In Zixiao Palace, after Hongjun spoke those five words, he paid them no further heed.
He merely withdrew his gaze and continued his lecture, as though nothing had happened.
The Three Thousand Cultivators in the hall exchanged glances. Of course, they understood what "The Dao is not transmitted to Six Ears" meant.
Not everyone was qualified to hear a Sage lecture on the Dao.
Those with fate could come of their own accord; those without it could not force the matter.
The one who had tried to eavesdrop must have already paid the price.
No one dared speak. No one dared discuss it.
A moment later, Hongjun's voice sounded again as he resumed his lecture on the Dao of the Grand Unity Golden Immortal.
His voice was still calm and plain, still filled with boundless Dao resonance.
It was as though that small interruption was not worth sparing even a sliver of his attention.
The Three Thousand Cultivators soon immersed themselves once more in the supreme Great Dao.
But Xuande did not forget.
Seated among the crowd, he lowered his gaze, though complicated emotions churned within him.
The Dao is not transmitted to Six Ears.
He knew what those words meant in the legends of later generations.
The Six-eared Macaque had relied on his innate divine ability to eavesdrop on a Sage's lecture, only to have his path to the Dao cut off by a single word from that Sage.
Greedily grasping for fate had only brought him misfortune.
Xuande silently reminded himself to stay alert.
Although he was a transmigrator with memories of later generations, and had used those memories to gain an early advantage,
he had never forgotten that this was the Primordial Wilderness, a world governed by the Heavenly Dao and inhabited by Sages.
Only by becoming a Sage could one have enough say.
Before becoming a Sage, one was ultimately no more than an ant.
Xuande then took a deep breath, gathered his thoughts, and continued listening to Hongjun's lecture.
On the high platform, Hongjun's voice remained calm.
The Dao of the Grand Unity Golden Immortal lay in transcending the Three Realms and standing outside the Five Elements.
It lay in comprehending the mysteries of space and time, and in uniting one's own Dao with the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth...
In Zixiao Palace, the Three Thousand Cultivators were utterly entranced.
And Hongjun's lecture continued.
Hongjun's voice echoed through Zixiao Palace.
He was explaining the final part of the Dao of the Grand Unity Golden Immortal.
How to unite one's own Dao with the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth, how to preserve one's true self in that union, and how to seek transcendence while preserving one's true self.
His voice was as calm as water, yet every word seemed to reach straight into the depths of one's Primordial Spirit.
Seated among the crowd, Xuande's eyes were half-closed as he immersed himself in the supreme Great Dao.
As he listened to Hongjun explain how to unite one's own Dao with Heaven and Earth, realizations kept flashing through his mind.
The questions he had encountered in his cultivation.
The mysteries he had vaguely sensed but could never quite grasp.
As Hongjun spoke, each of them found its answer.
No one knew how much time had passed when Hongjun's voice suddenly stopped.
That calm, stream-like voice came to an abrupt halt.
Zixiao Palace fell silent.
Xuande slowly opened his eyes, feeling clear-minded and more lucid than ever before.
He looked around. Most of the Three Thousand Cultivators were still immersed in their insights.
Some wore smiles, some furrowed their brows, and some wept.
Clearly, every one of them had gained immensely from this lecture.
On the high platform, Ancestor Hongjun remained seated, his gaze calmly sweeping across the hall.
No one knew how much time had passed.
A moment later, Hongjun spoke.
"This lecture has lasted two thousand nine hundred years."
His voice was not loud, but it clearly reached everyone's ears.
The Three Thousand Cultivators came out of their meditations one after another. Some looked dazed, some astonished, and some reluctant to leave their insights behind.
Two thousand nine hundred years was not long for Grand Unity Golden Immortals, but immersed in a Sage's lecture on the Dao, it had felt like no more than an instant.
"The Dao of the Grand Unity Golden Immortal has been fully explained."
Hongjun continued, "Sit quietly and comprehend it. Once everyone has awakened, we shall discuss what comes next."
