Time turned back thirty years.
Deep within chaos, at Zixiao Palace.
This sanctuary hung beyond the thirty-three heavens, outside the Three Realms and the five elements, untouched by the passage of time.
Inside the main hall, Hongjun sat upright on a meditation cushion.
He was the Dao Ancestor, the source of all arts, the most ancient being in this world.
His features existed in a strangely indistinct state. Everyone who looked at him saw a different face.
He wore a gray Daoist robe, yet that very simplicity made him seem all the more unfathomable here in Zixiao Palace, deep within chaos.
Below Hongjun, six sages sat in order.
The Three Pure Ones—Taishang Laojun, Primordial Heavenly Venerable, and Heavenly Lord of Primordial Beginning—
sat on the meditation cushions to Hongjun's lower left.
To his right sat Goddess Nuwa and the two Western sages,
Jieyin and Zhunti.
Nuwa looked serene. Jieyin wore a compassionate expression, his palms pressed together and a soft Buddhist radiance enveloping him.
Zhunti sat beside his senior brother, his gaze clear and a faint smile hovering at his lips. He looked more relaxed than anyone else present.
No one knew how many years had passed since all six sages had last gathered at Zixiao Palace.
The last time they had assembled here had been to discuss the Investiture of the Gods List. Today, Hongjun had suddenly summoned all six, and everyone knew something momentous must be afoot.
After an indeterminate stretch of silence in the hall, Hongjun finally spoke.
His voice was quiet, yet carried the unquestionable authority of the Heavenly Dao.
"I summoned you here today for one momentous matter."
All six sages grew solemn. Even the usually casual Heavenly Lord of Primordial Beginning stopped tapping his knee and sat up straight.
Hongjun slowly opened his eyes.