The Chaos Void was filled with fierce gales.
Everyone lingered at the edge of the Outer Heavens, daring not to take a single step beyond.
As the time for Hongjun's lecture drew closer, someone finally lost patience.
Taiqing Laozi brought out the Heaven and Earth Mysterious Yellow Exquisite Pagoda and set it above his head. Shielding Yuqing Yuanshi and Shangqing Tongtian, he disappeared into the Chaos Void.
He left behind only one sentence: "We three shall go ahead and wait for you fellow Daoists at Zixiao Palace!"
With the Sanqing leading the way, the others followed suit. They each brought out their strongest treasures, shielded themselves, and plunged into the Chaos Void.
Of course, some succeeded, but many more failed and died in the Chaos Gale.
As the dead grew in number, the Chaos Gale turned a crimson red, eerie and alluring.
In the end, nearly half of them—sixty or seventy thousand living beings—remained at the edge of the Outer Heavens. Their faces were grim and livid, but they dared not risk their lives.
"Let's go. We'll cross over too!"
Dijiang urged them on.
In his view, those capable of making it had already entered the Chaos Void. There was no point in watching any longer.
Xuanyuan gave a slight shake of his head and said with a smile, "Big brother, you go on ahead. I'll join you shortly!"
Dijiang frowned at Xuanyuan, unable to understand why he wanted to stay behind. Still, he nodded. "All right. We'll wait for you at Zixiao Palace. Hurry over!"
With that, the Twelve Ancestor Witches flew straight into the Chaos Void.
Unlike the others, who needed treasures to protect themselves before daring to enter the Chaos Void, the Twelve Ancestor Witches used no treasures at all.
With nothing but their physical strength, they withstood the blood-red Chaos Gale and strode through it as casually as if strolling in a courtyard, covering thousands of miles with each step. In the blink of an eye, they vanished into the Chaos Void.
Their astonishingly powerful bodies stunned everyone.
"Heavens above, am I seeing this right? They withstood the Chaos Gale with nothing but their bodies!"
"So this is what true big shots look like."
"Haha, those people were lucky the big shots didn't get truly angry. Otherwise, they'd have suffered much worse than a few broken bones!"
After their shock wore off, the crowd looked at those lying motionless on the ground and silently counted themselves lucky.
Thank goodness these big shots had good tempers and weren't bloodthirsty. Otherwise, who knew how many people would have died here?
Everyone talked among themselves, each reacting differently—some shocked, some envious, others relieved.
At last, everyone's eyes turned toward Xuanyuan.
"That man came with the big shots. Why didn't he go to Zixiao Palace?"
"Could it be that he's not strong enough?"
"How could that be? He chatted and laughed with the big shots. He can't be an ordinary person!"
"Why don't we ask the big shot to take us to Zixiao Palace?"
Someone made the suggestion, and the noisy crowd fell silent at once.
They were all tempted.
They had gone through countless hardships to get here. Wasn't their whole purpose to cross the Chaos Void, reach Zixiao Palace, and listen to Old Ancestor Hongjun lecture?
This was their last chance. If they missed it, they truly would have no chance to attend.
Although they were tempted, not one person stepped forward.
They didn't know Xuanyuan's temperament and feared offending him by approaching rashly.
Among the crowd, a frail-looking monkey covered in fur stared intently at Xuanyuan, determination in his eyes.
He walked up to Xuanyuan and dropped to his knees with a thud.
"Please, big shot, take me to Zixiao Palace!"
Xuanyuan looked down at the monkey. Though small and thin, he had enormous eyes. Stranger still, he had been born with six ears.
"So he's the Six-Eared Macaque!"
"One of the Four Spirit Monkeys evolved from the Chaos Demon Ape, he could hear sounds from far away, discern principles, know what came before and after, and understand all things. He had one of the top innate origins in the Primordial World, but his luck wasn't so good. Hongjun had said, 'The Dao is not taught to those with six ears,' and as a result, no one dared to teach the Six-Eared Macaque. He could only rely on his talent to secretly listen in as others cultivated their techniques, piecing things together bit by bit. After countless epochs, by the time of the Journey to the West Tribulation, he had barely reached the Taiyi Golden Immortal realm, where he fought Sun Wukong, who had only been transformed for five hundred years, to a draw. What a pitiful monkey!"
