These Fools Had Made Astonishing Progress

Buzhou Mountain.

The future Sages had gathered together, but none of them were Sages yet. In fact, the matter had left them rather frustrated.

Nuwa had been unable to attain the Dao for so long, while the others did not even have a clue where to begin. In the end, Laozi proposed asking Hongjun for help.

They immediately hit it off over the proposal and set out for the Purple Cloud Palace.

Inside the Purple Cloud Palace, Hongjun sat on the Cloud Bed. His face no longer held the composure he displayed before everyone else.

Instead, his expression was grave, with what seemed to be a hint of inner conflict.

"How strange. I've clearly finished all three Dao lectures, so why has my integration with the Heavenly Dao made no progress all these years? Even if not all the Three Pure Ones became my disciples, the impact shouldn't be this great."

After years without any progress in integrating with the Heavenly Dao, Hongjun felt that the matter might still have something to do with Tongtian. After all, no matter how he thought it over, he could not find anything else he had overlooked.

Just as he was considering how to drag Tongtian into the great tribulation, a voice suddenly rang out outside the hall.

"Your disciples request an audience, Teacher!"

The visitors were none other than Laozi and the others.

The five of them stood outside the door, looking utterly respectful.

Hearing their voices, Hongjun paused.

Why are they here? And why have they all come together?

Hongjun found it rather strange, but he still opened the Purple Cloud Palace and let them in.

The five walked to their respective Prayer Cushions and bowed to Hongjun.

Hongjun did not open his eyes. He merely asked slowly,

"What brings you here?"

His voice was flat, as mechanical as a machine, without the slightest ripple of emotion.

This was, in fact, one manifestation of his integration with the Heavenly Dao.

As that integration deepened, his emotions would grow ever fainter.

He would become even colder than Laozi with his Dao of nonaction, truly indifferent to everything, just like the Heavenly Dao.

Only then could he integrate smoothly.

Although the others were somewhat taken aback by Hongjun's tone, they were not particularly surprised.

After all, during his last lecture, Hongjun had already said that he intended to merge himself with the Heavenly Dao.

The Heavenly Dao was without feeling, so naturally, he would become the same.

As the eldest senior brother, Laozi spoke first.

"Teacher, we have indeed come with a matter to discuss."

"Junior Sister Nuwa has already comprehended the method of attaining the Dao, but for some reason, she has still been unable to do so."

"We, too, have sensed that the time to attain the Dao has arrived, yet we cannot understand where our paths lie. Please dispel our confusion, Teacher."

This was no time to worry about saving face. It was better to get the matter cleared up first.

When Laozi finished speaking, the others beside him nodded in agreement.

Laozi had no idea just how devastating his words were to Hongjun.

Hongjun, whose expression had been utterly calm a moment earlier, suddenly opened his eyes. Disbelief filled his face as his gaze swept over the five.

What?! None of them have attained the Dao even now!

No wonder I've been unable to integrate with the Heavenly Dao.

At that moment, Hongjun had a curse on the tip of his tongue and did not know whether to let it out.

According to the Heavenly Dao's original course, all the Sages should have emerged by now, and the Human Race should already have undergone a phase of development.

Yet not one of them had attained the Dao, and the Human Race was nowhere in sight.

Fuck! Thank goodness they came today. Otherwise, once the great tribulation between the Witch Clan and the Demon Tribe began...

Without the Human Race, there would be no Witch-Slaying Sword, and the Demon Tribe would surely be destroyed.

Once the Witch Clan ruled heaven and earth, how could I achieve Dao Integration? Integrate, my ass! I might as well call it GG.

At the thought, Hongjun felt a wave of dizziness wash over him.

The calm tone he had maintained earlier vanished completely.

"What exactly is going on?! Nuwa, why can't you attain the Dao when you've already found the method?"

Hongjun knew that the problem had to lie with Nuwa. Once she created the Human Race, the others should attain the Dao as well, even with Tongtian excluded.

When Nuwa heard Hongjun question her, she honestly described everything she had sensed.

Hearing that Nuwa was missing something, Hongjun was puzzled. He performed a divination, only to discover that even he could not determine what she needed to create the Human Race.

The object seemed to lie within a mass of chaos, leaving him nowhere to begin his search.

"Damn it! What exactly is going on?"

Now Hongjun was truly anxious.

This did not merely affect their ascension to Sagehood. It affected his own Dao Integration!

If his attempt at Dao Integration failed this time, the difficulty of trying again in the future would increase exponentially.

Hongjun could no longer afford to concern himself with anything else.

No! No matter what, I have to divine exactly what is missing!

With that thought, Hongjun steeled himself and took out the Jade Disc of Creation once more.

Holding the Jade Disc of Creation in his hand, Hongjun marshaled all his power.

Radiant light flickered across the disc, and patterns appeared upon its surface.

Hongjun's brows were tightly knitted.

Even with the Jade Disc of Creation, everything his divination revealed remained shrouded in mist.

After repeated attempts yielded nothing, Hongjun realized that his own power and the Jade Disc of Creation alone were not enough to uncover the object's whereabouts.

In fact, as Xu Tong's cultivation improved, he had refined nearly forty percent of the Chaos Bead. The power of its concealing restrictions had grown stronger by who knew how many times.

Even before, Hongjun had been unable to break through without using the Heavenly Dao's power. Now, it was even more impossible.

After so many fruitless attempts, Hongjun's expression turned exceedingly ugly.

"Even the Jade Disc of Creation can't divine it. There must be something suspicious about this."

"Now there is only one way to find this object: use the Heavenly Dao's power."

"But I haven't fully achieved Dao Integration yet. If I rashly use its power to investigate matters concerning a Sage, I fear it will damage my cultivation."

Hongjun hesitated.

But after glancing at the five below, he finally made up his mind.

After all, if these five could not become Sages, he could not achieve Dao Integration either, and he would still end in failure. If that was the case, what was there to agonize over?

Immediately, Hongjun activated the Jade Disc of Creation again. This time, he truly used his full strength.

The Heavenly Dao's power began flowing into the Creation Jade Disc, little by little.

In an instant, Hongjun's divine sense swept across the entire Primordial World.

Everything lay before his eyes.

Xu Tong sensed this power as well and immediately concealed his presence.

Following the traces, Hongjun finally caught a glimpse of some clues within the mist.

But they were still indistinct.

Clearly, the Heavenly Dao's power was still insufficient.

"Keep going!"

This was no time to retreat. If he gave up now, everything he had already sacrificed would be poured down the drain.

Hongjun poured all the Heavenly Dao power he possessed into the Jade Disc of Creation.

As the final wisp of the Heavenly Dao's power flowed in, the Creation Jade Disc finally broke through the mist.

Hongjun stared at the scene before him, his face full of disbelief.

"Damn it! Why is it this wretch again?!"

There was Xu Tong, holding a lump of nine heavens breathing soil in his hand and idly playing with it.

And that nine heavens breathing soil was precisely what Nuwa needed to create humans.