Chapter 242 Hongmeng Purple Qi
Zixiao Palace, on the high platform.
The rosy clouds are endless, the auspicious auras are endless, the strange fragrances are wafting, and the fairy music is ringing.
Daozu Hongjun gradually revealed his figure.
The hall, which had been somewhat agitated, suddenly became quiet.
Everyone, including Li Anran, looked towards the platform at once, observing the first saint in history to successfully attain enlightenment.
He was wearing a Taoist robe, straw sandals, holding a jade whisk, with a colorful golden light covering his head and a twelve-petal lotus seat under him. He looked to be in his thirties, with a gaunt face and deep eyes, giving people a feeling of vastness and boundlessness.
Standing in front of him, one can't help but feel a sense of insignificance like an ant facing the world.
Daozu Hongjun looked around, his eyes sweeping over the six people sitting on the cushions, namely Sanqing, Jieyin, Zhunti and Nuwa. When passing by Laozu Hongyun, he paused for a moment, barely perceptible, and then continued to look elsewhere.
Everyone he saw straightened up unconsciously and became dignified and serious.
Even Donghuang Taiyi and Di Jun, who were known to be unruly and lawless, stopped.
They didn't know what delayed the two brothers and they arrived just a little earlier than Jie Yin Zhunti.
After seeing Jie Yin and Zhunti trick Hong Yun into giving up his seat by playing the victim and then forcing Kunpeng to give up his seat, the two brothers walked towards Jie Yin and Zhunti without saying a word.
Unlike other powerful people who wanted to seize Nuwa's seat, they brothers had a close relationship with Nuwa and Fuxi, and they still needed two seats, so they set their sights on Jie Yin and Zhunti.
Jie Yin and Zhunti also noticed something and took out their respective companion spiritual treasures, the Jie Yin Divine Banner and the Seven Treasures Wonderful Tree, and prepared for a battle.
However, he was interrupted by the sudden appearance of Patriarch Hongjun.
Patriarch Hongjun said, "You are all here because of your fate with me. Remember your respective positions. Let's stay like this from now on."
"Good." Although the powerful men were unwilling in their hearts, they did not dare to speak out at this time and could only agree obediently.
Only Donghuang Taiyi showed his indignation. Just as he was about to open his mouth to refute, he saw Di Jun shaking his head at him, signaling him not to speak.
All the creatures in the ancient world at that time practiced by relying on their instincts, absorbing and exhaling the spiritual energy of heaven and earth and the essence of the sun and the moon to temper themselves. It was from the preaching of Taoist Ancestor Hongjun that many concepts such as essence, spirit, qi refining, merit, karma, and luck gradually took root in people's hearts.
But this does not mean that no one had thought of these things before Hongjun Daozu!
Since Pangu created the world, countless brilliant and talented people have appeared in this ancient land. After discovering that the way of proving the truth through force is not feasible, they are also looking for other ways to prove the truth.
However, essence, spirit, merit, karma, and luck exist objectively in themselves, and many living beings have also noticed them.
However, they did not comprehend it as thoroughly as Hongjun Daozu, and became the first person in the prehistoric world to successfully attain enlightenment.
From this point of view, Hongjun Daozu has surpassed Pangu, the great god who created the world and gave birth to all things.
Di Jun was born with profound talents, and he also had two top-grade innate spiritual treasures, the River Map and the Luo Shu, so naturally he also understood many things related to them.
That is why he was intent on making a great name for himself in preparation for establishing the demon clan's heaven in the future, hoping to become a saint through the imperial way.
Di Jun realized that these six cushions represented great opportunities, so he wanted to snatch them together with Donghuang Taiyi.
However, at the moment when Hongjun Daozu appeared, his heart suddenly moved, and he realized that although these six cushions represented great opportunities, they also represented great causes and effects!
Once the brothers sit on it, they will be restricted by Hongjun Daozu in the future and it will be difficult to escape.
Although Hongjun Daozu was the first person to attain enlightenment and become a saint, Di Jun also had his own pride. He came to Zixiao Palace more to confirm whether Hongjun attained enlightenment through force or in other ways.
If it is the former, he is willing to bow his head and ask for advice from Daoist Ancestor Hongjun.
If it's the latter...
If Hongjun can prove the truth in his own way, he must also be able to prove the truth in his own way of comprehension!
Then there is no need to follow Hongjun’s path!
Donghuang Taiyi did not think so much, but he always believed in his brother, so seeing this, he endured it and stood beside Kunpeng with Di Jun.
Daozu Hongjun noticed the little movements of the two brothers, but did not say much. Instead, he went straight to the point and began his first sermon.
In an instant, flowers fell from the sky, golden lotuses emerged from the ground, endless fairy music echoed, and all things in heaven and earth appeared.
At this time in the ancient times, the Way of Heaven had not yet evolved completely, so it was very easy to comprehend the Great Way.
Daozu Hongjun's words can be said to have directly brushed away the veil covering the avenue, clearly displaying the mysterious and profound nature of the avenue before everyone.
