Hong Yuan sat quietly where he was.
Without any warning, he simply opened his mouth and began expounding the Dao.
"What is the Dao?"
Without waiting for them to ponder it, Hong Yuan continued.
"There was something formed in chaos, born before Heaven and Earth. It had form without shape, deep and obscure, silent and faint. Its voice could not be heard. I reluctantly name it and call it the Dao."
"The Dao is too high to reach, too deep to fathom. It enfolds Heaven and Earth and receives the formless. Its source flows ceaselessly, empty yet never full. Turbidity, stilled, gradually clears; it gives without end and knows neither dawn nor dusk."
And so, Hong Yuan spoke in fits and starts.
He also gave them time to absorb his words.
A Yuan Hui passed in a hurry, and every so often, the auras of the three thousand living beings at the foot of Hong Yuan Mountain grew a little stronger.
Whenever a living being encountered something it did not understand, Hong Yuan would explain it piece by piece.
And these living beings finally began their Form Transformation.
Following Hong Yuan's appearance, they transformed into rosy-lipped, white-toothed boys and girls.
Seeing the plump little children one after another, Hong Yuan was quite pleased.
At last, the Hong Yuan Realm had some life to it.
In his happiness, Hong Yuan continued his teachings for a few more days.
Only after another Yuan Hui had passed did Hong Yuan stop expounding the Dao.
Looking at the little children, Hong Yuan smiled and said, "This teaching ends here. My Hong Yuan Hall still needs people to tend to it. If you are willing, you may serve as boys and girls in my Hong Yuan Hall."
Hearing Hong Yuan's words, the boys and girls immediately beamed with joy. Naturally, none of them were unwilling.
This was an opportunity that others could only dream of obtaining.
They respectfully lowered their heads and knelt before Hong Yuan. "We are willing. Many thanks, Dao Venerable."
They called Hong Yuan Dao Venerable because of the proclamation he had made upon entering the world.
Someone had tentatively addressed Hong Yuan as Dao Venerable.
But after doing so, everyone discovered that neither the Great Dao nor Hong Yuan showed any unusual reaction. Thus, the living beings began directly addressing Hong Yuan as Dao Venerable.
In the Primordial Wilderness, a person's name carried great significance.
Some titles could not be borne by ordinary people.
At best, their fortune would scatter; at worst, their Dao would perish and their bodies would be destroyed.
If you dared accept such a title, both the Heavenly Dao and the Great Dao would strike you down!
But Hong Yuan himself was not included in this.
Damn it, this was his home. Couldn't he do whatever he wanted?
Forget a mere title like Dao Venerable. As long as he did not squat on the Great Dao's head and take a shit, it was no big deal.
Still, after giving it some thought, Hong Yuan said, "Since you are my boys and girls, you may call me Master from now on."
After saying that, Hong Yuan waved his hand and bestowed upon the boys and girls the brand that would allow them to ascend the mountain.
He then left behind a few words before directly departing the Hong Yuan Realm.
"As the boys and girls of my Hong Yuan Hall, I now bestow upon you the brand to ascend the mountain. With this brand, you may climb the mountain and manage all matters upon it in my stead. The steps you take while ascending will also benefit you. Go."
"Farewell, Master!"
The boys and girls of the Hong Yuan Realm bowed as they joyfully saw Hong Yuan off.
After leaving Hong Yuan Hall, Hong Yuan appeared within the belly of Zhou Mountain.
Beside Hong Yuan Hall stood another divine hall.
It was Pangu Hall.
As he looked at the divine hall, a trace of nostalgia appeared on Hong Yuan's face.
"Eldest Brother..."
Taking a deep breath, Hong Yuan walked directly into Pangu Hall.
Pangu Hall was not as splendid and majestic as his Hong Yuan Hall. It was even somewhat plain.
This alone showed it clearly.
Just how much Pangu had doted on him, his younger brother.
Within Pangu Hall, Pangu's heart seemed to sense Hong Yuan's arrival. Its beating grew increasingly thunderous, as though it were delighted.
