In the primordial era: the Wu tribe ceased its struggle for supremacy, and Hongjun collapsed!

"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!"

Three streams of pure energy took the lead, none other than Laozi, Yuanshi, and Tongtian. They were transformed from the primordial spirit of Pangu and protected by the Xuanhuang Linglong Pagoda, making them the fastest and naturally occupying the first three futons.

Closely following behind was a figure emanating from the flow of Yin and Yang energies—Nuwa. Under Fuxi's cover, she moved with lightning speed and snatched the fourth prayer mat.

The fifth futon was sat on by the Kunpeng Ancestor, who possessed extreme speed.

The sixth spot was taken by Hongyun, a kind-hearted man in a red robe with a cheerful expression.

The others, seeing that the first six seats were full, were annoyed but could only find a seat at the back.

Zhen Yuanzi sat behind Hongyun, Fuxi sat beside Nuwa, and the brothers Dijun and Taiyi sat in the second row with gloomy expressions, staring unfriendly at Kunpeng and Hongyun in front of them.

Just as everyone had taken their seats and the door was about to close.

"Senior brother! Our lives are so hard!"

Two ragged, emaciated figures stumbled in; they were none other than Jieyin and Zhunti from the West.

Amitabha looked utterly miserable, as if someone owed him eight million merits; Zhunti, on the other hand, darted around with his eyes wide open, and as soon as he entered, he began to wail and waile: "Our West is barren, and we've finally come all this way to the East, but we don't even have a seat! We might as well just die here!"

As he spoke, Zhunti was about to crash into a pillar of Zixiao Palace.

This scene left the assembled powerful Eastern beings dumbfounded. This was a sage's sacred ground; were these two here to stage an accident?

However, the kind-hearted Hongyun softened. He sighed, stood up, and said, "Fellow Daoist, please don't take your own life. I'll give you this position."

"Thank you, fellow Daoist! Fellow Daoist is so compassionate!" Zhunti was overjoyed. In a flash, he sat on the sixth futon. He no longer looked like he was about to die.

After settling in, Zhunti's gaze fell upon Kunpeng beside him, a glint of shrewdness flashing in his eyes. He launched into a tirade: "You creature with fur and horns, born from an egg and exposed to moisture, do you even deserve to sit with us? Quickly move aside and give my senior brother your seat!"

Yuanshi Tianzun, who already looked down on the demon race, snorted coldly upon hearing this: "Kunpeng, you are not worthy to sit in this position."

Under the ostracism of the crowd, Kunpeng's face turned ashen, and he finally had no choice but to stand up in anger and give the fifth position to Jieyin.

Thus, the six prayer mats were finally settled: Laozi, Yuanshi, Tongtian, Nuwa, Jieyin, and Zhunti.

This farce, seemingly just a fight for a seat, has in fact secretly determined who will inherit the throne in the future.

However, in this noisy hall, several sharp-minded powerful beings sensed something was amiss.

After offering her seat, Hongyun sat down next to Zhen Yuanzi, looking around with some confusion: "Strange, very strange."

"What is it that surprises you, fellow Daoist?" Zhen Yuanzi asked in a low voice.

Hongyun scratched his head: "Why didn't Fellow Daoist Dijiang and the others arrive? Although Buzhou Mountain is far from Chaos, with their speed, they should have arrived long ago, right?"

Upon hearing this, Zhen Yuanzi's expression hardened, and his gaze swept across the entire scene.

Indeed, we didn't see Dijiang and the others.

"Could it be that they were delayed by something, or that they have their own traditions and look down on this preaching?" Zhen Yuanzi guessed.

"Perhaps." Hongyun nodded, but something still felt off. "Even if you look down on a sage's preaching, aren't you curious about what the sage looks like?"

Nuwa and Fuxi in the second row also felt puzzled.

"Brother, have you noticed that Fellow Daoist Houtu and the others haven't come?" Nuwa transmitted her voice, her delicate brows slightly furrowed.