Xuanyuan sighed inwardly, then gave a subtle nod. "All right."
He had stayed behind precisely because he intended to take some people to Zixiao Palace.
Three thousand Zixiao Guests would attend Hongjun's lecture, corresponding to the Three Thousand Great Daos.
There was a great karmic connection behind this. Hongjun would teach the three thousand Zixiao Guests, then reap their fortune when he joined with the Dao.
Since that was the case, Xuanyuan planned to bring more people along and gather a few tens of thousands of them.
Let's see whether Hongjun had tens of thousands of Great Daos to teach.
If he couldn't teach all these people, how could he reap their fortune when he joined with the Dao?
Xuanyuan was more than happy to cause trouble for Hongjun, increase his own fortune, and leave all these people indebted to him.
That was why he'd agreed to the Six-Eared Macaque without hesitation.
With the Six-Eared Macaque setting an example, everyone else's doubts vanished, and they swarmed toward Xuanyuan.
Even those who had mocked Xuanyuan and his companions earlier came scrambling over.
"Please, big shot, take us to Zixiao Palace!"
They all pleaded together.
Xuanyuan wore a benevolent smile, looking solemn and dignified as he nodded. "The Dao Ancestor said that anyone with the fate to do so may attend the lecture at Zixiao Palace. You and I are fated to meet, so of course I'll take you there!"
"That's wonderful!"
"Thank you, big shot!"
The crowd was thrilled, thanking him over and over.
Those who had mocked Xuanyuan earlier looked ashamed. They hadn't expected him to be so magnanimous and repay grudges with kindness. They were deeply grateful.
Xuanyuan glanced sideways at them, the corners of his mouth lifting into a strange, mocking smile.
"The Dao Ancestor's lecture is about to begin. I'll take you there now!"
He brought out the Supreme Grade Innate Supreme Treasure, the Taiji Diagram, and set it above his head. Yin and yang light enveloped the crowd as they flew toward the Chaos Void.
"Big shot, wait for us!"
"Big shot, please, take us with you!"
"Big shot, I was wrong! Please, take me to Zixiao Palace!"
Those who had mocked Xuanyuan and his companions earlier lay sprawled on the ground, wailing without end, overwhelmed with regret.
Xuanyuan led the others toward the depths of the Chaos Void without looking back.
He only sneered to himself. They'd looked down on him and mocked his brothers as barbarians, yet still expected him to take them to hear the lecture?
Dream on!
Nearly three thousand people had gathered outside Zixiao Palace by now.
Dijiang and the others kept glancing back toward the Chaos Void, growing more and more anxious.
The appointed time was almost here, yet Xuanyuan still hadn't arrived.
"Look! What's that?"
Someone suddenly shouted, and everyone turned toward the Chaos Void.
They saw the Taiji Diagram spread out in the Chaos Void, carrying at least forty or fifty thousand people as it flew toward them at high speed.
"The Taiji Diagram—the Supreme Grade Innate Supreme Treasure, the Taiji Diagram?!"
"Which big shot is bringing so many people here?"
"Can Zixiao Palace even hold them?"
The crowd was both startled and puzzled. Some quick-thinking people had already begun edging forward, waiting for the doors of Zixiao Palace to open so they could rush in first and claim a good spot.
Among them, Taiqing Laozi stared at the Taiji Diagram above Xuanyuan's head, his eyes instantly bloodshot.
Somehow, he felt a profound connection between the Taiji Diagram and himself. He had to seize it.
So he secretly sent a voice transmission to Yuqing Yuanshi and Shangqing Tongtian: "Help me seize the Taiji Diagram!"
"All right!"
Yuanshi agreed without hesitation.
Tongtian, however, felt confused.
His eldest brother cultivated the Dao of Nonaction and had never shown such interest in anything, let alone tried to seize it by force.
But the Sanqing were one body. Since his eldest brother wanted the Taiji Diagram, he had no reason to refuse.
It wasn't just the Sanqing. Many people had greedy looks in their eyes at the sight of the Taiji Diagram, wanting to claim it for themselves.
Rumor had it that the Taiji Diagram was the First Innate Defensive Supreme Treasure. Once brought out, it made its wielder invincible.
No one could resist the temptation of such a treasure.
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