Repercussions

Without the pressure of a Sage, his body could move freely again. Jiang Yun hurriedly climbed to his feet.

Amidst the phenomenon, he had taken the opportunity to absorb dozens of golden flowers. Both his foundation and cultivation had advanced considerably, which was certainly cause for celebration. Being pressed flat once had not been in vain.

"Dao lecture at Purple Firmament Palace..."

Jiang Yun murmured under his breath. There are still three thousand years. I still have the Golden Spirit Pearl and Water Spirit Pearl. I can continue improving during this time and perfect the Metal and Water elements among the Five Qi in the Chest.

If I can accompany my teacher and martial uncle to Purple Firmament Palace to hear the Dao then, it will truly be an immense opportunity.

With the help of the Dao Derivation Disk, he could navigate with ease when deducing spells and divine abilities or comprehending the laws of the Dao. Unfortunately, his cultivation had yet to reach the Great Luo Realm, so for now he could only comprehend the laws contained within the restrictions of Innate Spiritual Treasures. When the time came, he would have to focus on comprehending spells and divine abilities.

With that thought, Jiang Yun was just about to return to his cave abode and continue cultivating when a voice suddenly reached his ears: "Disciple, come to the Grand Hall for a moment!"

It turned out that Jieyin had summoned him. He wondered whether he was going to tell him about taking him to hear the Dao.

Jiang Yun entered the hall, bowed first to Jieyin and Zhunti, and then said, "Your disciple Jiang Yun pays his respects to Teacher and Martial Uncle! May I ask why Teacher summoned me?"

Having said that, he stood with his hands folded and looked up at Jieyin.

Jieyin said, "In three thousand years, Sage Hongjun will lecture on the Dao. Your martial uncle and I will hurry there to listen. What are your thoughts?"

"I would like to accompany you to Purple Firmament Palace to hear the Dao. When do Teacher and Martial Uncle plan to depart?"

"We will leave in five hundred years. The Primordial Desolation Starry Sky and the Inner Chaos World are vast, so we must set out early to arrive in time. Improve your cultivation as much as possible during this period."

"Yes."

With Jieyin's confirmation, Jiang Yun finally felt at ease. He had secured the opportunity to hear the Dao.

Suddenly, he thought of another issue. When Jieyin and Zhunti attended the first lecture at Purple Firmament Palace, their seats had come from Hong Yun and Kunpeng. Thus, the two had incurred a karmic debt to Hong Yun over a Sage Position. In the end, the debt had grown so immense that it had led to the saying that death erased all debts.

But in truth, their Sage Positions had come from the karma Hongjun repaid. Back then, Hongjun had battled Luohou, destroying the Western Land. Once Jieyin and Zhunti gained the favor of the Western Land's fortune and became its masters, Hongjun's debt would be collected by the two of them. Therefore, whether Hong Yun gave up his seat or not, the two of them could obtain Sage Positions regardless.

Thinking of this, Jiang Yun prepared to offer them a subtle reminder. "Teacher, may I ask whether the Sage in the phenomenon just now was Old Ancestor Hongjun, who defeated Demon Ancestor Luohou during the great calamity of the Western Land?"

Hearing his disciple's question, Jieyin answered, "It should indeed be that old ancestor."

Jiang Yun continued, "Then when Old Ancestor Hongjun and Demon Ancestor Luohou shattered the Western Land, didn't they incur an immense karmic debt to the West? How could it possibly be repaid?"

Jieyin laughed upon hearing this. "You little disciple, how could you ask such a laughable question? In the Primordial Desolation, the weak are prey to the strong. When the weak and strong form a karmic connection, unless the strong takes the initiative to repay it, what ability does the weak have to demand payment?"

That was indeed the principle. Jieyin and Zhunti owed Hong Yun a karmic debt over the Sage Position, but Hong Yun had lacked the power to demand payment and had ultimately died and vanished. As for Old Ancestor Hongjun choosing to repay his karma, that was because he needed to merge with the Dao and had to clear his own karmic debts. Otherwise, it likely would not have been so easy.

Jiang Yun continued, "Now that Teacher and Martial Uncle are the masters of the West, might there be a way to reclaim this immense karmic debt? Otherwise, the West's development will ultimately remain restricted."

Since this concerned the West's great prosperity, Jieyin and Zhunti silently pondered for a long while. In the end, they could think of no good solution and could only reply, "Let Martial Uncle and me think it over slowly. Sigh~~"

Seeing that the two had taken the matter to heart and formed some ideas, Jiang Yun quickly bade them farewell and returned to his cave abode to continue cultivating.

At this time, in the outside world, Hongjun had attained the Dao and become the first Sage since the Primordial Desolation World was created. This had an incomparably profound impact on the entire Primordial Desolation World.

As the various phenomena between Heaven and Earth vanished, the countless living beings of the Primordial Desolation finally recovered from their earlier shock. Everyone clearly sensed that the spiritual energy between Heaven and Earth had grown denser and that the Heavenly Dao's principles had become increasingly clear.

