Outside Zixiao Palace, Immortals Gathered, Each Displaying Their Powers

The Azure Rainbow Bridge Sovereign of the Heavens had conjured stretched across billions of miles of chaotic void, moving faster than any escape technique Lin Xuan (Xuanyuanzi) had ever used. This was no ordinary starry cosmos. It was an endless expanse of churning Chaos Qi, where earth, water, fire, and wind appeared and vanished without pattern. An ordinary Golden Immortal would have been reduced to dust the moment they entered. Yet on this bridge, they stood as firm as a rock, while a sword intent that cut through Heaven and Earth and could pierce anything kept all chaos and danger at bay.

Lin Xuan followed close behind Daoist Duobao, feeling the boundless holy power contained in the bridge beneath his feet. He was shaken to the core. This was the might of a Saint! By comparison, his own meager cultivation was like an ant gazing up at the sky.

He could not tell how much time had passed. Perhaps an instant, perhaps an eternity. Deep in the Chaos ahead, a point of purple light approached, rapidly growing larger. At first, it was no bigger than a bean; in the next moment, it became a radiance ten thousand feet across, driving back the Chaos and revealing the outline of a magnificent palace beyond all words.

The palace was purple from end to end, neither gold nor jade, and made of some unknown material. Dao Charm flowed across it, as though it bore the ultimate truths of Heaven and Earth and the mysteries of the cosmos. It rested on no land or star, but floated at the heart of the Chaos, suppressing its endless turmoil and forming a world of order all its own. A supreme, detached Dao Charm, indifferent to all living beings, radiated from the palace. Everyone who approached felt reverence rise within them and instinctively restrained their aura.

This was Zixiao Palace, where Dao Ancestor Hongjun lectured!

At that moment, the vast cloud platform before Zixiao Palace shimmered with immortal light, its splendor beyond measure! Countless mighty auras crisscrossed the platform: some serene and inactive, some imposing and domineering, some compassionate and peaceful, others savage and murderous... Nearly all the greatest powers in the prehistoric world had gathered here!

The bridge descended, and Sovereign of the Heavens led his disciples onto the cloud platform. In an instant, countless gazes, some open and others hidden, fell upon them. There was curiosity, scrutiny, wariness, and undisguised hostility.

Lin Xuan felt his whole body tense, as though countless invisible mountains were pressing down on him. Even breathing became difficult. The weakest among those watching were likely Grand Unity Golden Immortals, and there were Quasi-Saints and even beings on the verge of the Primordial Realm among them! He hurriedly circulated the Nine Revolutions Profound Technique with all his might. At the same time, the Chaos Bead in his sea of consciousness trembled faintly, releasing an almost imperceptible trace of Chaos Qi. Only then could he barely fend off some of the pressure, though he still felt as insignificant as dust.

He looked up and saw that the figures on the cloud platform had formed several distinct groups.

Nearest the gates of Zixiao Palace stood three figures surrounded by the most striking Pure Light. In the middle was an old man in a robe patterned with the Eight Trigrams, his features ancient and his aura ethereal, as if he were one with Heaven and Earth. He was none other than Taiqing, Heavenly Lord of Morality, Laozi. Only one disciple, Master Xuandu, stood behind him, giving the group an air of tranquil detachment. To the left stood a dignified middle-aged man, his presence weighty. The power of order surrounded him, expounding the Heavenly Dao and establishing its laws. He was Yuqing, Primal Heavenly Lord. Behind him stood Guangchengzi, Chijingzi, Jade Cauldron True Person, and other disciples, all distinguished in appearance, with pure auras and exceptional origins. To the right stood Shangqing, Heavenly Lord of the Spiritual Treasure, Sovereign of the Heavens. The Interception Sect had the most disciples. They were varied in appearance and not as orderly as the Chan Sect, but they possessed a vitality and enterprising spirit of their own. Though the Three Pure Ones stood side by side, Primal Heavenly Lord's gaze toward Sovereign of the Heavens and his disciples held a faint, barely perceptible trace of distance and scrutiny.

