Chapter 110: The Discussion of Sainthood in the Purple Firmament Palace

  Zi Xuan Palace is located outside the Thirty-Three Heavens of Da Luo Immortal Realm, where the Heavenly Screen Barrier is weak. Although it's not Chaos, there are still large amounts of Chaotic Qi flowing in. Moreover, there are violent Primordial Elements formed by earth, water, wind, and fire, making it difficult to pass through without great divine powers. Whether one can hear the teachings of Zi Xuan Palace is already a kind of fate, and being able to comprehend even a little bit more is another kind of fate.

  Everyone's path is different, and the path heard from the mouth of Daozu Hongjun is also different, even to the point of being worlds apart.

  A century passed in the blink of an eye, and then a calm voice came, with everyone's cultivation unable to know where the speaker was. It seemed as if the sound was coming from their own ears. "3000 years have passed, I will give my second lecture at Zixuan Palace outside the 33rd Heaven. All who can arrive may listen."

  Everyone was stunned, and there were still great masters in this world. The voice of Hong Jun Dao Zu had just fallen to the ground when an injured cultivator rushed over, prostrating himself on the ground as soon as he entered. A tower's shadow swayed and was about to collapse, rapidly merging into his body.

  Although the tower's shadow was fleeting, it couldn't escape the notice of these all-knowing and far-sighted individuals. This precious pagoda had six levels, with an octagonal base on each level, and a golden bell hung from each corner. The four walls were adorned with strange and ancient talismans that seemed to be moving and flashing constantly. The entire body emitted a brilliant golden light, with auspicious colors swirling around it. On the base of the pagoda, three large characters stood out in bold relief.

  This stirred the heart of Tongtian Dao, who snapped his fingers and calculated with a smile on his face, "Haha, it turns out that I have a fate with him!" As he spoke, a stream of Jade Clear Spiritual Energy surged out from within his body, transforming into lotus flowers that flew towards the paralyzed person.

  That person stood up and said, "Duobao is grateful to the Jade Pure One, the Lord of the Dao." This Duobao was also clever and knew that Tongtian had already become a disciple of Hongjun Daoren in the Xumi Magic Realm. He himself was a transformed form of the Duobao Pagoda and had some magical powers. In the future, his cultivation would be extremely difficult, although he had the opportunity to listen to the great Dao of the Patriarch, but he had no chance to enter his door. However, being able to enter under the Jade Pure One's gate was also a great opportunity.

  Tongtian Daoist nodded and said: "Alright, you will be the eldest disciple of our sect."

  Furrowing his brow, this person is a treasure transformed into human form. Although he has some magical powers, the heavenly mechanism is obscure. This person may be an obstacle to me, and I don't understand.

  At this time, the guide was also bewildered, and the two of them looked at each other, involuntarily shaking their heads.

  At this time, Tong Huan shouted loudly: "Teacher, the second lecture is about to begin, fellow Taoists should not make noise."

  Hongjun spoke again, this time his words were even more abstruse than before, but somehow everyone could understand a little bit. As the Daoist patriarch's words delved deeper, everyone began to feel dizzy and confused, as if they had fallen into a cloud of fog, losing all sense of direction.

  The grand dao of heaven and earth, the innate power of heaven is a kind of majesty, the more it is produced by the ultimate principle, the greater the pressure. Faced with this great pressure, most of those who listen to the dao have already begun to pant heavily, each one possibly fainting at any moment. The two who were introducing and guiding were not much better off, after all they were not direct disciples of the founder of the dao, however these two people indeed had a strong and unyielding heart, they were people with great willpower, although they were already sweating profusely, their faces increasingly bitter and sorrowful, yet they both gritted their teeth and persisted, even to the point where their hands were deeply inserted into their flesh.

  Those twelve ancestral witches were unbearable, each and every one of them closed their six senses, allowing the great Tao's principles to flow above their heads, yet they refused to absorb even a bit. No way, born not cultivating their yuan Shen, their understanding of the Tao was almost pale. This is also the great Tao's impartiality, born with a strong physique, extraordinary ability to manipulate the elements of heaven and earth, but in other aspects, they would be slightly inferior.

  Di Jun and Tai Yi had a chaotic bell ringing in their hearts, like the sound of a large bronze bell, cleansing their minds and spirits, but not to the point of being too unbearable.

