"I never expected that the Dao Lord would personally knock on my gate."
Zhou Xingdou looked at the figure in front of him, a slight smile playing on his lips, but his silver eyes, covered in purple aura, held a wariness that others could not see.
Indeed, the person knocking on the gate was none other than Xuanjizi, the Dao Master of the Xuantian Dao Sect.
Even Zhou Xingdou hadn't considered this. He might have been wary or suspicious, but he wasn't nervous.
Because he knew very well that at this critical juncture, even if Xuanjizi in front of him was filled with murderous intent and harbored hatred for him for taking his wife, he would never lay a finger on him.
Xuanjizi remained as ethereal and otherworldly as ever, with a gentle smile always playing on his lips, making people feel approachable and trustworthy.
He stood there looking at Zhou Xingdou, a hint of tenderness appearing in his Daoist eyes, and teased:
"Hehe, you've been in seclusion all day, how can I not be anxious?"
Xuanjizi's words and appearance made Zhou Xingdou feel a little dazed. To be honest, if Fang Tianyang hadn't risked his life to send the message, he probably would never have doubted this interesting old man in front of him.
Even now, deep down, Zhou Xingdou still hopes that Fang Tianyang's words are false, and that Xuanjizi is not a traitor and has nothing to do with the Chaos God Cult.
However, this emotion only fermented in Zhou Xingdou's heart and was not revealed in the slightest, because in front of someone like Xuanjizi, any slight change in expression would be noticed by him.
Therefore, Zhou Xingdou not only showed no caution or respect, but instead asked in an extremely impolite manner:
"Master, please speak plainly. I don't believe you came here in person just for this."
As he spoke, Zhou Xingdou glanced at the Dao principles that were unintentionally flowing around Xuanjizi. The terrifying power made the space around him solidify, endlessly creating and disappearing.
The last time Zhou Xingdou met Xuanjizi, he was only at the True Person realm of the initial stage of the Divine Treasury. At that time, he felt that Xuanjizi was unfathomable.
But now that his cultivation has reached the level of a saint, and he is on par with a half-step supreme being, Xuanjizi is still as deep and unfathomable as the ocean, and no depth can be discerned.
But by this time, Zhou Xingdou had seen much more. He had several Supreme Celestial Venerables by his side, and he had observed the battles between Dao Venerables and between Creation Venerables up close. Yet none of them left him unable to discern their true strength.
His horizons are broadening, but when he looks at Xuanjizi again now, he still feels like he's looking at a frog in a well.
Xuanjizi didn't react much to Zhou Xingdou's attention to the Dao principles on his body. This was nothing new to him, and besides, it was only natural for a junior to be curious about his strength.
So Xuanjizi simply shook his head slightly and chuckled twice before answering Zhou Xingdou's question:
“You are intelligent, and I have indeed come here to tell you something else.”
Zhou Xingdou withdrew his gaze, his mood somewhat heavy, but he still raised an eyebrow and joked with Xuanjizi:
"Don't tell me you want to change your Dao Child? If so, I won't allow it, and neither will my master."
Xuanjizi glanced at Zhou Xingdou indifferently, shook his head and chuckled:
"Don't worry, the position of Dao Child is rightfully yours."
As he spoke, Xuanjizi paused, then his eyes shone with divine light, his Daoist pupils seemingly piercing through everything as he looked toward the mountain gate.
At this moment, Xuanjizi's smile faded, and his voice deepened slightly as he asked Zhou Xingdou:
"Do you know how many immortals have come to witness this ceremony today?"
Zhou Xingdou was naturally unaware that he had been in seclusion for the past five days, cultivating without contacting the outside world, so how could he know?
But he didn't seem to care much either, simply saying:
"Please speak plainly, Lord Dao."
Xuanjizi stopped beating around the bush and slowly said:
"If we don't include the Yin-Yang Grotto Heaven of the Tai Shi Dao Domain, there would be three immortals coming to witness the ceremony today, but two of them have already arrived."
