"Ah, I wonder how many times my disciple can use Great Dao Judgment." Hongjun wore a regretful expression.
The Heavenly Dao's face turned green upon hearing this. Damn it, how many times? One more time and I'd be torn apart.
"Hongjun, I am the Primordial Era Heavenly Dao..."
"Great Dao Judgment."
"Hongjun, sooner or later, you and that disciple of yours..."
"Great Dao Judgment."
The Heavenly Dao was utterly depressed. Hongjun kept saying nothing but Great Dao Judgment, no matter what the Heavenly Dao said.
He had only one response: Great Dao Judgment.
He nearly enraged the Heavenly Dao into taking its own life.
"Hongjun, I've treated you well enough, haven't I? Talk to your disciple and tell him to stop opposing me all the time. Being the Heavenly Dao isn't easy either." Seeing that threats were useless, the Heavenly Dao changed tactics.
It tried to placate him instead.
"Great Dao Judgment."
Damn it, are you master and disciple obsessed with Great Dao Judgment or what?
Left with no choice, the Heavenly Dao decided to flee first. Who knew what medicine Hongjun had taken?
He was impervious to both soft and hard tactics, with Great Dao Judgment constantly on his lips.
Once the Heavenly Dao left, Hongjun's hearty laughter echoed throughout Heavenly Dao Space.
Within Purple Cloud Palace.
After composing himself, Hongjun said with a smile, "Before the Great Dao left, it gave us a small gift. From now on, the Heavenly Dao can no longer enter Purple Cloud Palace."
"What? Such a good thing? Master, why didn't you tell me sooner?" Qing Xuanzi complained. He had been considering how to discuss this with Hongjun.
The Great Dao had directly delivered the pillow right when he needed sleep. How thoughtful.
"Nüwa and Qing Xuanzi, stay. The rest of you may leave." Hongjun waved his hand.
Jie Yin and Zhunti looked as if they had swallowed something foul. They were being driven away already?
Yet they could not voice any complaints. After all, the one seated upon the high platform was the true Dao Ancestor Hongjun.
If they so much as misspoke, Hongjun probably would not even need to act.
The remaining five disciples could thoroughly put them in their place.
Jie Yin and Zhunti left with miserable expressions.
Laozi smiled at Qing Xuanzi. "Junior Brother, we're so close by, yet you never come visit me?"
"Hehe, Senior Brother Laozi, there will be plenty of time."
Laozi patted Qing Xuanzi on the shoulder and left.
Tongtian gave Qing Xuanzi a punch. "You're something else, kid. That move was beautiful. I'll give it a try next time."
"Don't, Senior Brother Tongtian. You are a Primordial Era Saint. Unless it is absolutely necessary, never use it. Never mind what the outcome might be, you will certainly be charged with disrespecting the Heavenly Dao."
"True enough. A Mixed Origin Great Luo Golden Immortal is still freer and more straightforward."
Tongtian sighed and left as well.
Yuanshi gave Hongjun a proper bow, cast Qing Xuanzi a complicated glance, and only then departed.
The Three Pure Ones had left.
Qing Xuanzi stepped forward. "Master, you already know about the Four Sacred Beasts on the Primordial Membrane. After discussing it with Nüwa, this disciple decided to have Houtu control them. But Pangu Hall is not safe either."
Hongjun smiled. "No matter. They are merely Heavenly Dao puppets."
As he spoke, he took out a pill. "This pill is called the Heaven Deceiving Pill. Place it against the edge of the Blood Pool like a Chaos Seed."
Qing Xuanzi happily stepped forward and accepted the Heaven Deceiving Pill. He knew Hongjun would certainly have a solution.
Otherwise, keeping the Chaos Clock there forever was not a solution.
"The Heavenly Dao's greater trend has already taken shape and cannot be changed. What you must do is quietly complete the arrangements for the Qing Tian Plan without leaving any trace. In truth, allowing the Karma Fire Red Lotus to appear was a terrible move by the Heavenly Dao. Otherwise, if it launched the Human-Demon Calamity now, it would be perfectly justified."
"The Human-Demon Calamity?" This was Qing Xuanzi's first time hearing the term.
"Yes. Its purpose was to target you and the Three Thousand Congenital Humans, but that terrible move of its ruined the plan."
Qing Xuanzi was exceptionally intelligent. From Hongjun's few words alone, he understood.
