Hongjun's gaze fell upon Styx.
It made Styx feel rather uncomfortable.
Fortunately, Hongjun merely glanced at him a few times before withdrawing his gaze.
Hongjun continued speaking from the high platform.
"I observe that the Primordial Wilderness is now rife with disputes and chaos. Therefore, I intend to appoint leaders of the male and female immortals to govern all immortals on my behalf."
Hongjun's tone was calm, yet his words stirred up enormous waves among the Three Thousand Great Powers below.
Styx did not care in the slightest.
He had long known this would happen.
In the original legends, Hongjun appointed leaders for the male and female immortals: Eastern Duke and Western Queen Mother.
Western Queen Mother was not much of a problem. After all, there were not many virtuous female immortals in the Primordial Wilderness, and most of them were reasonable, so she would not have much difficulty managing them.
Eastern Duke, however, was different.
After being chosen as the Leader of Male Immortals, Eastern Duke considered himself the foremost figure beneath Hongjun.
He even founded the vast Immortal Court, which became the third greatest force in the Primordial Wilderness after the Witch and Demon Clans.
Yet everything had its advantages and disadvantages.
Eastern Duke's strength was indeed fairly impressive, but he was not powerful enough to crush everyone else.
Not to mention those seated upon the Futons—even Di Jun, Eastern Emperor Taiyi, Fuxi, and the others below them were beyond his match.
Furthermore, the Immortal Court's rapid expansion aroused the dissatisfaction of both the Witch and Demon Clans.
The Witch Clan was still tolerable.
After all, the Immortal Court was based on overseas Penglai Island, while the Primordial Continent controlled by the Witch Clan had nothing to do with it.
The Primordial Wilderness cultivators recruited by the Immortal Court were also looked down upon by the Witch Clan.
But the Demon Clan was different.
The Demon Clan was originally a new concept formed after unifying the myriad races of the Primordial Wilderness.
Di Jun, the Demon Clan's ruler, knew very well that the Demon Clan was weaker than the Witch Clan.
Thus, they had to continuously absorb fresh blood into the Demon Clan.
The Immortal Court's rapid expansion made the Demon Clan feel threatened!
If all the fresh blood was absorbed by the Immortal Court, what would become of the Demon Clan?
Therefore, the Demon Clan ultimately chose to strike against the Immortal Court.
Eastern Duke eventually died miserably on Penglai Island.
In Styx's eyes, he was also a pitiable man.
Just as Styx's thoughts returned, Di Jun's voice rang out.
"Disciple reports to the Saint! My brother Eastern Emperor Taiyi and I were born bearing the will of the Sun Star. We intend to unite the myriad races of the Primordial Wilderness into one clan. May I recommend myself as the Leader of Male Immortals?"
Hongjun pondered for a moment before speaking slowly.
"I permit the establishment of the Demon Clan."
Di Jun's heart sank.
Hongjun had only permitted him to establish the Demon Clan. Did that not mean he had rejected Di Jun becoming the Leader of Male Immortals?
He felt somewhat dissatisfied.
In Di Jun's view,
even if he had not obtained a place upon the Futons, his strength was no weaker than those seated upon them.
Moreover, Hongjun had already agreed to let him establish the Demon Clan. Once he unified the myriad races of the Primordial Wilderness, he would certainly become one of its supreme figures. Why could he not become the Leader of Male Immortals?
"Hahaha! A feathered beast like you wants to become the Leader of Male Immortals? What wishful thinking!"
The moment those words were spoken, Di Jun was overwhelmed by humiliation and rage as he turned around.
"Who said that?!"
A burly man stood in the last row of the hall, still laughing heartily.
He was Zhu Rong, the Fire Ancestral Witch among the Twelve Ancestral Witches.
The Twelve Ancestral Witches had disliked Di Jun and Taiyi for a long time, so it was hardly surprising that Zhu Rong mocked Di Jun now.
