"Vmmm."
The void rippled silently.
A grey-clad figure slowly stepped out of the ripples.
White hair fell to his shoulders. His face was ancient, his gaze indifferent.
Dao Ancestor Hongjun.
He stood before the Samsara Seal with his hands clasped behind his back. His aura was restrained and unfathomable, not a trace of pressure leaking out.
Yet that invisible oppressive force weighed on Zhen Yuanzi's heart like a mountain.
Zhen Yuanzi swayed, nearly falling to his knees.
He gritted his teeth and forced himself to steady his body, then bowed:
"Zhen Yuanzi pays his respects to Dao Ancestor."
Hongjun did not look at him.
He merely raised his eyes to the goose-yellow figure atop the Samsara Seal.
Houtu was looking at him too.
Their gazes met in the void.
One indifferent, the other calm.
One deep as a sea of stars, the other vast as the earth.
"Fellow Daoist Houtu."
Hongjun spoke slowly, his voice devoid of emotion:
"Congratulations."
The two words held neither sorrow nor joy, anger nor menace.
Houtu smiled faintly.
Her smile was subtle, but carried the ease of someone finally relieved of a burden.
"Thank you, Dao Ancestor."
She spoke calmly:
"You've finally come out."
Hongjun's gaze shifted slightly.
He naturally understood the meaning behind Houtu's words.
She had been trapped in the Netherworld, unable to take a single step outside.
Now that her shackles had broken, she was finally free.
But the price of that freedom was too great.
Great enough to shake the Great Wilderness Foundation, great enough to change the balance of the Heavenly Dao.
"With the Earth Book returned to its place, the Earth Dao has reached perfection."
Hongjun spoke slowly:
"Fellow Daoist Houtu, what a fine method."
Houtu shook her head:
"It was not my doing."
"It was an opportunity."
"It