Before Purple Heaven Palace

Di Jun, Taiyi, Wu An, and countless transmigrators hiding in various places all looked up at the sky in terror.

Their reliance lay first in their knowledge of the Primordial World's plot, and second in their systems.

Yet now, even their systems had issued the highest-level red alert. Since transmigrating here, this was the first time they had truly felt fear—a sense that things were slipping beyond their control.

Taiyi, who was hiding somewhere, had been admiring the Heaven and Earth Profound Yellow Linglong Pagoda, which had taken him a full two thousand epochs to refine. The smile on his face suddenly froze.

"System! Certain death? What kind of joke is this?!"

Taiyi shot to his feet and demanded anxiously, "What exactly is going on? Isn't there only Hundun beyond the Primordial World? Other than the Chaos Demon Gods who died when the heavens were opened, what else could there be?"

[ Ding! The area beyond the Primordial World is shrouded in a vast number of Great Dao laws. Their intensity exceeds the system's known limits and cannot be predicted or detected. Host, proceed with caution and do not investigate recklessly. ]

Taiyi's expression turned livid. Since the Dragon-Han Calamity, although many major trends had remained unchanged, many completely different things had emerged.

"What use are you?" he cursed, then took a deep breath and forced himself to calm down.

"Damn it... could the butterfly effect caused by my transmigration really be this great?"

"Hmph. I am the chosen son of destiny. What is there to care about over a few changes? I've already become enemies with the Witch Clan, while the Innate Three Clans are still alive. Once the sermon ends, I can try to win over the Dragon Clan..."

Having made up his mind, Taiyi transformed into a golden rainbow and flew toward Heaven Beyond Heaven.

As the day of the sermon approached, countless living beings gathered from every direction and rushed toward Heaven Beyond Heaven.

However, to reach Heaven Beyond Heaven, one had to pass through the Chaos Gale. Without the cultivation of a Daluo Golden Immortal, entering it was no different from courting death.

At the gale, beings with insufficient cultivation who insisted on forcing their way through could be seen everywhere, their flesh and bones dissolved by the wind.

It fully demonstrated the saying: hear the Dao in the morning, die that evening without regret.

At the southern foothills of Mount Buzhou.

Nuwa stood at the entrance of the cave dwelling, anxiously watching the dazed figure within.

Ever since breaking through to Daluo Golden Immortal, Fuxi had remained in a trance-like state. He often sat alone at the edge of a cliff, staring blankly into space, no one knowing what he was thinking.

With the day of the sermon fast approaching, Nuwa finally could not endure it any longer. She entered the cave and urged him, "Big Brother, there are only a hundred epochs left. We should set out for Heaven Beyond Heaven to hear the Dao, or we won't make it in time."

Fuxi raised his head in a daze, murmuring repeatedly, "Hear the Dao... Hongjun..."

He suddenly rose to his feet.

After breaking through to Daluo Golden Immortal, he had once traced time backward, hoping to learn the history of Hundun and the Primordial World. Yet above the River of Time, he had encountered someone he had never dared imagine.

"The Time Demon God is still alive..." His voice trembled slightly.

"Then the one controlling my fate is the Fate Demon God... They are all still alive... Then are the three thousand Demon Gods and Pangu also still alive?"

He paced back and forth, clutching his hair with both hands, his face filled with despair. "How is that possible... How could they still be alive?! What kind of Primordial World is this?!"

Nuwa looked at him with eyes full of worry. "Big Brother, what is wrong with you? Don't scare me!"

Fuxi stopped, took a deep breath, and tried to calm himself. He suddenly recalled what Shichen had said above the River of Time.

He abruptly seized Nuwa's wrist. "Little Sister, go! Quickly! We're going to Purple Heaven Palace!"

Though Nuwa did not know what had happened, seeing Fuxi's urgency, she nodded and rose into the air with him, flying toward Heaven Beyond Heaven.

After a hundred epochs of travel, when Fuxi and Nuwa finally passed through the Chaos Gale and arrived at Purple Heaven Palace, a great crowd had already gathered before its gates.

As far as the eye could see, every one of them was a Daluo Golden Immortal.

Zulong, Yuanfeng, and Shi Qilin, the three clan leaders, stood shoulder to shoulder. The aura of Hunyuan Golden Immortals faintly spread from them, and the surrounding beings instinctively kept their distance.

