Slaying the Corpse to Prove the Dao? A Futile Endeavor

Inside Zixiao Palace, the heavy, ancient doors boomed shut as everyone entered.

After taking their seats according to the first lecture, Hongjun appeared on the cloud bed above without making them wait.

"This lecture will last for three thousand three hundred years, primarily focusing on the path of the Quasi-Saint."

As Hongjun spoke, the Sound of the Great Dao immediately resonated within Zixiao Palace, golden lotuses sprang from the ground, and auspicious signs descended from the heavens. Everyone listened, entranced.

Xuanyuan was also listening intently.

The method of severing three corpses was crucial to the path he intended to follow. No matter how lazy he usually was, he had to give his all at this moment.

Beside him, Houtu, Six-Eared Macaque, and the others sat upright on their Enlightenment Chairs, radiating golden light. They had all entered a state of enlightenment.

Among the Twelve Ancestor Witches, only Houtu had come to Zixiao Palace to listen.

It wasn't that Xuanyuan had any ulterior motives.

It was because Houtu's path also required the method of severing three corpses.

According to the records of Primordial World mythology, Houtu transformed herself into the cycle of reincarnation, and from then on, Houtu was no more.

Although she achieved Sainthood, she was confined to the Underworld and forbidden to step foot in the Primordial World.

This indirectly led to the Witch Clan lacking one member, unable to unleash the Twelve Heavenly Gods and Demons Array. During the decisive battle between the Witches and Demons, Dijiang and the others all perished.

Now, with Xuanyuan as an added variable for the Witch Clan, even if Houtu were to truly become reincarnation, they could still unleash the Twelve Heavenly Gods and Demons Array and avoid the tragedy of their complete annihilation.

However, this was not what Xuanyuan wished to see.

Whether as an Ancestor Witch or as a brother, he did not want Houtu to repeat the same mistakes.

Therefore, he had long planned the future path for Houtu.

And the method of severing three corpses was the most critical step.

As for Six-Eared Macaque and the other three, he had initially taken them as disciples primarily due to a System mission.

After spending over three thousand years together, Xuanyuan was not made of stone. He had developed some master-disciple affection for them and had made arrangements for their future.

Time flowed, and years passed like a shuttle.

In the blink of an eye, over three thousand years had gone by.

Hongjun had long since stopped lecturing.

Just like the first time, after concluding his lecture, Hongjun did not disturb the others. Instead, he sat high on the cloud bed, silently observing everyone in Zixiao Palace.

Undoubtedly, his focus was on the six individuals: Sanqing, Nuwa, Jieyin, and Zhunti.

These six were destined Saints by the Heavenly Dao. After the third lecture concluded, they would become his disciples.

As Saints of the Heavenly Dao, they were destined to merge with the Dao themselves to complete it.

During their integration with the Dao, these six would be his leverage to indirectly control the Primordial World.

The six did not disappoint him.

Taiqing Laozi, the foremost of Sanqing, bloomed nine petals when he advanced to the Daluo Golden Immortal realm. With the highest talent and excellent comprehension, he had already begun severing his corpses.

The remaining five had all cultivated to the peak of the Daluo Golden Immortal realm, capable of severing their corpses and achieving Quasi-Saint status at any moment.

Seeing this, Hongjun secretly activated the Enlightenment futons beneath them and channeled the Innate Spiritual Qi within Zixiao Palace towards the several individuals, ensuring they could successfully sever their corpses at the earliest opportunity.

Hongjun stroked his beard, a smile on his face. His gaze inadvertently swept over Xuanyuan, who was also seated on an Enlightenment futon, and he couldn't help but frown slightly.

Xuanyuan, the thirteenth Ancestor Witch, was also the greatest variable determined by the Heavenly Dao.

Originally, according to the Heavenly Dao's calculations, only twelve Ancestor Witches would be born.

Before the Zixiao Palace lectures, the Primordial World had only spoken of twelve Ancestor Witches.

Xuanyuan had appeared as if from nowhere, without any warning.

