Chapter 217

Hongjun saw this, his brows slightly furrowed, yet he said nothing; he saw the newcomers—one tall, one short, one somewhat plump, the other lean—quite different, the only possible similarity being that both wore expressions of sorrow and suffering.

They wore yellow robes, looking hurried, and squeezed straight through the door crack; Haotian and Yaochi, hearing their voices, were so moved that they directly let the two enter.

As soon as the two entered, seeing Hongjun seated sideways on the cloud cluster, they immediately bowed and saluted, repeatedly apologizing: "Exalted one above, forgive our rudeness; the West is far, we have come with difficulty; we hope the exalted one will pardon us."

Hongjun remained silent, but the two, as if shameless, after rising turned their gazes to the only six seats in the arena.

Zhunti blinked his eyes, then suddenly burst into loud weeping:

"Senior Brother Jieyin, pity our impoverished West, the road is long; we, full of zeal, have rushed here, yet there is not even a single seat."

"In Chaos, dangers abound; we have no Dao-protecting treasures, no divine abilities; now seeing this gathering of distinguished guests, all dressed in fine attire, and then looking at us, how harsh Heaven treats the West!"

As he spoke, Zhunti's tears streamed down, his sense of injustice fully revealed.

Jieyin sighed, two tears sliding from the corners of his eyes, matching his sorrowful appearance, truly evoking pity.

Seeing the six seated individuals unmoving, or perhaps not rising, Jieyin spoke:

"Junior Brother, do not weep; coming to this Exalted One's Dao Chang is to seek opportunity; now being able to come here to hear the Dao is already a great fortune."

"I only pity you, Junior Brother; endure a little more hardship and stand beside your elder brother."

Zhunti gradually stopped sobbing, his body half-leaning against Jieyin, as if truly exhausted to the point of being unable to rise.

The gods cast strange glances; the Three Pure Ones wore mocking expressions—such shameless people are rare. The Shangqing Lingbao Daoist intended to rise and yield his seat, but the Taqing Virtue Daoist stopped him.

This is the Exalted One's Dao lecture; having already taken a seat, how could there be reason to rise and yield? The Dao must not be lightly transmitted; yielding now, who knows if it is a slight to Hongjun himself or to his Dao?

Although the Shangqing Lingbao Daoist did not know why, since his elder brother blocked him, there must be a reason; he had someone restraining him, yet Hongyun had no one to stop him.

This seat he originally did not wish to take; now seeing someone voluntarily offer it, he naturally rose gladly to yield, though his face showed a soft expression, saying: "Jieyin Dao Brother, Zhunti Dao Brother, I never expected you two to suffer so; after our parting that day, seeing you again now, you have become like this."

"The West has always been impoverished, and the distance from here is long; dangers in Chaos are extreme, thus you have endured hardship."

"Come, come, come; my fortune is still good, I luckily obtained a seat; Dao Brothers, please sit quickly and rest awhile."

The two instantly rejoiced, their words full of gratitude: "We thank Dao Brother Hongyun for his generous yielding of the seat; recalling our first meeting, Dao Brother was likewise enthusiastic, not shunning toil, repairing the earth's veins for the West, regarding heaven and earth as his duty, truly a person of great merit; such merit, how should we repay it?"

Hongyun smiled and said: "No matter, no matter; you two should first discuss who will take the seat; as for repayment, do not mention it again."

Jieyin and Zhunti glanced at each other, each stepping back one step, yielding the seat to the other:

"Elder Brother (Younger Brother), you have suffered more; it is better for you to take the seat."

Finally, after exchanging glances, they still had Jieyin take the seat.

Jieyin had just sat on the cushion when Zhunti suddenly produced the Seven Treasure Wondrous Tree and brushed it toward the Kunpeng nearby.

A seven-colored radiance suddenly appeared, catching the Kunpeng off guard; before its body could even tilt slightly, a clear light descended, protecting both the Kunpeng and the cushion it sat upon.

"Are you two bullying the Heavenly Court as if it had no one? You have already obtained a seat, yet unsatisfied, you dare to seize our Heavenly Court's people right before our eyes."

Only then did the Kunpeng react; had it not been for someone's intervention, it would have long been brushed off the seat, and its heart instantly filled with both urgency and anger.

Turning back, he saw a white lotus fly from the Kunpeng's head and fall into Qi's hand.

Qi's face bore a hint of chill; to outsiders, this merely appeared because someone openly attacked a Heavenly Court person, but his true thoughts, likely only he himself knows.

"Kunpeng thanks His Majesty Qi for his assistance; the virtue therein, Kunpeng will never forget."

Seeing Qi's intervention, Kunpeng's face showed gratitude, his heart greatly relieved.

