Purple Cloud Palace

After Hongjun attained sainthood, the primordial world remained peaceful for many years.

The dragon, phoenix, and qilin clans retreated into seclusion. Most of the slaughterous aura between heaven and earth dissipated, yet the scars left by that great calamity remained. The once-abundant spiritual veins of the west could no longer nurture magical treasures or spiritual fruits.

The East Sea Dragon Clan sealed themselves within the Four Seas, the Southern Bright Phoenix Clan no longer revealed themselves lightly, and few of the qilin clan still walked the earth. The three great clans that had once fought for the position of the primordial world's protagonists saw their fortune plummet overnight, their influence far less than before.

Kunlun Mountain, meanwhile, grew ever more tranquil. After Xuan Heng took human form, he cultivated alongside the Three Pure Ones.

He learned from Taiqing the methods of calming the mind and guarding the spirit; from Yuanshi, he learned to sort through his own origin and distinguish cause from effect.

From Tongtian, he learned the sword, formations, the knowledge gained from wandering the world, and many things Tongtian had only recently comprehended himself. Whenever Yuanshi saw this, he would frown and say Tongtian was teaching him nonsense. Tongtian was never bothered, merely saying that the Great Dao had a thousand paths—letting Xuan Heng see more was better than trapping him in the mountains, where all he could do was meditate.

Xuan Heng said nothing aloud, but he understood in his heart that nothing the three elder brothers taught him was learned in vain. These would all be what he relied on when walking the primordial world in the future.

Three thousand years passed in the blink of an eye to the primordial world.

On this day, purple qi came from the east across the skies of the entire primordial world.

Taiqing, seated amid the clouds, opened his eyes from meditation, then vanished from where he sat.

Yuanshi straightened his robes and stepped out of Jade Purity Peak.

Tongtian arrived with a sword on his back, unable to suppress the excitement between his brows.

After taking human form, Xuan Heng had opened a cave abode in the valley at the northern foot of Kunlun Mountain, the very place where he had been born into the world. At this moment, he too stepped out of the northern valley.

The pure radiance of his white Daoist robe was drawn inward. His features held more steadiness than when he had first taken form. The Twelve-Rank World-Purifying White Lotus had already been absorbed into his origin and did not usually show itself, but whenever his mind stirred, a faint lotus mark would emerge deep within his brow.

Tongtian was overjoyed to see Xuan Heng emerge. "Fourth Brother, we can finally go out today. I'll take you to see the primordial world's magnificent rivers and mountains."

"At last, I won't have to rely on hearsay. I can see for myself the strange and wondrous primordial world Third Brother has described." Xuan Heng smiled as well. He was looking forward to it.

Since transmigrating here, he had remained within Kunlun Mountain. He had long yearned for the world outside.

"This journey leads into the chaos, unlike the mountains and rivers of the primordial world. You have not taken form long; do not stray too far from us."

Xuan Heng nodded. "Rest assured, Second Brother."

Tongtian said, "With me here, who could hurt him?"

Yuanshi said coolly, "In the chaos, those who do not know the height of heaven or the depth of earth are the most likely to come to grief."

Tongtian looked at Xuan Heng.

"Did you hear that? Your Second Brother was saying that for my benefit."

Xuan Heng wisely did not respond.

Taiqing walked before the three of them, his gaze turning toward the heavens beyond.

"The time has come."

Just as the four were about to set off, Xuan Heng suddenly spoke.

"Three elder brothers, before we leave, there is one more thing I wish to say."

All three were taken aback, then looked toward Xuan Heng. None thought he was joking.

Xuan Heng rarely took the initiative to speak at such a time. Since he had spoken, it could not be a trivial matter.

After weighing his words for a moment, Xuan Heng said, "Saint Hongjun will lecture on the Dao at Purple Cloud Palace. The great powers of the primordial world will surely gather there. This trip to hear the Dao is likely not as simple as listening to a lecture on the Dao."

Yuanshi nodded slightly.

"When a Saint expounds the Great Dao, seating order, precedence, and closeness may all become entangled with later karma."

Xuan Heng let out a quiet breath. As expected, Second Brother understood this best.

He continued, "When I took form, the World-Purifying White Lotus once illuminated a fragment of a calamity vision. It was badly incomplete, and I could not see it clearly. I only vaguely felt that if there are seats within Purple Cloud Palace—especially seats at the very front—the three elder brothers must take them."

Tongtian froze for a moment, then raised a brow.

"Snatch seats?"

Xuan Heng said seriously, "We must snatch them. And we must succeed."

Tongtian laughed.

"That suits my taste."

Yuanshi looked at Xuan Heng and asked solemnly, "Do you understand the weight of those words?"

Xuan Heng nodded.

