Hongjun's gaze chilled slightly as he glanced at the Two Sages of Buddhism, his impatience deepening.
These two had once been disciples of the Orthodox Xuanmen, yet they had betrayed their path and sect, traveling to the barren Western Lands to establish their own school and fracture the Mystic Gate's lineage.
Over the years, they had repeatedly schemed against the Prehistoric Era and disrupted the Heavenly Dao's order. Now, whenever trouble arose, they humbled themselves and called him Teacher at every turn. They seemed respectful, but their hearts held nothing but selfish desires and calculations.
Were it not for the greater good of the Prehistoric Era and the balance of the Heavenly Dao, he would long since have suppressed them with a flick of his finger and erased their sage Dao Fruits.
With the Dao Ancestor exposing his intentions in a single sentence, Zhunti abruptly paled. Panic gripped him, and he hurriedly opened his mouth to argue his way out:
"Teacher, this time is different! This Investiture of the Gods Calamity..."
"Enough!"
An icy, indifferent Dao Sound rang out, cutting off Zhunti's unfinished words and leaving him no room for further excuses.
Hongjun swept his gaze over every sage in the hall. His pressure slowly unfurled, suppressing the restless Dao Resonance throughout the chamber. Each word rang firm, settling what would remain fixed for all ages:
"The Investiture of the Gods Calamity has ended, and the Heavenly Dao's decrees have been settled. Past karma, gains and losses, victory and defeat—none can be reversed or changed."
"If your disciples were not destined for the list and lacked the fortune to receive the opportunities and auspicious qi within the tribulation, then such was their Dao Fortune and their fate. This ends here. Speak of it no more."
He paused, then looked toward