Early Departure, First Batch Arrives (Seeking Follow-ups)

In the following days, Xuande and his two companions settled down at Wuzhuang Temple.

Partly they were waiting for the appointed time to draw near, and partly it was a rare chance to reunite.

The five of them drank tea and discussed the Dao beneath the Ginseng Fruit Tree, exchanging insights on cultivation, passing their days in peace and fulfillment.

Hongyun was a lively sort; with him around, the atmosphere was always relaxed and cheerful.

He recounted all kinds of sights and experiences from his travels across the Primordial Wilderness—some thrilling, some amusing, some bizarre—prompting Zhunti to fire off question after question, and even Jieyin occasionally cracked a smile.

Zhenyuanzi, by contrast, was far more steady. Most of the time he listened quietly, occasionally adding a few words.

Or, when discussing the Dao, he would offer a pointed insight or two about the principles of the Earth Path.

He spoke little, but every word carried weight.

Xuande, Jieyin, and Zhunti each shared what they had gained from cultivation over the years.

Jieyin spoke of new realizations regarding the Path of Extinction, while Zhunti discussed various attempts at the Path of Wondrous Function.

Xuande, in turn, recounted the theories of entering and leaving the world that he had heard from Fuxi and Nuwa during his travels to Buzhou Mountain.

Zhenyuanzi and Hongyun listened intently, asking questions now and then, sighing with emotion at times.

Time flowed like water, quietly slipping away.

The five of them stayed at Wuzhuang Temple, sometimes discussing the Dao, sometimes meditating in stillness, sometimes simply sitting beneath the Ginseng Fruit Tree, watching the clouds roll and unfurl, listening to the wind rustle the leaves.

The lifespan of a Zenith Heaven Golden Immortal was vast and boundless; a few hundred years were but a snap of the fingers in their eyes.

Before they knew it, only five hundred years remained until the lecture began.

One day, Xuande opened his eyes and spoke:

"Daoist friends, the time has come. It's time for us... to set out."

The group exchanged glances, then nodded solemnly.

Zhenyuanzi rose and gave a few instructions to Qingfeng and Mingyue, telling them to look after the temple grounds.

Hongyun patted his robes and laughed: "Finally setting out! I've been getting impatient waiting."

Zhunti also smiled: "Me too! As nice as Wuzhuang Temple is, the thought of going to Purple Cloud Palace to hear a saint lecture—my heart already flew off into the Chaos long ago."

Jieyin said nothing, simply stood up and nodded to Zhenyuanzi.

Zhenyuanzi took one last look at Wuzhuang Temple, then turned to the others: "Daoist friends, let us go."

The five of them mounted their escape light and departed Longevity Mountain, flying toward the direction of the Chaos.

Where was the Chaos?

To most cultivators of the Primordial Wilderness, the Chaos was distant, mysterious, and untouchable.

It lay beyond the heavens and earth of the Primordial Wilderness—a boundless expanse of nothingness, without time, without space, without direction.

Ordinary cultivators dared not even approach it, for there was no Spiritual Energy there, no laws of the world. Once lost, one could never return.

But Ancestor Hongjun's Purple Cloud Palace was located within that very Chaos.

The five flew for a long time, finally reaching the edge of the Primordial Wilderness.

Ahead of them stretched an endless gray haze—that was the Chaos.

"So this is the Chaos?" Hongyun's eyes went wide as he stared at that void. "It looks... kind of terrifying."

Zhenyuanzi's expression turned grave: "Within the Chaos, there is no Spiritual Energy, no direction. Everything depends on one's own cultivation to sustain oneself. One misstep and you could easily become lost."

Zhunti was also a bit uneasy: "Then... how do we find Purple Cloud Palace?"

Xuande was silent for a moment, then said slowly: "Since Ancestor Hongjun said 'all who are fated may come,' there must be some guidance.

We only need to head in one direction and perceive with our hearts."

Jieyin nodded: "Daoist brother Xuande speaks sense. A saint's lecture must have its karmic mechanism. If we seek it with sincere hearts, we will surely find it."

The five said no more. Each circulated their cultivation to protect their bodies, then together stepped into the Chaos.

Within the Chaos was an indescribable void.

No sky, no earth, no direction, no reference points.

Up, down, left, right, front, back—all was the same gray haze.

The five could only rely on each other's auras to stay connected, flying forward at an extremely slow pace.

Hongyun was full of enthusiasm at first, looking around in every direction, but soon the void left him dizzy and disoriented. He muttered:

"This is unbearable. Nothing at all—not even anyone to talk to."

Zhunti smiled bitterly: "Who says it isn't? I'd rather fight a fierce beast than stay in this godforsaken place."

