Pure Yang's Restrictions, Lingxiao Announces His Wedding

"Whoosh! Whoosh!"

Before Dao Ancestor Hongjun had even finished speaking, he flicked his fingers, and two streaks of spiritual light shot from his sleeve, landing before Eastern King Lord and Queen Mother of the West.

They were two Supreme-Grade Innate Spiritual Treasures—

The one before Eastern King Lord was a Dragon-Headed Staff. Its body was purple gold, and its handle was shaped like a dragon's head. Innate Pure Yang Dao patterns flowed across it, and with every movement, it let loose a dragon's roar that shook the world. It could suppress all yin and evil and command the Primordial World's pure yang qi.

The one before Queen Mother of the West was a Pure Water Alms Bowl. It was made of white jade and adorned with starlight. Inside, seven kinds of innate divine water remained distinct, giving rise to ripples of the Great Dao. It could cleanse the turbid and bring forth the pure, purify inner demons, and command all the waters under Heaven.

Both treasures had been acquired by Dao Ancestor Hongjun during his early travels through the Primordial World.

Now that he had attained the Heavenly Dao Sage Realm and entrusted his primordial spirit to the Heavenly Dao, he was also contemplating taking the next step and integrating with the Dao. Naturally, he no longer had any use for them.

Besides, during his earlier spar with Ancestor Yang Mei, the latter had used his Hollow Willow to sweep away every treasure in Hongjun's hands.

Dao Ancestor Hongjun had come to understand that external treasures were ultimately mere side branches and no longer offered him any benefit in his Dao Integration.

Rather than keeping them unused, he might as well bestow them as rewards, lending weight and prestige to the two who would command the assembled immortals.

"Thank you for bestowing these treasures, Master! This disciple will not fail your trust. I will govern the Immortal Ranks alongside Daoist Xihua and bring peace to the Primordial World!"

With the Dragon-Headed Staff in hand, the pure yang qi throughout Eastern King Lord's body surged with delight. His face shone with unconcealed joy as he bowed repeatedly to Hongjun.

He was delighted not only to have been personally appointed by the Dao Ancestor as the foremost male immortal in the Primordial World, with the authority to command the assembled immortals. He was even happier that the Dao Ancestor had placed him and Queen Mother of the West on equal footing, to govern Yin and Yang together—

With the two of them working side by side day after day, perhaps affection would grow with time. Maybe he could follow Daoist Lingxiao's example, win the heart of a beautiful woman, and fulfill his long-held wish!

Queen Mother of the West also bowed to Hongjun in thanks, a hint of joy flashing through her cool eyes.

She had little ambition to vie for supremacy and did not care much for the authority of Head of Female Immortals. But to receive, without asking, a Supreme-Grade Innate Spiritual Treasure that suited her own Dao was a pleasant surprise.

After all, across the entire Primordial World, those who held Supreme-Grade Innate Spiritual Treasures were as rare as phoenix feathers and qilin horns. Even many Primordial Origin Golden Immortals who had endured Calamities might not possess such a supreme treasure.

The appearance of this treasure alone was enough to make Daluo Golden Immortals fight to the death and Primordial Origin Golden Immortals take notice!

Yet although Dao Ancestor Hongjun had appointed them and bestowed treasures upon them, the mighty figures in the hall reacted in very different ways.

The Three Pure Ones sat on the first three cushions, their expressions indifferent. They did not take these so-called leaders of the male and female immortals seriously at all.

The Twelve Ancestral Witches were no different—

Di Jiang, Gonggong, Zhurong, and the other eight Ancestral Witches wore undisguised mockery and disdain. If not for the pressure of the Sage Realm in Violet Firmament Palace, they would have already burst out laughing.

Only Houtu remained calm, a thoughtful look in her eyes.

As for old powers like Candle Dragon and Fire Phoenix, who had endured several Calamities, their expressions remained placid and unreadable.

With Xihe and Changxi in his arms, Lingxiao took it all in and sighed to himself.

At first glance, this move by Dao Ancestor Hongjun seemed like a simple act of rewarding others. In reality, he had already begun laying the groundwork for his future Mending of the Heavens through Dao Integration and his rule over the Primordial World's Heavenly Dao.

But the authority over the Immortal Ranks was ultimately just a flower reflected in a mirror, a moon reflected in water. When the Witch-Demon Tribes rose in the future, the title of leader of the male and female immortals would become an empty dream.

Still...

Lingxiao reconsidered. Among the three thousand Violet Firmament Guests, there were many mighty figures with innate Yin-Yang roots.

Fu Xi was Innate Lesser Yang, and Nuwa was Innate Lesser Yin.

He and Xihe and Changxi were the rulers of the Lunar Star and Sun Star. Their roots were orthodox, and their cultivation and Dao attainments were no weaker than those of Eastern King Lord and Queen Mother of the West—if anything, they surpassed them.