Even more unbelievable was that the Twelve Ancestor Witches of the Witch Clan seemed to implicitly regard Xuanyuan as their leader.

Furthermore, based on his observations, Xuanyuan appeared lazy and mediocre on the surface, but in reality, he was extremely cunning and sinister. Most importantly, despite his cultivation as a Heavenly Dao Saint, he could not see through Xuanyuan's cultivation.

However, he had to admit that Xuanyuan's strength was immense.

During the first lecture, he had toyed with Sanqing, Nuwa, Jieyin, Zhunti, Dijun, Donghuang Taiyi, and others.

When the Fragmented Spirit of the Chaos Demon God of Destruction massacred the Witch Clan tribes, he had been hidden in the void.

He had personally witnessed Xuanyuan kill the Destruction Chaos Demon God in its entirety.

Only one word could describe it: effortless.

He even suspected that Xuanyuan had already advanced to the Hunyuan Daluo realm.

In short, Xuanyuan was an extremely formidable opponent.

With this thought, Hongjun couldn't help but look at Dijun and Donghuang Taiyi.

These two brothers were born from the Sun Star, which was formed from Pangu's left eye. They were two three-legged Golden Crows.

Their talent and origins were of the highest caliber.

Even compared to Nuwa, Jieyin, and Zhunti, they were not inferior.

In the entire Primordial World, only Taiqing Laozi could suppress the two of them.

If it weren't for the fact that the Demon Clan was the protagonist of the next tribulation and the two brothers were destined to perish in the Witch-Demon War to fill the Heavenly Dao, he would have even considered taking them as disciples.

Yet, even these two incredibly talented individuals repeatedly suffered setbacks at Xuanyuan's hands, almost without any power to resist.

This led him to openly favor the Demon Clan, tarnishing his reputation as the Dao Ancestor.

He even caused a farce by poisoning the beings of the Primordial World with the residual souls of Chaos Demon Gods, forcing him to prematurely begin his second sermon to clean up their mess.

Fortunately, after over three thousand years of contemplation, he had found a solution. He would begin making arrangements and implementing it as soon as everyone finished their enlightenment.

Thinking of this, even as a Saint of the Heavenly Dao, he couldn't help but get a headache.

"Sever!"

Just as Hongjun was distracted by these thoughts, a loud shout suddenly echoed from within Zixiao Palace. Someone was actually attempting to sever their corpse to attain enlightenment at this very moment.

Hongjun's first thought was Taiqing Laozi.

However, as he eagerly looked towards the second enlightenment cushion, he was surprised to find that Taiqing Laozi was still in the process of preparation and had not truly begun severing his corpse to attain enlightenment.

"Who was it?"

Hongjun's divine sense swept across Zixiao Palace, only to discover that no one had successfully severed their corpse.

After some deduction, his expression immediately darkened, and he cast an unfriendly gaze towards Xuanyuan, who was sitting on the first enlightenment cushion.

It was this brat who had just shouted "Sever," yet Xuanyuan showed no signs of attempting to sever his corpse to attain enlightenment.

It was clear that this brat was just shouting randomly.

Not only that, but when Xuanyuan shouted, he had even used his magical power to disrupt the enlightenment of others.

When he looked at the people in Zixiao Palace again, apart from Taiqing Laozi, Shangqing Tongtian, Nuwa, and a few others, everyone else was glaring resentfully at Xuanyuan.

Dijun and Donghuang Taiyi, in particular, had terrifyingly grim expressions, as if they could drip water.

Both of them possessed immense talent and comprehension and had just reached the verge of severing their corpses to attain enlightenment.

But Xuanyuan's loud shout had abruptly interrupted them.

In the Primordial World, obstructing someone's opportunity to attain enlightenment was even more heinous than killing their parents. Once it happened, it would lead to an irreconcilable situation.

Was this brat not afraid of incurring the wrath of everyone?

Hongjun's expression was unfriendly, but inwardly, he was overjoyed.

Xuanyuan's actions were undoubtedly creating many powerful enemies for the Witch Clan.

This was quite beneficial for his future plans.