Zixiao Palace Opens; I, Kong Xuan, Bear the Mandate of the South

Outside Zixiao Palace.

A solemn hush prevailed.

Numerous Innate mighty beings stood silently, their auras deep as ancient stars.

Their burning gazes were all fixed upon the tightly shut purple palace doors.

They waited for the instant those doors opened.

Only a hundred years remained until the palace doors opened.

Suddenly.

Twelve violent, savage streams of Sha Qi, like blood-red spears tearing through the heavens, charged fiercely out of the chaos beyond Zixiao Palace.

The rolling Sha Qi stirred the winds and clouds, shattering the stillness of the place.

They were the Twelve Ancestral Witches, born from Pangu's essence blood, their bodies unmatched in strength.

The instant they arrived, they ignored both the solemn atmosphere and the many mighty beings present.

"Ha ha ha! So this is a Sage's dojo. It does have a bit of grandeur!"

"I just wonder whether there's good wine and meat inside!"

"What Sage? We brothers can go wherever we please!"

The Ancestral Witches shouted boisterously, their booming voices making the void hum.

They had not the slightest manners, treating the place as though it were their own backyard.

The Three Pure Ones stood at the front. Their Daoist robes fluttered without wind. Yuanshi's expression revealed his disgust as his gaze swept over the crude and clamorous Ancestral Witches, his brows tightly furrowed.

Yuanshi raged inwardly.

Such boorish barbarians, who cultivated only the flesh and knew nothing of Heaven's numbers, dared call themselves Pangu's true orthodox lineage?

They were simply tarnishing Father God's supreme renown for splitting heaven and earth!

Pure Qi flowed around him, carrying a faint trace of undisguised revulsion.

Quite a few mighty beings sensed the unrestrained savage Sha Qi emanating from the Ancestral Witches, as well as their grating clamor.

Their brows creased slightly. One after another, they chose to avoid the sharp edge, silently shifting away into corners, unwilling to become entangled with these Ancestral Witches whose Sha Qi soared into the heavens.

Little did they know.

Inside Zixiao Palace, Dao Ancestor Hongjun sat high upon a cloud couch. He had long since noticed everything. With a slight stir of his thoughts, he had already obscured, in the unseen currents of fate, the possibility of the Twelve Ancestral Witches reaching Zixiao Palace.

Yet they had still arrived, forcibly piercing through a Sage's concealment. A faint ripple passed across Hongjun's face, usually still as an ancient well.

His profound gaze seemed to pass through the palace doors and fall upon the twelve figures formed from Pangu's essence blood outside.

Hongjun could not help sighing inwardly.

The fate Pangu had left behind was still so flourishing.

Even as a Sage, he found it difficult to completely sever the karmic pull of Pangu's bloodline.

Afterward, Hongjun no longer paid attention to matters outside the palace. He turned his head slightly and instructed the two attendants standing beside him.

"Haotian, Yaochi."

"Your disciples are here!"

Haotian and Yaochi promptly bowed, their expressions incomparably respectful.

"The time has come. Go and open the palace doors."

Hongjun's voice was calm and without ripples.

"Let the three thousand guests enter the hall to hear the Dao."

"We respectfully obey Master's decree!"

Haotian and Yaochi accepted the order in unison.

At the same time.

Outside Zixiao Palace.

The gunpowder tension that had long lingered in the air was instantly ignited by the arrival of the Twelve Ancestral Witches.

Di Jun and Taiyi, the two solar emperors born of the Sun Star, locked cold gazes onto the Ancestral Witches. Solar True Fire flickered around them, radiating imperial majesty and searing heat.

The gazes of the Twelve Ancestral Witches, too, nailed themselves viciously onto Di Jun and Taiyi like bloodthirsty beasts.

The Twelve Ancestral Witches and Di Jun and Taiyi had long been mortal enemies in the Primordial World. Their conflicts had never ceased, and blood had flowed until it carried shields away.

Now that enemies had met, their eyes burned all the redder.

"Di Jun, Taiyi, you two feathered beasts dare come listen to a Sage preach the Dao?"

Zhurong had the hottest temper. He was the first to step forward, flames surging over his entire body as he pointed at Di Jun and Taiyi and roared.

"Zhurong, how presumptuous!"

The phantom of the Primal Chaos Bell flashed in Taiyi's hand, releasing a deep hum.

"Presumptuous? Ha ha ha! Before us Ancestral Witches, what do you two feathered crows amount to?"

Gonggong also sneered, watery vapor spreading around him with icy, sinister Sha Qi.

The Twelve Ancestral Witches bristled with aggression. Blood Qi thundered within them, their Sha Qi joining into one expanse like a churning sea of blood. Fighting intent erupted from them, their muscles knotted like dragons, and they truly meant to strike here.

Di Jun's expression darkened like water. The phantoms of the River Map and Luo Writing emerged above his head, evolving the stars of the heavens.

Taiyi gripped the phantom of the Primal Chaos Bell even tighter, its mouth faintly aimed at the Ancestral Witches.

The two brothers stood ready for battle, but Di Jun still retained a trace of reason.

This was a Sage's dojo, beneath Dao Ancestor Hongjun's very eyes. If they fought here, the consequences would be difficult to predict. They might anger the Sage, and the loss would outweigh the gain.

However, the Twelve Ancestral Witches had always revered only Pangu. As for Sages and the Heavenly Dao, they simply did not exist in their eyes.

What was more, they acted solely according to their hearts, with no taboos whatsoever.