At its core, the reason these two had received the positions of leaders of the male and female immortals came down to one word: "pure."

Pure Yang and Pure Yin meant yin and yang without the slightest impurity, not a fraction more or less.

Lesser Yang and Lesser Yin fell just short.

The Lunar Star and Sun Star, meanwhile, possessed one fraction too much of the extreme. Yang at its zenith gave birth to yin, and yin at its zenith gave birth to yang. Though they fulfilled the Great Dao, they were not pure Yin-Yang origins.

None of the three was inherently superior. They simply followed different paths.

"Does this Daoist Donghua seem to have fallen for Daoist Xihua?" Xihe quietly sent Lingxiao a message, her voice edged with uncertainty.

"It's obvious." Lingxiao nodded with a smile.

It wasn't that his eyes were especially sharp. Eastern King Lord wasn't hiding it in the least, and all the mighty figures present were perceptive. Who could fail to see?

But one was a flower with longing, and the other was a stream that flowed on.

However deep the feelings, fate was too shallow.

What did Pure Yang and Pure Yin mean?

They were Yin-Yang origins with not a trace of impurity. If the two truly became Dao companions, and their yin and yang mingled and their origins blended, how could they remain pure?

Their very roots doomed them to fail as Dao companions—unless they encountered a great opportunity that could change fate itself.

But how easy was that?

In Lingxiao's view, Eastern King Lord would have no chance in this life to unite yin and yang. Only after he reincarnated as Donghua Emperor, the Pure Yang Sword Immortal, could he break free of this predicament.

Then again, it was fortunate that Lingxiao had Sun Star roots and none of Pure Yang's many restrictions. In that case, he ought to give them proper status, too...

His gentle gaze swept over the Jade Rabbit sisters. He shook his head and gathered his thoughts.

Then he focused on digesting the insights he had gained from ten thousand years of listening to the Dao. He would return to Violet Firmament Palace to hear the second lecture, on the cultivation path of Quasi-Saints, after three Yuanhui.

The other Innate Sacred Beings in the hall were also quietly sorting through what they had learned. When everyone raised their heads again, Dao Ancestor Hongjun was already gone from atop the Twelve-Petaled Merit Golden Lotus.

One by one, they rose to leave, ready to return to their respective abodes and enter seclusion to digest their gains.

"Big Brother Lingxiao, now that the lecture is over, should we first return to the Sun Star in the Primordial World, or stay in Chaos and wait for three Yuanhui?" Changxi shifted on Lingxiao's right thigh, curled up against him. She straightened, lifted her little face, and gazed at him with bright eyes full of dependence.

"Not yet. There's something else I need to do." Lingxiao let his gaze linger briefly on Xihe's cool, lovely face, then reached out and gently pinched Changxi's soft cheek, smiling.

"What do you need to do, Daoist Brother? My younger sister and I will accompany you, of course." Xihe hurried to speak, her slender hand already clasping Lingxiao's wrist, her tone resolute.

"I'm going too! I'm going too!" Changxi nodded eagerly and hugged Lingxiao's arm tightly.

"Haha, of course you're both coming. This cannot be done without either of you."

Lingxiao laughed heartily and helped the two women to their feet. He kept an arm around each of their slender waists, drawing sidelong glances from quite a few of the mighty figures in the hall.

The sisters were still curious when Lingxiao let go of them, turned toward the three thousand Innate Sacred Beings in the hall, and bowed from afar.

"Fellow Daoists, I am Lingxiao. Greetings."

His words instantly drew every eye in the hall.

The mighty figures turned to look at him, their expressions varied—some curious, some puzzled. All remained where they were, waiting to hear what he would say next.

Lingxiao's gaze swept across the hall before settling once more on Xihe and Changxi at his side. His eyes were filled with tenderness as he cupped his hands and spoke aloud again:

"Daoist Xihe of the Lunar Star, Daoist Changxi, and I are of one heart and share a compatible Dao. We wish to become Dao companions and unite the ways of the Lunar Star and Sun Star."

"One Yuanhui from now, we will host a banquet at Lingxiao Palace on the Sun Star. I humbly invite all of you to set aside time to attend. I will welcome you with open doors."

At his words, Xihe and Changxi both froze. Then a flood of joy surged through them.

"Mmm..."

Xihe, usually so cool and dignified, immediately blushed from cheek to cheek, even the tips of her ears turning pink. Her phoenix eyes, usually as indifferent as a frozen pool, now brimmed with tenderness and glistening tears.

She raised a hand to cover her lips, suppressing the tremble in her throat. Her long fingers trembled as she clasped Lingxiao's left hand, palm against palm, their feelings flowing between them. Though she had a thousand things to say, they all dissolved into the tender devotion shining in her eyes.