The Primordial World had no sense of time. Ever since Pangu split the heavens from the earth, the world had endured the Beast Tribulation and the Dragon-Han Primordial Tribulation. Slaughter had never ceased.
It was only after Hongjun slew Luohou and expounded the Great Dao at Zixiao Palace that cultivators of the Primordial World found a path of cultivation and began to revere Hongjun as the Dao Ancestor.
Dijun and Taiyi, born within the Sun Star, established the Demon Race Heavenly Court. The Twelve Ancestral Witches, formed from Pangu's Essence Blood, founded the Witch Race and stood against the Demon Race Heavenly Court.
Later, Nuwa molded clay to create humans, adding a rising new race to the Primordial World. Yet the Human Race was too weak, and the myriad races looked down on them.
Laozi, first among the Three Pure Ones, discovered that the Human Race possessed the Innate Dao Body and had extraordinary origins. He established the Human Religion on their foundation and became a Sage in one fell swoop.
His second brother, Yuqing Yuanshi Tianzun, followed Laozi's example, establishing a sect and proving the Dao. He founded the Chan School and likewise became a Sage through the Merit of founding a sect.
As all living beings knelt to the ground and congratulated the Sage on proving the Dao, a discordant voice rang out somewhere in the Primordial World.
"I really don't know what Laozi and Primordial Heavenly Venerable were thinking. They had Pangu's inheritance right there, yet they chose the Way of Severing the Three Corpses instead. How is that any different from cutting off their own path to the Dao?"
The one making this discordant remark was a monkey. He was brimming with spiritual energy and had six ears. Born with the divine ability to hear all things, he could learn what was happening in the world simply by standing in one place.
This monkey possessed the bloodline of a Chaos Demon God. He was the famous Six-Eared Macaque, one of the Four Chaos Monkeys.
But this Six-Eared Macaque was not the original one. Long before Hongjun began preaching, the transmigrator Lu Xuan had already taken over his body.
Lu Xuan came from an urban world in the Dharma-Ending Age. He had transmigrated after looking at a Pangu World-Opening Map at a street stall.
Knowing the course of events in the Primordial World, he had never gone to eavesdrop on Hongjun's sermons. So the incident of "the Dao is not to be imparted to the six ears" had never happened.
But over countless epochs, he'd found no one willing to take him as a disciple. He could only cultivate through the inheritance in his own bloodline, and his cultivation had barely reached the Primordial Unity Golden Immortal realm.
Just as Lu Xuan was mocking Laozi and Primordial Heavenly Venerable for cutting off their own paths to the Dao, a young Daoist appeared before him.
"You monkey have quite a mouth on you. Laozi and Primordial Heavenly Venerable became Sages by proving the Dao. That's a tremendous blessing! How did you manage to call it cutting off their own paths?"
Since transmigrating, Lu Xuan hadn't had a soul to talk to. Now that someone was questioning him, his argumentative nature immediately kicked in.
He promptly asked the young Daoist, "Who are Laozi and Primordial Heavenly Venerable, and how did they prove the Dao?"
The young Daoist answered without hesitation, "Laozi and Primordial Heavenly Venerable are of the Pangu Orthodox Lineage. They proved the Dao and became Sages by cultivating the Way of Severing the Three Corpses passed down by the Dao Ancestor."
Lu Xuan curled his lip. "That's utter nonsense. They proved the Dao through Merit. The truth is, that fellow never passed down the genuine Way of Severing the Three Corpses at all."
Lu Xuan's words thoroughly piqued the young Daoist's interest. In a few quick strides, he came over and sat cross-legged before Lu Xuan.
"You certainly make it sound convincing. Were you at Zixiao Palace listening to the Dao back then? But from what I can see, your cultivation is only at the Primordial Unity Golden Immortal realm. Surely you aren't qualified to be a Purple Cloud Palace Guest?"
Being looked down on made Lu Xuan launch into a torrent of words. He began explaining to the young Daoist what the true Way of Severing the Three Corpses was.
In an instant, signs of heaven and earth appeared. Countless laws and Daoist insights swirled around Lu Xuan and the young Daoist, then gathered into a Wheel of Laws.
As the Wheel of Laws turned slowly, Lu Xuan's voice grew even more penetrating. The young Daoist listened as if utterly entranced.
