Preaching, Spiritual Wisdom Grows

First, Zhenyuanzi began.

He did not speak of those overly profound and obscure principles directly pointing to the Primordial Chaos Great Dao of the Earth Law. Instead, he started from how the primordial chaos split open to create the world, how the clear and turbid separated, and elaborated on how Yinyang gave birth to the Five Elements, and how the Five Elements gave birth to the myriad things.

His voice was grand and calm, as thick and reliable as the boundless, endless earth. Between every word and sentence was contained the most fundamental understanding and love for this heaven and earth.

That vast and gentle ripple of divine thought, mixed with his unique aura as the incarnation of the earth, was like warm sunlight shining on frozen soil. It nourished the extremely tender, seemingly flickering spark of spirituality within the Golden Dragon's body with delicate and lasting persistence, building the "foundation" of cognition for its world.

As Zhenyuanzi lectured, golden lotuses sprouted from the earth in the courtyard, sweet springs appeared from the void, and strands of pure Houtu Vital Energy were drawn up from the depths of the earth.

They turned into visible yellow threads of light, gently winding around the Golden Dragon's body, slowly seeping into each and every dragon scale, causing the Xuanhuang Golden Light to seem even more restrained and profound.

Zhenyuanzi lectured for eighty-one days before pausing.

The spark of spirituality within the Golden Dragon's body had stabilized from its initial faintness. It was like a candle flame in the wind that had become a lamp wick set within a glass lantern—still weak, but no longer flickering, and faintly revealing a steady quality.

Next was Lord Wanshouyuan.

He smiled slightly. A great green light blazed around him, and behind him, the phantom of a towering tree faintly appeared, its branches and leaves rustling, radiating endless vitality.

He began to lecture on the way of Wood Vitality, speaking of how seeds break through the soil, how tender shoots sprout branches, how the myriad things grow and flourish, how the Four Seasons cycle repeats, and the infinite principles of creation hidden within life and death.

His voice was clear and full of vitality. Every syllable seemed to carry the freshness of morning dew and the fragrance of the forest.

His Dao resonance was not as thick as Zhenyuanzi's.

Instead, it was like Spring Wind and Rain—delicate, ethereal, seeping into every inch of the Golden Dragon's body without missing a single spot. It stirred the instinctive desire and vitality for "life" within the newborn spirituality, guiding it to perceive the beautiful and subtle changes of the outside world, to experience the joy of "existence."

As he lectured, the Four Symbols Plantain Tree in the courtyard rustled loudly, scattering a rain of green light specks like countless green spirits, joyfully merging into the Golden Dragon's body.

All around, a hundred flowers bloomed in competition, exotic grasses emitted fragrance, and the dense vitality nearly turned into substance.

Lord Wanshouyuan also lectured for eighty-one days.

The spark of spirituality within the Golden Dragon's body was no longer a simple spark. It had expanded several times, becoming a hazy ball of light-fog. Within it, even extremely faint emotional fluctuations began to emanate—the joy and curiosity for "life."

Finally, it was Hongyun's turn.

He had long been unable to contain himself. Seeing Lord Wanshouyuan finish speaking, he immediately took over, the most enthusiastic and eager. Because he himself had attained the Dao as Hongyun, his original nature had much in common with part of the power contained within the Golden Dragon (the Qi of wind, water, and fire).

He spoke of the vastness and boundlessness of the sky, the unrestrained freedom of Flowing Wind, the ever-changing nature of clouds and mists, the shocking creation of thunder and lightning. He even unreservedly blended in some of his own insights into merit and Profound Yellow Qi.

His voice was not as thick as Zhenyuanzi's, nor as clear as Lord Wanshouyuan's. Instead, it carried a refreshing elegance and agility, now distant, now near, now high, now low, as if he truly were the drifting clouds of the sky, completely unfettered.

His Dao was light and full of imagination, as if using his voice to paint a vast, boundless, and splendid picture of heaven and earth for the ignorant spirituality, strongly attracting it to actively explore, understand, and embrace this wondrous world.

Hongyun got carried away in his lecture, even manifesting part of his original form. A mass of crimson auspicious clouds rolled above his head, sometimes turning into wind, sometimes giving birth to fire, sometimes stirring faint thunder sounds, vividly interpreting the Dao of the sky.

The Dao resonance he spoke was like the most suitable nourishment, greedily absorbed by the spiritual light-fog within the Golden Dragon's body.

Three great beings took turns lecturing, each displaying their strengths.

What they taught was not the profound techniques of a single system, but the All-encompassing way of enlightenment, the way of cognition, the way of existing in the world. Aimed at building a complete and positive foundation of world cognition for this newborn intelligence, gently guiding its wisdom light to grow, accelerating the process of its spiritual maturity.

This process, for themselves, was also a re-sorting and re-examination of the foundation of the Great Dao, bringing them unexpected gains.

The two little Daoist Children, Qingfeng and Mingyue, naturally listened on the side, utterly captivated.

Although what the Masters lectured was the most basic enlightenment Dao, spoken personally by three Zenith Heaven Golden Immortals, every word was a gem, containing ultimate truth. The Great Dao is Simple. It was infinitely beneficial for them to consolidate their Primordial Unity Golden Immortal cultivation and strengthen their foundation.

And they were filled with childlike curiosity toward that beautiful and majestic Golden Dragon that was in the process of being "born."

Every time a Master paused in his lecture, the two little Daoist Children would tiptoe over to the Golden Dragon.

Qingfeng was bolder. He would reach out his small, fair hand and gently, carefully touch the cold yet warm dragon scales that shimmered with Merit Golden Light. Where his hand touched, there was a strange warmth from the origin of life itself, making him feel very comfortable and close, so he couldn't help but touch again and again.

Mingyue was more cautious. She mostly opened her round, black-grape-like eyes wide, carefully examining the naturally formed, complex and profound runes on the dragon's body, her little face full of awe.

Occasionally, she would gather her courage, use her fingertip to quickly touch the tip of a dragon claw larger than her entire body, then jerk her hand back like a startled rabbit, hiding behind Qingfeng. But her face was filled with irrepressible excitement and a curious smile.

The Golden Dragon's massive body remained still, without any movement. But the ball of spiritual light-fog inside it, under the continuous and unreserved Dao resonance nourishment of the three Zenith Heaven Golden Immortals, and the daily "companionship" and touches of the two lively, curious Daoist Children, was visibly (spiritually visible) growing stronger, more condensed, becoming clearer and more agile bit by bit.

That ignorant consciousness began to learn to capture the Dao resonance of the outside world more clearly, and began to develop an extremely faint, almost instinctive feeling of closeness and dependence toward those gentle touches...

Within Wuzhuang Temple, the Dao resonance lingered, unceasing for a long time. The golden light of merit and Profound Yellow Qi intertwined with the green light of Wood Vitality, illuminating Zhenyuanzi's simple and unadorned, dignified face, Lord Wanshouyuan's detached and transcendent figure, Hongyun's fervent and expectant expression, and the two Daoist Children's innocent and carefree silhouettes—a scene of complete peace and sanctity.

The three great beings were full of anticipation, the two Daoist Children were innocent and curious. All Are patiently waiting for the complete blossoming of the intelligence of an extraordinary life, one that inherited Pangu's Legacy and gathered merit and Profound Yellow Qi.

Time seemed to lose its meaning within this primordial cave heaven. Only the ever-growing spiritual wisdom light within the Golden Dragon's body proclaimed that creation was unfolding.