Chapter 1: Pangu Opens Heaven and Changes Fate

  Kunpeng was forced to step down, and he didn't dare to provoke Yuan Shi Tian Zun, one of the Three Pure Ones. Zhunti Daoren clearly kept pace with Jie Yin, advancing and retreating together, and it was not easy to provoke him. What Kunpeng wanted to do was to shift his anger towards Hong Yun Daoren, thinking that if Hong Yun hadn't given up his seat, there wouldn't have been any coercion from Zhunti. With this thought, Kunpeng's resentment turned into evil intentions, and the karma between him and Hong Yun was thus formed.

  As the Kunpeng descended, a loud "Dong" sound was heard, and the bells and drums rang out in unison. An old man appeared from nowhere, with an extraordinary appearance, his breath seeming to exist and yet not exist, floating and uncertain. In front of him stood a boy striking a bell, who would later become the Emperor of the Vast Heaven. The old ancestor held a bowl in one hand and a bamboo branch in the other, saying: "From now on, follow your current positions and do well, do not act rashly." Having spoken, he began to preach.

  The Sage spoke of the mixed yuan great Tao, naturally more mysterious and subtle than the initial declaration of the Dharma of transcending the great Luo. Only to see the Hong Jun Dao person's head spinning a dark-colored jade butterfly, sprinkling countless clear and cold light, the five elements rolling over, steaming up, forming millions of acres of colorless auspicious clouds, three purple lotus flowers rooted on top, stretching out stems and leaves, their stems straight and upright, lotus leaves green and luxuriant as if dripping, flower petals as big as a car wheel, spinning non-stop. With one breath in and out, only to see the swallowing and spitting of countless starlight, sprinkling boundless sweet dew, on top of the empty space, the great Tao's text is inscribed, forming the infinite chaos within the infinite chaos energy transformed into golden flower auspicious energy, floating down to the Dao field.

  But then, Hongyuan's mouth corners held a smile, and his eyebrows emitted boundless brilliant light. The condensed light transformed into clouds of various colors, known as the Supreme Taoist Virtue Cloud, Jade Purity Primordial Cloud, Spiritual Treasure Transcendent Cloud, Compassionate Salvation Cloud, Wisdom Perfect Cloud, Prajna Bodhi Cloud, Auspicious Samadhi Cloud, and so on, with countless other unspeakable brilliant clouds.

  Following this, there were all sorts of subtle sounds: the sound of ambrosia being poured onto one's head, the sound of prajna paramita, the sound of universal salvation, the sound of Spiritual Treasure saving people, the sound of the mysterious law of heaven and earth, and so on. Countless unspeakable sounds appeared, revealing the grandeur of the Taoist Patriarch and the great abilities of the saint.

  The first person under the stage, Taiching Laozi, sat with his eyes closed, revealing an extraordinary calmness and serenity. His expression was not visible at all, as he quietly comprehended the profound truth of the universe. Occasionally, three flowers gathered on top of his head, and five energies converged towards his origin. The Taoist fruit transformed and evolved, accompanied by a vast red celebratory cloud floating above with three red lotus flowers. Alongside the sound of the Taoist ancestor's voice, he nodded his head and swayed gently, displaying an elegant demeanor. The yin-yang harmony changed, and the Taiji flowed, while Yuanshi Tianzun on the side maintained a solemn and dignified posture. On the golden celebratory cloud above Mount Dongshan, countless golden flowers and lanterns appeared and disappeared, only to reassemble each time. After each dispersal and gathering, the Taoist rhyme on top of the golden flowers and lanterns became even more profound, with auspicious energy forming a canopy that hung upside down, obscuring his face in a blurry haze. The Tongtian Daoist stood upright with his waist straight, eyes tightly closed, as five energies transformed into white waves washing back and forth above the celebratory cloud. Three giant green lotus flowers floated and sank, drifting about, while countless sword energies flickered in and out of sight. These three individuals had clearly gained a great deal from the legacy of Pangu.

  In front of the three people, Pangu's legacy was naturally at ease, but unfortunately, Nüwa on the side had a slightly furrowed brow and tightly pursed lips. On top of her head, golden halos shone brightly, with pink clouds gathering and dispersing. A giant snake swam in the clouds, shaking its head and tail, swallowing and spitting out infinite spiritual energy, rising straight up, as if to swallow the sky. The introducer had a bitter expression on his waxen face, but on top of his head, three sarira burst forth with infinite light, transforming into eight heavenly dragons lecturing on scriptures. A six-foot-tall golden body sat upright above, hands clasped together, eyes cast down, already silently reciting and comprehending Buddhist scriptures. The sound of Sanskrit chanting still lingered in the air. Compared to others, Zhunti's appearance was even more exaggerated, sometimes displaying great sorrow and joy, sometimes weeping and wailing. In the midst of auspicious clouds, a Bodhi tree stood tall above him, with Buddha light flickering in and out. Non-gold, non-jade, amidst compassion and kindness, a stern and solemn aura surrounded him. Three sarira, each as large as a斗, suddenly converged to form a twelve-zhang-tall golden body of the Dharma, which sat at the base of the Bodhi tree. The Dharma body had eighteen arms and twenty-four heads, holding parasols, flower vases, divine mallets, precious axes, golden bells, golden bows, silver spears, and banners. Golden light radiated for ten thousand zhang, illuminating the universe, fully revealing the profound mystery of great bliss.

