"Do you know Him?"
"The Sage-Bearing Palace was the True Lord's direct inheritance, and most of its disciples bore the surname Zhang. In those days, nine of us were counted among its ranks. He and I were both among them."
A trace of bewilderment entered Zhang Chunxi's eyes. "Back then, he pursued cultivation through Yin-Yang, without seeking the five phases. He was already considered a renegade who had strayed from the scriptures and betrayed the Dao, drawing the Thunder Palace's scrutiny. Naturally, he could never have attained a fruit position. Yet now..."
"The Thunder Palace fell."
Xu Xuan spoke slowly, then continued, "Few of the Daos of primordial beginning remain in the world."
Those words left Zhang Chunxi stunned, as though he could not take them in. Ten thousand years had passed; he could accept the destruction of his own Dao lineage, but the fall of the Thunder Palace was truly beyond belief.
The Thunder Palace's might back then had likely been unmatched before or since. The majesty it displayed had been like the Heavenly Dao itself!
Had even that giant failed to withstand the years?
"May I ask, my lord, how did the Thunder Palace fall?"
His voice filled with trepidation, Zhang Chunxi sought an answer from Xu Xuan.
Yet Xu Xuan knew little of the matter himself. He merely sent down a mote of spiritual light, imparting a rough account of later history to Zhang Chunxi.
The Daoist laughed and wept, seemingly unable to accept it. At last, he sat motionless on the ground, unable to utter a word.
Seeing that he could glean nothing more, Xu Xuan took Daoist Bei Xi into the Great Scarlet Heaven and used a strand of clear qi to keep him under control. He could examine the man's memories carefully another day.