Had He Drawn Attention?

Xu Tong, who had been cultivating in seclusion in his Dao Field, jolted awake.

Hearing the information from the system, Xu Tong pondered silently.

Sure enough, did missing two sermons draw Hongjun's attention?

Is Hongjun planning to investigate personally and see what I'm doing in my Dao Field?

Looking at the two options before him, he hesitated this time.

After all, this choice did not require him to leave seclusion, but to decide whether to let Dao Ancestor Hongjun investigate his situation.

If I let him investigate, my current cultivation will probably deepen his suspicions.

Hongjun was no Laozi or Yuanshi.

Neither of those two had become a Sage yet, and their cultivation was below Tongtian's, so they could not see through him.

But if Hongjun investigated, a single glance would reveal that he had raised his cultivation to the Quasi-Sage realm without drawing on his creation merit.

And Hongjun had not yet begun teaching the Dao of Quasi-Sages. Something was clearly fishy about that.

When the radish was pulled up, the mud would come with it. He feared everything about him would be exposed.

But if I don't let him investigate, discovering that I have a Sage Dao Field might make Hongjun even more curious.

For a moment, Xu Tong found himself caught between two difficult choices.

Suddenly, something occurred to Xu Tong.

"System, if I make a choice, can the reward be issued right away?"

Ding! In answer to the host: once a choice is made, the reward will be issued immediately.

At this answer, delight appeared in Tongtian's eyes.

That was exactly the answer he wanted.

"All right, I choose option one."

Ding! The host has selected option one. Issuing reward: Chaos Bead.

As the system's voice faded, Xu Tong removed the Sage Dao Field's concealment.

But before Hongjun's divine sense could probe him, Xu Tong immediately used the Chaos Bead to lay down layer upon layer of restrictions around himself.

If anyone probed these restrictions or forced their way inside, Xu Tong would notice immediately.

As he finished setting up the restrictions, Hongjun's divine sense reached Kunlun Mountain.

Sensing the restrictions Tongtian had laid down, Hongjun tentatively tried to unravel them without a sound, only to discover that they were woven so tightly that even he could not break them unnoticed.

How strange. What exactly is Tongtian doing in there? He's laid down so many layers of restrictions that even I cannot force my way through without using the Jade Disc of Creation.

Tongtian already possessed a profound understanding of the Dao of formations.

With the aid of the Chaos Bead, a supreme Chaos treasure, Tongtian had made his restrictions even stronger.

He was gambling.

Would Hongjun lay all his cards on the table, or abandon this investigation to avoid alerting him?

Xu Tong was confident that his opponent could not break through without using the Creation Jade Disc.

And events unfolded exactly as he had expected.

Hongjun was about to begin his sermon. Recklessly using the Jade Disc of Creation would certainly attract everyone's attention.

Besides, even if he broke through these restrictions, he would have no way to explain himself afterward.

What would he say if he alerted the system?

Could he claim he had merely dropped by for a visit?

That was clearly unrealistic.

After some thought, Hongjun finally gave up.

Very well. I'll let you off this time. But destiny is not so easily defied. Even if you refuse to come out, I still have ways to deal with you.

Abandoning his attempt to probe the system, Hongjun withdrew his divine sense.

Sensing that the surveillance outside his formation had disappeared, Xu Tong breathed a sigh of relief.

Has he withdrawn?

It looks like I need to cultivate even harder. Hongjun is already suspicious of me.

And I exploited a bug in the system this time. Although I removed the Dao Field's concealment, I never let Hongjun successfully probe me.

Next time probably won't be so simple.

With that thought, Xu Tong resumed his cultivation.

Only with sufficient strength could he truly escape the manipulation of the Heavenly Dao and Hongjun.

Until then, he could only keep his head down, meet every change by remaining unchanged, and stay out of everything.

Meanwhile, everyone in the Purple Cloud Palace had noticed Hongjun's gaze.

When they realized that Hongjun was looking toward Laozi and Yuanshi, they were startled, then began to speculate.

"The Dao Ancestor is looking at Laozi and Yuanshi again. He did the same thing last time."

"No, he isn't looking at Laozi and Yuanshi. He's looking for Tongtian."

"What? Tongtian didn't come this time either?"

"What virtue or ability does that fellow possess to receive so much attention from the Dao Ancestor?"

For a moment, everyone present grew curious about Tongtian.

After all, anyone a Sage sought out time and again surely had something extraordinary about him.

Hongjun withdrew his divine sense and swept his gaze over the gathering. From their expressions, he knew he had been a little too obvious.

He immediately spoke, diverting their attention.

"This sermon concerns the Dao of Quasi-Sages."

"The Quasi-Sage realm is the final step before entering Sagehood."

"It is also preparation for becoming a Sage."

"There are three methods."

"They are Prove Dao by Force, proving the Dao by severing three corpses, and prove Dao by merit."

"Of these three, Prove Dao by Force grants the greatest strength. Proving the Dao by severing three corpses comes second, and merit is the weakest."

"But because the laws of heaven and earth have changed, Prove Dao by Force is no longer viable."

"Prove Dao by merit speaks for itself. It requires great merit."

"Today, I will explain proving the Dao by severing three corpses."

Hearing Hongjun's words, everyone refocused their attention and sat up straight.

After all, they had just experienced a Sage's power, and now they all wanted to know how to possess such power themselves.

"Proving the Dao by severing three corpses requires the power of Innate Spiritual Treasures."

"Each Innate Spiritual Treasure can sever one of your corpses."

"The stronger the Spiritual Treasure used to sever a corpse, the stronger the resulting three corpses will be."

"Each Spiritual Treasure can only be used once."

With that, Hongjun began explaining the specific Corpse-Severing Method.

As Hongjun preached, golden flowers rained down between heaven and earth, purple radiance rose, and everyone present listened in rapt fascination.

Soon, three thousand years passed, and Hongjun's voice gradually fell silent.

During those three thousand years of sermons, both Laozi and Yuanshi made breakthroughs.

Laozi used the Taiji Diagram to sever his good corpse.

Yuanshi used the Pangu Banner to sever his self corpse.

The Eastern Emperor and Di Jun also reaped gains.

Through the sermon, the highest level of power in the Primordial World had risen from the peak of Great Luo to the Quasi-Sage realm.

When the sermon ended, everyone slowly opened their eyes.

Hongjun spoke.

"I have finished explaining the Quasi-Sage Dao of severing three corpses. Do any of you still have questions?"

Everyone roused themselves. Hearing Hongjun's words, Laozi asked a question.

"May I ask, Teacher, with heaven and earth undergoing such drastic changes, is Prove Dao by Force truly no longer viable?"

At Laozi's question, everyone present pricked up their ears.

After all, this was the strongest method of attaining Sagehood, and everyone was deeply interested.

Hongjun frowned slightly at the question, displeasure stirring within him.

I already said that heaven and earth have changed drastically and Prove Dao by Force is no longer viable. Yet here you are asking again. Are you questioning my words?

Hongjun said coldly, "It is no longer possible."

Di Jun and the Eastern Emperor scoffed at Hongjun's answer.

Laozi had previously claimed that Tongtian's cultivation had already surpassed theirs.

Yet the Sage had only just explained the Dao of the three corpses.

Prove Dao by Force was no longer viable, and as for merit, that was a method of directly attaining Sagehood.

Thus, Laozi's earlier words could only have been a lie.

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