Beyond the thirty-three heavens, deep within the Primordial World's chaos, stood a magnificent palace radiating a thousand auspicious lights. The churning Qi of Chaos could not taint it in the slightest, repelled a thousand miles away. Hanging above the grand entrance was a plaque wreathed in purple Qi, inscribed with three mystical runes: "Zixiao Palace".
Suddenly, three figures pierced through the chaos and arrived before the gates of Zixiao Palace, where two immaculate attendants stood on either side.
An elderly man with white hair and a white beard smiled and said, "Second and Third Brothers, it seems we are the earliest to arrive, hahaha." With a flick of his horsetail whisk, he took the lead and walked into Zixiao Palace.
A stern-looking middle-aged man said nothing, merely nodding in agreement as he followed the elder into the hall.
The last one, looking to be in his thirties, dressed in a black Daoist robe with a resolute expression, laughed heartily and said, "Big Brother, look at who we are! We three brothers were transformed from the Divine Sense of Father God Pangu, the orthodox Pangu direct lineage. Who can compare with us? Hahaha!" With that, he nodded to the two attendants and followed them inside.
These three were none other than the legendary manifestation of Pangu's Divine Sense split into three. The white-bearded and white-haired elder was the eldest, "Taiqing Moral Heavenly Venerate Laozi", holding a flat cane with a benevolent expression. His snow-white hair was gathered into a Daoist bun and pinned casually to the top of his head with a wooden hairpin. Clad in an Eight Trigrams immortal robe, he lowered his gaze, as though nothing in the universe troubled his mind.
The stern-aged man was naturally "Yuxing Yuanshi Tianzun", holding a jade Ruyi, with a dignified expression. Dressed in a white immortal robe trimmed with golden thread and wearing a golden crown, he cut the very picture of a venerable Daoist master. The final one was "Shangqing Lingbao Tianzun", later known by future generations as "Master Tongtian", possessing the imposing aura of ten thousand immortals paying homage.
Upon entering, the three of them saw six futons arranged in a neat row beneath a high cloud dais, each emitting a clear, ethereal Qi.
Taiqing Laozi walked directly to the first futon and sat cross-legged. Yuxing Yuanshi Tianzun and Shangqing Lingbao Tianzun also took their seats on the second and third futons respectively.
Before long, many others arrived one after another through the gates. Among them was a cultivator radiating an icy, malevolent aura—none other than Kunpeng, the great demon of the North Sea.
Seeing that three of the six futons on the floor were already occupied, he unceremoniously dropped himself onto the fourth futon. While Taiqing and Shangqing showed no reaction, Yuxing Yuanshi Tianzun frowned slightly.
Next came a simple, honest-looking man dressed in bright red immortal robes, squeezing toward the fifth futon. Behind him followed a middle-aged man with his hair tied in a Daoist bun, holding a horsetail whisk, wearing five long wisps of beard and a Daoist robe.
These two were Ancestor Red Cloud and the Ancestor of Earth Immortals, Zhenyuanzi the Great Immortal. Seeing Red Cloud step forward to claim a futon, Zhenyuanzi sat cross-legged right behind him.
At that moment, a gentle-looking middle-aged man wearing an Eight Trigrams immortal robe and holding a tortoise shell gently nudged a woman in palace attire beside him, saying, "Sister, sit down and rest as well."
The woman in palace attire was guided to the very last futon. These two were Fuxi and Nuwa, who had originally cultivated within the formation at Mount Buzhou.
After pushing Nuwa onto the futon, Fuxi imitated Great Immortal Zhenyuanzi, sitting cross-legged right behind Nuwa, close to Zhenyuanzi.
Several more people entered then: Ancestor Styx of the Sea of Blood, carrying dual swords on his back, alongside Dijun and Taiyi, both dressed in golden immortal robes.
Discovering upon entry that all six futons were already occupied, they had no choice but to follow the others, randomly finding a spot to sit cross-legged and await the Dao Ancestor's lecture.
