148: Taking on apprentices

Hongjun had already shifted his gaze away from the two of them.

Seeing that they might have missed a great Opportunity, Jieyin and Daoist Zhunti felt an immense sense of distress.

Jieyin's expression turned bitter, his entire face collapsing as tears welled in his eyes, his voice trembling:

"Dao Ancestor... Teacher... why have you passed us by?" He leaned forward slightly, looking as if he were on the verge of tears.

"Our West is barren, and we two Disciples endured countless hardships to reach Zixiao Palace, Cultivating diligently day after day without pause. Could it be... could it be that we are destined to have no connection with the Saintly Dao?"

Daoist Zhunti was even more exaggerated, dropping to his knees with a thud, his voice choked with tears.

"Teacher, please see clearly! The living beings of our West are suffering, in desperate need of a Saint's enlightenment. Although your Disciple's Aptitude is dull, my heart toward the Dao can be witnessed by heaven and earth!"

As he spoke, he actually managed to squeeze out a few tears that slid down his cheeks. "Look at those sitting on the Prayer Mats; the Three Pure Ones and Fellow Daoist Nuwa have all received the Opportunity to become Saints, yet only we two from the West were left out..."

Seeing this, Jieyin also hurriedly knelt down, cooperating by beating his chest and stomping his feet: "Pity the sentient beings of my West! Why are they destined to have no connection with the Great Dao!"

As he spoke, he peeked at Hongjun's expression, his voice becoming increasingly sorrowful.

Everyone in the hall watched, dumbfounded.

The East Duke's mouth twitched, thinking that their acting was far too flamboyant; they were practically more shameless than he was.

Taiyi, on the other hand, had a face full of disdain, silently cursing them for being shameless.

Even the usually steady Laozi couldn't help but steal a few extra glances.

Most of the others felt the same, truly finding these two somewhat repulsive.

As dignified Quasi-Saints with great Divine Abilities, they hadn't improved their temperament at all, still wearing their emotions so openly on their sleeves.

Furthermore, the Saint had already said that Nuwa was his final Disciple and that he would not take any more.

If crying could make a Saint accept them, then no one would need to Cultivate anymore; they could just spend all day clinging to the Saint and lamenting.

But at that moment, to their surprise, after hearing their laments, the Saint truly seemed to rest his gaze upon them once more.

He spoke slowly: "Do you truly care for the West so deeply?"

Jieyin immediately stopped crying and said solemnly: "Your Disciple is willing to make a Great Vow to the Heavenly Dao!"

Zhunti also hurriedly wiped his tears and nodded repeatedly: "Your Disciple is the same!"

Hongjun gave a soft sigh and finally relented: "Very well, in consideration of your sincerity, I shall take you as Named Disciples."

"The West shall flourish; you must work hard for it."

As he spoke, he waved his hand and bestowed two Spirit Treasures, as well as two strands of Primordial Violet Qi.

Jieyin and Daoist Zhunti immediately wept with joy, this time expressing genuine emotion as they kowtowed repeatedly: "Thank you, Teacher! Thank you, Teacher! Your Disciples will surely revitalize the West and not fail your expectations!"

At this scene, those present didn't know whether they should shout 'holy crap' or not.

They didn't expect that crying actually worked. So what were they waiting for?

Hurry up and cry!

For a moment, a wail rose up within Zixiao Palace.

Grand Unity Golden Immortals were in tears, and Quasi-Saint experts soaked their clothes.

The scene was simply too tragic to behold.

However, they were used to maintaining their dignity, so their effect was naturally not as good as that of Jieyin and Daoist Zhunti.

Hongjun shook his head helplessly as he watched, then raised his hand to take out the final strand of Primordial Violet Qi.

"Stop!"

"This final strand of Primordial Violet Qi shall choose its own master. He who has the destiny shall obtain it!"

As his voice fell, Hongjun gave a gentle lift, and the Primordial Violet Qi broke free from its restraint, flying back and forth within Zixiao Palace.