After saying this, he fell silent and sat quietly on the high platform.
Zixiao Palace sank into silence once more.
Those who had already awakened dared not speak or move. They simply sat quietly, absorbing what they had gained over the past two thousand nine hundred years.
Those who had yet to awaken remained immersed in their insights, faint Dao resonance swirling around them.
Xuande did not continue meditating. Instead, he silently recalled all he had heard and understood over the past two thousand nine hundred years.
From the Heavenly Immortal realm to the Great Luo realm, he had listened with utmost attention to every realm Hongjun had explained.
Those fundamentals seemed simple, yet they had given him an entirely new perspective on his path of cultivation.
This lecture had been worth more than a million years of solitary cultivation.
He raised his eyes toward the six prayer cushions ahead.
Laozi, Jieyin, Zhunti, Yuanshi, Tongtian, and Nuwa sat upon them, Dao resonance swirling around them. They were clearly still immersed in their insights.
Jieyin and Zhunti in particular.
Their auras were even more composed than before the lecture, and seemed faintly to be merging with the Western Great Dao.
Xuande silently felt happy for them.
Who knew how much more time had passed before the last cultivator in Zixiao Palace finally awakened from his meditation.
He was an old-looking rogue cultivator whose cultivation was only at the Early-Stage Grand Unity Golden Immortal level.
The moment he opened his eyes, tears streamed down his face. He bowed to the ground and knocked his head heavily before Hongjun on the high platform.
"Thank you, Dao Ancestor! Thank you, Dao Ancestor!"
Choking with emotion, he could say nothing else and only bowed again and again.
No one laughed at him.
Which of the Three Thousand Cultivators present had never taken a wrong turn or suffered hardship?
Listening to the Dao Ancestor's lecture today would spare them a million years of wandering down the wrong path.
Such a kindness deserved a bow.
Hongjun said nothing, only giving a slight nod.
Once the old cultivator had calmed down and sat back in his place, Hongjun spoke again.
"This lecture ends here."
The Three Thousand Cultivators' hearts tightened. They knew the Dao Ancestor was about to announce something important.
Hongjun's gaze swept slowly across the hall before finally settling on the six prayer cushions.
"The next lecture will be in three thousand years."
He said, "At that time, I will lecture on the Dao of the Quasi-Saint."
The Dao of the Quasi-Saint!
A faint stir ran through the hall.
Every Grand Unity Golden Immortal present knew that the Quasi-Saint realm must be above the Great Luo realm.
To hear this Dao was an immense opportunity for them.
But Hongjun's next words made many hearts sink.
"The seats in Zixiao Palace," Hongjun said, his voice as calm as ever, "are now settled and cannot be changed."
At these words, the hall fell utterly silent.
The seats were settled and could not be changed.
Those six prayer cushions.
The cultivators who had not realized how important those six cushions were.
At last, they understood.
Those were... those were the seats for future lectures on the Dao!
At the next lecture, and the one after that, the people on those six cushions would always sit at the very front, closest to the Dao Ancestor!
As for the rest of them, they could only stand or sit behind, forever unable to draw near!
Some felt regret, some resentment, while complicated emotions flickered through the eyes of others.
But no one dared speak.
After all, it was the Dao Ancestor who had decided.
After saying this, Hongjun spoke no more.
His figure gradually faded, like a wisp of smoke, and vanished from the high platform.
Only a faint sentence remained, echoing through Zixiao Palace—
"Those with fate may return in three thousand years."
Zixiao Palace was silent.
A moment later, someone stood and walked outside without a word.
They were the rogue cultivators.
They knew that from then on, those six prayer cushions were beyond their reach.
But they held no resentment. Being able to come and hear the lecture was already an immense opportunity, one that would benefit them without end.
As for the Dao of the Quasi-Saint... they would certainly return in three thousand years.
When one person took the lead, others followed.
The Three Thousand Cultivators rose one after another and made their way out of Zixiao Palace.