The Sermon Begins, the Golden Crow Didn't Come?

Purple Cloud Palace is located beyond the Thirty-Three Heavens, at the edge where the chaos meets the Primordial World.

To enter Purple Cloud Palace, one must traverse the Nine Heavens Thunder Layer and the Thirty-Three Heavens Gale, cleaving through the violent chaotic energy. Within these, all manner of illusions manifest; should one's Dao heart be unstable, the backlash could not only prevent one from entering the palace to hear the sermon but also shatter one's very foundation of the Dao.

After surviving these various perils, one must still cross the River of Time to reach the gates of Purple Cloud Palace.

Those lacking great fortune, great blessings, great perseverance, or great divine powers are, as Hongjun puts it, without affinity.

Time is not recorded in the Primordial World, and in the blink of an eye, three thousand years passed.

Purple Cloud Palace.

Those who were meant to arrive had arrived, and those who were not, naturally, could not. Jieyin and Zhun Ti, the last to appear, successfully secured the best Prayer Mats after a display of theatrics.

This gave the gathered mighty figures their first taste of the shamelessness of these two strangely dressed Daoists.

Yet, they merely scoffed; not understanding the significance of those six Prayer Mats, they could not be bothered to fight for them.

Just as Jieyin and Zhun Ti sat upon the mats, the six seats aligned with the celestial numbers, and Hongjun manifested.

Instantly, the entire Purple Cloud Palace fell silent. The mighty figures rose in unison to pay their respects, all the while unable to resist stealing glances at him.

He was a white-haired, elderly Daoist, yet his aura was ethereal and obscure. Though he stood right before their eyes, he felt to the assembly like the Heavenly Dao itself—lofty, supreme, and impossible to fathom.

So powerful! Is this what a Sage is?

Obscure as the sea, unfathomable, indescribable!

The mighty figures were secretly shaken. Although Hongjun had not displayed his strength, a mere glance was enough to make them feel an invisible pressure.

Seeing the reaction of the crowd, Hongjun nodded slightly, appearing quite satisfied. His gaze fell, without a trace, upon those in the front row: the Three Pure Ones, Nuwa, Jieyin, and Zhun Ti.

With the key figures all present, he was even more pleased, and he slowly began to speak: "Good. From now on, sit in your current positions; they are not to be changed."

As he spoke, he looked toward the back, his gaze sweeping like a searchlight.

One circle, two circles, three circles...

It was endless.

The mighty figures were somewhat bewildered, their eyes filled with suspicion and confusion. Why did Hongjun seem so strange?

What was the Sage looking for?

Round and round, it went on without end.

At this moment, Hongjun himself was baffled, his mind filled with question marks.

He hadn't noticed before, but now that he looked, he was shocked.

Two important people were missing; they were nowhere to be seen.

As a Sage, he had naturally already divined a portion of the heavenly secrets. The key figures of the future tribulation, those two Golden Crows from the Sun Star, had actually not come!

His purpose in preaching this time was to absorb the fortune of these mighty figures to accelerate his process of merging with the Dao.

The protagonists of the next tribulation were absent, which was no small loss for him.

Could they still be on the way?

At this thought, Hongjun's eyes flickered as he secretly began to calculate.

Not here?

He cast his gaze toward the Sun Star, piercing through all illusions, and finally sensed two auras.

It would have been better if he hadn't looked; this glance nearly made Hongjun laugh in frustration.

He finally understood why these two fellows hadn't come.

After all this time, their cultivation had yet to break through to the Zenith Heaven Golden Immortal realm.

They were quite self-aware, knowing they couldn't enter Purple Cloud Palace, so they simply didn't come.

How could they be such trash?

At this moment, Hongjun actually felt a flicker of worry. If things continued this way, there would be no Witch-Demon War—it would be a one-sided slaughter.

A single Ancestral Witch would be enough to pin them down and crush them.

Hongjun frowned in secret. It was his own haste; had he known these two Golden Crows were of such low cultivation, he would have delayed the sermon.

