"Goodness, Daoist Zhunti, don't cry, don't cry!"
Hong Yun was kindhearted and gently said, "Daoist Zhunti, there's still a seat beside me. Why don't you make do with that one? The seats in the second row are quite good too!"
"I can't hear! I'm deaf—I can't hear!"
Zhunti cried even louder and glared at Hong Yun.
Although Hong Yun had given up his cushion to Zhunti's senior brother, he hadn't earned any gratitude for it!
Jieyin, meanwhile, sat in the cushion's place, looking delighted and smug, as if he had gotten the better of everyone. He didn't seem grateful to Hong Yun either.
At that moment, his gaze fixed on Kunpeng beside him. "You must be Daoist Kunpeng, yes?"
"I'm Kunpeng. What do you want?"
Kunpeng turned away with an aloof air, unwilling to entertain Jieyin.
"Waaah, if I can't sit on a cushion, I can't hear! I'm deaf!"
Zhunti kept wailing, hoping to win everyone's sympathy.
"Shut up! Hold it in!"
Old Ancestor Kunpeng's head was buzzing from all the noise. He roared, making Zhunti stumble back two steps.
"You don't look deaf to me. If you keep crying, go cry outside!"
Kunpeng was infuriated by Zhunti's act and scolded him.
"Waaah, I, Daoist Zhunti, have had such a miserable life! I came all this way from the West, yet I can't get a seat to hear the Dao. Now people are insulting me too. What a miserable life!"
Zhunti's wailing grew louder, prompting a flurry of discussion among the cultivators. Disharmony suddenly filled the Purple Heaven Palace.
"Daoist Kunpeng!" Hong Yun, ever the well-meaning peacemaker, stepped forward again. No one could stop him, leaving Beichen speechless. "Daoist Kunpeng, Daoist Zhunti came all this way from the West. We may not be able to offer him proper hospitality, but why not give him your seat?"
"Ancestor Hong Yun, you can give up your seat if you like. I won't. Shut your mouth!" Kunpeng shot back.
Seeing how hot-tempered Kunpeng was, Hong Yun had nothing more to say. He clicked his tongue and retreated.
"Hmph! You feathered and horned creature, how long do you intend to keep that seat?" Primordial Lord of Heaven suddenly glared at Kunpeng and cursed. "You demon, Kunpeng! If you refuse to give it up, don't blame me for showing you no mercy!"
"Why should I give up my seat? Yuanshi, do you really believe Zhunti is deaf? He just wants to seize a spot in the front row so he can hear the lecture more clearly!" Kunpeng snapped. "The second row has good seats too, but he won't take one. He deserves this."
"Kunpeng, you're giving up that seat today!"
"Give me one good reason. Why should I?"
"Heh!" Primordial Lord of Heaven cursed again. "Because you're a feathered and horned creature, born of wetness or hatched from an egg! Listen well: before the lecture, Master told me that the Dao is not taught to the six-eared, nor to non-humans. You dare occupy a front-row cushion, and Master will surely tear you to pieces and drive you from the Purple Heaven Palace!"
"I advise you to get out now. You might still save your life."
"Are you only talking about me, Kunpeng? Is there no one else here who isn't human?" Kunpeng argued.
But Primordial Lord of Heaven cursed him again. Kunpeng was so furious his lungs nearly burst. He abandoned his cushion and stormed toward the Purple Heaven Palace's exit. "I won't listen to this Dao lecture!"
As he left, Kunpeng's gaze fell on Hong Yun, murderous. "Ancestor Hong Yun, this is all because you wanted to play the good guy! I can't strike you inside the Purple Heaven Palace, but watch your life from now on!"
With that, Kunpeng transformed into a streak of azure light and fled the Purple Heaven Palace.
Hong Yun felt uneasy. "Daoist Kunpeng and I have made a terrible enemy of each other!"
He looked at Beichen beside him, who wore an expression that seemed to say, I warned you, but you wouldn't listen. Hong Yun regretted his actions. "Mystic Turtle Daoist, I acted foolishly. I should have listened to you!"
Beichen shook his head slightly. "Daoist Hong Yun, you can't be blamed for this. You're kind by nature, which makes you easy prey for scoundrels—and now you've landed yourself in a predicament. Be sure to watch out for Old Ancestor Kunpeng after you leave the Purple Heaven Palace!"
"You're right!"
Meanwhile, Zhunti happily took his place on the cushion. The Two Immortals of the West were both smug and self-satisfied, looking like a pair of petty men. They showed Hong Yun no gratitude at all.
Seeing this, Hong Yun regretted his decision even more.
Only then did he understand that he truly shouldn't have given up his seat!
