Watching Laozi and Yuanshi fly toward the chaotic void Beyond the Thirty-Three Heavens, Xu Tong sealed the cave entrance and sat cross-legged on the ground.
Now that he had the Heaven-Earth Origin Art rewarded by the system, he already had one foot on the path to Prove Dao by Force.
Following the cultivation methods of the Heaven-Earth Origin Art, he might even reach the heights Great God Pangu once had. After all, this was the very art Great God Pangu had cultivated!
"As long as I succeed in my cultivation and Prove Dao by Force before the Witch-Demon Tribulation ends, neither Hongjun nor even the Heavenly Dao will be able to drag me into a great tribulation!"
"If I stay out of the great tribulations of heaven and earth, I can naturally change that bleak ending where I'm forced to swallow the Saint-Slaying Pill!"
With that conviction sustaining him, Xu Tong stopped dwelling on it and immediately began drawing upon Heaven and Earth Spiritual Energy, circulating the art.
Time was running short!
He could not be certain. Even if he did not attend the sermons at the Purple Cloud Palace, rely on Primordial Violet Qi to become a Saint, or establish the Interception Sect, would the Heavenly Dao still forcibly drag him into the Investiture of the Gods tribulation if he had not transcended heaven and earth and escaped its control by then?
Moreover, Hongjun had already begun preaching the Dao. The cultivation of the mighty beings throughout the Primordial World would surely advance by leaps and bounds until the positions of the Saints were settled.
As he circulated the art, dense spiritual energy slowly gathered.
Barely moments into his cultivation, a delighted smile appeared on Xu Tong's face.
"The Heaven-Earth Origin Art truly lives up to its name as Great God Pangu's cultivation method. It's extraordinary!"
"Even the simplest contemplation of it makes my cultivation stir, as though it's about to break through!"
His cultivation was currently at the early Daluo Golden Immortal stage. According to his memories, his previous seclusion had lasted thousands of years without the slightest progress, and he had found no clue whatsoever as to how to break through.
Yet after merely contemplating the Heaven-Earth Origin Art, the bottleneck within him had already shown signs of giving way!
"This is good news. I have to seize this opportunity and make every moment count!"
Xu Tong drew a deep breath, then immediately activated his magical power, drawing Heaven and Earth Spiritual Energy into his body.
His cultivation began to rise steadily!
The Purple Cloud Palace.
As the mighty beings gathered, they all saw the six Prayer Cushions inside the palace.
Since Xu Tong had not come, events differed from the original account of the Primordial World. The ones who ultimately secured the Prayer Cushions were Laozi, Yuanshi, Nuwa, Zhunti, Jieyin, and Kunpeng.
Of course, Zhunti and Jieyin had both obtained seats because Hong Yun had voluntarily given up his.
However, Tongtian never appeared, even at the very end, and this drew everyone's attention.
The Three Pure Ones, born from Pangu's Primordial Spirit, had always acted as a single whole. When had anyone ever seen the three of them apart?
Yet now, with a Saint about to preach the Dao, Laozi and Yuanshi sat on the Prayer Cushions while Tongtian was absent. The mighty beings could not help pondering what this meant.
Before they could dwell on it, however, an old man in hempen Daoist robes appeared inside the Purple Cloud Palace, though no one knew when he had arrived.
Seated on the Cloud Bed, the old man had evaded everyone's senses. With merely a sweep of his gaze, he made them feel an uncanny, oppressive might.
It was none other than Dao Ancestor Hongjun!
A strange look appeared in everyone's eyes.
Was this the strength of a Saint?
His mere appearance had placed incomparable pressure on everyone present.
Even Laozi, the leader of the Three Pure Ones born from Pangu's Primordial Spirit, was filled with astonishment. His thoughts quickly turned to Tongtian, who had remained at Kunlun Mountain.
"Yuanshi, Tongtian truly made the wrong choice by not coming this time. A Saint's strength far exceeds our expectations."
"Indeed. I have no confidence that I could withstand even a single blow from him."
Yuanshi spoke softly, still shaken.
Although both felt it was a pity, there was nothing they could do. Matters had reached this point, and Tongtian could no longer arrive in time.
Seeing the mighty beings' reactions, Hongjun could not help feeling a flicker of satisfaction.
But when his gaze swept across the Prayer Cushions in the front row, he froze.
How strange. Why isn't Tongtian here?
