Primordial Era: Starting by overwhelming the Sages, Hongjun was stunned!

Kong Xuan flicked it lightly.

The ray of light drifted out and landed on the three thousand figures that were being pulled back.

"Buzz!"

Three thousand people were shocked!

Within them, the chaotic Dao seed that was merging with the Heavenly Dao was actually... at this moment...

It crumbled to pieces!

The body, which was becoming transparent and dissipating, began to solidify again!

Those empty eyes began to shine again!

That lifeless face began to show expression again!

Hongjun's expression changed drastically!

"Kong Xuan!"

He let out a low shout, and the purple aura around him surged and boiled, with the Daoist principles of Heaven pouring out wildly!

The entire Zixiao Palace was trembling!

The chaotic air currents outside the palace exploded wildly!

Beyond the thirty-three heavens, billions of stars twinkled in unison!

The sage unleashed his full power!

But the oppressive aura vanished as soon as it reached Kong Xuan, like a clay ox sinking into the sea.

They vanished without a trace.

Kong Xuan stood still, motionless.

His black robe fluttered gently, his gaze calm.

It was as if the saint's full-force attack was nothing more than a gentle breeze.

He looked at Hongjun:

"Are you going to continue?"

Hongjun froze.

He looked at Kong Xuan, at those calm, unfathomable eyes.

Gazing at the three thousand figures that were gradually solidifying again.

He watched as the puppets, which were about to be taken into his possession, slowly... drifted away from him.

A layout spanning three thousand years.

A plan that has been in the works for three thousand years.

Three thousand years of waiting.

Today... all our efforts have been in vain.

Hongjun closed his eyes.

Take a deep breath.

When I opened my eyes again, they were completely calm.

But what lies hidden beneath that calm?

Only he himself knows.

Kong Xuan.

He spoke, his voice hoarse:

"Who exactly are you?"

"Why did you have to ruin my plans?"

"Why...why are you doing this to me?"

Kong Xuan looked at him.

His gaze was calm and unwavering.

Who I am is not important.

"The important thing is, you've taken the wrong path."

"Heaven's way is not to sacrifice living beings for selfish desires."

"The path to enlightenment should not rely on the lives of all beings as fuel."

"Hongjun..." Turn back.

Hongjun trembled violently.

Turn back?

How could he turn back?

He had been planning for countless years, scheming for three thousand years, and success was just around the corner.

How can I turn back?

He looked at Kong Xuan, at those calm eyes.

Suddenly he laughed.

The smile was bitter, tinged with sadness.

"Turn back?"

"I can't turn back."

"From the moment I became a saint, I was destined to walk this path."

"From the moment I decided to merge with the Dao, I was destined to live and die with the Dao of Heaven."

"Kong Xuan..." You don't understand.

Kong Xuan shook his head:

"I understand."

"You've chosen a dead end."

"It's not just their dead end, it's your dead end too."

"Once you successfully attain the Dao, the selfish desires of the Heavenly Dao will be fully awakened."

"You... or is it still you?"

Hongjun was startled.

He opened his mouth, but no sound came out.

Because of this problem.

He never thought of it.

After attaining enlightenment, is he still himself?

Or will it be devoured by the Heavenly Dao?

he does not know.

I really don't know.

Kong Xuan stopped looking at him.

He turned around and looked at the three thousand figures that had solidified again.

Looking towards the heavens.

"Let's go."

"Take them back to Jin'ao Island."

"Let them start fixing it from scratch."

"Let them... start anew."

Tongtian bowed deeply:

"Your disciple obeys."

He turned around and flicked his sleeve.

The three thousand figures transformed into three thousand streams of light and followed him.

Inside the Purple Cloud Palace.

Silence returned.

Only Hongjun remained.

Alone on the cloud platform.

Gazing at that empty void.

Gazing at the three thousand dissipating streaks of light.

Gazing in the direction where the figure in black robes disappeared.

He remained silent for a long time.

a long time.

He slowly lowered his head.

Looking at his own hands.

Those hands once controlled the heavens and held sway over the universe.

But now, it is completely empty.

"Kong Xuan..."

He whispered, his voice aged like that of a frail old man:

"Who exactly are you?"

"Why...why are you doing this to me?"

No one answered.