Still, he was kindhearted and didn't dwell on it too much.
The six cushion seats had been settled when another Daoist arrived at the door, strolling in at his leisure. He took the last seat beside Hong Yun. "Heh, I, Ancestor Minghe, made it after all! Let's hear what Dao Ancestor Hongjun has to say!"
Beichen merely studied Hong Yun and thought, Kindness is simply part of Hong Yun's nature. Does that mean kind people deserve calamity? That good people deserve short lives?
This is yet another injustice beneath the Heavenly Dao. It is truly not right!
I'll make sure Hong Yun survives!
The turtle-eyed Beichen glanced at Kunpeng waiting outside the door.
Kunpeng lost his chance to become a Sage because of this. If I give him another chance to attain Sagehood, perhaps I can turn these two enemies into friends! It would also help strengthen the Demon Court and benefit my disciple in the future.
But that would happen three thousand years after Hongjun finished lecturing.
Beichen put the matter aside for the time being.
A short while later, immortal music rang out, and the sound of the Dao drifted through the air. Golden lotuses sprang from the ground inside the Purple Heaven Palace; the Dao's mysteries shimmered, countless strands of Dao insight floated through the air, and the fragrance of immortals filled the hall, lifting everyone's spirits.
As this spectacle unfolded, a figure appeared, bathed in white light with a halo above his head and the Heavenly Dao upon him.
The might of a Sage immediately subdued the Purple Heaven Palace, turning it into his own domain.
Old Ancestor Hongjun's gaze was as keen as a god's. His eyes swept over the hundreds of thousands of living beings in the hall. He noticed the "non-humans," all of whom had reached at least the mid-stage of the Grand Unity Golden Immortal realm, but said nothing.
His words, "The Dao is not taught to non-humans," referred to ordinary demons and monsters. It did not include the "non-humans" born of powerful bloodlines in the early days of the primordial world.
"Hm? Members of the Dragon, Phoenix, and Qilin Tribes have come to hear the Dao too?"
Old Ancestor Hongjun's gaze settled on the three members of the tribes, Ling Cair among them, and he was puzzled.
But he soon composed himself. "Though there are some unexpected variables, they're still within my control!"
"Hm? And there are two who are pregnant?" Hongjun's expression changed dramatically. "Could they be planning to give birth to their offspring right here in my Purple Heaven Palace?"
"This is outrageous! What sort of conduct is that?"
Hongjun suddenly felt that Xihe and Changxi were two uncontrollable factors that could disrupt his lecture. He considered whether he should drive them out.
No, I can't drive them out of the Purple Heaven Palace just because they're pregnant. Am I still the Dao Ancestor if I do that? I have no valid reason. Forget it!
Hongjun could only sigh and let the matter go.
But he felt deeply uncomfortable. He had already divined that the offspring in Xihe and Changxi's wombs would be born within three thousand years—meaning they would inevitably be born in the Purple Heaven Palace.
"Ahem!" Hongjun said. "Today, I will lecture on the Dao of the Grand Unity Golden Immortal. The Dao is not taught to the six-eared, nor to non-humans. The lecture will last three thousand years, and no one may leave midway. Anyone unable to listen for the full three thousand years should depart now!"
When nobody left, the Purple Heaven Palace's doors closed by themselves. Immortal music filled the hall, the laws stirred, and the palace was sealed at once, preventing any of the lecture's contents from spreading beyond it.
"Waaah!"
Outside the palace, Six-Eared Macaque had clearly heard the words, "The Dao is not taught to the six-eared." Now that the Purple Heaven Palace had closed and cut off his sight and hearing, he felt a wave of disappointment.
"Very well. We'll begin the lecture on the Dao of the Grand Unity Golden Immortal!"
Boom!
No sooner had Old Ancestor Hongjun spoken than a tremendous rumble rang out. A surge of Quasi-Saint aura rose from nowhere and shot straight toward the ceiling of the Purple Heaven Palace.
"Someone has advanced to Quasi-Saint!"
"What an incredible Quasi-Saint aura!"
"Who is that? How audacious! The Dao Ancestor was just about to lecture on the Dao of the Grand Unity Golden Immortal, and this person advances to Quasi-Saint right now. Isn't that a slap in the Dao Ancestor's face?"
"He... he seems to be the overlord of the North Sea, the Mysterious Turtle, Beichen!"
"What? Daoist Mysterious Turtle is about to enter the Quasi-Sage Realm?" Nuwa exclaimed in surprise.
The entire Purple Heaven Palace was stunned, and the incident interrupted Hongjun's lecture.
Old Ancestor Hongjun looked toward Beichen, his gaze nearly murderous...
Before you continue