"What are you saying, Fellow Daoist Zhang?" Renxiao Divine Venerable laughed heartily. "Now that you have come, this Dao discussion gathering of ours finally has a true backbone—finally has meaning! If you had not come, all our discussions here would amount to nothing more than frogs at the bottom of a well, merely making ourselves a laughingstock! When it comes to genuine insight into the Great Dao of heaven and earth, who present here, myself included, could compare to even one ten-thousandth of you?"
Renxiao's praise had reached the utmost extreme, practically elevating Zhang Shuai above every Divine Venerable present. Yet strangely, the veteran Divine Venerables in the pavilion, such as Cang Xu, showed no displeasure at all. Instead, they all nodded in agreement, convinced that his words were right.
Zhang Shuai shook his head with a smile and humbly said, "Fellow Daoist Renxiao flatters Zhang far too much. The Great Dao is boundless, and learning has no end. Before seniors and great masters such as yourselves, Zhang remains a junior with much to learn and ask about. I came this time precisely to hear your esteemed views and broaden my horizons."
"Fellow Daoist Zhang is too modest!" Cang Xu Demon Venerable interjected with a smile. "On the path of cultivation, attainment comes first. How can age or seniority matter? With Fellow Daoist Zhang's cultivation, let alone those present, how many in all the myriad heavens and worlds would dare call themselves your seniors? That phrase, 'junior student,' leaves old fellows like us too ashamed to show our faces."
"Exactly!" Renxiao Divine Venerable nodded repeatedly, then asked with concern, "Fellow Daoist Zhang, why have you come alone again this time? By my reckoning, the Primordial World has existed for quite some time since its creation. The appointed time of its