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

Kong Xuan didn't say much, but stood quietly in front of the Demon Master's Palace.

The black robe remained motionless in the biting cold wind of the far north, with surging chaotic phantoms behind him and towering ice and an ancient palace that had been silent for countless eons in front of him.

The Kunpeng Ancestor took a deep breath, suppressing the surging fear in his heart, and bowed respectfully:

"Senior, what brings you to Beiming?"

His voice was dry, with a slight, almost imperceptible tremor.

Kong Xuan's gaze swept over Kunpeng, then over the Demon Master's Palace hidden deep within the Northern Underworld, his voice calm and unwavering:

"The Lich Wars have passed, the Demon Court has been destroyed, and Emperor Jun and Taiyi have perished. Yet you have managed to survive until now, hiding in the Northern Sea. You have quite the scheme."

Kunpeng's expression changed slightly.

He naturally understood the implication in Kong Xuan's words.

During the great battle between the Lich King and the Demon King, Mount Buzhou collapsed, the Milky Way overflowed, and the primordial world almost returned to chaos.

With the deaths of Di Jun and Tai Yi, the twelve Ancestral Witches perished, the Demon Court crumbled, and the Witch Clan declined.

Kunpeng, as a demon master, withdrew at the most crucial moment and fled to the Northern Sea, thus avoiding the final reckoning of the Great Tribulation.

This matter has always been his biggest secret and his greatest regret.

"Your senior is wise."

Kunpeng lowered its head, its voice even lower:

"As for what happened back then, I did have selfish motives. However, the great calamity of the Lich King caused the world to collapse, and my cultivation was too shallow to reverse the situation. I could only try to survive..."

"There's nothing wrong with seeking survival."

Kong Xuan interrupted him, her gaze deep:

"Your mistake is that you only seek your own survival, but forget the karma of the billions of demons in the Demon Court."

Kunpeng shuddered, looked up at Kong Xuan, and a look of horror flashed in his eyes.

Kong Xuan slowly raised his hand, and a chaotic light wheel swirled in his palm, evolving into a series of illusory scenes.

That was the final scene of the Lich Wars.

Mount Buzhou collapsed, and the waters of the Milky Way flooded the primordial world. Countless demons struggled and wailed in the flood, their true spirits dissipated, and their souls were scattered.

Deep within the Northern Underworld, the Demon Master's Palace remained tightly shut, with Kunpeng hidden within, using the Xuanbing Grand Array to isolate itself from the secrets of heaven, remaining indifferent to the tragic situation outside.

"Although the Demon Court has been destroyed, the fate of the demon race has not been extinguished."

Kong Xuan's voice remained calm, yet every word was like a knife, slashing at Kunpeng's heart:

"As a demon master, you have enjoyed the offerings of the demon race for hundreds of millions of years, yet you abandoned them when the demon race was in its most perilous moment."

"How is such behavior any different from treason?"

Kunpeng's face was deathly pale, his lips trembled, but he couldn't utter a single word in rebuttal.

Kong Xuan’s words were all true.

He was indeed afraid back then.

The battle between the Lich King and the Demon King was too brutal. Even beings like Di Jun and Tai Yi perished. Although Kunpeng was strong, what was he compared to such a cataclysmic event?

So he ran away.

He fled to the Northern Sea and hid in the Demon Master's Palace, sealing himself with the Xuanbing Grand Array to sever causality, attempting to escape the great calamity's reckoning.

This evasion lasted for countless eons.

During this period, he was not unaware of the changes in the outside world.

The rise of humanity, the establishment of the Xuanmen sect, the great calamity of the Investiture of the Gods... but he dared not step out.

He fears.

They fear the judgment of Heaven, the backlash of karma, and the repercussions of abandoning the demon race in the past.

Now, Kong Xuan has arrived.

This supreme being, who could casually suppress the selfish desires of the Heavenly Dao, annihilate the Four Saints, awaken the Human Dao, and help the Nine Saints emerge together, personally came to the Northern Sea and stood before him.

Kunpeng knew that his retribution had come.

"This junior... knows his mistake."

Kunpeng slowly knelt down, his voice hoarse:

"I am willing to accept any punishment from you, senior, just so that... the Northern Darkness Demon Clan may have a chance to survive."

Behind him, deep within the Demon Master's Palace, faint fluctuations of energy could be faintly heard.

Those were the descendants of the demon race that he had secretly protected and nurtured in Beiming over the years.

