Dao Ancestor Appears, Lecture Begins at Purple Heaven

Though no earth-shaking might accompanied his arrival, the instant he appeared,

the mana within the Three Thousand Guests of the Red Dust stopped circulating of its own accord.

Dao Ancestor Hongjun had appeared!

Hongjun slowly opened his eyes. They were a pair of Heavenly Dao eyes devoid of the slightest emotional fluctuation.

He sat high upon the Dao platform, his gaze calmly sweeping over those below.

When he saw that Hong Yun still sat upon the fifth futon, while Zhunti occupied the sixth,

and Jieyin stood at the side with a bitter expression, a rare pause flickered through the depths of Hongjun's unruffled eyes.

According to the greater trend of the Heavenly Dao, Hong Yun should have yielded his seat to Zhunti, while Kunpeng should have been forced to yield his seat to Jieyin.

Yet now, Hong Yun remained firmly seated, Zhunti had taken Kunpeng's seat, and Jieyin had no seat at all!

The greater trend had shifted!

Following the changes in this karmic thread, Hongjun's gaze finally settled deeply upon Li Qingxiao, who sat cross-legged behind Hong Yun.

In the Dao Ancestor's sight, this young man dressed in a moon-white Daoist robe

was shrouded in a layer of mist that even the Heavenly Dao could not fully see through.

It was precisely the appearance of this "variable" that had changed the course of predetermined history!

Under the gaze of the Dao Ancestor's Heavenly Dao eyes, Li Qingxiao immediately felt his entire body tighten.

Yet he forced himself to remain composed. Relying on the World-Cleansing White Lotus to conceal the secrets of fate, he met Hongjun's gaze without servility or arrogance.

After only an instant, Hongjun withdrew his gaze.

The Heavenly Dao tolerated no imperfection. Since the greater trend had changed, the Heavenly Dao would repair it itself.

Hongjun slowly spoke, his flat and unwavering voice of the Great Dao clearly ringing in everyone's ears:

"Your seating order has been decided. When you come to Purple Heaven Palace to hear the Dao in the future, follow this order. It shall not be changed."

At those words, Zhunti let out a long sigh and finally stopped struggling.

Meanwhile, Jieyin looked as though he had been struck by lightning, his face ashen,

his entire body slumped at the side, his eyes filled with misery and unwillingness.

Upon the high platform, Hongjun's indifferent Heavenly Dao eyes swept lightly over Jieyin,

and a faint, profound, inscrutable law of karma seemed to ripple in their depths, but he ultimately said nothing.

He knew well that the Dao-Devil War had left him owing karma to the West. Now that Jieyin had no seat and the greater trend had shifted,

the Heavenly Dao would naturally settle the account and make repairs elsewhere in the river of fate. It would never allow destiny to remain imperfect.

Hongjun withdrew his gaze and said indifferently:

"The West suffers greatly. Since you have come, stand to the side and listen to the Dao."

Though Jieyin harbored every possible unwillingness, beneath the heavenly might of a Saint, he could only press his palms together and bow miserably:

"Thank you for your mercy, Dao Ancestor..."

Li Qingxiao, seated at the rear, watched this scene and curled his lips into an amused smile, sneering inwardly.

Jieyin may have lost the futon, but the Heavenly Dao karma owed to the West remains. In the future, the Heavenly Dao will certainly find every possible way to compensate him.

But...

Li Qingxiao looked at Hong Yun, who still sat peacefully on the futon before him, and a calm smile rose on his lips.

No matter how the Heavenly Dao compensates Jieyin's Saint position in the future, Hong Yun's inevitable death tribulation has already been completely severed by me!

This game of defying heaven and changing fate has only just begun.

On the high platform, Hongjun no longer concerned himself with everyone's thoughts. With a light wave of his whisk, the chanting voice of the Great Dao instantly filled the entire Purple Heaven Palace.

"Silence."

"Today, I shall expound the Dao of the Daluo Golden Immortal and sort through the mysteries of heaven, earth, and creation. All those with affinity may listen carefully..."

As Hongjun spoke, flowers rained down from the ceiling of the great hall, while golden lotuses bloomed from the white jade floor.

Endless laws of the Great Dao transformed into tangible runes that danced through the void.