Fuxi secretly made some calculations with his hands, only to find that the secrets of heaven concerning Houtu and others were in complete chaos, as if they were covered by some supreme treasure.

"Strange... Logically speaking, Hongjun's ascension to sainthood is a momentous event for heaven and earth, and all the deities from all sides have arrived, except for Fellow Daoist Houtu and the others." A glint of light flashed in Fuxi's eyes. "Unless... they simply don't care about saints."

"Don't care?" Nuwa was startled. "How is that possible? He's a sage!"

Meanwhile, in the corner, Kunpeng, who had just lost his seat, was filled with resentment, his eyes scanning the surroundings with a sinister look, looking for someone to vent his anger on. After searching around, he couldn't find Qiangliang and the others.

"Hmph, those three guys must have gotten lost in the chaos. I hope they all die out there!" Kunpeng cursed viciously in his heart.

Just as everyone was discussing and having different thoughts.

"when--"

With a soft chime, the Purple Cloud Palace fell silent instantly.

On the high platform, space slightly distorted, and a figure dressed in a gray Taoist robe, with an ancient face and deep, unfathomable eyes, appeared out of thin air.

There was no fluctuation of magical power, nor any earth-shattering phenomenon. He just sat there calmly, yet he seemed to be the embodiment of the Dao, the center of heaven and earth.

Dao Ancestor, Hongjun.

"Greetings, Sage! May your lifespan be as long as Heaven!"

Three thousand worldly people below the stage bowed down in unison, respectfully shouting their praises.

Hongjun remained expressionless, his gaze sweeping indifferently over the area below. His eyes, though seemingly calm, instantly discerned the origins, fortunes, and karmic connections of everyone present.

The Three Pure Ones...that's right, the primordial spirit of Pangu, possessing profound fortune.

Nuwa... has a great destiny.

The Western karmic debts, including those of Jieyin and Zhunti, must be repaid.

Di Jun, Tai Yi... all possess imperial aura.

However, when his gaze swept across the entire room, even examining every corner, his previously calm brows furrowed almost imperceptibly.

No.

not a single one.

The vast Zixiao Palace gathered almost all the innate deities of the primordial world, but the Wu Clan, which occupied half of the country, was conspicuously absent!

"Where are the Twelve Ancestral Witches?"

A hint of doubt arose in Hongjun's mind.

According to the grand scheme of things, the Lich and Demon races are destined to rise, and they are the protagonists of this great calamity. His sermon is intended to lay out the future of the primordial world, distribute holy positions, and guide the Lich and Demon races toward their predetermined destiny.

Now, the demon race's leaders, Di Jun, Tai Yi, Kun Peng, and Nuwa, are all present, but the other protagonist on this stage, the Wu race, has collectively skipped work.

Hongjun subtly pinched his fingers inside his sleeve, and the illusory image of the Creation Jade Disc flashed before his eyes.

He was deducing the secrets of heaven.

In an instant, countless images flashed through his mind. He saw the vibrant Wu tribes at the foot of Buzhou Mountain, the great shamans leading their people in a frenzy of searching for spiritual roots and building their homes; he even saw the little demons who depended on the Wu tribe, happily tending the land for them.

"The Great Shaman... enjoys prosperity and order."

Hongjun thought to himself.

But when he tried to deduce the movements of the Twelve Ancestral Witches...

Hongjun's heart sank.

"Can't figure it out?"

As a Heavenly Sage, before he merged with the Heavenly Dao, although he could not be omniscient and omnipotent, there were still things in the primordial world that he could not see through at all.

"A method left behind by Pangu?"

Hongjun could only attribute it to the protection of the Great God Pangu. After all, Pangu was the one who created the world, so it was normal for him to leave behind methods that could obstruct the Heavenly Dao.

But the absence of the Ancestral Witch caused him a vague sense of unease.