Incompatible Dao Paths

After an unknown length of time, Hongjun's voice gradually fell silent, and the strange phenomena within Purple Cloud Palace slowly faded away as well.

The great powers of the Primordial World beneath the Dao dais awoke one after another from their enlightenment.

Hongjun opened his eyes and waved his right hand. Seven wisps of violet qi appeared before him, and he said, "These are Primordial Violet Qi. Once fused with them, one may forge the foundation of a Heavenly Dao Saint."

The great powers in the hall were all shaken to their core upon hearing this.

At the sight, images of the future Investiture of the Gods Calamity surfaced in Xuan Heng's mind once more: the Three Pure Ones turning against one another, the great rise of the West. The source of it all was this Primordial Violet Qi before them, regarded by everyone as an incomparable treasure.

Hongjun looked toward the three seated on the Six Saint cushions below and slowly said, "Taiqing, Yuanshi, Tongtian."

Upon hearing Hongjun call them, the Three Pure Ones slowly rose and cupped their hands in salute.

"You three were transformed from Pangu's Primordial Spirit. Your foundations are profound, and your merit and fortune complete. You are destined to be the orthodox lineage of the Profound Gate. From this day forth, I accept you three as my personal disciples."

Then Hongjun swept his hand, and three strands of Primordial Violet Qi flew respectively into the glabellas of Taiqing, Yuanshi, and Tongtian.

"Thank you, Teacher, for bestowing this treasure." The Three Pure Ones did not show much emotion. After saluting with cupped hands, they slowly sat back down.

Seeing this, the great powers present all revealed envious looks. Personal disciples of the Dao Ancestor—

"Nuwa." Hongjun nodded, then turned his gaze toward Nuwa, seated beside the Three Pure Ones.

When Nuwa heard Hongjun call her name, she slowly rose and cupped her hands in salute.

"You shall have a great merit in the future. From this day onward, you too shall be my personal disciple and may receive a strand of Primordial Violet Qi."

As he spoke, one strand of Primordial Violet Qi beside Hongjun flew toward Nuwa.

"Thank you, Teacher." Nuwa cupped her hands in salute. Seeing this, Fuxi behind her revealed a gratified smile.

At this point, the first four occupants of the six cushions had all received Primordial Violet Qi, the foundation for attaining sainthood.

Receiving Guide and Zhunti sat upon the fifth and sixth cushions. After Nuwa obtained Primordial Violet Qi, the two had been eagerly hoping for their own, but after waiting for a long while, they realized that Hongjun seemed to have no intention of calling either of them.

Zhunti immediately grew anxious. He fell to his knees and said mournfully, "Dao Ancestor, ever since the conflict between Dao and Demon, the earth veins of the West have shattered, spiritual currents have fallen into chaos, and all living beings suffer in hardship. Cultivation is exceedingly difficult. My brother and I endured untold trials to come from the West to Purple Cloud Palace to hear the Dao. We implore the Dao Ancestor to accept us both as disciples as well."

Xuan Heng looked at Zhunti and discovered that his eyes were actually reddening. He could not help but sigh inwardly. The acting skills of these two from the West were truly impressive—far better than those celebrity actors he had seen in his previous life.

"Since Teacher has accepted Fellow Daoists of the Three Pure Ones and Fellow Daoist Nuwa as personal disciples, this disciple would not dare hope to stand among the personal disciples. I ask only that Teacher take pity on the poverty of the West, accept us both as disciples as well, and grant us a sliver of opportunity to enlighten and guide others."

Receiving Guide rose as well, lowered his eyes, and knelt. Unlike Zhunti, he did not weep and plead. He merely spoke in a deep voice, "The beings of the West have suffered for far too long. I beg Teacher for compassion."

As the two knelt, Purple Cloud Palace instantly fell silent. Xuan Heng, the Three Pure Ones, Nuwa, and every great power present all wore subtle expressions.

Last time, these two had used this same tactic of crying poverty to seize the positions on two cushions. Now they were crying poverty again, hoping to make Hongjun accept them as disciples.

Yet the reasons they gave were difficult to reject. The West's shattered earth veins were fact, and the difficulty of cultivation there was fact as well.

