Going Out Is Out of the Question—Unless They're Offering Way Too Much

Mount Sumeru, where the years lay quiet and peaceful.

Taiyuan was lying on a specially made cloud-silk couch, enjoying a sunbath.

To his left were the Five-Needle Pine Nuts Jieyin had just shelled, and to his right was the finest spiritual tea Zhunti had just brewed with dew.

Life was even more immortal than an immortal's.

Suddenly.

Heaven and earth changed color.

An indescribably vast pressure instantly swept across the entire Primordial World.

It carried no killing intent, yet it stood high above all things. Like the descent of the Heavenly Dao, it made every living creature tremble from the depths of its soul.

Then heavenly flowers fell in profusion, and golden lotuses sprang from the earth.

Purple qi came from the east for thirty thousand miles, while rosy clouds filled the heavens and reflected against the firmament.

A detached yet majestic voice exploded in the minds of every living being:

"High atop the ninefold clouds I recline, upon a rush cushion realizing the true Dao.

"Beyond heaven and earth, dark and yellow, I shall be the honored master of the teachings.

"Pangu gave birth to Taiji; the Two Principles and Four Symbols followed their course.

"Leader of all the Mystic Gate, from one breath Hongjun was transformed.

"I am Hongjun, and I have now become a Saint. I shall expound the Great Dao at Purple Cloud Palace beyond the Thirty-three Heavens. All who are fated may come and listen."

When the voice fell silent, its echoes lingered, refusing to fade for a long while.

The entire Primordial World erupted.

Countless great powers awoke from seclusion. Whether it was the Three Pure Ones of Mount Kunlun, Di Jun and Tai Yi of the Sun Star, or Ming He of the Blood Sea, all wore fevered expressions as they transformed into Escape Light and shot into the sky, racing toward the Thirty-three Heavens.

A Saint!

The first Saint between heaven and earth!

If they could hear his teachings, they would surely obtain the opportunity to attain the Dao!

In contrast to the madness outside, Mount Sumeru was strangely silent.

Though the Mountain Protection Array had blocked most of the pressure, that voice had sounded directly in their hearts and could not be shielded at all.

Plop.

The spiritual fruit Zhunti had just peeled fell from his hand onto the ground.

His face was filled with uncertainty as he looked at the equally solemn Jieyin. At last, the two of them turned their gazes toward the Bamboo Hut in perfect unison.

"Elder Brother..."

Zhunti swallowed, his voice a little tight. "Hongjun... became a Saint? Should we go?"

If it had been before, upon hearing such news, the two brothers would have wept and rushed over shouting.

But things were different now.

Their family fortune was too substantial.

And they had just sent a Quasi-Saint-level Taotie off as flower fertilizer. For some reason, a baffling confidence had arisen in their hearts, making them feel that this so-called Saint might not be all that impressive after all.

Inside the Bamboo Hut.

Taiyuan slowly opened his eyes and let out a helpless sigh.

"So noisy."

"If he wants to give teachings, then give teachings. Why make such a huge spectacle? Doesn't he know he's disturbing the neighbors?"

He turned over, preparing to continue sleeping.

Go listen to the Dao?

What a joke.

Purple Cloud Palace was famously far away. He would have to pass through Chaos Airflow on the way there. Never mind the danger—the important thing was that it was exhausting.

And after getting there, he would have to fight for a seat. If he arrived late, there would not even be a rush cushion left, and he would have to stand there listening for several thousand years.

Wouldn't it be better to sleep a few more times at home and harvest a couple more crops of Spiritual Grain?

"Not going, not going."

Taiyuan muttered as he pulled the blanket over his head. "Whoever wants to go can go."

Just then.

That familiar mechanical voice rang in his mind like heavenly music.

[Ding! Hongjun has become a Saint, and the Purple Cloud Palace teachings have begun. Main quest issued:]

[Quest Content: Go to Purple Cloud Palace and check in, then successfully seize a slacking-off spot in a back-row corner (not limited to listening to the Dao; sleeping, eating snacks, and spacing out all count).]

[Quest Reward: Chaos Green Lotus Seed x1.]

[Note: The Chaos Green Lotus is the source of all treasures. Though it had shattered and transformed into countless Innate Spiritual Treasures, this seed contains a trace of complete Chaos origin. Once planted, it may have hope of restoring the splendor of the foremost spiritual root of Chaos.]

Taiyuan, beneath the covers, abruptly threw off the blanket and sat up.

