Hongjun Makes His Move

This old homebody was not Hongyun.

On ordinary days, unless absolutely necessary, he stayed holed up in Wuzhuang Temple.

Only occasionally, when invited by the Three Pure Ones, would he go discuss the Dao with them.

Neither of those times was clearly an opportunity to strike.

Make a move when Zhenyuanzi went to meet the Three Pure Ones?

That would invite a punitive campaign from the Three Pure Ones.

And directly attacking Wuzhuang Temple? The consequences were something they could not bear.

With the Earth Book and the Heaven and Earth Treasure Mirror in hand, Wuzhuang Temple's mountain-protecting formation directly connected to the vast network of earth veins.

A large portion of those veins even extended into the Western lands.

The moment they broke the formation, it would mean shattering those earth veins along with it.

Such karmic debt and causal retribution would be enough to severely damage their fortune.

Even if they could shift that karma and causality onto the Western Teachings, this outcome was still not one they were willing to accept.

The Western Teachings were their own creation.

They were still counting on this Great Sect to repay the Heavenly Dao's merit.

Which was more important, which less—it was clear at a glance.

Zhenyuanzi?

Nothing but an ant!

He posed no fatal threat to them.

With that thought, Zhunti and Jieyin turned their gazes back onto Haotian.

Their eyes were fixed on Haotian.

But their minds were entirely on the Three Pure Ones, especially Primordial Heavenly Venerate.

They were almost on the verge of shouting aloud: You, Primordial, just make a move already!

That bastard Haotian has aired all your dirty laundry.

And he slapped your face before too.

Can you really swallow this?

Just as Zhunti and Jieyin were about to lose their patience, Primordial Heavenly Venerate finally spoke.

"It has come to this!

Haotian, your disrespect toward the sages is already an established fact.

Right and wrong are clear at a glance. This Seat has no desire to argue with you.

Today, only blood can restore the dignity of us sages!"

Hearing Primordial Heavenly Venerate's words, Haotian said nothing more.

At this point, everything that needed to be said had been said.

What came next was whether, after his Ten Thousandfold Amplification, he could withstand Primordial Heavenly Venerate's methods.

Or perhaps, to see what Dao Ancestor Hongjun was really thinking.

If he could ascertain Dao Ancestor Hongjun's stance today, then things would be much easier from now on.

Whether to abandon his post or, as he had envisioned, become a Heavenly Emperor of action—

It all depended on Dao Ancestor Hongjun's attitude.

As long as Dao Ancestor Hongjun did not intervene today, then this Heavenly Emperor position was truly not worth taking, not even for a dog.

Enduring the schemes of sages, bowing and scraping, And having to swallow the arrogance of those Great Sect disciples.

And those were just the external factors.

As for the very station of the Heavenly Emperor itself, it was not easy to hold.

The karma of the Primordial World had to be sorted through this station.

But.

With all the things those bastards had done, how could that karma be easy to sort?

Otherwise, why would there be talk of cultivating through Eons?

To sort the karma of the Primordial World, with no other method available, He, Haotian, would have to enter tribulations and slowly dissolve and reduce the entanglement of karma.

So Haotian had to take the beatings from the saints and the major sects.

He also had to carry the black pot for the saints and their disciples.

Even a dog would only be sleeping late at this point.

If the Heavenly Emperor's position truly lacked Dao Ancestor Hongjun's strong support, it wouldn't just be a matter of sleeping late.

Calmly glancing at Primordial Heavenly Venerate, Haotian secretly prepared to strike back at any moment.

As for Primordial Heavenly Venerate, seeing that Haotian showed no sign of backing down, he grew ruthless in his heart.

This Seat waits for you to bow your head—what are you, Haotian, waiting for?

Waiting to die?

Since you seek death, This Seat will grant it.

It's a fine chance to replace you with an obedient cultivator.

After this incident, the successor will surely be more compliant.

Having thought this through, Primordial Heavenly Venerate slightly raised his right hand, then pushed it forward gently.