Forget it, I shall be more mindful next time.

Thinking this to himself, Hongjun resolved that at the next sermon, he must bring these two Golden Crows here.

Just as the mighty figures were about to lose their patience, Hongjun finally withdrew his thoughts and began to speak.

"This time, I shall preach the Dao of Zenith Heaven. The duration is three thousand years; you must all listen with intent."

"Before the heaven and earth were formed, there was something chaotic and complete, born before heaven and earth, silent and void..."

"The Dao of Zenith Heaven, the Three Flowers gathering at the crown, the Five Qis returning to the origin, based on your own comprehension of the rules of heaven and earth..."

Meanwhile.

On the Sun Star, Ling Xiao slowly opened his eyes. After three thousand years of hard work, his cultivation had finally broken through to the Zenith Heaven Golden Immortal realm, just in time for Hongjun's lecture.

I wonder what kind of expression Hongjun will have when he discovers that Di Jun and Tai Yi didn't go to listen to his sermon.

Ling Xiao thought to himself, a smile tugging at the corner of his lips.

Finally, I've reached the Zenith Heaven Golden Immortal realm; now I can begin to comprehend the Laws.

For him, this would be a monumental transformation. With enlightenment treasures like the Chaos Bead and the Jade Plate of Creation, his cultivation speed would likely be even faster than it was during his Primordial Unity Golden Immortal days.

Thinking of this, Ling Xiao took out the Chaos Bead and the Jade Plate of Creation.

Both of these items contained Great Dao Laws, and they could be used in tandem perfectly.

Although the Jade Plate of Creation was only a fragment, the complete version was a Chaos Supreme Treasure; it was instrumental in Hongjun's path to becoming a Sage and merging with the Dao.

Thus, Ling Xiao held the Chaos Bead in one hand and the fragment of the Jade Plate of Creation in the other.

For him, the path most compatible and easiest to comprehend was naturally the path of his origin: the Law of Yang.

Born from the sun, no living being understood the sun better than he did.

Naturally, his comprehension of it would be the fastest.

Beyond that, there was the Law of Fire.

These two Laws were uniquely suited to him, almost as if he were born for them.

Ling Xiao planned to start with these two Laws to boost his strength first, leaving the more profound and complex Laws for later.

On the other side.

Over these three thousand years, Di Jun and Tai Yi had finally reached the perfection of the Primordial Unity Golden Immortal realm and were currently attempting to break through to the Zenith Heaven Golden Immortal realm.

Purple Cloud Palace.

Three thousand years flashed by in an instant. As Hongjun's final note of the Dao faded, the various great beings slowly awakened, their faces filled with lingering attachment to the experience.

Pleasant times always pass too quickly.

Before they knew it, three thousand years had passed.

During these three thousand years, everyone had achieved some degree of breakthrough, their understanding of the Dao had deepened, and the path ahead had become incredibly clear.

Among them, those with powerful foundations—the Three Pure Ones, Nuwa, the two Sages from the West, Fuxi, Kunpeng, Zhenyuanzi, and others—had reached at least the mid-stage of the Zenith Heaven Golden Immortal realm, with some even reaching the late stage.

The only great being who had not made a breakthrough was the Ancestral Witch Houtu. She had only come to join the crowd, curious to see if Hongjun's lecture would be of any help to the Ancestral Witches.

Unfortunately, their Witch Clan did not cultivate the Primordial Spirit, so the Dao Hongjun preached was naturally useless to them.

"This lecture ends here."

Hongjun spoke indifferently. Seeing that all the great beings had awakened, he continued.

"The next lecture will be held in ten thousand years."

"I shall preach the path of the Quasi-Sage."

Hongjun intentionally left them in suspense. As his voice faded, his figure vanished, leaving no opportunity for anyone to ask questions.

At this moment, waves of shock were already surging through the hearts of the great beings.

The path of the Quasi-Sage!

It was the first time they had learned that there was a Quasi-Sage realm between the Zenith Heaven Golden Immortal and the Sage.

For a time, every great being was filled with anticipation.