The Three Pure Ones stood on the other side. Laozi had his eyes closed in quiet contemplation, Yuanshi stood with his hands behind his back, while Tongtian curiously looked around.

Fuxi and Nuwa had only just landed and had not yet had time to inspect their surroundings when a white-clad figure approached them with a smile.

He was a young man dressed in white robes, gentle in demeanor and carrying the air of an immortal. Yet from the very beginning, his gaze had been fixed tightly on Nuwa, barely shifting at all.

"Are you Fellow Daoists Nuwa and Fuxi?" the white-robed youth asked with a smile, cupping his hands in greeting.

Nuwa felt uncomfortable under his stare. Her brows furrowed slightly, but she said nothing.

Fuxi stepped forward and shielded Nuwa behind him, watching the man warily. "May I ask who you are, Fellow Daoist? Do you need something?"

The white-robed youth smiled. "I am a pangolin from the foot of Mount Buzhou who attained human form. You may call me Lu Renjia."

Fuxi's brow furrowed even more deeply. Since they met, this man's eyes had never left his little sister. Alarm bells rang loudly in his heart.

"If Fellow Daoist has no business, then please leave." Fuxi's tone was cold and distant.

Lu Renjia paid it no mind, maintaining his smile. "Fellow Daoist Fuxi, there is no need to be so guarded. I bear no ill will. I merely wished to become acquainted with you both. The secret art I cultivate gave me a sense that this sermon holds a great opportunity for the two of you. I came specifically to tell you that, once you enter Purple Heaven Palace, you must seize one of those six Prayer Mats."

Fuxi's heart shook violently.

Six Prayer Mats... the inheritance of the Six Sages!

This man actually knew!

An absurd thought surfaced in his mind.

Fuxi's gaze immediately turned dangerous, and his voice grew colder. "Fellow Daoist, do not jest. How could Prayer Mats be connected to an opportunity?"

Lu Renjia was about to say more when a voice suddenly cut in from the side.

"Fellow Daoists Nuwa and Fuxi, I am Taiyi. Greetings."

Taiyi had appeared beside them at some unknown time, smiling as he cupped his hands in greeting.

However, when his gaze swept over Nuwa, a flash of heat passed through his eyes before he swiftly concealed it.

But when Taiyi caught sight of Lu Renjia beside her, he frowned.

This man was not among the great figures of the Primordial World in his memories. In particular, the way he stared so directly at Nuwa displeased him greatly. Every beautiful female immortal in the Primordial World had already been marked as his. How dare anyone covet them? His tone immediately turned hostile. "Who are you? Take your eyes off her, or else..."

Lu Renjia's expression darkened as well. "Why must Fellow Daoist Taiyi be so domineering? I merely greeted the two Fellow Daoists."

Taking advantage of the standoff between the two, Fuxi quickly pulled Nuwa back and moved away from them.

Di Jun, who had been hiding among the crowd, looked at Taiyi and Lu Renjia with utter contempt. "That worthless fool who only thinks about such things is actually my younger brother."

Then he turned toward Purple Heaven Palace, his eyes blazing with fervor. "Once I rule the Primordial World, why can't I sit in Purple Heaven Palace myself?"

Just then, an angry roar rang out.

"You mongrel bird! You dare show yourself?!"

A fire dragon roared as it descended from the sky, lunging fiercely at Taiyi!

Taiyi's expression changed. He hurriedly summoned the Chaos Bell and blocked the fire dragon. Looking closely, he saw the Twelve Ancestral Witches descending from the heavens.

"Zhurong! You dare attack before Purple Heaven Palace?" Taiyi shouted harshly.

Zhurong did not answer. The laws of fire surged around his body as he threw a punch. "Hmph! You mongrel bird dared steal our treasure. Die!"

Before the force of his punch could even erupt, an overbearing draconic might descended and instantly suppressed the power of the laws around Zhurong.

"Fighting is forbidden before Purple Heaven Palace."

Zulong slowly stepped forward, standing between the two sides with his hands behind his back.

Zhurong stared at Zulong with deeply furrowed brows, forcibly suppressing his anger. "Zulong, are you going to stop me?"

Zulong's expression remained unchanged. "If you want to fight, wait until the sermon is over. Otherwise, do not blame this clan leader for being impolite."

Zhurong wanted to say more, but Houtu stepped forward and secretly tugged at him.

Creak!

Suddenly, the gates of Purple Heaven Palace finally swung open.