Hangu Pass.
Laozi rode the Green Ox, the rules of the Great Dao flowing around him.
Just as he wandered through the void in spirit, comprehending the Great Dao, a figure appeared atop Hangu Pass's city wall. He stepped forward, lotus flowers blooming beneath his feet, and appeared before Laozi.
"Amitabha!"
"Fellow Daoist, prepare to die!"
Saint Zhunti addressed Laozi with a benevolent smile.
His cultivation had once been at the Mid Heavenly Dao Saint level, but after reincarnating at the Heavenly Dao Origin and appearing in the world ahead of time, it had fallen to the Early-stage Heavenly Dao Saint level.
But beneath a saint, all were mere ants!
Saint Zhunti was more than powerful enough to deal with Laozi.
"Do you intend to make an enemy of me?"
Laozi opened his eyes. The Hunyuan Dao technique he had been building had yet to take shape.
With a light wave of his jade sleeve, the Tao Te Ching conjured countless wondrous visions. Three thousand divine patterns floated in the air, forcibly pressing the rules of the Great Dao into his body.
Yet even so, Laozi still hadn't Proved the Dao as a Hunyuan Grand Unity Golden Immortal.
That single step away seemed as impassable as a heavenly chasm.
"To hear the Dao in the morning, and die content in the evening!"
"This is the Great Dao—and the tide of destiny!"
As Laozi and Saint Zhunti faced off, a figure emerged from within Hangu Pass. It was Confucius, the founder of Confucianism, with three thousand disciples following behind him.
He saw Laozi's predicament but made no move to help.
After all, although they had once been on friendly terms, their exchanges had only been scholarly discussions in keeping with propriety. Their relationship wasn't close enough for him to fight for