The West is impoverished; the North is no different? The West's suffering is merely after the struggle with demons, while the North has been barren far longer than the West.

The North's innate divinities have always lacked opportunities and spiritual objects; every bit must be seized by themselves, giving only a slim chance of gain.

Thus Kunpeng dared to ignore the crowd's contempt, knowing this seat might hold other hidden meanings, yet still sat down, in order not to miss any chance of greater gain.

Now, he has abandoned dignity, become contemptible in others' eyes, and the opportunity he obtained still has someone trying to seize it—how could he not be angry?

Even if not for His Majesty Qi's intervention, he would truly have let them take it.

Qi, meanwhile, silently pondered in his heart; unknown why, since entering the new Great Cycle and establishing the Heavenly Court, he seems to have forgotten much, no matter how hard he tries, he cannot recall.

The reason, Qi does not know; but just now, he seemed to have anticipated Zhunti's move, having prepared in advance.

Whether Nüwa or Kunpeng would be Zhunti's target, Qi also does not know; thus just now Kunpeng was merely shaken a little.

Otherwise, with Qi's present strength, having taken precautions in his heart, Zhunti could not possibly cause Kunpeng even the slightest disturbance.

Zhunti, seeing his failure and being questioned by Qi, did not know how to answer; his lips moved slightly, but no sound came; under the gods' watching eyes, he could only bow and flee in retreat to the edge of the great hall.

Seeing this, Qi merely gave a cold snort; such shameless people, fearing they will achieve nothing in the future, are not worthy of his notice.

Jieyin, as if unaware, continued sitting cross-legged on the cushion.

Hongjun felt somewhat surprised by the subsequent developments; he sensed the heavenly secrets were unfathomable; according to his calculations, Jieyin and Zhunti should not have appeared, yet they indeed arrived at the critical moment.

Since the two appeared, logically Hongyun and Kunpeng should not have been able to keep their seats, yet Kunpeng still managed to sit.

All these changes left Hongjun somewhat unexpected; although he dislikes Jieyin and Zhunti, the situation having formed, it is not appropriate to say more.

Seeing the matter settled, Hongjun then said: "All affairs are concluded; the Dao lecture begins."

Speaking, he took out the Measuring Heaven Ruler, lightly patted the heavenly qi clouds, an invisible ripple swept over the crowd, dispelling noise, causing everyone to focus and gather their breath.

"Great is the Qian Origin; all things originate from it, thereby governing Heaven. Clouds move, rain is dispensed, things flow and form…"

As Hongjun spoke, countless heavenly flowers fell, golden lotuses surged from the earth, all things born and flow endlessly, myriad Dao manifested, the ignorant cannot see.

For a moment, everyone was entranced, except the Twelve Ancestral Witches; Qi likewise immersed himself, following Hongjun the Elder's words, manifestations appeared, the Dao is utterly simple, its fundamental meaning revealed before all, without the slightest concealment.

The Dao resonance rang like clear spring water flowing, moistening each person's heart and mind; past confusion and doubt gradually dissipated within this Dao sound.

Within the Dao sound, some showed expressions of sudden enlightenment on their faces; others tightly closed their eyes, brows furrowed, striving to comprehend its profound meaning.

The Twelve Ancestral Witches stared wide-eyed, whispering to each other, yet dared not speak, fearing to disturb the Dao lecture.

They could only sit helplessly on the spot, their desire to speak yet restraint appearing as if thousands of words were stuck in their throats, yet unable to utter.

As Hongjun continuously spoke, the Dao sound came and went; at times his voice rang heavy like a great bell, at times light like wind passing.

The Twelve Ancestral Witches listened, growing drowsy, yet forced themselves to stay awake, not daring to truly sleep; their heads nodded occasionally, then jerked awake at the brink of slumber.

Finally, Xiebie Shi was the first to fail to endure; though he remained seated, his drooping head showed he had clearly fallen into sleep.

Fortunately his sleeping posture was decent, no snoring emerged; at this moment, the other eleven Ancestral Witches beside him fared worse.

But as the lecture continued to deepen, everyone gradually fell asleep one by one.

Rushou, Xuanming, Zhurong, Gonggong… until finally, only Di Jiang and Hou Tu remained.

Seeing that he could no longer endure, Di Jiang could only send a mental message: "Hou Tu sister, I can't hold on anymore; I don't understand this lecture at all, and it's so soporific—I don't know when it will end."

"I'll go to sleep first; if I start snoring, you can wake me up then."

Such an obvious mental message, and the eleven ancestral witches asleep in a heap, naturally could not escape Hongjun's divine sight—though he simply couldn't be bothered to care.

