Heaven Watches What Man Does

Xiang Dong's words left Yangmei at a loss, his heart racing.

Telling him to go chat with Pangu—how was that any different from telling him to go die?

Yangmei suspected Xiang Dong was using Pangu to intimidate him, but he had no concrete evidence.

The meaning between the lines seemed to be that the lad had a close relationship with Pangu and could even go tattling to him.

If anyone else had said it, Yangmei certainly wouldn't have believed them. But it was Xiang Dong saying it, and Pangu's phantom had personally appeared to back him up.

For a moment, the atmosphere in the spirit field grew delicate, as though a whiff of gunpowder hung in the air.

Fuxi and Nuwa were nobodies whose words carried little weight, so they could only lower their heads and silently drink their tea, trying their best to make themselves inconspicuous.

Yangmei could see it as clearly as a mirror: this lad was as slippery as an eel and unwilling to speak a single honest word.

But that also proved something indirectly: the lad definitely knew something. Yet Xiang Dong wouldn't talk, and Yangmei didn't dare use force, not this close to Buzhou Mountain.

Forget it. There would be no result even if he kept pressing the matter.

"Heh, I appreciate the kind offer, young friend, but let's forget about catching up."

Yangmei set down his teacup and held out his hand in a triple refusal, stopping just short of saying there was absolutely no need.

"I actually came today on serious business. I wanted to hear your opinion, young friend."

Xiang Dong gestured for him to continue and adopted an attentive expression.

"Young friend, do you know of Heavenly Dao Sages?"

Xiang Dong didn't even lift an eyelid. He gave a crisp, straightforward answer.

"I do."

"Then do you know of Chaos Great Unity Golden Immortals?"

"I do!"

"Then do you know the difference between a Chaos Great Unity Golden Immortal and a Heavenly Dao Sage, young friend?"

"I do!"

To all three of Yangmei's questions, Xiang Dong gave the same simple, clear answer: he knew.

The answers left Yangmei stunned for a moment. How did this lad know everything?

He had prepared a whole speech, intending to use his explanation to lay the groundwork for what followed and probe Xiang Dong's background. Now it had all gone to waste. He had punched a wad of cotton, with nowhere to put his strength.

Yangmei decided to stop beating around the bush. The probing was over; it was time to get to the point.

"Since you know, young friend, I'll speak plainly. Not long ago, Hongjun came to see me."

"Oh!"

I said all that, and all you give me is an 'oh'? Not the slightest reaction beyond that? Are you really that indifferent? Yangmei felt as though he was close to cracking.

"You don't seem surprised at all, young friend."

Xiang Dong finally gave Yangmei a little more of a reaction. He chuckled and said, "He went to quite a few people besides you."

Yangmei nodded. "Besides me, he sought out fellow Daoists Heaven and Earth, Yin-Yang, Five Elements, Samsara, Yellow Springs, and others to lend him a hand against Luohou."

When he mentioned Samsara and Yellow Springs, the "phone" in Xiang Dong's Primordial Spirit vibrated. Taichu, soaking in the blood pool in Pangu Hall, also felt a sudden premonition.

A fortuitous opportunity?

No, this didn't feel like a fortuitous opportunity.

Besides, what did Samsara and Yellow Springs have to do with me?

They were so far removed from me that even eight poles tied together couldn't reach them. If there was any connection to be made, it was with Houtu.

Having sorted it out, Xiang Dong guessed the general picture: Samsara and Yellow Springs were probably connected to the Earthly Dao and the establishment of the Netherworld and the Six Paths of Samsara.

As everyone knew, Houtu was the Earthly Dao's representative. On the eve of the final battle between the witches and the demons, she transformed herself into the Netherworld and established the Six Paths of Samsara.

But that Netherworld and those Six Paths of Samsara were incomplete. The Earthly Dao had failed to fully awaken and could not reach the same heights as the Heavenly Dao. As a result, it had always been suppressed by the Heavenly Dao and had even become its vassal.

The Netherworld had consequently become an agency subordinate to the Heavenly Court. Yama, who should have held the same standing as the Jade Emperor, had also been split into the Yamas of the Ten Courts and could only be called the Son of Heaven of the Underworld.

Xiang Dong pondered for a moment and ultimately decided to meddle in this matter.

After all, it concerned Houtu and the Earthly Dao. As an Ancestral Witch, he naturally had to look after his little sister.

He could leave the others alone, but his instincts told him he had to save Samsara and Yellow Springs.

"Did you agree?"

Yangmei shook his head. Xiang Dong thought he had refused and decided to stay out of it, but it turned out he simply hadn't made up his mind.

"I haven't agreed to help him yet, but he has something I want."

"What benefit did he offer you?"

Xiang Dong was a little curious. Hongjun did have plenty of treasures, but on closer consideration, there didn't seem to be many that could tempt an old relic like Yangmei, much less make him willing to risk his life.

Yangmei said slowly, "He promised that if I helped him defeat Luohou, then after he became the one in control of the Heavenly Dao, even if I attained the Chaos Great Unity Golden Immortal realm in Chaos, he could let me return to the Primordial World without being rejected by the Heavenly Dao."

Good grief, wasn't that permanent residency—a Primordial World green card?

"Hiss..." Xiang Dong sucked in a breath of cold air. "That's really what he promised you?"

"You heard me correctly. As long as I help him, even if I attain the Chaos Great Unity Golden Immortal realm in Chaos someday, I can use that as proof to freely enter and leave the Primordial World without being rejected by the Heavenly Dao."

"Aren't you afraid he'll turn his back on you once it's done and refuse to acknowledge the agreement?"

If the Primordial World had credit scores, Hongjun's would be too low to even unlock a shared bicycle.

During the struggle against the Demon Dao, that bastard Hongjun had tricked many of the allies who helped him to their deaths. The most famous were the old ancestors Heaven and Earth, Five Elements, and Yin-Yang.

First, they were lured by precious treasures into agreeing to help. They were also promised all the spoils after Luohou's defeat; Hongjun absolutely wouldn't take so much as a needle or a thread.

That sounded pretty good, but the spoils belonged to the victors in the first place. If they wanted a share, they had to survive first.

In the end, Hongjun tricked them all to their deaths, then tearfully looted their corpses, claiming everything except a needle and a thread for himself and becoming filthy rich in an instant.

Luohou's Zhuxian Sword Formation was his, and so were the spirit treasures of the old ancestors. He acquired enough spirit treasures to make a whole Treasure-Splitting Cliff.

After Xiang Dong finished speaking, Yangmei, Nuwa, and Fuxi all looked at him strangely.

Nuwa couldn't help saying, "Fellow Daoist Xiang Dong, the Heavenly Dao is watching."

"Oh, sorry. I forgot about that."

It wasn't that old ancestors like Yangmei, Yin-Yang, Five Elements, and Heaven and Earth were easy to fool, but that cause and effect weighed heavily in the Primordial World.

When it came to promises, whether made casually or as a verbal agreement, the moment the words were spoken, the cause and effect was established, and the Heavenly Dao sensed it.

This was the real meaning of "heaven watches what man does."

You could go back on your word if you wanted, but, as the saying went, you'd either end up on a watchlist or a list of the untrustworthy. Those two were still relatively mild. If the Heavenly Dao blacklisted you, you'd be unable to take a single step in the Primordial World.

Hongjun really was untrustworthy, but the thing was, he had his methods. He tricked everyone to their deaths, and with the people dead, the debts were wiped clean.

So the prerequisite for making someone keep their word was to stay alive first.

Yangmei did have the strength to do that!