"Cough, cough. Hong Yun, let me ask you: before you came to listen to the Dao this time, did you eat any Innate Yellow Beans?"
Old Ancestor Hongjun's voice was somber, though he seemed a little embarrassed.
"I didn't, Master! I didn't eat any Innate Yellow Beans before coming to listen to the Dao this time! I haven't eaten anything at all. Please rest assured, Master!"
Ancestor Hong Yun replied urgently.
"That's good. Come in."
The force blocking the barrier vanished at once. Hong Yun glanced at Minghe, then stepped through.
Minghe was deeply unwilling to accept it. He called toward Zixiao Palace, "Dao Ancestor Hongjun, I, Minghe, came to listen to the Dao. Why am I fated to be turned away?"
A moment later, Old Ancestor Hongjun's ethereal voice came from within. "Ancestor Minghe, you dwell in a dark, blood-soaked place. Though your origins are powerful, the Dao you cultivate is constrained by Heaven and Earth, and you have absolutely no chance of becoming a Saint. Why bother listening to the Dao of Sainthood?"
"Still, I can offer you some advice. Why not return to the Blood River and develop your people from your own source, establishing a force in the world? You can build up your fortune and become the foremost among Quasi-Saints. You would be little inferior to a Saint!"
"Those who have come to listen to the Dao in Zixiao Palace may not all become Saints. To receive this guidance is a great opportunity. There's no need to waste three thousand years."
Listening to Hongjun's words, Minghe pondered. A moment later, his face lit up. "Thank you for your guidance, Dao Ancestor Hongjun!"
Minghe departed, and Zhao Gongming and Yunxiao immediately felt relieved.
When there had been more people earlier, they hadn't noticed. Now that fewer