The Dao Venerable's Name

"Hiss—"

Upon hearing these words, the crowd couldn't help but draw in a sharp breath of cold air.

The foremost person of the Primordial Wilderness?!

That terrifying?

But just then, Ancestor Yang Mei cast his gaze over. With his cultivation, nothing the crowd said could escape his notice.

Yet he only smiled and shook his head. "Fellow Daoists, please don't gild my face. I am but an ordinary Daoist—how dare I claim to be the foremost of the Primordial Wilderness? Moreover, before Daoist Hong Yuan, who dares call themselves the foremost?"

As soon as Ancestor Yang Mei spoke these words, many were stunned.

"Hong Yuan?"

Who was that?

Even above Ancestor Yang Mei.

Thus, many began to deduce.

But the moment they started, their expressions shifted drastically, and they spat out mouthfuls of blood.

Some, seeing the looks on these people's faces, hurriedly went to ask.

Yet no matter how they pressed, those people only shook their heads in terror, finally spitting out just two words: Dao Venerable.

Ancestor Yang Mei was not surprised by their reactions. After exchanging a few pleasantries with Yin Yang and the others, he slowly dropped his casual demeanor and continued:

"This old Daoist believes you are all curious why we few have specially invited you all to gather. As for the specifics, let Daoist Luohu explain them to you!"

Luohu, hearing this, cast a sidelong glance at Ancestor Yang Mei.

Good heavens, so he's making me take the lead, is he?

All the dirty work falls on me!

But Luohu didn't say much; he didn't care about such things anyway.

He merely swept his gaze slowly over the crowd, pausing for just a moment on Hongjun.

Why is this old mud eel here again?

Somehow, seeing Hongjun this time, he found him increasingly irksome.

But he didn't dwell on it.

Then he spoke again. "This Seat invited you all today for one thing!"

When Hongjun saw Luohu's gaze linger on him for that instant, it nearly scared him to death.

The moment Luohu appeared, Hongjun had faintly sensed the aura of the Jade Plate of Creation emanating from him.

So that brief pause almost made Hongjun think Luohu had also discovered the fragment of the Jade Plate of Creation on him.

But fortunately, Luohu only paused for a moment before looking away.

"I wish to set up a great formation in the Primordial Wilderness! I hope you will all contribute your strength! It's that simple!"

Luohu's words were equally straightforward, almost as if he were saying outright:

This Seat is calling you here to work—don't you dare be ungrateful!

After all, with Luohu's current cultivation at the mid-stage Golden Immortal of the Origin, aside from Ancestor Yang Mei and Hong Yuan, he had no need to regard anyone else.

Yes, over these years, with a little help from the Jade Plate of Creation fragments and the Falling Flower Immortal Fruit given by Hong Yuan, Luohu had directly broken through to the mid-stage Golden Immortal of the Origin.

Meanwhile, Causality, Five Elements, and the others had only barely broken through to the early-stage Golden Immortal of the Origin.

One could say that aside from Hong Yuan and Ancestor Yang Mei, he was the foremost of the Primordial Wilderness!

And the crowd below, upon hearing Luohu's blunt words, also wore rather ugly expressions.

But constrained by Luohu's current cultivation, they dared not say much.

They simply sat below with dark faces, silent.

Just then, Primordial Phoenix arrived belatedly.

Seeing the dead silence in the hall, her heart immediately went "thump."

Trouble. I'm in for it.

Sure enough, the moment they saw Primordial Phoenix, some finally found an outlet for their anger.

They instantly spread their auras.

"What beast dares to slight us so? Do you not know this gathering has already begun?!"

With that, waves of pressure immediately descended upon Primordial Phoenix.

Though Ancestral Dragon and First Qilin wished to help her, faced with the crowd's fury, they could only shrink their necks and play the beast, daring not to show any sign.

They could only silently mourn for Primordial Phoenix in their hearts.

Let's hope this woman can make it through this trial.

Faced with the hostility of the crowd, even though Primordial Phoenix's cultivation had now reached the mid-Zenith Heaven Golden Immortal stage, under the wanton, unrestrained pressure of tens of thousands of Zenith Heaven Golden Immortals—among them those at the late stage and even the peak—her face turned pale, and she seemed on the verge of collapse.

Ancestor Yang Mei had not intended to intervene. After all, Primordial Phoenix was in the wrong first; it was her misfortune to have arrived just when everyone was at their most furious.

But suddenly, he sensed a trace of Hong Yuan's aura on her.

This caught him off guard.

Without further hesitation, he simply waved his hand and suppressed all the oppressive auras at once.

"Hm?!"

For a moment, everyone was stunned.

They could not understand why Ancestor Yang Mei would suddenly come to Primordial Phoenix's aid.

But they did not expect that Ancestor Yang Mei, instead of looking at them, turned to Primordial Phoenix with a smile and asked, "I wonder if Daoist Hong Yuan is well?"

Hearing Ancestor Yang Mei's question, Primordial Phoenix finally understood why he had helped her.

But really, thinking about it, there was no other possibility besides her connection to Hong Yuan.

Although she had gained sentience early, she had only emerged into the world for a few Yuan Hui.

Compared to a Demon God like Ancestor Yang Mei, who was already renowned in Chaos, the gap was as vast as heaven and earth.

Even more so when Ancestor Yang Mei was one of those who had retained nearly all his memories.

Thus, Primordial Phoenix replied with a hint of deference: "Greetings, Ancestor Yang Mei. The Dao Venerable... he is well."

Seeing her slight restraint, Ancestor Yang Mei smiled and said, "Don't be nervous. I am a good friend of Daoist Hong Yuan!"

"Did Daoist Hong Yuan send you here?"

Primordial Phoenix hesitated, then slowly nodded. "Yes."

Hearing this, Ancestor Yang Mei stroked his long beard.

"Since Daoist Hong Yuan sent you, then sit closer to the front."

With that, Ancestor Yang Mei conjured a jade platform out of thin air, placing it just below Hongjun, Reincarnation, and the others.

Faced with Ancestor Yang Mei's goodwill, Primordial Phoenix hesitated for a moment, then did not refuse. She sat down directly on the newly formed jade platform.

This left Ancestral Dragon and First Qilin, who were among the crowd, utterly bewildered.

Wait—where did she get to know the Dao Venerable?

Of course, by now they had also noticed that Primordial Phoenix's cultivation was actually above theirs, which only confused them further.

Many others stared at Primordial Phoenix's back, their minds beginning to churn with thoughts of whether they should go and apologize later.

After all, their attitudes just now had not been very friendly.

Though a mere Primordial Phoenix was not worth their attention.

But unfortunately, behind her stood that Dao Venerable.

If they could build a good relationship with Primordial Phoenix, they might also have a chance to meet the Dao Venerable.

And so, the myriad great powers of the Primordial Wilderness were lost in a whirlwind of thoughts.

Just then, Ancestor Yang Mei slowly spoke: "I wonder what everyone thinks of Daoist Luohu's proposal?"

Yin Yang Daoist pondered for a moment, then looked at Ancestor Yang Mei and asked thoughtfully, "May I ask why you wish to set up this great formation?"

Before Ancestor Yang Mei could answer Yin Yang's question, Luohu spoke with a dark expression.

"Yin Yang, stop pestering me with questions. This Old Ancestor honors you by extending an invitation. All you need to do is give an answer—are you willing or not? If not, this Old Ancestor has no objection to using you as a foundation to refine the formation!"