Embraced on Both Sides, the First Sermon Begins

Now that Hongjun Ancestor had appeared, there was no longer any need to fight over the six cushions.

Yet Lingxiao remained utterly calm. He had long resolved to pursue the path of the Primordial Zenith Heaven Golden Immortal, rather than the Saint Realm fruition bound to the Heavenly Dao.

Though the Heavenly Dao offered a shortcut, it also came with layers upon layers of shackles. It was far less unfettered than the Primordial Unity Great Dao, which granted great freedom and great ease.

Lingxiao had his suspicions. Hongjun's establishment of this forum to preach the Dao, culminating in the bestowal of Primordial Purple Qi and the installation of six Heavenly Dao Sages, was most likely intended to find fellow travelers to help him govern the Primordial World and rule over all living beings.

Such a purpose was also another way of completing order.

With that in mind, Lingxiao wrapped his arms around the two peerless beauties beside him and slowly walked toward the empty space at the front.

With a turn of his hand, he produced a cushion woven from the sun-facing branches and leaves of the Fusang Divine Tree upon the Sun Star, along with the frost-laden branches of the Moon Osmanthus Tree upon the Lunar Star. Yin and Yang energies coiled around it, while Dao rhythm flowed without end.

Lingxiao promptly sat down cross-legged. Xihe leaned gently against his left leg, while Changxi curled up playfully upon his right. Lunar Moonlight from the two women intertwined with Lingxiao's Sun Divine Light; Yin and Yang complemented one another, forming a perfect Dao domain of their own that left others green with envy.

Naturally, this sight brought all manner of expressions to the great cultivators in the front rows.

"Favored by heaven, blessed with boundless merit, and even accompanied in devoted love by two Lunar Goddesses—this Fellow Daoist Lingxiao truly makes others envious."

Eastern King Lord watched the scene, his heart filled with envy. His gaze unconsciously swept toward a figure not far away in the hall, and his expression dimmed further.

On the path of cultivation, the four most important things were wealth, companions, methods, and territory.

In terms of wealth, he had taken form from Donghua Supreme True Essence and possessed the Innate Spiritual Treasure, the Pure Yang Sword, from birth. His resources were abundant.

In terms of methods, he had been born from the resonance between the first wisp of Innate Pure Yang Qi in heaven and earth and Eastern Extremity Jia-Wood Qi. Known as the Wood Duke, his origins were extraordinary, and both his divine abilities and magical power stood at the pinnacle of the Primordial World.

In terms of territory, he possessed Purple Palace Isle in the Eastern Sea, one of the foremost blessed grotto-heavens amid the oceans of the Primordial World.

Only in the matter of "companions" had he never been able to fulfill his wish.

His roots lay in Donghua's pure yang nature, while upon Kunlun Immortal Island in the Western Sea was Queen Mother of the West, who had taken form from Western Supreme Wondrous Essence. She had been born from the resonance of the first wisp of Innate Pure Yin Qi in heaven and earth and Western Extremity Metal Qi. One was metal and one wood, one yin and one yang, one east and one west—they were a pair made by heaven and matched by earth.

Over these many Yuanhui, Eastern King Lord had personally visited Kunlun time and again. Yet Queen Mother of the West had never wished to become Dao companions with him. No matter how earnestly he courted her, he could never gain entry through her door.

Even the dignified Eastern King Lord had such a regret beyond his reach.

Now, seeing Lingxiao holding one beauty on each side, with Xihe's tender devotion and Changxi's sincere reliance—and the two women living together harmoniously without the slightest rift—he felt not only envy, but heartfelt admiration. He secretly resolved, Should an opportunity arise in the future, I must ask Fellow Daoist Lingxiao to teach me the mysteries of such destined affinity.

Elsewhere, Fu Xi was transmitting his voice to Nuwa with a painstakingly earnest air, every inch the overprotective elder brother. "Little sister, you must keep your distance from that Golden Crow brat from now on. He looks dignified and virtuous, but he is truly fickle-hearted. His methods of flirting with women are especially practiced. Do not let him sweet-talk and deceive you for nothing!"

In the Primordial World, strength was revered above all else. It was commonplace for those of exceptional power to take several Dao companions.

But Fu Xi only had this one younger sister. Seeing that Lingxiao had won the hearts of both Lunar Goddesses proved that his methods were far from ordinary. Fu Xi immediately regarded him with full vigilance, placing Lingxiao in the category of "those who must be guarded against."

"Brother, do not speak nonsense!" Nuwa had always been thin-skinned, and her brother's tone, like that of a beast guarding its food, made her pretty face flush crimson. She hurriedly retorted through divine sense, "Fellow Daoist Lingxiao and I have never met before. Today is our first encounter. How can you smear his name out of thin air?"

Her gaze quietly swept over the three of them.

Seeing the tender affection in Xihe's brows and eyes, and the genuine happiness in Changxi's smile, her thoughts were entirely unlike Fu Xi's. Her brother was worrying too much.

Fellow Daoist Lingxiao and the two Lunar Goddesses were clearly united in mutual love, treating one another with true affection. To find such a home, was that not a wonderful thing?

Candle Dragon took in all of this, yet paid it no mind whatsoever.

Dragons were inherently lustful. During the Dragon-Han Calamity, which of the Dragon Clan's ancestors and elders had not possessed a brimming harem?

Even Ancestral Dragon, progenitor of the Dragon Clan, had conquered sea, land, and sky, pursuing beauties among the myriad races of the Primordial World. Let alone ordinary Innate Sacred Beings—even a spring well with spiritual springs and fair waters upon the earth would draw Ancestral Dragon over should desire seize him. He called it, quite elegantly, joining the Dao with the earth.

