Double Happiness, Golden Crow Blocks the Way

Hongjun fell silent for a moment, then decisively refused.

"Impossible. Top-grade Xiantian Spiritual Treasures are the essence nurtured by heaven and earth; each one is predestined, and even I do not possess many."

"Tsk tsk, a dignified Saint, and you don't even have that much in your coffers?"

Tianlu curled his lip, making a show of reaching out to tug at the threads of destiny again.

"Since we can't reach an agreement, then nobody gets anything. I think these threads of destiny are quite cute; I might as well swallow them all. It'll be a nice snack to nourish my body."

With that, Tianlu opened his small mouth slightly, and a terrifying power of devouring flickered within.

Hongjun's heart skipped a beat.

This Pixiu was actually capable of doing such a thing!

If these threads of destiny were truly swallowed by Tianlu, his grand plan to merge with the Great Dao would undoubtedly fall into chaos.

"Wait!"

Hongjun gritted his teeth and transmitted his voice.

"One top-grade Xiantian Spiritual Treasure. Deal."

Tianlu rolled his eyes and held up two golden toes.

"That won't do. That was the price from a moment ago. As the saying goes, good things come in pairs. One top-grade Xiantian Spiritual Treasure and one top-grade Xiantian Spiritual Root—as a Saint traveling abroad, you should at least aim for some good fortune, right?!"

Hongjun stared daggers at Tianlu; if looks could kill, this golden Pixiu would have been sliced into a thousand pieces by now.

But in the end, he chose to concede.

In this Purple Heaven Palace, he could suppress countless living beings, yet he was completely helpless against this darling of the Great Dao.

"Very well."

Hongjun squeezed the word out through his teeth.

As he nodded in agreement, Tianlu's face instantly beamed with joy.

The claw that had been tightly gripping the threads of destiny suddenly let go, and he even considerately gave them a push forward.

In an instant, the River of Destiny, freed from its restraints, surged joyfully toward Hongjun on the high platform like a bursting dam.

Hongjun felt a tremor run through his body as the process of merging with the Great Dao began to flow smoothly.

However, before he could rejoice for long, he suddenly noticed that within the vast expanse of golden light, three clusters of destiny remained completely motionless.

Those were the destinies belonging to Nuwa, Fuxi, and Yang Hui.

Although the destiny of these three could not compare to the grandeur of the whole, it was still a significant portion, yet now it looked as if it had been nailed firmly in place.

Hongjun's gaze sharpened as he demanded, "Tianlu, what is the meaning of this? We had an agreement; why are you still withholding the destiny of those three?"

Tianlu was happily waiting for the sermon to end so he could collect his payment from Hongjun, and upon hearing this, he replied righteously.

"Immortal Ancestor, why are you so bad at counting?"

"One top-grade Xiantian Spiritual Root and one top-grade Xiantian Spiritual Treasure were the service fees for those two thousand-plus nobodies."

"These three are my closest friends and brothers-in-arms; that is a separate price!"

Hongjun nearly failed to maintain his transcendent, immortal demeanor.

"A separate price?"

"Naturally."

Tianlu rolled over and pointed at the three people who were currently closing their eyes to comprehend the Dao.

"The destiny of my friends and family is a priceless treasure. If you want to fleece them, you have to pay extra!"

Looking at Tianlu's rogue-like expression—as if daring him to do something about it—Hongjun felt a wave of helplessness.

He finally understood: this Pixiu was a bottomless pit.

If he continued to tangle with him, heaven knows what other outrageous conditions he would come up with.

Hongjun remained silent for a long time, eventually glancing at Nuwa with a profound look in his eyes.

Forget it.

It was better to just let go of those three clusters of destiny.

Although it would slow his merging with the Great Dao by a tiny margin, it was better than being constantly pestered by this rascal.

"Since that is the case, then as you wish."

Hongjun snorted coldly and completely severed his connection to those three clusters of destiny.

He gathered his focus and poured all his energy into the sermon.