The mighty beings watching Hongjun also clearly noticed his unusual reaction.
They immediately began speculating. Was even the Saint puzzled by Tongtian's absence?
Or was there some conspiracy behind this?
Soon, however, Hongjun withdrew his gaze and looked at the others.
"From now on, you shall sit in this order. These seats may not be changed."
Having already experienced Hongjun's unfathomable strength as a Saint, none of the mighty beings objected. They answered in unison:
"We shall obey the Saint's decree."
After failing to find Tongtian on the Prayer Cushions, Hongjun immediately searched the entire Purple Cloud Palace for him.
But he soon confirmed one fact: Tongtian truly had not come.
This left Hongjun utterly bewildered.
Tongtian was one of the manifestations of Great God Pangu's primordial spirit. The vast amount of merit for creating the heavens that he carried was also crucial to Hongjun's Dao Integration.
By now, Hongjun had already comprehended some of heaven's secrets, and the Heavenly Dao had set its sights on the Three Pure Ones.
His sermon was meant to prepare him for Dao Integration. By preaching, he would gather the fortune of these living beings of the Primordial World and accelerate the process of Dao Integration.
Yet now Tongtian, one of the Three Pure Ones and a key to his opportunity, was absent.
Could something have happened to Tongtian?
Hongjun quickly began divining Tongtian's circumstances, but all he found was a boundless white haze. He could deduce nothing specific.
He could only determine that Tongtian was still inside the Jade Void Palace and had suffered no mishap.
Yet Tongtian had not come to hear him preach. Could his sermons hold no appeal for Tongtian?
The fortune of heaven and earth that Tongtian carried was absolutely unparalleled. His absence was an enormous loss to Hongjun.
Did I fail to make myself clear, or did he not sense my strength?
If that's the case, I must make it clear next time that I'll be teaching the Quasi-Saint Dao. I refuse to believe a mere Great Luo can resist the lure of an opportunity to become a Quasi-Sage.
With that thought, Hongjun regained his calm, unruffled expression. Ignoring the astonished gazes of the mighty beings, he began his sermon:
"This sermon shall concern the Dao of Great Luo and last three thousand years. Listen carefully."
"The Dao of the Dao is called the profound. The dark mystery of the profound is beyond naming, and its course is true and square."
"One's desires and nonaction lie within the mountain's true heart. Heaven finds clarity through wind; earth seeks illumination, and human desires are endless. This alone may be called the Dao."
Hongjun enunciated each word distinctly, his tongue blossoming with lotuses as he voiced the Great Dao. Faint violet qi suffused the entire Purple Cloud Palace.
The resonances of the Great Dao drifted freely throughout the Purple Cloud Palace. All the mighty beings closed their eyes and contemplated the Dao of Great Luo that Hongjun expounded, constantly testing it against their own understanding.
Soon, they absorbed the violet qi and Dao resonances filling the Purple Cloud Palace into their bodies, and their cultivation rose rapidly.
At that moment, almost every mighty being felt as though they stood directly before the three thousand Great Daos. Their minds became clear, and the cultivation within their bodies increased swiftly.
Three thousand years passed in the blink of an eye within the long river of time in the Primordial World.
Everyone inside the Purple Cloud Palace remained utterly immersed in Hongjun's teachings. But when the three thousand years were up, Hongjun stopped preaching.
"This sermon is concluded for now. At the second sermon, I shall teach the Quasi-Saint Dao. None of you may be absent!"
Hongjun's ringing voice not only reverberated throughout the Purple Cloud Palace but also spread across the entire Primordial World!
He certainly did not want Tongtian, secluded in cultivation, to miss those words. Otherwise, what would he do if that fellow failed to come again?
"The Quasi-Saint Dao?"
As Hongjun's words fell, the mighty beings inside the Purple Cloud Palace all widened their eyes, their breathing quickening.
Without question, a Quasi-Sage stood at a level beyond the Daluo Golden Immortal realm!
"So to prove the Dao and become a Saint, one must first pass through the Quasi-Sage realm!"
Meanwhile, on Kunlun Mountain, Xu Tong had remained in seclusion. His cultivation had long since broken through to the late Daluo Golden Immortal stage and was showing signs of reaching the pinnacle of Great Luo.
In three thousand years, he had advanced straight from the early Daluo Golden Immortal stage to its pinnacle. Such a cultivation speed could only be called divine!
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