The primordial era began with the Upper Cave Man.

Chapter 732 Hongjun, Dao Ancestor

The Purple Cloud Palace has always been mysterious and unpredictable. If it weren't for the Dao Ancestor's decree, even the Luo Ancestor would not have been able to find its location.

With the summons of the talisman, Luo Zu's figure remained unchanged, as did space and time, and the location of the cave he had been anchoring to remained the same. However, he had already arrived at Zixiao Palace.

Luo Zu spent a moment carefully sensing the changes, but ultimately failed to detect any unusual changes, and could only marvel at the Dao Ancestor's unparalleled supernatural powers.

As for where the Purple Cloud Palace is, it is everywhere and omnipresent, including the Chaos and the Boundless Realm.

As for what the Zixiao Palace looks like, it cannot be judged by material perspectives and aesthetics. The Zixiao Palace is not necessarily a palace, nor is it a world, nor is it just an abstract concept or rule, but a very direct manifestation of existence.

He is who He is, His thoughts remain, His mind is eternal.

However, as the saying goes, a mountain is not famous because of its height but because of the immortals dwelling there; water is not sacred because of its depth but because of the dragons residing within. The focus of Zixiao Palace is still on the Dao Ancestor.

As soon as Luo Zu entered Zi Xiao Palace, he saw the presence of Dao Zu.

He appeared before Luo Zu in the form of an old Taoist priest, not as some unfathomable being, nor as some special primordial race.

They only appear in human form.

In addition, Luo Zu was surrounded by a group of great figures from the prehistoric world, including the Ancestral Witches who had previously stirred up trouble in the prehistoric world, as well as Donghuang Taiyi and Styx Ancestor.

"Greetings to the Dao Ancestor (Master Hongjun)." All the important figures paid homage to this Dao Ancestor who was rarely seen.

Only Luo Zu calls Him the Dao Ancestor; the rest were the three thousand guests of Zixiao Palace in the past, so they should call Him Teacher.

Furthermore, Houtu, the ancestral witch, also appeared here, standing with a group of ancestral witches.

However, the ancestral witches were not overjoyed by this situation; instead, they felt quite depressed.

Luo Zu didn't understand the reason either, just as he didn't understand why Dao Zu had summoned him to Zixiao Palace.

"You all know that the principles of the world are constant, and Houtu's mind is made up. You do not need to force or restrain her." The Dao Ancestor's words seemed to be advising the ancestral witches.

Upon hearing this, Luo Zu naturally realized that he had arrived too late and missed a lot of the "plot". Of course, it was also possible that Dao Zu had done it on purpose to prevent Luo Zu from knowing these things, otherwise manipulating time and space would not be an easy thing for Dao Zu.

"Why does Master Hongjun favor the demon race?" Zhurong, the most straightforward of the Ancestral Witches, immediately asked.

Upon hearing this, Donghuang Taiyi, who was standing on equal footing with them, was indignant.

"Zhurong, you must not be so rude! Since Master Hongjun has made this decision, he must have his reasons. I advise you not to cause trouble and ruin the great affairs of heaven and earth," Donghuang Taiyi rebuked angrily.

"Hmph, you're jumping up and down just because it's in your favor. What, do you want to imprison Houtu until the end of the primordial world?" Zhurong, the Ancestral Witch, immediately retorted sarcastically.

Luo Zu listened to these important figures arguing and bickering, but he didn't find them childish or ridiculous.

Whether there is a deeper meaning here is hard to say, but he only saw one principle: if you have profound Taoist skills, even if you are usually high and mighty and invincible, and can destroy the world with a wave of your hand, completely erasing you from the material and spiritual level, and even from all information in time, you will become as obedient as a primary school student in front of a teacher holding a ruler.

Because the primordial world was essentially a world of survival of the fittest, no matter how many races and lives these great figures created, what kind of civilizations they established, what kind of orderly systems they formulated, or what kind of ambitions they had, in front of the Dao Ancestor, they were all "loyal ministers" and every single one of them was a "treacherous minister".

"Zhurong, why don't you ask Houtu and hear what she has to say?" Taiyi finally asked in return.

After Taiyi reminded them, the other ancestral witches all looked towards Houtu.