"I do. If they are merely ordinary meditation cushions, then it matters little. But if those seats themselves are the first order the Saint establishes for all living beings, then sitting or not sitting may lead to two different destinies."

Taiqing fell silent for a moment.

The mountain wind swept past, stirring the four men's sleeves.

After a long while, Taiqing said, "You want us to sit at the front?"

Xuan Heng said, "It is not that I want you to. You must."

Had anyone else spoken to the Three Pure Ones in such a manner, Yuanshi would already have been displeased. But the one saying this was Xuan Heng—the youngest brother they had watched take form from the lotus.

Yuanshi did not rebuke him. He merely asked, "Why us?"

Xuan Heng raised his head and looked at the Three Pure Ones.

"Because you three elder brothers were born from Father God's Primordial Spirit, you should rightfully hold the orthodox position of the Great Wilderness Dao sect. If even you retreat, those who come after will take such retreat for granted."

The smile on Tongtian's face gradually faded. Hearing those words, he felt greatly satisfied.

A trace of approval appeared in the depths of Yuanshi's eyes as well.

Taiqing looked at Xuan Heng and suddenly gave a slight nod.

"Remember it."

Hearing this, Xuan Heng felt somewhat reassured. He could not directly tell the three of them that those cushions represented sainthood; he could only remind them indirectly. Moreover, the cushions in Purple Cloud Palace absolutely could not be affected by the butterfly effect caused by his arrival.

Afterward, the Three Pure Ones and Xuan Heng rose to their feet.

Yin and yang energies flowed within Taiqing's sleeve, transforming into a streak of black-and-white cloudlight that bore the four of them straight into the Ninth Heaven.

Kunlun Mountain swiftly receded into the distance, and Xuan Heng truly left Kunlun for the first time.

Along the way, he saw the boundless vastness of the Great Wilderness. Mountains sprawled like dragons, rivers crisscrossed the land, and many places still bore the scars left by the Dragon-Phoenix Calamity. The shattered earth veins had yet to fully recover, and calamity ash occasionally drifted up from the barren lands.

The farther they traveled beyond the heavens, the thinner the spiritual essence became.

Only after the four passed through the Great Wilderness's heavenly dome did they reach the edge of chaos.

"Boom!" Chaotic astral winds pressed down upon them head-on. Every stream of chaotic energy was like a fragment of heaven and earth that had yet to differentiate—heavy, turbulent, and disorderly. The instant Xuan Heng drew near, the pure light protecting his body was pressed into a faint tremble.

Yuanshi raised a hand, and Jade Purity immortal light descended beside Xuan Heng.

"Heaven and Earth Mystic Yellow Pagoda, emerge!" At Taiqing's words, a thread of mystic yellow energy appeared above the four of them. In an instant, it transformed into a small pagoda, its dense mystic yellow energy shielding them from the chaotic astral winds.

"Let's go." Taiqing spoke indifferently, then carried the four of them toward the depths of chaos.

"Ah, this is so bitter. How come they have it so easy, while the two of us have to endure the astral winds? Bitter, truly bitter."

Seeing the Heaven and Earth Mystic Yellow Pagoda above Taiqing and the others, Zhunti was so envious that tears nearly streamed down his face.

"Enough, Junior Brother. Stop complaining. They are the Three Pure Ones, formed from the Primordial Spirit of Great God Pangu. They were born with many accompanying treasures; we cannot compare to them. But as long as we reach Purple Cloud Palace safely, the Dao Ancestor will surely compensate us. After all, the western earth veins were damaged because of the conflict between Dao and Demon."

Along the way, Xuan Heng gradually spotted quite a few great powers of the Great Wilderness. Some arrived riding clouds, flames soaring ten thousand zhang around them. Some crossed chaos atop spirit beasts, their auras ancient and weighty.

Others traveled alone amid the astral winds, their figures blurred beyond recognition, such that even their names could not be discerned.

Several of those auras stirred something in Xuan Heng's heart.

A man and a woman walked side by side. The man's aura was gentle, while the woman carried a rich aura of creation. They were Fuxi and Nuwa.

Elsewhere, blood energy surged like a sea. Twelve powerful figures trampled apart the chaotic currents. Among them was a woman whose aura was heavy and tranquil; wherever she passed, the chaotic currents seemed faintly inclined to return to the earth.

The road through chaos was long.

But for the Three Pure Ones and Xuan Heng, protected by the Heaven and Earth Mystic Yellow Pagoda, the journey was fairly easy.

Who knew how much time had passed when the chaotic currents ahead suddenly parted.

A palace appeared at the end of everyone's sight. It hung silently within chaos, surrounded by purple qi. Dao resonance flowed down from above its gates, and three Dao characters naturally manifested above the palace entrance.

Purple Cloud Palace.