Sixty-two: Harmony of Heaven and Man

  He reluctantly handed over the treasure 'Qinglian Treasure Flag', and also lost the golden lotus in the Eight Treasures Pool of Merit on Mount Sumeru. After seeing the extraordinary strength of the three old men, he stopped searching for treasures in the Desolate Expanse and instead focused on cultivating with the Guide. As a result, he quickly grasped the signs of the Great Luo Golden Immortal Realm and found a clue to achieving the Great Luo Golden Immortal Fruit position. His strength improved significantly, and as his Dao heart rose, his state of mind also became enlightened, causing his actions to change accordingly, which in turn helped him understand the Dao. This can be considered a case of 'one drink, one peck', with its own cause and effect.

  Laozi and four others, including a beast, are flying on the colored clouds. Laozi's face is calm, Yuan Shi has a smile, and Tongtian is spirited and vigorous.

  Xun Daozi's heart was filled with joy, his face calm and serene. The three-eyed snow lion beast lay quietly at the end of the colorful cloud.

  Not long after everyone flew into the air, Laozi handed the golden lotus to Xun Daozi and said: "This golden lotus has been calculated by Master Shi, it seems to have another wonderful use. After repeated calculations, I don't know what the wonderful use is. You take it and put it in the water pool in front of your Xun Dao Mountain Cave Mansion, and wait for a slow exploration of its wonderful use."

  Xun Daozi respectfully accepted the golden lotus and said, "I will follow Master's instructions." However, in his heart, he was guessing: This golden lotus has the effect of carrying the soul's imprint to reincarnate. Now that the cycle is not yet out, the underworld is not established, and the spirits' deaths have no reincarnation. They can only slowly disappear into the heavens and earth, returning all their possessions to the Honghuang heavens and earth. When new consciousness is born, becoming a new spirit, even for those self-replicating species, the birth of consciousness is also given by the Honghuang heavens and earth. The wonderful use of this golden lotus cannot be calculated, let alone at this time when Laozi is only in the Great Luo Golden Immortal position. Even if he has achieved the mixed yuan, as long as the cycle does not appear and the underworld does not come out, it is still impossible to calculate. However, Laozi can calculate that this golden lotus has another wonderful use, and decisively taking the golden lotus from Mount Sumeru is also extremely fierce.

  Yuanshi then handed over the few small flags to Xun Daozi and said: "These few pre-heavenly five-element flags, 'Qinglian Baose Flag', your Shibo's 'Lidi Yan Guang Flag', my 'Wujihuang Yellow Flag' and your 'Xuanyuan Kongshui Flag' are all handed over to you. I only hope that you have a great opportunity to obtain the last golden attribute pre-heavenly five-element flag. If you can collect these pre-heavenly five-element flags, according to my calculations with your Shibo and Shishu, we can use these five pre-heavenly five-element flags to return to the Primordial Chaos Array of the Primordial Chaos Fabric, which is the only treasure in the Hongyuan that can return to the Primordial Chaos Fabric Array. I, your Shibo, and Shishu are also pinning our hopes on your great luck and good fortune to collect these pre-heavenly five-element flags. Except for your 'Xuanyuan Kongshui Flag', the remaining few flags have had their internal marks erased, you can rest assured to sacrifice and refine them."

  Xun Daozi also respectfully took over a few small flags from Yuan Shi's hands and put them in the "Qian Kun Ding". In his heart, he was thinking: The last face of this Xiantian Wuxing flag should be that "Su Se Yun Jie Flag", later obtained by the Queen Mother of the West, called "Ju Xian Qi", used to gather the immortals. How could he get this last flag?

  Colorful clouds were moving rapidly, when suddenly a purple light flashed out from the void in front of them. A voice came from within the purple light: "Today I will merge with the Tao, you all come quickly!" Then the purple light flashed again and enveloped Laozi and his companions, disappearing instantly.

  In an instant, Laozi and his group appeared in front of the Zixu Palace gate. Two children, a boy and a girl, stood at the door, saw Laozi and his group, came up to them and bowed:

  "The old master is waiting in the hall, please hurry up and go there, three gentlemen."

