Becoming a Saint

"Cultivate. Cultivate already. If you do not break through your realm soon, I will swallow you and cultivate in your place."

Zhang Huan routinely sent a wave of friendly greetings to the victim of his demonic art.

[With the Heaven Swallowing Demonic Jar in hand, you were no longer afraid of a precarious existence; aside from undergoing tribulations, you could openly and properly sit cross-legged within the religion to cultivate.]

[You violently severed ties with all beings, using the demonic art as a medium to plunder provisions to the fullest.]

[Soon, your thoughts flowed smoothly, and you successfully severed the Dao. Your cultivation surged accordingly, and in a mere twenty years you smoothly stepped into the saint realm.]

Though it was merely a step up in realm, your life had sublimated to a completely different level, making a world of difference compared to previous realms.

Beneath the saint domain, all are ants!

Once tainted with the word "saint", one stepped into the domain of laws, capable of destroying an entire planet, collapsing mountains with a single strand of hair—you were truly a great divine ability user.

With a turn of the hand you could suppress holy lords and mighty figures, possessing a saint domain barrier distinct from life forms below the saint level; even geniuses in the divine forbidden zone found it difficult to fight across realms, and your oppressive might was hard for even great accomplishment kings to endure.

Zhang Huan's flesh and body flowed with luster, every single strand of hair was crystalline, and his bones had already faded to a golden color, brimming with vigorous life force.

After becoming a half-saint, he made one continuous push to pierce the barrier, finally stepping into a realm that had seemed hopelessly out of reach in his previous two lives!

He felt that various divine gates within his body's treasure trove had all opened, brimming with saint power.

Perhaps because his natural talent was not high to begin with, his heavenly tribulation consisted of only a few waves of ordinary lightning; even though it was somewhat strenuous, there was no danger to his life, and he managed to get through it with some difficulty.

All kinds of auspicious signs appeared in succession, the great dao heavenly sound chimed like bells without end, as if celebrating the birth of a new saint.

Golden light suddenly burst forth, dazzling like a three-legged crow, golden lotuses springing from the ground, and heavenly flowers falling in abundance. For a time, boundless order and laws manifested, intertwining into profound and abstruse daoist dharma opportunities.

The door of human potential swung wide open; from then on, the golden body was immortal, possessing six thousand years of lifespan!

Even an ancient great emperor had no more than ten thousand years of lifespan, while a saint was already capable of gazing upon the vicissitudes of time and witnessing half a lifetime of glory from a great emperor!

Utilizing this saintly dharma, he had stepped into the saint realm in less than a hundred years. Now, with a supreme emperor weapon guarding him, Zhang Huan felt unprecedented confidence—in this life, a saint was definitely not his limit!

The imperial dao suppression had lifted not long ago, making saints of the Big Dipper difficult to produce, and the same held true for supreme emperor forces; other planets went without saying.

If he continued to develop further into the cosmic starry sky, resources and provisions would pour in endlessly. By then, how many hundreds of millions of people would be cultivating for him!

"Now I am also a saint, and I can cross the void."

He raised his head to look at the starry sky, where stars cast their radiance and moonlight swayed.

Stepping into the saint realm, every further step required the support of a massive foundation.

Yet the forces of the Big Dipper were intricate and complex, making it a poor place for spreading teachings, and mortals were also limited. After dozens of years of exploitation, there was not much potential left, making it impossible for him to make rapid progress as he had previously.

If he wanted to advance further, these life planets were a must-visit.

The living beings on every ancient star numbered well over hundreds of millions, and unlike the Big Dipper, they lacked the threat of supreme emperor forces. Zhang Huan could be said to come and go freely, having zero fear of native forces.

Cultivation knows no years; spring departed and autumn came, and another ten-odd years passed. Zhang Huan thoroughly consolidated his saint cultivation, and finally experienced the feeling of not being able to advance an inch.

He prepared to consolidate his influence in the Big Dipper once more, negotiate with the various holy lands, draw boundaries, and agree to mutual non-interference hereafter, after which he could begin preparations to head out into the starry sky.