After all, they had come to hear the teachings with the intent of giving it a try, only to find that, without primordial spirits, they could not understand a word Hongjun said.
They had wasted several thousand years for nothing, so they naturally harbored resentment.
Seeing her elder brother acting so recklessly, a young woman beside Zhu Rong stood and bowed.
"Please forgive my brother, Saint. He spoke out just now only because of his rash temperament; he had no intention of disrespecting the Saint."
Hou Tu stepped forward and apologized on Zhu Rong's behalf.
However, she apologized to Hongjun because Zhu Rong had caused a disturbance in the Purple Cloud Palace.
As for mocking Di Jun as a feathered beast?
Hou Tu had no intention of apologizing for that.
Di Jun's face darkened further.
After all that, aside from receiving permission to establish the Demon Clan, he had gained almost nothing.
Hou Tu pulled Zhu Rong back down to sit.
Hongjun showed no reaction to what had just happened and merely said,
"Eastern Duke, Western Queen Mother, step forward."
Two people immediately stood up.
The man wore an uncontrollable smile.
The woman wore a disbelieving and puzzled expression.
"You were formed from pure yang and pure yin qi, and you possess immense fortune. You may serve as the leaders of the male and female immortals."
Hongjun spoke calmly.
Whatever thoughts Eastern Duke and Western Queen Mother had, they both knelt and thanked Hongjun.
"Thank you for the Saint's favor!"
Hongjun nodded, then made a slight lifting gesture with his hand.
Eastern Duke and Western Queen Mother rose with the motion.
"I bestow upon you the Top Grade Innate Spiritual Treasures, the Dragon Head Crutch and the West Plain Color Cloud Boundary Flag, so that you may command the immortals!"
The crowd was once again shocked.
Hongjun choosing the two of them as the leaders of the male and female immortals had already been astonishing enough.
Yet in the next instant, Hongjun produced two Top Grade Innate Spiritual Treasures and gave them to the pair.
One had to know that more than ninety percent of the great powers of the Primordial Wilderness did not possess even a single Innate Spiritual Treasure!
Yet these two had obtained one each in the blink of an eye. How could others not be envious?
Eastern Duke and Western Queen Mother were naturally delighted as well.
However, Western Queen Mother was more restrained than Eastern Duke.
After all, Western Queen Mother also understood that excess was as bad as deficiency.
She had already received enough glory today. If she flaunted these Top Grade Innate Spiritual Treasures before everyone, someone might set their sights on her.
But Eastern Duke did not care at all. He lovingly displayed the Dragon Head Crutch in his hand for everyone to see.
This earned him another wave of jealous gazes.
"You may leave now. The next lecture will still be held ten thousand years from now."
Hongjun waved his hand, and the Three Thousand Great Powers were immediately sent out of the Purple Cloud Palace.
Styx ignored the people behind him and returned directly to the Primordial Wilderness.
He still needed to sort through what he had gained this time.
Two Law Leaves!
As long as he comprehended the laws upon them, he could break through immediately.
When everyone saw Styx leave in such haste, they did not pay much attention.
This great power of the Blood Sea had always acted alone.
If not for this lecture, many of them would likely never have known that a Great Luo Golden Immortal like Styx was hidden within the Blood Sea.
Aside from Styx, the Twelve Ancestral Witches and the others did not linger either.
Seeing so many great powers break through in cultivation after Hongjun's lecture, they were naturally anxious beyond measure.
They wished they could return to the Primordial Wilderness and cultivate at once.
Besides Styx and the Twelve Ancestral Witches, the most noteworthy person was Eastern Duke.
The moment he left the Purple Cloud Palace, Eastern Duke was surrounded by a crowd.
Naturally, these people had come to flatter Eastern Duke.
In their eyes, Eastern Duke had received the Saint's favor. If they built a good relationship with him now, perhaps Hongjun would remember them as well.
Eastern Duke, beaming with pride, naturally failed to notice that someone had already fixed him with a murderous gaze.
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