Inside Zixiao Palace, Hongjun naturally caught sight of the Twelve Ancestral Witches outside the palace.
“Have the Ancestral Witches birthed Essence Souls?”
“It is likely related to the revival of Great God Pangu's will last time.”
Hongjun murmured to himself, forming a general guess as to why the Twelve Ancestral Witches had birthed Essence Souls.
After Great God Pangu's will revived last time, the Twelve Ancestral Witches immediately birthed Essence Souls; Hongjun would never believe it if someone claimed there was no connection between the two.
Regarding the Twelve Ancestral Witches birthing Essence Souls, Hongjun did not mind, or rather, he respected the arrangements of destiny.
Yet even if Hongjun did not care, certain existences cared all too much.
“Twelve Ancestral Witches... Essence Souls... an anomaly... eliminate them, obliterate their Essence Souls... return to the proper track of the Heavenly Dao's grand trend...”
The deranged Heavenly Dao was whispering into Hongjun's ear once again.
It gave Hongjun an aching headache.
To this, Hongjun quieted the Heavenly Dao's will with just a single sentence: “There is a ninety percent chance that the Twelve Ancestral Witches birthing Essence Souls was the work of Great God Pangu's will. If you make me act to obliterate their Essence Souls now, guess whether Great God Pangu's will might be provoked into reviving once more?
“When that time comes and the Creation Axe cleaves down, neither of us will escape doom.”
The Heavenly Dao's will: “...”
After falling silent for a moment, the Heavenly Dao whispered, “Mount Zhou... Mount Zhou...”
...
Outside the palace, the Innate Sacred Beings waited for nearly another thousand years.
The deadline of ten yuanhui had arrived.
The heavy stone gates of Zixiao Palace slowly opened at this moment.
A deep, resonant rumble reverberated across the Beyond-Heaven, and an incomparably pure Dao rhyme diffused from within Zixiao Palace, instantly making the many Innate Sacred Beings feel refreshed and their Essence Souls soothed.
Dao sounds echoed in their ears as well.
Two Daoist child attendants, exquisitely carved like jade and dressed in gold and white Daoist robes, stepped out from the palace. Standing on either side of the palace gates, they addressed the crowd of Innate Sacred Beings: “Everyone, the gates of Zixiao Palace are now open. You may enter to listen to the Dao.”
The many Innate Sacred Beings nodded.
One after another, they stepped into the palace.
During the Dao Ancestor's previous sermon, the number of listeners had already been set at three thousand, and the Twelve Ancestral Witches were not among those three thousand.
Logically speaking, the two small Daoist attendants should have stopped them from entering, but they did not do so, which was clearly the Dao Ancestor's tacit permission.
It was the first time the Twelve Ancestral Witches had stepped into Zixiao Palace, and they were filled with curiosity about everything here.
They looked around in all directions as they walked, taking in everything around them.
From the outside, Zixiao Palace did not seem large, but inside lay a universe of wonders, vast and boundless like heaven and earth itself. Above their heads hung the stars of the myriad heavens, glittering and resplendent, while the floor was paved with myriad-tribulation golden lotuses; every step gave rise to a lotus, and Dao rhyme coiled around their feet.
Purple qi swirled within the palace alongside boundless spiritual charm, devoid of clamor. There were only the chants and resonant hymns of the Dao, which dissolved upon entering the ears, possessing the effect of calming the mind, comprehending the Dao, and dispelling inner demons.
Before them stood a colossal raised platform, with steps paved of Chaos Divine Jade winding upward, leading directly to the top.
Upon ascending the platform, one could see it was circular. The very center was empty, surrounded evenly by six prayer mats, which then radiated outward into ring after ring of densely packed prayer mats.
Quite clearly, the center position belonged to Dao Ancestor Hongjun.
The six prayer mats arranged around the Dao Ancestor belonged to the Three Purities, Nuwa, Zhunti, and Jieyin.
Only the prayer mats laid out in the outer rings and beyond belonged to the crowd of Innate Sacred Beings.
After arriving, the Innate Sacred Beings found their seats with practiced familiarity and sat down.
The Twelve Ancestral Witches waited a moment, and once all the Innate Sacred Beings were seated, they walked toward the vacant prayer mats.
Those vacant prayer mats all belonged to individuals who had fallen during these past ten yuanhui.
After the gap of these ten yuanhui, even with the Twelve Ancestral Witches added, Zixiao Palace could no longer gather a full count of three thousand.
