The Dao Is Not Transmitted to Six Ears

Although Sage Hongjun did not know why the brothers Taiyi and Dijun had not come to the Purple Cloud Palace, the arrow was already on the string and had to be fired.

The time had come. He could only begin his lecture.

"Forget it. In any case, it is merely the nominal bond of master and disciples. It will not affect the greater picture."

With a silent sigh in his heart, Hongjun Daozu felt somewhat stifled as well.

Today's events had repeatedly exceeded his control, leaving him deeply unsettled.

Even the joy of having just attained sainthood had been diminished somewhat.

Shaking his head, he temporarily cast aside his stray thoughts and continued preaching to the Three Thousand Purple Cloud Guests below the dais.

"I am the first to attain sainthood after the Dragon-Han Calamity, and I hold the Heaven-Opening Supreme Treasure, the Jade Plate of Creation. Thus, Heaven has shown me my destiny and entrusted me with the duty of enlightening Sentient Beings."

"There are three thousand listeners in the Purple Cloud Palace, corresponding to the three thousand Great Daos. Therefore, this exposition of the Dao shall last three thousand years, divided into three periods."

"Furthermore, I have observed that the cultivation methods of the Primordial Wilderness are scattered and fragmented, lacking any coherent system. Thus, these three periods shall cover the Dao of Grand Luo, the Dao of Quasi-Sages, and the Dao of Saints respectively."

"Each period shall last three thousand years, with another three thousand years between them, in accordance with the Heavenly Mandate. There must be no mistake. Remember this well, and do not delay."

Before beginning his lecture, Sage Hongjun established the rules of the Purple Cloud Palace. His expression was solemn, and the majesty of a Sage was fully displayed.

"Yes."

The remaining people did not dare offer any remarks and could only bow in acknowledgment.

"This first lecture shall cover the Dao of Grand Luo. Listen carefully, and remember not to wander about recklessly."

The Dao of Grand Luo?

The Three Thousand Purple Cloud Guests all looked bewildered.

We are already Grand Luo Golden Immortals. Do we still need to hear you explain the Dao of Grand Luo again?

Are you trying to fool ghosts?

Though dissatisfied, they did not dare voice it and could only listen patiently.

At that moment, Hongjun Daozu smiled faintly and said, "The Dao is not transmitted to six ears."

Hongjun's sudden words left everyone baffled and confused.

At that very moment, on the Primordial Continent, a monkey with six ears was originally listening intently.

Without warning, a thunderous heavenly sound like great bells and chimes exploded beside his ears. It shook the monkey senseless, and he screamed as he was blasted backward.

Blood seeped from all six ears. He suffered grievous injuries, and more than half of his six-eared divine ability was destroyed.

This monkey was none other than the Six-Eared Macaque, who had taken form and appeared since Pangu Creates the World. In later generations, he would be known as one of the Four Primordial Monkeys.

He possessed the Innate Divine Ability to hear the sounds of all things, but his cultivation was insufficient for him to enter the Chaotic Purple Cloud Palace Beyond the Thirty-Third Heaven.

Thus, he had taken it upon himself to secretly activate his divine ability and eavesdrop on the Dao Ancestor's lecture at the Purple Cloud Palace.

Yet he had not expected the Dao Ancestor to see through him.

Every word and action of a Sage was a principle of Heaven and Earth.

Though Hongjun had not deliberately targeted anyone,

a single casual sentence had completely severed the Six-Eared Macaque's opportunity.

It had even destroyed millions of years of his cultivation in an instant, while his innate six-eared divine ability suffered devastating damage.

Hongjun Daozu had said that all those fated could come to the Chaotic Purple Cloud Palace to hear the lecture.

What he meant was that those lacking sufficient strength should not waste their efforts.

Yet the Six-Eared Macaque refused to accept this. Relying on his innate six-eared divine ability, he had secretly eavesdropped on the Dao Ancestor's lecture.

He had violated a taboo.

Thus, this calamity had befallen him.

After saying this, Hongjun Daozu paid it no further mind and continued lecturing on the Dao methods of the heavens of the Primordial Wilderness.

