Inside Zixiao Palace, once everyone had entered, the heavy, ancient gates slammed shut.
Everyone took the same seats as during the first lecture. This time, Hongjun didn't keep them waiting long and appeared directly on the cloud platform above.
"This lecture will last three thousand three hundred years and will mainly cover the Quasi-Saint Dao."
As Hongjun began to speak, the Sound of the Great Dao rang through Zixiao Palace. Golden lotuses sprang from the earth, and Auspicious Omens descended from the heavens. Everyone listened, utterly entranced.
Xuanyuan listened attentively as well.
The method of Severing Corpses was tied to the path he would follow in the future. No matter how lazy he usually was, he had to give it his all now.
Beside him, Houtu, Six-Eared Macaque, and the others sat upright on their Enlightenment Chairs. Their bodies radiated golden light as they entered a state of enlightenment.
Of the Twelve Ancestor Witches, only Houtu had come to Zixiao Palace to listen.
It wasn't because Xuanyuan had some ulterior motive.
Rather, Houtu's path also required the method of Severing Corpses.
According to the legends of the Primordial World, Houtu transformed herself into the cycle of reincarnation, and from then on, she was no longer part of the Witch Clan.
Though she attained Sainthood, she was confined to the Underworld and forbidden from setting foot in the Primordial World.
This indirectly left the Twelve Ancestor Witches one member short, preventing them from deploying the Twelve Capital Celestial Evil Array. In the decisive battle between the Witches and Demons, Dijiang and the others all perished, their Dao extinguished.
Now that the Witch Clan had gained Xuanyuan, an unforeseen variable, even if Houtu really did become the cycle of reincarnation, they could still deploy the Twelve Capital Celestial Evil Array and avoid the tragedy of their eventual annihilation.
But that wasn't what Xuanyuan wanted to see.
Whether as an Ancestor Witch or as her elder brother, he didn't want Houtu to repeat the same mistake.
That was why he had planned the path she would take in the future long ago.
And the method of Severing Corpses was the most crucial part of it.
As for Six-Eared Macaque and the other three, he had initially taken them as disciples mainly because of the system mission.
After spending more than three thousand years together, Xuanyuan wasn't made of stone. He had developed some affection for them as their master, and had made plans for their future as well.
Time flowed on, and the years passed like a shuttle.
In the blink of an eye, more than three thousand years had passed.
Hongjun had long since stopped lecturing.
As before, he didn't disturb anyone after the lecture ended. Instead, he remained seated high on the cloud platform, silently observing everyone in Zixiao Palace.
There was no doubt that he was focused on the Sanqing, Nuwa, Jieyin, and Zhunti.
These six were Sages ordained by Heaven. After the third lecture ended, they would become his disciples.
As Heavenly Dao Sages, they were destined to merge with the Dao and thereby complete the Heavenly Dao.
While they were merging with the Dao, these six would serve as his pawns for indirectly controlling the Primordial World.
The six didn't disappoint him.
Taiqing Laozi, the foremost of the Sanqing, had achieved a Nine-Petal Bloom when he advanced to the Daluo Golden Immortal realm. His talent was the greatest, and his comprehension was exceptional. By now, he had already begun Severing Corpses.
The remaining five had also all reached the peak of the Daluo Golden Immortal realm. They could Sever Corpses to Prove Dao and attain the Quasi-Saint realm at any moment.
Seeing this, Hongjun secretly activated the Enlightenment Cushions beneath them and drew on the Innate Spiritual Qi within Zixiao Palace, directing it toward the six to ensure they could successfully Sever their Corpses at the first opportunity.
Hongjun stroked his beard, smiling broadly. From the corner of his eye, he glanced at Xuanyuan, who was also seated on an Enlightenment Cushion, and couldn't help frowning slightly.
Xuanyuan was the thirteenth Ancestor Witch and the greatest variable identified by the Heavenly Dao.
According to the Heavenly Dao's deductions, the Witch Clan should have given rise to only twelve Ancestor Witches.
Before the lectures in Zixiao Palace, the Primordial World had known only the Twelve Ancestor Witches.
