Primordial Era: Starting by overwhelming the Sages, Hongjun was stunned!

Zixiao Palace.

The primordial energy flows like smoke and clouds, and the rhythm of the Great Dao permeates silently.

The palaces are simple and unadorned, yet they seem to have coexisted with the ancient times, with every brick and tile bearing the imprint of the ultimate truths of heaven and earth.

Hongjun Daozu sat cross-legged on the cloud platform, wearing a purple robe and white hair. His face was ancient and simple, and his eyes were closed. No trace of his aura was leaking out, yet he naturally merged with the entire Zixiao Palace and the Primordial Heavenly Dao.

He slowly withdrew his gaze from Jin'ao Island.

A barely perceptible ripple flickered in the depths of those eyes that had witnessed countless eons and seen through the rise and fall of dynasties.

Kong Xuan... is coming.

This thought was not a calculation, but a feeling.

From the moment Kong Xuan attained enlightenment and annihilated the Four Sages, Hongjun knew that this unexpected variable would inevitably come to Zixiao Palace.

Because Kong Xuan had doubts in his heart.

His doubts about the Heavenly Dao, the Great Calamity, the future of the Primordial World, and... Hongjun.

What's meant to come will come.

Hongjun muttered to himself in a low voice, as if he were stating something that had nothing to do with him.

He naturally knew everything about Kong Xuan.

From Kong Xuan's encounter with Zhunti in the Immortal Volcano Crater, to joining the Jie Sect, attaining Hunyuan, and slaughtering the Four Saints...

Every step was within his perception.

It was even... something he tacitly approved.

Otherwise, with his cultivation level after merging with the Dao, and with the power of the Heavenly Dao, he could have unleashed divine punishment and completely annihilated Kong Xuan long ago when Kong Xuan attained the Primordial Dao and resonated with the Great Dao.

But he...didn't.

Not only did they not, but they also chose to remain silent when Jieyin, Laozi, Yuanshi, and Zhunti fell one after another.

Why?

Hongjun slowly opened his eyes.

His eyes held neither sorrow nor joy, only the image of the birth and death of countless stars and the rotation of all the heavens and myriad worlds.

Because... he needs Kong Xuan.

We need this variable who can step out of the chessboard of Heaven's Way and take control of the origin of the Great Dao...

The primordial chaos is sick.

Since Pangu separated heaven and earth and the primordial world was born, it has gone through the two calamities of the Dragon-Han and Witch-Demon eras, during which living beings suffered greatly, and karma was intertwined and karmic forces surged like a tide.

Each great calamity is a cleansing of the Heavenly Dao, an attempt to purify the filth and restore order.

But the result?

After the Dragon-Han Calamity, the three races of Dragon, Phoenix, and Qilin declined, but the primordial spiritual energy began to diminish.

After the Lich Calamity, both the Lich and Lich races perished, but the laws of heaven and earth began to recede.

Each cleaning may seem to solve the problem, but in reality, it depletes the very essence of nature.

If this continues, the primordial world will eventually face... annihilation.

Hongjun merged with the Dao, becoming one with the Heavenly Dao, and took charge of the primordial order, maintaining the balance of heaven and earth.

But he also knew that simply cleaning, suppressing, and reincarnating was not a long-term solution.

Heaven needs...new life.

A force that transcends the old order is needed to break this vicious cycle and pave a new path for the primordial world.

And Kong Xuan was the one he chose... to break the deadlock.

The Primordial Golden Immortal transcends the Heavenly Dao and wields the Great Dao.

Only such beings can truly disregard cause and effect, karma, and the cycle of reincarnation, bringing change to the primordial world...

"But... this boy is too bloodthirsty."

Hongjun shook his head slightly.

They wiped out the Four Saints, slaughtered the disciples of the Western Sect and the Chan Sect, and almost severed the foundation of the Xuanmen sect.

Such actions have crossed the line of the natural order.

If he hadn't secretly used his authority to cover up and mediate, the primordial world would have already been struck by divine punishment and order would have collapsed.

"That's enough."

Hongjun stopped thinking about it.

With a slight thought, he scanned the void with his divine sense and perceived the four wisps of the sage's primordial spirit that were still floating deep within the Heavenly Dao.

Laozi, Yuanshi, Jieyin, and Zhunti.

Although the Four Sages were killed by Kong Xuan, their primordial spirits and true souls were not completely annihilated. Instead, they were protected by the authority of Heaven and survived.

A sage of the Heavenly Way is connected to the Heavenly Way; his holy position is indestructible, and his true spirit is immortal.

This is an ironclad rule.

Even if Kong Xuan forcibly annihilated him with the power of the Great Dao, Hongjun could revive him at any time with the power of the Heavenly Dao if he so desired.

However... one's cultivation level will plummet, and one's sacred foundation will be damaged, requiring a long period of time to recover.

"Now... is not the time."

Hongjun slowly closed his eyes.

The following conversation with Kong Xuan should not be known to these four people.

Some things are better known to fewer people.

With a flick of his sleeve, chaotic energy surged outside the Purple Cloud Palace, and the palace gates... slowly opened.

It was as if they were welcoming... the arrival of some being.

......

In the void.

Kong Xuan walked with his hands behind his back, his black robe fluttering and his black hair flying.

With each step he took, a chaotic lotus platform appeared beneath his feet. The lotus would bloom and then wither, only to be reborn again, in an endless cycle.

Wherever it passes, space and time are distorted, laws retreat, and only the aura of the Great Dao permeates the air.

How far is the distance from Kunlun Mountain to the Thirty-Three Heavens?

Even a sage would need to spend several days.

But Kong Xuan only took one step.

One step and you're already outside the Purple Cloud Palace.

