Tongtian Jiaozhu's Attention! The Human Emperor Meets a Sage!

Meanwhile.

At the deepest part of Golden Ao Island, Biyou Palace.

This palace, representing the highest authority of the Sect of Interception, was perpetually shrouded in Primordial Dao Rhyme.

On the Cloud Bed at the center of the great hall sat a towering figure.

Sword Qi surged around him, as if he alone was a world unto himself, suppressing the eternal heavens.

It was Tongtian Jiaozhu.

The moment Zhao Gongming accepted the Yellow Middle Plum.

Tongtian Jiaozhu slowly opened his eyes.

In those eyes, stars were born and extinguished, the Great Dao rose and fell.

"Oh?"

A soft exclamation echoed through the empty hall.

Tongtian Jiaozhu's gaze pierced through layers of space, landing on Zhao Gongming's cave dwelling, on that white-robed youth.

"A Human Emperor of the Human Race?"

"And there's a trace of Chaos Spirit Treasure aura on him... Though it's well concealed, that sliver of origin fluctuation cannot fool This Seat."

A flicker of surprise passed through Tongtian Jiaozhu's eyes.

The Chaos Bead.

Even in the eyes of a Sage, this was an extraordinary treasure.

"And that strange cultivation system..."

With his keen insight, Tongtian Jiaozhu saw through the mysteries of the Five Great Secret Realms within Ye Xuan's body at a glance.

"Not cultivating immortal Dao magic power, but focusing solely on the physical secret realms. The body forms its own world, seeking nothing from without."

"This path is rather interesting. It bears a subtle resemblance to the method Pangu used to Prove Dao with Strength back then."

Tongtian Jiaozhu raised his hand and made a calculation, threads of causality dancing between his fingers.

After a moment, a smile curled at the corner of his mouth.

"So that's how it is."

"Penglai Island... Yellow Middle Plum... Chaos Bead..."

"These Three Fairies and Gongming have certainly ridden on this Human Emperor's coattails."

"This child's fortune is so abundant that even This Seat cannot fully see through him. With such blessings, it seems the rise of the Human Race is no empty claim."

"Moreover, this child is generous by nature, valuing loyalty and bonds—a temperament that suits the Sect of Interception well."

"Since he's here, let's meet him."

With a thought, Tongtian Jiaozhu employed his supreme divine power to conceal the heavenly secrets for Ye Xuan and the Three Fairies.

Otherwise, if the other Sages deliberately deduced, the secrets on them would surely be exposed.

Inside Zhao Gongming's cave dwelling.

Everyone was drinking heartily, and Ye Xuan was about to share some interesting tales of the Human Race with Zhao Gongming.

Suddenly.

"Buzz—"

An boundless, supreme, and overwhelming Sage's pressure descended without warning.

Time and space within the entire cave instantly froze.

Those who had been laughing and chatting felt their souls tremble, instinctively rising to bow.

Then.

A voice—grand, majestic, yet not without warmth—resounded directly in everyone's Consciousness Sea.

"Gongming, bring this young friend the Human Emperor to Biyou Palace for a talk."

The voice faded, its echoes lingering.

"Clatter."

The wine bowl in Zhao Gongming's hand fell to the ground once more.

This time, he was completely sober.

His eyes wide, he stared at Ye Xuan in disbelief, then toward Biyou Palace.

"M-Master?!"

The Three Fairies were also frozen in place, their Beautiful Eyes wide.

Their master was personally summoning Ye Xuan?

You have to understand, Tongtian Jiaozhu was usually either in seclusion comprehending the Great Dao or attending discussions at the Purple Cloud Palace.

Even his direct disciples rarely got to see the Sage's countenance if there was no pressing matter.

And now, he had taken the initiative to request an audience with an outsider?

"Brother Ye... no, Daoist Ye."

Zhao Gongming swallowed hard, his gaze toward Ye Xuan growing even more reverent.

"This is a tremendous stroke of fortune!"

"Our master rarely summons outsiders on his own."

Ye Xuan's heart jolted as well.

Tongtian Jiaozhu.

Among the six Sages of the Primordial Wilderness, he possessed the greatest combat power and the most forthright temperament—was he finally going to meet him?

He took a deep breath, rose to his feet, straightened his robes and cap, and clasped his hands in a bow toward the void.

"Since a Sage summons me, how dare I refuse?"

"Brother Zhao, please lead the way."

Before Biyou Palace, clouds and mist swirled.

This palace, standing at the highest point of Golden Ao Island, was not as resplendent or intricately carved as one might imagine.

Its entire body was a simple, ancient grayish-blue, as if carved from a single Chaos Primeval Stone.

There was no excessive ornamentation—only a sharp, soaring sword intent that coiled around the palace, causing the surrounding space to warp slightly.

"Brother Ye, this elder brother will see you no further."

Zhao Gongming stopped at the foot of a hundred-step staircase, his expression solemn. He straightened his robes and cap and bowed respectfully toward the main hall.