They did not share Di Jun and Taiyi's concerns. To them, with their enemies before them, how could their thoughts flow freely if they did not fight?

Kong Xuan stood quietly to one side, coldly observing the conflict on the verge of erupting, unable to help sighing inwardly.

These Twelve Ancestral Witches were truly audacious beyond measure.

If they had not been protected by the supreme merit and fate of Pangu splitting heaven and earth.

Would they dare behave so wildly and recklessly on a Sage's territory?

They must have thought they had not died early enough!

Just as the Ancestral Witches' Sha Qi surged skyward, Di Jun and Taiyi's mana roiled, and the auras of both sides clashed fiercely, at the critical instant when they were about to strike.

Creak—!

A long and majestic sound suddenly rang out, as though it had come from ancient ages. In an instant, it suppressed all clamor. The heavy palace doors of Zixiao Palace, seemingly condensed from Primordial Purple Qi, slowly opened inward.

Behind them was a palace scene, deep and unfathomable, with Dao rhythms flowing through it. A vast, majestic, inviolable sacred aura poured out like a tide, instantly enveloping the entire plaza outside Zixiao Palace.

Two small figures stepped out from within the doors. They were Haotian and Yaochi.

Though they were merely attendants, standing before the palace doors at this moment, they represented the Sage's majesty.

Haotian swept his gaze across the crowd, lingering especially on the murderous Twelve Ancestral Witches. His voice was youthful, yet carried unquestionable authority as he proclaimed loudly.

"This is a Sage's dojo, a place of pure cultivation. No one may act recklessly, make noise, or fight here!"

Yaochi followed at once, adding crisply, "Should anyone dare raise arms again, do not blame the Sage for showing no mercy!"

An invisible pressure descended with a crash, like countless divine mountains weighing billions of tons, pressing precisely upon the twelve figures whose Sha Qi pierced the heavens.

The Ancestral Witches' incomparably powerful bodies now felt as if they were bound by invisible chains. Their violent fighting intent was like a fire doused by a basin of icy water.

That terrifying suppressive force, originating from a higher level of life itself, caused even the strength they took such pride in to stagnate. It was as though the slightest movement would shatter them to pieces.

Dijiang's pupils abruptly contracted.

The flames around Zhurong dimmed by several degrees, while the watery vapor beneath Gonggong's feet instantly froze.

Every Ancestral Witch's expression turned exceedingly ugly. They exchanged glances and saw the same alarm in each other's eyes.

This pressure... far surpassed any existence they had encountered before.

It was absolutely not something they could contend against. The Ancestral Witches might be reckless, but they were not fools. They understood that Hongjun the Sage must have intervened in secret. If they continued to hold on, they would be courting death.

"Hmph!"

Dijiang snorted coldly. Suppressing the unwillingness in his heart, he finally withdrew the Sha Qi around him.

The other Ancestral Witches also lowered their banners and quieted their drums, not daring to act rashly again.

Seeing that they had cowed the Ancestral Witches, Haotian and Yaochi showed no pride. Their expressions remained solemn.

Haotian spoke once more, his voice spreading throughout the entire gathering.

"The palace doors are open. Within Zixiao Palace are three thousand prayer cushions, corresponding to the number of the Great Dao's three thousand paths."

Yaochi continued, "The number of prayer cushions has been fixed at three thousand. All of you may choose for yourselves."

Having said this, Haotian and Yaochi stepped aside, opening a path on either side.

They revealed the entrance leading deep into Zixiao Palace, suffused with dense Dao rhythms.

Seeing this, how could the many mighty beings hesitate any longer?

The opportunity was right before them!

"Go!"

"Enter quickly!"

"Do not fall behind!"

Figures transformed into streaks of light, rode magic treasures, or used escape arts, scrambling forward like a hundred rivers returning to the sea as they rushed toward the open gates of Zixiao Palace.

The scene instantly boiled over, but Kong Xuan, amid the surging crowd, remained exceptionally steady.

His gaze pierced through the shifting figures ahead, firmly locking onto the depths of Zixiao Palace.

Kong Xuan naturally knew that among the three thousand prayer cushions, the foremost six positions contained the supreme opportunity to attain the Dao and become a Sage—the Heavenly Dao Saint Positions!

Yet his own path had long been clear: to cultivate both Primordial Spirit and body, prove the Dao through laws, and achieve the Primordial Zenith Heaven Golden Immortal.

These Heavenly Dao Saint Positions, dependent upon the Heavenly Dao's merit and fate, were neither the sole choice nor a necessity in his heart.

However, did that mean he, Kong Xuan, could not contend for a Heavenly Dao Saint Position?

Primordial Purple Qi was the foundation of the Great Dao.

It contained the ultimate principles of heaven and earth and offered immeasurable benefit for comprehending laws.

If the Three Pure Ones had been transformed from Pangu's Primordial Spirit, carrying the legacy of the creation of heaven and bearing the heavenly mandate to inherit the orthodox lineage of the Profound Gate.

If Nuwa bore the great merit and heavenly mandate of creating humanity, mending the heavens, and bringing creation to all living beings.

If Zhun Ti and Jie Yin carried the heavenly mandate of reviving the West.

If Kunpeng enjoyed the fate of the northern Netherworld.

If Hongyun bore the fate of Rogue Cultivators.

Then he, Kong Xuan, as Yuanfeng's direct son, transformed from the Innate Five-Elements Yin-Yang Origin, and the one upon whom the Phoenix Clan's final fate rested.

Bore the heavenly mandate of the southern Undying Volcano and the winged clans.

How could he not contend?

How could he be unable to contend?