The Great Luo Dao, the Dharma Is Not Passed to Six Ears

Within Purple Cloud Palace, everyone was filled with reverence and curiosity as their gazes fell in unison upon Hongjun.

Yet after only a single glance, a sharp pain stabbed into their eyes, making them instinctively avert their gazes.

The light of the Great Dao surrounding Hongjun was dazzling beyond compare. Its profundity and vastness far exceeded the limits of what the crowd could bear, rendering them utterly unable to look directly at him.

Xiao Teng gently plucked a lush green gourd leaf from his body.

He slowly raised the gourd leaf before his eyes and muttered, "Looking directly is too blinding. Wouldn't using something to block it solve the problem?"

Through the gaps in the gourd leaf, Xiao Teng carefully studied Hongjun's appearance.

He discovered that compared to the first time he had seen him, Hongjun now possessed an indescribable additional depth. Other than that, there was little change.

Hongjun's gaze slowly swept across the many living beings within Purple Cloud Palace. Every being touched by his eyes felt as though all their secrets had been seen through, with nowhere to hide.

When his gaze shifted to Xiao Teng, however, it paused slightly.

The Innate Gourd Vine and the seven gourds upon it had all taken form. This was something Hongjun had not expected.

Even when he used the Creation Jade Disc to calculate, he had failed to uncover the hidden mysteries behind this Calabash Vine.

His thoughts could not help drifting to that missing fragment of the Creation Jade Disc.

The Great Dao had fifty; Heaven evolved forty-nine, while one escaped. Could this Calabash Vine be that escaped "one"?

However, Hongjun merely pondered it for a moment before withdrawing his gaze.

In his eyes, Xiao Teng was currently no more than a being who had only just stepped into the Great Luo realm. Though he possessed some unique qualities, he was still far from worthy of Hongjun's serious attention.

"Today, you sit within Purple Cloud Palace. All those fated with me are here. Today, I shall expound the Dao of Great Luo."

Hongjun's voice echoed through Purple Cloud Palace. Whether seated at the very front or the very back, everyone could hear him clearly.

Just then, Hongjun seemed to sense something. He frowned slightly, then spoke with a solemn expression. "The Dharma is not passed to Six Ears."

Upon hearing this, everyone wore puzzled expressions, utterly unable to understand why.

Xiao Teng, however, understood at once.

Within a tranquil mountain forest in the Primordial World, a monkey with six ears suddenly let out a shrill scream.

Its body fell straight to the ground like a kite with a snapped string, and its once lively, agile aura instantly became listless and weak.

It was not that Hongjun's teachings could not be imparted to the Six-Eared Macaque. But if the monkey wished to listen, he had to come to Purple Cloud Palace himself.

Hongjun's Dao was not taught to those who eavesdropped.

Still, the fact that the Six-Eared Macaque could hear the voice of the Dao being expounded in Purple Cloud Palace from such an immense distance was truly astonishing.

Afterward, Hongjun formally began his lecture. The Dao he taught this time was the Dao of the Zenith Heaven Golden Immortal.

Most of those present had already reached the Zenith Heaven Golden Immortal realm. Thus, Hongjun's teachings were like timely rain after a long drought.

Xiao Teng listened to Hongjun's lecture with utter concentration, nodding slightly at times and sinking into thought at others.

It had to be said that Hongjun's comprehension and explanation of the Great Dao far surpassed everyone present.

Every viewpoint and every theory he explained seemed to open a door to an entirely new world before Xiao Teng's eyes, granting him unprecedented insight and revelation.

The other beings were likewise immersed in Hongjun's teachings. Only the Twelve Ancestral Witches seemed completely out of place.

They sat there and listened for half the day, yet it was like listening to a heavenly book. Their faces were full of confusion, and they simply could not understand what Hongjun was talking about.

For them, cultivation was far more direct and pure: as long as they could fill their bellies and possess sufficient strength to fight, that was enough.