  The three old men nodded and walked straight in. The Daoist approached the two young boys and bowed to them. The two boys quickly returned the bow.

  Xun Daozi didn't say a word, turned around and quickly followed the three old men, and the three-eyed snow lion beasts also quietly followed. The two young boys did not stop them either.

  The three of them journeyed on, Xun Daozi closely following Yuan Shi's back, the Three-eyed Snow Lion Beast tightly following Xun Daozi, secretly glancing around with a look of surprise and doubt in its eyes.

  The crowd quickly entered the grand hall, and in the middle of the cloud bed, Hong Jun Dao Zu's body was vague, ethereal, and mysterious.

  Laozi and three others went forward to pay their respects. Later, Hongjun pointed to the futon in front of him and said: "Sit!"

  Xun Daozi hastily stepped forward and bowed down in front of Hong Jun Da Zu: "Disciple Xun Daozi greets Master Ancestor, wishing Master Ancestor infinite blessings and longevity!" The three-eyed Snow Lion beast also knelt on the ground behind Xun Daozi, not daring to get up.

  Hong Jun Dao Zu nodded and said: "You can get up and sit down too!"

  Those three-eyed snow lion beasts remained kneeling on the ground, their heads bowed down, motionless.

  Before long, another person approached the temple. It turned out that Nüwa had also arrived. After entering the temple and paying respects to Hongjun Da Zu, she exchanged greetings with Laozi and the three of them paid their respects. Daozi also hurriedly paid his respects. Everyone sat down properly.

  Hong Jun Dao Zu said, "Today, I will merge with the Tao to prove my way. From now on, Hong Jun is the same as the Hong Huang Tian Dao, and the Hong Huang Tian Dao is no longer Hong Jun. You are all my disciples and grand-disciples. I have asked you to come here for two reasons: first, when I merge with the Tao, there will be an opportunity to observe the traces of the Great Tao, which will help your cultivation; second, when I merge with the Tao, there is something that needs to be handed over to you. Laozi, Yuan Shi, Tong Tian, you will take over from me as the master of the Xuanmen and teach the creatures of Hong Huang." He then turned to Nüwa and said, "Nüwa has a great opportunity. This object is the pre-heavenly Xi Ran. Now it's yours, use it well!" He handed the object in his hand over to Nüwa.

  Nüwa respectfully accepted and thanked her.

  Xun Daozi listened and thought to himself: It seems that Nüwa still wants to create humans as saints, the grand trend of the Honghuang has not changed, my responsibility should be directed elsewhere, this 'responsibility of protecting the Honghuang' needs to be explored further.

  Hong Jun Dao Zu turned his head and looked at Xun Dao Zi, his eyes were deep and mysterious, with an inexplicable aura, making Xun Dao Zi break out in cold sweat.

  After a while, Hong Jun Dao Zu finally spoke: "You are the first disciple of our Xuanmen for three generations, as the eldest disciple, you have a great responsibility, and you must take good care of our Xuanmen." After a pause, he said, "You have a mission on your body, this thing is also given to you, use it well, don't take it lightly." After finishing speaking, he handed over a plain-colored triangular small flag to Xun Daozi.

  Xun Daozi quickly knelt down, took the small flag and kowtowed to say: "Disciple will surely remember the master's instructions, do his best to protect Xuanmen, and not betray the master's kindness."

  Hong Jun waved his hand to let Xun Daozi get up and sit down, and then said to the three old men: "What you have done today is not wrong!" After Hong Jun finished speaking, his face was warm and gentle.

  The three of them were also quite delighted in their hearts.

  Immediately, Hong Jun Dao Zu spoke up and said: "The time has come, I will merge with the Way. From now on, Hong Jun is the Heavenly Way, the Heavenly Way is no longer Hong Jun. From now on, the Purple Mansion will not emerge unless it's a major event, you all take care of yourselves. For now, follow me to take a look, and see how much you can gain from this, depending on your individual cultivation."

  With a wave of his hand, everyone suddenly disappeared from the Purple Mansion and stood in a vast expanse of empty space.

  Many people tread on empty space, but it's like walking on flat ground.

