Primordial Era: Refusing Hongjun's path to sainthood, I attained the Dao of Hunyuan.

Chapter 167 Negative Spiritual Energy

Hongjun Daozu, however, was not angry. Instead, he laughed even more and said, "So be it. This treasure is yours. Are you afraid I will punish you?"

Zhen Yuanzi, suddenly struck by a flash of inspiration, his eyes lit up, and he couldn't help but ask, "Could it be that Master had foreseen that Senior Brother would borrow this treasure from me sooner or later?"

Hongjun Daozu replied, "That's one way to put it. His Dao is vast and profound, existing within the universe, yet transcending it; it's beyond my comprehension."

"However, after the saints have attained enlightenment, spiritual energy is always scarce in the world. Not only is it difficult to attain enlightenment, but cultivation is also difficult, which may even lead to more frequent calamities."

At this point, Hongjun Daozu couldn't help but sigh, "It's not just you who are thinking about what to do; I, your master, am also often thinking about it."

As he spoke, Hongjun Daozu took a futon and sat down on the spot, while gesturing to Zhenyuanzi, "You sit down too."

"Speaking of which, this is my first time here. Where are your ginseng fruits? Bring some over so your teacher can have a few too."

Upon hearing this, Zhen Yuanzi smiled and said, "Master, please wait a moment. This disciple will go and fight it myself."

After saying this, Zhen Yuanzi went to the backyard and returned a moment later, knocking down all the fruit hanging on the tree.

There are more than a hundred of them.

The plates were filled to the brim.

Seeing Zhen Yuanzi bring back so many fruits, Hongjun Daozu shook his head and laughed, "You only wanted to eat a few to try, but you brought too many."

Zhen Yuanzi said, "If you can't finish it, Master, please take some back with you. It's a token of my appreciation."

Hongjun Daozu nodded and did not refuse.

The two sat facing each other, with a table between them and a plate of ginseng fruit on the table.

The two, master and apprentice, continued talking while eating fruit.

After a moment's hesitation, Zhen Yuanzi told Hongjun Daozu about his previous conversation with Xuanhuang.

Upon hearing this, Hongjun Daozu sneered, "Kill a sage in exchange for a Hunyuan? I really can't believe he came up with this idea."

Zhen Yuanzi asked, "Master, my senior brother said there are other methods. Is that true?"

Hongjun Daozu thought for a moment and said, "That's true. He does have other methods, and only he can do them."

"really?"

Upon hearing this, Zhen Yuanzi exclaimed with delight, "If that's really the case, then that would be wonderful!"

Hongjun Daozu shook his head and said, "What's so good about this? In the end, what he's doing will only increase the burden on the entire prehistoric world, and will eventually lead to the end of the Dharma calamity even faster."

"what?"

Zhen Yuanzi was startled and exclaimed, "How could this be?"

Hongjun Daozu said, "There are many Primordial Golden Immortals in the world. Even if they don't absorb spiritual energy when they attain enlightenment, what happens after they attain enlightenment? Don't they still need to absorb spiritual energy?"

"With the increasing number of Primordial Golden Immortals, the demand for spiritual energy from heaven and earth naturally increases. Therefore, this is merely treating the symptoms, not the root cause."

Zhen Yuanzi asked, "Is there really no way to avoid it?"

"have."

Hongjun Daozu said, "For example, the Heavenly Dao will impose shackles, making it impossible for all living beings to attain enlightenment. Then, every once in a while, it will eliminate some cultivators through a great calamity, returning the spiritual energy to the world."

"In this way, after just over ten kalpas, the spiritual energy of heaven and earth may be greatly improved."

"Otherwise, if one after another Primordial Golden Immortal or Saint is born, the spiritual energy will be constantly consumed. No matter how much the membrane of heaven and earth transforms, it will not be able to keep up."

"But..." Zhen Yuanzi hesitated.

"But no one would want to be restricted like this, right?" Hongjun Daozu laughed. "Now that humanity is rising, the struggle between heaven and man is inevitable."

