Primordial Era: Starting with the repair of Penglai Immortal Island

A long sigh escaped from Huanglong's mouth, echoing among the mountain peaks before being quickly dispersed by the wind.

He straightened his Taoist robe and smoothed his somewhat disheveled hair before stepping towards the Jade Void Palace.

The palace gates were tightly shut.

The two jade gates, each ten feet high, were tightly closed, and the Dao patterns branded on them gleamed coldly in the sunlight.

Huang Long stood in front of the door, raised his hand, hesitated for a moment, and finally knocked gently.

"Thump! Thump! Thump!"

The three knocks on the door were exceptionally clear in the silence, each one accompanied by Huang Longfa's heartbeat.

He waited.

One breath, two breaths, ten breaths... a hundred breaths passed, but the palace gates remained motionless.

Huang Long raised his hand again, this time striking a little harder.

After knocking, he took a half step back, bowed deeply, and announced loudly, "Disciple Huang Long requests an audience with Master!"

The sound spread across the vast Sanqing Peak, causing the swirling clouds and mist to tremble and churn endlessly.

When the clouds that had passed closed up again.

The palace gates remained closed.

Huang Long stopped knocking on the door and remained silent.

He simply stood quietly in front of the door, maintaining his bowed posture.

Time passes little by little.

The sun slowly slanted westward from overhead, casting his shadow longer and longer.

The sunset over Kunlun Mountain is exceptionally beautiful, with the evening glow painting half the sky red and the sea of ​​clouds surging like golden waves.

But there's no one to share this beautiful scenery with.

Huanglong stood there, from afternoon until dusk, and from dusk until nightfall.

When the moon hangs high in the sky, Mount Kunlun turns into a blanket of white snow.

He is waiting.

Waiting for an answer, waiting for an answer that convinces me, waiting for... a turning point that may never exist.

"well......!"

After an unknown amount of time, a sigh suddenly rang in Huanglong's ears.

The sigh was very soft, as soft as a gentle breeze, yet it contained indescribable complex emotions.

There was helplessness, there was determination, there was a hint of barely perceptible loneliness, but more than anything, there was a sense of indifference.

Huang Long's body jolted, and he suddenly looked up.

The gates of Yuxu Palace opened silently inward.

There was no sound, as if the door had been ajar.

The interior was completely dark, with no visible sight, only a deep gloom, as if leading to another world.

"Disciple bows in gratitude to Master."

Huanglong bowed again before stepping into the palace gate.

One step in, and the world changes.

Outside the gate is the real Kunlun Mountain, but inside it is completely different from what it used to be.

It was no longer just a grand hall; it felt as if we had stepped into another time and space.

There are no sun, moon, or stars here, only endless Jade Purity Immortal Light filling the void.

Those celestial lights transformed into auspicious clouds, condensed into mountains and rivers, formed into grass and trees, or turned into lotus flowers, slowly flowing in the void, demonstrating the ultimate truth of heaven and earth.

In the center of the main hall, a cloud bed floats.

The cloud bed was built on a foundation of merit, cushioned by auspicious clouds, and surrounded by ten thousand golden lamps, each burning with the Jade Purity Immortal Fire.

The cloud bed was empty; not a single person was present.

Huang Long stopped ten feet in front of the cloud bed and bowed for the third time, saying, "Disciple Huang Long requests an audience with Master."

His voice echoed in this isolated space and time, stirring up ripples.

Above the cloud bed, the void began to distort.

Countless points of light converged from all directions, containing the profound truths of the Great Dao, which are both opposing and unified: order, laws, creation, destruction, and so on.

As the light spots gathered, they gradually outlined a blurry human figure.

The outline went from blurry to clear, from indistinct to distinct.

Three breaths later, the Primordial Celestial Venerable sat upright on his cloud bed.

He was dressed in a Taoist robe and wore a golden crown. He was dignified and solemn, and his eyes flashed with images of the birth and death of all things.

He exuded a thick, saintly aura, but it wasn't domineering. This aura, which made all living beings fear him, felt familiar to Huanglong.

"Disciple Huang Long greets Master." Huang Long performed the full kneeling ceremony.

Yuanshi Tianzun nodded slightly, his gaze falling on Huanglong.

That gaze seemed to see through everything. Huanglong felt that everything, from his physical body to his primordial spirit, from his cultivation to his Dao heart, was laid bare in his master's eyes.

"You have reaped considerable gains over these ten thousand years," said Yuanshi Tianzun, his voice majestic. "You have done a good job in maintaining the operation of heaven and earth, but do not neglect your cultivation."

"Disciple will respectfully follow Master's teachings." Huang Long breathed a slight sigh of relief and responded respectfully to the cloud bed.

A brief silence.

The Jade Purity Immortal Light in the main hall still flowed slowly, and the flames in the golden lamps burned quietly. Everything seemed so orderly and perfect, yet also so...cold.

Finally, the Primordial Celestial Venerable spoke again: "I already know why you have come."

Huang Long's heart tightened, and he looked up at his master on the cloud bed.

The Primordial Celestial Venerable cast his gaze into the depths of the void, as if looking at something distant.

His voice remained calm, but Huang Long detected a faint trace of melancholy in it: "My separation from your eldest master and Tongtian uncle is none of your business. Do not interfere in this matter any further; we have our own plans."

"Master!" Huanglong couldn't help but speak, "This disciple is dull-witted, but..."

"I just don't understand why we, the Three Pure Ones, must have come to this point?" Yuanshi Tianzun continued.

Huang Long nodded.

The Primordial Celestial Venerable remained silent for a moment, then slowly said, "Yellow Dragon, you have cultivated to the point of becoming a Great Luo Golden Immortal. Do you know what the 'Dao' is?"

Huang Long was taken aback, and cautiously replied, "The Dao is the path. The path of cultivation is also the path of seeking the Dao."

"Not bad." Yuanshi Tianzun nodded.

He then added, “Since it is a path, there will be divergences. My senior brother Taiqing, junior brother Tongtian, and I all originated from the primordial spirit of Pangu, and were originally one body divided into three. However, over the millions of years since the creation of heaven and earth, we have each comprehended the Great Dao, and since our understanding is different, the paths we take are naturally different as well.”

He raised his right hand, and three orbs of light appeared in his palm.

One is dark yellow, centered and peaceful, embodying the Yin-Yang principle; another is jade white, orderly and well-ordered, representing the natural order of heaven and earth; and the third is bluish-purple, ambitious and enterprising, showcasing the ability to seize life.

"My elder brother has attained enlightenment through the Way of Non-Action, advocating following the natural order of Heaven, not striving or competing, and maintaining purity and self-control. This Way is profound, but it does not align with my own."

The Primordial Celestial Venerable slowly said, "I have comprehended the Way of Order: Heaven and Earth are in order, all things have their constant order, there is a distinction between the noble and the lowly, and an order between the old and the young. This is the foundation for maintaining the stability of the primordial world."

"And your Uncle Tongtian..." Yuanshi Tianzun paused, the purplish-blue light in his palm suddenly surging, radiating a sharp sword intent, "He comprehended the Dao of Intercepting Heaven, advocating seizing a sliver of life, teaching without discrimination, so that all beings can seek the Dao. This Dao... is too vast...!"

Huang Long listened quietly, not daring to interrupt.

"Those who walk different paths cannot make plans together." Yuanshi Tianzun withdrew the light in his palm, his voice becoming ethereal. "If it were merely a difference in ideology, that would be fine. But we are already saints, and our every word and action affects the Heavenly Dao and influences all living beings."

"Those most affected by this are you all...!"