Many Innate Sacred Beings watched with reddened eyes, all wanting to gain the favor of the Primordial Violet Qi.

This was the foundation for becoming a Saint; obtaining it meant one could soar to the heavens. How could it not be longed for?

Among them, the East Duke and Dijun had even more thoughts.

With the establishment of the Immortal Court, and the Heavenly Court having already gained momentum,

the two already viewed each other as rivals.

Therefore, whether they could get it themselves was one thing, but the key was to not let the other party obtain it.

Fortunately, under everyone's gaze, the Primordial Violet Qi passed over the East Duke, ignored Dijun and Taiyi, paused for a moment in front of Hongyun, and then flew outward, seemingly wanting to fly out of Zixiao Palace and return to the Primordial World.

Hongjun's brow furrowed slightly, wanting to restrain it once more.

But since he had already sent it out, it would be somewhat inappropriate to do so, so he simply let it leave.

The Primordial Violet Qi wandered around for a circle and finally disappeared completely.

The Innate Sacred Beings present looked at each other, not knowing what to say.

The Primordial Violet Qi had flown in a circle and seemingly didn't take a fancy to any of them; there was nothing to be done.

However, with the Primordial Violet Qi returning to the world, it truly would be obtained by the one with destiny.

In other words, they would all have a chance to seek out that strand of Primordial Violet Qi in the future.

Hongjun looked at the group of Innate Sacred Beings. "I have followed the Heavenly Dao to preach three times for the sentient beings of the Primordial World. Today, my Karma is in Perfection. I shall merge my body with the Heavenly Dao, and unless there is a major shift in the world, I shall not appear."

Finally, Hongjun used these words to put a period on this sermon.

The Saint was about to merge with the Dao and would not appear unless there was a major shift!

This was undoubtedly another explosive piece of news.

And the one most affected was none other than the East Duke.

From beginning to end, he had always used the title bestowed by the Saint. It could be said that his current momentum was largely due to having the Saint's backing.

Now that the Saint had taken six Disciples, it caused his status to decline.

Furthermore, once the Saint merged with the Dao and would not appear unless there was a major shift, didn't that mean his future actions under the Saint's name would no longer be effective?

The Saintly background was gone!

The others also had their own thoughts, but they still bowed respectfully to Hongjun, saying:

"Thank you for the sermon, Saint. Your righteousness is something we admire immensely!"

Hongjun also nodded with slight gratification and, with a casual wave, the palace gates were opened.

"Now that I have merged with the Dao, many of the treasures I have collected are of no use. I have placed them atop the Treasure Distribution Cliff; you may take them yourselves according to your destiny."

As his voice fell, everyone felt a surge of joy. It seemed the Dao Ancestor had truly listened to their laments just now.

Sure enough, the crying Disciples get the treasures.

"Thank you, Dao Ancestor, for the treasures!"

Immediately, everyone rose together and, after a brief bow, scrambled to be the first out the door.

Just as they had scrambled to arrive, it was the same as always.

There was no other way; how could they not covet the treasures left by a Saint?

Among them, some didn't even have a suitable Spirit Treasure for Slaying the Corpses.

Now hearing the Saint bestowing treasures, they naturally had to go and fight for them.

If they could seize this Opportunity, they would have a chance to soar to the heavens.

The group once again revealed their respective Divine Abilities, and Haotian and Yaochi, standing at the entrance, didn't dare to stop them.

After everyone had left, one person remained behind, and that was the Ancestral Witch Houtu.

As an Ancestral Witch, treasures were of little use to her; it was better to stay and ask about the doubts in her heart.

And this time, Hongjun also seemed to be waiting for her to ask. He did not rush to leave after the sermon but stood in place.

Attending all three sermons showed Houtu's sincerity.

A Saint asks nothing of you, so he naturally wouldn't speak first; silence was tacit consent.

But if you were to turn a blind eye, then you would truly miss out.