  Compared to the previous three, there is one person in the second row who is slightly better. This person is Xuanwei Daoren. Above his head, twelve layers of treasure light burst forth from the Tianling, and three flowers and five energies emerge. Five strands of energy converge to gather the power of the pre-heavenly five elements, surging back and forth in the midst of the celebratory clouds, seeming both real and illusory, born and destroyed in an instant. The waves are majestic and powerful. On top, the three flowers merge into two, then recombine into one, transforming into a single lotus flower surrounded by five-colored auspicious clouds, supporting a wordless heavenly book that vaguely records many of the essentials of the Hunyuan Great Dao. With the assistance of the wordless heavenly book, Xuanwei is naturally more at ease than the previous three people, but it's unknown how much distance there is between him and the Three Pure Ones.

  Among the crowd in the second row, Qiong Peng Lao Zu was the most determined. The sound of his question shook the heavens, and a dark green cloud appeared above his head, with no flowers or five elements, only a vast expanse of icy waves, cold air rising, condensing into white frost, like birds and fish playing in it, entering the sea as fish, emerging from the sea as Peng. Unfortunately, the demonic energy had not completely dissipated, and could still be seen rushing straight up to the clouds, bursting with white bone-chilling light, gathering icy divine light, shining for thousands of miles.

  On the edge of the town, there was a great immortal named Zhenyuan, who had a yellow cloud on his head that resembled a celebration. The cloud supported an ancient and simple book, which emitted infinite primordial earth energy when opened, and absorbed infinite light rain at intervals. Occasionally, in the midst of the yellow celebratory cloud, a green fruit tree would appear and disappear, bearing thirty fruits that looked like three-day-old babies, complete with four limbs and five senses. This was the legendary ginseng fruit tree, which bloomed once every 3,000 years, bore fruit once every 3,000 years, took another 3,000 years to ripen, and could only be eaten after 10,000 years.

  Compared to the carefree and leisurely demeanor of the previous ones, Taiyi Emperor Jundu's fervent celebration is extremely overbearing. Above the clouds, it seems like a great sun rising, igniting a blazing golden flame. A three-legged golden crow dances around the sun, while an ancient bronze bell swings back and forth. The smoke and mist gather, making it unclear to observe. A diagram of a turtle shell draws out countless mysterious tracks, interpreting the celestial bodies of the universe. It seems like infinite starlight is gathering, as if the Milky Way has reappeared, stretching across the top. There is also a three-legged golden crow surrounding the head, chirping and flapping its wings ceaselessly.

  The sun rises and sets, the tides ebb and flow, years go by unnoticed, and countless lives have been lived and died. The gods are merely dozing off. Three hundred and sixty-five years have passed, and in the Purple Mist Palace, the Taoist ancestor opened his eyes that could swallow the universe, with his left eye observing the cycles of all things and his right eye gazing out at the infinite worlds. Those who were immersed in their thoughts suddenly awoke, prostrating themselves before the Taoist ancestor and repeatedly calling out: "Greetings, Master! Wishing you eternal life!" The Taoist ancestor spoke: "In my lifetime, I obtained Pan Gu's legacy, holding the Jade Butterfly of creation, with the responsibility to enlighten all living beings. Thus, I shall begin lecturing on the Great Way in the Purple Mist Palace. The Great Way has fifty chapters, and the Heavenly Way has forty-nine. All living beings seek that one thread of life. Under the Heavenly Way, nine is the ultimate number, and today, among those who listen to my lecture, there will be seven people who can attain the Mixed Origin. Now, I shall bestow upon them seven strands of purple energy to aid their achievement of the Mixed Origin."

  As soon as Hong Jun Dao Ren's voice fell, it was like a stone stirring up a thousand waves. The originally quiet and silent Dao field suddenly boiled over like scalding hot water with a loud "whoosh". Various auras floated everywhere, no longer confined to their respective territories. Some people were whispering secretly, some were probing each other's strength, and some were discussing in secret. Only the Three Pure Ones remained unmoving, their aura still rising straight up like wolf smoke, vast and mighty, without any twists or turns, not falling into inferiority. There were those who were ecstatic, and those who were weak and secretly worried, but Hong Jun Dao Ren simply looked at the crowd silently, not saying a word, eerily like a cold winter's night that sent shivers down one's spine.

