"Welcome, Sage."
Everyone rose to bow to Hongjun in salute. Only Xuan Yi remained seated, unmoving.
Seeing the Sage descend, Zhunti felt as though he had found his courage again.
"Reporting to the Sage, this child is merely a Heavenly Immortal, yet he dares to sit before you. Not only that, he does not salute when meeting the Sage. This is the gravest disrespect toward the Sage. I hope the Sage will punish him."
Zhunti glared fiercely at Xuan Yi, wishing the Sage would destroy him on the spot.
Boom!
Xuan Yi had no patience for him. He directly sent a bolt of Heavenly Punishment Lightning at him, once again scorching Zhunti black and crisp.
Zhunti's entire body was charred black, giving off bursts of roasted-meat fragrance. He looked even more miserable than a beggar.
"Impudent! You still dare to attack before the Sage? You truly have no regard for the Sage!"
Jieyin could no longer hold back and immediately shouted in rebuke.
"Enough. From this day onward, sit according to these positions."
Hongjun gave Jieyin and Zhunti a faint glance but did not pay them any further attention.
"We obey the Sage's decree."
The great powers all responded.
"Damn it. He attacked in front of the Sage, yet he was not punished. The Sage is far too biased."
Jieyin and Zhunti, whose minds were clearly not keeping up, still failed to see the situation for what it was. They merely sighed at Xuan Yi's good fortune. However, since Hongjun had spoken, they did not dare make another sound.
"The Sage took pity on the living beings of the primordial world, who did not know the Dao, and came to teach us. You should be the master of the primordial world. We are willing to address you as Dao Ancestor."
The one speaking was East King Duke. This flattery pleased Hongjun greatly.
Seeing that Hongjun appreciated this form of address, everyone else immediately followed suit.
"We pay respects to Dao Ancestor Hongjun."
"Mm."
"I, Hongjun, was born at the beginning of the creation of heaven and earth. After enduring countless tribulations, I finally attained Sagehood. Taking pity on the difficulty of cultivation for all beings of the primordial world, I shall preach the Dao to you three times. Each sermon shall last three thousand years. Let us begin."
"This time, I shall speak of the Dao of Grand Unity."
"Dao."
"Dao, Dao, Dao."
"..."
A Sage's preaching was truly extraordinary.
In an instant, auspicious phenomena descended within Zixiao Palace.
Golden lotuses surged from the earth, heavenly flowers fell in profusion, and Dao light shone everywhere.
Those listening were utterly engrossed, and nearly all gained greatly.
At times, they clapped their hands and laughed.
At times, their faces were filled with bitter distress.
"Hmph. The Dharma shall not be passed to Six Ears."
Hongjun, who had been preaching, suddenly flew into a rage. Immediately afterward, a spell shot toward the primordial world.
In the primordial world, a monkey with six ears was secretly listening in.
Suddenly, a spell flew toward him, and blood instantly flowed from all six of his ears.
That monkey was the Six-Eared Macaque.
After settling the matter, Hongjun closed his eyes and continued preaching.
Little did he know that with a single sentence—"The Dharma shall not be passed to Six Ears"—he had completely severed the Six-Eared Macaque's path to immortality.
The ones who gained the most from this sermon were the Sanqing and the others. The three possessed the merit of the creation of heaven and earth and had been transformed from Pangu's Primordial Spirit, so their comprehension was naturally heaven-defying.
The Dao of Grand Unity that Hongjun taught was absorbed by all three without exception.
Next were Nuwa and Jieyin. Both were blessed with immense fortune and possessed extraordinarily heaven-defying comprehension. They could comprehend roughly ninety percent of what Hongjun taught.
Compared to the others, Zhunti's comprehension was somewhat poorer. He could only grasp eighty percent.
Tai Yi, Di Jun, Kunpeng, Zhen Yuanzi, and the others of the next tier also had decent comprehension and could understand around seventy percent.
As Hongjun continued preaching, his gaze swept over the crowd before finally settling on Nuwa.
"So this is the wife Xuan Yi has chosen for himself. Very well, very well. I shall lend you a hand."
Hongjun lightly tapped a finger, and a sphere of light merged into Nuwa's body. The content that had originally seemed obscure and difficult instantly became clear to her.
Knowing that Dao Ancestor Xuan Yi had been the reason Hongjun helped her, Nuwa's feelings for Xuan Yi deepened even further.
The ones suffering the most were the Twelve Ancestral Witches and the others.
Everything Hongjun taught concerned the Dao of the Primordial Spirit and comprehending the laws of heaven and earth.
Yet the Twelve Ancestral Witches cultivated only their physical bodies.
Aside from Houtu, who could barely comprehend one or two parts, the other Ancestral Witches could not understand a thing. They could only stare at one another, each day feeling like a year.
They could not understand what they heard, nor could they remember it.
Yet they did not dare leave.
They could only suffer in silence within Zixiao Palace.
Xuan Yi, meanwhile, had his own inheritance, so what Hongjun taught did not benefit him much.
"Snore... snore..."
Well then, Xuan Yi had successfully drifted off to dreamland.
In the blink of an eye, three thousand years passed.
Hongjun's voice abruptly stopped.
