Outside Golden Ao Island, the sea of clouds churned.
Grand Pure Sage Laozi stood silently in the void, his plain Dao robe utterly unmoved by the fierce winds.
His expression was calm as an ancient well, as though he had merged with the surrounding heaven and earth.
Yet deep within those eyes that had seen ancient vicissitudes, an exceedingly faint ripple flashed past.
The anomaly that had just soared into the heavens from Golden Ao Island could not escape the notice of a Heavenly Dao Sage like him.
Auspicious clouds stretched for millions of miles, Ethereal Immortal Music drifted through the air, Earthly Golden Lotuses bloomed, Chaos Phantoms stood in escort...
This was absolutely not the sign of an ordinary Daluo Golden Immortal's breakthrough!
What shook his mind even more was the Chaos God Demon Dao Rhyme faintly emanating from the heart of that anomaly, something that had existed only before World Creation!
"Chaos God Demon Pedigree..."
Laozi murmured inwardly, and ripples stirred in his tranquil Dao Heart.
He knew the pedigrees of the Jie Sect Myriad Immortals like the back of his hand.
Duobao, Jin Ling, Wu Dang, Gui Ling... they possessed nothing more than top-tier Innate Pedigrees.
Zhao Gongming and the likes of San Xiao were no exception.
The Seven Attendant Immortals and Outer Disciples were even more uneven in quality.
Even those with unusual pedigrees could never possibly reach the level of Chaos!
Yet that anomaly just now could not have been false.
The Origin Qi that had invoked a Great Dao Celebration and Chaos Escort was unmistakably that of a true Chaos God Demon Pedigree!
When had another Chaos Pedigree emerged in the Great Wilderness? And why had it appeared on Tongtian's Golden Ao Island?
And besides...
Laozi's gaze seemed to pierce through layer upon layer of void, falling upon a Desolate Cave Mansion at the edge of the island.
"Xuandu..."
He spoke the name in a low voice.
This child's fate had originally been clear. He was meant to enter the Human Sect and inherit the Dao of Purity and Non-Action.
Yet an unexpected change had arisen. His heart had turned toward the Jie Sect, and he had vanished without a trace beneath Shouyang Mountain before appearing in the East Sea.
And now, only a few days after joining the Jie Sect...
An anomaly of a Chaos God Demon Pedigree had appeared on Golden Ao Island!
A coincidence?
Laozi's gaze shifted slightly as he performed Heavenly Secret Deduction.
The Heavenly Secret remained Chaos. The fate connected to this child was obscured by an Invisible Force.
But his Sage intuition pointed toward a single answer.
The one who had caused that Chaos Anomaly was Xuandu!
"How could a Human Race pedigree reach such a state?"
Even Laozi could not help but feel stormy waves rise within his heart at this moment.
When Nuwa Creates Humans and became Sage Through Merit, he had understood better than anyone the potential of the Human Race she had created.
They had been made after birth, their foundations inherently shallow.
Even with Taiyi Golden Elixirs and Nine Revolutions Spirit Medicine, they could only be improved slightly. They could never return to the innate state, much less directly reach Chaos!
This could no longer be explained by opportunity or fortune.
It simply overturned all understanding and violated the natural principles of the Great Dao!
This child must possess a heaven-shaking secret that even a Sage found difficult to see through!
Just as Laozi's thoughts raced and he deduced the Heavenly Secret.
The void before him rippled faintly.
A Green Clad Figure silently emerged.
He had sword-shaped eyebrows and starry eyes, with a tall, upright bearing. Sharp Sword Intent of Intercepting Heaven Taking Dao flowed naturally around him.
It was none other than Sect Leader Tongtian.
"Elder Brother."
Tongtian cupped his hands in greeting, a perfectly measured hint of confusion on his face.
"What wind has blown you from the tranquil lands of Shouyang Mountain to my bustling Golden Ao Island?"
He looked calmly at Laozi, yet he already understood everything in his heart.
The commotion Xuandu had caused was too great. It had ultimately alerted Laozi.
Laozi withdrew his gaze from the island and looked toward Tongtian, his expression still indifferent.
"The anomaly Above Golden Ao Island was startling just now."
His calm tone made it sound as if he were stating a simple fact.
"Chaos Qi filled the air, and the Great Dao celebrated. It seemed a Chaos Pedigree had emerged."
Hearing this, Sect Leader Tongtian raised an eyebrow. A trace of surprise appeared on his face at the right moment before turning into a smile.
"So Elder Brother has come for this matter."
With a sweep of his sleeve robe, he pointed toward the lingering rosy clouds above the island that had yet to fully disperse.
"It was merely one of my disciples obtaining an opportunity and Condensing Three Flowers, which triggered a few Heaven and Earth Anomalies."
"I have troubled Elder Brother to inquire about it personally."
With those casual words, he reduced that horrifying Chaos Anomaly to nothing more than a few Heaven and Earth Anomalies.
Laozi's face remained calm as an old well, revealing neither joy nor anger. He merely gave Tongtian a deep look.
"Since when did a Chaos God Demon Pedigree become merely a few?"
Sect Leader Tongtian laughed heartily. Sword Intent flowed naturally around him, dispersing some of the Wu Wei Dao Rhyme Laozi had brought with him.
"The Great Wilderness is vast. There is nothing too strange within it."
"It is only natural for disciples to encounter some opportunities."
"Elder Brother established the Human Sect and teaches Wu Wei Dao and purity. Why are you so curious about my disciples today?"
His tone was casual, but his gaze met Laozi's without yielding in the slightest.
The two Sages faced one another in the void outside Golden Ao Island.