Seven days and seven nights passed in the blink of an eye. At last, Lu Xuan finished explaining the true Way of Severing the Three Corpses.
The young Daoist listened with furrowed brows, muttering under his breath, "Could it be that the three thousand Purple Cloud Palace Guests were all deceived by the Dao Ancestor?"
Looking at the young Daoist's baffled expression, Lu Xuan shook his head. "Even if that fellow had passed down the true Way of Severing the Three Corpses, it still wouldn't have been the right path for the Three Pure Ones."
"As the Pangu Orthodox Lineage, they should have inherited Great God Pangu's legacy and followed the path of Force-Proven Dao, becoming Primordial Daluo Golden Immortals. Instead, they abandoned the root for the branches and cultivated the Way of Severing the Three Corpses."
The young Daoist shook his head, unconvinced. "Now that the Great Dao has withdrawn and the Heavenly Dao has emerged, the path of Force-Proven Dao has long been impossible to follow."
"If the Three Pure Ones really did as you say and abandoned the Way of Severing the Three Corpses to pursue Force-Proven Dao, then even after countless epochs, they might still fail to prove the Dao."
Lu Xuan shot the young Daoist a disdainful look. "That's because you aren't one of the Three Pure Ones. You have no idea how ridiculously impressive their origins are."
"The Three Pure Ones were formed from Pangu's Heaven, Earth, and Human souls. The moment they took form, they had Great God Pangu's Merit from creating the heavens and earth upon them. Their bloodlines also contained the complete method of Force-Proven Dao."
"It's a pity those three useless fools didn't seek the Dao within themselves, but instead went begging to others. They wasted all the painstaking care Great God Pangu had put into them."
"If Great God Pangu had known he'd have three such unfilial sons, he'd probably have died of anger before he finished opening the heavens."
"Forget it. There's no point telling you all this. You're just a Golden Immortal whose cultivation is even lower than mine. You wouldn't understand these profound truths anyway."
Unexpectedly, the young Daoist persisted, repeatedly begging Lu Xuan to explain the differences between the Three Pure Ones in detail.
Perhaps he'd been cooped up for too long, and now that he'd finally found someone willing to listen, Lu Xuan couldn't keep his mouth shut.
He went on for another seven days and seven nights, finally listing all the advantages the Pangu Orthodox Lineage had been born with.
At the end, he couldn't help adding, "That's what they call being a second-generation Pangu. Their starting line is your finish line. How could you ever compare?"
"And it wasn't just the Three Pure Ones. The Twelve Ancestral Witches, formed from Pangu's Essence Blood, were the same. But those twelve fools were even more reckless than the Three Pure Ones."
"Great God Pangu really had it rough, having such a bunch of good-for-nothing descendants."
At Lu Xuan's heartbroken expression, a simple, honest smile appeared on the young Daoist's face.
"Fellow Daoist, you know so many secrets. You must be no ordinary person. Might I presume upon your kindness and become sworn brothers with you?"
Hearing that the young Daoist wanted to swear brotherhood with him, Lu Xuan thought, A lackey wouldn't be bad. At least I'd have someone to keep me company when I'm bored.
It wasn't that Lu Xuan had no sense of caution. When he transmigrated, he'd brought the Pangu World-Opening Map along with him.
If he was in danger, the map would warn him immediately. Since the Pangu World-Opening Map had made no move, it meant the young Daoist before him posed no threat.
So he nodded and said, "We can swear brotherhood, but I'll be the big brother. With me looking out for you, I guarantee your cultivation will advance by leaps and bounds."
The young Daoist furrowed his brow, as if pondering something. In the end, he simply nodded at Lu Xuan.
The two of them then stuck grass in the earth as incense and swore an oath to the Great Dao, becoming sworn brothers. The young Daoist even made a formal oath to the Great Dao.
"Great Dao above, today I, Tongtian, become sworn brothers with Lu Xuan. From this day forward, I am willing to honor Lu Xuan as my elder brother. Let the Great Dao bear witness."
Hearing the young Daoist call himself Tongtian, Lu Xuan was struck dumb. "Who did you say you were? Are you Shangqing Tongtian, one of the Three Pure Ones?"
When the young Daoist nodded, Lu Xuan nearly ascended on the spot.
At that moment, only one voice remained in Lu Xuan's mind, repeating over and over: Damn it, what have I done?
Before you continue