Hongjun: Little Friend, Please Stay!

Less than half an hour after Tianlu left the Kunlun Mountain range and began flying toward Mount Buzhou, the pitch-black tribulation clouds in the sky suddenly churned and contracted without warning, vanishing into thin air in the blink of an eye.

The deafening thunderclaps ceased abruptly, and warm sunlight once again spilled across the Primordial World.

This sudden change forced Tianlu to bring his cloud to a halt.

He paused, tilting his head to stare at the azure sky in confusion.

Could it be that the old geezer, the Heavenly Dao, has given up?

Tianlu curled his lip, a trace of disappointment actually rising in his heart.

Whatever, he wasn't used to the Heavenly Dao suddenly cutting off the special effects.

Without the accompaniment of the Purple Heaven Divine Lightning, he felt this treasure-hunting journey lacked a certain flair.

Shaking his head, Tianlu prepared to continue steering his cloud toward Mount Buzhou.

Just then, a voice that sounded slightly weathered yet calm and upright suddenly rang out from behind him, clearly reaching his ears.

"Young friend, please, stay your steps!"

These six airy words, falling into Tianlu's ears, felt like the most terrifying curse in the Primordial World.

It caused Tianlu to react instantly, every single one of his golden hairs standing on end.

Please, stay your step!

As a transmigrator who had read countless Primordial World novels in his past life, this phrase was like thunder to his ears.

During the Investiture of the Gods, Shen Gongbao's "Fellow Daoist, please stay your step" was a death sentence that could stop gods and slaughter Buddhas.

It had forcibly sent the ten thousand immortals of the Jie Sect onto the Investiture of the Gods, causing countless Zenith Heaven Golden Immortals and Quasi-Sage powerhouses to perish.

Now, in this desolate wilderness, someone was actually shouting "please stay your step" at him?!

Regardless of who it was, even if it were the Heavenly Dao manifest, he had to run first!

The Law of Space within Tianlu erupted instantly, and his mana as a mid-stage Zenith Heaven Golden Immortal poured out without reservation.

Behind him, above the sea of clouds, an old Daoist wearing a dark robe and holding a horsetail whisk watched Tianlu's fleeing back, his expression turning as dark as the bottom of a pot.

He looked down at his own attire—the very image of a transcendent immortal—and stroked his long beard, feeling deeply depressed.

Do I really look like one of those cold-blooded Primordial demons?

I radiate an aura of peace and righteousness, so why does this little Pixiu act like he's seen the most terrifying Sha in the world the moment I ask him to stop, running faster than anyone?

It makes no sense!

But the Creation Green Lotus was of great importance and could not be taken away by this variable. Hongjun shook his head, stopped overthinking, and gave his whisk a gentle wave.

In an instant, the space ahead was torn apart as easily as a thin sheet of paper. Hongjun stepped into the spatial rift, his figure vanishing from the spot.

On the other side, Tianlu was flying headlong, pushing the Law of Space to its limit. The space behind him collapsed inch by inch, turning into a brilliant silver stream of light.

He kept looking back as he ran, secretly congratulating himself on his speed.

However, the moment he turned his head back, a massive rift tore open in the void ahead without warning.

Hongjun had just stepped halfway out of the rift and hadn't even found his footing.

Tianlu's massive Pixiu true form, carrying the terrifying kinetic energy of a mid-stage Zenith Heaven Golden Immortal, slammed into him like a falling primordial star.

"BOOM!"

A heaven-shaking explosion erupted in mid-air. The violent ripples of mana turned into tangible waves, sweeping in all directions and instantly tearing the sea of clouds for ten thousand miles into shreds.

Amidst the sky full of dust and spatial fragments, a golden figure crashed toward the earth below like a meteor.

Accompanied by earth-shaking tremors, a massive crater was gouged into the hard ground of the Primordial World, with cracks spreading for thousands of miles.

Tianlu lay at the bottom of the crater, shaking his furry head in a daze.