His eyes shone, his breathing quickened.

A Chaos Green Lotus Seed?!

This system... really understood "farming"!

One had to know that the Pangu Axe, the Jade Disk of Creation, and the Chaos Green Lotus were known as the three great Chaos Supreme Treasures.

Later, the Chaos Green Lotus shattered. One mature lotus seed became the Thirty-Six-Grade Creation Green Lotus (which later differentiated into the Three Pure Ones' treasures for attaining the Dao), while three immature lotus seeds became the Twelve-Grade Golden Lotus of Merit, the Twelve-Grade Red Lotus of Karma Fire, and the Twelve-Grade Black Lotus of World Destruction.

Even its Lotus Petals and leaves became supreme spiritual treasures such as the Five-Directional Flags of Heaven and Earth and the He Tu Luo Shu.

If he could grow an intact Chaos Green Lotus...

Wouldn't that be the same as growing a wholesale market for spiritual treasures?

By then, Innate Supreme Treasures, supreme spiritual treasures—wouldn't he have as many as he wanted? That was truly a business with ten thousandfold returns on a single investment!

"Cough."

Taiyuan gave a light cough, straightened his slightly rumpled robes, and pushed open the door.

Outside, Jieyin and Zhunti were hesitating over whether to go in and call for him.

When they saw Taiyuan emerge, Zhunti hurried forward. "Elder Brother, Hongjun's sermon..."

"We're going."

With a grand sweep of his hand, Taiyuan's expression turned solemn, as though the man who had just said "not going" had never been him. "A Saint's sermon is a grand event for Heaven and Earth. Though we brothers possess peerless talent and need no one else's guidance, it would still be good to join the fun and broaden our horizons."

Really, it was mainly for the seed.

But he couldn't say that aloud. He had to preserve his image as an exalted master.

Upon hearing this, Jieyin nodded. "Elder Brother is right. But I hear the journey is long, and we must cross Chaos. The Eastern Lands are filled with powerful figures. Might we face danger on this trip?"

"Danger?"

Taiyuan glanced at him, the corner of his lips curving in an amused arc. "We're going to give Hongjun face. As long as we don't stir up trouble, who would dare touch us?"

"Besides."

"I hear the Eastern Lands are barren—at least compared to Mount Sumeru—and those cultivators are all poor as church mice. We'll need to bring plenty of provisions this time, lest we end up listening to the sermon on empty stomachs."

At the words "provisions," Zhunti's eyes immediately lit up.

This was right up his alley!

"Rest assured, Elder Brother!"

Zhunti patted his chest in assurance. "I'll go prepare them at once! A batch of Yellow Middle Plums on the back mountain has just ripened—I was thinking of bringing several hundred. And the Five-Needle Pine Nuts, I've roasted three hundred jin of them. I've also packed several hundred jars of Enlightenment Tea. Oh, and those 'Blood Dragon Fruit' grown from Taotie ashes taste pretty good. Should we bring two baskets for those Eastern bumpkins to try something new?"

Taiyuan nodded in satisfaction. "Third Brother is the sensible one. Bring more. When traveling, a poor household must travel rich. We may be low-key, but we can't wrong ourselves when it comes to food and drink."

"Got it!"

Zhunti dashed off excitedly to harvest the crops.

Jieyin stood to the side, the corners of his mouth twitching furiously.

Yellow Middle Plums? Those were legendary Dao fruits—just smelling one could grant ten thousand years of cultivation! Elder Brother wanted to bring several hundred as snacks?

And Enlightenment Tea—if even one leaf found its way outside, it could spark a bloody storm. Yet they were packing it by the jar?

This was simply... outrageously lavish!

But on second thought, Jieyin realized that Mount Sumeru was now covered from end to end with such things. Bringing some to eat on the road seemed perfectly reasonable?

These ten thousand years of farming had thoroughly raised the spending threshold of the three men of the Western Lands.

Before long.

Zhunti returned with two Mount Sumeru mustard-seed bags, each almost as large as a small mountain, a guileless smile on his face. "Elder Brother, it's all packed. How are we going? Flying there?"

"Flying?"

Taiyuan shook his head, his face full of disdain.

"The Thirty-three Heavens are so far away. How much dust would we have to breathe in if we flew there? And all that wind and sun would be terrible for the skin."

"We're going to hear the Dao, not fleeing from a disaster."