  In the void, apart from Hongjun Daozu, there are seven people and one beast: Laozi, Yuanshi, Tongtian, Nüwa, Xundaozi, a male and female pair of two children, and the three-eyed snow lion.

  Xun Daozi did not expect that San Yan Xue Shi Beast also had such good fortune, and was able to obtain the opportunity to merge with Tian Dao.

  Hong Jun Dao Zu stood alone in the void, took out a snow-white jade plaque, looked at it and threw it into the void.

  In an instant, the snow-white jade slip began to rotate in the void, emitting a soft glow. The glow gradually intensified, but was not dazzling; although it had already reached its brightest point, even if a thousand suns were to burst forth together, they would not be as bright as the light emitted by this jade slip. Yet, strangely, there was no intense feeling at all, only a soft and warm sensation.

  That light gradually spread throughout the void, causing it to distort. Mysterious Dao marks and tracks began to appear in the void, and various inexplicable halos also started to emerge.

  At some unknown time, Hongjun Daozu had vanished into thin air.

  Laozi and others also sat down cross-legged, mobilizing their hearts and souls to comprehend the magnificent scene of the only manifestation of the Great Dao's vestige in this vast and desolate world. Even the three-eyed snow lion beast was immersed in this profound and mysterious landscape.

  Only Xun Daozi was still standing there, staring blankly with wide eyes at the unpredictable and illusory scene in front of him, as if he were looking into a funhouse mirror, his face twisted in an eerie expression.

  For a long time, Xun Daozi stood still, suddenly moved, and immediately sat down in the void. His eyes were slightly closed, and he entered a subtle state. At this moment, his body was like thunder rumbling, like wind howling; like a tiger roaring, like a dragon chanting. In his lower abdomen, two grains of elixir turned rapidly like flying; the power of the meridians circulated like the Yangtze River rushing forward; the purple energy in the sea of consciousness rotated like the wind, and the gray misty energy also slowly started to rotate. The entire body was like a factory working overtime, frantically rotating, with mysterious energies surging into the body from all around, being seized by the various parts of the body that were frantically rotating, and merging into it.

  Zhuangzi's consciousness also gradually entered that dazed and confused state, allowing his body to operate on instinct, and in the midst of confusion, he once again entered that profound and mysterious state of being bewildered and perplexed.

  Also didn't know how long it took, maybe thousands of years or just a moment, the Seeker's body shook violently and opened his eyes. Looking around, he found himself no longer in the void, but sitting on top of a mountain with Laozi, Yuanshi, Tongtian, and Zhengyi, all smiling at him with faces full of smiles, while the three-eyed Snow Lion beast stared at him with gemstone-like eyes.

  Xun Daozi quickly got up and paid his respects to Laozi and the other two, then looked at Yuanshi with a puzzled expression.

  Yuanshi laughed and scolded: "Look at me, what's the big deal? After Daoyou merged with the Dao, he would have sent us back to Hongyuan. You're just infatuated and don't know it yourself!" After finishing speaking, he glared at Xun Daozi for a moment, then immediately had a smiling expression again.

  Laozi smiled and said, "This time I have gained a lot from observing the teacher's way of unifying the Dao. It has been a long time since we last moved around in the vast expanse. Now that we are out, let us take a walk around to verify our understanding of our cultivation. What do you two brothers think?"

  At first, all the immortals nodded in agreement and praised it as good.

  "Disciple, you've been away from Mount Xun for many years. This time, I'm going to travel with your Shifu and Shi Bo, Shi Shu Hong, and we won't be bringing you along. Why don't you go back to Mount Xun and take a look? Whenever you think of coming out, come find me at Kunlun Mountain. Spend this period of time cultivating diligently on Mount Xun, solidify your gains, you're not suitable for traveling around right now, you need to calm down and cultivate for a while. Go!"

  Laozi, Tongtian also looked at Xun Daozi and smiled, nodding his head. Immediately, three people rose up on colorful clouds, breaking through the air and leaving.

  Xun Daozi gazed up at the sky, bowed slightly, and stood up. He muttered to himself: "It's time to go home!" His eyes grew brighter as he turned around and mounted his three-eyed snow lion beast, breaking through the air as they departed.