A purple aura slowly swallowed up that lonely figure.

Outside the Purple Cloud Palace.

The chaotic sea surged like a tide.

Tongtian stood in the void, with three thousand figures staggering behind him.

He turned around and looked towards the place shrouded in purple mist.

His gaze was complex.

a long time.

He turned around.

Amidst the fluttering of his black robes, he headed towards Jin'ao Island.

They sped away.

Behind.

Inside the Purple Cloud Palace.

A very soft sigh.

A faint sound rang out.

Dissipated into the depths of chaos.

Jin'ao Island.

Purple mist wafted, and the Taoist spirit flowed.

Three thousand figures sat cross-legged at the foot of the mountain, their faces pale and their breath weak.

They had just been rescued from Zixiao Palace. Although the chaotic Dao seed within their bodies had shattered, their divine souls, which had been devoured by the Heavenly Dao, were difficult to recover in the short term.

Some people looked down at their hands, tears streaming down their faces.

Some people collapsed to the ground, panting heavily, as if they had just escaped from the brink of death.

Some people buried their heads in their hands and wept uncontrollably.

They remember.

I remember the feeling when the chaotic Dao seed entered my body.

I remember the fear of being swallowed up by the Heavenly Dao.

I remember the despair before it was about to disappear completely.

They thought it was a stroke of luck.

They thought it was an opportunity to become a saint.

They thought it was the road to eternity.

But at that moment, when consciousness began to blur, when memories began to fade, when one began to cease to be oneself.

They finally understood.

That's a dead end.

It is an abyss.

It is utterly hopeless.

Di Jun stood outside the crowd, gazing at those familiar faces.

He gazed at those old friends who had once sat with him in the Purple Cloud Palace, cultivated the Corpse-Slaying Technique together, and swallowed the Dao Seed together.

My heart was filled with mixed feelings.

I'm relieved.

I feel a lingering fear.

There was a hint of complexity that was hard to put into words.

Donghuang Taiyi leaned close to him and whispered:

"Brother, can they... recover?"

Di Jun remained silent.

After a long silence, he slowly shook his head:

"I don't know."

"That chaotic seed almost completely devoured them."

"Although I was saved by my senior, how can the wounds to my soul be healed in a day or two?"

Donghuang Taiyi sighed softly:

"It's a miracle that we survived."

"If it weren't for the sect leader arriving in time, if it weren't for the senior's intervention..."

He paused, then didn't continue.

But Di Jun understands.

If it weren't for Tongtian, if it weren't for Kong Xuan.

At this moment, those three thousand people had already transformed into chaotic light and merged into the Heavenly Dao.

Disappeared completely.

Nuwa and Fuxi stood side by side.

She gazed at those disheveled figures, her eyes filled with pity.

"Brother."

She spoke softly:

"They are in a worse situation than we were back then."

Fuxi nodded:

"Yes."

"Back then, we simply extinguished our good intentions."

"Even if your heart is missing a piece, there is still a way back."

"them……"

He paused:

"I almost didn't even have a chance to turn back."

Nuwa lowered her eyes:

"Why is the Dao Ancestor so heartless?"

Fuxi shook his head:

"I don't know."

"Perhaps in his eyes, all living beings are merely pawns."

"Perhaps in his heart, the will of Heaven and personal desires are more important than anything else."

"Or perhaps..."

He gazed at the dark, magnificent hall atop the mountain:

"That senior is right."

"He took the wrong path."

"That's completely wrong."

Hongyun Patriarch collapsed to the ground, panting heavily.

He gazed at the rescued figures, at their faces, which were even more disheveled than his own back then.

Suddenly I felt very lucky.

Although he was rejected by Tongtian back then, and had to dissipate his cultivation and start over from scratch.

At least he's still alive.

It's still myself.

Zhen Yuanzi stood next to him, his long sleeves hanging down, the earth's energy flowing.

"Red Clouds".

He spoke in a low voice:

"Tell me, what is the Dao Ancestor thinking right now?"

Hongyun was taken aback:

"What?"

Zhen Yuanzi gazed into the depths of chaos, towards that place shrouded in purple mist:

"Three thousand years of planning, destroyed in a single day."

"All three thousand puppets have been saved."

"Is he... willing to accept this?"