The palace gates were wide open, and chaotic energy cascaded down like a waterfall, making the scene inside the palace hazy, both real and illusory.

Kong Xuan stood before the palace, his gaze calm, looking into the palace.

He knew that Hongjun was waiting for him.

He also knew... why Hongjun was waiting for him.

"Since you're here, please come in."

Hongjun's voice came from within the palace, indifferent and ethereal, as if it had resounded from the very end of time.

Kong Xuan remained expressionless and stepped inside.

......

Inside the Purple Cloud Palace.

The scenery was completely different from the outside world.

There was no sky, no earth, no top, no bottom, only a vast and boundless... chaotic starry sky.

Stars are like sand, Milky Way is like a ribbon; each star is a projection of a world, and each Milky Way is a branch of a long river of time.

Hongjun sat cross-legged in the center of the starry sky, with the phantom of an ancient tree supporting the sky appearing behind him.

The tree has three thousand branches, each supporting a vast world. As the branches and leaves sway, the myriad worlds are born and die in a cycle.

"sit."

Hongjun raised his hand in a gesture of invitation.

Before Kong Xuan, chaotic energy condensed and transformed into a futon.

He did not stand on ceremony, but sat down cross-legged, facing Hongjun.

The two were only three zhang apart, yet it seemed as if they were separated by... endless time and space.

"The Dao Ancestor knows why I have come."

Kong Xuan got straight to the point, his voice calm.

Hongjun nodded slightly:

"Know."

"Then please, Dao Ancestor... enlighten me."

Kong Xuan's gaze was deep as he stared directly at Hongjun:

"I have attained the Dao of Hunyuan, slaughtered the Four Saints, and disrupted the order of Heaven, which has violated taboos."

"With the power of the Dao Ancestor, he should have long ago sent down heavenly punishment to suppress me."

"But Dao Ancestor... no."

"Not only did they not, but they also chose to remain silent when I was eliminating Jieyin, Laozi, and others."

Why?

As soon as he finished speaking, the starry sky fell silent.

Only the sound of the stars revolving, like the grand pronouncements of the Great Dao, ethereal and resonant.

Hongjun remained silent for a moment, then slowly spoke:

"Because... the primordial world needs you."

Kong Xuan frowned slightly:

"Do you need me?"

"good."

Hongjun's gaze swept across the starry sky, over the illusory images of the three thousand worlds, his voice carrying a hint of... barely perceptible weariness:

"Since the beginning of time, the world has undergone two calamities."

"The Dragon-Han Calamity wiped out three races, and the spiritual energy of the primordial world decreased by 10%."

"The Lich Calamity cleansed both races, and the laws of heaven and earth retreated by thirty percent."

"Every great calamity is like drinking poison to quench thirst."

"To exchange temporary peace for the price of overdrawing the primordial essence."

"If this continues, the primordial world will eventually... return to oblivion."

Kong Xuan's pupils constricted slightly.

He knew all of this, of course.

In my past life memories, after the Investiture of the Gods and the Great Tribulation of Journey to the West, the spiritual energy of the primordial world had become so thin that it was appalling.

Even a dignified Golden Immortal needs to consume elixirs and cultivate diligently for a thousand years to advance to a minor realm.

In the Dharma-ending Age, even Foundation Establishment cultivators became legends.

So that's where the root of the problem lies.

"So, the Dao Ancestor needs me... to break this cycle?"

Kong Xuan said in a deep voice.

"Exactly."

Hongjun nodded, his gaze deep:

"You are the Primordial Great Luo, transcending the Heavenly Dao and wielding the Great Dao."

"Only beings like you can truly disregard cause and effect, transcend the cycle of reincarnation, and pave a new path for the primordial world."

"Therefore, I tacitly approve of your attainment of enlightenment, and tacitly approve of your... slaughter of saints."

"Even... secretly using the authority of Heaven to conceal the secrets of Heaven for you and reconcile cause and effect."

"Otherwise, do you think... the Heavenly Dao would remain completely unmoved by such a shocking event as the annihilation of the Four Sages?"

Kong Xuan was startled.

It turned out to be the case.

He had found it strange long ago.

He himself attained the Primordial Dao, which resonated with the Great Dao. Logically, the Heavenly Dao should have sent down lightning as punishment.

But at the time... it was just a symbolic display of lightning striking a few times, and then nothing came of it.

When they wiped out Jieyin, Laozi, and others, they didn't even receive any lightning punishment.

It turns out... it was Hongjun who made the move in secret.

"Isn't the Dao Ancestor afraid... I'll lose control?"

Kong Xuan's gaze turned slightly cold:

"At the peak of the ninth level of the Primordial Great Luo Realm, if I were to truly wreak havoc on the prehistoric world, could the Dao Ancestor... stop me?"

Upon hearing this, Hongjun smiled.

His smile was indifferent, yet it carried a hint of... indescribable depth:

"You...can't."

Why?

"Because... you have an obsession in your heart."

Hongjun slowly said:

"The Phoenix Clan's karma, Mother Yuan Feng, the survival of the Jie Sect, the rise and fall of the Shang Dynasty..."

"These are all obsessions in your heart."

"And these obsessions... all reside within the primordial chaos."

"If you truly wreak havoc on the primordial world and destroy this land, these obsessions... will also vanish into thin air."

"So, you won't."

Upon hearing this, Kong Xuan laughed:

"Ha ha ha ha......"

If it were the original Kong Xuan, perhaps it would truly be as Hongjun Daozu said.

Unfortunately, he was not the original Kong Xuan, and he wouldn't be bound by any nonsense obsessions.

The laughter subsided, and Kong Xuan said calmly:

"It seems that the Dao Ancestor has miscalculated this time."

"What you're worried about is exactly what I want to do!"