In the past, the various holy lands had tacitly carved out an unoffensive patch of territory for Zhang Huan to establish his sect and extend his influence across various parts of the Big Dipper.

Zhang Huan knew that this was maintained entirely by relying on the imperial weapon in his hands; once he left, he could not guarantee things would remain as stable as they currently were.

The holy religion was also something he had built with great difficulty, providing him with provisions daily and tributing massive resources. Giving it up was out of the question.

Right now, it was better to be direct, negotiate with them, and nail this matter down to prevent his old home from being raided the moment he left his back foot.

At the hour of midnight, the surroundings were silent and still. The imperial weapon of the Jade Pool Holy Land was suddenly startled, causing the entire holy land to tremble. A supreme emperor aura permeated the air, waking even the old monsters asleep in the divine source liquid.

"May I ask which senior is visiting in the middle of the night? Acting in such a manner, is this to make an enemy of Jade Pool?!"

The contemporary Queen Mother of the West held the Immortal Tear Green Gold Pagoda, dressed in a golden-threaded jade garment, and drifted gracefully into the space between the void.

She looked to be around twenty years of age, with light purple hair fluttering, alluring eyes like water, beautiful as a fairy from the nine heavens, and incomparably noble. There was even a trace of rosy flush at the center of her brow, accentuating her charming poise.

"This person is the Holy Religion Leader, having ventured out from my clan to undergo trials in the Big Dipper, and may leave for a period of time shortly. If there is any offense, I hope you will forgive me."

A voice echoed from the void, wreathed in a wisp of imperial might that clashed with the Western Emperor Pagoda, stirring up ten thousand ripples.

Though his imperial weapon was only half of one, treating it as the real thing made practically little difference in reality.

As long as he could prove that he had an imperial weapon for protection, coupled with his fabricated identity, the other party would naturally know how to be sensible.

After communicating, the Queen Mother of the West also briefly understood and quickly reached a consensus with Zhang Huan.

Seeing that the intruder's intentions had been figured out, the Queen Mother of the West patted her chest, her gaze somewhat resentful as she spoke.

"Could you not be a bit friendlier? Sneaking in the middle of the night carrying an imperial weapon, you nearly frightened this young girl right out of her wits."

"..."

No one answered for half a moment. Confirming that Zhang Huan had already vanished without a trace, the Queen Mother of the West flicked her sleeve with a cold snort, her brows instantly knitting as she turned her head.

"Conduct a detailed investigation into the traces left by the demonic cult's development over the years, thoroughly check this person's background, and do not let a single clue slip by!"

Near the immortal pool, the Queen Mother of the West's eyes held a bone-chilling coldness that seemed capable of freezing the netherworld, causing the elders waiting for instructions to not even dare draw a full breath.

As for the subsequent Ji family, Jiang family, and other supreme emperor forces, Zhang Huan visited them one by one, walking through the great powers of the Eastern Wasteland before daybreak.

"Having strength really makes a difference; simply asking for directions brings countless people rushing to ingratiate themselves."

Zhang Huan felt an indescribable sense of ease in his heart; as expected of a fantasy world where the strong were respected. Recalling how those forces that bullied Ye Fan in future generations behaved with utmost reverence before him, he suddenly felt his thoughts flow smoothly.

In the days that followed, Zhang Huan often sat in an ancient pavilion. This place was quite close to the Jade Pool Holy Land—a mere few thousand miles, reachable in an instant.

He was waiting for someone: the sole innate Dao embryo of this generation, the young girl he had once rescued back at the Black Wind Stockade.

Last night, he discovered her in Jade Pool and used a small trick to contact her.

When the sun was past noon, a young girl wearing a white skirt arrived as promised, standing outside the stone steps without moving for a long time.

Raising an eyebrow to look, the other party's realm was still merely a half-saint. Decades had passed, and given her natural talent, she should not have been cultivating this slowly.

