145: Zixiao Palace Suan Yangmei

"Congratulations to you both, Fellow Daoists, on successfully attaining the Dao!"

Seeing the two before him attaining Hunyuan together hand-in-hand, Hongjun spoke with a smile.

This was a congratulation to Fellow Daoists, and also a sense of relief that the Primordial World now had two more Hunyuan Cultivators.

The sky of the Primordial World had indeed become a bit higher.

"We must also thank you, Fellow Daoist, for your assistance."

Hongjun nodded slightly, thought for a moment, and continued:

"Though you two have successfully attained the Dao, please do not reveal yourselves too much within the Primordial World."

Qing Wu paused for a moment, then nodded.

After all, in the current Primordial World, Hongjun was the only Saint, and the world was not yet very stable.

It was already not easy for the world to allow them to Dao validation successfully.

If they were to take action lightly, it would very likely affect the Foundation of the Primordial World.

Actually, there was no need for Hongjun to say more; given their personalities, they had no hobby of showing off their divinity before others.

Unlike a certain someone who, when attaining the Dao, revealed himself in the Primordial World without any restraint, as if afraid no one would know he had become a Saint.

Seeing that neither had any objections, Hongjun said no more, instead turning his gaze toward the Primordial World.

As Pangu's pressure grew increasingly thin, more and more Qi signatures were drawn to the surroundings of Mount Buzhou.

This indicated that many living beings had come here one after another seeking Opportunities.

Consequently, Mount Buzhou became tainted with a vast amount of Karma, and its burden grew heavier.

Fortunately, since the divine Mount Buzhou could serve as the pillar supporting the heavens, bearing this much Karma was of no great concern.

On the contrary, because a layer of its mysterious veil had been lifted and some of its majesty had faded, it appeared more harmonious with the Primordial World.

Then, Hongjun withdrew his gaze and said meaningfully, "Predestined destruction is fate; thus, we shall wait for fate to arrive!"

"Farewell!"

Having said that, he suddenly sensed something and left in a hurry.

At this time, Qing Wu and his companion did not seriously ponder the deep meaning behind Hongjun's words.

Having just completed their Breakthrough, the urgent priority was to enter seclusion and stabilize their Realms.

At the same time, they needed to organize their future paths of the Dao.

Attaining the Dao was not the end, but a new beginning.

The Hunyuan Realm, transcending the Primordial World and remaining indestructible through ten thousand tribulations, seemed to be the peak of cultivation, but in reality, it was merely catching a glimpse of a corner of the Great Dao.

Although the two had attained the Hunyuan Dao Fruit, the path of the Dao was vast and misty, and the road ahead remained boundless.

Although the Primordial World was vast, it was but a corner of Chaos.

Although Hunyuan Cultivators were powerful, they were still walking the path of pursuing transcendence.

The Great Dao is like an abyss, bottomless and unfathomable.

The path of the Dao is like an ocean, vast and shoreless.

The Dao has no end and never ceases... While the two were in seclusion, on the other side, near Zixiao Palace in Chaos.

A figure was constantly flitting about, yet never entered the vicinity of Zixiao Palace.

His gaze was always locked on the direction of Zixiao Palace, yet he deliberately kept his distance.

Now that Hongjun was away, it was the perfect time for him to retrieve that lost piece of his true body, yet he hesitated to take even half a step inside.

"That old fellow Hongjun is best at scheming..." Yang Mei muttered to himself.

Although Hongjun had already attained the Dao and become a Saint, he would not be afraid of him within Chaos.

However, in the Primordial World, within the scope of the Heavenly Dao, and especially here at Zixiao Palace—Hongjun's home turf—he was still very wary of him.

Who knew what kind of trap that old schemer would set for him again.

His fingertips lightly tapped the Void Realm, stirring up layers of ripples.

He attempted to quietly penetrate Zixiao Palace using the Dao of Space, but whenever he touched a Restriction, he immediately withdrew.

He didn't want to alert Hongjun; he only wanted to quietly retrieve this piece of his true body.

He roamed around the outskirts of Zixiao Palace, sometimes turning into a wisp of breeze, sometimes hiding in the cracks of space, always maintaining a detached distance, yet he could never find an Opportunity to strike.