As he spoke, Taiyuan raised a hand and waved.

A dazzling Nine-Colored Divine Light instantly flooded the summit of Mount Sumeru.

Amid wave after wave of lofty, majestic dragon roars, an incomparably luxurious and striking chariot slowly appeared in the void.

The chariot was forged entirely from an unknown kind of violet-gold divine iron, adorned with carved beams and painted rafters in the utmost splendor. Countless gemstones radiating the power of stars were embedded across its body, every one of them containing terrifying energy fluctuations.

A massive canopy covered its roof, from which hung hundreds of millions of jeweled tassels. Every strand seemed like a divine chain of laws.

Most shocking of all were the creatures drawing the chariot.

They were no ordinary spirit beasts.

They were nine Five-Clawed Golden Dragons, each ten thousand zhang long, their bodies crystal-clear and gleaming, radiating the pure aura of true dragons!

Though these nine dragons were not physical entities, but dragon souls forged through some supreme puppet art, the majesty with which they looked down upon all beneath heaven was not the slightest bit weaker than Ancestor Dragon's in his day!

[Luxury Modified Edition · Nine Dragon Agarwood Carriage]

It had been a gift from the system during one of his sign-ins.

The original Nine Dragon Agarwood Carriage had been Primordial Heavenly Lord's mount, but anything produced by the system was bound to be a masterpiece.

Not only had this carriage been demonically modified with features such as a "panoramic sunroof," "genuine leather sofas," "automatic driving," "law-based shock absorption," and "high-speed cruise," but more importantly, its defenses had been stacked to the absolute limit.

Sitting inside, one could withstand not only Chaos Airflow, but even three to five strikes from a Saint.

"Th-This is...?"

Jieyin and Zhunti were completely dumbfounded.

Where had these two country bumpkins—though they were rich now, they still had not seen much of the world—ever witnessed such a spectacle?

This was Elder Brother's ride?

This was just... just... just too...!

"Get in."

Taiyuan took a step forward and drifted gracefully onto the broad, comfortable carriage. Finding the most comfortable position, he lay down, casually picked up a Yellow Middle Plum, and took a bite. Juice overflowed everywhere.

"What are you standing around for? Do you still want to go to Purple Cloud Palace or not?"

Jieyin and Zhunti came back to their senses and hurriedly scrambled onto the carriage.

Their feet sank into the long-haired carpet, soft as clouds, and the two of them felt as though they had fallen into a dream.

They looked here and touched there.

"Elder Brother, this seat... is so soft!"

"Elder Brother, this carriage even comes with a massage function?"

"Heavens, this glazed window can actually let us see the flow of laws outside?"

Watching his two worldly inexperienced junior brothers, Taiyuan found it amusing inside, though outwardly he wore the composed expression of someone for whom this was merely basic operation.

"Sit tight."

With a slight movement of his divine sense, Taiyuan issued an order to the nine dragon souls pulling the carriage.

"Destination: beyond the Thirty-three Heavens, Purple Cloud Palace."

"Roar—!!"

The nine dragons cried out in unison, their voices shaking the nine heavens.

The enormous agarwood carriage transformed into a streak of flowing light. Rather than tearing through space, it crushed directly through it in an incomparably tyrannical fashion, blasting toward the eastern horizon.

Its speed was simply inconceivable.

And its commotion was so immense that it was as if they feared others would not know they had left home.

As wind and lightning streaked past, the mountains and rivers of the Primordial World below rapidly receded.

Jieyin pressed himself against the window. Watching cultivators outside still painfully riding clouds and flying swords get flung far behind to breathe their exhaust, an unprecedented sense of superiority suddenly welled up in his heart.

"Junior Brother."

Jieyin turned to Zhunti, who was stuffing himself wildly, and sighed with deep emotion. "I suddenly feel that going to the Eastern Lands... doesn't seem so frightening anymore."

Zhunti's mouth was stuffed full of Five-Needle Pine Nuts. He said indistinctly, "Of course. Following Elder Brother, we'll starve for nine meals in three days... pfft, I mean, we'll feast and drink well every day!"

Listening to their conversation, Taiyuan smiled faintly, closed his eyes, and began to rest.

Purple Cloud Palace, three thousand guests of the mortal world.

The Three Pure Ones, Nuwa, Fuxi, Di Jun, Tai Yi...

This time.

I will let all living beings of the Primordial World see just what they call...

the grandeur of the Western Lands' richest man!