The Preaching Begins

Looking at the smug Zhunti, the assembled mighty figures were unwilling to accept it, but there was nothing they could do.

Blocking others and crowding ahead were one thing; the Sage had tacitly permitted such methods of competition.

But they would never dare come to blows in a Sage's Daoist sanctuary like the Purple Firmament Palace.

Not every Daluo had the nerve to strike without hesitation as the Twelve Ancestral Witches did.

The mighty figures could only take their seats on the second row of meditation cushions, their faces full of unwillingness.

It took a long time to describe.

But from the Three Purities taking their seats to Jieyin and Zhunti taking a roundabout route to sit down, the jostling and clashes among the Daluo mighty figures had all taken place in the space of an instant.

Once every Daluo had taken a seat, waves of Dao sounds came from the void.

"High I recline on the ninefold clouds, on a meditation cushion I realize the Dao's truth."

"Beyond heaven and earth, the black and the yellow, I shall reign as the exalted sect master."

"Pangu gave birth to the Supreme Ultimate, from which followed the two forms and four images."

"Leader of all the Mystic Gate, one primordial Qi transformed into Hongjun."

On the raised platform in the Purple Firmament Palace, Hongjun's figure appeared out of thin air without alerting anyone.

The assembled Daluo were all startled. That feat alone was enough to leave them in awe.

Even the unruly Twelve Ancestral Witches showed respect before the exalted Sage, who far surpassed them, and rose to bow.

"Welcome, Sage!"

On the platform, Hongjun gave the seating arrangement below a brief glance before saying, "From now on, you shall sit in this order. It must not be changed."

"Yes!"

The Daluo who had failed to secure seats in the first row reluctantly agreed.

"I wield the divine artifact of creation. In the Primordial World, I attained the Dao and became a Sage. I shall preach for ten thousand years to enlighten the Primordial World, and thus I shall preach three times in the Purple Firmament Palace. You must listen attentively to the Dao."

Hongjun's voice reached the ears of all the mighty figures, followed by waves of profound Dao sounds.

Before they even had time to bow in thanks, they became immersed in the Dao sounds, their faces showing their fascination.

When a Sage preached, the laws followed his words.

Heavenly flowers drifted down and golden lotuses sprang from the ground; such wondrous phenomena hardly needed mentioning.

Dense Dao charm filled the air, and the sounds of the Immortal Dao echoed through the Purple Firmament Palace. The mighty figures of the Primordial World listened as if entranced.

The Law Power and Dao attainment within them also soared continuously as Hongjun preached.

This continued for a full three thousand years.

When the time was up, Hongjun fell silent. The Dao sounds and immortal sounds between heaven and earth abruptly ceased, and the mighty figures immersed in the dense Dao charm reluctantly came to their senses.

One by one, they gazed resentfully at Hongjun on the platform.

Although the highest Dao Hongjun had expounded on this occasion was only the Dao of Daluo,

to Daluo Golden Immortals like them, who had been feeling their way forward on their own, it was like a bright moon illuminating the Dao Path ahead.

Even the Perfection Daluo cultivators felt no displeasure at all.

Hongjun's exquisite Immortal Dao and Immortal Methods had allowed them to see the flaws and omissions in their past cultivation that had seemed perfect but had actually fallen far short.

For them, when it came to remedying their foundations and strengthening their origins, they would not have minded listening for another ten thousand years.

"Three thousand years have passed. This sermon covered the Immortal Dao from its beginning to the Daluo realm. In ten thousand years, I shall begin preaching on what lies beyond Daluo and the path to attaining the Dao!"

Hongjun faced the resentful gazes of the Daluo with great composure and spoke calmly.

"We thank the Dao Ancestor for the grace of his sermon!"

However reluctant the Daluo were to part with the sermon, they could only bow in thanks after hearing the Dao Ancestor's words.

Just then,

the Ancestral Witch Houtu rose from among the crowd under the surprised gazes of the surrounding mighty figures.

"Dao Ancestor, in your mercy, you have passed the Immortal Dao on to the Primordial World. But my Witch Race has little affinity with the Immortal Dao. I beg the Dao Ancestor to instruct the Witch Race on how to cultivate."

At these words, even the other eleven Ancestral Witches looked surprised.

"Sister Houtu..." The hot-tempered Zhurong was just about to speak, but Zhu Jiuyin, who stood beside him, grabbed hold of him.

Houtu, however, stared straight at the Dao Ancestor Hongjun above.

During the full three thousand years of preaching, Houtu had listened to every subtlety of the Hongjun Immortal Dao that Hongjun expounded, missing nothing and committing it all to memory.

And precisely because of that, she felt pleasantly surprised.

The Hongjun Immortal Dao was indeed worthy of being an Immortal Method comprehended and passed down by the Dao Ancestor Hongjun. It was so easy to cultivate that nearly every living being in the Primordial World could practice it.

Yet its upper limit reached straight to Daluo!

Moreover, the second sermon would cover what lay beyond Daluo and the path to attaining the Dao.

But... the Witch Race was not among those who could cultivate it.

The Witch Race had been formed from Pangu's Essence Blood combined with the turbid Qi of heaven and earth.

If they cultivated the Hongjun Immortal Dao and absorbed the pure Qi of heaven and earth to cultivate, they would indirectly damage their own Witch Race bloodline.

Perhaps the other Ancestral Witches had not paid it much mind. As far as they were concerned, they had their own Father God's inheritance.

What did it matter if they could not cultivate the Hongjun Immortal Dao? What was the big deal?

But Houtu was straightforward by nature.

Whenever she thought about how everyone else could cultivate it but the Witch Race could not, she felt uncomfortable.

Why can they all cultivate it, but my Witch Race can't? At that thought, she simply stood up and asked Hongjun.

On the platform, Hongjun looked at Houtu below and pondered briefly.

This was the era of the Witch and Demon Races, and the strength of the two races did indeed need to be balanced.

But he had been perfecting his own Hongjun Immortal Dao from the very beginning of his cultivation, and even the Three Corpses Severing Secret Method he would pass down later was based on it.

This was his path, and it was also a path most living beings in the Primordial World could follow.

But his path was not suited to the Witch Race. What suited them better was the path of Hunyuan that many other mighty figures of his time had followed.

Yet he was not proficient in cultivating the path of Hunyuan either. In the past, he might only have been able to give the Witch Race a little guidance and let them search for the way themselves.

But now...

Hongjun thought of Ao Changsheng in the East Sea.

Perhaps he could have the Witch Race probe this Hunyuan Daluo.

Such were Hongjun's thoughts, but his face betrayed nothing. After a moment of contemplation, he spoke.

"Some days ago, I went to the shore of the East Sea to visit a friend and happened upon a secluded Daoist sanctuary. A mighty figure of the Primordial World lives there in seclusion. Your Witch Race's fortuitous opportunity may lie there."

With that, he vanished before everyone's eyes without waiting for the mighty figures of the Primordial World to react.

His words set not only the Ancestral Witch Houtu thinking, but also many of the other Daluo of the Primordial World below.

That was a mighty figure of the Primordial World whom even the Dao Ancestor called a fellow Daoist.

If they could find him, even if they had no chance of becoming his disciples, it would be a good thing to receive his guidance!