"We absolutely cannot lower our guard. After all, Hongjun is the Incarnation of Heavenly Dao. It would be far too easy for him to find some excuse in the name of righteousness and make arrangements for us."
"The four of us must strengthen our ties."
He paused,
then specifically reminded Tongtian,
"If possible, Junior Brother, please visit that great deity."
"If he can offer us a few words of guidance, things will be much easier for us!"
Tongtian nodded solemnly.
Even if Yuanshi had not said so, Tongtian had intended to visit Penglai Immortal Island.
This calamity had been survived thanks to the treasures bestowed by Senior Lin Dong.
Without Senior Lin Dong,
Tongtian did not dare imagine what his fate might have been!
Perhaps he would have fallen just like Great Immortal Yang Mei!
Yuanshi was just about to speak,
when his mind suddenly trembled.
The four Sages simultaneously turned toward the East Sea,
and witnessed a bizarre sight!
Within Zixiao Palace in the Thirty-Third Heaven, Hongjun's face was dark, with none of his usual detached tranquility.
He wanted nothing more than to slap Tongtian to death!
He had begun laying out his plans and schemes back during the Dao-Devil War.
For billions of years, he had waited for this very moment,
when that puppet of his would finally be put to use!
Yet he had never expected
it to be cleaved apart by Tongtian's axe!
Not only that, Tongtian's cultivation had risen to an unimaginable level—the Eleventh Heaven of Dao Integration Realm!
Compared to himself, the gap was only one and a half heavens!
It was simply absurd!
Tongtian was no longer some insignificant figure he could manipulate at will.
To control him now would require paying an enormous price!
And Hongjun simply could not afford that price!
More than that, the more Hongjun thought about the axe in Tongtian's hand, the more convinced he became that it was the Pangu Axe.
This left Hongjun deeply confused.
The string of recent events had left even him somewhat flustered, completely disrupting his arrangements.
The Investiture of the Gods Calamity had ended.
Whether Hongjun wanted to or not,
he had to reassess the gains and losses!
The changes in the root timeline of the Primordial Era's great world,
the sudden appearance of a supreme treasure—
each was a problem Hongjun could not avoid.
After a long while, Hongjun smiled.
"Though the result was not entirely satisfactory..."
"the Western Teachings still gained six thousand disciples, along with Minghe and Lu Ya as assistance!"
"The foundation for the Rise of the West has already been laid!"
"The Sages... cannot escape the palm of my hand!"
Just as Hongjun was secretly congratulating himself, his spirit suddenly jolted.
He looked below in shock.
At the summit of Flower Fruit Mountain in the East Sea of the Earth Immortal Realm, an immortal embryo exploded with a thunderous boom.
A Monkey tumbled out of the immortal embryo in somersaults.
His eyes gleamed with golden light, like two beams of radiance.
The Monkey raised his head to the sky, and the golden light shot straight into the heavens, shaking the Hall of Lingxiao three times!
The Monkey lowered his gaze, and the golden light illuminated the Nine Underworlds and Ten Lands like broad daylight.
The Monkey looked himself over again,
seemingly somewhat dissatisfied, and shouted, "Bring me my gear!"
In an instant, magical treasures emerged from Water Curtain Cave on Flower Fruit Mountain.
They were the Phoenix-Winged Purple Gold Crown, Golden Chain Mail, and Lotus-Root Silk Cloud-Walking Boots!
The Monkey spun around once, greatly satisfied.
"My master said I could have fun however I wanted!"
He mounted his Somersault Cloud, and with a single leap, vanished without a trace.
The Monkey's cultivation was actually that of a Quasi-Saint!!
Hongjun lost his composure. "Why did this Monkey emerge at this time?"
"No!"
"He actually has a master, and his cultivation is at the Quasi-Saint level?!"
Hongjun could no longer hold himself back.
"All Sages, come to Zixiao Palace to discuss matters!!"
Hongjun's state of mind was about to collapse!
Why... had that Monkey been born at this time?
And the Monkey's cultivation was completely beyond his expectations.
The Monkey had actually entered the Dao!
