Although Daochen was safe and sound, and everyone should have been happy about it,
Nüwa was deeply anxious. This heavenly punishment could not have vanished without reason. There had to be something else behind it.
If Daochen had incurred some karmic burden because of this,
more trouble would likely follow.
Just then, Jieyin and Zhunti stepped forward.
"An urgent matter awaits us in the Western Land, so we must take our leave. Please convey our apologies to His Majesty the Demon Emperor, Lady Nüwa."
The two hurried away. Although the heavenly punishment unleashed by the Heavenly Dao had inflicted no real harm this time,
and had not even injured Daochen,
the Sages all knew what it signified.
The Heavenly Dao loathed Daochen to the utmost and would not rest until he was dead.
Jieyin and Zhunti were all too familiar with such circumstances. What they needed to do was return to Buddhism in the Western Land and make preparations early.
They had originally intended to be grass atop a wall, bending whichever way the wind blew. But after sensing the Heavenly Dao's malice toward Hongjun, they felt that it would probably strike Daochen again in the future.
It was time to draw a clear line between themselves and him.
Next, after offering Nüwa their apologies, Laozi and Tongtian passed straight through the crowd and flew out of the Heavenly Court.
The many guests attending the Heavenly Court's wedding feast felt as though they were sitting on a bed of needles. Soon, with a few people taking the lead, they offered their apologies and departed one after another.
Their reasons for leaving were much the same: they all feared the Heavenly Dao.
After this wedding feast, the many powerful figures and mighty cultivators of the Primordial World had learned Daochen's true