The Two Sages of the West: Fellow Daoist, Use the Eight Treasures Merit Pool as You Please!

That "Dad" from Primal Celestial Venerable, enough to cloud even a saint's Dao Heart, still echoed through the air.

The domineering sword intent of Sovereign of Heaven, ready to pierce the Heavenly Dao itself for "Dad," still rampaged through Yang Chen's Sea of Consciousness.

Above Golden Ao Island, that thread of black Return to Ruin, precisely projected by Yang Chen's will, still hovered silently, wordlessly declaring the fragility of a saint's sacred ground.

The terror of all life in the Primordial World being silently erased had planted the most venomous dread deep within Saint Nuwa's Dao Heart.

The entire Primordial World had fallen into an eerie, suffocating silence.

Just then.

Another utterly different will descended in silence.

It was not like Primordial's will—cold, orderly, and filled with lofty judgment.

Nor was it like Tongtian's will—sharp, tyrannical, carrying the murderous aura of cutting down all things.

Still less was it like Saint Nuwa's will—compassionate, gentle, and infused with the rhythm of creation.

This will was very peculiar.

It was filled with "suffering," a misery born from the origin of heaven and earth and the cycle of all living things.

Yet it also carried "salvation," an obsession with forcibly delivering all suffering in the world and guiding it toward bliss.

The instant this will descended, even the churning black aura of karma around Yang Chen seemed to be dyed with a faint golden glow tinged with compassion.

Far in the west, Mount Sumeru.

The Buddhist light that had illuminated the ages over Spiritual Mountain's sacred realm now seemed somewhat dim and strained.

The furrows on Daoist Jieyin's eternally sorrowful face deepened further, as though all the barrenness and suffering of the west had been carved into his features.

Beside him, the smile on Daoist Zhunti's face, usually carrying a hint of amusement, had completely frozen, leaving only the dryness of failed calculations.

They both looked utterly miserable.

Their expressions were even more bitter than before.

The Eastern Three Pure Ones possessed vast foundations. Innate Spiritual Treasures and sectarian status were theirs for the taking.

Saint Nuwa held the merit of creation in her hands, and her identity as the Human Race's Holy Mother was incomparably exalted.

What did the west have?

Barren.

Two words that encompassed the bitterness of countless epochs.

In terms of treasures, aside from the few artifacts used to suppress their fortune, they truly had nothing that could compare to the Pangu Banner or the Four Immortal Slaying Swords.

In terms of resources, the western earth veins were exhausted, spiritual energy was thin, and there were not even a few decent immortal mountains or blessed lands to be found.

Seeing the Three Pure Ones and Nuwa extend their olive branches, only for that madman to ruthlessly slap them away, they felt both schadenfreude and deep anxiety.

If they did not act soon, they feared they would not even get a sip of the broth.

But what could they offer?

Daoist Zhunti's ever-rolling eyes spun at an extreme speed, countless thoughts rising and dying within them.

Got it!

His saintly thought, brimming with bewitching power, hesitated no longer. With an almost fawning attitude, it rushed urgently into Yang Chen's Sea of Consciousness.

"Fellow Daoist, calm your anger! Please calm your anger!"

His voice carried just the right amount of sorrow for the world.

"You bear immeasurable karma and suffer its torment day and night. This is the greatest suffering in this world. This poor Daoist feels it deeply and is filled with boundless sorrow as well!"

Rather than directly offering terms, he first expressed profound sympathy, trying to establish an emotional resonance with Yang Chen through the concept of "suffering."

This was the method the Western Teachings excelled at most.

After precisely expressing sympathy and narrowing that intangible distance, Daoist Zhunti immediately presented their core—and only—competitive advantage.

"Though our Western Teachings are poor, we possess one sect-defending treasure, a supreme sacred relic unmatched in the Three Realms!"

His voice suddenly rose, filled with sanctity and solemnity.

"The Eight Treasures Merit Pool!"

"This pool was formed when my senior brother and I made forty-eight great vows, gathering the merit and aspirations of the Western Teachings over countless epochs. It excels at washing away karma and purifying the True Spirit!"

The moment those four words were spoken, the entire Mount Sumeru in the West seemed to brighten for an instant.

Zhunti's voice was filled with endless temptation as he painted Yang Chen an incomparably beautiful picture.

