Sovereign of Heaven's arrival had ushered in a whole new era of upheaval in the Primordial World.
He showed none of the airs of a future Saint, and didn't even bother with the two murderous glares boring into his back.
This man of the Pangu Orthodox Lineage slouched down on a cushion with easy confidence. He took the jade bowl Taiyuan handed him and stared fixedly at the bright-red, top-grade dragon liver bobbing in the pot.
"Daoist Taiyuan, can you really eat this?"
Sovereign of Heaven was eager to try it, but he had never seen food prepared this way before.
Back on Mount Kunlun, life had always been austere. They lived on wind and dew, and the few times they refined pills, it was to improve their cultivation. The taste was bitter and hard to bear.
"How about you try some and find out?"
Taiyuan smiled as he used the serving chopsticks to place a piece in Sovereign of Heaven's bowl. He even rolled it in a special dry dipping mix—the kind generously coated with Primordial Star-Shattering Pepper and Chaos Sesame.
"Hiss—"
Sovereign of Heaven didn't hesitate. He picked it up and popped it into his mouth.
The instant his teeth sank in, the juicy burst of flavor mingled with a searing spice unlike anything he had ever tasted, shooting straight to the crown of his head.
The frustration in his chest, built up from his quarrel with Yuanshi, seemed to be blasted away by the domineering heat of the spice.
What a relief.
Sovereign of Heaven's eyes widened like copper bells. He slapped his thigh so hard the ground trembled.
"Now that's the stuff! Damn, that hits the spot!"
"This tastes tens of thousands of times better than those bitter pills my eldest brother makes!"
Taiyuan gently swirled his wine cup, a smile playing at his lips.
"Of course. Pills are for treating illness and making up for deficiencies. We're perfectly healthy, so why suffer through that bitter stuff just to improve our cultivation? That would be putting the cart before the horse."
"Cultivating the Dao is about clearing your mind and finding great freedom and ease."
"If becoming a Saint means you can't even enjoy a hot meal and have to be shackled by rules, then the Dao isn't worth cultivating."
Those words struck right at the heart of Sovereign of Heaven.
His path was all about seizing that one glimmer of life. He believed in doing as he pleased, and Taiyuan's "happy cultivation" philosophy felt like it had been made just for him.
"What a fine ideal—great freedom and ease!"
Sovereign of Heaven picked up the nectar before him and raised it to Taiyuan. "Daoist, your words speak straight to my heart! I'll drain this cup!"
After several rounds of wine and a few rounds of food,
the awkwardness between them vanished in the presence of hot pot, the ultimate social lubricant.
Sovereign of Heaven was a talkative sort, and after a few cups of spirit wine, he let it all out.
"Daoist Taiyuan, you have no idea. Mount Kunlun is the ancestral range of the Eastern Lands. It's rich in spiritual energy, but it has plenty of rules, too."
"That place bears the heaviest traces of Father God Pangu's Legacy, and the pressure is immense. If your will isn't firm, even walking around the mountain is a struggle."
"Nothing like your Western Lands..."
At that, Sovereign of Heaven paused, as if realizing that calling the Western Lands barren might be rude.
Taiyuan didn't mind at all. He casually pulled a plate of fruit glowing with starlight from his sleeve and set it on the table.
Each fruit was crystalline, with what looked like a galaxy swirling inside. The Daoist aura they gave off was even richer than that of the Flat Peaches from earlier.
They were the Star Dream Rhyme Fruits, a system reward and the only ones of their kind in the Primordial World.
"What about the Western Lands? Barren?"
Taiyuan tossed a fruit into his mouth, juice spraying everywhere. "That's just what outsiders say. We're simply low-key."
"Try some. A local specialty, grown right at home."
Sovereign of Heaven stared, eyes wide.
Even on Mount Kunlun, famed for its abundance of natural treasures, he had never seen a spiritual root like this.
He grabbed one and took a bite. The rich Law of the Stars burst across his palate, and a cool sensation washed away the heat from the hot pot. Even his soul grew clearer.
"What a treasure!"
The way Sovereign of Heaven looked at Taiyuan changed completely.
How could Taiyuan be some poor powerhouse from the barren Western Lands? He was a walking treasure vault! Sovereign of Heaven was set on making him a friend.
While Sovereign of Heaven was marveling at the "local specialties" from the Western Lands,
Taiyuan's hands were busy, too.
As he chatted with Sovereign of Heaven, he casually used the serving chopsticks to keep adding food to the bowl of Ancestor Hong Yun beside him.
"Fellow Daoist Hongyun, don't just sit there grinning. Eat up."
"This piece is good. It contains Power of Merit—great for you."
The kindhearted Hong Yun was eating until his face shone, delighted beyond measure. He had no idea how much thought Taiyuan had put into it.
Every piece of meat Taiyuan gave him had been specially prepared by the system.
Along with spiritual energy, it contained a faint trace of the Law of Fortune, so subtle it was almost impossible to detect.
