Feeling the earth-shattering tremors above him, and smelling the terrifying aura of countless powerful beings, he trembled with fear, every hair on his body shaking.
But the Xuan Huang aura flowing from the palace gates, the peaceful aura emanating from the marks between the two Daoist boys' brows, and the Dao Sound of the word "enter" that resounded throughout the heart were like a faint yet persistent candlelight in the darkness.
Summoning the last vestiges of courage in his life, he suddenly burst forth from that narrow crack!
The tiny, dust-like figure darted, leaped, and tumbled through the shadows of countless giant feet, hooves, and scales, sometimes being blown away by violent gusts of wind, yet clinging tightly to a tuft of fur or the edge of a piece of carapace.
Daring not to approach any powerful creature, its body instinctively curled up, as weak as a mayfly in a storm.
Closer... closer... the threshold flowing with golden Daoist energy is right before our eyes!
Just as he exhausted his last bit of strength and was about to be flung into the turbulent abyss beside the door by a violent gust of demonic wind, a small hand covered with fine, warm scales and flowing with pure jade light suddenly emerged from the halo of light flowing along the edge of the door, its five fingers spread out, gently beckoning.
A gentle yet irresistible force instantly enveloped the Six-Eared Macaque's tiny, about-to-fall body, isolating it from all external shocks and chaotic energy. He looked up in astonishment, meeting Yuan Yu's pure, flawless eyes, which seemed to reflect the entire boundless Sea of Stars. A hint of curiosity lingered in his clear gaze, yet the golden, radiant mark between his brows exuded an unparalleled majesty that froze even the depths of the Six-Eared Macaque's soul!
The jade light enveloped him, as if Jieyin a speck of dust, lightly passing over the heads of the surging myriad spirits, passing over the threshold churning with the Xuan Huang aura, and steadily placing him on the warm jade-like ground inside the Chuyuan Palace.
Almost simultaneously, Yuan Lian's gaze, as if sensing something, swept across the surging tide of life outside the door with a smile as pure as a lotus blossom. His small finger seemingly unintentionally touched a corner at the edge of the white jade plaza. There, a wisp of extremely faint, almost completely submerged by the aura of all living beings, like a maggot clinging to a bone, quietly clung to the crevices of the scales of a snake-headed, human-bodied demon. At this touch, the Calamity Qi trembled violently, like snow exposed to the blazing sun, silently melting away without a trace. The snake demon remained oblivious, simply pushing forward with all its might. Yuan Lian withdrew his finger, and the divine sun projection within the lotus heart of the illusory blue lotus above his head flickered slightly, as if he had merely brushed away a mere speck of dust.
Within the palace gates lay a profound world, beyond description. Space seemed to stretch infinitely; the dome was not made of brick or stone, but a constantly flowing galaxy of Daoist energy, with billions of stars condensed from mysterious runes, flickering and elucidating profound truths. Beneath one's feet lay warm, jade-like, yet intangible clouds; stepping upon them, a cool, pure Daoist essence flowed from the soles of one's feet into every limb and bone, cleansing the soul. Liquid, Xuan Huang Great Dao flowed along the walls, with countless golden lotuses and Golden Lotus stamens floating in their waters. Each opening and closing of these springs released an overwhelmingly dense spiritual energy... Fragments of Daoist Rhyme. An indescribable "purity" permeated the air, as if completely isolating all the Primordial Wilderness, Malevolent Qi, and calamities of the primordial world, leaving only the silent echoes of the primordial Great Dao. Countless beings that had rushed in earlier, whether ferocious beasts or ethereal spirits, involuntarily slowed their pace and restrained their auras. Their eyes revealed shock and intoxication. Following some invisible guidance, they found their own places to sit cross-legged, quickly immersing themselves in this unparalleled Daoist realm, their faces displaying a pilgrimage-like piety and tranquility.
Zhao Gongming led the San Xiao to a quiet cloud platform near the inner palace's jade steps, where they sat down cross-legged. Bixiao curiously surveyed the grand and sacred hall, quietly marveling at the Dao patterns on the walls reflecting the flowing stars.
Yunxiao closed his eyes and concentrated, carefully comprehending the pure Daoist charm of this place that surpassed the Primordial Wilderness world. The flowing cloud trajectory he calculated with his fingertips became increasingly agile and profound. Zhao Gongming's tiger eyes shone brightly as he felt the fusion and resonance between the wisp of supreme Yang primordial energy within his body and the Daoist charm filling the hall. Some ancient shackles deep within his bloodline seemed to be loosening.
The Six-Eared Macaque, which Yuan Yu had led inside, was gently placed in an inconspicuous corner of the outermost part of the hall, near the inner wall of the huge palace gate, amidst the clouds and mist.
The Daoist atmosphere here is gentle and calm, with the least pressure.
Still shaken, Six-Eared Macaque felt the warm, pure jade light surrounding him slowly recede. Six-Eared Macaque raised his head blankly, trying his best to capture the vast Daoist charm flowing through this unfamiliar world—a vastness and purity he had never imagined.
The massive palace gates remained open, but the surging torrent outside was blurred by a flowing curtain of dark gold light.
In the deepest part of the hall, on the inner jade steps that seemed to connect to the source of the Great Dao, endless light was born without warning.
It was not an eruption, nor an emergence, but rather that the highest place, which should have been the source of light, was now being clearly recognized as "existence" itself.
A halo of light flowed, and a throne, indescribable in its material, seemingly woven from the purest "being" and "non-being" at the Primordial Chaos, slowly solidified.
A figure sat upright on the throne.
Unable to discern his face or clothing, all that could be seen was a vast expanse as deep as the universe—the true master of the Chuyuan Palace — the Heavenly Venerate Qing Huan.
Time and space lost their meaning around the Heavenly Venerate Qing Huan Venerable.
His gaze lowered, like two ribbons of light containing billions of stars, slowly sweeping over the myriad beings in the hall.
As far as the eye could see, whether it was a ferocious beast, an ethereal spirit, or Zhao Gongming sitting cross-legged in meditation, Yunxiao with his Bixiao looking around, or even the tiny Six-Eared Macaque in the corner, all were exposed to this gaze, their minds trembling, and they instinctively felt the most primal awe and submission.
That was an absolute suppression brought about by an insurmountable chasm on the level of life.
When that all-encompassing and penetrating gaze swept over the Six-Eared Macaque, almost imperceptibly, Qing Huan's seated figure seemed to freeze for a fraction of a second.
On that face, as flawless and serene as the Great Dao itself, a very faint wrinkle flickered between the brows.
This slight crease is not out of disgust, but rather a ripple that touches upon ancient rules, a natural reaction to seeing a "paradox" that shouldn't be here.
That originates from a trace of imprinted in the supreme rules—"The Law is not transmitted to the ears." Countless Kalpa ago, the creature that relied solely on its talent to eavesdrop on sacred words, ultimately incurring the punishment of the Heavenly Dao, resulting in its talent being half-ruined and becoming a laughing stock in the Primordial Wilderness, has long since faded into the long river of time, leaving only this cold rule to warn future generations.