Houtu, the Ancestral Witch, stood calmly to the side. After receiving the gazes of all the Ancestral Witches, she nodded slightly: "This is my intention. If it were not done this way, the Witch Clan would probably not be able to survive in the future."

He did not hide these words from Taiyi, so Luozu heard them clearly.

The important figures present were not ordinary people. They saw many things clearly and understood the principle of being prepared for danger in times of peace. However, the Lich and Demon races were currently at their zenith and had left their mark on multiple multiverses. Even if they lost their status as protagonists in the prehistoric world in the future, they could still thrive in other universes, or even leave for half their lives and return to the prehistoric world to become protagonists again.

But what use would it be if they led all the liches to escape to other multiverses when the great calamity struck?

Look at their own battle formations; they fought directly into the primordial world. Their fierce energy was such that even they themselves felt that the various universes in the chaos could not protect their people.

After all, the primordial multiverse was often broken by their battles, although it was quickly reassembled afterward. However, other multiverses are not as special as the primordial one. If they are broken or even destroyed, the possibility of restoration is extremely small.

However, the meaning behind Houtu Zuwu's words was somewhat strange, as if she had already determined that the Wu clan would inevitably suffer misfortune in the future.

To say such a thing in front of the demon emperor Donghuang is surely to boost the morale of others and diminish one's own prestige. It is really detrimental to the unity of the Wu tribe.

"Little sister Houtu, what do you intend to do?" Dijiang Zuwu asked.

"To preserve the Wu clan, I transformed myself into the Netherworld and Yellow Springs, so that when the Wu and Yao clans perish together in the future, I can allow the Wu clan to return to the Netherworld and Yellow Springs." Houtu, the Ancestral Witch, still did not shy away from Taiyi in the slightest when she said this.

However, Donghuang Taiyi did not offer any rebuttal, as if he had tacitly accepted the fact that the Wu and Yao would eventually perish together, a fact that would shake the entire prehistoric world.

As for Luo Zu, he tried his best to minimize his presence and avoid being "seen" by these important figures.

Otherwise, how should he answer when they come to discuss this matter with him? Could he possibly say that the mutual destruction of the Lich and Demon races is the inevitable trend of heaven and earth, and that the two races have occupied the leading positions of heaven and earth for too long, so they deserve to die and give all living beings in the world a gold coin?

However, aside from this aspect, Luo Zu focused most of his attention on Hongjun Dao Zu, who was "before his eyes".

This legendary figure, so renowned, suppressed the Six Sages, preventing them from emerging into the world in glory. The Three Pure Ones each released an incarnation, while their true selves disappeared without a trace. Nuwa was confined to the Nuwa Palace and could not leave. As for the two Western Sages, they were also quite low-key. After founding the Buddhist sect, no news of them emerged, and now it was mostly their disciples who showed their faces in public.

Therefore, one can imagine the extent of this person's abilities. Many great supernatural beings speculate that the Dao Ancestor's realm is one level higher than that of the Six Saints, or at least half a level higher.

However, the specifics of the situation remain unknown, and most people speculate and imagine about this Dao Ancestor.

Now that Luo Zu has indeed witnessed it with his own eyes, his thoughts are naturally churning.

He had been trying to analyze the existence of this Dao Ancestor, but he always came to a very simple conclusion: He is nothingness, oneness, and all things. Luo Ancestor even saw himself.

As Luo Zu was observing Dao Zu, Dao Zu calmly spoke up and stopped the argument in the room.

"The Dao has no constant form; it is neither round nor straight. The establishment of the Netherworld and the Yellow Springs is the great trend of the Heavenly Dao. Houtu is in accordance with the Heavenly Dao and is destined to face this calamity. All things in the future are now in the present. Fellow Daoists, please take care of yourselves," the Dao Ancestor said slowly.

Having said that, he turned and left, thus finalizing the decision. The ancestral witches stopped arguing and, no matter how dissatisfied they were, could only obey the decree.

"Let's go back."

Then, Luo Zu found himself back in his cave in Kunlun Mountain. Everything that had happened before was still vivid in his mind, yet it seemed like a dream.

"They didn't even give me any decree? Just let me see the Dao Ancestor's majesty? Is it just a formality?" Luo Zu felt completely bewildered by his sudden appearance in Zixiao Palace and then his dazed departure.

(End of this chapter)