Upon hearing the words "Yin Yang Cave Heaven," Zhou Xingdou frowned slightly.
"Was Yin Yang Grotto invited by the Dao Lord, or did they come of their own accord?"
There is no second Yin-Yang Grotto Heaven in the Tai Shi Dao Domain, so what Xuanjizi was referring to was naturally Bai Yulong's sect.
This puzzled Zhou Xingdou, because with the departure of the Zhou family, the Universal Holy Land had formed an alliance with Yin Yang Cave Heaven to support the outer realms and was in a busy period. How could they have time to come here to watch the ceremony?
Moreover, before Zhou Xingdou went into seclusion, he had communicated with Wan Tianzhou and Bai Yulong, telling them not to come to the coronation of the Dao Child today, because Zhou Xingdou was unsure if there would be any unexpected events, so as not to affect the two of them.
Xuanjizi found Zhou Xingdou's focus somewhat strange, but didn't think much of it, shaking his head slightly and saying:
“I thought you would pay attention to the second half of my sentence, but I did not invite Yin Yang Cave Heaven. It was Yin Yang Cave Heaven that came on its own initiative.”
Hearing that Yin Yang Cave Heaven wasn't invited by Xuanjizi, Zhou Xingdou no longer cared and followed Xuanjizi's words, asking:
"Who are the other three parties, and why did you tell me about them in advance?"
Xuanjizi turned his gaze back to Zhou Xingdou and said in a deep voice:
"The Underworld Palace, the Sword Domain, the Buddhist Domain."
Upon hearing these three names, Zhou Xingdou's eyes narrowed slightly. He didn't know much about the Underworld Palace, but he was more aware of its power than most people.
The Xuantian Dao Sect's records do not contain much about the Underworld Palace, but he had read about some of the major battles of the early Yuan Dynasty from the Zhou family. One of these battles was related to the Underworld Palace, and the early Yuan Dynasty was known as the suppression of Buddhism and the prohibition of Zen.
Details are unknown, and only some outlines remain regarding the suppression of Buddhism and the prohibition of Chan Buddhism.
Originally, there was not only the Ten Thousand Buddha Temple in the Buddhist Domain, but also another immortal Buddhist force called the Great Sun Zen Temple, which was once located in the Primordial Dao Domain.
The Buddhist practitioners of the past were not as reclusive in the Buddhist realm as they are now; there were still many Buddhist sects, large and small, with numerous believers in the world.
The decline of Buddhism was due to the suppression of Buddhism and the prohibition of Zen meditation.
The cause of the incident is unknown due to the passage of time, and the battle can be described in just a few sentences:
The Great Sun Zen Temple angered the Underworld Palace. The next day, the Underworld Palace sent troops to destroy the Great Sun Zen Temple in the beginning of time and banned Zen practice throughout the world. Thousands of Buddhist temples dared not disobey, and hundreds of millions of Buddhist practitioners retreated to the Buddhist realm.
Although it was only a few words, it was enough to prove the power of the Underworld Palace.
"Destroy the immortals, ban Zen throughout the world"—these are just a few words, but between the lines of these words, countless lives are stained with the blood of supreme beings and contain the lives of countless beings.
The fact that the Underworld Palace and the Buddhist Domain came to attend the ceremony together this time felt rather strange even to Zhou Xingdou last week.
Most importantly, the Xuan Tian Dao Sect and the Buddhist Domain have no connection, and the Buddhist Domain has not set foot in the Tai Chu Dao Domain for many years.
Moreover, the Underworld Palace had already closed its doors and sects due to the persecution of Buddhism, and had not even appeared in the world in the previous life. Yet now it came out of the mountains to witness the coronation of the Daoist disciple of the Xuantian Dao Sect, which was puzzling.
As for Zhou Xingdou of the Sword Domain, he didn't pay much attention. Tian Jiu'er was one of the three great sword immortals of the Primordial Era, so it was understandable that the Sword Domain sent someone to witness the coronation of the first disciple of the Falling Clouds Sword Immortal as a Dao Child.
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