Xuan Heng was not surprised to see Receiving Guide kneel too. This was the style of the two Western Saints.

They were best at turning their own circumstances into righteousness, then using that righteousness to contend for opportunities. If the Three Pure Ones obtained their Saint positions because of their profound origins and their place as the orthodox Profound Gate lineage, and Nuwa obtained hers because of the destined merit of creation she would gain in the future, then the two Saint positions of these Westerners had been knelt for, cried for, and fought for.

Hongjun lowered his gaze at the pair but still said nothing.

Seeing this, Zhunti's voice grew even more mournful. "If Teacher does not accept us as disciples today, I fear the West will have no chance of prosperity in the future."

Receiving Guide said softly, "This disciple is willing to devote this body to enlightening all beings of the West."

Just then, Hongjun's sigh suddenly echoed in Xuan Heng's mind. He abruptly raised his head toward Hongjun atop the Dao dais and saw a trace of black qi flash through Hongjun's eyes before vanishing. Then Hongjun spoke.

"The poverty of the West arose from the conflict between Dao and Demon. I too bear responsibility for its enlightenment. You may become my registered disciples."

Xuan Heng's gaze narrowed slightly. So at this point, the Heavenly Dao could already suppress Hongjun for an extremely brief moment.

"This disciple pays respects to Teacher." Joy appeared on both Receiving Guide's and Zhunti's faces as they hurriedly kowtowed in salute.

Two strands of Primordial Violet Qi flew from Hongjun's sleeve and landed respectively in the glabellas of Receiving Guide and Zhunti.

The aura around their bodies trembled in response. The joy in Zhunti's eyes was nearly impossible to contain, yet he quickly resumed his suffering expression.

Receiving Guide lowered his eyes, pressed his palms together, and softly said, "Many thanks for Teacher's compassion."

Six cushions, six strands of Primordial Violet Qi. Taiqing, Yuanshi, Tongtian, and Nuwa were personal disciples; Receiving Guide and Zhunti were registered disciples. Thus, the foundations of the Six Saints had been set.

The gazes the great powers in the hall turned toward Receiving Guide and Zhunti became even more complicated. Most were unconvinced and unwilling, while some silently took note of the methods of these two from the West, resolving to be more cautious in the future.

Then the great powers in the hall turned their gazes toward Xuan Heng. After all, Xuan Heng had been personally granted a small cushion by the Dao Ancestor, and he sat even before the Six Saints. Everyone wished to see how the Dao Ancestor would treat Xuan Heng today.

Upon the Dao dais, Hongjun's gaze fell on Xuan Heng.

"Xuan Heng."

Xuan Heng rose and saluted.

"This disciple is here."

Hongjun looked at him, his voice as calm as ever.

"You have Pangu's Pure Qi as your root, and the Purifying White Lotus protects your Dao. You possess a thread beyond the Dao. Primordial Violet Qi is incompatible with your Dao path, but you may still become my personal disciple."

As Hongjun's words fell, Purple Cloud Palace instantly grew silent. Hongjun had made the four words "incompatible with your Dao path" exceedingly clear.

Xuan Heng sat before the six cushions, yet he would not receive Primordial Violet Qi. The reason was neither his aptitude nor any favoritism from the Saints.

The path he wished to walk had never, from the very beginning, been the path of using Primordial Violet Qi to become a Heavenly Dao Saint.

Receiving Guide lowered his eyes in silence. A gleam flashed through Zhunti's eyes before he quickly suppressed it. Kunpeng's expression darkened, though none knew what he was thinking. Nuwa, too, appeared lost in thought.

The Three Pure Ones, however, remained far more composed. They did not care whether Xuan Heng possessed Primordial Violet Qi. The status of a personal disciple of the Dao Ancestor alone was enough. Besides, did Xuan Heng not have the three of them as his elder brothers? In the vast Primordial World, after this day, who would dare casually provoke their four brothers?

Hearing Hongjun accept him as a personal disciple while publicly stating that Primordial Violet Qi was incompatible with his Dao path, Xuan Heng became even more certain that Hongjun definitely knew something. He said no more, merely kowtowing solemnly in salute.

"This disciple pays respects to Teacher."