Lotus flowers were on the verge of blooming, and fish frolicked in the pond, occasionally leaping out of the water to shine in a riot of colorful hues under the sunlight.

"Why are you still lower in realm than me?"

Zhang Huan asked casually.

Hearing this, the young girl's expression was filled with gloom, and she could not help but tightly clench her fists.

"N-nothing. It's just that my heart demons took root, making my advancement a bit slower. Once I break through the heart demons, my cultivation will rapidly feed back, breaking through several realms consecutively..."

The young girl still maintained some guardedness toward others, but the one before her had not only been her savior but had also helped the villagers; he was a good person.

When he turned to banditry back then, he must have had some unspeakable difficulties.

"Since our parting back then, I never expected you to join Jade Pool and become a saintess candidate. Your fame is resounding like thunder, as if I can see you every day."

"This young girl never expected that the bandit lord who saved us back then would become a saint holding an ancient imperial weapon."

The young girl acted somewhat coyly, and thinking of what she had said to him at the village entrance back then, her face turned pink and shy, captivatingly soul-stirring.

"Hehe. Think nothing of it."

Zhang Huan pulled out a brocade pouch and tossed it out.

"You rose from humble beginnings, so it must not have been easy. Take this as an investment in you; I hope you can ascend to the position and become a true saintess of Jade Pool sooner."

Inside were some resources obtained from within his religion. Having accumulated them over decades, they had all been taken away by Zhang Huan. Now, the small portion he doled out was still quite a substantial amount of resources for a half-saint.

One had to admit, Zhang Huan's faction alone possessed a formidable financial foundation; compared to these old, established great powers of the Big Dipper, they practically all oozed with wealth.

Sooner or later, he would reap a fortune!

The resources inside should roughly be able to help you break through to the saint realm. The competition for the position of saintess will surely involve hardship, so do not let me down.

Her slender, graceful figure trembled slightly, and a trace of genuine emotion surfaced on the young girl's peerless face.

"I will definitely not fail the senior's expectations, and I will surely repay the senior's kindness in the future."

The young girl's beautiful eyes were resolute as she spoke earnestly.

Zhang Huan first hurried to Qi Shi Mansion.

This Qi Shi Mansion was the number one academy in Central State, with a rather mysterious background that might be related to realms beyond.

Within it existed a teleportation array that could lead to the starry sky ancient road. Zhang Huan first requested the coordinates of a few life planets, then informed them that he would soon head toward the ancient road.

The mighty figure entertaining him did not dare utter a single word of refusal; facing a true saint, what did he have to say no with?

Thus, during his final moments in the Big Dipper, Zhang Huan maximized his combat prowess, tracked down a few secret techniques, and after cultivating them could only say they were better than nothing.

Truly valuable items were not so easy to find, all waiting for those with "affinity."

During his second life, he had also learned some source art; although incomplete, going out in disguise to gamble on stones still allowed him a one-in-ten success rate.

It was just that his capital could not be recouped; the more he gambled, the more he lost, with only occasional profits.

Zhang Huan concluded that his foundation in source art was somewhat lacking, so he studied it diligently.

Having left behind a few casual moves as a parting chess game in the Big Dipper, Zhang Huan had no further attachment, and on the second day he arrived at Qi Shi Mansion, demanding to enter the starry sky.

He did not intend to go to the starry sky ancient road, preparing instead to visit some life planets first...

Standing upon the five-colored altar, he stepped onto the ancient path leading beyond the domains. A star gate manifested, swallowing his figure.

Chasing the five-colored altar from one desolate ancient star to another, Zhang Huan never once saw a living soul.

Within the cosmic starry sky, darkness and cold solitude were the eternal norm for the vast majority of star domains.

Fortunately, Zhang Huan possessed some coordinates obtained through coercion and enticement at Qi Shi Mansion, which could point the way for him as he pressed forward along a single ancient road.

Crossing the starry sky was far too distant; although a saint could acquire energy within the endless void, it was not a long-term solution.