Outside the door, one of the attendants spoke: "Yaochi, let us also go inside to listen to the Master's lecture. In this vast Primordial World, cultivation is everything; without cultivation, all else is empty.
"Those mighty figures who went in to listen don't even deign to give us a glance, sigh." These two attendants were none other than Haotian and Yaochi, servants to Dao Ancestor Hongjun.
As Haotian spoke, he and Yaochi began to close the doors, preparing to go in and listen. Just as the doors were half-shut, a breathless voice called out from the distance: "Two attendants, wait! Please wait for my two brothers. We, Jieyin and Zhunnti of the Western Realm, thank you!"
Hearing this, Haotian and Yaochi paused for the space of a breath. In the distance, the Qi of Chaos churned, and two figures in yellow dharma robes squeezed through.
One of them was thin and tall with a sorrowful expression, holding a pestle for subduing demons and wearing a conch shell topknot.The other held a Seven-Treasured marvelous Tree, unkempt, sallow-skinned with prominent cheekbones, and drenched in sweat.
Seeing that Haotian had stopped closing the doors, the two hastily slipped sideways into Zixiao Palace. The moment they stepped inside, the two grand doors were shut by Haotian and Yaochi. Outside, not a soul remained, and Zixiao Palace vanished from the spot. Even if anyone else came looking now, they would find nothing.
The two who had nearly been late were indeed Daoist Jieyin and Daoist Zhunnti from the Western Realm. Daoist Jieyin was formed from the transformation of a lotus and was the elder brother of Daoist Zhunnti.
The far west was a great distance from Zixiao Palace. The two had set out the moment they heard the news of Hongjun's lecture, managing to arrive only at the very moment the palace gates were about to close.
They had made it, but upon squeezing through the doors and looking inside, they found the hall already filled with the great figures of the Primordial World, and the six futons at the front were completely taken.
Zhunnti cried out to Jieyin: "Big Brother, our Western Realm is so far away! You and I brothers suffered countless hardships to finally arrive here, yet not even a single futon remains for us to rest upon!"
The others seated haphazardly around the hall watched Zhunnti's performance without a word. Only Red Cloud, sitting upon his futon, saw Zhunnti crying so mournfully.
He stood up and said, "Fellow Daoist, since you have come from afar, sit on my futon and rest a while."
Hearing this, the weeping Zhunnti instantly stopped his tears. Dragging Daoist Jieyin forward, he unceremoniously pressed Jieyin down onto the futon Red Cloud had yielded.
Then, casting a sideways glance at the Daoist Kunpeng nearby, Zhunnti spoke up: "Listening to the Dao in Zixiao Palace—you feathered beast, by what virtue do you occupy a futon?"
With that, he actually swung the Seven-Treasured Tree in his hand to sweep at Kunpeng. Kunpeng never expected Zhunnti to dare resort to violence inside Zixiao Palace.
Caught off guard, he was knocked off the futon, suffering a thoroughly wretched fall. He leaped to his feet, intending to argue with Zhunnti.
Just then, Haotian and Yaochi stood beneath the cloud dais and shouted, "The Dao Ancestor has arrived! The lecture begins. None of you are to make a disturbance!"
Everyone looked up. On the cloud dais that had been empty just a moment before, an elder with crane-white hair in a Daoist robe sat as though he had been there the entire time. Not a single one of the mighty figures had noticed how the elder had appeared. Daoist Hongjun was truly extraordinary.
No one had sensed when the Dao Ancestor had materialized. Ancestor Hongjun's face was as dark as water, devoid of expression. Glancing down at the assembly, he said, "From now on, you shall sit according to your current positions during the lectures, and you may not change them at will."
Hearing this, the people below instantly understood that the significance of those six futons was extraordinary. Kunpeng, who had already sat cross-legged on the ground, felt his face flush with rage.
He stared at Red Cloud and Zhunnti with eyes that seemed capable of breathing fire. By then, he also realized he had missed out on a monumental opportunity, and the Karma owed to him by Red Cloud was now firmly established.