Elsewhere, demonic energy soared into the sky, and dazzling light blazed. Two emperors stood at the fore, dressed in imperial robes and wearing ceremonial crowns. One was imposing and domineering, with traces of the sun's true fire flickering around him: the Heavenly Emperor, Di Jun. The other had a refined, almost feminine bearing and a profound gaze. He held a small Chaos-colored bell in his palm: Eastern Emperor Taiyi. Behind them, Demon Master Kunpeng lingered in the shadows, while Ji Meng, Ying Zhao, and the other Ten Demon Gods stood at attention. Countless other demon immortals and generals completed their imposing ranks, their pressure dominating the region.

Opposing them was a vast, boundless force of blood and vital energy, brimming with the power of the primordial wilderness. Twelve figures stood like twelve peaks of Buzhou Mountain. They were the Twelve Ancestral Witches: Di Jiang, Zhu Jiuyin, Houtu, Zhu Rong, Gong Gong... They cultivated no spirit, only their physical bodies, yet the power of their blood and vital energy churned through the Chaos, rivaling that of any great immortal cultivator. Empress Houtu's gaze swept over the Interception Sect disciples and paused briefly on Lin Xuan. A trace of warmth flickered in her eyes before she looked away.

There was also Empress Nuwa, standing alone in one spot, holy and compassionate. A red glow swirled behind her, as if the power to create living beings flowed there. In the west, Daoist Jieyin wore a sorrowful expression, while Daoist Zhunti's eyes gleamed sharply. Only a handful of disciples stood behind them, making them seem rather "impoverished," yet no one dared look down on them.

Immortals gathered, each displaying their powers. There were immortal cranes and royal carriages, Nine-Dragon Agarwood Chariots, lotus thrones, rolling clouds of demon energy, and witchly auras soaring into the sky... All manner of strange phenomena cast the Chaos cloud platform in a bizarre, shifting light. The great powers either meditated with their eyes closed, spoke in hushed voices, or exchanged pointed looks. Beneath the seemingly calm surface, undercurrents surged, and the tension was so thick it could almost solidify.

Amid them all, Lin Xuan felt like a tiny boat tossed in a raging sea. He could clearly sense the subtle yet fraught relations between the various factions: the differences in principle among the Three Pure Ones, the life-and-death enmity between the Witches and the demons, and the Western duo's secret schemes... The scene outside Zixiao Palace was a miniature of the entire prehistoric world!

He paid particular attention to the Chan Sect camp. When Guangchengzi and the others looked toward the Interception Sect, especially when they saw him—a human cultivator with low cultivation standing among the core ranks—their eyes showed undisguised contempt and confusion. In the demon camp, Eastern Emperor Taiyi occasionally glanced toward the Three Pure Ones with scrutiny and calculation. The Witches, meanwhile, were brimming with fighting spirit as they faced off against the demons from across the platform, the air thick with hostility.

So this is the balance of power at the very top of the prehistoric world... Lin Xuan felt a chill. Here, personal cultivation, the strength of each faction, and their differences in principle intertwined into an incredibly complex tapestry. He knew he had been brought here solely because Sovereign of the Heavens valued him and because his ideas were useful within the Interception Sect. But in this place, that value—and his cultivation—were likely insignificant.

Even so, he did not feel discouraged. Instead, a powerful thirst for knowledge and fighting spirit welled up within him. The spirit of science lay in exploring the unknown, and the world before him, along with these great powers at the pinnacle of the prehistoric realm, was the grandest and most profound "unknown" of all! If he could observe, analyze, and understand it all through a scientific lens, perhaps he could glimpse deeper mysteries of the Great Dao.

As his thoughts surged, a narrow crack slowly opened in the gate of Zixiao Palace, as if it had been sealed off from all ages. An even purer, more boundless Dao Charm flowed out, instantly soothing all agitation and undercurrents on the cloud platform.

The Dao Ancestor's lecture was about to begin.

The immortals held their breath. All was silent. Lin Xuan knew that the true trial and opportunity lay beyond that gate.