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

The Purple Cloud Palace was deathly silent.

Hongjun Daozu sat upright on the cloud platform, and for the first time, a crack appeared on his usually calm and composed face.

His gaze fell to the four figures slumped on the ground below, their breaths utterly exhausted.

Laozi, Yuanshi, Jieyin, and Zhunti.

Just now, he clearly sensed that these four people rushed out of the primordial world and headed towards the chaos.

They burned with the fleeting peak power bestowed by the origin of Heaven, their aura fierce and their hearts burning with the flames of revenge.

But it only took a moment.

They were like kites with broken strings, thrown back to the Purple Cloud Palace from the chaos!

The four saints lay sprawled on the ground, their robes tattered, the celestial purple light that once surrounded them long since dimmed and extinguished, replaced by chaotic, deep-colored wounds on the Great Dao.

Those wounds penetrate deep into the Holy Foundation, even slowly eroding their newly revived spirits.

Lao Tzu's face was as white as gold paper, and a palm print was clearly visible on his chest. The five elements of Daoist energy flowed around the edge of the palm print, frantically disintegrating his Tai Chi origin.

Yuanshi suffered an even worse fate; half of his holy body was almost destroyed, the phantom of the Pangu Banner had long since dissipated, and the Jade Purity Immortal Light was like a flickering candle in the wind.

Jieyin and Zhunti collapsed into each other's arms, and the illusory images of the Twelve-Petaled Golden Lotus of Merit and the Seven-Jeweled Tree completely shattered, the Buddha's light dissipated, and the chains of cause and effect broke inch by inch.

They couldn't even scream; they could only curl up on the ground, trembling.

In his eyes were endless fear and the bewilderment of surviving a catastrophe.

They didn't even see who made the move.

I felt a terrifying power, surpassing all ages and transcending all constraints, suddenly descending from the depths of chaos.

That power ignored their peak Saint level cultivation and the protection of the Heavenly Dao Talisman, crushing the four of them like ants and sending them... back to the Primordial World!

"Primordial Chaos... Limitless Limitless Luo..."

Hongjun Daozu slowly uttered these words.

The voice remained calm, but the chaotic starlight within the Purple Cloud Palace trembled slightly.

He was all too familiar with that fluctuation.

It's the fluctuation of a Primordial Limitless Golden Immortal!

Moreover, this is by no means the initial stage!

The perfect Daoist essence contained within that power, the indifferent might that rewrites the laws with every gesture...

At least the mid-stage of the Primordial Limitless Great Luo Realm, or even... the late stage!

What alarmed him even more was...

He was even more familiar with that aura.

Kong Xuan!

It was Kong Xuan, whom he had personally sent into chaos, who should have been reduced to ashes in the tribulation of lightning!

He not only made a breakthrough.

Not only did they survive the Great Dao Tribulation, which was said to be a death sentence.

They even... came back to fight their way back!

"How is that possible...?"

The purple light in Hongjun's eyes surged violently, and for the first time, his mind wavered.

He merged with the Dao of Heaven, becoming one with the primordial world. All things in heaven and earth, past and future, were within his single thought.

Logically speaking, any living being that steps from chaos into the primordial world will inevitably trigger the response of the Heavenly Dao, just as a pebble thrown into water will inevitably create ripples.

But just now...

No.

There was no fluctuation.

Kong Xuan seemed to appear out of thin air, yet it was as if he was always meant to be there.

Heaven showed absolutely no reaction to his return!

That's absolutely impossible!

unless......

Hongjun's pupils suddenly contracted.

Unless Kong Xuan's realm has reached a level high enough to completely obscure the perception of the Heavenly Dao!

Or... the means he used to return have transcended the concept of "entering the primordial world"!

Just as Hongjun's mind was racing, filled with doubt and uncertainty...

In the center of Zixiao Palace, the void that had just been shattered by the Four Sages slowly rippled outwards.

Like ripples on water being brushed aside by an invisible hand.

Two figures stepped out from the rippling void.

Silently.

Even the chaotic airflow remained completely undisturbed.

The leader, dressed in black robes with black hair, had a calm expression and eyes as deep as the ancient starry sky.

It was Kong Xuan.

He stood with his hands behind his back, not a trace of his aura emanating from him, yet he naturally became the center of this world.

It was as if he, standing there, was the very essence of the Great Dao.

Hongjun's gaze was fixed on Kong Xuan.

He saw it very clearly.

Kong Xuan's level of understanding... he couldn't fathom it.

It is not concealed by secret methods, nor blinded by supreme treasures.

Rather, it's truly...incomprehensible.

It was as if what stood before him was not a person, but a complete, self-consistent universe that transcended all rules... the Great Dao!

"The Primordial Limitless Great Luo... late stage?!"

Hongjun was deeply shaken.

This thought struck him like a thunderclap, almost shaking his Daoist resolve that had been cultivated for countless eons.

What made his expression change even more was the figure behind Kong Xuan...

He wore a hempen robe, had an ancient and simple face, and held a green bamboo staff.

The Dao patterns around him flowed naturally, resonating faintly with the primordial void, yet carrying a kind of incongruous, chaotic vastness.

Master Yangmei!

This reincarnation of the Space Demon God, who had fled into chaos and disappeared after the conflict between Dao and Demon, was now... standing behind Kong Xuan!

Moreover, judging from his posture, he clearly respected Kong Xuan!

"Yang Mei...you actually traveled with him?"

Hongjun spoke slowly, his voice no longer indifferent, but carrying a hint of icy chill.

He had calculated everything in the primordial world, but he hadn't foreseen that... Yang Mei would return at this time, in this way!

What I didn't expect was... that he would side with Kong Xuan!

Master Yangmei, holding a bamboo staff, stepped forward.

His aged eyes looked at Hongjun, without hatred or excitement, only a calm as still as a deep well.

But beneath that calm lies a volcano, suppressed for millions of years, poised to erupt.

"Fellow Daoist Hongjun, how have you been?"

Yang Mei's voice was hoarse, but every word was clear:

"I have been in the chaos for too long, it is time... for me to come back and take a look."

"Look at this primordial world, look at you, the ancestor of the Xuanmen sect... how glorious you are now."

As soon as he finished speaking, the atmosphere inside Zixiao Palace turned cold.

Hongjun's gaze swept over Yang Mei, then returned to Kong Xuan.

He suddenly laughed.

The laughter was low and deep, carrying a hint of self-mockery, but also a chilling murderous intent.

"Well... well, Kong Xuan."

"I underestimated you."

"Not only did you break through to the Primordial Chaos Realm yourself, but you even managed to persuade that old fellow Yang Mei to travel with you."

"It seems... you've returned with the intention of destroying my Zixiao Palace?"

Kong Xuan remained unmoved upon hearing this.

He slowly raised his eyes and met Hongjun's gaze.

Two gazes collided in the void.

There were no sparks, no oppressive force.

But suddenly the entire Zixiao Palace went dark!

The chaotic starlight hanging from the palace ceiling vanished silently, and the flowing Dao energy around them instantly froze.

Even time seemed to slow down.

"Did they overturn the Purple Cloud Palace?"

Kong Xuan finally spoke.

The voice was calm, yet it resonated like a thunderclap from the heavens, striking Hongjun's heart:

"The Dao Ancestor has misunderstood."

"I've returned to overturn..."

"It is you who have aligned yourself with the Heavenly Dao."

As soon as the words were spoken, Zixiao Palace fell into utter silence.