The giant hand that had vanished earlier reappeared.

But just as the giant hand emerged, a cold snort suddenly rang out from the heavens.

"Hmph!"

With that snort, the giant palm formed by Primordial Heavenly Venerate instantly dissipated.

Any keen observer could tell—this was the Dao Ancestor making a move.

Seeing this, Primordial Heavenly Venerate's face darkened like water.

He hadn't expected the Dao Ancestor to interfere in this matter.

Compared to Primordial Heavenly Venerate, Haotian could finally breathe a sigh of relief.

That's right!

Haotian had been gambling just now.

Gambling that the Dao Ancestor wouldn't let Primordial Heavenly Venerate attack him.

And clearly, he, Haotian, had won the bet.

Now the Dao Ancestor's stance was clear.

The position of Heavenly Emperor could still be held.

As Primordial Heavenly Venerate had said, the Heavenly Emperor had been replaced before.

So why couldn't a saint be replaced too?

After a long silence, Primordial Heavenly Venerate shot Haotian a complex look, then flicked his sleeve and swept away the Chan Teachings disciples with him.

Once Primordial Heavenly Venerate left, the other saints also departed with grim expressions.

The Dao Ancestor Hongjun's intervention this time had exceeded their expectations.

That old man from Purple Cloud Palace had clearly said he had already merged with the Dao.

Yet now he was meddling in the affairs of the Primordial World.

So what difference did merging with the Dao make?

They had thought they could finally call the shots.

But the moment they made a move, he shattered that illusion.

From now on, it was best to tread carefully.

The saints were all deeply frustrated.

From now on, the Primordial World wouldn't just be ruled by their voices alone.

This meant that the Primordial World's fortune

would also be shared by Haotian, the Heavenly Emperor.

The hunt for the Heavenly Emperor had ended in utter failure.

If they didn't leave now, the next scene would be Haotian lashing them.

So the saints could only choose to depart in silence.

As for the Jie Teachings disciples?

Seeing the saints all suffer setbacks, who would still dare to spout nonsense?

Daoist Duobao immediately cupped his hands toward Haotian and said, "Great Heavenly Venerate!

This time, it was my Jie Teachings disciple who was reckless!

I, this poor Daoist, hereby apologize to the Great Heavenly Venerate!

I beg your forgiveness!"

And Haotian clearly knew when to stop pressing the advantage. Since the Jie Teachings disciple had already conceded defeat, there was no need to cling to the matter.

Only then could he, in the future, shape his image as someone who targeted the issue, not the person.

Otherwise, if he, Haotian, were to earn a reputation for deliberately picking fights, his days would certainly not be easy.

This was not Haotian's baseless imagination.

Rather, it was the situation he was destined to face the moment he decided to act with force.

In such a situation, Haotian could only establish a persona of targeting the issue, not the person, to make everyone accept it willingly.

Otherwise, what awaited him would surely be another siege by the Six Sages.

Thus, after Daoist Duobao had made his stance clear, Haotian said indifferently, "Just this once. Let it not happen again!"

Having acknowledged Daoist Duobao, Haotian then turned his gaze to the assembled cultivators.

"Dear fellow Daoists, please be seated!

Let the music resume!

Let the dance continue!"

Hearing Haotian's words, the cultivators present obediently returned to their seats.

Their eyes watched the Celestial Maidens dancing gracefully in the hall, but their minds were all thinking the same thing.

This Heavenly Emperor seemed to be excessively assertive.

The key point was the Dao Ancestor's attitude toward him, which was entirely different from that toward East Prince Gong and Dijun.

The intent to shield him had already been made clear through his actions just now.

Not only that, but many cultivators present

suddenly recalled that every time the Purple Cloud Palace opened its doors, it was this man who led them all into the hall.

This was a genuine bond of incense and fate, an unavoidable karmic debt.

Given Haotian's current cultivation level, he himself dared not act as shamelessly as the Six Sages.

Otherwise, if he were beaten, the fault would still lie with him.