Salted Fish Dao Rhythm Bewilders the Heavenly Dao

The silence of the first thousand years dragged by amid an atmosphere of extreme awkwardness and absurdity.

As the second thousand years began, the invisible string called "patience" within Purple Cloud Palace gradually tightened, then... snapped.

The first to lose patience were those who were restless, too proud of their status, or who felt this was purely a waste of life.

"Hmph! You're just putting on an act! I will not suffer such humiliation!" A demon god from the northern lands of the Primordial Chaos was the first to flick his sleeve and leave. His figure vanished into the chaos, his departure utterly resolute. With someone taking the lead, dozens more figures soon slipped out of Purple Cloud Palace, their faces filled with dissatisfaction, contempt, or relief.

Old Ancestor Minghe's blood-red eyes flickered as he stared at Xiao Kuang, sprawled out asleep on the platform, then looked at those who remained around him. His expression shifted unpredictably. Leave? He was unwilling to do so. This was, after all, the Dao Ancestor's lecture—what if there was something good later? Stay? It was unbearably stifling. In the end, his desire for the "path of the Quasi-Saint" overcame his pride. With a cold snort, he withdrew the bloody radiance around himself and actually imitated Zhen Yuanzi, taking out a copy of the True Scripture of the Sea of Blood and pretending to read it. In truth, he was secretly regulating the blood and qi that had become somewhat congested from standing too long.

Those who left did so without hesitation, while subtle changes began to appear among those who remained.

As the initial anger, awkwardness, and absurdity were gradually worn away by time, and they realized that the Dao Ancestor truly was asleep—or rather, "engaged in static enlightenment"—while the Heavenly Dao showed no reaction whatsoever, the remaining great powers instead slowly calmed down.

Since they could neither leave nor change anything, they could only accept it.

Thus, the Ancestral Witches who had been standing stopped secretly doing calisthenics and genuinely settled their minds. Borrowing the incomparably dense innate spiritual qi of Purple Cloud Palace—though it was mixed with the smell of an internet café and grilled skewers—they tempered their peerlessly powerful bodies. As their blood and qi circulated, a low roar like rushing rivers faintly echoed.

Zhen Yuanzi stopped pretending to read and truly immersed himself in the earthly veins contained within the Book of Earth, faintly resonating with the Primordial Chaos's earth veins beneath Purple Cloud Palace. Kunpeng folded his wings and sank his mind into comprehending the extreme speed of wind and water, causing faint ripples to spread through the surrounding space. Hong Yun, King Father of the East, and Queen Mother of the West also stopped playing chess, closing their eyes and concentrating as they sorted through their own Dao Fruits.

Even the few in the front-row VIP area gradually entered the zone.

Sect Master Tongtian discovered that although imitating the Dao Ancestor's "sprawled-out pose" was inelegant, it unexpectedly left his mind relaxed and clear. Some obscure parts of his previous cultivation even seemed to loosen faintly. Laozi silently recited the Scripture of Purity and Tranquility until he forgot both self and surroundings, instead entering a state that accorded with tranquility and nonaction. The aura around him became increasingly harmonious. Although Primordial Lord of Heaven still wore a stern expression, he had to admit that amid this ultimate "stillness"—even if it had been caused by sleeping—the Dao Heart with which he pursued order and perfection seemed to have been stripped of some unnecessary sharpness, becoming even tougher. Empress Nuwa emptied her mind, her fingers unconsciously tracing patterns through the void as strands of creative vitality swirled around them, as though she were conceiving some new creation. Jieyin and Zhunti wore bitter expressions, yet they also discovered that this pure practice of "enduring" seemed quite beneficial for tempering their paths of "patience" and "extinction"...

They discovered that although the Dao Ancestor had not spoken a single word and their realms had not improved in the slightest, leaving them still stuck at the peak of the Grand Unity Golden Immortal realm, their mana had unknowingly become increasingly pure and condensed. The subtle hidden dangers left behind by rapid breakthroughs or past conflicts were quietly smoothed away. Amid the extreme speechlessness and long wait, their Dao Hearts were tempered into something steadier and firmer, while their divine senses became clearer and more rounded.