The two Dao boys before him didn't have even a sliver of Divided Soul; their two pairs of eyes were constantly scanning everywhere in Chaos.

From time to time, they invoked the authority of Zixiao Palace to annihilate certain beings that drew near.

This left Yang Mei both angry and helpless.

"I didn't expect that I, Yang Mei, would actually be intimidated by a mere two Dao boys."

"Hongjun, it's all because of you..."

That piece of his true body was right there, even beckoning to him from time to time.

It made his heart itch with desire.

After a long time, Yang Mei finally shook his head and completely gave up.

"Forget it, it's just a matter of spending more time to recover."

Just as he was about to vanish into the Void Realm of Chaos and leave this world entirely, a voice drifted over.

"Fellow Daoist, since you are here, why be in such a hurry to leave?"

Hongjun had appeared outside Zixiao Palace at some unknown point.

Seeing this, Haotian and Yaochi stepped forward to bow. "Greetings, Master. You have finally returned."

"Reporting to Master, we did not abandon our posts and have successfully completed our task."

Hongjun nodded to the two. "Mm, not bad!"

Yang Mei turned around in surprise, and seeing that faintly smiling figure, he thought, 'As expected.'

Fortunately, he hadn't rashly entered the vicinity of Zixiao Palace, otherwise, he would have truly fallen into that old schemer's trap.

Now that Hongjun's scheme had failed and he was forced to show himself, Yang Mei felt slightly vindicated.

"Hongjun, you didn't expect this, did you? Even you have times when your calculations fail."

"I advise you not to have such scheming thoughts in the future; this seat will not be fooled again."

Hearing this, Hongjun's face remained as calm as a still well. "Why do you say that, Fellow Daoist? When has this poor Daoist ever schemed against you?"

"On the contrary, Fellow Daoist, you were playing a long-distance game with my two Dao boys; could it be that you've gained some sense of accomplishment from it?"

Yang Mei was momentarily speechless; earlier, he had indeed been wary of those two Dao boys.

But that was all because of that old schemer Hongjun.

Yang Mei snorted coldly. "Hongjun, if you truly still consider me a Fellow Daoist, then return that piece of my true body."

"Oh!"

"You should have said so earlier, Fellow Daoist. Why go to such lengths?"

Hongjun agreed, and with a casual wave of his hand, that willow branch was released from some sort of suppression, and the surrounding Void Realm was continuously devoured by it.

The willow branch began to grow further, and soon its tips extended beyond the range of Zixiao Palace.

"You..."

Seeing this, Yang Mei couldn't help but hesitate again.

Was it truly this simple? He just returned the piece of his true body like that?

To tell the truth, he didn't believe it for a second.

But when the branch grew right up to him, showing great affinity toward him.

Only then did Yang Mei accept it, but his wariness toward Hongjun did not lessen in the slightest. He stared at Hongjun, remaining silent for the moment.

Hongjun waved his hand, and the gates of Zixiao Palace swung open. He raised a hand in invitation: "Fellow Daoist, please come inside for a chat."

Yang Mei's gloomy expression instantly became even darker.

"What exactly do you want?"

"In Chaos, where is one not free?"

"I have no need to go to your territory and be subject to your Restrictions."

Hongjun gave a meaningful smile. "Fellow Daoist, you will come. Otherwise, you wouldn't have entered the Primordial World back then to compete with this poor Daoist for that Sliver of Survival."

Having said that, Hongjun called over the two young boys and walked into the palace, leaving Yang Mei alone and bewildered in the Void Realm.

Countless thoughts flashed through his mind.

Yet he could not fathom what Hongjun was thinking.

"Fine, I'll go! Do you really think this poor Daoist is afraid of you?!"

Yang Mei finally couldn't contain his curiosity and headed toward Zixiao Palace... After an unknown amount of time, Yang Mei burst through the palace gates.

At this moment, he seemed to be quite heavily injured.

He cursed loudly, "Hongjun, you actually dared to scheme against this seat again! This matter is far from over between us."

"Just you wait. Once I find my path of the Dao again, I will settle the score with you."

This scene was clearly witnessed by certain beings within Chaos...