It can be said that he performed three thousand ways in a second, the subtle laws of heaven and earth, and the slowly shaking whisk sprayed pearls and jade, and the sound of thunder shook the nine heavens.
Li Anran was browsing Kunpeng's life and also noticed Di Jun and Donghuang Taiyi beside Kunpeng.
But before he could think more, he was attracted by the great principles preached by Hongjun Daozu.
Li Anran's eyes lit up and he smiled when he heard this.
Many things that I could not comprehend or had not fully understood in the past now entered my mind like a sudden enlightenment, and the effect was even better than sudden enlightenment.
When placed on the character panel of the Book of Punishment, not only did the experience points increase dramatically, but many spells and skills that had been cultivated to the highest level were also transformed and their grades were upgraded.
For example, Samadhi True Fire and Samadhi Divine Wind.
They were originally fifth-level spells, but with the teachings of Taoist Master Hongjun, Li Anran's understanding of the way of wind and fire became deeper, and he further improved on the original Samadhi True Fire and Samadhi Divine Wind, raising their grade from fifth level to sixth level, and their power increased by more than a hundred times.
In addition, Li Anran also comprehended many spells such as Nanming Lihuo, Sun True Fire, and Jiuxiao Gangfeng.
Of course, just as fish are naturally better at swimming than humans, Li Anran's Nanming Lihuo and Sun True Fire cannot be compared with the Phoenix and the Three-legged Golden Crow in terms of power.
Gradually, Li Anran also understood why Daozu Hongjun did not preach to the entire prehistoric world, but instead selected these guests from the Zixiao Palace based on whether they could reach the Zixiao Palace within three months.
That’s right, it was a selection, not entirely based on your own strength and luck!
The three thousand guests in Zixiao Palace are not necessarily three thousand powerful beings.
Three thousand is just an imaginary number. Li Anran took a quick look before Hongjun Daozu appeared. At this time, there were five thousand one hundred and thirty-two powerful beings in Zixiao Palace!
But, these were all carefully selected by Hongjun Daozu!
They are not the most powerful group of people in the prehistoric world at this time——
Just from what Li Anran saw in Kunpeng's life, there were many top surviving warriors from the dragon, phoenix and unicorn tribes who did not appear.
It’s not that they are not strong enough, but that they were eliminated by Daozu Hongjun and cannot find the location of Zixiao Palace at all!
Those who can come here are the most representative.
The great Dao that each of them comprehended was different, and the content they comprehended from the teachings of Hongjun Daozu was also completely different. Only after they returned to the prehistoric world, the Dao would truly flourish.
These thoughts just flashed through Li Anran's mind, and his entire mind was once again immersed in the preaching of Hongjun Daozu.
One thousand eight hundred years passed in a flash like a white horse.
Li Anran didn't even notice when Donghuang Taiyi and Di Jun left.
It was not until Hongjun Daozu stopped preaching and another thousand years passed that Li Anran woke up from his state of enlightenment.
However, those powerful beings in Zixiao Palace, including the six saints Sanqing, Jieyin, Zhunti and Nuwa, did not perform as well as Li Anran, and did not gain as much as Li Anran!
This does not mean that Li Anran’s understanding has surpassed these six future saints.
It was because the Six Saints were exposed to the way of cultivation for the first time, and they had to start from scratch, from nothing to something.
Li Anran has been practicing for many years and has learned countless skills and spells through the Book of Punishment for Evil. He knows everything that Daoist Ancestor Hongjun said and can gain something from it.
After Hongjun Daozu and other great men in Zixiao Palace woke up from their state of enlightenment, they informed them of the time for their next sermon. They also said that they could , and that they could gain merit by doing so. Then they let them leave Zixiao Palace.
After this first sermon, all the powerful people realized how powerful Hongjun Daozu was and the gap between themselves and him.
When they left, they were all respectful and performed the etiquette of a disciple.
After leaving, they followed the instructions of Hongjun Daozu and gave lectures to earn merits.
Kunpeng is no exception.
After leaving Zixiao Palace, he returned directly to Beiming, where he tried to comprehend the great Dao that he had not yet fully understood, while preaching to the creatures in the Beiming area.
Most of the other powerful ones are the same.
Many of them are the ancestors of a clan, and they originally had the intention of competing for the hegemony of the prehistoric world and replacing the status of the dragon, phoenix and unicorn clans.
But now, after listening to what Hongjun Daozu said, he felt that a new world had opened up. He had no interest in these mundane matters at all. Apart from practicing in seclusion, he only wanted to preach and earn merits.
Among these powerful people, some cared more about the descendants of their own clans. For example, the Qingqiu Fox Clan chose to let the Qingqiu Fox Clan join the Demon Court.
But more of them don’t care about the life and death of their own ethnic group’s descendants at all. They are only focused on achieving enlightenment and becoming saints, and regard them as tools to earn merit.
This is a good thing for Donghuang Taiyi and Di Jun.
By the time Hongjun Daozu gave his second sermon, the demon heaven established by Donghuang Taiyi and Dijun had already lived up to its reputation. During this period, they even forcefully suppressed the Qilin clan, which was once the leader of all beasts, and seized Mount Buzhou.