In Hongjun's view, these twelve ancestral witches had no need to come at all—they lacked primordial spirits and did not cultivate the Great Dao; coming to listen to the lecture was merely a waste of time.

At that moment, Hongjun suddenly frowned, his gaze shifting from the platform to Di Jiang; a faint snoring sound echoed in the hall.

Helpless, Hongjun casually flicked his sleeve; instantly, Di Jiang's snoring vanished, inaudible to outsiders.

Seeing this, Hou Tu dared not move; she could only force herself to stay alert and strive to listen attentively.

After an unknown amount of time, the lecture's sound ceased, but its echo lingered in everyone's hearts.

At that moment, five-colored auspicious light descended from the sky, and auspicious qi filled the surroundings.

Hongjun said: "Three yuan hui have arrived; this lecture is over. Everyone, please disperse quickly—next lecture will be after the three yuan hui."

"This lecture I only spoke about the principles of the Great Dao; the Dao within is for you to comprehend yourself. Next time, I will expound on the path of cultivation, just as this time, all who are fated may come."

Having said that, Hongjun's ancestor's image vanished before everyone's eyes; the Zixiao Palace likewise disappeared, leaving only the outer hall for people to temporarily rest.

Upon hearing this, everyone began to seek out friends and converse, and the hall instantly grew noisy.

The five exchanged glances and nodded slightly; Di Jun walked to the edge of the hall and said: "The lecture has ended, so we will not linger further. All members of the Heavenly Court, follow us."

"Received."

Instantly, a sound rose, drawing everyone's attention; Di Jun paid no heed to others' gazes, and after speaking, he led the Heavenly Court's people, transforming into streaks of escape light that vanished into the Chaos.

Qi, Taiyi, Fuxi, and Nüwa merely followed behind, not opening the way as Di Jun did.

"What do you think of this lecture?"

Qi's voice rang out; he felt he had gained much from this lecture—Hongjun's words were profound yet concise.

"To say that only the principles were spoken is merely his modesty; what he truly expounded encompassed the ultimate truths of heaven and earth, which cannot be summed up by mere principles."

The Great Dao manifested, and the Three Thousand Great Daos arrayed before everyone's eyes. Although only three yuan hui cannot exhaustively explain them all, at least everyone present gained some understanding.

Such understanding, each Dao worth a hundred thousand years of cultivation insight; his discourse on principles was also extraordinary. The more Qi pondered, the deeper he found it.

Whenever he reflected, he always gained something.

Fuxi's face lit up with joy; he replied excitedly:

"What I gained from listening to the Dao equals all my cultivation insight thus far. Qi, you don't know that I cultivate divine mechanism deduction; for any matter, the greatest taboo is not understanding its operation."

"Now, listening to the Dao has let me see the whole picture of the world, making my ears sharp and eyes clear, unlike before."

"If I judge by my current view, my past words and deeds were merely those of a blind, obstructed person—like a frog in a well."

Qi and Taiyi Nüwa were somewhat surprised by Fuxi's words, feeling they were exaggerated—yet after only three yuan hui, they could match his past painstaking accumulation.

Seeing everyone's disbelief, Fuxi said again: "It's not that I'm exaggerating; we once listened to Yangmei Dashen's lecture, which was also rich in gain, but my cultivation was too low then, so his words were only superficial."

"Moreover, the Primordial Cloud Dream Star Array was present, causing us to look down on those great gods; now, upon seeing it again, I am astonished to the point of feeling like a heavenly being."

"Hongjun Dashen truly deserves to be the foremost of the primordial gods of the East; what I have gained this time is far better than for me—this is the true opportunity I have had since birth."

Seeing Fuxi still immersed, Qi felt happy for him and stopped speaking, instead asking Taiyi: "Fuxi's gain is immense; Taiyi, what about yours?"

Taiyi slightly furrowed his brows and said: "I have some gains, but not many; I can only say it provided much inspiration for developing new techniques—still, the trip was not in vain."

Taiyi cultivates the solitary supreme path; Hongjun's discourse on the Three Thousand Great Daos is of little use to him, though he did gain something—just not as astonishing as Fuxi's.

Nüwa did not wait for Qi to ask; she eagerly spoke first:

"My gains are also great; the Way of Creation has advanced greatly, allowing analogical application to creation, and the Three Thousand Great Daos all have effect."

"Although not as much as my elder brother, I believe that if I subsequently digest and comprehend one or two, I can make them my own."

Nüwa's face was full of smiles; this lecture's gains satisfied her, and she planned to retreat into seclusion afterward to create beings—true beings.

Beings capable of cultivating the Dao, possessing joy, anger, sorrow, and happiness, rich in emotion.

(End of chapter)