Purple Cloud Palace.
Hong Jun watched as Nu Wa slowly raised the hand holding the Hongmeng Purple Qi. Though he vaguely sensed that something was wrong, his expression remained unchanged.
Hong Jun looked at Nu Wa and could not help admiring her. "So you noticed the problem? As expected of the first being to comprehend the opportunity to attain the Dao. You truly are no simple person! What a pity, though..."
Hong Jun knew that once Nu Wa became a Saint, she would definitely discover that there was a problem with the Hongmeng Purple Qi.
However, he was certain that even if she discovered the problem, she would not find its cause.
That was the difference between a Saint who merged with the Dao and a Merit Saint.
Moreover, Hong Jun had long prepared an excuse. Although he had given her the Hongmeng Purple Qi, it was in fact a product of the Heavenly Dao of Hong Huang.
If Nu Wa questioned him, he would step forward and shift the blame onto the Heavenly Dao. No one would suspect that he was behind it.
"I only did it for your own good! Beneath sainthood, all are ants. Though I have my own schemes regarding the Hongmeng Purple Qi, it is still a genuine opportunity to attain the Dao."
Hong Jun sat cross-legged in the void, watching Nu Wa as he muttered to himself. Combined with his gloomy gaze and his false smile, he sent chills down one's spine.
However, Hong Jun never imagined that Nu Wa would crush the Hongmeng Purple Qi without the slightest hesitation.
The instant he saw it, he could no longer remain seated. He shot to his feet, glaring furiously as the Hongmeng Purple Qi shattered into countless fragments.
"Heavenly Dao! You fucking set me up!"
Hong Jun roared at the sky. Then, the void seemed to be sliced open by a blade, leaving a hundred-meter-long rift. Endless chaos qi poured in, making the entire void tremble. Purple Cloud Palace was like a small boat amid raging waves, battered and shaken without end.
But Hong Jun could no longer concern himself with anything else. With a flick of his wrist, he instantly formed hundreds of millions of intricate seals. Pushing forward with both hands, he barely stabilized the void before him.
Hong Jun repeated the same motions more than a dozen times, until the void was once again wrapped in golden seals like an eggshell.
Only then did Hong Jun let out a long breath and examine the consequences of the Hongmeng Purple Qi's destruction.
It would have been better if he had not looked. The moment he did, Hong Jun felt as though his heart were bleeding. He nearly burst into tears.
"Heavenly Dao, you truly deserve to die! My hundreds of thousands of years of hard work have all gone up in smoke!"
One might ask, since Nu Wa had clearly crushed the Hongmeng Purple Qi, why was Hong Jun blaming the Heavenly Dao?
That was because, the instant Nu Wa crushed the Hongmeng Purple Qi, Hong Jun felt the Heavenly Dao nearly escape his control.
Had he not immediately steadied his mind and drawn the Heavenly Dao back in, he might have already been expelled from the Hong Huang world.
Hong Jun would never believe that Nu Wa had crushed the Hongmeng Purple Qi without guidance from the Heavenly Dao.
The Heavenly Dao must have been meddling in secret, Hong Jun thought.
"Is there any point in resisting? From the moment you made me merge with the Dao, you were destined to never escape my grasp. Just obediently let me fuse with you and become a part of me."
Having regained the upper hand, Hong Jun returned to his usual calm demeanor,
as though the man who had flown into a rage moments ago had never existed.
Others might not know, but Hong Jun himself knew clearly.
Ever since merging his body with the Dao, aside from the three sermons at Purple Cloud Palace, he had devoted nearly all his energy to erasing the consciousness of the Heavenly Dao.
Even those three sermons had been preparations for erasing the Heavenly Dao later.
After countless ages of gradual erosion, so much time had passed that even he could barely remember it.
Only then had his control over the Heavenly Dao begun to feel as natural as moving his own limbs.
But now, Hong Jun seemed to have returned to the time just after merging with the Dao, when he and the Heavenly Dao stood as equals.
Hong Jun glanced at the increasingly powerful Heavenly Dao of Hong Huang. A headache began to form, and he could not help directing some of his anger toward Nu Wa.
It was not as though Hong Jun had not considered that all this had been caused by Liu Mang, that anomaly.
Hong Jun cast a glance at Liu Mang, who had buried himself in the dirt and played dead ever since the Eye of Heavenly Dao appeared, then let out a contemptuous sneer.
Him?!
It was not that Hong Jun was arrogant, but in the entire Hong Huang world, someone who could influence Nu Wa beneath his very eyes without him noticing—
Hong Jun dared say that aside from the Heavenly Dao, no second person possessed such ability.
Naturally, he excluded Liu Mang, this newly born member of the Human Race.
As for Liu Mang, Hong Jun had no intention of dealing with him personally.
The Great Dao had fifty, while the Heavenly Dao derived forty-nine.