However, these have nothing to do with Kunpeng at this time.
All his thoughts were focused on attaining sainthood and earning merit.
This situation continued until Hongjun Daozu's third and final sermon.
After this sermon ended, Daozu Hongjun did not inform everyone of the next sermon time. Instead, in front of all the powerful people, he accepted the Three Pure Ones as his personal disciples, Nuwa as an ordinary disciple, Jie Yin and Zhunti as registered disciples, and bestowed the six Paths of Hongmeng Purple Qi.
Although Daozu Hongjun did not say it explicitly, everyone could guess that this Hongmeng purple energy was related to attaining enlightenment and becoming a saint.
A group of powerful people looked at Sanqing and others who were respectfully bowing to Hongjun Daozu with joy in their eyes and brows. They were extremely envious and jealous, and extremely annoyed that they did not arrive earlier to grab these six seats.
Patriarch Hongyun had a good temper, but when it came to the matter of attaining enlightenment, he regretted giving up his seat out of weakness.
As for Kunpeng, who was forced to give up his seat, he was even more hateful with gnashing teeth. The look in his eyes when he looked at Jie Yin Zhunti and Hong Yun Patriarch was as if he wanted to eat them.
This gnashing of teeth turned into a strong greed and murderous intent after Daozu Hongjun bestowed another ray of Hongmeng purple energy on Daozu Hongyun.
But at this time, Kunpeng was already very cunning—
In other words, ever since Daoist Ancestor Hongjun preached in Zixiao Palace and the three thousand guests in Zixiao Palace began to preach in the prehistoric world, the intelligence of all living beings has been greatly improved, and the entire prehistoric world has begun to get rid of the previous era where straightforwardness and muscle were king.
As the best among them, Kunpeng never showed his emotions on his face, and hid his greed and murderous intent deep in his heart.
However, even a fool could guess his resentment towards Jie Yin Zhunti and Hong Yun Patriarch. The calmer he was, the more it showed that he had not let it go.
Zhen Yuanzi was worried that something might happen to Patriarch Hongyun, so he forcibly took him back to the Wuzhuang Temple on Wanshou Mountain.
Kunpeng failed to find an opportunity, so he had to give up temporarily and returned to Beiming to continue his practice.
Until the six saints all achieved sainthood with the help of the Hongmeng Purple Qi, Patriarch Hongyun could no longer suppress his anxiety and, despite Zhen Yuanzi's persuasion, traveled around the prehistoric world looking for opportunities.
As a result, before he found the opportunity, he was ambushed and killed by Kunpeng.
At the critical moment of life and death, Patriarch Hongyun directly broke through the space and threw the Hongmeng purple energy into the chaos. He then merged his soul into the Jiujiu Sanhun Gourd and fled in the opposite direction.
At that time, Kunpeng had not yet mastered the magical power to separate the bodies of Kun and Peng, and chose to go into the chaos to look for the Hongmeng purple energy.
But, nothing was found.
When he turned around again, he learned that Patriarch Hongyun had been rescued by Zhen Yuanzi.
Because Patriarch Hongyun had a wide range of friends and contacts, Kunpeng was afraid of being retaliated against, so he joined the demon clan's heavenly court, which was recruiting soldiers, and gradually became a demon master.
"He failed to steal the chicken but ended up losing the rice. Kunpeng is so unlucky!"
Li Anran thought again of the reality in which Patriarch Hongyun and Zhen Yuanzi joined forces with the Heavenly Court to deal with Kunpeng. It can only be said that Kunpeng was really at a disadvantage and had nothing left.
As for what happened to Kunpeng in the demon clan's heaven later, Li Anran was not interested at all.
Even if it involves the secrets of the ancient demon clan’s heaven.
Li Anran only hated that the Book of Punishment for Evil did not have a skip function when he first browsed through the biography. He now just wanted to finish reading Kunpeng's life quickly, and then turn around and listen to Hongjun Daozu's preaching.
Compared to the teachings of the Three Pure Ones that I have heard before, the great principles taught by Hongjun Daozu are truly profound and all-encompassing.
Li Anran wasn't even sure if he had understood even one thousandth of it.
However, these did not fulfill Li Anran's wishes. He did not dare to say whether he was willing or not, as Kunpeng's life continued to move forward.
Soon, he saw Jie Yin personally appear in Bei Ming. With the momentum of the rise of Xuanmen and the position of deputy leader of the Western Religion, he persuaded Kun Peng to betray Di Jun and Donghuang Taiyi, step by step intensifying the conflict between the wizards and liches, leading to the final decisive battle between the two races, in which both sides suffered losses.
When Emperor Jun entrusted Kunpeng with the River Map and Luo Shu, Kunpeng became greedy and fled to Northern Juluzhou with the River Map and Luo Shu and a group of remnants of the ancient heaven, and established the Demon Master's Mansion.
What happened after that was unremarkable, nothing dramatic.
It was not until the Heavenly Court mobilized its troops to attack the Demon Master's Mansion that Kunpeng was besieged by the Golden Immortals and became a prisoner and was thrown into the Heavenly Prison.
