“If you ask whether I am qualified, focus your mind and listen carefully, for I have a poem to prove it: Pangu opened the heavens and created the Great Wilderness, from which all creation in Heaven and Earth was born. Blessed lands and Grotto-Heavens are endless, yet the destiny of the Heavenly Dao resides within them. Above lie Thirty-Six Grotto-Heavens, below contain Seventy-Two Blessed Lands. If you ask which among them reigns supreme, heaven's destiny belongs to Fire Cloud Cave.”

“Within floats an ethereal form, crimson light burning bright, scorching the skies. Once stained with the heart blood of Emperor Pangu, its hazy rosy clouds illuminate the heavens. Ranked among the Innate Gods and Demons, holding a seat as a mighty Old Ancestor. Gathering and scattering formlessly with profound Dao methods, known as Hongyun since the dawn of the Great Wilderness.”

Ethereal and clear like divine jade music, the Dao tone slowly echoed through Purple Heaven Palace. Under the stunned and awestruck gazes of the crowd, who felt it was incredibly grand and impressive, Hongyun looked around.

At this moment, the Twelve Ancestral Witches glanced at Hongyun with inquisitive curiosity, while the two Demon Race Emperors no longer showed any of their ulterior motives. They smiled and nodded at Hongyun one after another, expressing a hint of goodwill.

Immediately after, Hongyun's pressure of a Late-stage Daluo Golden Immortal erupted to its peak, slamming into Jieyin and Zhunti like colliding mountain peaks. At the same time, he patted his head, looked up at the sky at a forty-five-degree angle once more, his Dao voice resonating ethereally.

“Comprehending the mysteries and realizing the Dao in Huoyun Heaven, tempered through endless ages. Painstakingly cultivating to build up, a vast reserve of deep Foundation. Starting from Celestial Immortal, True Immortal, to Profound Immortal, tempering power through Golden Immortal and Taiyi. Facing countless hardships towards Great Luo, achieving Perfection with twelve petals bloomed!”

As the Dao voice continuously echoed, the phenomenon of Three Flowers Gathered at the Crown and Five Qis Returning to the Origin manifested above Hongyun's head. Furthermore, a ten-thousand-acre expanse of auspicious cloud glowing with radiant mist—symbolizing the mystery of a Daluo Golden Immortal—appeared above his head, dazzling with endless Dao Rhyme.

Within the auspicious cloud, lotus-like flowers bloomed and rotated, shining brightly in alignment with the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth and secretly corresponding to the Three Talents of Heaven, Earth, and Man. The Earth Flower connected to the vast earth, the Heaven Flower communicated with the sky, and the Man Flower—which was the Dao Flower—guarded the center. It was as if Pangu was splitting open Heaven and Earth, holding up the sky with his head and stepping on the earth with his feet, standing tall in the center—exceedingly mystical.

Because Hongyun was a Late-stage Daluo Golden Immortal, these Three Flowers of Heaven, Earth, and Man were extraordinarily massive, full, and solid. Blooming to the grand Perfection count of twelve grades, they shone with boundless light and endless Dao Rhyme.

“All three Great Luo flowers bloomed to the Perfection count of twelve grades, the perfect manifestation of a supreme Foundation! But this... how is this possible!” Yuqing Yuanshi and Shangqing Tongtian cried out in shock, looking at Hongyun with faces full of astonishment.

Taiqing Laozi took a deep look at Hongyun, remaining silent, making it impossible for anyone to guess his exact thoughts.

“This Hongyun is truly extraordinary; the depth of his Foundation is terrifying to such a degree...”

“I heard that among all their peers, even Yuanshi and Tongtian fall short. Only Taiqing Laozi had all three Great Luo flowers bloom to the state of twelve-grade Perfection...”

“But what kind of Origins does he have? He is the head of Pangu's Three Pure Ones! No matter how extraordinary this Hongyun is, how can he be compared to Laozi, the head of Pangu's Three Pure Ones...”

...

The crowd of Great Divine Beings looked at Hongyun in shock, their thoughts complex as chatter broke out everywhere.

Even Nuwa, who had seemed aloof from the entire matter, turned her gaze toward Hongyun. She then exchanged a look with Fuxi, glanced down at the prayer mat beneath her, and revealed a trace of doubt: “This Hongyun possesses such strength and Foundation, he clearly could have secured this fourth prayer mat earlier. But... could it be that he intentionally yielded a step to me (my sister)? But why would he yield?”