  It was the Duobao Daoist who shone with a brilliant golden light all over his body, with a tower's shadow revolving above his head. The golden bells on the eight corners were crisp and pleasant to the ear, dispelling the annoyance in his heart. With the help of Tongtian Daoist's guidance, he also gained some insight into it, and it was clear that his cultivation of mind was very solid.

  Everyone suddenly felt relaxed in body and mind, it turned out that Daozu Hongjun had finished his lecture.

  The crowd, however, was not uniform in their reaction. Some sighed and lamented that they had forgotten even a single word of the great dao. Others were filled with bitter sorrow, having forcibly memorized the dao, only to have it all disappear like smoke and clouds. Di Jiang transformed into his true form and flew away, his brothers one by one sighing and departing, leaving behind only Hou Tu sitting firmly in the Purple Mist Palace like a boulder.

  Xuán Míng said in a low voice: "Sister, this place is quite dull, why don't we go too?"

  Houtu said: "Sister, just go. Leaving like this makes me feel uneasy." Xuanming sighed and also turned to leave.

  There were also some unknown great transcenders who left.

  It was unknown how long it took, but Hong Jun Dao Zu began his third lecture. Each of them was as cautious as if they were facing a great enemy, and even sacrificed their congenital treasures to refine themselves, floating above their heads, in order to borrow the power of the congenital spiritual treasure to counteract the pressure of the congenital ultimate principle and the momentum of the Great Way.

  However, surprisingly, this sermon is simple and easy to understand, all of which are cultivation methods. The profound ones include refining the body and soul, proving the Tao with strength; or beheading the three corpses, the original spirit enters the Tao; there is also accumulating merit, the physical form merges with the Tao.

  There are ways to transcend the sea of suffering by measuring others and oneself, and there are methods for deeply hiding the golden body of Bodhi in the six consciousnesses. Some people may realize the profound meaning of prolonging life and avoiding death before heaven, or they may secretly refine the golden elixir, seizing the method of heavenly creation. There are a thousand kinds of methods, each relying on individual circumstances; if one can realize it, then they will realize it.

  Everyone listened as if in a trance, unaware that a thousand years had passed.

  Suddenly, Hongjun stopped and said: "I have obtained the Jade Disc of Creation, comprehended the 3,000 Great Ways, and shouldered the responsibility of enlightening all living beings. From now on, I will no longer lecture on the Great Way. After a hundred years, you can come again to understand my teachings. Do you still have any questions? Ask them all."

  Laozi first asked: "May I ask, Master, what is a sage?"

  "The sage has achieved the great Tao of Hunyuan, the golden immortal, and will not be worn away for millions of kalpas. Cause and effect do not stain him. Under the heavenly way, he is indestructible." Hong Jun said calmly.

  Yuanshi hastily asked: "May I ask, Master, is there a method to attain enlightenment?"

  "The Great Way is three thousand, every path can prove the mixed origin. The Way has no image and no form, cannot be spoken or touched, not even with great opportunity, great wisdom, great compassion, great willpower, and great merit can prove the Way. To prove the Way and mix the origin still needs the recognition of the Heavenly Way."

  "Tongtian asked hastily, 'Master, under the heavens, is it possible for everyone to become a saint if they have great opportunities?'"

  "Under the heavens. Nine is the ultimate number. However, the heavenly path is not complete, so under the heavens there should be eight saints. And beneath my seat, seven people will become saints!"

  "The Three Pure Ones were transformed from the primordial spirit of Pangu, and their bodies possessed infinite merits for opening up the sky. They can be revered as saints and become my inner disciples." After finishing speaking, three purple auras flew into the bodies of the Three Pure Ones and disappeared.

  "Nüwa, in the future you will have great virtues to accomplish, and can become a saint. You will also be my indoor disciple." After finishing speaking, a purple gas flew into Nüwa's body and disappeared.

  "Teacher..." Zhun Ti said hastily.

  "You two will establish teachings in the future, with merits of guiding all living beings and can become saints. However, you have no master-disciple relationship with me." He also bestowed upon them the Hongmeng Purple Qi. Ananda and Maitreya were overjoyed.

