Chapter 343

343. Chapter 343: Xihe and Changxi are with child, Taiyi, don't run!

Dao brother came to seek me; originally it was for this matter. If so, then you Dao brother look down on Hongyun.

Although Hongyun was drunk, he could still tell this was no trivial matter; these people obviously had planned ahead and came specially to seek him.

Although Hongyun believed they would not harm him, he had no desire to wade into this muddy water; the situation in the Wilderness was unpredictable, and he and Zhenyuanzi were recluses—how could he wish to spoil his own tranquility?

Hongyun, in the Wilderness, does not seek to attain that Saint's position; he only wishes to wander the mountains to find friends. Then, raising his cup of wine to the moon, he will fall asleep leaning on the rocks.

Watching the clear spring flow, hearing insects chirp in the forest, occasionally a bird flies by; sitting with friends to discuss the Dao, only then does one feel at ease.

The red-robed Daoist frowned upon hearing this, rather displeased, and spoke:

"Hongyun Dao brother, we associate with you; first, we admire your heroic spirit, unconstrained by petty details, righteous as the clouds, and our interests align."

"Second, it is because you Dao brother practice the Great Dao personally, broad and profound, without sectarian bias; wherever you go, you impart teachings, and we admire your lofty Dao."

"But now heaven and earth present this fine opportunity; we have come specially to assist you Dao brother for a stage, to fulfill our mutual affection."

"We have long said that if we obtain the Hongmeng Purple Qi, we will let you Dao brother use it first; if you Dao brother can attain the Dao, even if we discard it, it would be no problem."

"If you Dao brother do not believe, you may simply use the art of inquiring into the heart to investigate; if there is deceit, you will suffer the calamity of five thunderbolts."

"Yet we have laid our hearts bare, while you Dao brother merely make excuses of having no desire for the Great Dao; could it be that we fail to gain your esteem, thus you slight us so?"

Another white-robed Daoist also spoke:

"Exactly so; moreover, back in the the the Zixiao Palace, that seat was rightfully Hongyun Dao friend's, and how could the opportunity to become a Saint be lightly given to others?"

"What's more, Jieyin and Zhunti are hardly comparable to you Dao friend; you Dao friend, being kind-hearted, were deceived by those two, which is why you left the Mysterious Gate."

"Otherwise, the Hongmeng Purple Qi ought to belong to you Dao friend; you Dao friend, being magnanimous, let them keep it for a long time, and now it is merely taking back what is rightfully yours."

Everyone focused their gaze on Hongyun; all present were friends of Hongyun, but compared to the others, they undoubtedly trusted Hongyun more.

After all, the Hongmeng Purple Qi pertains to attaining the Dao, and the people present only believed that only if it fell into Hongyun's hands would they have a chance to comprehend it.

Only Hongyun would, when facing such an opportunity, keep his original heart and honor his promises.

Otherwise, with the strength of their ten Quasi-Saints and the Primordial Origin Dao, where could they not go? As long as they do not provoke the Heavenly Court, how could the mere Jieyin and Zhunti possibly restrain them?

Hongyun's face turned bitter; he sincerely rose and said: "I naturally believe you all Dao friends, considering me Hongyun; but, Dao friends, Hongyun truly has no thought whatsoever about the Saint's position or the seat matter from back then."

"Back in the the the Zixiao Palace, Hongyun originally did not wish to remain on the mat; it was only that, at the time, no one in the main hall was willing to go."

"Moreover, under the unanimous recommendation of everyone, I truly had no choice but to accept; originally yielding the seat to Jieyin was Hongyun's act from the heart."

"Under the Great Dao, every drink and bite is predestined; his obtaining this seat and entering the Mysterious Gate—does that not prove the other party is a person ordained by heaven?"

"Furthermore, the West has been restricted for a long time and also needs to produce a Saint in order to have a chance to turn the wheel; to me, all beings, whether East or West, are human."

"Although human cultivation varies in level, there is no inequality; although the continent has four directions as boundaries, its people are still those of the Wilderness."

The red-robed Daoist shook his head and said: "Hongyun Dao friend, your words are mistaken; the fact that you Dao friend could sit on that mat naturally shows that you Dao friend have the potential to become a Saint."

"Take the Giant Fish-Bird Saint as an example; back then, the Giant Fish-Bird Saint was also ambushed by Zhunti, nearly losing his position; if not for the protection of several Emperors, how could there be a Saint's day today?"

"In my view, Hongyun Dao friend back then lacked such a protector of the Dao; but now, with us assisting him, it is only natural to help him rise to the blue clouds."

"By then, having attained the Saint's position, let alone wandering all the mountains; even if one roams the blue sea in the morning and rests in the verdant dusk by evening, what difficulty would there be?"