As the one that escaped, an anomaly like Liu Mang possessed far too much influence. He could overturn heaven and earth. Those who formed karma with him could soar to great heights, or they could perish completely.
Furthermore, the stronger one was, the greater the consequences of forming karma with an anomaly. This was also why the Saints of Hong Huang could not act lightly.
And Hong Jun's strength surpassed everyone else in Hong Huang. If he directly attacked Liu Mang, he might not be able to bear the consequences of that karma.
The best method was to wait until Liu Mang left Nu Wa, then casually find someone with karma tied to Liu Mang and have them settle him.
Hong Jun no longer paid attention to Liu Mang. Instead, he turned his gaze upon the entire Hong Huang world.
When Nu Wa became a Saint, Seven-Colored Divine Light had descended, its blessings nourishing Hong Huang in return. This was something Hong Jun had not anticipated.
After all, when he became a Saint by merging his body with the Dao, no such phenomenon had appeared.
The blessings from attaining the Dao nourishing Hong Huang in return not only benefited the living beings of Hong Huang, but also all things within Hong Huang.
Bathed in this energy, the strength of the Heavenly Dao of Hong Huang increased, the Hong Huang world membrane grew thicker, and the entirety of Hong Huang became more powerful.
Furthermore, Nu Wa's destruction of the Hongmeng Purple Qi originating from the Heavenly Dao allowed a portion of the Heavenly Dao's strength to return.
Had Hong Jun not prepared a contingency long ago, the Heavenly Dao would have escaped his control and expelled him from the Hong Huang world the moment the Hongmeng Purple Qi was crushed.
Still, although the Heavenly Dao was no longer the Heavenly Dao of yesterday, Hong Jun was no longer the Hong Jun of the past either.
"It seems I must take control of the Heavenly Dao once more. But with my previous experience, it should not take too long this time."
As Hong Jun spoke, he turned to look toward the Hong Huang continent. "What matters more now is dealing with Nu Wa becoming a Saint."
Within the Hong Huang world.
Nu Wa, who had crushed the Hongmeng Purple Qi, had no idea what had happened in the void.
She only felt one thing: it was satisfying!
Nu Wa glanced at Liu Mang, who was playing dead even more naturally now, and thought, Next, it depends on the Dao Ancestor's reaction. I hope you weren't wrong.
Having heard Liu Mang's inner thoughts, coupled with the strange behavior of the Hongmeng Purple Qi during her ascension, Nu Wa understood that there was definitely something wrong with the Hongmeng Purple Qi.
Though she could not determine whether Hong Jun had been behind it, that did not stop her from crushing the Hongmeng Purple Qi.
On one hand, this could be considered venting her anger. At the same time, it could serve as a warning to everyone present, while also letting her observe Hong Jun's reaction. It accomplished several things at once.
Clearly, the others present had not thought as much as Nu Wa had.
Kunpeng watched the shattered Hongmeng Purple Qi drift away, nearly coughing up blood as he roared inwardly.
"You could have given it to me if you didn't want it! Why crush it?! My qi! My foundation!"
Di Jun and Tai Yi were the same, and even Zhen Yuanzi wore an expression of regret.
However, the few of them quickly adjusted their mindsets. The Hongmeng Purple Qi was not theirs anyway, so whether it shattered or not had little to do with them.
Wasn't even Nu Wa's own brother Fu Xi left without a share?
Zhen Yuanzi could not help flattering her. "Saint Nu Wa truly possesses great courage! You crushed the Hongmeng Purple Qi, the opportunity to attain the Dao, just like that."
Hong Yun also nodded and sighed. "Saint Nu Wa's actions are beyond me!"
Fu Xi was also stunned when he saw what Nu Wa had done. He had originally thought that Nu Wa would leave the Hongmeng Purple Qi for him, but instead...
For a moment, Fu Xi's expression shifted unpredictably.
Perhaps Taishang was the only one present who could somewhat understand Nu Wa's intentions.
Nu Wa's tone and expression when she crushed the Hongmeng Purple Qi made Taishang unable to help growing suspicious.
Back when they had fought for seats at Purple Cloud Palace, Fu Xi had helped Nu Wa secure her seat.
If there had been Hongmeng Purple Qi, even if Nu Wa did not use it herself, she could have left it for Fu Xi.
Yet Nu Wa would rather crush it than even glance at Fu Xi.
"Could there be something wrong with the Hongmeng Purple Qi?"
Taishang was startled by his own thought!
He knew perfectly well who had given them the Hongmeng Purple Qi, but he had never doubted that person.
Yet Nu Wa's actions forced him to think in that direction.
After all, Nu Wa was alone, while they were three brothers. If there truly was a problem, none of them could escape it.
It was equivalent to tying all three of their lives to the Hongmeng Purple Qi.
"Is that possible? Should I remind Second Brother and Third Brother?"
Just as Taishang's heart was in turmoil, an elderly man clad in an ancient Daoist robe, holding a bamboo staff, abruptly appeared in the sky.
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