The first lecture of Purple Heaven Palace had officially begun!

As the Dao voice first arose, it was like the morning bell and evening drum, deafening and enlightening.

Dao Ancestor Hongjun sat upright upon a nine-tiered cloud platform, with no violent mana surging around him,

only a vast heavenly might that was seamlessly one with the entire Primordial World.

As his lips parted, every word became a sacred utterance of the Great Dao.

In an instant, the entire Purple Heaven Palace seemed to transform into a golden ocean formed from pure Dao essence.

"The mystery within mystery, the gateway to all wonders."

"Dao gave birth to one, one gave birth to two, two gave birth to three, and three gave birth to all things..."

"As for Daluo, it governs the heavens, transcends the river of fate, is neither born nor destroyed, stands beyond the Three Realms, and lies outside the Five Elements..."

What the Dao Ancestor expounded was the "Dao of the Daluo Golden Immortal," which had never been systematically organized in the Primordial World since Great God Pangu created heaven and earth.

From the most basic workings of heaven, earth, and the Five Elements, to the condensation of law fragments, and then to the refinement of mana and true essence,

even the methods of opening inner realms within one's body, condensing the Three Flowers on the Crown and the Five Qi in the Chest,

were all explained one by one by Hongjun through supreme principles that were profound yet easy to understand.

The Three Thousand Guests of the Red Dust within the hall were all foremost divine beings from every region of the Primordial World.

They had ordinarily relied solely upon their own innate inheritances to explore the path of cultivation.

When had they ever heard such supreme methods that pointed directly to the essence of cultivation?

For a time, everyone was utterly entranced, almost greedily immersing themselves in this boundless sea of Dao.

The spectacle upon the six Purple-Gold Futons at the front of the hall was especially astonishing.

At the very front, Laozi, Yuanshi, and Tongtian were all formed from Pangu's primordial spirit and bore the merit of creating heaven and earth.

Baptized by the Dao Ancestor's Dao voice, vast clouds of celebration surged above the heads of the three without prior agreement.

Above Laozi's head, the Supreme Pure cloud of celebration resembled a deep pool, ancient and still, with the Heaven and Earth Exquisite Pagoda faintly appearing within.

Above Yuanshi's head, ten thousand golden lamps shone within his Jade Pure cloud of celebration, majestic and dignified.

Above Tongtian's head, sword qi ran rampant within his Upper Pure cloud of celebration, while Upper Pure immortal radiance surged.

The Three Pure Ones shared the same origin, their Dao arts mutually corroborating one another in the void as their cultivation surged wildly at a tyrannical pace.

Nuwa, seated upon the fourth futon, was surrounded by hundreds of millions of gentle rays of Divine Light of Creation.

Within that divine light, the supreme mysteries of creation faintly circulated: vegetation blooming and perishing, mountains and rivers taking form,

adding a weighty Dao essence of motherly majesty to her originally cool and detached features.

Upon the fifth futon, Ancestor Hong Yun was enveloped in rising crimson clouds.

Whenever the Dao Ancestor spoke of the critical juncture where laws fused with the primordial spirit, a stream of warm, cool Heavenly Dao Origin would timely emerge from within the futon,

rushing into every limb and bone of Hong Yun's body and instantly shattering the barrier that had perplexed him for countless yuanhui!

His spiritual platform became clear and empty, while his cultivation increased rapidly like parched land receiving sweet rain!

Only at this moment did Hong Yun fully understand just what heaven-defying fortune the futon beneath him possessed!

How could this be an ordinary seat?

It was clearly a supreme shortcut leading to the very pinnacle of the Great Dao!

Had Fellow Daoist Qingxiao not forcibly pressed me onto this futon at the very last moment... Zhunti would be the one sitting here and receiving the Great Dao's empowerment!

Even as Hong Yun entered meditation to comprehend the Dao, a towering wave of lingering fear and trembling rose uncontrollably in his heart.

When he thought of how he had nearly handed over such an opportunity to attain the Dao simply because of a momentary softheartedness, cold sweat soaked through his Daoist robe.

Beyond his lingering fear, his gratitude toward the young independent cultivator behind him had already reached an indescribable height.