Like uncut jade, they were quietly polished by time and this bizarre atmosphere, shedding their superficial brilliance and restlessness as the light within them grew ever warmer and more solid.

This was the kind of slow grinding work they normally would never spend so much time on. They were usually busy fighting over resources, comprehending the Heavenly Dao, and scheming for fortune. Yet during these forced "three thousand years of sitting still," they unexpectedly received this great gift of strengthening their foundations.

Even Wangshu, in the corner, showed a trace of surprise in her cool eyes. She could clearly sense that the auras of everyone who remained in the hall were becoming increasingly deep and steady, like steel tempered a hundred times over, their foundations terrifyingly solid. This change had nothing to do with comprehending the Heavenly Dao. It was a strengthening of their most fundamental "foundation."

And the source of it all was that salted fish snoring loudly atop the platform... along with the "Salted Fish Dao Domain" formed by the humming massage chair beneath him?

Wangshu felt her understanding challenged once again. Could it be... that this state of extreme laziness and giving up on treatment instead coincided with some profound principle of "the Great Dao is simple, and a heavy sword has no edge"?

Just as everyone's mentality gradually changed and they even began to enjoy this "forced settling,"

high above, the sleeping Heavenly Dao seemed to have detected this bizarre change in the data.

[Heavenly Dao Garbled Text (intermittent, dreamlike muttering)]: Beep... detected... Purple Cloud Palace interior energy levels stable... fluctuations tending toward calm... individual energy purity increased +15.7%... Dao Heart stability increased +32.4%... realm advancement rate: 0%...

[Heavenly Dao Garbled Text]: Comparative analysis... traditional lecture mode (Hongjun version)... energy purity increased +5%... Dao Heart stability +8%... realm advancement rate +300%... (with deviation risk +20%)...

[Heavenly Dao Garbled Text]: Conclusion: current mode... inefficient... but... extremely safe... foundation optimization significant... violates core KPI of 'rapid mass production of Saints'... but conforms to hidden clause of 'sustainable development'???

[Heavenly Dao Garbled Text]: Logical conflict! Assessment error! Redefining 'lecture'... does 'lecture'... include 'sleeping'?... database searching... no record... does it include 'collective punishment standing'?... no record...

[Heavenly Dao Garbled Text]: Warning! Core definition is being tampered with! Shifting from 'Dao Ancestor imparts the Great Dao' to 'Dao Ancestor provides a venue for all beings to study on their own'! Severe deviation from the script! Severe deviation from the script!

[Heavenly Dao Garbled Text]: Attempting intervention... activating wake-up protocol... insufficient energy... zzzz... priority adjustment... 'all beings self-study' mode... saves 85% energy... conforms to new concept of energy conservation and environmental protection... record... file... Zzzz...

[Heavenly Dao Garbled Text]: Final ruling: default to current mode... lecture valid... timer continues... Zzzz... (next upgrade requirement: add definitions for terms related to 'slacking off' and 'lying flat')... ```

After a series of chaotic analyses and conflicts, the Heavenly Dao seemed to ultimately choose to selectively ignore the essence of "lecturing" because it wanted to conserve energy and avoid trouble—and perhaps because it truly could not endure anymore. Based on the actual effect of "optimizing foundations," it reluctantly acknowledged that Xiao Kuang's deep sleep could also count as a form of "lecturing."

If Hongjun knew about this, he would probably be angered into exploding all over again from his 2D Pancakes state.

The second thousand years slowly passed amid the immersive self-study of the remaining great powers, the Heavenly Dao once again falling into logical chaos before giving up and conceding defeat, and Xiao Kuang's steady snores.

When the second thousand years ended, the great powers who remained opened their eyes and looked at one another. In each other's eyes, they saw a trace of unbelievable calmness and... bizarre gratitude?

Though their realms had not risen, they felt that their current selves could beat two versions of themselves from a thousand years ago!

And Xiao Kuang on the platform finally smacked his lips drowsily after receiving a powerful pounding from the massage chair, rolled onto his other side, and continued sleeping.

Everyone: "..." Fine. Put away the gratitude for now. There was still one thousand years left—continue "self-studying"!