Inside Purple Firmament Palace, the atmosphere had grown extremely tense.
Xi He and Chang Xi wore frosty expressions, Taiyin chill radiating from their bodies and warning all living beings to stay away. Had they not been firmly suppressed by Heavenly Dao Authority, they would likely have already brought out their spiritual treasures and fought for their lives. The Dragon Girls, Phoenix Girls, and Kirin girls who had been forcibly abducted were even more terrified and uneasy. Huddled together, their beautiful eyes brimmed with humiliation and fear as they looked at the strange furnishings in the hall and the utterly improper "Dao Ancestor" sprawled in a massage chair. All they could see was a bleak future ahead. In the "zoo" in the rear courtyard, dragon roars, phoenix cries, and Kirin howls rang out with grief and indignation, churning the Chaos Qi into a furious tumult.
Xiao Kuang did not care in the slightest. He even somewhat enjoyed the subtle thrill of "the whole world wants to beat me up, but they can't reach me." He continued doing as he pleased—lying in the massage chair, soaking in hot springs, and occasionally strolling over to the "zoo" to feed them the indescribably flavored "feed" he kneaded out of Chaos Qi, calling it "caring for the physical and mental health of employees."
Yet the days passed one after another.
Xi He and Chang Xi were the first to notice that something was wrong. They discovered that, although they had lost their freedom within Purple Firmament Palace and were constantly enveloped by the detestable salted-fish Dao Ancestor's aura of authority, cultivation somehow seemed... exceptionally smooth?
The origin power of Taiyin Star could actually be drawn over in thin strands through the endless chaotic void. It was extraordinarily pure as well, requiring little refinement before it could be absorbed. What alarmed them even more was that the strands of karmic burden entwined deep within their primordial spirits since the Dragon-Phoenix Calamity, hindering their advancement in cultivation, were slowly... fading?
It was as though some supreme power were silently purifying and erasing them.
The dragons, phoenixes, and kirins felt it even more clearly. As remnants of the great calamity, the karmic burden they carried was far heavier than that of the two goddesses. Normally, their cultivation yielded half the results for twice the effort, while calamities constantly beset them. Yet within the bounds of Purple Firmament Palace, the heavy karmic burden that had weighed on them until they could barely breathe was melting away like snow beneath the sun—slowly, but steadily!
Even the dragon, phoenix, and Kirin true forms in the rear courtyard, whose intelligence had yet to awaken and who acted only on instinct, gradually calmed down. A trace of clarity returned to their eyes, and several dragons even began trying to bathe in the Chaos spring water?
"Wh-what is going on?" A young dragon woman examined herself inwardly, sensing that long-lost state of lightness and vigorous cultivation, and could not help crying out softly. Her face was full of disbelief.
Chang Xi kept a cold face and sensed the surroundings carefully for a long while before reluctantly saying in a low voice, "It is the Dao rhythm of this place... Though chaotic, lazy, and utterly without structure, its core... is undeniably the supreme Heavenly Dao of Primordial Chaos. Staying here is no different from constantly being close to the source of Heavenly Dao. The laws of heaven and earth are plainly visible, so that karmic burden... is naturally dissolved bit by bit by the aura of Heavenly Dao."
Xi He fell silent for a moment, then added in a complicated tone, "Moreover, this place is cut off from the entanglements of karma in Primordial Chaos. There is no conflict or struggle. It truly is a... tranquil place to avoid calamity." She truly did not want to admit that this rogue Dao Ancestor had stumbled into giving them an immense blessing.
For a time, the feelings of all the "captives" became exceedingly complicated.
Did they hate him? Of course they did! This salted-fish Dao Ancestor was crude in his methods, improper in his speech, and entirely without the bearing of a great power. He had forcibly dragged them here, utterly disgracing them.
But... what was with these tangible benefits? Reduced karmic burden, advancing cultivation, calamities no longer falling upon them... This was practically the blessed grotto-heaven countless great powers of Primordial Chaos dreamed of!