Although few in number, they are ultimately a continuation of the demon race's bloodline.

Kong Xuan spoke, his voice indifferent:

"Two paths."

"First, submit, enter the Heavenly Court as a demon master, in charge of educating all demons, and enjoy the fortune of humanity."

"Two, die."

Kunpeng remained silent.

After a long silence, he slowly bowed:

"Kunpeng...is willing to submit."

Seeing that Kunpeng was so sensible, Kong Xuan nodded slightly.

His eyes swirled with chaotic light, reflecting the causal entanglements that Kunpeng possessed deep within his bloodline, spanning countless eons.

The futon was taken away, the Primordial Purple Qi was lost, the hope of becoming a saint was lost, and he was forced to submit to the Demon Court, but then he fled in panic at the end of the Great Calamity...

These incidents, one by one, are less a reflection of Kunpeng's cunning and indecisive nature, and more a reflection of his helpless struggle under the combined machinations and relentless pressure from Heaven and the Sages.

In the primordial world, living beings sought survival, and there was no inherent right or wrong in the process.

"You don't need to belittle yourself."

Kong Xuan spoke slowly, his voice calm, yet carrying a rare hint of gentleness:

"When the sermon was being held at Zixiao Palace, Hongyun gave up his seat, but Zhunti and Jieyin forcibly occupied the prayer mat. This was not your fault."

"You have no chance to obtain the Primordial Purple Qi, nor any hope of attaining sainthood. It is not because you lack talent, but because the Heavenly Dao has already determined your fate, and the Xuanmen does not tolerate outsiders."

"As for the Lich King's Cataclysm..."

Kong Xuan paused, his gaze sweeping over the faint yet tenacious demonic auras deep within the Demon Master's Palace:

"Emperor Jun and Taiyi are stubborn and self-willed, and the Twelve Ancestral Witches do not understand the will of Heaven. The conflict between the two races was destined to result in mutual destruction."

"Even if you had stayed back then, it wouldn't have added another corpse; it wouldn't have changed the outcome."

Upon hearing this, Kunpeng trembled violently.

He slowly raised his head and looked at Kong Xuan. For the first time, a trace of disbelief appeared in his eyes, which had been silent for millions of years and whose edges had been worn smooth by scheming and fear.

No one had ever said these words to him before.

After his defeat at Zixiao Palace, he was labeled as having "shallow fortune" and "unstable temperament".

Those who pledge allegiance to the demon court are seen as opportunists; those who flee from the war between the lich and the demons are even more condemned as traitors seeking survival.

For millions of years, he hid in the Northern Sea, seemingly carefree, but in reality, deep-seated inner demons had taken root, and his foundation for cultivation was obscured.

Today, this Primordial Limitless Great Luo, who could obliterate him with a mere wave of his hand, said to him... This is not your fault?

"senior......"

Kunpeng's voice was dry, his Adam's apple bobbing, but he didn't know what to say.

Kong Xuan said no more.

He slowly raised his hand, his five fingers spread wide, and gently grasped at the void beyond the Northern Sea.

"Buzz!"

Within his palm, spatial Dao patterns silently spread, instantly piercing through the endless barriers of time and space, disappearing into the depths of a hidden paradise in the primordial land.

There, a thin, yet dazzling, purple-gold radiance floated quietly above an ancient stone pool, radiating an extremely alluring opportunity for enlightenment.

It was one of the five strands of Primordial Purple Qi that Yang Mei had previously scattered into the primordial world!

The purple aura seemed to sense something, and suddenly trembled, trying to escape.

But before the immense power of the Primordial Chaos, it had no chance to struggle.

"Come."

Kong Xuan uttered a single word calmly.

The purple aura transformed into a stream of light, piercing through layers of spatial barriers and instantly falling into his palm.

Its radiance is gentle and warm, its Daoist charm flows, and the rules of the Heavenly Dao seem to float and sink within it.

Kunpeng's pupils suddenly contracted!

"Primordial Purple Qi?!"

He gasped in shock, his voice trembling.

He was all too familiar with that aura!

Millions of years ago, in the Zixiao Palace, the thing that slipped past his eyes and eventually fell into Hongyun's hands... was this very thing!

For this reason, he harbored resentment for countless years, and even secretly plotted against Hongyun, causing her to perish, but Ziqi still disappeared without a trace.

Now, the very foundation for sainthood that he had longed for and yet could not obtain has actually appeared in Kong Xuan's hands?