As Fuxi and Nuwa let their minds wander, regardless of what others were thinking, everyone subconsciously raised Hongyun's weight in their hearts endlessly, equating him with Pangu's Three Pure Ones.

Hongyun was well aware of this, and he was also extremely satisfied that he could cause all three of his Great Luo flowers to bloom to twelve-grade Perfection.

It was immensely difficult to have all three Great Luo flowers bloom to twelve-grade Perfection; it was not merely a matter of accumulating endless years. Many Great Divine Beings of Heaven and Earth, even after entering Late-Stage Daluo, might not have even a single Great Luo flower bloom to twelve-grade Perfection.

Although Pangu's Three Pure Ones had the potential to have all three Great Luo flowers bloom to twelve-grade Perfection, only Taiqing Laozi managed to bloom twelve grades, showing just how difficult it was.

Because Hongyun possessed the heaven-defying ability of the chaos primordial qi bead continuously generating Chaos vitality, he practically enjoyed the basic treatment of the Chaos Demon Gods. Being so uniquely favored by fortune, he held a grand position of absolute advantage.

Additionally, aside from its negative effects, Pangu's heart blood indeed provided immense enhancement and amplification to Hongyun in all aspects.

Under such circumstances, Hongyun was able to rapidly elevate his cultivation and Realm while also achieving twelve-grade Perfection for all three Great Luo flowers. Otherwise, even as a Transmigrator, it would likely have been impossible.

However, none of that mattered now. Hongyun simply looked at Jieyin and Zhunti, who had been forced back several steps by the impact of his aura's pressure, and said indifferently, “Fellow Daoists, is my qualification sufficient?”

Jieyin and Zhunti exchanged a look, well aware of the true worth of having all three Great Luo flowers bloom to twelve grades. Excluding those anomalies among the Wu Clan and setting aside treasure boosts, it was virtually equivalent to being invincible in the same realm. If they continued to tangle with Hongyun here, not only might they suffer, but it would also yield no results.

Furthermore, no one knew what Divine Ability or methods Hongyun possessed, making him appear all the more mysterious and daunting. If they dragged this out, they would be the ones suffering losses.

Having made their calculations, Jieyin and Zhunti could only snort coldly at Hongyun before silently walking over to Kunpeng.

“I originally thought about using my trump card, the Three Lives Body, but it seems unnecessary now. Still, I must remain somewhat on guard.” Hongyun watched the Western Duo leave, his expression calm, but he let out a slight sigh of relief. A fateful calamity had thus been reversed and resolved.

As for what would happen in the future, that was a matter for later. The current Hongyun didn't need to overthink it.

Thus, Hongyun reined in his thoughts. Glancing at Kunpeng, whose face was growing progressively dark as Jieyin and Zhunti approached, he adopted a completely detached attitude and continued pretending to be lost in thought.

“To be so shameless, we truly couldn't bring ourselves to do it. These two... tsk tsk...”

At this moment, seeing Jieyin and Zhunti get rebuffed by Hongyun yet remain completely unrepentant—clearly targeting Kunpeng now—many Great Divine Beings couldn't help but marvel in amazement, feeling inferior in terms of sheer nerve.

Jieyin and Zhunti were shameless, but they still cared about their face. Therefore, even knowing the prayer mats held profound mysteries, it was hard for them to discard their dignity and commit such shameless acts like Jieyin and Zhunti.

Otherwise, how could Jieyin and Zhunti be allowed to'stand out alone' in Purple Heaven Palace? They would have stayed put long ago!

Regardless, events continued to unfold. Once Jieyin and Zhunti approached Kunpeng, having just suffered a setback with Hongyun, they were somewhat once bitten, twice shy, and did not make a direct move on Kunpeng immediately.

However, the two clearly had a plan to deal with Kunpeng, and their demeanor suddenly became extremely aggressive and overbearing.

Their aggression and overbearing nature were fully demonstrated in their actions and words.

Upon reaching Kunpeng's side, they suddenly joined forces to unleash a powerful aura pressure like mountain tsunamis, pressing directly down upon Kunpeng.

Had Kunpeng not been prepared, given the sudden burst of pressure from the two, any slight lapse in attention might have allowed them to forcibly dislodge him with their pressure, losing his prayer mat.