As they watched Xiao Kuang, still sprawled there, humming an off-key strange tune and occasionally flashing them a punchable grin, they gritted their teeth in hatred. Yet for some reason, they could not quite stay angry. They even developed the absurd thought that maybe... staying here wouldn't be so bad? This contradictory feeling only made them feel more stifled.
Amid this strange balance and silence, the Heavenly Dao Will, which had remained dormant for quite some time, finally seemed to recover from its "crash."
Watching coldly from the sidelines, it had naturally noticed the changes within Purple Firmament Palace.
[Heavenly Dao: ...Karmic burden reduced... cultivation improving... order tending toward stability... (chaotic calculations in progress)] [Conclusion: The agent's behavioral patterns are abnormal... but the results have produced unknown positive gains... logical conflict...] [Unable to understand... unable to analyze...] [Strategy adjustment: Since correction is impossible... its behavior must be guided into the established framework... reducing uncontrollable variables...]
After an intense struggle within its cold core code, Heavenly Dao arrived at a compromise—since this salted fish could achieve the right result through blind fumbling, then it would find him some "proper work" to do and guide his uncontrolled energy into the main task of Heavenly Dao's script!
Thus, that vast will descended upon Purple Firmament Palace once more, resounding directly in Xiao Kuang's mind. This time, its tone was calm and flat, yet carried an unquestionable force urging him onward:
[Agent Xiao Kuang.] [Purple Firmament Palace has been established; the time has come.] [The living beings of Primordial Chaos struggle in cultivation, lost and confused about the road ahead.] [Since you hold the position of Dao Ancestor, you ought to fulfill your duty: spread the Dao throughout Primordial Chaos, awaken spiritual intelligence, and guide their path.] [Prepare immediately. Deliver the first sermon within Purple Firmament Palace.] Xiao Kuang, who had been pondering whether to have Chaos skewers or instant noodles that evening, suddenly froze. "Give... give a sermon?!" Like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, he sprang out of the massage chair and pointed at the sky as he shouted, "Seriously, officer? Again? Didn't we agree I could slack off? How can you go back on your word? You're asking someone who failed advanced mathematics to give a lecture? Do you want all of Primordial Chaos to fail together?!"
[Heavenly Dao: ...This is the duty of one who has undergone Dao Integration... it cannot be shirked...]
[The content of the sermon... may be chosen at your discretion... (the code fluctuated slightly, as though recalling the terror of having garbage information forcibly instilled into it)]
[However, the sermon must proceed... otherwise... (it conveyed a vague threatening intent similar to "dock your pay" and "cancel your benefits")] ```
Xiao Kuang's face instantly fell.
He looked at the goddesses and young women below, whose expressions were complicated but whose ears had clearly perked up at the words "give a sermon," as though those words had stirred an instinctive expectation within them. Then he felt Heavenly Dao's unyielding will.
It was over. This lousy job was ultimately going to force him to meet mandatory quotas.
With a mournful face, he flopped back into the chair and wailed weakly, "Fine, fine... I'll lecture! But I'm warning you, if I do a bad job, if the audience falls asleep, or if the average cultivation level of Primordial Chaos drops instead of rises, don't blame me!" "Damn it... preparation, preparation... What should I teach? Five Years of College Entrance Exams, Three Years of Mock Tests? Postpartum Care for Sows? Or On the Importance of Slacking Off to Sustainable Development?"
The Heavenly Dao Will silently withdrew and concealed itself. It seemed to have decided that as long as he started speaking, that would be enough. As for the content... it no longer dared ask for too much.
Only Xiao Kuang remained in the empty hall, scratching his head and worrying at the air. Xi He, Chang Xi, and the young women exchanged glances, their eyes mingling with a trace of curiosity, a trace of concern—about the quality of the lecture—and an exceedingly subtle... anticipation that even they themselves were unwilling to acknowledge?
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