The moment Sage Hongjun opened his mouth, heavenly flowers fell chaotically and golden lotuses surged from the earth. Endless power of laws condensed into golden flowers and silver lotuses, containing boundless Dao charm.

As they fell upon the listeners, countless insights and fragments of enlightenment surged into their hearts.

Those who had previously been dissatisfied were immediately rendered speechless. One after another, they focused their minds and listened closely, not daring to miss even the slightest detail.

They looked exactly like model students attentively listening in class.

Even Grand Luo Immortals with supreme foundations like the Three Pure Ones did not dare slack off. They concentrated completely and listened with utmost focus.

Though they had only heard fragments, every Purple Cloud Guest present was shocked to discover that the Dao of Grand Luo as they understood it was as far from the Dao of Grand Luo explained by Sage Hongjun as heaven was from earth.

If the Dao of Grand Luo each of them had comprehended was made up of fragmented pieces, scattered streams and lakes without any system—perhaps large or small, high or low, but ultimately incoherent and incapable of standing on its own—

then the Dao of Grand Luo explained by Sage Hongjun was penetrating and interconnected, like a towering tree. It transformed the essence condensed from each law of the Dao of Grand Luo into branches and leaves hanging from its boughs.

Those mature theories were like fruits borne by that towering tree, emitting an incomparable fragrance and Dao charm.

If they could fully comprehend them, they would immediately advance another step on the path of the Dao of Grand Luo.

Everyone was overjoyed and immersed themselves in the domain of Grand Luo laws outlined by Hongjun, unable to extricate themselves.

If there was any Grand Luo Immortal in the Purple Cloud Palace who felt the most out of place, it had to be the Twelve Ancestral Witches.

The Twelve Ancestral Witches had been formed from Pangu Blood Essence fused with the baleful, turbid aura of the Three Thousand Chaos Gods and Demons. They were born without primordial spirits or mana.

The prerequisite for the Dao methods taught by the Dao Ancestor was possessing a primordial spirit and mana, for only then could one practice those Dao methods.

Otherwise, one might stand before a mountain of treasures yet have no way to enter it.

The Twelve Ancestral Witches happened to be this exception.

Thus, while the other Grand Luo Immortals around them were entranced by the Dao methods taught by the Dao Ancestor, immersed in them and gaining their own insights,

the Twelve Ancestral Witches alone could not find the way in. They could only sit to one side, dozing off in gloomy boredom.

Naturally, Hongjun Daozu saw this as well.

But the Twelve Ancestral Witches were the protagonists of the next calamity, so he naturally would not kindly remind them of anything.

He had only allowed them to come so they would form a trace of karmic entanglement with him.

After all, the Twelve Ancestral Witches had been formed from Pangu Physique.

They were born with Great Destiny and were destined to be used by him.

As Hongjun Daozu lectured, he observed everyone's reactions.

Seeing this scene, a subtle smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.

The gifts of fate had long since been secretly marked with their price.

The three thousand guests of the Purple Cloud Palace had formed the bond of receiving his teachings, and thus became entangled with him.

From then on, it would naturally be justified for him to divert and wield the destiny and merit of the Three Thousand Purple Cloud Guests.

More importantly, he would not need to repay the karma.

In the end, every drink and every peck was ordained by Heaven.

As for how the loss of some destiny and merit among these Three Thousand Purple Cloud Guests would alter their original paths of fate, that was not Hongjun's concern.

The Primordial Heavenly Dao would deal with it.

Thinking of this, Hongjun Daozu smiled coldly for no reason.

This was the only small victory he had won since his struggle with the Primordial Heavenly Dao began.

While Hongjun Daozu expounded Dao methods to those of great destiny in the Primordial Wilderness, the brothers Taiyi and Dijun remained in secluded cultivation within the Primordial Sun Star.

In the blink of an eye, nearly three thousand years passed.

On this day, the Sun Star erupted into turmoil.

Boundless Solar Truefire surged in from every direction, madly pouring toward Taiyi Palace.