Xuanyuan seemed to have sprung out of a crack in a rock, appearing without any warning.
It was almost unbelievable that the Twelve Ancestor Witches seemed to take Xuanyuan as their leader.
Moreover, from what Hongjun had observed, Xuanyuan appeared lazy and mediocre on the surface, but was actually deeply scheming. More importantly, despite Hongjun's cultivation as a Heavenly Dao Sage, he couldn't see through Xuanyuan's cultivation.
Still, there was no denying that Xuanyuan was extremely powerful.
During the first lecture, he had toyed with the Sanqing, Nuwa, Jieyin, Zhunti, Dijun, Donghuang Taiyi, and the others.
When the remnant spirit of the Destruction Chaos Demon God slaughtered Witch Clan tribes, Hongjun had been hidden in the void.
He had witnessed the entire process of Xuanyuan killing the Destruction Chaos Demon God.
There was only one way to describe it: effortless mastery.
He even suspected that Xuanyuan had already reached the Primordial Great Unity realm.
In short, Xuanyuan was an extremely terrifying opponent.
At this thought, Hongjun looked toward Dijun and Donghuang Taiyi.
These two brothers were three-legged Golden Crows born from the Sun Star, which had formed from Pangu's left eye.
Their talent and origins were among the very best.
Even compared with Nuwa, Jieyin, Zhunti, and the others, they were in no way inferior.
In the entire Primordial World, only Taiqing Laozi could reliably outclass them.
If the Demon Clan weren't destined to become the protagonists of the next tribulation, and the two brothers weren't fated to perish in the War of the Witches and Demons to replenish the Heavenly Dao, Hongjun might even have considered taking them as disciples.
Yet even such peerless talents had repeatedly suffered setbacks at Xuanyuan's hands, hardly able to fight back.
As a result, Hongjun had been forced to openly favor the Demon Clan, tarnishing the Dao Ancestor's reputation.
Xuanyuan had even stirred up the whole debacle of remnant Chaos Demon Gods poisoning the beings of the Primordial World, forcing Hongjun to start the second lecture early and clean up after the two brothers.
Fortunately, after more than three thousand years of thought, Hongjun had found a way to deal with the situation. Once everyone finished their enlightenment, he could start making arrangements and put his plan into action.
At the thought, even Hongjun, a Heavenly Dao Sage, felt a headache coming on.
"Sever!"
Just as Hongjun was distracted by these concerns, a loud shout suddenly rang through Zixiao Palace. Someone had begun Severing Corpses to Prove Dao.
Hongjun's first thought was Taiqing Laozi.
But when he eagerly looked toward the second Enlightenment Cushion, he was surprised to see that Taiqing Laozi was still gathering himself and hadn't truly begun Severing Corpses to Prove Dao.
"Who could it be?"
Hongjun swept his Spiritual Sense across all of Zixiao Palace, only to find that no one had successfully Severed a Corpse.
After making a few deductions, his face darkened. He glared at Xuanyuan, seated on the first Enlightenment Cushion.
That shout had come from the brat. Yet Xuanyuan showed no sign whatsoever of Severing Corpses to Prove Dao.
Clearly, the brat had just shouted for no reason.
Worse, when Xuanyuan had shouted, he had even used his magical power, disrupting everyone else's enlightenment.
When Hongjun looked across the people in Zixiao Palace again, everyone except a few, including Taiqing Laozi, Shangqing Tongtian, and Nuwa, glared at Xuanyuan resentfully.
Dijun and Donghuang Taiyi looked especially grim, as if water might drip from their faces.
Both had extraordinary talent and comprehension, and had just reached the threshold of Severing Corpses to Prove Dao.
But Xuanyuan's shout had forcibly interrupted them.
In the Primordial World, depriving someone of their chance to Prove Dao was considered even more despicable than killing their parents. Once it happened, it meant a fight to the death.
Did this brat really not fear making everyone his enemy?
Hongjun's expression was displeased, but inwardly, he was delighted.
Xuanyuan's actions were tantamount to giving the Witch Clan a host of powerful enemies.
That would greatly benefit Hongjun's plans for the future.
Before you continue