Di Jun Fell in Love with Drama Performance

Though the crowd was briefly drawn by Qing Huan's abrupt laughter, their gazes soon converged like a tide upon the figures ahead—the inseparable "remarkable pair" from the West, Jieyin and Zhunti.

Qing Huan watched these two future Sages, a flicker of grudging admiration stirring deep within him.

Even if their methods were... well.

A bit beneath the surface, they had nonetheless solidly attained Saint Positions!

That achievement alone commanded respect.

What was rarer still, these two "bald donkeys" shared a bond of brotherhood that might be the strongest in all the Primordial Wilderness, unmatched and unparalleled.

For the rise of the West, they had exhausted every thought, toiled without rest—that persistence and tenacity, that great perseverance, Qing Huan admitted he could not match. They deserved to become Sages!

And the Three Pure Ones? Qing Huan shook his head inwardly. At least in unity and in protecting their own, they could never catch up to the Western Duo.

Perhaps it was also due to their doctrines! Doctrines were the core of the Great Dao that one had personally realized.

If he himself hadn't been a Top-grade Innate Spiritual Root that had undergone Transformation, with deep foundations, if he had been of ordinary origins, he might have entertained the thought: Should he join these two and coast to victory?

At the very least, these two would never stand by and watch their own disciples be schemed against or killed without lifting a finger!

And those who proactively sought them out might even become personal disciples...

In the future, they'd be at least a Buddha Ancestor...

"Alas! We brothers, from the barren, desolate West where life is scarce, have endured countless hardships to journey to the Purple Firmament Palace.

All for the sake of seeking a thread of hope for the billions of living beings in the West, to inquire into the true meaning of the Great Dao... Never did we expect to find not even a place to stand!

This... how can this meet the earnest expectations of the sentient beings of the West!"

Zhunti's voice choked with sobs, his eyes reddened, crystal tears swirling at the brim, on the verge of falling—that grief was utterly sincere.

"Junior Brother!"

Jieyin's face showed deep desolation, but he forced himself to straighten his back, his voice carrying a bleak resilience.

"Since we came for the living beings of the West, how can our resolve to seek the Dao be shaken by mere seats? Even if it's a thousand hardships..."

"Senior Brother!"

Zhunti interrupted him, his voice even more mournful, his shoulders seeming to bear a crushing weight.

"There is no place for us here anymore! Enough... enough! Perhaps this is the Heavenly Mandate.

We... we shall go outside the palace gates, sit on the ground, and listen to the Sage's lecture with our ears!

Only... only pity the billions of struggling beings in the West..."

With that, he actually turned around, his steps heavy, making as if to walk out, his back steeped in desolation and despair.

Inside the Purple Firmament Palace, some of the great beings watched with interest as bystanders, but most of the Innate Deities kept their eyes on their noses, noses on their hearts, minds wandering beyond, as if uninvolved.

"Big Brother,"

Eastern Emperor Taiyi curled his lips in undisguised mockery, "How did the West produce such goods?

No seat, so scram. All this posturing—who are they performing for?"

Di Jun's eyes flickered with amusement, and he said quietly:

"Second Brother, don't rush. Let's see how this play ends.

These two... have quite a talent for 'performance.'"

He even thought that, if he had leisure in the future, he might summon some entertainers to perform such "remarkable plays" for amusement.

"Daoist Friend, please stay!"

A clear call broke the silence.

Hongyun watched Zhunti's "tragic" retreating figure, and the "compassion for all beings" in his heart could no longer be restrained. A surge of hot blood rushed to his head.

"Daoist Friend, traveling far for the sake of the West's living beings to seek the Dao—such great righteousness fills me, Hongyun, with deep admiration! I am unworthy! This cushion... I yield it to you, Daoist Friend!"

Before his words faded, he had already risen resolutely, leaving the purple Cushion that symbolized opportunity and Luck.

"Old friend! You... you fool!"

Zhenyuanzi's face turned green with anger, nearly stamping his foot.

"I exhausted every effort to secure this seat for you, and you... you give it away so easily?!"

Looking at Hongyun's face, radiant with the glory of "self-sacrifice for others," he felt a mix of frustration and fury, momentarily at a loss for words.

Zhunti, who had already "taken a few steps," suddenly halted, spun around, and his grief instantly transformed into surprise and gratitude—so fast it was dazzling.

"Daoist Friend! You understand righteousness, your virtue is lofty!"

He almost rushed forward, pressed his palms together, and bowed deeply to Hongyun, his tone utterly sincere.

"I, Zhunti, on behalf of the billions of living beings in the West, thank you for your great kindness! This Karma, the West will forever remember!"

Hongyun felt a surge of righteous spirit in his chest, his face beaming like the rising sun:

"Daoist Friend, sit steady! To help the billions of beings in the West gain a thread of opportunity—my heart is truly at peace!"

"I only hope that when Daoist Friend achieves the Great Dao in the future, you will protect the West and mend the broken earth veins that the Demon Ancestor Luohu detonated."

At this moment, he felt as if he were the most dazzling "benevolent" auspicious cloud in the Primordial Wilderness.

The Three Pure Ones, Nuwa, and the others all cast their gazes over, their expressions extremely complex—shock, confusion, mockery, and even a hint of insight into Karma, tinged with indifference.

"Daoist Friend Qing Huan."

Houtu leaned close to Qing Huan, her voice lowered to a whisper.

"This Hongyun... isn't he, like, mentally ill...?"

"Pfft... hahahaha!"

Qing Huan couldn't hold it in this time, his shoulders shaking with laughter.

"Brilliant! Brilliant! Even the Witch Clan's Ancestral Witch, born without a Primordial Spirit, can see it! Hahaha..."

In Qing Huan's view, Hongyun's later fall was anything but undeserved.

What conspiracy theory about the Hongmeng Purple Qi? Pure nonsense!

When five Sages emerged in the Primordial Wilderness in a single day, who didn't covet that foundation for attaining Sagehood?

Whoever the seventh Hongmeng Purple Qi landed on became the target of every ambitious schemer in the Primordial Wilderness! A united assault was inevitable!

No one could bear that Karma... except for Minghe, of course—the only one who was both elusive and powerful among the Innate Deities, possessing the bearing of a Sage, just unlucky...

If the Hongmeng Purple Qi served as a medium to guide him, with Minghe Establishing a Religion and the Merit from creating the Asura race, it would have been enough to become a Sage.

As for Zhunti and Jieyin not saving Hongyun? Qing Huan felt that, from an objective standpoint, it was beyond reproach.

Since the two hadn't schemed against him, and Hongyun hadn't sought help from the West when he was in danger, why should they intervene?

With Hongyun dead and his Dao extinguished, the enormous favor and Karma the West owed him naturally dissipated, clean and without ties. Why not?

If it were him, he wouldn't save him either. Who could repay that Karma... Not even an Innate Supreme Treasure could settle it.

Why did the Hongmeng Purple Qi choose Hongyun? No other reason—it was precisely Hongyun's overflowing "great compassion and mercy."

The countless "good deeds" he performed amassed immense Luck (or rather, attracted enough "calamity").

The Great Dao has fifty, Heaven's evolution forty-nine, leaving one to escape.

That thread of life—didn't it ultimately let Hongyun reincarnate as the Virtuous True Immortal Yunzhongzi?