The moment the celestial vision above the Ninth Heaven vanished, the Innate Divine Saints throughout the Primordial World felt as though a great burden had been lifted.
But in the next instant, Dao Ancestor Hongjun's voice appeared in Randeng's mind.
"Boy, Randeng, come at once to Purple Cloud Palace in the depths of Chaos."
Randeng, who was in Pangu Hall, narrowed his eyes. He had thought he wouldn't see his teacher again until the Sermon at Purple Cloud Palace. He hadn't expected his teacher to summon him of his own accord.
"As you command, Teacher. This disciple will set out at once!"
Hongjun's voice vanished in an instant, leaving only the approximate location of Purple Cloud Palace in Randeng's mind before disappearing completely.
Randeng then took his leave of the Ancestor Witches.
"Fellow Daoists, I have other matters to attend to, so I must leave ahead of you."
Houtu, Dijiang, and the other Ancestor Witches were all forthright and pure of heart. They didn't think too much of it. They assumed Randeng had witnessed Hongjun's awe-inspiring ascension to Sainthood and been moved by it, and that he wanted to travel through the Primordial World and meditate in seclusion to comprehend the Great Dao and break through to a higher realm.
Houtu nodded gently, her voice deep yet warm. "Fellow Daoist Randeng, go ahead. The Great Dao awaits, and cultivation is paramount. Pangu Hall will always be open to you. You are welcome to visit again anytime."
"Go on, Fellow Daoist Randeng. You're always welcome to visit our Witch Clan. We're also preparing to enter seclusion, hoping to help our remaining brothers advance to Grand Unity Golden Immortals within these thirty thousand years. Then we can go see Purple Cloud Palace for ourselves."
The other Ancestor Witches chimed in one after another. The Witch Clan had been born with powerful bodies, but their comprehension of the Great Dao was a limitation. Grand Unity Golden Immortal was the minimum threshold for entering Chaos; only by reaching that realm could they withstand the dangers within.
Now that Hongjun had become a Sage and the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth had become crystal clear, this was the perfect opportunity to break through. Naturally, they didn't want to fall behind the other Innate Divine Saints of the Primordial World.
Randeng therefore mounted a beam of light and left the Witch Clan, flying toward the fetal membrane of Heaven and Earth above the Ninth Heaven.
The fetal membrane of Heaven and Earth marked the boundary between the Primordial World and Chaos. The violent Chaos Qi passed through it, filtered and transformed into the Innate Spiritual Qi of the Primordial World.
All living beings in the Primordial World knew that one had to reach the Grand Unity Golden Immortal realm to enter Chaos.
That was because Chaos had no laws of Heaven and Earth to protect anyone. It was filled with Chaos gales that could destroy Heaven and Earth, spatial currents that tore through the void, and pervasive Chaos baleful energy. Only the bodies and Spiritual Senses of Grand Unity Golden Immortals, combined with an Innate Spiritual Treasure, could just barely withstand its dangers.
Randeng had already stabilized his Grand Unity Golden Immortal realm, and his cultivation was unfathomably deep. With the Primordial Chaos Heaven Measuring Ruler, an Innate Supreme Treasure, in his hand, he naturally had no fear of mere Chaos gales.
He didn't use the Primordial Chaos Heaven Measuring Ruler. With a thought, a faint gray flame of the netherworld appeared on its own, covering his body and forming an impenetrable barrier. The flame contained the Dao resonance of purifying all things. No matter how violently the Chaos Qi surged, it couldn't come within arm's reach of him.
Randeng passed through the fetal membrane of Heaven and Earth and entered the boundless Chaos.
Only then did Randeng truly understand why the Dao Ancestor had said at each of his three sermons at Purple Cloud Palace that only those with a predestined connection could attend.
Chaos was a deathtrap. Without a Sage to personally guide the way, one couldn't hope to find Purple Cloud Palace hidden in its depths. Even a Grand Unity Golden Immortal could easily lose their way in the boundless Chaos, only to have their body torn apart by the Chaos gales and their soul swallowed by spatial currents, ending in utter destruction.