As the Saint concentrated fully, the phenomena within the Purple Heaven Palace intensified.

Lotuses bloomed in the void, immortal music echoed through the halls, and every syllable of the Dao pointed directly to the origin.

Seeing that Hongjun was no longer pestering him, Tianlu found it boring.

Although he did not listen to the Dao of the Zenith Heaven Golden Immortal, the extremely dense Xiantian spiritual energy within the Purple Heaven Palace and the rhythm of creation emanating from the Saint were excellent tonics for him.

Perfect, I shall take this opportunity to improve my cultivation.

Tianlu closed his eyes, and a massive golden vortex gradually formed around his body.

Countless strands of spiritual energy were barbarically plundered by him, refined, and converted into the purest form of cultivation.

Time slipped away, and the Primordial World kept no count of the years.

In the blink of an eye, thirty-six thousand five hundred years had passed.

When Hongjun uttered the final note of the Dao, the previously clamorous rhythmic energy instantly returned to tranquility.

Inside the great hall, the various divine beings opened their eyes one after another, each pair filled with joy.

"Dong!"

A crisp bell chime resonated throughout the Purple Heaven Palace.

Hongjun slowly opened his eyes and swept his gaze across the hall, though he did not look at Tianlu.

He only felt more irritated the longer he looked, so he spoke indifferently.

"This sermon has concluded. You must all cultivate diligently and not slacken."

"Thirty thousand years from now, I shall commence the second sermon in the Purple Heaven Palace, at which time I will expound upon the Dao of the Quasi-Sage."

"For now, if you have any confusion, you may speak, and this poor Daoist will resolve your doubts one by one."

Below, The Grand Pure One Laozi slowly rose, bowed toward the high platform, and asked with a solemn expression.

"May I ask Teacher, what is a Quasi-Sage? After the Zenith Heaven, where does the path lead?"

Hongjun's gaze was profound as he swept over the divine beings below, lingering only for a moment on Tianlu's golden figure.

He took a deep breath to calm the mood disrupted by this Pixiu, and his voice remained flat.

"Above the Zenith Heaven Golden Immortal lies the Quasi-Sage."

"This realm is the key to stepping into the Saint position. To attain this path, one must use a Xiantian Spiritual Treasure to sever the three corpses of one's own good, evil, and obsession."

"Only after the three corpses are severed and merged into one can one glimpse the realm of the Primordial Saint."

"This sermon laid the foundation of the Zenith Heaven; the second will teach the method of the Quasi-Sage, and the third will expound the Dao of the Saint."

"You must all contemplate diligently and not let this time go to waste."

Due to Tianlu's earlier extortion, Hongjun only wanted to finish this quickly to avoid this greedy Pixiu causing any more outrageous trouble.

The more he looked at the golden figure lying on the Cloud Treasure and wagging its tail, the more irritated he became, so he immediately waved his large sleeve.

"Very well! This sermon ends here. You may all depart."

As his voice fell, Hongjun's figure instantly dissipated.

"We thank Teacher, and wish Teacher eternal longevity!"

Three thousand mighty beings bowed in unison, their voices shaking the Purple Heaven Palace.

Following this, the divine beings rose one after another.

Some wore expressions of wild joy, while others furrowed their brows in contemplation of the Dao; all walked hurriedly toward the palace exit, eager to return to the Primordial World to enter seclusion.

Tianlu, however, did not move; he was happily calculating how to find Hongjun to claim that top-grade Xiantian Spiritual Treasure and spiritual root.

That was something he had extorted through his own ability, and he would not accept a single item less.

He had just intended to tell Nuwa and Fuxi that he had other business and to let them leave first.

However, before he could even rise, dozens of figures rushed over.

He saw Di Jun and Taiyi leading Baize and a group of divine and exotic beasts, blocking the path of the four with smiles on their faces.

Di Jun bowed slightly toward Tianlu and the others and spoke.

"Fellow Daoists, please stay a moment. My brother and I have an opportunity concerning the future trend of the Primordial World, and we wish to conspire with you all."