As for these mysterious and unfathomable principles of the Great Dao, they found them far too illusory and impractical.

Although Houtu possessed slightly greater comprehension than the other Ancestral Witches and could barely understand a little of what Hongjun taught, she only understood it halfway, seeming to grasp it while not truly grasping it.

None of the Twelve Ancestral Witches had cultivated a Primordial Spirit. This created an innate obstacle in their understanding of Hongjun's teachings, making it impossible for them to delve deeply into them.

As they sat in Purple Cloud Palace, they felt uncomfortable all over, as though sitting on needles, with thorns at their backs and fish bones stuck in their throats.

Their only thought was to return as quickly as possible to the territory of the Ancestral Witches. That was the only place where they could feel at ease.

Hongjun's first lecture lasted for a full three thousand years.

During those three thousand years, time within Purple Cloud Palace seemed to have frozen. Only Hongjun's voice, like a babbling stream, echoed without end.

Many beings successfully broke through their realms during this time through their comprehension of Hongjun's teachings.

Since Xiao Teng had only recently entered the Zenith Heaven Golden Immortal realm, he did not achieve a breakthrough this time. However, as he listened to Hongjun's teachings, he continuously sorted through his previous insights, stabilizing his realm.

"Awaken!"

Those two words were like the morning bell and evening drum, instantly shattering the silence within Purple Cloud Palace.

The many beings slowly awoke from their profound states of enlightenment. A trace of confusion and reluctance still lingered in their eyes, as though they had just experienced an incomparably wonderful yet fleeting dream.

Had they been allowed to remain immersed in this meditative state, perhaps tens of thousands of years would have slipped away without their noticing.

Hongjun nodded slightly. He had already imparted all the profound principles of the Great Dao that needed to be taught. As for how much everyone could accept and comprehend, that would depend upon their own understanding and fortune.

With a calm expression, he said to the crowd, "This lecture ends here. One yuanhui from now, we shall gather here again for the second lecture. At that time, simply come according to your current seats."

"Go."

The instant his words fell, Hongjun's figure slowly dissipated like smoke, vanishing without a trace. Only the empty Purple Cloud Palace remained, along with a group of beings still immersed in the lingering echoes of his teachings.

Everyone rose and slowly flew out of Purple Cloud Palace. By then, they no longer possessed the urgency and impatience they had felt upon entering. Many were even reluctant to leave Purple Cloud Palace behind.

After all, the Dao rhythm here was rich and dense, like a natural sacred ground for cultivation. If they could continue cultivating here, they might perhaps make greater progress in a shorter time.

"How was it? Did you gain anything?" Xiao Teng asked the Calabash Kids beside him.

Da Wa's face was brimming with an excited smile as he loudly declared, "Father, I gained so much this time! I feel that it will not be long before I break through my current realm."

Seeing Da Wa's confident appearance, Xiao Teng felt deeply gratified as well.

In truth, among everyone present, the ones who had gained the most were not the six people seated on the prayer mats, but these seven Calabash Kids.

Although each Calabash Kid had individually comprehended only a limited amount, when all seven gathered together, the effect they produced was nothing short of terrifying.

They were like seven mirrors reflecting from different angles, each reflecting a different facet of the Dao Hongjun had taught. Then, through communication and sharing among themselves, they fused and supplemented these fragmented insights and understandings, forming a more complete and profound system of understanding the Great Dao.

Compared with ordinary people, their gains were fully three or four times greater.

"Then from now on, stay properly on Mount Kongtong and comprehend the Great Dao. Do not run around recklessly."

The Shaman-Demon Tribulation was about to arrive. This tribulation was exceedingly perilous; even experts at the Quasi-Saint realm risked perishing if they were the slightest bit careless. Xiao Teng did not want them to be drawn into it.

However, before Xiao Teng could finish speaking, Er Wa said urgently, "Brothers, I think I can sense the aura of the Wood Spirit Pearl. It's on that person."