The great war between the Witch Race and Demon Clan was the premise, while their mutual downfall was the final outcome.
To achieve that ending, the Witch Race and Demon Clan needed comparable strength.
Originally, the human calamity had been intended to let the Demon Clan forge the Witch Slaughtering Sword to restrain the Witch Race.
Who would have thought Qing Xuanzi would suddenly emerge and cause an unexpected change in this minor trend?
Thus, the Heavenly Dao had two choices. First, it could trigger the calamity and plunge humanity into disaster, forging the Witch Slaughtering Sword anew.
Second, it could strengthen the Demon Clan, such as by bestowing the Karma Fire Red Lotus to restrain the Witch Race.
Yet the Heavenly Dao had chosen to do both at once.
Would that not elevate the Demon Clan to the heavens? It could never achieve the goal of having the Witch Race and Demon Clan perish together. Only the Witch Race would fall, while the Demon Clan would completely dominate the Primordial Era.
Nüwa quietly listened to their conversation from the side, a look of understanding appearing in her eyes from time to time.
"Nüwa."
"This disciple is here."
"Today, I shall impart a technique to you, called Heaven Devouring. It was originally the innate divine ability of the Heaven Devouring Iron Eating Beast during the Ferocious Beast Calamity. This old Daoist obtained it by chance. Today, I pass it to you. You may use it to deal with the Heavenly Dao imprint within the Hongmeng Purple Qi."
As he spoke, a spark of spiritual light flew toward Nüwa's brow.
"Thank you, Teacher, for bestowing this technique." Nüwa bowed in gratitude, her face full of excitement. All Heavenly Dao Saints knew that the Hongmeng Purple Qi contained Heavenly Dao imprints, intended to restrain Saints like them.
"Remember this well. This technique has two forms: devour without consuming, and devour and consume. Unless your life is at stake, you must not use devour and consume. Avoid alerting the Heavenly Dao and ruining the greater plan."
"This disciple has received your instruction."
Once Hongjun had finished his instructions, Qing Xuanzi asked, "Master, how was the Heavenly Dao's greater trend established?"
"I do not know either. I merely have a vague feeling that it was the Great Dao's intent from the beginning."
"What?" Qing Xuanzi was somewhat confused. The Heavenly Dao's greater trend had been determined by the Great Dao?
Then that so-called Great Dao Judgment was utterly useless.
"Actually, you should understand in your heart. Pangu created the Primordial Era in order to surpass the Great Dao, so the Great Dao would naturally send down calamities. These calamities are precisely what all beings of the Primordial Era must face. If they overcome them, Pangu will succeed. If they fail, it will ultimately all be but a dream."
Qing Xuanzi suddenly understood. So this was what Pangu had meant when he said, "I shall endure the calamities together with you."
He also understood that perhaps the Heavenly Dao had added a little something to the calamities for its own selfish interests.
As for whether the Heavenly Dao had succeeded, Qing Xuanzi did not know.
But the Primordial Era had suffered terribly.
First Buzhou Mountain had broken, and then the Primordial Era had shattered.
All of this had actually been calamities sent down by the Great Dao, targeting Pangu.
Qing Xuanzi surmised that with every calamity overcome, Pangu would awaken a little more.
If they handled things properly, Pangu still had hope of overcoming the Dao Calamity.
After understanding all these twists and turns, Qing Xuanzi's eyes became clear. "Master, Pangu has bestowed teachings upon this disciple and treated me very well. This disciple must do everything possible to help Pangu overcome the Dao Calamity."
In truth, Qing Xuanzi still had something he had not said aloud: I am also helping myself overcome the Dao Calamity.
Anyone who cultivated the Five Grand Primordial Arts was destined to surpass the Great Dao.
Yet they would encounter Dao Calamities in the unseen currents of fate, falling ever deeper into them without realizing it. By the time they understood, it would already be too late to reverse matters.
After Qing Xuanzi understood this principle, he knew that the trials he faced had likely already descended in silence.
Helping Pangu overcome the Dao Calamity was, in truth, helping himself as well.
It was killing two birds with one stone. He had to do it.
"Hm? Qing Xuanzi, humanity has encountered some problems. You should return." Hongjun suddenly gave a soft exclamation before instructing him, "Remember, ask your Senior Sister Nüwa about everything. Your understanding of the Primordial Era is far inferior to hers."
Before you continue