Inside Lingxiao Palace.
After Yaoji and Tai Bai Jin Xing had left.
Yaochi asked Haotian, "Your Majesty.
Now that the matter in the Northern Region has been settled.
What do you plan to do next?"
Haotian considered for a moment, then said, "The matter in the Northern Region has been resolved, and we've also gained a great deal of Merit.
With this Merit backing us, we can finally establish ourselves in the Primordial World.
Those Sages won't dare easily consider making a move against us.
That gives us the standing to sit down and negotiate with them.
For now, we don't need to worry about the Sages.
The most important thing next is to strengthen the Heavenly Court.
Without people to fill its official posts, we won't be able to run the Heavenly Court."
Hearing Haotian's answer, Yaochi asked in confusion, "Your Majesty, do you already have a way to strengthen the Heavenly Court?"
Haotian nodded. "I do have an idea, though it's not fully developed yet.
Of course.
My plan definitely doesn't involve relying on the Great Sects of the Sages.
You've already seen what those disciples of the Sages are like.
If they really came to the Heavenly Court, they'd only cause us trouble.
But before putting my plan into action, I have to go to Zixiao Palace first.
I'll try to get some support from Old Man.
We're still too weak right now.
Forget facing the Sages.
We couldn't even handle their Three Corpses, armed with their Dao-Proving Treasures."
After Haotian finished speaking, Yaochi didn't know how to respond.
After all, Haotian wasn't wrong.
Though the Dao Ancestor had raised their cultivation straight to the Perfected Hunyuan Golden Immortal realm through an infusion of power.
But.
Cultivators relied on more than cultivation when fighting.
Divine abilities and spirit treasures were also essential.
Still, Yaochi had never imagined that Haotian would truly regard the Sages as opponents.
They were Sages!
She had thought that his stand against Primordial Heavenly Venerate had only been a fit of righteous anger.
She hadn't realized it was what Haotian truly believed.
But now that they had a great deal of Merit behind them, Yaochi could see a glimmer of hope.
After a moment of silence, Yaochi said, "Then let's do as you think, Your Majesty!
Whatever comes, we'll face it together."
Haotian nodded.
"You should go back first.
I'll head to Zixiao Palace now."
As soon as he finished speaking.
Haotian's figure blurred, and he vanished from the Heavenly Emperor Throne.
When he reached Chaos.
After wandering around for a while.
Standing amid the boundless Chaos, Haotian found himself at a loss.
Chaos was vast, and everywhere he looked was a hazy gray, with no up or down, east or west.
Worse, Zixiao Palace kept shifting locations.
How was he supposed to find it?
Just as Haotian was at his wit's end, inspiration suddenly struck, and he sensed Zixiao Palace's presence.
He knew without thinking that Old Man was showing him the way.
Once he sensed the direction of Zixiao Palace, Haotian didn't delay.
He immediately used a divine ability and hurried toward it.
Before long.
Haotian arrived outside Zixiao Palace.
He raised his head and studied the familiar gates.
Then he bowed deeply.
"Your humble attendant Haotian requests an audience with Master!"
It wasn't that Haotian was being timid.
He was weaker, and he needed help.
He had to show proper respect and maintain their relationship.
Otherwise, if their bond grew distant, why would Dao Ancestor Hongjun grant his request?
Just as Haotian bowed and spoke, the gates of Zixiao Palace silently swung open.
Then he heard Dao Ancestor Hongjun's voice.
"Come in!"
Haotian quickly rose at the words, straightened his robe—which wasn't rumpled in the first place—and stepped into Zixiao Palace.
Inside the main hall.
Haotian bowed respectfully.
"Your humble attendant Haotian pays his respects to Master!"
Hearing Haotian's words, Dao Ancestor Hongjun's expression remained unchanged.
But his voice carried a note of warmth.
"Rise.
You're now the Heavenly Emperor. From now on, you needn't call yourself my attendant.
You may call me 'Teacher' instead.
You spent so many Yuanhui in Zixiao Palace. Though you weren't officially my disciple,
you're still closer to me than an initiated disciple."
Hearing Dao Ancestor Hongjun's words, Haotian felt a rush of joy.
Look at that!
He'd put himself in the right position, and the benefits had come straight away.
The Heavenly Dao?
Old Man had merged with the Heavenly Dao.
But that didn't mean he'd lost his own awareness.
As long as he still had his own awareness, he'd naturally have people he was closer to and people he was less close to.
