"Is that what it means to be a Heaven-ordained Saint?" Hongyun asked in a despondent tone.
Zhenyuanzi wore a similarly complicated expression.
"Then it seems this Primordial Purple Qi is a curse rather than a blessing to me!"
"Indeed. If I were you, fellow Daoist, I would certainly refuse this Primordial Purple Qi," Bai Jing said.
Hongyun let out another long sigh. "Fellow Daoist Bai Jing, you do not understand. Once this Primordial Purple Qi entered my sea of consciousness, it completely fused with it. It cannot be extracted at all. Even if I wished to take it out, I could not!"
Bai Jing had long suspected as much. In the original history of the Primordial World, Hongyun had been besieged by Dijun, Taiyi, Kunpeng, and Minghe. In the end, rather than hand over the Primordial Purple Qi, he had chosen to self-destruct.
Yet after interacting with Hongyun several times, Bai Jing felt that Hongyun was hardly the sort to die unyielding. He did not lack the desire to become a Saint, but neither was he so obsessed with sainthood that he valued it above his own life.
Now that Hongyun had said this, Bai Jing finally understood. It was not that Hongyun had refused to hand over the Primordial Purple Qi—he simply could not!
"If Fellow Daoist Hongyun trusts me, then remain here at Five Villages Temple from now on. With Fellow Daoist Zhenyuanzi's Earth Book formation, no one in the Primordial World can kill you. Once the Heaven-ordained Saints emerge, you will be safe."
Hongyun nodded, indicating that he understood.
"Fellow Daoist Hongyun, your origin was the red cloud formed when a drop of Pangu's heartblood fell upon the clouds, correct?"
Hongyun nodded in confirmation.
"No wonder."
"No wonder what?"
"No wonder Fellow Daoist Hongyun and Fellow Daoist