Hongyun slightly shook his head, solemnly saying: "Although that may be so, how could the Saint's position be so easily obtained? Not to mention the fierce struggle for the Hongmeng Purple Qi; even if luckily obtained, the path to proving the Dao entails myriad tribulations and calamities."

"The carefree ease of roaming the blue sea in the morning and resting in the verdant dusk by evening would, on this long road, be naught but a vain hope; should this thing fall into my hands, I fear there will be no peace in the future."

Zhenyuanzi, at the side, showed a worried look, but did not offer advice; after all, concerning the Great Dao, how Hongyun chooses is his own reason.

Moreover, without saying more, as long as Hongyun remains in the Five Zhuang Temple, Zhenyuanzi is confident he can protect him.

As long as the Earth Scripture is unfolded, Zhenyuanzi believes no one in the world would dare to act; if the earth's embryonic membrane were broken, the endless karmic consequences would naturally cause them to halt.

As for Zhenyuanzi's worries, naturally he fears that unexpected, unfathomable incidents might occur in this endeavor.

In recent years, the Wilderness's customs have changed too rapidly; under the instruction of the Heavenly Court and the Dao Palace, the morality of the common folk of the Wilderness still progresses toward order.

Yet because the Heavenly Court is too distant from the Wilderness, the Wilderness seems to have acquired a hint of warlike smoke; myriad clans' conflicts never cease, and many cultivators are also drawn into them.

And now, if a conflict were to erupt among the Primordial Origin Dao, and the Heavenly Court did not intervene to control it, Zhenyuanzi dares not imagine what chaos the future Wilderness would become.

Upon thinking of this, Zhenyuanzi opened his mouth and said: "Friends, please listen to my humble words: given the current situation in the wilderness, Jieyin and Zhunti are certainly not fools; how could they possibly go into Chaos?"

Moreover, within the wilderness, the Heavenly Court previously issued a strict order prohibiting any conflict among those of the Mixed Yuan Dao; based on this, how should we act?

Rather than go out and stir up trouble, risking the wrath of the Heavenly Court, to undertake an endeavor whose success is uncertain would simply be not worth it.

Why not instead stay here at the Five Zhuang Observatory, drink and make merry, admire the moon and watch the stars, and together taste these ginseng fruits—how wonderful would that be?

The black-robed Daoist laughed loudly at this, saying: "Friend Zhenyuanzi, there's no need to worry; I also have many disciples and grandchildren serving in the Heavenly Court, and according to the news they've sent, the Heavenly Court will surely take action in the near future."

As for our affairs, they ought to pay no heed; indeed, our actions would even be beneficial to the Heavenly Court's workings, so how could they possibly intervene?

Furthermore, we are the foremost cultivators in the wilderness; merely making a slight move, without stirring up a great chaos, the Heavenly Court would also find it hard to handle too much.

After all, everyone can see that since the Heavenly Court was established, the matters it has paid attention to in the wilderness have all been on the grand scale.

"Not even the conflicts among the myriad races are anything more than petty squabbles in the eyes of those few sovereigns of the Heavenly Court; how much more so if we were to make a move and seize treasures?" "Moreover, according to those few disciples and grandchildren of mine, the Heavenly Court intends to relax the conflicts among the myriad races, removing regional restrictions."

Furthermore, there are rumors that the Heavenly Court intends to levy taxes on the other half of Xifang Dalu outside the Wu Clan; if we were to act against Jieyin and Zhunti, we might even end up assisting the Heavenly Court's affairs.

The black-robed Daoist's words immediately drew sideways glances from everyone, and seeing everyone's reaction, he instantly realized he had misspoken, hastily saying: "This matter is merely a rumor circulating for now, not yet confirmed to be prevalent in the wilderness; it has not yet spread throughout the wilderness, so I hope that, now that you all know of it, you will not spread it further."

Otherwise, although I myself would be fine, most of my disciples would likely suffer hardships; the Heavenly Court is vast and not easy to dwell in, so as their teacher I had better not cause them trouble.

Everyone, including Red Yun, nodded, indicating they would not leak this matter outward, and immediately shifted the topic to Jieyin and Zhunti.

The red-robed Daoist curled the corner of his mouth, revealing a faint smile, and said:

If that is the case, then the matter that Friend Zhenyuanzi worried about no longer exists; the Heavenly Court's actions clearly show that it is helping us.

Now that the news has not yet spread, this is precisely the time for us to act; otherwise, if we wait until the outside world learns of it, we will have no good opportunity!

Brother Red Yun, in my opinion, you should not hesitate any longer; the position of sage, they can sit in it, and so can you naturally.

Moreover, it's not just that; you must not only take the seat, but also perform more steadily than they do.

If that is so, then in the future we too can say before everyone that even the sages of heaven are our close friends.

As soon as these words were spoken, laughter filled the hall; amid the cheerful chatter, it seemed as if the primordial purple qi held by Jieyin and Zhunti were within easy reach.

