Chapter 121: Departure and Visiting a Friend

Hongyun calculated the various affairs of the Primordial World. While not exhaustive, his mind remained somewhat cluttered with scattered thoughts.

According to his calculations—excluding the time spent discussing the Dao with the Three Pure Ones before his seclusion—within just five thousand years, twenty-six Taiyi Golden Immortals and two Da Luo Golden Immortals had attained the Fruit of the Dao.

Was this normal? It was entirely abnormal!

In the Primordial World, if one were to count carefully, there were certainly over ten thousand Da Luo Golden Immortals. As for Taiyi Golden Immortals, their numbers were absurdly high, to say nothing of the countless Golden Immortals scattered across heaven and earth. After all, the Primordial World was boundless, and beneath the infinite starry sky, who could truly know how many cultivators existed?

Since the Father God Pangu cleaved the heavens, aside from the first generation blessed with heaven’s favor, such powerful beings had become rare in later ages. In an entire epoch, the emergence of several hundred Taiyi Golden Immortals and a handful of Da Luo Immortals would be considered a remarkably prolific era. Furthermore, due to the disparity in strength between cultivators—and even among Da Luo Immortals themselves—most remained in reclusive cultivation, avoiding conflict at all costs. Most would venture out only to visit friends or wander the mountains and rivers.

Those who dared to establish sects or claim ancestral status needed, at the very least, a top-tier innate spiritual treasure in their possession. Under such circumstances, resources were dwindling, and achieving the Da Luo state was becoming increasingly difficult. In the previous epoch, spanning one hundred and twenty thousand years, not a single Da Luo Immortal had been born!

Yet—within these last five thousand years, two had emerged... It was preposterous!

Hongyun calculated further, but as the obscuring veil before him grew heavier, he retracted his supernatural powers. There was no help for it; the closer the great tribulation approached, the more obscured the heavenly secrets became. He could still calculate this much now without fear of the tribulation aura, but in another epoch or two, everyone would be blind in the face of the encroaching catastrophe.

"Brother Hongyun, were you just divining the trends of the Primordial World?" Zhenyuanzi, observing Hongyun’s expression and performing a quick calculation of his own, understood the situation and roused him from his thoughts. "Why bother yourself so? Could it be that your benevolent heart has been stirred, and you wish to protect some junior? Though Da Luo Golden Immortals are not caught within the tribulation, that is only if you choose not to participate. With our level of cultivation, we should avoid disrupting our own tranquility."

***

Hongyun, having reached the end of his calculations, regained his focus. He reached out to take a Ginseng Fruit and took a casual bite. It was sweet, crisp, and refreshing. He had eaten many of these fruits over time, yet every time he tasted one, the flavor seemed different. Given his cultivation level, the fruit held little utility—it could no longer extend his lifespan—serving only to satisfy his palate.

"If the tribulation were truly unavoidable and solely of my own making, I would not have gone to such lengths to consult the Three Pure Ones," Hongyun said, finishing the fruit and sipping some clear tea. "For Da Luo Golden Immortals like us, we rely less on calculations and more on those sudden 'flashes of intuition.' If I did not feel that there was a disaster I could not overcome, I would have gone wandering long ago instead of laying out these plans here."

Is that so... Zhenyuanzi watched Hongyun, his old friend of countless epochs and newly sworn brother. Though he said little, his mind was busy. While intuition might seem ethereal, they were Da Luo Golden Immortals of the Primordial World—a breed even rarer than such ethereal notions. If one felt something, it was real; that could not be faked.

"Then... Brother Hongyun, why not weather this Immeasurable Tribulation here at my Wuzhuang Temple? With our combined means..."

"Brother, stop right there. Do not dwell on such thoughts," Hongyun said. Seeing the look in his friend's eyes, he felt a moment of temptation but ultimately dismissed it. "If the Immeasurable Tribulation truly demands your response, do you dare not answer? Yet, matters here have their causes. With the vastness of the eight wildernesses and the ten directions, is there truly no line of survival for me? If I were truly in need, and my life were at stake, I would certainly ask. But for now, watch my methods."

Hearing this, Zhenyuanzi considered persuading him further, but as their status and cultivation were evenly matched, neither could be certain of the outcome if they were to truly pit their powers against one another. Persuasion... that was too difficult.

***

The two remained in their retreat for nearly five thousand years. With less than ten thousand years left before the second sermon, Hongyun and Zhenyuanzi emerged from Wuzhuang Temple, intending to travel the Primordial World once more before heading to the Zixiao Palace. Given their strength, reaching the edge of the heavens would not take long; arriving early was sufficient. As for arriving too early to show respect to the Saint Hongjun... well, being left out in the cold was not an experience he cared for.

Wait, did I remember wrong? In my memory, Wuzhuang Temple was clearly in the Western Continent of Hezhou, so why is it here in the Eastern Continent of Shengzhou, suppressing the earth veins of the East? As they stepped out and watched the temple fade into the misty clouds, Hongyun felt a momentary flicker of doubt. However, he dismissed it in an instant. He was indeed in the Primordial World, but who was to say that this Primordial World was the same one from his memories?

He smiled and shook his head, deciding not to dwell on it. After a brief discussion, the two decided to visit an old friend first, intending to invite him along before proceeding to the Zixiao Palace.

They traveled by cloud, moving with the wind. Before they knew it, they were employing Da Luo techniques, their speed increasing significantly. Gazing at the scenery, Hongyun spoke to Zhenyuanzi, "He should be there, right? That fellow maintains good relations with the aquatic clans; whether it be the dragon tribes of the four seas or the waters of the five lakes, all treat him as an honored guest. If he is not in the Eastern Continent, it will be hard to find him before we enter the Zixiao Palace."

"If you ask me, I truly do not know. There are few Da Luo who can ride dragons and harness the wind, and although the dragon tribes of the four seas have declined, they all honor him. However, he rarely leaves his home. Before the last sermon, he was quite close to the East Sea Dragon Tribe. I expect that in ten thousand years, it has not been worth his while to venture out."

As they spoke, Hongyun paused, a flicker of surprise appearing in his eyes. He closed them and began to probe the depths of his sea of consciousness. He perceived that the host body within his consciousness, which carried the precious vase, was beginning to leak the tribulation aura, which gradually permeated his entire being, his sea of consciousness, and even his Da Luo Grotto-Heaven.

Under these circumstances, this connection linked with his eyes, causing the Universe Cauldron within them to settle firmly into the depths of his consciousness. Furthermore, the seven-colored gourd seed, which had previously shown no movement, and the bitter bamboo, which had lost all signs of life, began to sprout once more, stirred by the agitation of his own tribulation aura.