Primordial Era: The Sun Emperor

Upon hearing this, everyone was overjoyed and bowed, saying, "Thank you for your teachings, Sage! We are deeply grateful!"

"I will never forget the kindness of the sage above, who imparted knowledge, taught me skills, and resolved my doubts. Even if I were to die a hundred times, I could not repay even a fraction of his kindness!"

"Indeed, Your Majesty's grace is immense! We are deeply grateful."

"The sage's great kindness extends to the world, and he spreads his teachings to all living beings. We wish to venerate the sage as the ancestor of the Way!"

"Our revered ancestor, please accept our bow!"

After the method of severing the three corpses was passed down, Hongjun saw that he had been revered as the Dao Ancestor and felt the Qi of fortune gathering in Zixiao Palace.

Hongjun's gaze swept over the six people in the front row, pausing slightly on the Three Pure Ones, Nuwa, Jieyin, and Zhunti, before settling on Taiyi.

Then, looking at the Three Pure Ones at the very front of the prayer mat, he smiled and said, "The Three Pure Ones are the true descendants of Pangu, with profound roots. They have a master-disciple relationship with me and can become my disciples."

The Celestial Venerable of Morality, the Celestial Venerable of Primordial Beginning, and the Celestial Venerable of Numinous Treasure all rose up and knelt down again, bowing three times and kowtowing nine times, saying, "Disciples pay respects to our Master."

Hongjun nodded, then looked at Nuwa and said softly, "Nuwa, if you perform great deeds for Heaven and Earth in the future, you may become my closed-door disciple."

Nuwa bowed gracefully: "Disciple greets Master."

After saying that, he closed his eyes and said no more.

Jieyin and Zhunti had thought their teacher was going to take them as disciples, but after seeing their teacher accept Nuwa as his last disciple, they remained silent.

The two exchanged a glance, then knelt down on the ground, crying out, "We beg our teacher to have mercy on the West and accept us as his disciples."

Hongjun then opened his eyes, looked at Jieyin and Zhunti, and said coldly, "You two have no affinity with me as master and disciple."

"Teacher!!! Please have mercy on the West!!!" Jieyin bowed again, crying out in anguish.

"Please have mercy on the West, Master!" Zhunti also bowed again, his face filled with anguish.

"Alas, so be it. I shall accept you two as my disciples in name only," Hongjun said with a sigh.

With tears welling in their eyes, Jieyin and Zhunti knelt and kowtowed, saying, "Disciples pay respects to our Master!"

With the holiness of the throne already established, Matthew believed that his first sermon was about to end.

Hongjun's gaze suddenly fell on Taiyi, and he said, "Taiyi, would you be willing to become my disciple?"

Taiyi was taken aback upon hearing this, then quickly stood up, cupped his hands in a respectful bow, neither humble nor arrogant:

"The Dao Ancestor is the teacher who imparted the Dao, and the grace of imparting the Dao is truly a blessing from Heaven. However, I am unwilling to walk the path of severing the three corpses, nor am I willing to be bound by them. Although the Dao of the Sage is lofty, it is not what Taiyi seeks. Thank you for your kind intentions, Teacher."

An uproar erupted in the hall. Someone had actually refused the Sage's offer to accept a disciple?!

Even Taiyi was somewhat bewildered at this moment.

This isn't like the script. Why does Hongjun still want to take me as his disciple?

But he still chose to refuse.

A sage has such a broad mind; how could he be upset by this?

Hongjun was not angry, but simply nodded slightly: "Everyone has their own destiny, I will not force it."

"I beg your mercy, Master, to accept me as your disciple!"

"Yes, that Taiyi is ungrateful. I am willing to become your disciple!"

All the innate deities knelt down and shouted.

Only those former veteran Golden Immortals glanced at them disdainfully, but all cast admiring glances at Taiyi, worthy of being called the Heavenly Emperor.

Listening to teachings is fine, and recognizing a teacher is also acceptable, but how can one recognize a master for the sake of some personal gain?

In the primordial world, teachers and masters were completely different things.