Compared to Ancestral Dragon, Lingxiao merely holding two Dao companions at once was hardly anything remarkable.

"Since destined affinity has been determined, cease your disputes."

At that moment, Hongjun Ancestor slowly spoke. His Dao voice, neither sorrowful nor joyful, spread through the entire Violet Firmament Palace, instantly suppressing every whisper and undercurrent within the hall.

He looked around. There were neither too many nor too few listeners—exactly three thousand, perfectly corresponding to the complete number of the Three Thousand Great Daos. He nodded faintly, satisfaction flashing through his eyes.

—Though he had already attained the Dao and become a Saint, he had not yet fully merged with the Heavenly Dao. Thus, while his temperament had grown somewhat more detached, his likes and dislikes remained distinct.

Hongjun Ancestor's gaze paused briefly upon Lingxiao. With an amused inward curse of "romantic seed," he gathered his thoughts and prepared to expound upon the Great Dao.

"We respectfully obey the Saint's teaching!"

Upon hearing this, Jieyin and Zhunti hurriedly rose and bowed toward the lotus platform. Turning back, they sat upright upon their cushions, no longer sparing even a glance for the teeth-gritting Kunpeng at the rear of the hall.

The other great cultivators also rose one after another and bowed to Hongjun. None dared show the slightest disrespect to the first Heavenly Dao Sage since the opening of heaven and earth.

"This sermon shall be divided into three sessions, each lasting ten thousand years. In this first session, I shall first speak of the cultivation foundations from the Human Immortal Realm up to the consummation of the Zenith Heaven Golden Immortal."

Hongjun Ancestor lifted a hand in a gentle wave. The Creation Jade Slip above his head slowly rose into the void, and countless innate Dao glyphs slithered like spiritual serpents. The vault of Violet Firmament Palace burst open with a rumble as layers of Chaos Qi poured in backward, only to transform into flowers raining from the heavens the instant they touched the Dao voice.

Vermilion, indigo, and golden-purple lotuses bloomed in the air. Where their petals drifted down, Heavenly Dao aphorisms flickered in and out of sight. The carvings of living beings upon the palace pillars opened their eyes as well, and the clouds they exhaled condensed entirely into golden seal-script characters.

For a time, heavenly flowers rained in profusion, while golden lotuses surged from the earth.

Hazy purple qi swept through the entire hall. All manner of Great Dao phenomena entered the cultivators' bodies, causing their comprehension to soar and their affinity with the laws of heaven and earth to rise sharply.

Among them, the six people seated upon the six cushions received the most profound phenomena.

Just as the great cultivators held their breath and focused their minds, preparing to listen to the true words of the Great Dao, Hongjun Ancestor's tone suddenly turned cold. He spoke indifferently: "The Dao may be spoken, but not stolen; the law may be transmitted, but never to Six-Eared."

As the words fell, an invisible power of the Heavenly Dao instantly pierced through Chaos and reached the side of the World Womb Membrane surrounding the Primordial World.

The Six-Eared Macaque, who had been secretly eavesdropping through his innate divine ability, did not even manage half a scream before his innate divine ability was crippled on the spot. His Primordial Spirit consciousness sea suffered a devastating blow, and howling in agony, he transformed into a streak of light and fled back to the deep mountains and forests of the Eastern Land.

"This..."

Within Violet Firmament Palace, the Innate Sacred Beings looked at one another. Though they did not know what had happened, they engraved the five words "the law is not transmitted to Six-Eared" deeply into their hearts.

Because of those words, until the Journey-to-the-West Tribulation, no great cultivator in the Primordial World had been willing to accept the Six-Eared Macaque as a disciple. Coupled with the damage to his Dao foundation and the destruction of his divine abilities, even by the time of the conflict of the True and False Monkey Kings, he had attained no more than the cultivation of a Primordial Unity Golden Immortal. But that was a later tale, not to be discussed for now.

"The path of cultivation may be summed up as tempering the Three Treasures. Heaven, earth, and man are the Three Powers. Heaven has three treasures: sun, moon, and stars. Earth has three treasures: water, fire, and wind. Man has three treasures: essence, qi, and spirit..."

Hongjun Ancestor spoke once more, formally beginning his exposition of the Great Dao.

His Dao voice began gentle and plain, starting from the Human Immortal Realm and Earth Immortal Realm, advancing step by step to the Heavenly Immortal Realm, True Immortal Realm, Profound Immortal Realm, and Golden Immortal Realm. Layer upon layer, from surface to depth, he explained every barrier on the path of cultivation and every principle of the laws with incomparable clarity.

"A towering building rises from level ground. This journey was indeed not made in vain."

As Lingxiao listened, realization stirred within him, and he inwardly sighed.

He was the sole Golden Crow of the Sun Star, one of the most supreme Innate Sacred Beings. From the moment he was born, he had already been a Zenith Heaven Golden Immortal. As for the foundational methods of lower-level cultivation, he had always remained at the stage of knowing that something was so, but not knowing why it was so.

Now, Hongjun proceeded from the shallow to the profound, arranging the entire cultivation system with seamless precision. It perfectly remedied the shortcomings in Lingxiao's cultivation foundation, allowing his understanding of laws to grow ever clearer and his foundation ever more unshakable.

With the two women in his arms, he listened in concentrated silence. Sun Divine Light and Lunar Moonlight intertwined and flowed around him, echoing from afar with the Dao rhythm surrounding Hongjun Ancestor.