As for affection—
Aside from Yaochi, who in the entire Primordial World could claim a deeper bond with Old Man than Haotian?
See?
He'd just shown that he was worth supporting.
Old Man had immediately expressed his approval.
And apart from the reasons Old Man had mentioned back then, could merging with the Heavenly Dao not also have been a way to avoid trouble?
Thinking this, Haotian quickly replied, "This disciple obeys!"
Hearing Haotian's answer, Dao Ancestor Hongjun continued, "Why aren't you tending to your duties in the Heavenly Court? What brings you here?"
Haotian hurriedly cupped his hands. "I've come to ask you for help, Teacher.
You may not know how hard things are for me.
The Sages in the Primordial World are arrogant and self-important.
The disciples of the various Great Sects are overbearing and unruly.
My cultivation and strength are insufficient. If a Sage's Three Corpses wielded a Dao-Proving Treasure,
I couldn't even stand against those Three Corpses.
If things continued like this, the Primordial World would be tangled in Karma, and Measure Calamities would surely occur one after another.
I beg you to take pity on me and grant me a supreme treasure.
Then I could withstand the pressure from the Sages, and have the spare strength to untangle the Karma of the Primordial World.
Also.
I plan to recruit people for the Heavenly Court, but I fear they'll be unruly and defy my orders.
So I'd like to ask you for a spirit treasure that can keep my subordinates in check.
And the Heavenly Soldiers and Generals, as well as the many deities who'll serve the Heavenly Court in the future, lack cultivation methods.
I beg you to help me!"
After Haotian finished speaking, Dao Ancestor Hongjun fell into thought.
The Sages were arrogant and self-important?
That was true.
After all, they had become Sages. Were they not allowed to act a little conceited?
The disciples of the various Great Sects were overbearing and unruly?
That was true, too.
With Sages backing them, they certainly had reason to act arrogantly.
With things like this, order in the Primordial World could hardly be called stable.
With order in disarray, entangled Karma was inevitable.
And once Karma grew tangled, frequent Measure Calamities were only natural.
Back then, in Zixiao Palace, he had elevated Haotian to his position precisely to restrain—or, more accurately, balance—the Sages' influence.
That way, the Sages wouldn't act without restraint and turn the Primordial World into a mess.
But.
Judging by the current situation.
Haotian simply wasn't strong enough to balance the Sages.
The Sages, who were usually at each other's throats, had actually joined forces against Haotian.
Were they rejecting Haotian?
No!
They were rejecting Dao Ancestor Hongjun.
But that raised another problem.
If the Six Sages were left unchecked, they would turn the Primordial World into a mess.
The consequences of frequent Measure Calamities were not something he wanted to see.
Nor could the living beings of the Primordial World bear them.
Frequent Measure Calamities meant that the Immeasurable Calamity would arrive early.
The Immeasurable Calamity was a measure of time.
It was also a measure of calamity.
When the Immeasurable Calamity arrived, the Heavenly Dao of the Primordial World would surely shatter.
Then he, the Dao Ancestor who had merged with the Heavenly Dao, would lose his means of comprehending the Dao efficiently.
Even if he didn't consider the living beings of the Primordial World, he still had to consider his own path to the Dao.
Besides, Chaos was full of wonders.
What if there were a chance for the Primordial World to advance further and become an Eternal World?
Then Hongjun, too, could advance along with it.
So, to restrain the Sages and balance the various forces in the Primordial World,
he had to strengthen Haotian.
After considering it for a while, Dao Ancestor Hongjun finally spoke. "The problems you mentioned do exist.
I didn't say much about them before.
Since you've raised them now, that means you understand your responsibilities.
The position of Heavenly Emperor is, in some ways, no lower than that of a Sage.
Sages entrust their true spirits to the Heavenly Dao. Aside from being immortal, they can also draw upon the Heavenly Dao's power.
As the Heavenly Emperor, you can likewise draw upon some of the Heavenly Dao's power.
Where you fall short is that you haven't entrusted your true spirit to the Heavenly Dao, so you can't achieve immortality.
And because your cultivation isn't high enough, the Heavenly Dao's power you can borrow can't compare to what a Sage can use.
Given the circumstances, asking you to keep the Primordial World in check is indeed asking too much of you.
Since you've asked me.
Then I'll give you the Chaos Bell and the Investiture of the Gods."
Before you continue