Once you come to listen to the teachings, you can respectfully address Hongjun as "Teacher." This is just a title of respect and is not the same as the status of a sage. He is not even considered a disciple.

It can be said that as long as one has not formally become a disciple, it doesn't really matter even if one is called a teacher.

Even if someone becomes a disciple, it's only a slight involvement, nothing more.

But the master is different. This is a direct disciple, sharing the same fortune and deeply entangled in cause and effect. The two are in a relationship where one prospers and the other suffers.

Just like when Randeng later became a disciple of Yuanshi Tianzun, he called Yuanshi Tianzun his teacher, and the Twelve Golden Immortals also called him his teacher, but in reality he was only a nominal disciple of Yuanshi Tianzun.

However, no matter how much the saints pleaded, Hongjun had no intention of taking on any more disciples.

It's fair to say that he never intended to take on any apprentices.

If these six saints were not divinely ordained saints, he would not have taken them under his wing.

Of course, in reality, the only so-called divinely ordained sages are Pangu and the Three Pure Ones, who are truly as stable as a rock and irreplaceable.

The other three are all replaceable.

For example, Nuwa could be the main character who created the world, but she doesn't have to be; she's just the most suitable one.

If Nuwa were to perish, someone else would take her place.

As for Jieyin and Zhunti? Heaven ordained that the West would produce two saints, and anyone born in the West could take their place.

However, these two are currently beings who embody the fortune of the West.

After their fall, the Western fortune will naturally converge on the new generation.

The Three Pure Ones are different. As long as they stay in the prehistoric world, they will not be in danger of perishing, and it is even difficult for them to find a crisis.

In other words, the only disciple that Hongjun truly wanted to take on was Taiyi.

Unfortunately, Tai-chi directly rejected him.

Taiyi is also the only variable.

The 49th Heavenly Cycle, the one that escaped, most likely refers to Taiyi.

This is the real reason why Hongjun wanted to take him as his disciple.

As for Taiyi's unwillingness, he hadn't considered it. Now it seems that this boy has grand ambitions.

Could it be that he is truly confident in forging a primordial path through the chaos of the primordial world?

For a moment, Hongjun couldn't help but glance at Taiyi again.

The gates of Zixiao Palace opened wide, and the crowd filed out.

Hongjun secretly transmitted his voice, leaving behind his six disciples, as well as the Eastern King Duke and the Western Queen Mother.

Taiyi stood with his hands behind his back outside the palace gate, gazing into the depths of chaos, his golden eyes reflecting endless chaotic energy.

Behind him, the Ziwei Emperor stood on the Twelve-Petaled Golden Lotus of Merit, causing the two men in the palace, Jieyin and Zhunti, to bulge their veins, but they were helpless.

"Return to Heaven," Taiyi said calmly.

Immediately afterwards, he took more than four hundred celestial deities into the Chaos Bell, used the Golden Crow Transformation Rainbow Technique, and carried Ziwei at top speed to the prehistoric world.

At this moment, he was eager to break through to the Hunyuan realm.

As for the Eastern King Duke, Hongjun can protect him if he wants.

In this primordial world, Hongjun is in charge, and if someone wants to protect another person, he really doesn't have any way to do so for the time being.

Not to mention that he had just refused the other party's offer. If he were to thwart the other party's plans, he would truly be going against them at every turn.

To provoke the first sage of the primordial world again and again is no different from losing one's mind.

Looking in the direction Taiyi had left, the Eastern King in the palace could no longer suppress the smile on his lips.

"Brainless cowards, short-sighted! How could they give up such a heaven-sent opportunity!"

With ambitions so high that they look down on even the sacred path, they will surely regret it in the future!

"The Dao Ancestor has kept me here; he must intend to take me as his disciple!"

Thinking of this, he looked at the Queen Mother of the West beside him and frowned slightly.

I just don't know why the ancestor left this person behind.

However, he then became so engrossed in the scene of himself becoming a disciple of the Dao Ancestor, becoming a saint in the future, and ruling over all races and spirits in the prehistoric world that he could not extricate himself.

"Such a temperament is far inferior to that of Taiyi," Hongjun sighed inwardly.