  When the crowd stopped discussing and their breath returned to its original position, Hong Jun spoke up. He said to San Qing: "San Qing is the transformation of Pangu's primordial spirit, with great merits in creation. You can become saints and be my direct disciples, are you willing?" San Qing was overjoyed, kowtowed repeatedly, and hastily replied: "Disciples are willing, Master's longevity is boundless!" Suddenly, three strands of purple gas with unknown aura flew out from Hong Jun's sleeve, each entering the primordial spirit of San Qing. In an instant, they understood that this was the Hong Meng Purple Gas, a pure energy condensed between heaven and earth to assist the heavenly way in creating heaven and earth. Not only can it help cultivators comprehend the heavens and feel the Primordial Realm at all times, but also when achieving the final step of the Primordial Realm, entrusting their primordial spirit and merging with the void, it helps cultivators protect their minds from being deluded, ward off disasters, and increase their chances of attaining the Primordial Realm.

  Hong Jun said, "Nüwa's virtues are profound and far-reaching. In the future, she should take charge of the Three Talents' creative way, and obtain infinite great merits, achieving the Primordial Unity. However, although she is a pre-heavenly deity, in the future she will be entangled by post-heavenly relationships, with shallow fate and affinity. Alas! In the future when we meet again, I fear that things will have changed and people will be different." Then, another misty, deep, and profound purple energy was released from Hong Jun's sleeve and fell into Nüwa's Qingyun.

  Hongjun said finally: "Well, Zhunti will guide you. Although the two of you do not have a deep and thick good fortune, but with great wisdom and perseverance, in the future, you can open another branch outside my Xuanmen, obtain the power to control the Great Teachings, and attain the Mixed Yuan Tao. It's just a matter of time. This purple energy is for you two." At this point, two more Hongmeng purple energies flew out from Hongjun's sleeves and fell into Jieyin's top door and Zhunti's Niwan Palace.

  Among the many powerful beings, not a few saw that only one path was left crawling on the ground, and they all begged Daozu for the Hongmeng Purple Qi. Hongjun was unmoved, his face expressionless, and finally said: "Hongyun, this last Hongmeng Purple Qi will be given to you." After finishing speaking, the purple qi flew into Hongyun's top door and disappeared from sight. For a moment, Hongyun's face was filled with mixed emotions that were difficult to describe, including disbelief, wild joy, and worry.

  Ps1: I've flipped through many books and searched for a lot of materials, but I couldn't find any information about the origin of Hongmeng Purple Qi. The "Buddha Classics" also don't have any records that say achieving enlightenment requires Hongmeng Purple Qi as an indispensable existence. Zhou Qing cultivated the Pangu True Body and condensed the Pangu Seal, directly achieving enlightenment without opening up the heavens or splitting the earth. So, personally, I've set it up so that Hongmeng Purple Qi, although not absolutely necessary for achieving enlightenment, still makes a huge difference. After all, most people without Hongmeng Purple Qi can't even touch the threshold of the Primordial Dao before they die. The time difference between having and not having it is also enough to drive most people crazy. Jokingly speaking, if you want to achieve enlightenment with Hongmeng Purple Qi, as long as you live long enough and have average intelligence and comprehension, achieving enlightenment is almost guaranteed. Without Hongmeng Purple Qi, if you want to achieve enlightenment, please possess the following: merit, luck, moral character, magical powers, and...?

  Ps2: Regarding the issue of Zhunti's introduction, please refer to the original "Fengshen Yanyi" Chapter 84, where Ziya takes Lin Tongguan - Hongjun Daoist praises: "The Western Paradise is truly a blessed land." The Western Teaching Master replied, "I dare not." The Teaching Master asked Hongjun Daoist to meet, and Hongjun said, "I have no restraints with fellow daoists. These three are my disciples, they should be like this." The introducing Daoist and Zhunti Daoist bowed their heads and sat down. Later, Laozi and Yuanshi came to pay respects, followed by the twelve generations of disciples and many other disciples who all came to pay respects. Therefore, Zhunti's introduction identity should be relatively special, nominally not subject to Hongjun's constraints. In contrast, the issue of Nüwa is even more troublesome. Different versions of myths have varying levels of status between Nüwa and Hongjun, some say lower than Hongjun, some equal, and some modern TV dramas have Nüwa's status higher than Hongjun. So here, Nüwa is set up like this, which can also explain why her status is sometimes high and sometimes low??????