No!
It was not merely that simple!
His cultivation was actually at the Quasi-Saint level!!
Even the innate great beings of the Primordial Era had not reached such a realm when they first took form.
Pangu, the Three Pure Ones, the Twelve Ancestral Witches, Minghe, Zhen Yuanzi, Taiyi, Di Jun, Kunpeng...
When they first took form, they had only been Golden Immortals!
But what about that Monkey?
He was already a Quasi-Saint the moment he was born!
Hongjun's Dharma Eye saw it clearly.
The Monkey's Dao foundation was exceptionally perfect. His limit was far more than merely Quasi-Saint!
The commotion caused by the Monkey's birth was too great.
The moment he was born, his reverence for Heaven and Earth shook the Three Realms!
When the other mighty beings of the Primordial Era saw it, they would at most think that another mighty being had been born.
But Hongjun alone knew clearly
that this Monkey was a chess piece he had designed back when Nuwa repaired the heavens.
It was meant to serve as proof of the Rise of the West!
The Monkey had been nurtured from the Five-Colored Stone left behind when Nuwa repaired the heavens, and it contained a considerable amount of Merit from repairing the heavens.
Flower Fruit Mountain in the Aolai Kingdom was no ordinary place either.
It was the ancestral vein of the Three Overseas Mountains and the source vein of the Ten Islands!
It was shrouded in dragon-vein energy and the essence of the sun and moon.
These were all benefits Hongjun had arranged for the Monkey!
But even so, Hongjun had never intended for the Monkey to possess cultivation the moment he was born!
The cultivation limit he had designed for this Monkey was merely to reach the level of Grand Unity Golden Immortal after cultivating for a period of time.
Nothing more!
In his plans, this Monkey was meant to be the one destined to face the calamity in Journey to the West.
Hongjun had written him into Heavenly Dao long ago!
He had become part of the great trend of Heavenly Dao!
Yet in the blink of an eye, this great trend of Heavenly Dao had completely changed. How could Hongjun not be shocked and enraged?!
And the Monkey's birth reminded Hongjun even more
that the Rise of the West he had arranged needed to be put on the agenda as soon as possible!
In his shock and fury, Hongjun forcefully summoned the Sages to Zixiao Palace for discussion.
The Sages answered the summons and arrived, all deeply bewildered.
The Four Saints of the Mystic Gate exchanged looks, inwardly maintaining their vigilance.
They had seen through Hongjun's schemes, and truly had no favorable impression of this Eastern Dao Ancestor.
But there was no helping it.
Besides the title of Eastern Dao Ancestor,
Hongjun was also the Incarnation of Heavenly Dao and the teacher of the Sages.
The Mystic Gate Sages had no choice but to obey his command!
Taishang, Yuanshi, Tongtian, and Nuwa all remained silent.
The Two Sages of the West were in an even worse state than the Four Saints of the Mystic Gate.
The recent Investiture of the Gods Calamity had truly frightened Jieyin and Zhunti!
Although they still retained six thousand disciples,
in terms of numbers, they were the greatest force in the Primordial Era.
But what was the actual situation?
It was not like that at all!
The eight direct disciples of Biyou Palace were all Peak Quasi-Saints.
Tongtian himself was a Great Sage at the Tenth Heaven of Dao Integration Realm—though in truth, the Eleventh Heaven.
What could they possibly use to compare with Biyou Palace?
More importantly,
Duobao had nearly destroyed the Dao Hearts of an entire generation of Western Teachings disciples!
If Hongjun had not manifested himself so quickly, they would have been finished.
Even Lu Ya, the former Tenth Prince of the Demon Court, had suffered severe damage to his Dao Heart.
That made things even more difficult!
The two Sages of the West were still afraid that Hongjun would settle scores with them afterward!
Great Immortal Yang Mei had cursed Hongjun quite a bit back then!
He had even called himself the Western Dao Ancestor.
Who could say Hongjun would not hold it against them and come looking for trouble?
The two Sages of the West were truly uneasy!
Hongjun swept his gaze over the Sages.