  Everyone saw that Liu Sheng had already made up his mind, and there was a slight sense of loss in their hearts, but they also had some expectations, expecting Hong Jun Dao Zu to come out with the last saint position.

  But Hong Jun Dao Zu's tone suddenly changed, and he scolded Long Zu, Feng Zu, and Qilin Huang: "Do you three know your crimes?"

  The three dragon ancestors immediately kowtowed to the ground, confessing to Hong Jun: "We three know that our sins are deep and heavy, and the billions of lives in the vast wilderness have been destroyed. It's all our fault. We don't ask for forgiveness from the Taoist ancestor, but please let the Taoist ancestor punish us."

  "Hongjun said: 'The calamity of the vast heaven and earth is all because of your arrogance, greed, and recklessness. You have brought about the destruction of the vast expanse, the downfall of countless spirits, and the heavens and earth are filled with lamentations. Even if you were to be sliced into a thousand pieces and ground into dust, it would not be enough to atone for your sins. Your wanton actions will bring suffering to future generations.'"

  "We three have realized our great mistake and are willing to die a thousand deaths to make up for it. We beg the Ancestor of Taoism to be merciful."

  "In this world, there is cause and effect, today's result is yesterday's cause. There is birth and death, today's death is tomorrow's birth."

  Hong Jun let out a loud shout: "Can you three understand now?"

  For a moment, Zu Long's face was sometimes bewildered, sometimes stunned, and sometimes showed a struggling expression. After a long time, he finally showed a relieved expression.

  Long Zu spat out a golden bead and bowed to Hong Jun Dao Zu, saying: "Please, Dao Zu, hand over this dragon pearl to my clan, even if it means death." He then took out the Xuan Yuan Kontrol Water Flag and offered it on the altar.

  The ancestral dragon seemed to be in high spirits, turned around and walked out of the Purple Cloud Palace, transformed into a billion-zhang-long dragon body soaring high in the sky, looking up at the heavens and letting out a long roar.

  "The Heavenly Way is above, I, Long Wang, am willing to use my body to suppress the Four Seas and the Dragon's Eye, to prolong the fortune of my dragon clan and bless the cultivators of my water tribe."

  A majestic voice spread throughout the vast expanse of Honghuang, and as soon as the words fell, the sky shook with a tremor, as if responding to the Ancestral Dragon.

  Immediately afterwards, the enormous body of the Ancestral Dragon suddenly burst open into chunks of flesh and blood, and the innate Lingbao transformed into four crystal palaces, wrapping around the four parts of flesh and blood, suppressing the Four Seas Spring Eye with a loud rumble.

  The Phoenix Emperor spat out a mouthful of phoenix blood, condensing it into a smooth stone, and like the Dragon Ancestor, he combed his entire body's epiphany into it. The Qilin King, on the other hand, retreated to his own heart-mouth scales, sealing three thousand years of epiphany within. The Departing Earth Flame Flag and the Xu Tu Huang Yellow Flag were offered on the altar above.

  Two loud shouts, in thirty-three days spread far and wide, all the great gods in the Purple Mansion were moved.

  "The Heavenly Way is above, today I, Feng Huang, am willing to use my remaining body to suppress the undying volcano, extend the luck of my Phoenix clan, and protect my flying bird cultivators."

  "The Heavenly Way is above, today I, the Qilin King, am willing to use my remaining body to suppress the great earth's spiritual veins, extend the fortune of the Qilin clan, and protect the walking beast cultivators."

  Rumble!

  The heavens shook again, and two stern voices sounded in the air. Then, a huge fire phoenix and a qilin appeared in the air once more, their bodies suddenly exploding almost simultaneously.

  The Phoenix Divine Furnace rolled up the essence of the Phoenix Emperor and flew towards the Undying Volcano in the south, while the Qilin Seal pushed the flesh and blood of the Qilin King to crash into the terrestrial vein of Mount Buzhou.

  In the corner of the Purple Mansion, Hou Tu suddenly shook and seemed to grasp something, muttering to himself: "There is life and death, there are causes and effects. Today's fruit is yesterday's cause, today's death is tomorrow's birth..."

  Hongjun saw Hou Tu's current appearance and nodded slightly.

  Looking out at the thirty-three heavens, he lightly asked: "Have you all realized?"