The Second Lecture Ends

Hongjun stopped preaching, and the Dao resonance vanished with it. Bai Jing slowly opened his eyes, a hint of delight in his expression.

No wonder the great powers of the Primordial World fought tooth and nail to hear the Dao at Zixiao Palace. Hongjun's preaching was truly effective. In just three thousand years, Bai Jing had gained an initial grasp of the Law of Devouring.

After comprehending the Law of Devouring, Bai Jing also noticed the shortcomings of the Spirit Devouring Art. With a few improvements, its ability to devour all things and nourish its user could be enhanced by at least another level.

That extra level should not be underestimated. If Bai Jing had improved the Spirit Devouring Art before devouring Di Jiang's essence blood, his physical body would have already broken through to the peak of the Great Luo realm.

But it was not too late. Bai Jing still had quite a few precious ores in his possession. Once he left Zixiao Palace, he could find a place to enter seclusion for several thousand years and easily push his physical body to the peak of the Great Luo Golden Immortal realm.

Moreover, Bai Jing possessed a Creation Jade Disc Fragment containing the Great Dao of Devouring. Now that he had gained an initial grasp of the Law of Devouring, the fragment would surely allow him to comprehend it at a rapid pace. Once he replenished his origin, advancing his primordial spirit cultivation to the Mixed Origin Golden Immortal realm would be smooth sailing.

Bai Jing seems to have gained quite a lot! Houtu thought enviously when she saw his undisguised delight.

Over the past three thousand years, she had comprehended very little. Without a primordial spirit, Hongjun's Dao truly had nothing to do with the Witch Clan.

Fortunately, this trip had not been entirely fruitless. At the very least, she had learned of the path of proving the Dao through strength. According to Hongjun, Father God had become a saint through proving the Dao by strength. The twelve brothers and sisters had possessed Laws since birth and comprehended them quickly. Did that mean they were all better suited to this path?

"Now, the Primordial World is home to countless races, its environment is chaotic, living beings are unsettled, and the pursuit of the Dao is difficult. There must be a leader of the male immortals and a leader of the female immortals to oversee the order of the Primordial World."

Hongjun, having finished his sermon, suddenly spoke. The great powers of the Primordial World all looked upward in unspoken accord.

Dijun in particular abruptly snapped out of his thoughts upon hearing Hongjun's words. He had just been considering using the River Chart and Luo Script to sever a corpse, but he had no time to think about that now. He hurriedly stood and said, "Reporting to the Saint, my Demon Clan..."

Before Dijun could finish, Hongjun cast him a completely emotionless glance and then looked away. Dijun could not continue speaking and sat back down.

Hongjun continued, "Dongwang Gong, Xi Wangmu, step forward."

Hearing Hongjun's summons, Dongwang Gong and Xi Wangmu did not dare delay in the slightest and quickly came before him.

Hongjun glanced at the two of them and slowly said, "Dongwang Gong is the manifestation of the first innate wisp of supreme yang qi, while Xi Wangmu is the manifestation of the first innate wisp of supreme yin qi. Yin and yang complement one another. You may serve as the leaders of the male and female immortals."

Quite a few of the great powers below frowned. The two had decent cultivation, but among those present to hear the Dao, there were more than could be counted on two hands who could suppress them.

Among the Three Pure Ones, Laozi remained calm, Yuanshi Tianzun's face darkened, and Tongtian looked Dongwang Gong up and down with great interest.

Dijun in the back looked equally displeased, while Taiyi beside him was nearly driven mad with fury, the killing intent in his eyes impossible to conceal.

Among the female immortals, Nuwa merely glanced at Xi Wangmu and showed no further reaction. Houtu seemed distracted; all her thoughts were focused on proving the Dao through strength, and she had not noticed this matter at all.

The great powers listening to the Dao in Zixiao Palace were clearly unconvinced by Dongwang Gong and Xi Wangmu becoming the leaders of the male and female immortals. But since the Saint had spoken, no one dared openly object and could only voice their agreement.

Hongjun nodded and casually summoned two treasures. He first looked at Dongwang Gong and said, "Dongwang Gong, I bestow upon you the top-grade innate spirit treasure, the Dragon-Headed Staff, for your protection."

He then looked at Xi Wangmu. "Xi Wangmu, I bestow upon you the top-grade innate spirit treasure, the Pure Water Alms Bowl. I hope the two of you can maintain order in the Primordial World and protect all living beings."

As soon as he finished speaking, the two spirit treasures flew toward their respective recipients.

Everyone present stared wide-eyed. Top-grade innate spirit treasures were absolutely among the finest treasures in the Primordial World.

Furthermore, Hongjun had only just imparted the method of Three Corpse Severing. Everyone was in desperate need of spirit treasures. Not one of the innate sacred beings was foolish; they all knew that using a low-grade innate spirit treasure versus a top-grade innate spirit treasure would definitely result in different strength after severing a corpse.

Had Hongjun not been present, someone would have already made a move to seize the two top-grade innate spirit treasures.

Dongwang Gong was overwhelmed by the enormous surprise. He hurriedly accepted the treasure, unable to suppress the joy on his face.

Xi Wangmu beside him also appeared delighted on the surface, but inwardly, she was filled with conflict.

But this was not the time for hesitation. No one could defy a Saint's command. Xi Wangmu could only bow with Dongwang Gong and thank Hongjun.

With a wave of his hand, Hongjun helped them up. "This sermon has ended. Zixiao Palace will reopen after one yuanhui. The seating order will remain unchanged."

Before anyone could respond, Hongjun vanished in an instant, as though he had never appeared at all.

After Hongjun left, Dongwang Gong hurriedly took Xi Wangmu's hand and smiled. "Fellow Daoist Xi Wangmu, since the Saint has appointed us as the leaders of the male and female immortals, I hope that from this day onward, you and I can work together with one heart and seek the Great Dao together."

Xi Wangmu's smile was strained. She covertly glanced at Nuwa and Houtu in the hall, then pulled free of Dongwang Gong's grasp. "Fellow Daoist Dongwang Gong, I suddenly have urgent matters to attend to and must return to my Daoist temple. We can discuss this matter in detail another day!" With that, Xi Wangmu left Zixiao Palace without looking back and hurried into the Primordial World.

Xi Wangmu's attitude puzzled Dongwang Gong. He wanted to catch up with her, but a group of cultivators whose cultivation had not ranked particularly high in Zixiao Palace surrounded him. Dongwang Gong could only give up and converse with them, utterly failing to notice Taiyi's undisguised killing intent in the hall.

"Taiyi, calm down!" Dijun patted his younger brother's shoulder, then pulled him away from Zixiao Palace.

Dongwang Gong has accepted the position of leader of the male immortals, and the karmic burden he bears is far too great. Hongjun, the Three Pure Ones, and the two from the west are all male immortals. If Dongwang Gong does not die, then who will?

Nuwa and Houtu are female immortals. Fortunately, both are rather mild-tempered, but even so, Xi Wangmu will be little more than a nobody in the Primordial World from now on. Bai Jing looked at Dongwang Gong, who was surrounded by great powers, and secretly shook his head.

"Fellow Daoist Bai Jing, the Saint's sermon has ended. I intend to return to the Witch Clan. What are your plans?" Houtu asked.

"I plan to travel around Mount Buzhou and see whether I can find any opportunities," Bai Jing replied.

"Then we can travel together for a while."

Bai Jing nodded.

The two then left Zixiao Palace together.