Retracting the Nine Dharma Forms, Meng Chen fused all his attainments into one, his might growing even greater. With a single glance, he saw through the past and precisely found every one of his Alternate Selves among its countless timelines.
He had a feeling that if he wished, he could use those Alternate Selves as anchors at any time and place, drawing all the past timelines back into himself.
However, he did not choose to do so.
He wanted to let nature take its course, strengthen his cultivation, and allow his Great Dao to naturally permeate the past, achieving his breakthrough when the time was right.
He had already calculated the path of attaining the Dao that suited him best.
The greater the impact a cultivator had on the past and future, the more Dao traces they left behind within them. When a cultivator gathered their timelines, the greater the rewards they received.
Meng Chen was different from other cultivators. He did not regard the River of Fate as a restraint. In his eyes, the River of Fate was a cheat code Pangu had left behind for the beings of the Primordial Wilderness.
Other worlds might not even possess a River of Fate!
The River of Fate diligently evolved the past and future for cultivators, providing living space for their Alternate Selves so that they could survive and develop.
One had to know that the cultivation achievements of those Alternate Selves would ultimately be reclaimed by the True Self.
With so many Alternate Selves working for him, why would Meng Chen be in any hurry to reclaim them? Once they comprehended their own Dao and grasped more mysteries, he could reclaim them then. Wouldn't that be perfect?
All he needed to do was work harder to comprehend the Great Dao and devise more cultivation paths, divine abilities, and Daoist arts. Once he comprehended them, those Alternate Selves would work hard to refine and improve those cultivation paths, divine abilities, and Daoist arts.
For example, if Meng Chen wanted to cultivate the Creation Law, he did not need to cultivate it himself. He merely needed to devise a cultivation path. Then, one of his Alternate Selves in some time and space would take the path of the Creation Law.
In truth, Pangu was exceedingly fair.
Those Primordial Saints were born as Great Luo Golden Immortals and could break through to the Great Luo Golden Immortal Realm without any effort at all. As a result, they never had the opportunity to use the River of Fate for cultivation.
Conversely, it was relatively more difficult for other beings to attain the Great Luo Dao. Yet they could use the River of Fate as a cheat code, using it to cultivate the Three Thousand Great Daos and Three Thousand Laws.
Meng Chen did not know whether other cultivators could think of this, but he had realized it.
Cultivating in this manner, perhaps by the time Meng Chen attained the Great Luo Dao, he would not need to go through the early, middle, or late stages. He could directly leap to the peak of Great Luo.
Seeing that Meng Chen had cultivated to such a level without breaking through, the Sages and their disciples were all puzzled.
They had calculated it already. Meng Chen's current mana was eighty-one times what it had been before his breakthrough. Even a Grand Golden Immortal should have advanced to the next stage after increasing their mana by so much.
Puzzled though they were, they did not dwell on it too much. Geniuses were difficult enough to understand, let alone a monstrous genius.
Meng Chen's refusal to break through now was also a good thing for the other Sage disciples. If he broke through again, how were the other Sage disciples supposed to survive?
"Is he afraid of undermining his fellow disciples' confidence? Impossible. Chen'er is not that kind of person. He is not one to indulge in emotions. To him, cultivation is the most important thing."
It had to be said that Yuanshi Tianzun judged people accurately.
Meng Chen would absolutely never wrong himself just to spare other people's feelings. Their Dao hearts were unstable—what the hell did that have to do with him? Why should he wrong himself?
The Sages' discussion of the Dao continued, and Sage Jieyin and Sage Zhunti cherished this opportunity greatly.
So many beings from the Eastern Lands had come to hear the Dao. It was the perfect chance for them to spread the Western Esoteric Dharma and change the Eastern beings' impression of the West.
Only then could the West attract talented people and achieve its great revival.
The only thing the West could offer was the Western Esoteric Dharma. The two Sages did not believe that even a Sage's Daoist arts could not attract beings from the Eastern Lands.
The Three Pure Ones knew the Two Sages of the West's plans perfectly well, but they had no intention of interfering.
The Three Pure Ones were the Pangu Sect, and they regarded all beings under heaven as their own people. So long as those people could achieve something, it did not matter whether it was in the Eastern Lands or the West.
They were not so tyrannical as to refuse to take those beings as disciples while also forbidding them from joining the Western Church. Among the Pangu Sect, the tyrannical ones were the Twelve Ancestral Witches, not the Three Pure Ones.
The discussion of the Dao among the five great Sages continued on—three thousand years, four thousand years...
In the end, the Sages discussed the Dao for a full nine thousand years. Seizing this opportunity, the Two Sages of the West expounded the Western Esoteric Dharma from the Heavenly Immortal Realm all the way to the Grand Golden Immortal Realm.
After hearing the Sages' teachings, the beings of Kunlun Mountain all entered a stage of returning to simplicity.
In the past, as Rogue Cultivators, they could only grope their way through cultivation alone, resulting in many problems. Now that five Sages had taught together and helped them fill in their gaps, every being had undergone a qualitative improvement.
The experts of the Plant Spirit Race felt this most deeply.
Back then, when they fought True Lord of Clear Void and Virtue, more than ten of them could not defeat him alone and had nearly been wiped out. After hearing the Sages' teachings, their combat strength had finally improved.
If they fought True Lord of Clear Void and Virtue again, they would no longer need more than ten people. Just five or six of them would be able to fight him to a draw.
Had they cultivated by themselves, they might not have reached this point even after ten Yuanhuis. With the guidance of famous masters, their cultivation would grow increasingly stable and powerful.
Thus, the Plant Spirit Race became even more grateful to Meng Chen. They knew that they had obtained such a fortunate opportunity only because Meng Chen had fought for it.
"Compassionate Sages, we are endlessly grateful for the grace of your teachings!"
Amid the Kunlun Mountains, countless beings bowed to the five great Sages. Their voices rose higher and higher like an avalanche and tsunami, blasting apart even the clouds in the sky.
Amid the grateful cries of all living beings, the five great Sages nodded slightly.
Seeing the breakthroughs and accomplishments of all living beings, Sage Laozi nodded faintly, a slight smile appeared on Yuanshi Tianzun's face, Master Tongtian laughed heartily, while Sage Jieyin and Sage Zhunti wore compassionate expressions.
"This teaching ends here. Once you return to your Daoist Temples, you must cultivate diligently and continue contemplating what you gained from hearing the Dao. Do not squander this opportunity."
Yuanshi Tianzun's voice resounded through the nine heavens as he responded to the listeners in the sternest tone.
Upon hearing this, the listeners bowed in thanks to the Sages once more before departing. Their gains this time had been immense. After returning and entering seclusion for a short while, they would be able to advance their cultivation.
Sage Jieyin and Sage Zhunti looked upon the talent-rich Eastern Lands with endless envy in their hearts. They had been watching the listeners' performances closely, and some of them possessed aptitude no less than that of the Western Church's disciples.
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