No one had expected Dao Ancestor Hongjun to bring Chen Xuan to the Purple Cloud Palace ahead of everyone else, leaving the Three Pure Ones somewhat envious, jealous, and resentful.
Daoist Duobao, on the other hand, had stars in his eyes, and his admiration for Chen Xuan reached an even greater height.
After sighing, Master Tongtian instructed Daoist Duobao to guard the Three Pure Ones' Dao Field on Kunlun Mountain.
Then he set off toward the Purple Cloud Palace with his two senior brothers.
Chen Xuan only felt himself enveloped in golden light, and in the next instant, he lost consciousness.
When Chen Xuan was able to control his body again, he found himself in an ancient, unadorned hall.
A Prayer Mat sat at the seat of honor, while six more Prayer Mats were arranged in a row below it.
Beyond them were tier upon tier of steps, with no Prayer Mats placed upon them. They looked rather like the stands of a football stadium in later generations.
As Chen Xuan looked around, an aged voice rang out from within the hall.
"Are you Chen Xuan, the one who refused to take me as his master?"
At that moment, Chen Xuan no longer needed to guess. He instantly knew where he was.
Without another word, he dropped to his knees before the seat of honor. "This disciple-grandson greets Grandmaster. May Grandmaster enjoy boundless holy longevity."
"Enough with that empty flattery. Tell me, why did you choose Tongtian as your master that day instead of me?"
Seeing Dao Ancestor Hongjun refuse to let the matter go, Chen Xuan could not help muttering inwardly, Dao Ancestor Hongjun is quite the grudge-holder.
After organizing his words, he began speaking eloquently to Dao Ancestor Hongjun.
"Grandmaster, what are you saying? This disciple-grandson would have loved nothing more than to become Grandmaster's disciple. But I did not want others to call me a second-generation Daoist.
"So after weighing it over and over, I chose to join the master who had saved my life. That way, I would not become a second-generation Daoist, while still remaining under Grandmaster's lineage."
"What is a second-generation Daoist?"
"A second-generation Daoist is synonymous with someone useless who can only rely on his elders' prestige to throw his weight around.
"Grandmaster is the exalted Dao Ancestor. If this disciple-grandson had become Grandmaster's disciple, would I not have been a genuine second-generation Daoist?"
Dao Ancestor Hongjun said expressionlessly, "By your logic, would not the Three Pure Ones and Nüwa all be second-generation Daoists?"
"Master and my martial uncles are truly capable. They can help Grandmaster carry forward the Mystic Gate.
"So they cannot be considered second-generation Daoists. At most, they are second-generation disciples of the Mystic Gate.
"But this disciple-grandson is different. With my little bit of ability, if others did not see me as a second-generation Daoist, that would be strange indeed."
Dao Ancestor Hongjun nodded after hearing this. "I did not expect you to be so ambitious, unwilling to rely on my status to throw your weight around.
"But you did reject me, so I must punish you today. Otherwise, would others not laugh at me for being unable to take even a single disciple?"
Chen Xuan wore a helpless expression, thinking that his Grandmaster was unexpectedly petty.
Yet he did not dare argue. He could only put on a wronged expression like a resentful wife. "How does Grandmaster wish to punish this disciple-grandson? How about having this disciple-grandson face the wall for ten years?"
"Wishful thinking. Facing the wall for ten years—even for a thousand years—would not be enough to soothe the hatred in my heart."
After Dao Ancestor Hongjun spoke, he waved at Chen Xuan. Chen Xuan's body shot away like a cannonball.
He slammed into one of the hall's pillars and bounced back. Dao Ancestor Hongjun waved again and sent him flying once more.
Bounced back, sent flying. Bounced back, sent flying...
Chen Xuan was like a ping-pong ball, knocked back and forth between Dao Ancestor Hongjun and the pillars of the Purple Cloud Palace.
In the end, Chen Xuan felt as though every bone in his body had been completely shattered.