Furthermore, someone laughed and said:

Don't even say we only take one strand; even if we were to take both strands of purple qi belonging to Jieyin and Zhunti, what harm would there be!

By then, Daoist brother Hongyun and Daoist friend Zhenyuanzi will each take one strand, just like the Three Pure Ones sages, and will also become a renowned pair of sage dao companions under heaven.

You see, the Three Pure Ones sages form a single entity, occupying a great advantage; as for the Nüwa sage and the Kunpeng sage, both originate from the Heavenly Court, so they naturally watch over and assist each other.

Otherwise, if a dispute were to arise among the sages in the future, Daoist brother Hongyun would have no one to assist him—how pitiful would that be!

Upon saying this, laughter burst out in the hall, the atmosphere gradually grew heated; when the wine was at its height, everyone beat drums and plucked strings together, and after a while they lay drunk, sleeping among the clouds.

If there weren't subsequent matters, they would need to seize a bit of time, not rest too much; otherwise this banquet would likely have to continue for a long while.

Yet amidst this banquet, the people actually set down the first Primordial Dao battle sparked by treasure seizure since the birth of the Hongmeng.

In the heavenly realm, Di Jun wore a smile across his face, embracing Xi He and Chang Xi, and asked in astonished delight: 'You two really aren't deceiving me?! I truly will have offspring?!'

Di Jun's excitement showed not the slightest concealment; it was as if his long-nurtured qi had been tossed to the back of his mind, his whole person floated three feet away, circling around Xi He and Chang Xi.

Xi He responded with considerable disdain:

What joy is this—why would we deceive you? You too are a person of accomplished cultivation; the vital essence we have nurtured within ourselves has not changed at all—why not observe for yourself?

Although Xi He's mouth showed a look of disdain, the gentleness on her face and the overflowing maternal radiance could not be concealed at all.

Gazing at Di Jun, who surrounded them before their eyes, not to mention Chang Xi, who was originally in love with him, even Xi He, who did not place much importance on affection, could feel Di Jun's deep affection for the two of them at this moment.

Upon hearing Xi He's words, Di Jun suddenly came to a realization, gently infusing his divine power into their bodies, examining them carefully, daring not to overlook the slightest detail.

It wasn't that he distrusted Xi He and Chang Xi; rather, as a new father, Di Jun truly wanted to carefully feel what the child looked like.

Chang Xi gave Di Jun a white-eyed glance, then turned to Xi He beside her and smiled, saying:

Look at him, usually putting on airs; even the dignity of the Heavenly Emperor he never sets aside at home, yet now he bears no semblance of a Heavenly Emperor, clearly no different from a common mortal.

Xi He lightly pressed her finger against Di Jun's head, gently pushing away the head resting on her abdomen, and said helplessly: 'At present they are merely a strand of essence and qi, not yet formed; pressing your ear to listen like this, what could you possibly hear? Moreover, don't be so anxious—offspring of divine spirits are naturally extremely robust, and will surely come to no harm.'

Seeing Xi He's unwillingness, Di Jun could only force an awkward smile; Chang Xi, seeing this, laughed and said: 'Don't bother with her—since elder sister refuses to let you get close, just come to me instead; my child surely also wishes to be close to his father.'

Di Jun instantly rejoiced, embracing Chang Xi in his arms, his two hands lightly covering her abdomen; Xi He could only glare at Chang Xi in response.

Chang Xi's response was to press her body even closer to Di Jun, while her gaze carried a hint of provocation toward Xi He.

Her lively expression and eyes coordinated, causing Xi He to laugh and cry helplessly, saying:

'You are about to become a mother, yet you still act like a little girl—truly shameless.'

Having said that, Xi He turned and left; the sight of the two before her was truly an eyesore, and such a portrayal of Di Jun she truly found hard to accept.

It was simply too childish; although Xi He did not find such a Di Jun dislikeable, compared to his former dignity, it made her hurry away, fearing she might burst into laughter and lose composure at any moment.

When Taiyi came to look for Di Jun, he pushed open the door and saw this scene before him.

Chang Xi sat on the seat, Di Jun crouched before her, his face lightly resting against her waist, and Chang Xi even boldly stroked Di Jun's hair.

The two seemed so absorbed that they never noticed Taiyi's arrival until he pushed open the door, at which point they finally realized.

Watching Taiyi flee in disarray, Di Jun visibly panicked, seeing only that his direction of departure was precisely where the Qihuang Palace stood.

'Taiyi, Taiyi! Don't run, wait a moment—this isn't what you saw! I am your brother! Stop quickly!'

'Taiyi! Big brother begs you, don't run! Taiyi!!! You wretched thing, don't run!'

Di Jun hurriedly chased after Taiyi, leaving Chang Xi alone in the room, continually emitting laughter like silver bells.

PS: Thanks to reader harukiz for the reward of 500 starting-point coins, thanks! (End of chapter)