"Master awaits you inside."

Ye Xuan nodded, took a deep breath, and calmed the surging blood and qi within his body.

"Thank you, Brother Zhao, for guiding me."

With that, he stepped forward.

With each step he took, he could feel that the stairs beneath his feet contained some profound Array Patterns.

Pushing open the heavy doors of the hall, Ye Xuan crossed the threshold.

Inside the great hall, there was another world.

This place was not so much a palace as an independent universe of stars.

Beneath his feet flowed a river of stars; above his head stretched a deep void.

And at the end of that starry sky, a Cloud Bed floated suspended.

On the Cloud Bed sat a towering figure.

He wore a simple blue Daoist robe, with no earth-shattering fluctuations of magical power or any grand celestial phenomena accompanying him.

He sat there quietly, yet he seemed to have become the master of heaven and earth, the embodiment of the Great Dao.

Tongtian Jiaozhu.

When Ye Xuan's gaze fell upon the Sage, he felt a sharp sting in his eyes, as if staring directly at the Scorching Sun.

"Wuum—"

The Five Great Secret Realms within Ye Xuan's body instantly activated on their own, emitting a series of low, rumbling hums.

The Chaos Bead deep within his Consciousness Sea trembled violently, cascading down billions of strands of Chaos Mother Qi to fiercely protect Ye Xuan's Primordial Spirit.

This was the absolute suppression of Life Level.

All beneath a Sage are but ants. That saying was no empty talk.

Faced with this pressure that could suffocate a person, Ye Xuan did not retreat.

He forced down the trembling of his soul, stepped forward a few paces, and bowed with neither arrogance nor humility.

"Ye Xuan, the Human Emperor, pays respects to Sage Tongtian."

His voice was steady, echoing through the empty hall.

On the Cloud Bed, Tongtian Jiaozhu's eyes, which held the sun, moon, and stars within them, slowly fell upon Ye Xuan.

He did not speak.

But the air in the entire hall seemed to freeze in that instant.

An invisible pressure, like the collapse of the Primordial Divine Mountain, descended upon Ye Xuan.

"Crack, crack..."

The bones in Ye Xuan's entire body let out a series of jarring, brittle sounds.

This pressure did not target his physical body—it struck directly at his Dao heart and his will.

If one's will was not firm, even a Quasi-Saint Great Power would be kneeling on the ground, trembling in fear at this moment.

"You want me to kneel?"

A surge of pride rose in Ye Xuan's heart.

He was the Human Emperor, bearing the fate of an entire race on his shoulders.

Above, he did not kneel to Heaven; below, he did not kneel to Earth.

Even facing a Sage, he would keep his spine straight!

"Roar!"

Within Ye Xuan, that Spine Great Dragon suddenly awakened, unleashing a sky-shaking roar.

Golden blood energy erupted like a volcanic explosion, coalescing behind him into an Unbending Dharma Appearance.

In his eyes, the Chaos Heavy Pupils abruptly opened.

Two gray, hazy beams shot forth, evolving scenes of Heaven Splitting and Earth Opening, forcibly carving out a space of his own within that Sage's oppressive aura.

One breath.

Two breaths.

Three breaths.

Ye Xuan's face flushed red, fine beads of sweat oozing from his forehead, and his legs bore the weight of a Hundred Million Jun.

But he never bent his knees, standing straight as an arrow, meeting the Sage's gaze.

"Good! Very good!"

Suddenly, that terrifying pressure receded like a tide, vanishing without a trace.

Tongtian Jiaozhu's lips curled slightly, revealing an appreciative smile.

"You are quite impressive."

"Iron bones, unbending even when broken. No wonder you can bear the fate of humanity and earn the regard of Junior Sister Nuwa."

Ye Xuan felt his whole body relax, let out a long breath, and cupped his hands again: "Thank you for the praise, Sage."

Tongtian Jiaozhu lightly tapped the void with his finger, and a cushion appeared before Ye Xuan.

"Sit."

Once Ye Xuan was seated, Tongtian Jiaozhu did not bring up the matter of the Chaos Bead. Instead, he studied Ye Xuan with keen interest.

"Just now, This Seat observed your circulation of energy. Your aura is unique."

"You do not cultivate the method of Slaying Three Corpses passed down by Hongjun Daozu, nor do you gather the Five Qi in the Chest or the Three Flowers on the Crown. Instead, you continuously excavate the treasures of the physical body, opening Cave Heavens within yourself."

"To others, this might seem heretical—not cultivating the Heavenly Dao, ultimately nothing but an ant. But in This Seat's eyes, it is an original path."

Tongtian Jiaozhu's gaze burned as he asked:

"What Dao is it that you cultivate?"

This was a test, and also a discussion of the Dao.

Hearing this, Ye Xuan's expression turned solemn.

He knew this was his chance to display his worth before a Sage.