CHAPTER 1353: CHAPTER 484: HONGJUN’S INNER CONFLICT

Hongjun said: "If Haotian is beheaded, then this world will have no retreat and can only proceed down the path planned by Li Ping’an."

Houtu countered, "Teacher? Isn’t this still an obsession of yours?"

Hongjun showed a look of sudden realization.

Houtu softly said:

"Teacher, this time when you meet your disciple, it is quite different from the last time.

"It seems that you have many disappointments between your brows, but sitting in the Zixiao Palace, there shouldn’t be many things that could cause you disappointment.

"Although your disciple dares not claim to understand you, I know you habitually hide behind the scenes to scheme and plot, so I probed through words and indeed found the cause of your disappointment—the trajectory of this world has not developed as you expected.

"You are accustomed to control."

Hongjun laughed at himself: "When you put it like that, it is indeed the case. Such is my nature, hard to change."

"Then why are you searching for the path of transcendence?"

"Who doesn’t want to transcend and obtain true freedom?"

"Teacher, you still haven’t told your disciple the truth."

Houtu sighed slightly:

"You have been hinting since ancient times, telling your disciple that transforming into the Six Paths of Reincarnation is my fate, yet I saw something in Ping’an as Heavenly Emperor.

"There is actually no such thing as destiny.

"How did he become the Heavenly Emperor?

"First, by relying on his own artifact refining talent to gain the favor of Yun Zhongzi, followed by the support of Yuanshi Tianzun, resonating with the Heavenly Dao, and making a Great Vow to seize the Heavenly Emperor’s destiny.

"The Holy Mother was invited back from the Chaos Sea by him, and initially, the Human Emperor did not value him much, but he rose to fame in just a few years.

"Teacher, is this really just because fortune favored him?"

Hongjun frowned and said: "There are many things I didn’t want to tell you, but today I will be clear with you. Your teacher is by no means a villain, this predicament was forced upon me by that Transcender!"

Houtu:...

Hongjun sighed, and behind him appeared rapidly passing blurred scrolls.

This was a divine skill of memory reproduction.

Houtu was momentarily stunned and carefully observed the memory behind Hongjun.

She felt the resonance of the Great Dao, knowing these memories bore its imprint and could not be faked.

Hongjun’s voice became distant, and the things he recounted matched the scenes Houtu saw without any falsehoods.

Hongjun said:

"I met this Transcender when I first took form, still in the Chaos Sea.

"At that time, Pangu had not yet broken his shell, but around the egg nurturing Pangu, a clear order of the Great Dao had appeared, the Three Thousand Great Daos had already begun to converge, and I couldn’t tell whether it was Pangu that caused this or if the Three Thousand Great Daos and True Spirits resonating nurtured Pangu, but this didn’t stop me from basking in the glory of the Pangu God.

"When I had just taken form and wanted to roam the Chaos Sea, as soon as I left the vicinity of that egg, that Transcender suddenly appeared in front of me, smiling at me.

"He invited me to travel the chaos together. I did not refuse and later wandered with him in the Chaos Sea for immeasurable ages.

"Then, the Creation of Heaven and Earth occurred.

"At that time, my strength was not yet comparable to the Great One Golden Immortal, and I did not dare to approach but watched from a distance. The Pangu God aimed to establish a realm of order, necessarily destroying the Chaos Sea, and the Innate Gods and Demons instinctively began to attack the Pangu God.

"The Creation of Heaven and Earth was both swift and slow because the Chaos Sea did not yet have the concept of time.

"In the battle with the Innate Gods and Demons, Pangu recruited many ancient races, dragons, phoenixes, and Nüwa’s race, all aided Pangu, and thus he granted them the right to survive post-creation.

"During this process, I continually comprehended the Great Dao, sensing the changes in the Three Thousand Great Daos, and thereby, a treasure actively presented itself before me.

"The Creation Jade Disc.

"The Transcender watched nearby and even actively explained the functions of the Creation Jade Disc to me and painted the trajectory of everything after the Creation of Heaven and Earth.

"He described the war of dragons, phoenixes, and qilins, Luohou’s malice, the rise and fall of the Primordial Beings, the development and growth of the Witch Clan, with great clarity, and at that time, Pangu had not even completed the creation.

"I was astonished at this friend, and he revealed his origin to me.

"Transcendence... I later realized he had calculated everything, guiding us towards the path of transcendence."

Houtu knitted her brows tightly.

Hongjun continued:

"During the long ancient years, with his assistance, I smoothly reached the Daluo Golden Immortal, and then the Semi-Saint.

"My destined battle with Luohou happened without trouble, and I won easily because, under the Transcender’s guidance, I had obtained the God-slaying Spear beforehand.

"I believed his words.

"He told me that Pangu’s creation was a form of cultivation, and the disturbance caused by Pangu’s birth resulted in countless worlds with similar destinies, and we were merely one possibility, one path among them. Each world should not interfere with one another in principle, but every being is unique.

"Therefore, I am Hongjun, different from other Hongjun across worlds, and only through transcendence could I find the true self and escape from beneath Pangu God’s axe.

"Thus, I shattered the Creation Jade Disc, burying our world’s potential for completeness.

"The trajectory of the world was set at the creation by Pangu.

"And this is what I cannot comprehend—why after Pangu’s creation, there must be the three great calamities of dragons, phoenixes, witches, demons, and Divine Enthronement, leading the world from prosperity to silence?

"So I also wish to transcend and seek this answer.