Preaching! Even Dogs Won't Preach!

Xiao Kuang, clutching the 24-petal Green Lotus of Creation he'd snatched, fled back to the Purple Heaven Palace in a flurry of sparks and lightning (mostly from his own panic), looking utterly disheveled. He slammed shut the heavy, riveted door and finally let out a long sigh of relief.

"Whew... that was close. Those Three Pure Ones are quite hot-tempered. I almost got ganged up on," he said, patting his chest, still shaken. While he knew they probably couldn't break his defenses, being chased by three future Sages still put immense psychological pressure on him.

Once he recovered, he looked at the radiant, Dao-infused Green Lotus in his arms and grinned.

"Heh heh, now that it's in my hands, it's mine!" he declared smugly, completely disregarding the warnings from the Heavenly Dao and the Three Pure Ones.

Then, he casually strolled to the hot spring pool in the backyard, still carrying the Green Lotus.

"Hmm... where should I put it?" he pondered, deciding the whole plant was a bit too big for the pool. Besides... "Wouldn't it be a waste of its aesthetic to just toss it into the water?"

A glint appeared in his eye, and he had an idea. He activated his overbearing Heavenly Dao authority and gestured towards the Green Lotus of Creation.

"Heavenly Dao Authority! Morphological Adjustment! Function Transformation! Change for me!"

Under a cascade of distorted light (accompanied by the anguished cries of Heavenly Dao code), the profoundly mysterious, top-tier Innate Spiritual Treasure was forcibly compressed and reshaped... finally transforming into a verdant, lotus-shaped, enormous... foot basin?!

The rim was formed by unfurling lotus leaves, the basin itself resembled a blooming flower bud, and it even automatically filled with warm, clear spring water containing faint traces of Creation spiritual energy (the authority user didn't even have to pay for the water).

"Perfect!" Xiao Kuang was immensely satisfied with his creation. He took off his shoes and socks (conjured with magic) and dipped his feet in. "Hoo! So comfortable! This temperature, this texture, truly worthy of an Innate Spiritual Treasure! Nothing beats soaking your feet like this!"

He leaned against the edge of the pool, enjoying the ultimate foot bath experience provided by the Green Lotus (basin), and narrowed his eyes.

Just soaking his feet was getting a bit boring.

His mind began to wander again, and he yelled towards the main hall, "Xi He! Chang Xi! Come here for a moment!"

The two Lunar Goddesses walked over with cold expressions, extremely unwilling. Their eyes immediately fell upon the "foot basin" exuding a familiar yet strange aura, and their pupils contracted sharply!

That was... the Green Lotus of Creation belonging to the Three Pure Ones?! It was... it was made into a foot basin?!

Even though they had developed a certain immunity to this lazy Dao Ancestor's outrageous behavior, they still felt a suffocating dizziness and absurdity at this moment! "Wasting heavenly treasures" was an understatement!

"What do you want?" Chang Xi asked irritably, her tone as cold as ice.

Xiao Kuang sighed contentedly and pointed to his shoulders. "Nothing major. It must be boring standing around, right? Come, give me a shoulder rub, a back massage. This Dao Ancestor handles myriad affairs (not really), and I'm quite exhausted."

"You!" Xi He trembled with rage, her Lunar chill uncontrollably leaking out, instantly covering the ground beneath her feet with a layer of frost. "Xiao Kuang! You mustn't go too far!"

Soaking his feet in an Innate Spiritual Treasure wasn't enough; he also wanted them, the Lunar Goddesses, to act as his masseuses?!

[Heavenly Dao: ...Detecting agent's unreasonable request...Suggesting...Refusal... (code sounds weak)]

Xiao Kuang's eyes widened, and he directly invoked his authority. "Heavenly Dao Authority! Mandatory Employment Addendum! Party B must provide necessary physical and mental relaxation services! Hurry up! Or I'll deduct your Merit!"

The invisible power of the Heavenly Dao descended once more. Though filled with reluctance and sluggishness, it was forcibly executed.

Xi He and Chang Xi immediately felt their bodies move uncontrollably. They stiffly walked behind Xiao Kuang, raised their delicate hands, and, with extreme humiliation, began to massage his shoulders with a force that was neither too heavy nor too light (controlled by the authority).

Feeling the "service" behind him, tinged with icy killing intent, Xiao Kuang hummed contentedly. "Mmm... yes... that's the spot... a little to the left... ah, so comfortable..."

He soaked his feet in the Green Lotus basin, enjoyed the massage from the Lunar Goddesses, and watched the Dragon, Phoenix, and Kirin leisurely pacing in the backyard zoo. He felt his life in the Primordial Era had reached its peak.

"Sigh, it's just this matter of preaching the Dao..." The happy times always reminded him of his troublesome work. "What should I even preach about..."

As he was being massaged, he began to worry again. Countless thoughts flashed through his mind: Postpartum Care for Sows? On Protracted War? How to Slack Off Efficiently?

The more he thought, the more troubled he became.

"Damn it!" He suddenly waved his hand irritably. "I'm not thinking about it anymore! Whatever happens, happens!"

He completely gave up, deciding to embrace the chaos. "I'll just wing it when the time comes! Talk nonsense! If I can fool them, great. If not, oh well!"

"Isn't there the Heavenly Dao?!" he self-righteously found his ultimate excuse. "It told me to preach! So it has to take responsibility! If I can't continue, or if something goes wrong, it'll definitely have to clean up the mess! Otherwise, it's the Heavenly Dao's reputation on the line!"

"Right! That's settled! To hell with lesson preparation! I'll improvise! The Heavenly Dao has my back anyway!"

The moment this thought occurred, his mind cleared instantly, and his body and soul felt at ease. Even soaking his feet felt more comfortable. The massage on his shoulders also seemed less humiliating (mostly because he got used to it).

[Heavenly Dao: ...((′-﹏-`;))...] [Detecting agent's decision: Abandoning lesson preparation... Relying on Heavenly Dao for backup...] [Risk Assessment: Extremely High... Risk of deviation in enlightenment for all beings in the Primordial Era... Risk of timeline perturbation...] [Countermeasures: ...None... (insufficient computational power)] [Contingency Plan: ...Activating highest-level emergency plan... Plan details: ...Pray... (garbled code)...]

For the first time, the Heavenly Dao's cold consciousness revealed an emotion akin to "despair" and "giving up." It seemed to have foreseen the disastrous lecture that would inevitably be recorded in the annals of the Primordial Era (on the pillar of shame) over three thousand years later.

It looked at the lazy Dao Ancestor, soaking his feet in the Green Lotus of Creation, enjoying the massage from the Lunar Goddesses, and humming "We common folk are happy today." Its core code turned ice-cold.

This generation's Dao Ancestor is beyond saving. This generation's Primordial Era is doomed.

It silently, completely concealed all its fluctuations, as if entering a state of "self-imposed isolation," preparing to stay hidden until the lecture arrived.

Out of sight, out of mind. (Even though it didn't have a mind.)