Why Had That Wretch Failed to Come Again?

Inside the Purple Cloud Palace, the mighty cultivators sat in their respective places.

Of the seven prayer cushions at the very front, one was unoccupied this time.

It belonged to Hong Yun, who had already self-destructed.

Di Jun, the Eastern Emperor, and the Twelve Ancestral Witches had all arrived at the Purple Cloud Palace.

The Dao Ancestor had ordered both sides to cease their fighting for a thousand years.

Though neither side could stand the sight of the other, they dared not fight inside the Purple Cloud Palace.

They merely snorted coldly, then sat at opposite ends and turned their heads away.

Soon, all the important figures had arrived, and Hongjun appeared once more.

"This lecture will explain the path of the Sage..."

Hongjun was just about to say that he would explain the path of the Sage when he glanced down and discovered that Tongtian was still absent.

"???"

Hongjun froze.

What is going on? Why has that wretch still not come?

Now that I am increasingly attuned to the Heavenly Dao, it should no longer be possible to comprehend the Great Dao anywhere in this world. Why does that wretch keep himself shut away in his cave abode?

Does he truly have no desire to improve his cultivation?

Hongjun was so frustrated that he wanted to cough up blood.

Why had he waited so long to give another lecture? Was it not precisely to bring Tongtian to the Purple Cloud Palace?

As long as Tongtian left his own cultivation grounds and showed himself in the Primordial World, Hongjun was confident that he had plenty of ways to pull him back onto the proper path.

And as the Heavenly Dao grew more complete, Hongjun was certain that comprehending the Great Dao was now impossible within this world.

Unless Tongtian had already become a primordial Daluo Golden Immortal.

But was that possible?

At least, Hongjun considered it utterly impossible.

Unfortunately, that impossible thing had really happened.

After successfully breaking through the Daluo Golden Immortal realm, Xu Tong had also broken the shackles of the Heavenly Dao. Even within the Primordial World, he could still comprehend the laws of the Great Dao.

Hongjun's blockade no longer had any effect.

He simply did not know it yet.

At that moment, Xu Tong was setting up his cultivation grounds.

He knew that Hongjun was giving another lecture, and he had once again refused to attend. This time, Hongjun would not let him off as easily as before. He would certainly subject him to a fierce investigation.

He might even make a move to test him.

But Xu Tong could not expose himself.

Once he revealed his cultivation as a primordial Daluo Golden Immortal, Hongjun would immediately regard him as a thorn in his eye and frantically seek to eliminate him.

But as long as he kept his cultivation hidden and used other means to withstand Hongjun, there would be nothing Hongjun could do.

Xu Tong had already worked it out. With his breakthrough, he had now refined thirty percent of the Chaos Bead, enough to resist the divinations of the Jade Disc of Creation.

Together with the isolation provided by the Sage Dao Field, he believed that even Hongjun would be unable to divine anything.

After making all his arrangements, Xu Tong nodded in satisfaction.

"This should leave no room for anything to go wrong."

Just as Xu Tong finished arranging everything within his cultivation grounds,

the system's notification sounded again.

"Ding! The host has been detected missing the lectures at the Purple Cloud Palace three consecutive times, enraging Hongjun. Hongjun is preparing to probe the host and forcibly drag him into the tribulation. Please make a choice."

"Option one: voluntarily leave seclusion, admit your mistake, and obey Hongjun's arrangements. Reward: the Jade Disc of Creation."

"Option two: leave seclusion and attend the lecture as though nothing happened. Reward: thirty percent of the Heavenly Dao's essence."

"Option three: ignore everything and stay put, stubborn to the bitter end. Reward: nine heavens breathing soil."

Xu Tong stared at the three options the system offered, momentarily stunned.

"Holy crap, system! Aren't you raising the stakes a little too high this time?"

Xu Tong was not afraid of Hongjun targeting him. After all, he had already taken every precaution.

What truly surprised him was that the reward for the third option this time was nine heavens breathing soil.

What was nine-heavens breathing soil? It was the material Nuwa would use to create the Human Race in the future.

Without it, Nuwa would be unable to create the Human Race.

And if the Human Race never appeared, everything would be ruined. None of them would become Sages.

At that thought, Xu Tong could not help feeling a headache coming on.

Would keeping this thing in his possession bring trouble down on him?

After all, if he alone refused to cooperate with Hongjun, Hongjun might not dare do much to him.

But if he prevented everyone from becoming Sages, the Heavenly Dao itself might intervene.

Soon, however, Xu Tong realized something.

Though this matter was dangerous, it could also offer him a way out.

Anything involving the Human Race was surely among the Heavenly Dao's highest priorities.

He could absolutely use this nine heavens breathing soil to negotiate with Hongjun.

Though he could not make Hongjun leave him alone entirely, he could exchange it for a karmic debt. That was a decent choice too.

If the Heavenly Dao owed him a karmic debt, Hongjun would no longer dare move against him lightly.

With that in mind, Xu Tong stopped hesitating.

"System, I choose option three!"

"Ding! The host has made his choice. Distributing reward: nine heavens breathing soil."

Soon, the system presented the reward before Xu Tong.

Looking at the small clump of nine heavens breathing soil, Xu Tong carefully put it away.

After all, this would be his bargaining chip in future negotiations with Hongjun.

Meanwhile, inside the Purple Cloud Palace, Hongjun's expression darkened.

"That wretch! I have repeatedly urged him to leave seclusion, yet he remains obstinate. Even with his cultivation making no progress, he still refuses to come out. Today, I will see exactly what you are doing!"

As he spoke, Hongjun summoned the Jade Disc of Creation.

In an instant, Hongjun's divine sense pierced across countless millions of miles and reached Kunlun Mountain.

Xu Tong had just put away the nine heavens breathing soil when he sensed an incomparably powerful probing force envelop his entire cultivation grounds.

The Sage Dao Field's defenses activated instantly.

The Chaos Bead Xu Tong had arranged in advance also took effect immediately.

Layer upon layer of restrictive power securely enveloped Xu Tong's cultivation grounds.

Sensing the obstruction, Hongjun snorted coldly.

"Hmph! You overestimate yourself!"

"A mere ant dares dream of overturning the heavens!"

This time, Hongjun was determined to uncover Xu Tong's secrets.

Above his head, the Jade Disc of Creation continuously rippled with Dao resonance.

Laws manifested one after another, ceaselessly attempting to break through Xu Tong's restrictions.

However, the Jade Disc of Creation was only a fragment of a chaos supreme treasure, not a complete one.

By contrast, the Chaos Bead in Xu Tong's possession was a fully intact chaos supreme treasure.

Moreover, concealing auras was precisely the Chaos Bead's specialty.

For a while, Hongjun made no progress whatsoever.

Realizing that something was amiss, Hongjun grew wary.

How strange. That wretch can actually block my probing.

Could he also possess a fragment of a chaos supreme treasure?

Hongjun had never considered that Tongtian might possess a complete chaos supreme treasure.

Mainly because his thoughts had never ventured in that direction.

After repeated attempts came to nothing, Hongjun knew that he could not break through Xu Tong's restrictions at present.

Of course, it would be another matter if he used the power of the Heavenly Dao.

But if it served no purpose for the Heavenly Dao, casually wielding its power at this critical stage of Dao Integration would adversely affect his Dao Integration.

After weighing the gains and losses, Hongjun ultimately gave up.

"Hmph, you wretch. I will let you off this time. Though I do not know exactly what you have obtained, once I successfully achieve Dao Integration, it will be time to punish you."

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