Meanwhile.
Deep within Golden Ao Island lay Biyou Palace.
This palace, which represented the Interception Sect's highest authority, was perpetually shrouded in Primordial Dao Rhyme.
At the center of the great hall, a majestic figure sat cross-legged on a Cloud Bed.
Sword qi crisscrossed around him. It was as if he alone were an entire world, suppressing the eternal heavens.
He was none other than Tongtian Jiaozhu.
The moment Zhao Gongming accepted the Yellow Middle Plum,
Tongtian Jiaozhu slowly opened his eyes.
In those eyes, galaxies rose and fell, and the Great Dao ebbed and flowed.
"Hmm?"
A soft exclamation echoed through the empty hall.
Tongtian Jiaozhu's gaze pierced layer upon layer of space, settling on Zhao Gongming's Cave Heaven—and on the White-clad Youth within it.
"The Human Emperor of the human race?"
"He actually carries a trace of a Chaos Spirit Treasure's aura... Though it's very well concealed, that faint fluctuation of its origin can't escape my notice."
A flicker of surprise crossed Tongtian Jiaozhu's eyes.
The Chaos Bead.
Even in the eyes of a Sage, it was an extraordinary treasure.
"And that strange cultivation system..."
With his extraordinary insight, Tongtian Jiaozhu saw through the mysteries of the Five Great Secret Realms within Ye Xuan at a glance.
"He doesn't cultivate immortal arts or magic power, but focuses solely on the Secret Realms of the flesh. He forms a world within himself and relies on nothing external."
"That path is rather interesting. It actually bears a striking resemblance to the method Pangu Father God used to Prove Dao with Strength back then."
Tongtian Jiaozhu made a hand seal, and threads of karma danced at his fingertips.
A moment later, a smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.
"So that's how it is."
"Penglai Island... the Yellow Middle Plum... the Chaos Bead..."
"Those Three Fairies and Gongming have certainly benefited from this Human Emperor."
"This child's fortune is so great that even I can't quite see through it. With blessings like his, it seems the rise of the human race is no idle talk."
"Besides, he's generous and values loyalty. His temperament suits my Interception Sect."
"Since he's here, I may as well meet him."
With a thought, Tongtian Jiaozhu used his supreme powers to conceal the workings of fate around Ye Xuan and the Three Fairies.
Otherwise, if the other Sages deliberately tried to divine their secrets, those secrets would surely be exposed.
Inside Zhao Gongming's Cave Heaven.
Everyone was enjoying their drinks, and Ye Xuan was about to tell Zhao Gongming some amusing stories about the human race.
Suddenly.
"Vmm—"
An immense, supreme Sage's pressure descended without warning.
Time and space throughout the Cave Heaven froze in an instant.
The group, who had been chatting and laughing, felt their souls tremble. They instinctively started to rise and pay their respects.
Then,
a grand, dignified, yet gentle voice rang directly in their Consciousness Seas.
"Gongming, bring this young Human Emperor friend to Biyou Palace. I'd like to speak with him."
The voice faded, its resonance lingering in the hall.
"Clatter."
The wine bowl slipped from Zhao Gongming's hand once more and fell to the ground.
This time, he was completely sober.
He stared wide-eyed at Ye Xuan in disbelief, then looked toward Biyou Palace.
"M-My Master?!"
The Three Fairies were also rooted to the spot, their beautiful eyes wide.
Their Master wanted to summon Ye Xuan in person?
Tongtian Jiaozhu usually spent his time either in seclusion, comprehending the Great Dao, or attending discussions at Purple Cloud Palace.
Even his direct disciples rarely saw his sacred countenance unless there was a pressing reason.
And now, he had personally asked to meet an outsider?
"Brother Ye... No, Daoist Ye."
Zhao Gongming swallowed, his gaze filled with even greater admiration.
"This is an incredible opportunity!"
"My Master rarely summons outsiders of his own accord."
Ye Xuan's heart also jolted.
Tongtian Jiaozhu.
Was he finally about to meet this one of the Six Sages of the Primordial Wilderness—the strongest in battle, and the most forthright in character?
He took a deep breath, stood, straightened his clothes, and bowed toward the empty air.
"If a Sage summons me, how could I refuse?"
"Brother Zhao, please lead the way."
Clouds and mist swirled before Biyou Palace.
The palace stood at the highest point of Golden Ao Island, but it was not as dazzlingly magnificent or elaborately decorated as one might imagine.
Its entire structure was a simple, ancient blue-gray, as if carved from a single piece of Chaos Primeval Stone.
It bore no elaborate ornamentation. Only a sharp sword intent soared around it, distorting the surrounding space ever so slightly.
"Brother Ye, I'll leave you here."
