While Chen Xuan was instructing the Twelve Ancestral Sorcerers, the battle for supremacy in the Primordial World between the Three Clans of Dragons, Phoenixes, and Qilins had also reached a fever pitch.
At Rahu's instigation, the elite forces of all three clans had been deployed, ready to fight their final battle. For a time, the land was ravaged, and cries of grief filled the air.
But Chen Xuan paid no attention to any of it. He even felt that it was bound to happen and had little to do with him.
What Chen Xuan hadn't expected was for Hongjun to come all the way to Mount Buzhou. Now he had even arrived outside the Ancestral Sorcerer Hall.
"Daoist Azure Lotus, you certainly made me search high and low for you. If I hadn't sensed your presence on Mount Buzhou, I truly wouldn't have known where else to look."
Hongjun's voice carried into the Ancestral Sorcerer Hall, and Chen Xuan couldn't help frowning.
At the same time, he thought to himself, Looks like Hongjun is dead set on scheming against me.
Though Chen Xuan knew Hongjun was up to no good, the man had already come looking for him. He had to meet him.
He turned to the Twelve Ancestral Sorcerers and said, "The Dragon-Han Calamity has reached a critical point. With your current cultivation, you're still not qualified to take part."
"After I leave, seal the Ancestral Sorcerer Hall. For one yuanhui, no one is to leave the hall—not even half a step."
The Twelve Ancestral Sorcerers naturally obeyed Chen Xuan's orders without question. They immediately assured him that they absolutely wouldn't leave.
Only then did Chen Xuan set off for the entrance of the Ancestral Sorcerer Hall, reassured.
Seeing Chen Xuan emerge from the hall, Hongjun couldn't help smiling as he said,
"Daoist Azure Lotus really was here. I certainly had to search high and low for you."
Chen Xuan saluted Hongjun with a cupped fist, then calmly asked, "May I ask why Daoist Hongjun was in such a hurry to find me? Were you planning to give me another spiritual treasure?"
Hongjun sighed. "Daoist Azure Lotus may not know, but Rahu has incited the Three Clans of Dragons, Phoenixes, and Qilins to wage war, hoping to use the baleful energy to attain the Primordial Daluo Golden Immortal realm."
When Chen Xuan merely nodded, Hongjun couldn't help finding it strange.
After all, if Rahu attained the Primordial Daluo Golden Immortal realm, none of the surviving Chaos Gods and Demons would have a place in the Primordial World.
That was why, over this period, Hongjun had managed to get everyone he approached to take the matter seriously and form an alliance with him.
But when he came to Chen Xuan today, all he got was this indifferent expression. It was only natural that Hongjun found it odd.
He asked again, "Daoist Azure Lotus, aren't you worried that Rahu will destroy the Primordial World once he attains the Primordial Daluo Golden Immortal realm?"
In Hongjun's mind, even if Chen Xuan wasn't Pangu reborn, he must have had an extraordinary connection to Pangu.
Otherwise, he wouldn't have gone to Mount Buzhou to meet the Twelve Ancestral Sorcerers as soon as he took form. After all, the Twelve Ancestral Sorcerers were Pangu's descendants.
That was why Hongjun had said that the Primordial World would be destroyed if Rahu attained the Primordial Daluo Golden Immortal realm.
But what Hongjun hadn't expected was that Chen Xuan still looked as if the matter had nothing to do with him.
"Rahu won't be able to attain that realm in the end. Why worry, Daoist Hongjun?"
Chen Xuan's words left Hongjun momentarily speechless. The look in his eyes changed as he gazed at Chen Xuan.
Chen Xuan, on the other hand, put on an air of unfathomable wisdom and continued, "Since you're worried, Daoist Hongjun, why not step in and mediate between the three clans? As long as they stop fighting, no more baleful energy will be produced, and Rahu will no longer be a threat."
"Of course, if you're confident you can kill Rahu, you could also put an end to this once and for all and eradicate the scourge."
Hongjun sighed. "I've stepped in to mediate the affairs of the three clans more than once."
"Unfortunately, the enmity between them has grown too deep. A few words won't be enough to resolve it."
"But I can't kill Rahu on my own. So I've already joined forces with several fellow Daoists, and we plan to go to Mount Sumeru in a thousand years to vanquish the demon and defend the Way."
"Would Daoist Azure Lotus be willing to lend a hand and restore peace to the Primordial World, so that its countless living beings can cultivate in peace?"
At last, Hongjun had revealed the true purpose of his visit. Chen Xuan fell silent for a moment.
"I once received the Twelve-Rank Golden Lotus of Merit from you, Daoist Hongjun, and promised to help you. Since you've come to ask for my aid today, there's naturally no reason for me to refuse."
"However, let's get one thing straight first: after we kill Rahu, I want his Four Swords of Execution and the Execution Array Diagram."
Hongjun agreed without the slightest hesitation. In his understanding, Chen Xuan was bound to die at Western Mount Sumeru.
By then, even the treasures in Chen Xuan's hands would be his. How could Chen Xuan possibly get his hands on the Four Swords of Execution and the Execution Array Diagram?
Chen Xuan understood perfectly well what Hongjun was thinking. That was why he now wore a troubled expression.
Hongjun couldn't help finding it strange. "Why do you look so troubled, Daoist Azure Lotus? Is there something you find difficult to say?"
Chen Xuan nodded. "You may not know, Daoist Hongjun, but I don't have any decent innate treasures. Once the battle begins, I'm afraid I won't be able to hold Rahu in check."
"But rest assured. I'll use the next thousand years to search as hard as I can, and do my best to bring an innate treasure with me when we go to kill Rahu."
After saying that, Chen Xuan bade Hongjun farewell and headed up Mount Buzhou, as if he really was going to search for an innate treasure.
But Hongjun couldn't help growing suspicious. He'll do his best to bring an innate treasure to kill Rahu? What if he can't find one...
Hongjun suddenly saw through it all. Chen Xuan must have been using that as an excuse to avoid joining the effort to kill Rahu.
He could only steel himself, stop Chen Xuan, and say, "Daoist Azure Lotus, innate treasures are rare and hard to come by. How could you possibly find one within a hundred years?"
"How about this? I have an ultimate-grade innate spiritual treasure called the Heaven-Grinding Disc. You can borrow it for now."
As he spoke, Hongjun took out the Heaven-Grinding Disc and, without hesitation, offered it to Chen Xuan.
Looking at the Heaven-Grinding Disc before him, Chen Xuan wore a troubled expression. After a moment, he said, "Killing Rahu at Mount Sumeru in the west is my duty. How could I accept such a precious treasure from you, Daoist Hongjun?"
Hongjun had clearly said he was lending the treasure to Chen Xuan. But now, Chen Xuan had made it sound as if Hongjun meant to give him the Heaven-Grinding Disc.
And judging by the look of it, if Hongjun didn't agree, Chen Xuan absolutely wouldn't accept the Heaven-Grinding Disc.
"Very well. I'll give you the Heaven-Grinding Disc for now. Once you die and your soul is scattered, everything will still be mine."
Having made up his mind, Hongjun immediately erased the divine sense imprint on the Heaven-Grinding Disc.
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