"So long as Fellow Daoist is willing to come to the west, the Eight Treasures Merit Pool of our Western Teachings shall be shared with you and placed at your disposal! Boundless merit shall wash away your karma day and night, cleanse your Divine Soul, until all karmic ties of the Immeasurable Tribulation are reduced to nothingness!"

"As long as you don't do anything rash!"

At the side, Saint Jieyin immediately added in his sorrowful voice.

"Excellent, excellent."

"Fellow Daoist is fated with the west. Enter our Western Teachings, sever all suffering, enjoy great purity, and attain great freedom."

The two echoed each other, drawing a massive promise that would drive any Great Power of the Primordial World burdened by karma mad with desire.

The Eight Treasures Merit Pool!

That was a treasure even saints coveted.

For any living being unwilling to be dragged down by karma or reduced to ashes in a tribulation, it was a supreme sacred relic capable of defying fate itself.

They believed Yang Chen could never refuse such an offer.

Because it was exactly the remedy he needed!

Weren't you tormented by karma? They would wash it away for you!

This was far more practical and far more direct than Primordial's status, Tongtian's authority, or Nuwa's beauty!

However.

Within the icy sea of Yang Chen's Divine Soul, not only did no ripple arise, but an extreme, icy mockery surged forth.

What followed was pure fury!

Wash away my karma?

What kind of joke is this?

Have these lofty saints still not understood the situation?

This immeasurable karma that terrifies every last one of you may be the source of my suffering, but now, it is also my only talisman! My authority! The root of my life!

It is the only trump card that lets me flip this table!

Once this karma is washed away, what will I, Yang Chen, have left?

A defenseless mortal!

An ant you can crush at will, grind to dust, and condemn to eternal damnation!

At that time, every promise you made today will become the most vicious joke! The heads you bow today will once again press down upon me with ten thousand times their former majesty!

This was an even more insidious and vicious trap than Nuwa's gentle snare!

They were not trying to save him.

They were trying to disarm him!

Yang Chen gave a silent snort in his heart, which became the most violent storm of will.

He could not even be bothered to respond with words.

He split off a strand of destructive will that was more condensed, more violent, and purer than the one he had previously sent toward Golden Ao Island to erase all life!

This will was no longer a thread of blackness, nor was it an invisible ripple.

It transformed into a pitch-black spear of will, condensed from the two concepts of "ending" and "Return to Ruin"!

Its spearpoint aimed directly at the western holy land, bathed in Buddhist light, billions of miles away!

Mount Sumeru!

"Buzz—!"

Ignoring space and time, piercing through laws, this spear of will appeared and was already hovering above Mount Sumeru the instant it manifested.

The next moment.

The expressions on the faces of Saints Jieyin and Zhunti completely froze.

Daoist Zhunti's dry smile seemed to be fiercely clenched by an invisible hand, and he nearly leaped from his lotus platform in fright.

For the first time, Daoist Jieyin's eternally sorrowful face was replaced by an expression known as "blankness."

They felt it.

That pure will of destruction had precisely locked onto the lifeblood of the Western Teachings—the Eight Treasures Merit Pool!

The golden merit water gathered within the pool over countless epochs churned violently at that moment, as though it would be completely evaporated and annihilated by this destructive will the very next second!

At the mountaintop, the Bodhi tree that was Zhunti's true body shook its leaves frantically, letting out cries of unbearable strain. Black veins appeared across its golden leaves!

The entire mountain-protecting formation of Mount Sumeru, that supreme formation jointly laid down by the two saints, flashed wildly and emitted a piercing sound as though it were about to collapse.

A cold, brutal, unquestionable will was fiercely branded into the hearts of the two saints.

The meaning conveyed by that will was simple and clear.

"Mention washing away karma one more time."

"I'll kill myself right now and show you!"

"Boom!"

The minds of the two western saints went blank.

They were completely dumbfounded.

Their greatest source of pride, their greatest advantage, their core competitive strength, their only trump card against the Eastern Three Pure Ones...

Had actually become Yang Chen's greatest taboo!

It had become the fuse that ignited the powder keg!

They realized they had been disastrously wrong.

They had treated Yang Chen as a patient afflicted with a grave illness, wanting to cure him with their miraculous medicine.

But who could have imagined it?

Not only did this patient fail to appreciate it, he had instead refined the countless poisons within his body into a supreme divine thunderbolt that could be detonated at any time, taking the entire world down with him!

And the "treatment plan" they had proposed was precisely to remove the fuse from that divine thunderbolt.

How was this saving someone?

This was forcing him to detonate it immediately!