"However, although humanity is flourishing, it is still far from being able to contend with the heavens. If I were to put shackles on them now, no matter how great their potential is, it would be of no use."

"It's just that the teacher is kind and wouldn't do that," Zhen Yuanzi said with a smile.

"kindness?"

Hongjun Daozu shook his head and said, "Zhenyuan, you still don't know what 'benevolence' means. For the Heavenly Dao, 'benevolence' is not simple. Does being benevolent to all living beings mean being cruel to oneself?"

Before Zhen Yuanzi could speak, Hongjun Daozu said again, "Alright, I won't scare you anymore. Let's talk about something more optimistic."

"Now that Xuanhuang has borrowed the Jade Tablet of Creation, we can definitely look forward to him."

"If he can comprehend the Five Elements Dao to a very deep degree as quickly as possible, and his cultivation will greatly improve, approaching my current level, then everything will be easily solved."

Upon hearing Hongjun's words, Zhen Yuanzi couldn't help but ask, "May I ask, Master, why do you have such confidence in Senior Brother Xuanhuang's Five Elements Dao?"

Hongjun Daozu said, "It's not just his Dao, but also his comprehension, and even his potential, that I value."

"Your paths as sages are not bad, but they are all within the bounds of heaven and earth and do not transcend the Way of Heaven. Therefore, no matter how powerful you are, it is of no use."

"But Xuanhuang alone, if he achieves his Dao, can be used by me."

"What's the use?" Zhen Yuanzi asked.

Hongjun Daozu looked at Zhen Yuanzi and said in a deep voice, "Emulate Pangu and create the world!"

These eight short words caused Zhen Yuanzi's expression to change drastically. It took him a long time to react before he exclaimed, "Teacher's words are truly terrifying."

"But I'm afraid even my senior brother can't do such a thing, can he? The great god Pangu created the world, but he died and his Dao disappeared. Does Master also want my senior brother to perish?" Zhen Yuanzi said, forcing himself to speak.

Hongjun Daozu shook his head and said, "You're overthinking it. Given his personality, if I force him, he would rather destroy this primordial world than do that. What are you thinking?"

"That……"

"There are differences between creating the world and creating the universe."

Hongjun Daozu said, "Although it is imitating the Great God Pangu, the location is different. In the outer chaos, whoever goes there dies without exception, but in the inner chaos, it is different. The chaotic pressure here is not that terrifying."

"My theory is that Xuanhuang created another world outside the primordial wilderness, so that the two worlds could act as yin and yang and depend on each other."

As Hongjun Daozu spoke, he pointed with his hand, and a scene appeared in the void. That scene was the situation he had imagined: two worlds coexisting, mutually generating and mutually restraining each other.

"Two worlds, or rather, the universe. Have you noticed that every time a portion of spiritual energy is absorbed, a portion of negative spiritual energy is generated in the universe?"

"The more spiritual energy absorbed, the more negative spiritual energy is generated. The universe is not actually overwhelmed by the consumption of spiritual energy, but rather unable to withstand the pressure of this negative spiritual energy. Therefore, whenever the negative spiritual energy reaches a certain level, a great calamity will occur. During the great calamity, a group of cultivators die and release spiritual energy to neutralize the negative spiritual energy. In this way, the negative spiritual energy decreases, and the world becomes peaceful."

Upon hearing Hongjun's explanation, Zhen Yuanzi suddenly understood and said, "So, Master wants my senior brother to create a world that is exactly the opposite of the primordial universe, a world where cultivation is not done with spiritual energy, but with negative spiritual energy?"

Hongjun Daozu praised, "Yes, it is negative spiritual energy. One is positive and the other is negative. The two universes are opposites. For the Primordial World, the spiritual energy of the other universe is negative spiritual energy, and vice versa."

"In this way, the two universes are essentially mirror images of each other. You absorb my negative spiritual energy, and I absorb yours, thus achieving balance."

(End of this chapter)