“This is at least somewhat worthy of Father God's bloodline.”
Yuanshi Tianzun watched every move of the Twelve Ancestral Witches.
Seeing that they did not aggressively or tyrannically fight over others' prayer mats, but instead sought out ownerless mats to sit upon, Yuanshi Tianzun's impression of the Twelve Ancestral Witches improved slightly.
“Are these the Ancestral Witches with Essence Souls?” Tongtian also remarked. “I wonder how strong the current Ancestral Witches are, and whether Father God's Essence Soul is stronger, or Father God's Essence Blood.”
Taiqing Laozi remained silent: “...”
Once all the Innate Sacred Beings were seated, the Dao Ancestor appeared.
He was an elderly Daoist with white hair and white eyebrows, an ancient and unadorned countenance, and an expression devoid of joy or sorrow. Clad in a profound-black Daoist robe, with purple-gold Dao rhyme radiance swirling around him, he sat upon a glittering golden cloud bed and descended slowly.
Purple qi cascaded from the void, and divine light of Chaos enveloped his form. The awe-inspiring might of the Heavenly Dao faintly drifted about him. Every single Innate Sacred Being was born of heaven and earth, possessing extraordinary origins and accompanied by companion Great Dao Laws, yet at this moment, all of them were suppressed!
Like mayflies gazing upon the azure heavens.
“Greetings, Dao Ancestor.”
The many Innate Sacred Beings spoke in unison.
“This humble Daoist is Hongjun. Today, I open Zixiao Palace to preach the Dao of the Quasi-Saint. Unlike the ancient methods, the Dao of the Quasi-Saint was created by me; it aligns with heaven and earth and conforms to the Great Dao. Although it is slightly weaker than proving the Dao through ancient methods, its advantage lies in simplifying the difficulty, allowing more people to break through the shackles of Daluo and reach a new realm.”
Hongjun sat high atop the cloud bed, his posture tall and imposing like an immortal monument of the Immortal Dao.
His eyes were weathered and profound, appearing as though they could see through past, present, and future.
Then, he began his discourse on the Great Dao:
“The profound origin holds the Dao, Daluo finds its limit; sublime techniques penetrate mystery, granting entry to Quasi-Saint.”
“Heaven and earth establish order, the Dao divides into tiers; Golden Immortals temper the body, Quasi-Saints touch the order.”
“Inheriting the blessings of heaven and earth, grasping the authority of creation.”
“The Dao is formless yet harbors myriad dharmas; the dharma has no image yet manifests a thousand auspicious signs.”
“Severing the shackles of good, evil, and obsession, only then can the Dao Heart achieve perfection.”
“...”
Hongjun began preaching the Great Dao.
As words left his mouth, they condensed in the surrounding void into blossoming golden lotuses that opened slowly. Dao rhyme drifted continuously, filling every corner of Zixiao Palace. The ethereal Dao sounds curled softly into their ears, captivating the listeners and causing countless insights to arise spontaneously.
Having gained Essence Souls, the Twelve Ancestral Witches no longer felt like they were listening to gibberish.
Yet lacking the foundation from the first sermon after all, their understanding was somewhat stumble-prone compared to the other Innate Sacred Beings.
In the blink of an eye, three thousand years passed.
“Good Corpse! Sever!”
Someone had brought forth an Innate Spiritual Treasure to sever a corpse.
That person was not one of the six seated closest to the Dao Ancestor, but rather... Duke of the East, who had been in the limelight lately!
Using the top-grade Innate Spiritual Treasure, the Pure Yang True Sword, as the corpse-severing treasure, he successfully severed his own benevolent thoughts.
The benevolent thoughts bound to the Pure Yang True Sword without merging into one.
The benevolent thoughts touched down and transformed into a middle-aged Daoist dressed in white Daoist robes with a kind, genial smile. Looking at his face, he was identical to Duke of the East.
This person was none other than Duke of the East's Good Corpse.
“Greetings to my original self.”
Bearing a warm, benevolent smile, the Good Corpse bowed with hands clasped toward Duke of the East.
“Greetings, Fellow Daoist.”
Duke of the East nodded, then promptly recalled the Good Corpse, drawing it into the origin of the Pure Yang True Sword.
The first in Honghuang to attain Quasi-Saint combat power was Duke of the East.
Now, the first to sever a corpse and prove the Quasi-Saint realm was still Duke of the East.
Rate on N.U.
