Chapter 172

"Ah?!"

Zhao Si rubbed his eyes, doubting his vision, but those two lines of description were not an illusion:

The Heavenly Dao of Jiao Ming's third life really launched an invasion against the primordial wilderness of the No. 3 small bird!

"We're done!"

Zhao Si exclaimed:

At this point, the primordial wilderness has no one who can match the sage Hongjun in battle; everyone is a novice, and the highest cultivation among the Three Ancestors is only at the standard Da Luo level—what do you use to hit a saint!

Heavenly Dao Hongjun rushed into the Da Luo stage—it's nothing but a massacre! He's just come here to pure slaughter of the young……

Whether others live or die, Zhao Si doesn't care, but if the No. 3 little bird dies, then we'll have to restart at light speed.

But contrary to Zhao Si's expectations, everything did not proceed as he had imagined; the plot's development after this moment took an extremely bizarre turn.

…

Jiao Ming's third life, in the Purple Cloud Palace.

The purple-robed old Daoist sat solemnly on the platform, expounding the wonders of cultivation without expression; this is a cultivation theory far more complete than previous methods, the true orthodox transmission of the Immortal Dao!

Below the platform, thousands of variously shaped indescribable beings listened, shaking their heads and swaying, dazed and intoxicated; from time to time, odd-shaped creatures would take human form according to immortal law.

After all, this appearance is the officially designated look of the heaven-opening giant god; although inconvenient for battle, it is convenient for cultivation, and anyone who takes human form feels their cultivation has sped up considerably, unable to help exclaiming that they have indeed come to the right place!

The first preaching by the first sage since the creation of heaven and earth is, for sentient beings, no less than a second opening of heaven and earth:

If Pangu opened up the heaven and earth for the survival of all beings, then the Dao Ancestor opened up the heaven and earth for the cultivation of all beings; from then on, cultivation bid farewell to the stumbling blind era and stepped onto the broad, smooth road of the Immortal Dao!

Everyone looked up to the sage with boundless admiration, hoping to hear more knowledge and marvelous Dao from here……

But suddenly, the sage who had been expressionlessly lecturing on the Dao jumped to his feet with a swish; this action left everyone stunned:

What's going on?

But the Dao Ancestor gave no explanation; his indifferent face showed a complex expression of surprise and longing, and then he took a step forward, his form vanishing instantly.

Only leaving the listeners of the Dao staring at each other……

"No doubt!"

One step to the border between the primordial wilderness and Chaos, Hongjun, who since becoming a sage has rarely shown emotional fluctuation, now actually revealed a complex expression:

Longing? Excitement? Joy? Hesitation?

"The aura of true fire is clearly coming from the opposite side!"

Hongjun took a deep breath, barely calming his mind, but after all he had found the possibility that Jiao Ming was still alive; how could such emotional turmoil be easily calmed?

Since Jiao Ming, with ninety-nine percent true spirit, cut forth an obsession corpse and committed suicide, nearly a hundred yuanhui have passed.

But in these long years, Hongjun's longing for that tragic friend who willingly sacrificed himself has never diminished; on the contrary, it has grown more poignant.

Although theoretically Jiao Ming is not dead, with a fraction of true spirit continuing to exist as 'Jiao Ming' in the primordial wilderness, Hongjun has never regarded him as his fellow Daoist:

The fellow Daoist he knew well had already died on that unremarkable day hundreds of yuanhui ago, his true spirit's main substance having become material for the Heavenly Dao!

After he betrayed the transcendent existence in the dark and mysterious, he could never be revived or reborn; no one could ever save him back……

But Hongjun sometimes willfully harbors a few unrealistic fantasies about this:

The Daoist's origins are mysterious; although he says that after betrayal, death is total, in the eyes of the transcendent existence, death does not necessarily mean true death.

What if he were reborn once again into the ancient era?

The Daoist is innately virtuous; his task in the primordial wilderness is to save innocent myriad beings—if he hasn't completed this task, how could he have died?!

Fake! It's all fake!

He must still be continuing to save the next person in the primordial wilderness; he must achieve a perfect ending!

Hongjun obstinately refuses to believe in Jiao Ming's death, even though he knows the possibility is nearly zero……

"Finally!"

Following the sensation of the Golden Crow true fire left behind by Jiao Ming, the excited Hongjun gazed into the void of Chaos:

Nothing at all.

No, he clearly felt it!

The sage's Dao fruit communicates with the Heavenly Dao; Hongjun directly locked onto the position of the Golden Crow true fire and then began to cross realms……

Ding!

Suddenly a ding sounded; Hongjun, in the midst of crossing realms, looked bewildered, for he discovered that his connection to the true fire had been forcibly severed……

Before he could fully figure out what was happening, the familiar true‑fire sensation reconnected.

"Opportunity must not be lost!"

Hongjun decisively locked onto the position, unwilling to waste time, and directly stepped forward!

At that moment, he saw the familiar little volcano, the familiar withered tree, the familiar little firebird……

But before he could get excited, the true‑spirit aura on that dull little bird made his heart turn cold:

It wasn't him.

It was merely a similar flower……

…

【Hongjun (the Heavenly Dao) has successfully crossed realms!】

【Hongjun (the Heavenly Dao) fell silent……】

【Hongjun (the Heavenly Dao) slowly opened mouth to inquire about Jiao Ming's deeds; facing this unparalleled otherworldly existence, you dare not conceal anything, and you spoke all you knew.

【The more Hongjun listened, the more silent they became.

【Hongjun (the Heavenly Dao) finally despondently believed: the fellow Daoist has truly perished completely, and can never…… come back…….

【You anxiously looked at Hongjun, not knowing what fate awaited you.