Just as Kunpeng glared furiously at them, Jieyin and Zhunti shouted in unison, sternly berating Kunpeng, “Kunpeng, you truly lack discernment! Do you not see that we senior and junior brothers still have no seats? Hurry and give it up!”

“Considering how we two brothers have spared no effort for the West out of boundless compassion—what great merit we have! What identity and merit do you possess that you dare sit on this seat?!”

“Jieyin! Zhunti! Do not push people too far!” Kunpeng's eyes widened in anger as he said coldly, “There are two of you, and there aren't enough seats to share anyway. By divine destiny, you two Fellow Daoists should quickly retreat and sit elsewhere to await the Saint's sermon. Do not make a scene here and disrupt the peace of the Saint's Dao Field!”

“How my junior brother and I divide the seat is none of your concern, Fellow Daoist. You had better hand it over first! Consider how noble the people seated here are—how are you worthy of sharing a row with them?!” Zhunti declared loudly, joining Jieyin to press Kunpeng even more aggressively.

Hearing this, Kunpeng was about to explode with rage and attack Jieyin and Zhunti regardless of the consequences.

Right at that moment, Yuanshi suddenly spoke up, stunning the entire hall with a golden quote: “Fellow Daoist Zhunti speaks rightly! You, Kunpeng, are nothing more than a creature born of moisture and eggs, covered in feathers and armor! How dare you sit alongside us? Get off that seat this instant!”

“This Yuanshi! He really is... really a faithful stickler for the original plot!” Hongyun, who was watching the show unfold, glanced at Yuanshi, feeling somewhat speechlessly amused, able only to sigh inwardly.

The drama in Purple Heaven Palace had already been altered beyond recognition by him, yet Yuanshi could still pull off this move. Hongyun truly hadn't expected it.

Yuanshi's sentence had a wide reach; it not only insulted Kunpeng, but also indirectly insulted many present. Could anyone fail to see Nuwa and Fuxi looking at Yuanshi with displeasure right now?

Although the two were Innate Gods and Demons, born divine beings, their true forms still bore the appearance of human heads and snake bodies!

This was only because Yuanshi was one of Pangu's Three Pure Ones; if it were anyone else, the Karma incurred wouldn't be small, and the scene might not remain so peaceful.

Regardless of Hongyun's thoughts, Yuanshi's words were like igniting a powder keg, triggering a massive chain reaction.

For instance, although Di Jun and Donghuang Taiyi disliked Yuanshi's remarks, they disliked Kunpeng even more. Thus, they said coldly to Kunpeng, “Fellow Daoist Yuanshi speaks correctly. Kunpeng, what ability do you have to dare sit up there? Get the hell down this instant!”

“Kunpeng, you had better get lost! Stop being an eyesore here!” shouted voices from the Wu Clan side as well.

“Kunpeng, just step down. What qualifications do you have to sit up there...”

Many people began kicking Kunpeng while he was down. Anyone who didn't fear Kunpeng started blaming, berating, and ridiculing him.

“You... all of you...!” Consumed by fury, Kunpeng was unable to contain his rage. His eyes turned blood-red, and his entire body trembled.

At this moment, Zhunti felt the time had come. Taking advantage of the moment when Kunpeng was so consumed by anger that he lost self-control and his mind became unstable, he launched a sneak attack alongside Jieyin.

A string of prayer beads appeared in Jieyin's hand, and two beads flew out, shooting toward Kunpeng's eyes. In the instant Kunpeng's eyes throbbed with pain and his mind fell into Chaos, Zhunti swept the Seven-Treasured Wonder Tree, dragging Kunpeng straight off the prayer mat and flipping him into the distance.

Then, the moment Kunpeng was swept off the prayer mat, Zhunti hesitated for not even a second, forcefully pushing Jieyin onto the prayer mat.

Jieyin also knew that now was no time for polite refusals, so without a word, he quickly sat down while Zhunti stood guard beside him, wary of Kunpeng attacking in a rage.

“Though shameless, their bond is far, far stronger than Pangu's Three Pure Ones, who merely call each other brothers. In this regard, they surpass Pangu's Three Pure Ones!” Seeing Zhunti surrender the seat to Jieyin without hesitation, Hongyun couldn't help but offer some praise.

“You despicable bastards! Die!”

By now, Kunpeng was burning with fury, his eyes splitting with rage. Unable to endure it any longer, he charged wildly at Jieyin and Zhunti.