He said directly, "In a thousand years, the West shall rise. All Sages, discuss it!"
Huh?!
The Four Saints of the Mystic Gate abruptly looked up!
Huh?!
The two Sages of the West were overjoyed!
Taishang, Yuanshi, Tongtian, and Nuwa glanced at one another, simultaneously recalling the conversation they had analyzed before.
"Hongjun intends to use Yang Mei's hand to grant the West a complete victory!"
The reason was simple.
Back when Hongjun had fought Dao-Demon, he had incurred immeasurable Karma with the West.
To repay the Karma of heaven and earth, he could only promote the Rise of the West.
This was not something Yuanshi had figured out.
Rather, Tongtian had directly relayed Lin Dong's words!
When Lin Dong had analyzed the situation for him in the past, he had told Tongtian—
In order to repay the Karma of heaven and earth, Hongjun would certainly have to bring about the Rise of the West.
It was not because he loved the Western Teachings or the West.
It was purely because if the West could not rise, he would be unable to repay the Karma of heaven and earth!
That was all!
The Four Saints of the Mystic Gate had thought Hongjun would be more tactful.
But they had never expected him to be so blunt, directly pushing for the Rise of the West right from the start!
At this point, the Four Saints of the Mystic Gate reached a shared understanding of Hongjun's intentions!
The two Sages of the West, however, were both startled and delighted.
Originally, the two Sages had thought Hongjun would settle scores with them later and cause them trouble.
But they had never expected that not to be the case!
This truly exceeded their expectations!
It was even a tremendous surprise!
The West was actually going to rise!
And it would be a rise led by Dao Ancestor Hongjun himself!
This was completely beyond their expectations.
Jieyin and Zhunti hurriedly stepped forward and bowed, praising him aloud. "This disciple thanks Dao Ancestor for his mercy!"
Jieyin's eyes had reddened!
Zhunti wailed even louder.
Ever since attaining the Dao, the two Sages had dreamed of the Rise of the West.
Millions of years had passed, and the West was finally going to rise!
Hongjun calmly instructed, "If none of you Sages have any objections, then the West..."
Nuwa spoke.
"Dao Ancestor, I object!"
The voices of the two Sages of the West came to an abrupt halt, cut off mid-sentence!
Hongjun was choked up as well!
He truly had not expected it.
Someone had actually raised an objection!
What he had not expected even more was that the one objecting was Nuwa rather than the Three Pure Ones.
Hongjun steadied himself and nodded. "Speak!"
Nuwa said calmly.
"Dao Ancestor, why should the West rise?"
Huh?!
What kind of question was that?
The Sages were all somewhat puzzled.
Was the Rise of the West not a task of the Heavenly Dao?
Why did they need to ask for a reason?
But immediately afterward, the eyes of the Three Pure Ones lit up.
In the Primordial Era, right and wrong were irrelevant; only Karma mattered.
Everything had Karma.
So why could the West rise?
What was the Karma behind it?!
Hongjun was choked up!
He could not possibly say that the West could rise because he needed to repay the Karma he had incurred in the past, could he?
What would that make it?
The Three Pure Ones sneered.
Let's see how you answer that.
Jieyin and Zhunti were deeply worried. They knew that a single bad answer would bring trouble!
But this did not stump Hongjun.
"The Heavenly Dao values the balance of Yin-Yang. East and West should be relatively balanced."
"There is a Dao Ancestor in the East, so naturally there should be one in the West."
"There are six Sages in the East, so naturally there should be some in the West as well."
"Just like the Taiji Diagram, the two Yin-Yang fish intertwine. You contain me, and I contain you. Only then is Yin-Yang balanced."
"This is the Heavenly Dao!"
Tongtian suddenly laughed.
"According to Dao Ancestor's theory, then the West is currently in its most ideal state!"
Hongjun froze!
Jieyin and Zhunti flew into a rage. "Tongtian, do not spout nonsense!"
Tongtian said leisurely.
"Did Dao Ancestor not just say that only when Yin-Yang harmonized and East and West balanced each other could Yin-Yang be in equilibrium?"
