Xiao Kuang eagerly prepared to announce his "grand plan" to the Primordial Chaos. He focused his mind, connected to his Heavenly Dao Authority, gathered his breath in his dantian, and prepared to unleash an earth-shaking Great Dao Transmission!
"Attention, all you lovely fairy ladies of the Primordial Chaos! I, Xiao Kuang of Purple Heaven Palace, am about to host..."
He strained with all his might, his face turning red, but...
His voice sank like a stone into the sea. It did not even leave the main hall of Purple Heaven Palace, leaving only a faint echo in the empty room. It was not even louder than his yawn.
"Uh..." Xiao Kuang froze awkwardly, scratching his head. "Damn it, I really can't handle this high-end stuff!"
He tried several times, but either the authority failed to activate or his divine sense could not cover the area precisely. At best, his voice drifted through the chaos like a mosquito's buzz for a hundred meters before dispersing.
"No, no, this won't do. What's the point without an audience?" Xiao Kuang grew anxious. Such a grand event had to be widely publicized! His thoughts turned to Xi He again.
So, he scampered back to Xi He, who was sulking before an osmanthus tree—potted version—and plastered a fawning smile across his face. "Um... Miss Xi He? Could you do me a small favor? Just one last time! Really!"
Xi He could not even be bothered to raise her eyelids. "No."
"Come on!" Xiao Kuang began pestering her shamelessly. "Think about it. If this beauty pageant succeeds, how lively will the Primordial Chaos become? Your Taiyin Star will get more attention too, right? Maybe you could even win a 'Most Beautiful Judge in the Primordial Chaos' award!"
Xi He: ... She only wanted to crack his skull open with her moon wheel.
"Just help me send a transmission! It's easy! Just like last time!" Xiao Kuang continued to wheedle. "I've already thought up the content. It'll definitely sound classy! I promise it won't embarrass you!"
Xi He was thoroughly irritated by his nagging. Still reeling from the impact of Heavenly Dao Merit earlier, she only wanted to send this plague god away as quickly as possible. Gritting her teeth, she said bitterly, "Only this once! Next time, even if the Heavenly Dao collapses, I will never help you do something like this again!"
"Deal!" Xiao Kuang was overjoyed. He immediately shoved that sliver of authority belonging to the Director of the Primordial Broadcast Station into Xi He's hands again, along with the transmission he had prepared—a thoroughly unreliable advertisement filled with temptation and shameless flirtatious lines.
Feeling that familiar authority and seeing that indecent advertisement, Xi He trembled with rage, nearly suffering a collapse of her Dao heart on the spot.
But she ultimately held herself back. Taking a deep breath, she used her exquisite control to forcibly filter out Xiao Kuang's shameless lines like "pretty ladies," "huge prizes," and "waiting for you to flirt," then did her best to dress it up into something barely presentable. With the power of the laws of the Heavenly Dao, she transmitted a cool thought carrying the slightest imperceptible tremor into the depths of the minds of every female immortal, spirit, and any living being that had taken female form throughout the Primordial Chaos:
[Heavenly Dao Edict: The Dao Ancestor of Purple Heaven Palace, moved by the beauty of the Primordial Chaos, has specially established the 'Jade Terrace Immortal Gathering.' Female immortals of the Primordial Chaos are sincerely invited to attend this grand event, discuss the Dao, appreciate beauty, and display the wondrous mysteries of creation. All participants shall receive the blessing of Heavenly Dao Merit, while outstanding participants shall receive additional great rewards. Such an opportunity is rare; consider it carefully.]
The moment the transmission ended, Xi He flung the authority back to Xiao Kuang as if it were a scalding hot potato. It was as though holding it for one second longer would contaminate her primordial spirit. Then she strode away without looking back, unwilling to spare that bastard another glance.
Xiao Kuang happily reclaimed the authority and said smugly, "Done! Now we just wait for the lovely ladies to sign up!"
At that very moment, the entire female community of the Primordial Chaos exploded!
Across countless immortal mountains and blessed lands, hidden grottos and secret realms, rivers, lakes, and seas, every female immortal who received the transmission had the same initial reaction: stunned disbelief, followed by endless absurdity and fury!