It was best to always cross via teleportation arrays, which saved time and effort while cutting down on numerous risks.

Not long after, arriving at a newly reached planet, the first thing Zhang Huan laid eyes on was complete devastation. The earth was riddled with holes and scarred, as if it had endured successive years of intense warfare.

Three black dots on the horizon charged over rapidly, collapsing mountains and fracturing earth in their wake, with waves of saintly might continually striking and reverberating.

Zhang Huan was startled inwardly, spreading his spiritual sense: it turned out to be three people, one fleeing and two pursuing, engaged in a chase.

The person in front was not lightly injured and would likely be caught before long.

The people behind were dead-set on taking that person's life, periodically cooperating to unleash high-power secret techniques whose shockwaves made even Zhang Huan on the other side of the sky feel alarmed.

"They should also be in the saint realm, yet much stronger than me—at least mid-grade."

Silently evaluating the strength of those two behind him, Zhang Huan immediately flew toward the rear-flank at full speed, unwilling to be dragged into the fray.

Alas, those two people had already locked their spiritual sense onto Zhang Huan. After killing the person they were chasing, they flew toward Zhang Huan as well, showing no intention of letting him go at all.

"Why are you rushing so eagerly to your deaths? Anyone who didn't know better would think I'm afraid of the two of you."

Zhang Huan sneered inwardly at such people actively seeking their own demise.

"Oh, you're quite a sensible fellow, sparing us the trouble of extra effort."

Seeing Zhang Huan actively stop and wait, the chasing man and woman flashed playful expressions.

"Hand over the saint weapons and resources you carry, and this granddaddy will spare your life. Don't try to resist; a new saint like you is like an ant in my eyes, and I've killed anywhere from eight hundred to a thousand of them."

The rugged man caught up, wiped away the residual saint blood on his body, licked it off indifferently, and pointed his bone blade at Zhang Huan.

"Fine. The two of you do the same, and then scram immediately; I might still turn a blind eye and spare you once."

Zhang Huan placed his right hand behind his back, speaking with effortless calm.

"Hah, brat, giving you face and you don't want—"

Taking advantage of the time they were talking, Zhang Huan immediately raised the Heaven Swallowing Demonic Jar.

Imperial aura surged, and a terrifying oppressive might bore down, instantly scaring the wits out of the two of them. They dropped to their knees halfway through their sentence, begging for mercy.

"Ah! Saint Lord, spare us! This lowly one was blind and failed to recognize Mount Tai—"

Yet Zhang Huan did not give them a shred of opportunity, directly unleashing a supreme emperor light wave. Wherever it passed, barren lands lay in absolute ruin, blasting the upper bodies of the two into fine shreds.

Their souls didn't even manage to emit a cry of shock before turning into dust. Zhang Huan stepped forward to probe their wheel seas, sweeping up the spoils of war entirely.

"Killing and setting fires brings golden belts; these two have over ten saint artifacts alone. Who knows how many saints they've robbed, their net worth is truly non-trivial."

Zhang Huan clicked his tongue in wonder. It seemed he had struck a windfall; sure enough, the fastest and easiest way to get rich was to become a tribulation cultivator.

"Still, among saints, I should count as the type who is poor at Dharma combat."

Zhang Huan was well aware of his own strength. Throughout this life, ever since he became a bandit lord, he had never experienced a life-or-death battle, spending all his time bullying the weak.

Most of the things he knew were things other saints also knew. Moreover, he possessed no special fortuitous encounters; the nine secrets or any imperial techniques had never crossed his path.

"Since that's the case, I'll do the reverse and specialize in the overcoming inferior method."

Up until now, Zhang Huan did not possess many presentable secret techniques.

However, there was no need to painstakingly compete with those genius seeds either. Regardless of whether you possessed the eight restrictions or divine forbidden zone, I will simply obliterate you with my imperial weapon!

Cultivation, cultivation—wealth, companions, dharma, and land. Whoever had a stronger cheat was stronger; the difference boiled down to nothing more than a strong cheat versus a weak one.