"Now, throughout the Western World, aside from Mount Sumeru, every place is an Earthly Demon Kingdom."
"What is the opposite of immortals? Demons!"
"That Mount Sumeru is the eye of the fish within the Yin-Yang fish of the Demon Kingdom!"
Taishang, Yuanshi, and Nuwa nearly laughed aloud.
Tongtian truly knew how to talk.
Following Hongjun's own words, it actually formed a self-consistent argument.
Hongjun glared at him. "Stand down!"
Tongtian shrugged and said nothing more.
Yet none of the Sages knew.
After Hongjun and Tongtian, these two great powers of the Dao Integration Realm, finished discussing this matter—
Within the supremely yin and filthy Boundless Sea of Blood, a vortex suddenly formed.
The essence of that supreme yin and filth was drawn into the vortex, rushing toward a certain place.
Faintly, a fetus could be seen gestating within.
If any cultivator so much as glanced at it, their soul would be tainted.
Demonic qi surged thickly, yet it was also extraordinarily restrained.
The fetus faintly pulsed, as if some great power was about to be born!
Within Zixiao Palace, Hongjun said directly.
"In a thousand years, the West shall rise, and the Journey to the West shall begin. Discuss the path of the Journey to the West properly."
The Four Saints of the Mystic Gate looked at one another and suddenly felt a sense of familiarity.
During the recently concluded Investiture of the Gods Calamity, Great Immortal Yang Mei had also resorted to shameless tricks at every turn!
It was truly exactly the same!
Tongtian asked with a smile, "Dao Ancestor, may we Sages take action?"
The expressions of the two Sages of the West changed drastically.
If the Sages of the Mystic Gate acted during the Journey to the West, what could the West use to resist them?
The two Sages of the West looked at Hongjun pleadingly.
Hongjun answered directly, "No!"
"None of the Sages may take action!"
Only then did the two Sages of the West breathe a sigh of relief.
It was truly wonderful that the Sages of the Mystic Gate could not act.
One had to know that every Sage of the Mystic Gate possessed greater cultivation than they did.
Tongtian in particular—he was a supreme great power capable of sending Great Immortal Yang Mei directly to his death!
If even he took action, who besides the Dao Ancestor could withstand him?
Fortunately, the Dao Ancestor had rejected Tongtian's unreasonable request.
The Four Saints of the Mystic Gate exchanged glances.
All of them sneered inwardly.
Was Hongjun planning to ensure the Rise of the West without any obstacles?
But the Sages had not agreed to it!
Just wait and see!
Hongjun swept a glance over the Sages. "Go and make your preparations."
He began dismissing them without the slightest hesitation!
The Sages took their leave.
Hongjun sat upright within Zixiao Palace.
A faint look of confusion appeared on his face.
"Strange, it seems something extremely important just happened!"
"What exactly was it?"
"Why do I vaguely feel so uneasy!"
This was a warning from his instincts, an alarm from his primordial spirit.
Hongjun did not dare be careless.
He hurriedly connected with the Heavenly Dao Origin, yet he found not the slightest anomaly.
Hongjun was bewildered. What exactly was going on?
The two Sages of the West returned joyfully to Mount Sumeru.
They immediately summoned Minghe!
Minghe had originally been completely countered by Yunxiao using the Innate Spiritual Treasure, the Hunyuan Golden Dou, within the Immortal Slaying Sword Array.
His true body and every Blood God clone he had brought with him had been purified.
But before Minghe had participated in the Investiture of the Gods Calamity—
The two Sages had instructed him to place some of his Blood God Sons in the Eight Treasures Merit Pool, the sacred ground of the Western Teachings upon Mount Sumeru, to be nurtured.
At the time, they had merely wanted to grant the Blood God Sons the properties of immortal techniques.
Who could have expected it to become Minghe's last chance at survival!
Minghe had directly been reborn at the Quasi-Saint realm.
Naturally, his cultivation was inferior to that of his true body.
The two Sages of the West did not distance themselves from him in the slightest because Minghe's cultivation had declined.
Before you continue