"Strange, with such a violent impact, why don't I feel any pain at all?"

"Not only did it not hurt, but the ground beneath me felt soft and cushioned, as if I were lying on something."

Just as Tianlu muttered his confusion, a gritted, aged voice came from beneath him.

"Because you are sitting on me!"

Immediately following this, a gentle yet vast power erupted from beneath Tianlu, directly tossing his heavy Pixiu true form into the air.

Tianlu performed a somersault in mid-air and landed firmly on all fours, kicking up a cloud of dust.

He raised his head, his eyes warily sizing up the disheveled old Daoist who was currently brushing the dust off his robe.

Although the old Daoist looked slightly disheveled, his unfathomable cultivation was like an abyss or the sea, so deep that even Tianlu's mid-stage Zenith Heaven Golden Immortal divine sense could not reach its edge.

Tianlu's heart tightened, but on the surface, he feigned confusion.

"Who are you? You don't look where you're going—don't you know this master is in the middle of a journey?"

Hongjun tidied his appearance, restored his inscrutable posture, and spoke indifferently.

"I am Hongjun."

The air around them seemed to freeze for a moment the instant that name was spoken.

Tianlu felt a tidal wave of shock crash through his heart upon hearing it.

Hongjun?!

The old Daoist he had just slammed into the dirt was actually the legendary Dao Ancestor, Hongjun?!

Although Tianlu had not been in the Primordial World for very long since his transmigration, this name was like thunder to his ears.

The man before him was the ultimate victor of the War of Dao and Demon, the first saint of the Primordial World who would eventually merge with Heavenly Dao, and the future spokesperson for Heavenly Dao itself.

However, Hongjun should not have attained sainthood yet, though his strength was undoubtedly at the very pinnacle of the Primordial World's hierarchy.

But shouldn't he be attempting to merge his three corpses right now?!

How could he possibly appear before him?!

Despite his confusion, Tianlu immediately put on a smiling face and spoke respectfully.

"So it is the Immortal Ancestor himself; please forgive my lack of manners! I wonder, what urgent matter brings the Immortal Ancestor all this way to chase after a little Pixiu like me?"

The reason Tianlu addressed Hongjun as the Immortal Ancestor was that, during this current era, that was the respectful title bestowed upon Hongjun by all living beings in the Primordial World.

During the Tribulation of Ferocious Beasts, Shen Ni had led the Ferocious Beast Clan to wreak havoc across the Primordial World, attempting to destroy heaven and earth.

It was precisely Hongjun, Ancestor Yin-Yang, Ancestor Five Elements, Ancestor Qiankun, and a host of other innate mighty figures who had united the myriad races of the Primordial World and, after countless bloody battles, finally annihilated the Ferocious Beast Clan.

Because of this earth-shattering merit in saving the Primordial World, heaven and earth bestowed upon them great fortune, and the masses, convinced and admiring, granted them their titles.

Hongjun was revered as the Immortal Ancestor, Luo Hou was revered as the Devil Ancestor, and the other mighty figures each held their own titles.

However, during the War of Dao and Demon, apart from Hongjun, Luo Hou—who transformed into a demon of the outer realms—and Yang Mei, who had slipped away, most of the other ancestors had fallen and their paths had dissipated.

Seeing that Tianlu's attitude was reasonably respectful, Hongjun's expression softened slightly. He gently waved the horsetail whisk in his hand and spoke kindly.

"Little friend Tianlu, that Twenty-Four Petal Creation Green Lotus you obtained earlier at Kunlun Mountain is an object with a fixed destiny in this world."

"Such a supreme treasure has long had its future ownership and mission ordained. By taking another's opportunity for yourself and disrupting the heavenly numbers, you will inevitably be tainted by immense karma."

"I have come this time to persuade you to hand over the Creation Green Lotus, so as to avoid being entangled by karma in the future and inviting disaster upon yourself."