"The Jade Terrace Immortal Gathering? Discussing the Dao and appreciating beauty? This... is this treating us like performers in some mortal beauty contest?! Outrageous!" A fairy from an ancient immortal lineage smashed the jade cup in her hand. "The Dao Ancestor of Purple Heaven Palace? That rumored... absurd figure? His reputation truly precedes him! Ridiculous! Shameless!" A reclusive female cultivator of great power wore a disdainful expression. "Attend the grand event together? It's probably a trap! Who knows what that strange Dao Ancestor is plotting!" Many female immortals became wary.
Nearly all female immortals reacted with rejection, disdain, and even humiliation. To be judged and selected like merchandise? It was an unbearable disgrace!
However... just as their anger and contempt began to rise, the final sentence of the transmission echoed again like a curse:
[All participants shall receive the blessing of Heavenly Dao Merit, while outstanding participants shall receive additional great rewards.]
Heavenly Dao... Merit?
Blessing?!
Great rewards?!
Those four words seemed to possess magical power, instantly piercing through all disdain, anger, and restraint!
"W-wait! Heavenly Dao Merit? That... that Heavenly Dao Merit that can raise cultivation, temper magical treasures, and make one immune to countless tribulations?!" A Dragon Girl who had been righteously indignant just moments ago abruptly changed her tone, her eyes beginning to shine. "You... you get it just for participating? This isn't a scam, is it?" A female Demon Saint of the Demon Race began breathing rapidly. "Outstanding participants receive additional great rewards... Great rewards... How much merit could that be?" An ancestral witch hurriedly calculated on her fingers, her heartbeat quickening. "The Dao Ancestor of Purple Heaven Palace... though his conduct is... uninhibited, he is still the spokesperson of the Heavenly Dao. His word should be as good as gold, so he... probably would not lie, right?" A female immortal from Western Kunlun murmured, her gaze flickering.
Silence. A vast, strange silence spread through the hearts of all female immortals.
Their anger and sense of humiliation had not completely faded, but another, stronger emotion called "desire" began to grow wildly like weeds!
On one side stood their intangible dignity and restraint. On the other stood tangible Heavenly Dao Merit that could greatly advance their cultivation and perhaps even change their destiny!
This choice... did not seem difficult at all, did it?
"Actually... on further thought, perhaps the Dao Ancestor has some deeper meaning behind this? 'Discussing the Dao and appreciating beauty' may not be literal. Perhaps he intends for us to display the beauty of our Dao and the beauty of creation?" Some female immortals began trying to find themselves a way out. "Exactly! We cultivators need not cling to worldly views. Attending the gathering, exchanging Dao insights, and incidentally... receiving the Heavenly Dao's blessing—wouldn't that be a wonderful thing?" They swiftly talked themselves into it. "Sister, which immortal robe do you think we should wear? Should we borrow Master's hidden rainbow-feathered robe?" "Quick! Go into seclusion! Sharpening a spear before battle is never too late! We must bring out our finest state at that 'immortal gathering'! That's Heavenly Dao Merit!"
The law of "it smells so good after all" remained invincible even in the Primordial Chaos!
In a short time, the attitudes of female immortals throughout the Primordial Chaos made a complete one-hundred-and-eighty-degree turn. Their initial anger and disdain transformed into secret rivalry and enthusiastic preparation!
For a time, immortal robe shops, jewelry stores, and cosmetics shops—spiritual medicines used for transformation—throughout the Primordial Chaos saw booming business! The number of female immortals entering seclusion to adjust their condition and practice their talents in an attempt to fit the theme of "discussing the Dao and appreciating beauty" surged dramatically!
Some well-informed male immortals even began secretly considering whether they could sneak in to watch, or invest in female immortals they knew who were "competing."
The atmosphere of the entire Primordial Chaos was once again led by Xiao Kuang's shameless merit-powered scheme in an even stranger, livelier direction.
Inside Purple Heaven Palace, Xiao Kuang sensed through his authority that the female immortals across the Primordial Chaos had suddenly become eager and expectant. He smugly crossed one leg over the other.
"Hehe, done! I knew it. What girl could resist sparkling gifts and the temptation of becoming champion? Xi He said I was messing around, but this clearly has plenty of potential!"
He could practically see the wonderful sight of countless beautiful young ladies competing in splendor within Purple Heaven Palace.
And the Heavenly Dao... the Heavenly Dao could not even be bothered to despair anymore. It merely, in the deepest part of its core, quietly set an extraordinarily complicated ten-thousand-digit dynamic password for Xiao Kuang's access to the Heavenly Dao Merit database—though it knew that might be useless.
That spendthrift had to be guarded against! Even if it could only stop him for one second!
Before you continue