Chapter 25

Because the rift in the heavens had been caused by Li Er's battle with the Heavenly Dao, the karmic burden of repairing the heavens was relatively small. No great merit descended; merits and sins canceled each other out.

On the Wu-Yao battlefield, an incomparably sharp sword released its aura, drawing Tongtian and Zhunti's attention.

The Seven Treasures Wonderful Tree moved, seeking to sweep away the Witch-Slaying Sword.

Clearly, this sword's edge was enough to break through the physical defenses of the Twelve Ancestral Witches. It was an exceptionally rare supreme spiritual treasure.

Just as Zhunti was about to act, the Witch-Slaying Sword flew toward the Eight Sceneries Palace.

Xuandu sat meditating with his eyes closed when he suddenly sensed an aura approaching through the void. A sword of slaughter, engraved with the sun, moon, stars, mountains, rivers, vegetation, and trees, appeared in his hand. It was the Witch-Slaying Sword.

Holding the sword, Xuandu felt its sharpness and killing intent, as well as the resonance it shared with his bloodline.

As the Four Saints fought over the position of Heavenly Emperor, Xuandu, wielding the Witch-Slaying Sword, became a crucial figure.

Through the resonance of his bloodline, Xuandu instantly recognized the sword's origins.

He deduced why the Witch-Slaying Sword had come looking for him and became certain that the Witch-Demon Calamity had ended.

As he had said, if the Witch-Demon Calamity had not ended, this sword could not possibly have left Di Jun and Taiyi's hands.

After all, they had paid an enormous price and had even caused the Human Race's **. They could not possibly allow the Witch-Slaying Sword to return to the Human Race so easily.

Therefore, there was only one possibility: the Demon Emperor had fallen.

Xuandu's gaze seemed to cross the void and fall upon the battlefield at Buzhou Mountain, which was filled with slaughter and the corpses and severed limbs of the Wu Yao Tribes.

All Saints had already left that place and gone to the Purple Cloud Palace to deliberate.

What Xuandu saw was a hellish scene. Unwilling to look any longer, he withdrew his gaze and lowered it to the Witch-Slaying Sword in his hand.

Looking at the sword overflowing with killing intent, he slowly said, "Countless drops of Human Race blood essence forged your supreme edge today. From now on, you must protect the Human Race well."

Within the Purple Cloud Palace beyond the Thirty-Three Heavens, the six Saints—Li Er, Yuanshi, Tongtian, Nuwa, Jieyin, and Zhunti—had gathered together.

Their powerful auras converged, giving the Purple Cloud Palace an imposing air fit for forging Saints.

They had once listened to the Dao here. Having now come from Buzhou Mountain to the Purple Cloud Palace, they knew that the matter under discussion was no trivial one: the end of the Witch-Demon Calamity and the subsequent reconstruction of the Primordial World.

Hongjun went straight to the point, telling them that the calamity had concluded and that two matters remained to be discussed.

The first was that, after the deaths of the Demon Emperor and Eastern Emperor, no one remained to govern the Heavenly Court. The Myriad Stars would become scattered and disorderly, affecting the spiritual energy of heaven and earth.

Thus, they needed to decide on a suitable candidate to establish as the new Heavenly Emperor, one who would govern the Heavenly Court, control the Myriad Stars, and manage the Primordial World.

All Saints began discussing suitable candidates.

It so happened to be the moment when the Heavenly Court's ownership was being decided, and the selection of the Heavenly Emperor required deliberation among the immortals.

Though Li Er and Nuwa were both Saints, neither had any interest in the position.

Li Er knew well that this was a performance Hongjun had already planned out. It was only brought up for discussion as a formality.

Nuwa had not established a sect, nor did she have any suitable candidate under her hand, so she had no intention of competing.

However, Yuanshi, Tongtian, Jieyin, and Zhunti were deeply eager for the position of Heavenly Emperor.

They understood that if one of their ** obtained the position of Heavenly Emperor, not only would that person receive the blessing of the Heavenly Court's destiny, but it would also add destiny to their great Saintly sects and might even allow them to carry out duties on behalf of heaven.

If their methods were skillful enough, they could even lead the Myriad Stars into their Daoist Lineage and allow their other ** to benefit as well.

The reason the Demon Race had so many Grand Unity Golden Immortals was precisely because they had occupied the Heavenly Court, that treasured land of cultivation, and gathered the power of the stars across the heavens.

Thinking of this, the Four Saints' hearts burned with anticipation. Each wanted to recommend one of their ** for the position of Heavenly Emperor.

Yuanshi put forward Guangchengzi, Tongtian put forward Duobao, and Jieyin and Zhunti put forward Maitreya. The three ** were each recommended by their respective sacred lands as candidates for Heavenly Emperor.

This naturally sparked fierce arguments among the three sects.

They accused each other's ** of lacking cultivation or insufficient virtue, each hoping that their own ** could seize the position of Heavenly Emperor.

All Saints understood clearly that the position of Heavenly Emperor was of utmost importance. If they did not fight for it today, they would surely regret it in the future.

There would inevitably be a struggle over Daoist Lineage among the three sects in the future, so they had to contend for it today.

Even if they could not get what they wanted, they could not let the other side ascend to the position of Heavenly Emperor so easily.

Only then could they avoid bolstering their enemy's momentum.

Listening to them, Nuwa found the scene of these four Heavenly Dao Saints vying for the position of Heavenly Emperor absurdly comical.

They appeared solemn on the surface and lavishly praised their own **, yet in the end, all they had put forth was a Golden Immortal.

Meanwhile, Li Er remained composed.

He knew well that the position of ruler of the Heavenly Court had long been decided. No amount of argument would change anything.

Suddenly, amid the debate, either Tongtian or Yuanshi mentioned Xuandu's name.

