Taking Hongjun as Master

When Hongjun heard Yuan Tian ask why he had said he had been waiting for him for so long, his expression changed involuntarily. Though it lasted only briefly, Yuan Tian, who had been watching Hongjun all along, still caught it. Yuan Tian secretly rejoiced. Could there be some juicy gossip hidden here? This was gossip about the future Dao Ancestor—how could Yuan Tian possibly let it go so easily?

Hongjun glanced at Yuan Tian and found his gaze utterly strange. There was anticipation, excitement, and something even Hongjun himself could not name. How could a single look contain so many things?

No matter how much Yuan Tian's gaze contained, Hongjun still answered his question.

"To answer that question, we must begin a long time ago. Listen while this old Daoist tells the tale slowly." Hongjun resumed his unchanging smile and spoke unhurriedly.

"That was roughly eight hundred million years ago. At the time, this old Daoist had already reached the Quasi-Sage realm."

Hearing this, Yuan Tian could not help swallowing, utterly speechless. Damn it, he had reached Quasi-Sage eight hundred million years ago? What cultivation had I possessed eight hundred million years ago again?

Hongjun ignored Yuan Tian, who was thinking to one side, and continued, "During one cultivation session, through a fortunate twist of fate, this old Daoist obtained a fragment of the Heavenly Secrets."

Heavenly Secrets? That was good stuff. Was there not a saying: "Heavenly Secrets must not be revealed"? Once revealed, Heavenly Secrets could change many things. Otherwise, how could those reborn people have lived with the wind at their backs and the water beneath their boats?

Yuan Tian, weren't you also a reborn person?

"From those Heavenly Secrets, this old Daoist learned that I needed to take four disciples before I could attain the Dao."