As Hongjun, the Dao Ancestor, appeared upon the cloud platform, Nan Ji secretly sized him up with curiosity.
Sure enough, Nan Ji discovered that he could not make out Hongjun's face at all, so he hurriedly lowered his head.
"Hmm!"
Hongjun surveyed his surroundings, then his gaze stopped when it fell upon the two from the west.
"Jieyin, Zhunti."
Upon hearing the Dao Ancestor call them, the two hurriedly replied, "This disciple is here."
"You two are so full of feeling. Aren't you going to cry this time?"
Pfft—
As soon as the Dao Ancestor asked that question, many of the great powers present could not help laughing aloud.
Nan Ji's mouth fell open in shock at Hongjun's words as well.
Was that praise or mockery? Was this really the Hongjun, the Dao Ancestor, he remembered?
Although quite a few great powers present had laughed, Jieyin still answered with a mournful expression, "In reply to the Dao Ancestor, the west is plagued by hardship. The two of us must also strengthen our hearts and fear no suffering."
"Mm. I thought that, gifted as you two are, you would make another scene crying in my Purple Cloud Palace. What a pity!"
Hongjun nodded. After speaking to himself, he swept his eyes across the crowd again.
"Kunpeng."
The moment Kunpeng heard Hongjun call him, he hurriedly bowed low. "Dao Ancestor!"
At that moment, every gaze in the Purple Cloud Palace converged upon the palace entrance.
Nan Ji sat right beside Kunpeng. Afraid that Hongjun, the Dao Ancestor, might discover that he was a transmigrator, he lowered his head like a quail.
"Last time, you gave up your seat. This time, you have sat beside the palace doors again. Your heart for hearing the Dao is truly steadfast."
"Good! Very good!"
The Dao Ancestor looked at Kunpeng with a smile and praised him repeatedly.
Having seen what happened to Jieyin and Zhunti, Nan Ji realized that the Dao Ancestor seemed fond of speaking in reverse. So, was he starting to rebuke Kunpeng?
"Hahaha..."
Hong Yun could not hold it in either and was the first to laugh aloud.
Having heard the Dao Ancestor's rebuke, Kunpeng hurriedly lowered his head and replied, "This disciple would not dare."
Yet no one noticed that, the instant Kunpeng lowered his head, hatred flashed through his eyes.
"Mm. Last time, I said that the seating could not be changed again. Since you like it there, sit there from now on."
Hongjun's words were exceedingly humorous, yet they frightened Kunpeng into breaking out in a cold sweat.
Acting on instinct, he repeatedly smashed his head against the ground and cried, "Kunpeng knows his mistake. Dao Ancestor, please forgive me!"
As though he had not heard him, Hongjun spoke again. "Haotian, pour your Senior Brother Kunpeng a cup of tea. In this Purple Cloud Palace, he has also given you guidance in the Dao. Even this old Daoist cannot help but admire him. Good, good, good."
As he spoke, a tea tray appeared before Haotian. At its center sat a single crystal-clear jade cup filled with tea that gave off a faint mist.
"Yes, Master!"
Haotian's expression did not change as he lifted the tea tray. With a light step, he passed over the heads of the gathered beings.
"Senior Brother Kunpeng, please have some tea!"
After placing down the tea tray, Haotian returned to Hongjun's side.
Kunpeng looked at the tea. He did not know what was in it, but his instincts told him it was nothing good.
He had wanted to refuse, only to discover that his body would not obey him for the moment. His hands uncontrollably raised the tea cup, and he drained it in one gulp.
As the final mouthful of tea entered his stomach, Kunpeng felt his providence begin to drain away in the unseen.
"Dao Ancestor..."
Kunpeng trembled all over in terror. He regretted it beyond measure. Of all people to offend, why had he gone and offended Haotian?
Yet he discovered that his body instinctively did not dare say another word.
One had to know that providence was an exceedingly mysterious thing.
In the unseen, Kunpeng sensed that although the loss of his providence would not cause him to die and vanish from existence, opportunities along his path of cultivation would become exceedingly scarce from this day forth.
Quite a few great powers sensed the subtle change and understood that Kunpeng had fallen out of favor with the Dao Ancestor.
At the same time, they roughly guessed the reason. Refusing to give Haotian and Yaochi face in the Purple Cloud Palace—was that not the same as slapping Hongjun, the Dao Ancestor, in the face?
