Hongjun Daoren appears near the end of Investiture of the Gods as the master of Laozi, Yuanshi Tianzun, and Tongtian Jiaozhu. His arrival follows the destruction of the Myriad Immortals Formation, when the conflict among the three teachings has reached its most violent point. Tongtian receives him as his teacher, and Laozi and Yuanshi also stand before him as disciples.
Hongjun rebukes Tongtian for allowing anger and resentment to turn the ordained calamity into slaughter, while reminding all three brothers that they had jointly established the Investiture of the Gods. He tells them to release their grievances, return to their mountains, and stop harming living beings now that Jiang Ziya’s mission is nearing completion.
To bind the settlement, Hongjun gives each disciple a pill and warns that it will kill anyone who renews the quarrel. He then takes Tongtian away and brings the confrontation to an end. Rather than fighting in the formations himself, Hongjun resolves the crisis through the authority of a teacher whose command all three leaders must obey.