The various heavenly phenomena gradually faded away as well.
"Awaken."
At Hongjun's soft cry,
the crowd, immersed in Hongjun's preaching, slowly came to their senses and looked at him with dazed expressions.
After three thousand years of preaching, the Sanqing, who possessed superior comprehension, had all advanced. Taishang had reached the peak of the Grand Unity Golden Immortal realm, while Yuanshi and Tongtian had reached the late stage of Grand Unity.
Although Nuwa had fallen behind at first, Hongjun had given her special assistance, and her cultivation unexpectedly surpassed Yuanshi and Tongtian's. Like Laozi, she had reached the peak of the Grand Unity Golden Immortal realm.
Jieyin and Zhunti had reached the late and middle stages of Grand Unity, respectively.
Everyone else had also crossed several minor realms in cultivation.
"Snore... snore..."
At that moment, with the Dao sound no longer concealing it, Xuan Yi's snoring instantly entered everyone's ears.
"This..."
"How big must his heart be to dare sleep before the Dao Ancestor?"
"What if he angers the Dao Ancestor? Would he still live?"
Other than the Sanqing, Nuwa, and the others, all the great powers of the primordial world looked at Xuan Yi. He was finished. He was certainly dead.
"Let's see how you survive this time."
Jieyin and Zhunti were also gloating over his misfortune.
"Enough. This sermon has concluded. I am the first Sage of the primordial world. The Heavenly Dao has ordained three sermons. The second sermon shall begin in three thousand years."
Hongjun ignored the matter and directly revealed that he intended to accept disciples.
"By the will of the Heavenly Dao, this humble Daoist has calculated that some among you share a master-disciple fate with me."
"This humble Daoist intends to accept several disciples."
The moment these words were spoken, the great powers of the primordial world became instantly excited.
"Choose me! Choose me!"
Disciples of a Sage—wouldn't they be able to swagger anywhere they pleased?
"Sanqing, you were transformed from Pangu's Primordial Spirit and were born with great merit and fortune. Are you willing to take me as your master?"
The Sanqing were overjoyed upon hearing this and immediately kowtowed.
"This disciple is willing. This disciple pays respects to Teacher and wishes Teacher boundless longevity."
Hongjun then slightly moved his palm. Several spiritual treasures slowly appeared.
"Taishang, you were transformed from Pangu's Primordial Spirit and may become my eldest disciple. You should have a supreme treasure to protect yourself. Today, I grant you the Xiantian Supreme Treasure, the Taiji Diagram, for protection."
A treasure diagram floated toward Taishang. Its black-and-white yin-yang fish connected head to tail, circulating without end.
Taishang was immediately moved to tears of gratitude.
When everyone saw this, they were stunned. A Xiantian Supreme Treasure, just like that? They themselves did not even possess many Xiantian Spiritual Treasures. Worthy indeed of the Dao Ancestor.
"Yuanshi, you may become my second disciple and shall wield the supreme treasure, the Pangu Banner."
Another supreme treasure flew toward Yuanshi.
"Tongtian, your temperament is insufficiently steady, but you are exceptionally valiant and fond of the sword Dao. Today, I grant you the foremost killing formation since the creation of heaven and earth: the Immortal Slaying Sword Formation. Once this treasure is activated, it cannot be broken without four Sages. I hope you will use it well."
With that, he took out one diagram and four swords and gave them to Tongtian.
"Tongtian is invincible now. It cannot be broken without four Sages, yet the primordial world currently has only one Sage, Hongjun!"
Seeing this, the great powers all placed Tongtian on their lists of people not to provoke.
After settling the Sanqing, Hongjun turned his gaze toward Nuwa.
"Nuwa, in the future, you shall accomplish a matter of immense merit. You may become my fourth direct disciple. Are you willing?"
Originally, according to the Heavenly Dao's course, Nuwa was meant to become a nominal disciple. However, with Xuan Yi's intervention, Hongjun decided to accept Nuwa as a direct disciple. After all, she was his future daughter-in-law. Naturally, she could not be treated poorly.
"This disciple thanks Master. This disciple pays respects to Master and wishes Master boundless longevity."
Nuwa was overjoyed and immediately bowed down in worship. Xuan Yi truly had not lied to her.
Hongjun then took out another diagram and a ball.
"This is the Shanhe Sheji Diagram. It contains a self-contained space that can evolve into a world and trap others within the diagram, preventing them from escaping. It is a Top-grade Xiantian Spiritual Treasure. This is the Top-grade Xiantian Spiritual Treasure, the Red Embroidered Ball. It can serve as a weapon of attack and can also determine the marriages of all under heaven. I grant them to you."
After thinking for a moment, Hongjun took out another treasure.
"This is the Xiantian Supreme Treasure, the Qiankun Yin Yang Bracelet. It can collect spiritual treasures below the rank of supreme treasure and can also be used to smash enemies, possessing boundless power. You originally had no fate with it, but... forget it. I shall grant it to you as well."
Nuwa naturally knew it was once again because of Xuan Yi. Otherwise, she could never have obtained a supreme treasure. She immediately prostrated herself and gave thanks.
Behind Nuwa, Fuxi secretly sighed.
"My sister truly found herself a good husband!"
Before you continue