As Jieyin and Zhunti opened their eyes, they saw that Old Ancestor Hongjun's Saintly Dao had suppressed the Ten Golden Crows' innate solar aura. The temperature in the Zixiao Palace dropped considerably.
The assembled cultivators all let out a long sigh of relief and relaxed.
From the moment they were born, the Ten Golden Crows had been extremely mischievous, darting all over the Zixiao Palace and refusing to sit still.
Wherever they went, flames blazed. The cultivators they passed hurriedly moved aside to escape the heat.
The Ten Golden Crows had listened to Hongjun's lecture from within Xihe's womb. Inheriting Dijun and Changxi's powerful constitutions, they had been born at the late stage of the Grand Unity Golden Immortal Realm. Among the hundreds of thousands of cultivators present, their strength was already above average.
But the innate solar aura around them was scorching hot, and weaker cultivators couldn't help trembling when they saw them.
Even Grand Unity Golden Immortals were left parched and drenched in sweat by the light radiating from the little crows.
With no other choice, Old Ancestor Hongjun had to split off some of his attention and bring forth Primordial Dao Qi to rein them in a little, reducing the heat coming from the Ten Golden Crows.
The ancient spirit within the Ten Golden Crows was simply too powerful. Even Dao Ancestor Hongjun could suppress the heat enough to keep the cultivators who had come to the Zixiao Palace from dying or getting hurt, but he couldn't completely eliminate the crows' effects.
The Golden Crows darted about so wildly that even Dijun and Xihe couldn't stop them. Old Ancestor Hongjun could only have his Primordial Dao Qi follow the ten of them, continually suppressing the harm caused by the crows' fiery energy.
"These Ten Golden Crows are far too mischievous. They need a good beating!"
Dijun glared at the ten little troublemakers, his anger rising.
Although he looked helpless, even furious, he was actually over the moon inside.
Before the Golden Crows were born, he'd imagined all sorts of things. Now that his ten sons had arrived, they were even better than he'd hoped.
The Ten Golden Crows might have been a little too mischievous, but they all had fine constitutions. There was no denying that.
"What do you mean, a beating? They're only children!"
Xihe had long since forgotten Beichen's earlier words. She looked at the Ten Golden Crows with pure adoration.
Before long, however, she noticed that all the cultivators in the Zixiao Palace had grown hostile toward the Ten Golden Crows.
Hongjun's three disciples, the Sanqing, were especially resentful as they glared at the little crows.
Primordial Lord of Heaven muttered under his breath, "The ones from the Sun Star and Moon Star are far too outrageous. They gave birth in Master's palace, leaving all of us cultivators drenched in sweat and parched. Unforgivable!"
Grand Pure Lord of Morality disliked the Ten Golden Crows as well. He silently seethed, calculating something over and over.
Although Sect Master Tongtian had been on good terms with Beichen earlier, seeing this scene, he couldn't help siding with Old Ancestor Hongjun. He began to think less of Beichen.
His master was lecturing, and they were now at the final stage of perfecting the Great Unity Golden Immortal realm. He had to listen closely, so he couldn't say anything.
But in the unseen currents of fate, the enmity between Beichen and the Sanqing only grew deeper.
"All of this is because of the Mysterious Turtle Beichen. I say he did this on purpose, plotting in advance to come and cause trouble!"
Grand Pure Lord of Morality finished his calculations and hit the nail on the head.
Beichen watched the Ten Golden Crows with a smile. He didn't stop them, letting them play to their hearts' content in the Zixiao Palace.
"Since you're newborn, I'll let you have your fun this once. But from now on, your father will have to keep you in line!"
Beichen had brought Xihe and Changxi here so they could listen to the lecture and improve their cultivation.
But he hadn't ruled out using the birth to stir up trouble for Old Ancestor Hongjun.
It was a nuisance for Old Ancestor Hongjun, but Beichen found it very amusing.
"These ten children really are mischievous."