One bore an Indifferent and Non-Action Aura, like the Heavenly Dao hanging high above, treating all things as mere straw dogs.
The other had Sword Intent soaring to the heavens, like a sharp sword leaving its sheath, seeking to Seize a Thread of Life.
Invisible Great Dao ripples collided in the void.
Below them, the waves of the East Sea across tens of thousands of miles instantly froze, as if sealed by an Invisible Force.
Countless aquatic creatures fled in terror into the deep sea, trembling all over.
On Golden Ao Island, the Myriad Immortals were alarmed once more.
One powerful strand of Spiritual Sense after another cautiously extended outward. Upon touching the even more terrifying and obscure clash of Saintly Might beyond the island, they recoiled in horror.
Daoist Duobao, Saint Mother Jinling, Zhao Gongming, the Three Goddesses of Xiao...
Personal Disciples and the Seven Attendant Immortals appeared one after another, gazing toward the outside of the island with incomparably grave expressions.
"It is Grand Pure Sage! Why has he returned again?"
Bi Xiao covered her mouth and cried out softly, her beautiful eyes filled with shock and doubt.
"Master is confronting Uncle-Master Taiqing..."
"Could it still be because of Junior Brother Xuandu?"
At her side, Qiong Xiao's delicate brows drew tightly together.
Yun Xiao's expression was cold. Her gaze pierced through the void and fell upon Laozi's seemingly ordinary figure as she said solemnly:
"Uncle-Master Taiqing's aura may be faint, but his Dao Rhyme is in harmony with the Heavenly Dao, restrained but ready to strike."
"His arrival this time is anything but ordinary."
Zhao Gongming stroked his Golden Whip, his thick brows tightly furrowed.
"It must have been the anomaly from earlier. Uncle-Master Taiqing must have sensed it..."
Daoist Duobao stood before everyone, his expression grave as thoughts raced through his mind.
Who exactly had caused such an anomaly?
It had actually drawn the attention of two Sages in succession?
In the void outside the island.
Laozi neither confirmed nor denied Tongtian's retort. His gaze turned once more toward the Desolate Cave Mansion.
"Was the disciple who caused the anomaly Xuandu?"
He revealed it outright. His tone was calm, but it carried the unique majesty of a Heavenly Dao Sage.
Sect Leader Tongtian's gaze shifted slightly. Knowing he could not conceal it, he no longer beat around the bush.
"Correct. It was Xuandu."
He admitted it openly, and the Sword Intent around him surged another threefold.
"This child is destined to be connected with my Jie Sect. He entered under my tutelage and received the Great Dao's favor. It is his own fortune."
Upon hearing this, an exceedingly faint ripple passed through Laozi's calm eyes.
So it truly was Xuandu.
The one who had invoked the Chaos Anomaly and possessed a Chaos God Demon Pedigree was actually this child!
Could Tongtian have long known that Xuandu possessed such a heaven-defying opportunity?
Was that why, even when he had personally come to Golden Ao Island that day, this Third Brother had been willing to slightly offend his Elder Brother's dignity and stubbornly insist on taking Xuandu as his disciple?
As this thought arose, even Laozi's Dao Heart, calm as an old well, stirred with slight ripples.
He raised his gaze slightly and looked toward Tongtian.
Sensing Laozi's gaze, Sect Leader Tongtian curled his lips into a barely discernible smile but said nothing.
Some matters did not need to be spoken aloud.
They both understood.
Laozi's expression did not change. In an instant, his Saint Heart had deduced countless possibilities.
Since matters had reached this point, Xuandu had already entered the Jie Sect, triggered the Chaos Anomaly, transformed his foundation into that of a Chaos God Demon, and reached the Zenith Heaven Golden Immortal Peak.
His fate had become tightly bound to the Jie Sect's Fortune and could no longer be separated.
There was no use in forcing the matter. It would only cost him his purity.
The Wu Wei Dao followed nature.
He gave Tongtian a deep look, his gaze seeming to pierce through the void before falling once more upon the place where Xuandu was within the island.
The variables surrounding him were growing ever greater.
The future Great Wilderness might give rise to countless waves because of him.
So be it.
Laozi had already made his decision. He spoke no further.
The Indifferent and Non-Action Aura around him flowed slightly as he prepared to turn and leave.
Since he had understood the Karma, there was no need to remain here any longer.
However, just as his body was about to move.
"Hmph!"
A cold snort suddenly rang through the void without warning!
The sound was not loud, yet it carried a majesty that stood above all things. In an instant, it suppressed the surging waves of the East Sea and froze the cloud qi across billions of miles!
On Golden Ao Island, the Myriad Immortals changed expression in unison!
Daoist Duobao, Saint Mother Jinling, and the other Personal Disciples suddenly raised their heads, their eyes full of horror!
Another Sage?
Sect Leader Tongtian's Sword Eyebrows rose sharply, and fierce Sword Intent burst from his eyes, stabbing toward A Certain Place in the Void.
Laozi's departing figure paused slightly before slowly turning back.
For the first time, a faint trace of helplessness clearly appeared on his calm face.
The void not far from Laozi's side rippled open.
Strands of Jade Purity Immortal Light flowed forth, condensing into the phantom of a White Jade Golden Bridge stretching across the sky.
Upon the golden bridge, a middle-aged Daoist quietly appeared.
He wore a Yuqing Dao Robe, his face stern and majestic, Stars within his eyes, while vast and solemn Saintly Might radiated from his body.
The moment he appeared, the surrounding Heaven and Earth Rules naturally bowed to him, and the order of all things regarded him as supreme!
It was none other than the Sage Yuqing, Primordial Heavenly Venerate!
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