【After a long while, Hongjun sighed deeply, finally gazing seriously at you: Do you want to break free from fate, and not repeat Jiao Ming's mistakes?.】

【Facing the inquiry of an otherworldly saint, you, just born, naturally have nothing to reply, can only helplessly seek help, you choose: (?)】

【A: I want to, I really want to! Cling to the saint's golden thigh, big shot brings me flying! B: This, this can't! I'm a normal protagonist, how can I recklessly cheat?】

「Huh? Does Hongjun intend to help me? 」

Zhao Si, who had originally planned to restart, is now a bit confused, unable to tell whether Hongjun is genuinely helping.

After all, he is the number one old schemer of the wilderness, scheming against people is truly deadly; Zhao Si really fears he'll get them stuck at a bottleneck, in which case the third little bird would be unable to live or die, and they wouldn't be able to continue this game!

「But speaking of which, Hongjun...... might also be an excellent hope for breaking the impasse! 」

Zhao Si frowned slightly, giving careful thought:

Firstly, the current plot itself is very contradictory, the contradiction lying in the protagonist little bird.

The moral level of this third little bird is also clearly high; although it doesn't reach the degree of Jiaoming's goody-two-shoes, if too many sacrifices are made, he would also find it unacceptable.

Therefore, if we don't introduce an off-board move to serve as a breakthrough force, the third little bird will also become the next Jiaoming, gradually growing old in mindset, gradually becoming sentimental…… at that point the difficulty will only increase!

And if a saint-level Hongjun steps in to help, all enemies will be brought to justice, and the Three Ancestors will have to withdraw at the start.

In terms of martial power, there is absolutely nothing to worry about.

Moreover, with this saint present, from nothing, the resource problem troubling the wilderness's future can also be easily resolved……

As long as Hongjun genuinely wants to help, this game can already be said to be cleared.

And it's perfect to the point of being unable to be more perfect!

「Good! 」

Clenching teeth, Zhao Si made the choice:

「Choose A, agree to him! 」

【Ding! You chose option A, I want to, I really want to! Cling to the saint's golden thigh, big shot brings me flying!】

【Facing the Heavenly Dao saint's inquiry, you on the spot knelt down, hugging the saint's thigh and began to weep bitterly: a single word from the saint truly is like parting clouds to see the sun, enlightening instantly!】

【If the saint does not disdain, I am willing to take him as my adoptive father!】

【Hongjun: ……】

【Your exaggerated performance made him distinguish you even more from Jiaoming; Hongjun let out a long sigh, completely rid of any lingering thoughts; at this moment he has no interest in this ancient era whatsoever, only wishing to give the last bit of help to the departed souls.】

【He wants to fulfill your dream, also fulfill Jiaoming's last wish…… a perfect ending for the wilderness will eventually arrive!】

【Jiaoming, this original protagonist, although did not directly achieve a perfect ending, indirectly made an indelible contribution to the realization of perfection……】

【"I will not stay here."】

【He said: I will return to my own world, therefore to thoroughly resolve this fate, only you yourself can become a saint.】

【His response left you stunned; you had originally been waiting for the big shot to carry you away, never expecting the big shot to instead let you personally resolve……】

【He raised his hand and took out a portion of true spirit, solemnly handing it to you: this is the remaining part of Jiaoming's true spirit; establishing the Heavenly Dao did not exhaust his vast true spirit, and the amount of true spirit here equals that of two ancestral dragons.】

【Then he took out another portion of true spirit, speaking in a faint tone: these true spirits equal the amount of one ancestral dragon; combined with Jiaoming's, they are sufficient to match the total of the Three Ancestors, equivalent to half of Pangu.】

【So, as long as you slay the Three Ancestors, you can gather enough true spirit to establish the Heavenly Dao; then you just need to find this world's Hongjun, and he knows how to do it……】

【After hearing his words, you somewhat understand but not fully; however, with this half-Pangu amount of true spirit, you can avoid Jiaoming's predicament from the start.】

【You only need to rely on your own strength to slay the Three Ancestors, no need to sacrifice others to gather true spirit; the broad road has already been paved!】

【But after thinking, you still cautiously ask: I recall Jiaoming and the Ancestral Phoenix were dao companions…… in this world, does the Ancestral Phoenix also need to be killed?】

【"Kill!"】

【Hongjun's reaction exceeded your expectations; regarding Jiaoming's wife, he not only showed no leniency, but solemnly said: kill the Ancestral Phoenix first!】

【As for the reason…… he gave no reason, seemingly having a strong aversion to this world's Ancestral Phoenix; you also don't know why, but since he said so, you naturally need not be polite……】

【After giving you the needed true spirit, Hongjun also carefully explained the key points of cultivating immortal arts; the saint personally imparting the doctrine is naturally far better than you blindly practicing alone.】

【You were overjoyed and immediately began cultivating immortality.】

【True Immortal…… Heavenly Immortal…… Mystic Immortal…… Golden Immortal…… Taiyi Golden Immortal……】

【You advanced all the way, in less than a single great cycle you surged to Taiyi Golden Immortal and began attempting to cultivate the three flowers and five qi, seeking to break through to Daluo Golden Immortal……】

【The breakthrough process was extremely lengthy; Hongjun did not wait much longer, and once you began the breakthrough, he left.】

【Without a shred of reluctance, nor any hesitation.】

【Because he has already become a saint, he no longer needs any external possessions; this other wilderness holds no allure for him!】

【His obsession had long remained at the day over a hundred great cycles before, and with that person's quiet passing, he too no longer harbors any obsession.】

【He is no longer the Daoist Hongjun, but the Heavenly Dao Hongjun!】

【Heavenly Dao, devoid of emotion.】

……

(End of chapter)