Things had come to this, and Queen Mother of the West had no choice but to withdraw.
Seeing this, Hongjun said, "Now that the lecture is over, if any of you have questions, feel free to ask. Tian Chen, stay behind afterward."
"???" Chen Tian looked completely bewildered. Ahem? What's going on, bro? Are you giving me special treatment?
Everyone immediately turned to look at Chen Tian. Chen Tian simply lay down on the ground and said, "Why are you looking at me? He told you to ask questions. I'm going to get some sleep."
"..." Hongjun.
"..." Three Thousand Mortal Guests.
They were all speechless, but they had gotten used to it. Then they began asking their questions.
Soon, everyone left, leaving only Chen Tian and Hongjun behind.
"Dao Ancestor, may I ask why you wanted me to stay? If you have something to say, please go ahead. I'll definitely take care of it!" Chen Tian said with a beaming smile as he stood up.
"You rascal." Hongjun cursed him with a laugh, then said seriously, "Tian Chen, do you know about the Heavenly Dao?"
"The Heavenly Dao?" Chen Tian looked at Hongjun in confusion. "Of course. The Heavenly Dao has fifty principles, but one has escaped. That is the glimmer of hope, which is why it is incomplete."
"Then do you know how to complete the Heavenly Dao?" Hongjun continued asking.
"Wouldn't that be by integrating with the Dao yourself?" Hongjun rolled his eyes and blurted out instinctively.
But the moment he said it, he regretted it. After all, Hongjun had not yet informed Heaven and Earth that he would integrate with the Dao. He had only told the Three Thousand Mortal Guests when the third lecture began.
"Sure enough, you really do know!" Hongjun laughed as if his grand plan had succeeded. "As expected of the Son of the Great Dao!"
"The Son of the Great Dao???" Chen Tian was completely bewildered. Then he recalled that it seemed to be a reward given by the Salted Fish System more than ten thousand years ago.
"That's right. You are the Son of the Great Dao and carry tremendous destiny. It is only natural for you to know some secrets." Hongjun nodded. He had observed Chen Tian for such a long time and discovered that Chen Tian did not know he was the Son of the Great Dao. He then asked, "I simply wonder how you came to know this."
"Uh... Dao Ancestor, ever since I transformed, I've had many fragments of memories in my mind. My memories only became complete after I became the disciple of the Three Pure Ones..." Chen Tian scratched his head and smiled. Fine, if you're scheming against me, I'll make something up too!
"Then what will happen in the future? Will I successfully integrate with the Dao? After I succeed, will I really no longer need to concern myself with anything, as the Heavenly Dao said?" Hongjun suddenly became interested and hurriedly asked.
"Uh..." Seeing Hongjun like this, Chen Tian stared at him in disbelief. This... this is the notorious scheming Hongjun?
How is that possible!!!
According to the comments on Earth, Hongjun integrated with the Dao to control the Heavenly Dao, bring down Tribulations again and again, destroy the Prehistoric World, and obtain the origin of the Heavenly Dao. He would then separate himself from the Heavenly Dao once more and reach an even higher level.
But this guy in front of me... is he really the notorious scheming Daoist Hongjun?
He looks like he can't wait to become a salted fish... Don't tell me you've been possessed by the Salted Fish System too?
"Dao Ancestor, have you never considered reaching an even higher level?" Chen Tian asked Hongjun doubtfully.
"Why should I reach an even higher level? I have already become a Saint, and I am the agent of the Heavenly Dao. No one in the Prehistoric World can harm me, so why should I pursue a higher level? Isn't it nice to look over the Prehistoric World and go fishing for dragons every day?" Hongjun asked in confusion.
"..." Chen Tian.
What the hell... This is an advanced salted-fish mindset, isn't it? Are you really Dao Ancestor Hongjun?? That settles it! You've been possessed by the Salted Fish System!
"You really never considered reaching an even higher level?" Chen Tian asked again.
Hongjun rolled his eyes and said, "You know what the Prehistoric World is like. Without talent and good roots, it is completely impossible to reach a higher level here."
As he spoke, Hongjun looked toward the Purple Firmament Palace and said, "I was once an Immortal Dao Demon God. Although my roots were inferior to those of the other top Demon Gods, I was still a middle-ranking Demon God. However, after the Chaos Calamity, my primordial spirit possessed the body of a prehistoric creature..."
"I know! It was the body of an earthworm!" Chen Tian interrupted him at that moment.
"..." Hongjun's old face instantly darkened. I know you knew, but couldn't you leave me a little dignity? I'm Dao Ancestor! Don't I have any pride?
"After that, my roots deteriorated. I even manifested only eight flowers when breaking through to Daluo, and breaking through to Sainthood became extremely difficult. Fortunately, the Heavenly Dao has forty-nine principles, with one having escaped. I seized that glimmer of hope and was able to break through to Sainthood..." After Hongjun finished speaking, Chen Tian fell silent.
It was true that talent and roots were extremely important in the Prehistoric World. Poor roots meant limited future achievements, while excellent roots naturally led to greater accomplishments.
For example, Hongjun had once been an Immortal Dao Demon God with the roots of a middle-ranking Demon God. However, compared with the roots of a top Demon God like Pangu, he was far weaker.
As for breaking through to the Daluo realm, everyone knew that three flowers bloomed, divided into heaven, earth, and man. These were the three flowers above the head and the five energies within the chest.
However, the flowers were also divided into different grades. Nine was the ultimate number in the Prehistoric World, so blooming nine-grade flowers in the Prehistoric World meant one could become a Saint!
The Chaos of the past was different. In Chaos, twelve was completeness, also known as the Great Dao's twelve, a whole number. Great God Pangu had once bloomed twelve-grade flowers and achieved the Half-step Great Dao realm!
That was the issue of roots!
The higher one's roots, the greater one's achievements. Conversely, poor roots naturally resulted in lesser achievements. Thus, it had been extremely difficult for Hongjun, who had bloomed only eight-grade flowers, to become a Saint. And precisely because of this, Hongjun had wanted to become a salted fish long ago. After all, he could not reach a higher level, and he was already the strongest person in the Prehistoric World. Why make things so troublesome?
After hearing this, Chen Tian recalled how those people had described Hongjun in his memories. He felt that things were completely different!
"All right, I'll tell you what will happen in the future." Chen Tian gritted his teeth. So what if I tell the notorious scheming Hongjun? At worst, I'll buy more than ten Cross-Realm Talismans from the Myriad Heavens Chat Group. Then I'll take my three masters and brothers-in-law and run. I refuse to believe you can come after me across worlds!
Afterward, Chen Tian told Hongjun everything that would happen in the future. Hongjun initially listened with a cheerful smile, but the more he heard, the more his expression changed—from cheerful, to bewildered, to puzzled, and finally to lifeless. His entire old face had turned black...
"This is what will happen in the future?" Hongjun's face was dark, and the space beside him shattered. It was an obvious declaration: I am Dao Ancestor, and I am furious!!!
"Uh... These are only the events in my memories." Seeing Hongjun as he was now, Chen Tian felt somewhat panicked. Damn it, you were the one who told me to speak! Why are you scaring me now?
At that moment, a ball of light descended into the Purple Firmament Palace! After the golden ball of light arrived, the entire Purple Firmament Palace seemed to be draped in a golden veil!
But it seemed... it had not come to do anything. Instead, it displayed goodwill toward Chen Tian...
"This is the Heavenly Dao." Seeing Chen Tian's confused expression, Hongjun spoke up.
"The Heavenly Dao??" Chen Tian looked utterly bewildered. What the hell?? The Heavenly Dao looks like this? Just a ball???
Before you continue