Hong Yun was doomed to misfortune, the Primordial World's biggest pushover. Taiyuan hadn't wanted to get tangled up in that Karma.
But now that he had shared a meal and become part of this group, Hong Yun was practically one of their own.
Taiyuan didn't want him to die for no reason in the future, so he was using the hot pot to quietly shore up Hong Yun's leaky Fortune.
He did it so discreetly that no one noticed.
Most people were busy fighting over the food.
Only the figure seated on the sixth cushion in the front row of the hall turned his head slightly.
Menacing. Cold.
Kunpeng.
In this life, thanks to Taiyuan's intervention, Jieyin and Zhunti hadn't fought for a seat, and Kunpeng had firmly claimed the sixth spot—the one that represented a Saint's opportunity.
By rights, he had already gotten what he wanted and should have been satisfied.
But he was naturally suspicious and gloomy, and consumed by greed.
He watched the cheerful little group in the corner with a cold eye.
Sovereign of Heaven, one of the Three Pure Ones; Zhen Yuanzi, the Ancestor of Earth Immortals; that silly Hong Yun; and the inscrutable Western Daoist, Taiyuan.
These people gathered together were a terrifying force in their own right.
Taiyuan's inexplicable attention to Hong Yun especially roused a nameless jealousy and wariness in Kunpeng.
"Strong men walk alone. The weak band together."
"But this group is growing too powerful."
Cold light flickered in Kunpeng's narrow eyes as his fingers tapped lightly on the cushion without his noticing.
He sensed a threat.
Not one that came from their cultivation, but from the aura of a group he couldn't join.
As if sensing something,
Taiyuan's hand paused as he drank with Sovereign of Heaven.
He didn't turn around. The smile on his lips simply grew more meaningful.
As he raised his cup, Taiyuan shifted slightly and looked through the billowing steam, meeting Kunpeng's cold gaze precisely.
Their eyes met.
There were no sparks, only Taiyuan's careless smile.
He even raised his cup to Kunpeng from afar and mouthed two silent words:
"Got a problem?"
Kunpeng's pupils contracted. He snorted, turned away, and closed his eyes to rest.
The discomfort of having his thoughts seen through only deepened his wariness toward this Western Daoist.
Just then,
a domineering, blazing aura of True Sun Fire suddenly approached.
The scattered cultivators and powerful beings gathered around the hot pot felt it and instinctively stepped aside.
Two figures approached side by side.
The one in front wore a golden crow imperial robe and a Peace Crown. Handsome and imposing, he carried a natural air of royal authority in every gesture.
The man behind him held a Chaos Bell in his arms. He said nothing, but his battle-hungry sharpness made the space around him ripple.
Di Jun. Tai Yi.
These two future rulers of the Heavenly Court had yet to establish their clan, but their ambition to rule the Primordial World was already beginning to show.
Sovereign of Heaven raised an eyebrow but didn't stop eating. He glanced sideways at them.
"Two golden crows? What, couldn't stay on the Sun Star and came to mooch a meal?"
His words were sharp.
But Di Jun didn't take offense. Instead, he offered a warm, disarming smile.
He ignored Sovereign of Heaven and looked straight at Taiyuan, the host. Then he clasped his hands and gave him the greeting of an equal.
"Daoist Taiyuan, I saw you conjure a paradise in your dream earlier, and then host everyone to this marvelous feast. I admire your generosity."
"My brother and I have come not to mooch a meal, but to seek your advice."
He called it seeking advice.
But his burning gaze swept over the "specialties of the Western Lands" Taiyuan had brought out several times.
Anyone with eyes could see what was really going on.
This wasn't a request for advice. Di Jun had seen Taiyuan's wealth and connections and wanted to bring him into the fold!
Taiyuan set down his chopsticks and wiped his mouth.
He had known these two would come.
As one of the Primordial World's most ambitious power players, Di Jun would never pass up an opportunity to increase his strength.
The power the three cultivators from the Western Lands had shown—and especially Taiyuan's unfathomable reserves—had clearly made him a prize in Di Jun's eyes.
"I'm hardly qualified to give you advice."
Taiyuan stood, but didn't walk over. He remained beside the Purple-Gold Eight Trigrams Furnace, looking at the two future Heavenly Emperors through the rising steam.
"But since you're here, you're our guests."
"So, fellow Daoists, would you like to talk about the finer things in life, or about the sort of business that could cost you your lives?"
Taiyuan smiled brightly.
But inside, his mind was already racing.
He had to get in touch with these two. The Heavenly Court they would establish in the future would control most of the Primordial World's resources.
But he had to keep the right distance.
Get too close, and when the Witch-Demon Tribulation began, he might get splattered with blood.
Stay too far away, and he'd miss out on the benefits.
Business partners.
That was the best arrangement for now.
"Since you think so highly of me, Daoist Di Jun, why don't we step aside and talk?" Taiyuan invited them, but there was nothing serene about the light in his eyes. It gleamed with the calculating edge of a shrewd merchant.
Di Jun was taken aback, then burst out laughing. "Just what I had in mind!"
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