As far as the eye could see, everything was a hazy gray. There was no sky, no earth, no up or down, left or right, nor east, south, west, or north. The very concept of space had completely ceased to apply here.
Violent Chaos gales howled past with shrill cries, like billions of sharp blades slicing through the void. Their immense force disrupted the release of Spiritual Sense directly. Even a Grand Unity Golden Immortal's Spiritual Sense would be shredded after extending a thousand li, making it impossible to discern direction.
Without Dao Ancestor Hongjun's guidance, failing to find Purple Cloud Palace would be the least of one's worries. A living being could easily become lost in Chaos altogether.
Following the directions Teacher Hongjun had left in his mind, Randeng picked a direction and flew off.
The Chaos Qi, once violent and turbulent, gradually grew gentle. The howling Chaos gales vanished as well, and everything around him sank into utter silence—so profound he could hear the flow of his own Great Dao. This region seemed like a pure land within Chaos, utterly unlike the dangers beyond it.
Randeng quickly sent out his Spiritual Sense to investigate. What he discovered shook him to the core: this seven-colored bridge hadn't been formed by any Spiritual Treasure. It had condensed from the Dao resonance of Heaven's Dao, made tangible. Every glimmer contained a principle of the Great Dao. A faint, sacred radiance flowed along the bridge, forming an invisible barrier that completely blocked the Chaos gales and spatial rifts outside, keeping them from penetrating even the slightest bit.
Randeng carefully set one foot on the bridge. Instantly, boundless seven-colored light enveloped him. An irresistible power of a Sage lifted his body and carried him toward the depths of Chaos at a speed beyond his comprehension, far surpassing his own limits.
On the bridge, he seemed to lose all sense of speed. The Chaos landscape around him raced backward, and in the blink of an eye, he had crossed hundreds of millions of li.
"So this is the power of a Sage. Even in this perilous Chaos, it's as if they're walking on level ground."
For the first time, Randeng had experienced a Sage's power. A dangerous place to ordinary Grand Unity Golden Immortals was no more than a backyard where a Sage could do as they pleased.
But this only strengthened Randeng's resolve not to become a Heavenly Dao Sage.
A Heavenly Dao Sage had their status entrusted to the Primordial Heavenly Dao, and every move they made was bound by it. Though they gained eternal life and endless authority, they were also like prisoners of the Primordial World. The farther they strayed from it, the weaker they became. They lost all freedom and became mere agents of the Heavenly Dao.
What Randeng yearned for was the freedom of a Great Dao beyond Heaven and Earth, at ease in Chaos—not the position of a Sage beholden to the Heavenly Dao.
As Randeng pondered, the bridge beneath his feet suddenly stopped. When he looked up again, he found himself outside Purple Cloud Palace.
The palace was magnificent, its purple mists drifting like clouds. The plaque above the main hall bore the words "Purple Cloud Palace" in Dao script. Just one glance drew him in, as the resonance of the Three Thousand Great Daos seemed to fill it like stars across the sky.
"Why are you still standing there? Come in already!"
A grand, imposing voice rang out from within the hall, interrupting Randeng's contemplation.
It was Old Ancestor Hongjun calling him.
The hall was vast and solemn, with Dao resonance flowing through it and an air that calmed the mind. At the very top, Old Ancestor Hongjun sat cross-legged on a Nine-Ranked Lotus Platform, a horsetail whisk in his arms and his eyes closed. The resonance of the Great Dao swirled around him, as if he had merged with all of Chaos and the entire Heavenly Dao.
Randeng gathered all his Spiritual Sense and tried to probe the Dao Ancestor before him, only to find that he was like nothingness. His Spiritual Sense passed straight through him, unable to grasp even the slightest trace of his presence. It was as though the man before him was at once the Great Dao, Chaos, and the Primordial World itself—unfathomable and beyond scrutiny.