However, some top-tier innate demon gods keenly noticed that the Great Dao laws they had inherited were now faintly suppressed by some kind of power.

Old Ancestor Yang Mei, who cultivated the Space Law, felt the Heavenly Dao's suppression within the Primordial Desolation after Hongjun merged with the Heavenly Dao. After eventually attaining Hunyuan Great Luo, he settled his own karma, left the Primordial Desolation, and ventured into the Depths of Chaos.

Meanwhile, Candle Dragon, who suppressed the sea eye beneath the Eastern Sea's Heavenly Abyss, also opened his eyes after sensing the changes in the Primordial Desolation World. Using the Time Law he cultivated, he investigated the Primordial Desolation's River of Time and reflected the future.

"I truly never imagined that the war between the three clans would trigger a calamity, only for everything to end up paving the way for Hongjun!"

"Hongjun attained the Dao and merged with the Heavenly Dao, completing it. From then on, the Primordial Desolation underwent tremendous changes. The Great Dao retreated, the Heavenly Dao ruled the Primordial Desolation, and all living beings found it even more difficult to attain the Great Dao! If my Dragon Clan wants to rise again, we can only follow the Heavenly Dao. What a pity that, as a remnant of the old era, I will never see that day arrive."

After that, Candle Dragon continued suppressing the sea eye and never emerged again.

There were also the Mysterious Turtle of the North Sea, Great God of Thunder Marsh, King Pan, and many other mighty figures with extraordinary divine abilities. During the era when the Great Dao retreated, the Heavenly Dao rose, and immortal Dao Hongjun served as its representative, they ultimately disappeared or entered reincarnation for various reasons.

At this time, in the eastern region of the Primordial Desolation, after sensing the powerful aura of a Sage, the many living beings became extremely attentive to Old Ancestor Hongjun's lecture on the Dao and began stirring into action. For a time, the formerly tranquil Primordial Desolation became exceptionally lively.

On Kunlun Mountain.

The Three Pure Ones had been transformed from Pangu's primordial spirit and possessed Pangu's legacy. Their Root Foundations and fortunes were all top-tier. After witnessing the phenomenon of Hongjun attaining the Dao and becoming a Sage, their hearts were deeply shaken.

The pressure of a Sage alone had forced the three of them to fully activate Laozi's companion treasure, the Heaven and Earth Mysterious Yellow Exquisite Pagoda, to withstand it. The closer one stood to the pinnacle of cultivation in the Primordial Desolation, the more clearly one could understand how insignificant they were before that phantom clad in a purple Daoist robe—like ants.

All three had a powerful intuition that Sage Hongjun's lecture on the Dao would certainly contain an immense opportunity that they absolutely could not miss. After discussing it, the three transformed into a streak of Evasion Light and shot into the sky, heading toward the Outer Chaos.

At the same time, throughout the Primordial Desolation, Nuwa and Fuxi on Buzhou Mountain; Dijun and Taiyi on the Sun Star; Queen Mother of the West on Western Kunlun; Zhenyuanzi and Hong Yun of Wuzhuang Temple; Kunpeng of the Northern Darkness; Daoist Minghe of the Blood Sea; and countless other top-tier mighty figures of the immortal Dao era were all extremely interested in this Sage's lecture and emerged from seclusion. One figure after another transformed into Evasion Light and shot into the sky, flying toward Purple Firmament Palace beyond the heavens.

Compared with these people, there was another clan in the Primordial Desolation that could not be said to have shown no reaction at all to the Sage's lecture, but most of whose members truly had not the slightest interest in it. This clan was the Witch Clan.

The Witch Clan was led by the Twelve Ancestral Witches. Born bearing the Pangu Bloodline, they did not worship Heaven and Earth, but revered only Great God Pangu.

When the Ancestral Witches were born, Pangu Primeval Blood had been stained with Heaven-Opening Malevolent Qi. Thus, they possessed Spirit and Flesh Unity and could not give birth to primordial spirits. They could only continually temper their physical bodies with earth-fiend qi.

Since they had been born from Pangu Primeval Blood, they called Pangu their Father God, enjoyed the fortune of the creation of Heaven and Earth, and inherited Pangu's legacy. They possessed Pangu Hall, transformed from Pangu's head, and the Pangu Heart, as well as Pangu's physical cultivation technique, the Nine Revolutions Mysterious Technique. Thus, although the aura of a Sage was powerful and far surpassed them, most of them still felt that it was nothing remarkable. Only the two Ancestral Witches Houtu and Xuanming were different. Because they had undergone Form Transformation later and had been stained by less Heaven-Opening Malevolent Qi, their minds were more flexible than those of the others. They were not as arrogant and self-important, nor were they utterly fearless of the strong.

Regarding this Sage's lecture on the Dao, Houtu proposed that everyone go together to Purple Firmament Palace and listen. One could use the strengths of others to overcome one's own weaknesses. However, the others had no interest in it and devoted themselves entirely to researching how to use the Pangu Heart and blood pool to create more members of their clan.

In the end, only Xuanming was willing to accompany her to Purple Firmament Palace for a look.