"Eldest Brother, I finally completed my Form Transformation. Don't I look handsome?"
At Hong Yuan's greeting, Pangu Hall began to hum.
It seemed to be responding to Hong Yuan.
Hong Yuan gazed at his eldest brother's heart, and his smile deepened.
From within Pangu's heart, he faintly sensed a brand that had yet to dissipate.
Sure enough, his eldest brother had not lied to him. His eldest brother was merely asleep.
Not far from Pangu's heart was a blood pool, above which floated twelve drops of essence blood.
These were the future Twelve Ancestral Witches.
At this moment, they had yet to develop sentience.
Looking at the future Twelve Ancestral Witches, Hong Yuan could not help but wonder whether he should give them Primordial Spirits.
After all, the Twelve Ancestral Witches had yet to undergo Form Transformation and enter the world.
For Hong Yuan, this was no difficult matter.
"Forget it. I'll wait until they develop sentience before deciding. Otherwise, how will these fellows remember how good their Second Uncle has been to them?!"
After making his decision, Hong Yuan did not leave in a hurry. Instead, he remained in Pangu Hall for a thousand years.
During those thousand years, Hong Yuan recounted everything that had happened to him recently.
He even told Pangu about how he had been struck by lightning not long ago.
Although Hong Yuan did not know whether his eldest brother could hear him.
He still never tired of speaking, even embellishing the tale in the hope that Pangu would awaken sooner. Then the two of them could use lightning to strike the Great Dao in return.
After ten thousand years had passed, Hong Yuan rose to his feet.
"Eldest Brother, all right, I'm going out to take a look at our home. If I find anything fun, I'll come back and tell you about it!"
With that, Hong Yuan left.
He walked out of Zhou Mountain.
At this time, although the Grievance and Fiendish Energy throughout the Primordial Wilderness still surged fiercely.
It had already thinned considerably compared with when Heaven and Earth had first separated.
Yet even though it had weakened greatly, beings below the Grand Unity Golden Immortal realm still could not come into contact with it.
The famous mountains in various places had also gained a touch of lush green.
However, if living beings were to be born, Hong Yuan estimated that it would still take one or two Kalpas.
Thus, Hong Yuan began traveling through the Primordial Wilderness.
Before long, Hong Yuan decided on his next destination.
He would first visit Kunlun Mountain.
After all, he had already seen the Twelve Ancestral Witches. He ought to take a look at the Three Pure Ones as well, shouldn't he?
After determining the direction, Hong Yuan headed toward Kunlun Mountain.
Although Kunlun Mountain was not far from Zhou Mountain, Hong Yuan, with his cultivation at the Second Heaven of the Zenith Heaven Golden Immortal, still spent a full hundred years traveling there.
Though he had not used his full strength, his cultivation was what it was. With a thought, he could teleport hundreds of light-years, yet it still took him a full hundred years.
But upon further thought, that was only natural.
After all, his eldest brother had opened the Primordial Wilderness from the entirety of Chaos.
He did not know how vast Chaos was.
Perhaps only by reaching his eldest brother's realm could one appear anywhere in an instant.
"Heh... if nothing else, my home is pretty big."
Hong Yuan muttered to himself.
At that moment, Hong Yuan finally arrived before Kunlun Mountain.
Kunlun Mountain had yet to enter the world. It was entirely shrouded in mist, and only its vague outline could be seen.
But this posed no difficulty for Hong Yuan.
With a slight wave of his hand, an opening appeared in the mist.
Hong Yuan walked straight inside.
Whatever else could be said, Kunlun Mountain truly deserved its future reputation as the ancestor of all mountains, a land of immense blessings.
Especially since Kunlun Mountain had yet to enter the world, the spiritual energy contained within it could only be described as incomparably dense.
Those below the Grand Unity Golden Immortal realm would truly find it difficult to take even a single step here.
Hong Yuan was in no hurry and leisurely made his way up the mountain.
Before long, he stopped before the Three Pure Ones' concealed grand formation.
With a thought, his entire body directly appeared within the formation.
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