His meridians had split into countless segments, and he was on the verge of death.
Just as Chen Xuan thought he was about to die, Dao Ancestor Hongjun waved his hand, and a streak of golden light instantly flew into Chen Xuan's Mud Pill Palace.
Immediately afterward, Chen Xuan's body began to slowly recover under the nourishment of the golden light.
His bones, which had been smashed to powder, began to regrow. His severed meridians reconnected.
Once everything had returned to normal, the Nine Revolutions Mysterious Technique had broken through to the Sixth Revolution, signifying that Chen Xuan had become a Great Luo Golden Immortal.
Only then did Chen Xuan finally understand that Dao Ancestor Hongjun had not been punishing him at all. He had clearly been helping him in his own way.
Chen Xuan immediately knelt again. "Thank you, Grandmaster, for fulfilling this disciple-grandson. This disciple-grandson has now become a Great Luo Golden Immortal, all thanks to Grandmaster's gift.
"If Grandmaster ever has need of this disciple-grandson in the future, I will not hesitate to brave water and fire. Even if I must climb mountains of blades and leap into cauldrons of oil, I will not utter a single complaint."
"I have no use for you. Just cause fewer troubles for my Mystic Gate in the future.
"They have been waiting outside the Purple Cloud Palace for quite some time. Go open the doors and let them in."
The great powers from all sides had long since arrived outside the Purple Cloud Palace, and the Three Pure Ones had been standing there early on.
Yet the gates of the Purple Cloud Palace remained tightly shut, with Haotian and Yaochi standing on either side.
With the gates unopened, no one dared push them open and enter the Purple Cloud Palace. They did not even dare step forward to knock.
In the end, even Daoist Jieyin and Daoist Zhunti, who had traveled the farthest, had arrived, yet the gates of the Purple Cloud Palace were still closed.
"Senior Brother Taishang, since you have arrived, why have you not entered the Purple Cloud Palace? Could it be that you were waiting for us two junior brothers?" Daoist Zhunti asked Taishang Laozi with a smile.
Daoist Zhunti truly had no shame. The moment they met, he elevated his own status to the utmost.
He had actually claimed that the Three Pure Ones and everyone else outside the Purple Cloud Palace had been waiting for the two of them.
Before Taishang Laozi could speak, Tongtian spoke first. "Junior Brother Zhunti is correct. I and everyone else have been waiting for you two junior brothers.
"Now that you have both arrived, please step forward and open the gates of the Purple Cloud Palace."
As he spoke, Tongtian made a welcoming gesture toward Daoist Zhunti.
The smile on Daoist Zhunti's face instantly froze. Even with a hundred times more courage, he would not dare push open the gates of the Purple Cloud Palace.
He had wanted to gain a little advantage with his words, only to be openly slapped in the face in the blink of an eye.
The sight made the other guests of the Purple Cloud Palace struggle to hold back their laughter. Had they not been standing outside the Purple Cloud Palace, they would likely have already doubled over laughing.
At that moment, the gates of the Purple Cloud Palace opened from within. Chen Xuan appeared before everyone.
"Grandmaster has issued a decree inviting all martial uncles and senior martial uncles into the Purple Cloud Palace to hear the Dao."
Chen Xuan shouted at the top of his lungs, afraid that others might not hear him if he spoke too softly.
He then strode over to the Three Pure Ones and followed Master Tongtian back into the Purple Cloud Palace.
At the same time, he did not forget to nod to Goddess Nvwa and Fuxi. He even gave the Twelve Ancestral Witches a brilliant smile.
Inside the Purple Cloud Palace, everyone took their seats in the same order as when they had previously listened to the Dao. Chen Xuan also stood behind Master Tongtian.
At that moment, Dao Ancestor Hongjun waved his hand and added a Prayer Mat behind Tongtian.
"Whenever Chen Xuan comes to the Purple Cloud Palace in the future, he shall sit here."
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