At once, everyone lowered their heads as much as possible and began recalling whether they had offended the Dao Ancestor's attendants as Kunpeng had.
Hongjun, the Dao Ancestor, no longer paid attention to Kunpeng and instead turned his gaze toward the others again.
Although every word Hongjun, the Dao Ancestor, said made people want to laugh, not a single being wanted him to call their name.
Even Nan Ji felt an immense pressure.
If they were friends, sarcastic words were jokes.
But when the gap in strength was immense, such sarcastic words became fatal wounds.
Just as Nan Ji was thinking this, the Dao Ancestor's voice came from ahead. "Hmm! Nan Ji!"
Nan Ji was startled badly by the Dao Ancestor's voice.
He had intended to answer, "This disciple is here," but feared he might muddle the seniority, so he instinctively replied, "Ah!? Disciple... I... I'm here."
"Have you switched allegiances?"
Hongjun asked casually, yet he inadvertently glanced at Jieyin and Zhunti before continuing, "Why are you not sitting behind your master? Haotian, bring your Junior Nephew Nan Ji a cushion and place it behind your Senior Brother Yuanshi."
Hongjun's initial words instantly made Nan Ji feel as though needles were pricking his back, cold sweat pouring down him.
But immediately afterward, he understood.
The Dao Ancestor was telling him to sit in the front row.
"Yes."
Nan Ji answered respectfully, but he did not dare swagger over everyone's heads as Haotian had. Instead, he made his way through the crowd.
Under the pressure of Hongjun, the Dao Ancestor, everyone silently lowered their heads and shifted aside, making a narrow path for Nan Ji. They feared that Hongjun, the Dao Ancestor, might turn his attention to them at that moment.
"Thank you, Dao Ancestor!"
Seeing the cushion that had already been set out, Nan Ji hurriedly prostrated himself and spoke. At the same time, he cast Haotian a grateful look.
At this moment, Hongjun, the Dao Ancestor, acted as though nothing had happened and said, "Hmm! Now, I shall begin speaking of the realms beyond the Great Luo..."
Upon hearing this, the anxious hearts of the great powers of the Great Desolation instantly settled.
Nan Ji sat upright on the cushion, only to discover that it too was an Innate Treasure. He steadied his mind and listened attentively as the Dao Ancestor expounded the Dao.
"Three and five combine their qi, returning to the root of one..."
"From without, the three yang things come of themselves..."
When the Dao Ancestor expounded the Dao, there were none of those heavenly phenomena of flowers raining from the sky and golden lotuses springing from the earth. Yet every word pierced Nan Ji's soul, driving his mana to circulate on its own.
The great powers of the Great Desolation were likewise utterly absorbed, unable to pull themselves free for a long while.
In Nan Ji's understanding, the Dao Ancestor also spoke of the path of Quasi-Saint cultivation, placing particular emphasis on the method of severing the Three Corpses.
Very soon, three thousand years passed.
"This sermon is concluded."
The Dao Ancestor's words were like demonic sounds entering their ears, startling all the great powers awake at once.
"Thank you, Dao Ancestor, for the grace of imparting the Dao!" the great powers of the Great Desolation hurriedly said.
"Mm. It is destined within the Heavenly Dao that this old Daoist should accept several disciples."
After Hongjun spoke, his eyes swept across the crowd once more.
Unlike before, the great powers all raised their heads, hoping Hongjun's gaze would rest upon them.
But Hongjun ignored them. Looking only at the cushions in the first row, he said, "Laozi, Yuanshi, Tongtian, are you willing to become my disciples?"
Upon hearing the Dao Ancestor's words, the three hurriedly prostrated themselves. "This disciple is willing!"
Seeing his elders prostrated upon the ground, Nan Ji also bowed to the Dao Ancestor.
"Mm!" Hongjun, the Dao Ancestor, nodded in satisfaction.
He then spoke again. "Nuwa! Are you willing to become this old Daoist's registered disciple?"
Although she had long expected it in her heart, she found it different from what she had imagined. Still, she answered joyfully, "This disciple is willing!"
"Mm!"
Hongjun nodded, then fell silent.
Of the six cushions in the first row, Hongjun had accepted the Three Pure Ones and Nuwa, but he had said nothing about the final two.
This immediately made Jieyin and Zhunti anxious.
The two hurriedly began kowtowing and wailed again, "The west is barren. We beg the Dao Ancestor to accept us two as disciples."
"We beg the Dao Ancestor for mercy!"
Before you continue