In the middle of the seats, a female cultivator with no primordial spirit, seven arms on her back and two in front, watched the Ten Golden Crows with fondness. Her powerful body was her only strength, and she murmured to herself.
"It's a pity that my Witch Clan and the Demon Race are at odds, and a great battle is bound to break out. Otherwise, adopting these ten little ones would be lovely!"
This female cultivator was Empress Houtu, one of the Twelve Ancestral Witches.
The Twelve Ancestral Witches considered themselves the true heirs of Pangu and were exceedingly proud. Moreover, they cultivated their physical bodies, so Hongjun's lecture on cultivating the primordial spirit was of little use to them. For that reason, they usually kept out of sight.
Only Houtu had braved the hardships to come and listen.
Houtu hadn't understood a single word of the lecture. The birth of the Ten Golden Crows had been the most interesting part of the experience for her.
"Hm? What pretty little girls!"
Houtu suddenly sensed a trace of cool, yin energy in the palace, seemingly holding back the scorching solar aura. She turned and saw twelve little girls beside Changxi, each surrounded by a silver-blue lunar glow.
Each girl was more beautiful than the last, all enveloped in a clear, celestial fragrance. They were extraordinary.
Even more precious, unlike the restless Ten Golden Crows, the twelve girls were quiet and stayed close to their mother, Changxi.
With Changxi at the center, they were like stars gathered around the moon, green leaves enhancing a celestial flower.
Changxi touched each of the twelve girls, liking them more and more. She adored every one of them.
Still, she felt a little regretful. The twelve Moon Maidens had listened to the lecture from within her womb alongside the Ten Golden Crows, yet they had only reached the Golden Immortal Realm. They were still far, far behind the Ten Golden Crows.
Changxi sighed, but didn't forget to listen to Hongjun's lecture.
The next moment, she and her elder sister Xihe both broke through to the perfected Grand Unity Golden Immortal realm!
After Xihe and Changxi, Hong Yun, Dijun, Taiyi, Fu Xi, Jieyin, and Zhunti also successively reached the perfected Grand Unity Golden Immortal realm, half a step from becoming Quasi-Saints. Everyone looked delighted.
But the Moon Maidens' arrival had filled the Zixiao Palace with shimmering silver-blue light, airy and luminous, creating a breathtaking scene. It also distracted countless people from the lecture and overshadowed the radiance of all those powerful figures as they advanced to the perfected Grand Unity Golden Immortal realm!
"What lovely little girls! The Moon Maidens are peerlessly beautiful, otherworldly and extraordinary!"
Countless cultivators praised them. Some spoke from the heart, while others had thoughts they couldn't very well voice.
"Little sisters, let's play together! Come on, let's go play!"
Drawn to the twelve Moon Maidens, the Ten Golden Crows ran over and pestered them, wanting to take them off to play.
The Moon Maidens wanted to go with them, but kept glancing at Changxi and Taiyi, not daring to move.
"What well-behaved children!"
Beichen was deeply pleased.
"Go on, go play by yourselves. Don't disturb your little sisters while they're listening to the lecture!" Changxi shooed them away.
"Auntie, Auntie, are you silly? How could the little sisters understand the lecture? How could Golden Immortals understand the Dao of Grand Unity Golden Immortals? They're way too far behind!"
"Auntie's silly! Auntie's silly!"
Changxi: "...These little brats!"
Whoosh!
Old Ancestor Hongjun let out a long breath and stopped lecturing. "At long last, I've finished teaching the Dao of Grand Unity Golden Immortals!"
"This three-thousand-year lecture ends here!"
Hongjun's divine eyes swept across the Zixiao Palace. Seeing that everyone who had come to listen had gained a great deal, with even the least among them advancing by one cultivation stage, he felt pleased. They had made remarkable progress since arriving.
"This lecture nearly broke me!" Hongjun wiped the sweat from his brow again and again. "Luckily, although I was delayed quite a bit, I managed to finish. Otherwise, more variables might have arisen, bringing endless trouble!"
Then Hongjun didn't leave. Instead, he looked toward the six people seated on the front-row cushions.
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