Zhao Gongming stopped at the foot of the hundred-tier staircase. With a solemn expression, he straightened his clothes and respectfully bowed toward the hall.
"My Master is waiting inside."
Ye Xuan nodded and took a deep breath, calming the roiling qi and blood within him.
"Thank you for showing me the way, Brother Zhao."
With that, he began to climb.
With every step, he sensed mysterious Array Patterns embedded in the stairs beneath his feet.
He pushed open the heavy hall doors and crossed the threshold.
Inside, the great hall contained a world of its own.
It seemed less like a palace and more like an independent universe filled with stars.
A flowing galaxy stretched beneath his feet, and the deep void spread overhead.
At the far end of that starry expanse, a Cloud Bed floated in the air.
A majestic figure sat cross-legged upon it.
He wore a blue-green Daoist robe. No earth-shattering surge of magic power surrounded him, and no celestial phenomena filled the sky.
He simply sat there, yet seemed to rule all creation and embody the Great Dao.
Tongtian Jiaozhu.
When Ye Xuan's gaze fell upon the Sage, his eyes stung as though he were staring directly at the sun.
"Vmm—"
The Five Great Secret Realms within Ye Xuan began revolving on their own, rumbling deeply.
The Chaos Bead in the depths of his Consciousness Sea trembled violently, pouring down countless streams of Chaos Mother Qi to shield his Primordial Spirit.
This was the absolute suppression of a higher Life Level.
"Beneath a Sage, all are ants." Those words were no exaggeration.
Faced with pressure so overwhelming it could suffocate him, Ye Xuan did not retreat.
He endured the trembling of his soul, stepped forward, and bowed without groveling or arrogance.
"Ye Xuan, Human Emperor, pays his respects to Sage Tongtian."
His steady voice echoed through the empty hall.
From atop the Cloud Bed, Tongtian Jiaozhu's eyes, which held the sun, moon, and stars, slowly settled upon Ye Xuan.
He said nothing.
Yet the air throughout the hall seemed to freeze in that instant.
An invisible pressure descended upon Ye Xuan like a Primordial Divine Mountain collapsing.
"Crack, crack..."
Ye Xuan's bones let out a series of painful, grating snaps.
The pressure did not target his flesh, but struck straight at his Dao Heart and will.
Anyone with insufficient resolve—even a Quasi-Saint Great Power—would have fallen to their knees, trembling.
He wants me to kneel?
A surge of pride welled up in Ye Xuan's heart.
He was the Human Emperor, bearing the fortune of an entire race.
He would not kneel to Heaven above or Earth below.
Even before a Sage, he would stand tall!
"Roar!"
The Spine Great Dragon within Ye Xuan surged back to life, roaring like thunder.
Golden qi and blood erupted like a volcano, forming an Unbending Dharma Appearance behind him.
His Chaos Heavy Pupils abruptly opened.
Two hazy rays of light shot forth, conjuring a vision of Heaven Splitting and Earth Opening. By sheer force, they carved out a space of his own amid the Sage's pressure.
One breath.
Two breaths.
Three breaths.
Ye Xuan's face flushed red, and tiny beads of sweat appeared on his forehead. His legs bore a pressure of hundreds of millions of Jun.
But he never bent his knees. He stood straight, meeting the Sage's gaze.
"Good! Very good!"
Suddenly, that terrifying pressure receded like the tide, vanishing without a trace.
Tongtian Jiaozhu's lips curved slightly in an approving smile.
"You're impressive."
"You have an iron will and would rather break than bend. No wonder you can bear the fortune of the human race and have won Junior Sister Nuwa's favor."
Ye Xuan felt the pressure lift from his body. He exhaled deeply, then bowed again. "Thank you for your praise, Sage."
Tongtian Jiaozhu lightly tapped the air with a finger, and a meditation cushion appeared before Ye Xuan.
"Sit."
Once Ye Xuan had taken his seat, Tongtian Jiaozhu did not bring up the Chaos Bead. Instead, he examined Ye Xuan with keen interest.
"I observed you circulating your power just now. Your aura is unique."
"You don't cultivate the Slay Three Corpses method passed down by Hongjun Daozu, nor do you gather the Five Qi in the Chest and Three Flowers on the Crown. Instead, you keep excavating the treasures of your flesh and opening Cave Heavens within your body."
"To others, this might seem like heresy—a rejection of the Heavenly Dao that would leave you no better than an ant. But to me, it's an original approach."
Tongtian Jiaozhu's gaze burned as he asked:
"What Dao do you cultivate?"
It was a test, and also a discussion of the Dao.
Ye Xuan's expression turned solemn.
He knew this was his chance to prove his worth before a Sage.
Before you continue