Zhenyuanzi said sternly: "Don't lose focus. The Chaos may seem like emptiness, but it hides dangers within. If your mind wavers, it's all too easy to get lost."

Jieyin said nothing, silently channeling his cultivation to protect himself while using his divine sense to probe ahead.

Xuande was also silent.

He was thinking about the details from the legends of later ages.

It is said that the Purple Cloud Palace lies deep within the Chaos, reachable only by those who can sense it with sincere intent.

Some find it after a few years of searching, while others search for centuries and still find nothing.

The reason Jieyin and Zhunti were late was because they set out too late and spent too long searching for the way...

But this time, they set out five hundred years early.

No matter how long the search took, they should still arrive before the lectures began.

Time became blurred and indistinct within the Chaos.

The five of them flew for who knew how long—perhaps several decades, perhaps a hundred years, perhaps even longer.

All around them was the same gray emptiness.

No change, no reference point, as if they would never reach the end.

Hongyun's expression grew worse and worse, Zhunti fell increasingly silent, and even Zhenyuanzi and Jieyin showed faint traces of weariness between their brows.

Only Xuande remained calm, using his divine sense to probe ahead, not letting a single anomaly slip by.

After about two hundred years, Xuande's mind suddenly stirred.

He sensed an extremely faint yet exceptionally unique fluctuation.

It was not a fluctuation of Spiritual Energy, nor of magical power, nor any fluctuation he was familiar with.

It was a kind of... Dao resonance?

Or rather, a kind of guidance?

"Daoist friends!" he spoke at once. "Have you sensed something?"

Hearing this, the others immediately focused their minds to perceive.

After a moment, Zhenyuanzi nodded first: "There is... an extremely faint aura, in some direction ahead."

Hongyun exclaimed in delight: "I sense it too! It seems... it seems like something is there!"

Jieyin said slowly: "That aura... vast, solemn, profound—not like an ordinary thing."

Zhunti grew excited: "It's the Purple Cloud Palace! It must be the Purple Cloud Palace!"

The five of them perked up, followed the direction of that aura, and sped forward.

The aura grew clearer and stronger.

Finally, the Chaos ahead began to change.

Within the gray nothingness, a point of light suddenly appeared.

At first, it was faint, but as they drew closer, it grew brighter and more dazzling.

Within the light, the faint outline of a palace could be seen, suspended in the Chaos, radiating a solemn and sacred aura.

The Purple Cloud Palace.

The five of them stopped their escape light and gazed at the legendary palace before them, long silent.

The palace was not particularly grand—at least compared to the scale Xuande had imagined for a "sage's dojo," it seemed somewhat plain.

But suspended in the Chaos, with a faint purple light flowing around it, its deep, ancient, and sacred aura was beyond any words to describe.

As if it had existed here since the Creation of Heaven and Earth, witnessing the rise and fall of the entire Primordial Wilderness.

"The Purple Cloud Palace..." Zhunti murmured. "We... found it?"

Hongyun rubbed his eyes vigorously: "It seems real... Did we really find it?"

Zhenyuanzi took a deep breath and said slowly: "I never expected we would be the first batch."

Jieyin nodded, his expression calm, but a barely concealed excitement flickered in his eyes.

Xuande gazed at the palace, his heart also surging with waves.

The Purple Cloud Palace.

The place that would later determine the six future Heavenly Dao Sages and usher in the age of sages... was now right before his eyes.

And he, together with Jieyin, Zhunti, Zhenyuanzi, and Hongyun, had become the first to arrive.

Xuande silently calculated the time.

From departure until now, roughly two hundred years had passed.

There were still three hundred years until the lectures began.

Three hundred years.

They were the first to wait before the Purple Cloud Palace.

The five of them approached the palace and arrived before its gates.

The gates were tightly shut, with no ornamentation, only two ancient characters: "Purple Cloud."

The strokes were vigorous, Dao resonance flowing within them—just looking at them inspired awe.

Zhunti tried to push the gates, but they did not budge in the slightest.

"It seems the palace gate hasn't opened," he said.

Zhenyuanzi nodded: "There are still three hundred years until the lecture begins. We truly have arrived too early."

Hongyun laughed: "Early is good! Better early than late. Let's just wait here until the gate opens!"

The five of them exchanged smiles, then found a spot before the Purple Cloud Palace and sat down cross-legged.

Within the chaos, there was no sensation of time passing, yet their hearts were filled with a profound sense of certainty.

The Purple Cloud Palace stood before them, and the sage's lecture would come in three hundred years.

And they, the first to arrive among the listeners, would have an excellent position from which to hear the most precious teachings of a sage since the Creation of Heaven and Earth.

Xuande sat quietly among the group, his gaze fixed on the tightly shut palace gate.