The moment Xuandu's name was raised, its influence was clearly considerable.

As they said, Xuandu was impeccable in terms of cultivation, virtue, and background.

In terms of cultivation, Xuandu was a second-generation ** under the Supreme Purity lineage, and his cultivation was already comparable to that of a great figure. The Quasi-Saint realm was enough to ** the situation.

In terms of virtue, Xuandu possessed a merit auspicious cloud and held a share of the merit aura from the Six Paths Reincarnation. He was far beyond ordinary True Immortals of virtue.

Most importantly, Xuandu had the support of Li Er, the foremost among All Saints. It was a backing powerful beyond comparison.

Yuanshi and Tongtian proposed Xuandu because, amid their dispute, they were not worried that he would seize their Daoist Lineage.

Moreover, Xuandu belonged to the Supreme Purity lineage of the Eight Sceneries Palace. He had not established a sect and remained neutral.

Furthermore, they had the bond of having taught him the Dao, so they could be regarded as one family.

If Xuandu became the Heavenly Emperor in the future, they would benefit as well.

This was a contest between Yuanshi and Tongtian. There was no need for either of them to choose; the best answer had long existed.

Sure enough, once the two reached a consensus, Zhunti had nothing to say.

Although he excelled at unorthodox methods and could make lotus flowers bloom from his tongue, he was rendered speechless at this moment.

Compared to Xuandu, his ** Maitreya was separated by a vast gulf. He was simply crushed into dust in an instant.

In fact, it was not just Maitreya. Any second-generation ** under a Saint, compared to Xuandu, would only be crushed.

Zhunti tried to boast about his own **, but reality mercilessly shattered his illusions.

Thus, he could only turn his gaze helplessly toward Li Er.

However, Li Er was somewhat speechless as well.

He did not care about these Saints openly and secretly fighting each other, but why did they have to drag his disciple into it? These people were truly dramatic.

As Yuanshi and Tongtian had said, Xuandu indeed possessed advantages no one else could match, but he was not suited to be the Heavenly Emperor.

Barring surprises, once Xuandu severed his Evil Corpse, he would take charge of the underworld and become Great Emperor Fengdu.

This was Xuandu's fortune and also a plan Li Er had arranged long ago.

Taking a step back, if Xuandu were allowed to take the position of Heavenly Emperor now, his Evil Corpse would have to give up the position of Great Emperor Fengdu in the underworld in the future.

For the order of heaven and earth would not permit it, and neither would Hongjun.

In the Primordial World, it was impossible for one person's good and evil corpses to both be supremely honored Great Emperors.

Just like the Wu Yao Tribes, only one race could govern heaven while the other governed earth. Two Great Emperors could not exist at the same time.

If that truly happened, it would not be a good thing for Xuandu.

Once one occupied a high position, one had to bear immense responsibility.

If the two positions of Great Emperor in heaven and earth were held by one person, then every major matter would have to be decided by him. How could Hongjun be willing?

When All Saints silently acknowledged Xuandu as the Heavenly Emperor, Hongjun waved his hand and made his stance clear. "Xuandu's status is special. He is Supreme Purity's sole direct ** and will inherit the Eight Sceneries Palace lineage in the future."

In the eyes of All Saints, the Dao Ancestor's words undoubtedly meant that he had arranged the destiny of the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors for the Human Race.

The other Saints could only obey the Dao Ancestor's arrangements and wait quietly for the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors to appear.

The cultivators in the group discussed the matter endlessly, all guessing at the identities of the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors.

Yet Li Er had already seen through everything and understood it clearly.

Dao Ancestor Hongjun's words had undoubtedly also assigned him a mission and responsibility. He needed to participate and complete the Human Race's journey of destiny.

At the same time, it meant that the Human Race would soon rise greatly across the Primordial World, and the identities of the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors would become crucial to the Primordial World.

The entire novel's situation would enter a brand-new stage.

At once, the other Saints cast strange looks over.

More precisely, all their gazes focused on Nuwa and Li Er.

Everyone knew that the Human Race had been created by Nuwa and was the foundation upon which she had attained sainthood.

In theory, as the Human Ancestral Mother, Nuwa should have controlled the Human Race Destiny.

However, because Nuwa had been born into the Demon Race and had wavered between the Human Race and the Demon Race, Li Er had seized thirty percent of the Human Race Destiny from her.

Now, the authority to decide the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors had to be entrusted to either Nuwa or Li Er.

Clearly, the Saints all knew that this decision would provoke a conflict between Nuwa and Li Er, and they were happy to watch this grand spectacle unfold.

Although they maintained an attitude of peace on the surface, privately, they greatly looked forward to seeing Nuwa suppress Li Er in the struggle for the Human Race Destiny.

Li Er had been too much in the limelight recently. If they could see his momentum obstructed, they would be satisfied.

After all, anything that hindered Li Er's invincible momentum would weaken his formidable aura.

However, Li Er understood this perfectly well. He did not care about these so-called fixed destinies and momentum.

He knew that there was no eternal protagonist in the Primordial World. There were only chess pieces used for different lengths of time.

The Dragon, Phoenix, and Qilin races, along with the Wu Yao Tribes, had all enjoyed only temporary glory.

Compared with them, the Human Race had merely gone through a few more cycles of reincarnation. In essence, there was not much difference.

That was what Li Er believed.

At this moment, Nuwa raised a question: how would the candidates for the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors be determined, and were the proposed individuals destined?

This question also stirred the hearts of All Saints present.

Although they could not compete for the Human Race Destiny or directly contend for the authority to nominate candidates, the selection of the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors, as well as the future Imperial Teachers, provided them with an excellent opportunity.

For the Human Race had been designated by the Dao Ancestor as the Protagonist of Heaven and Earth. Its newly arisen sovereigns and emperors would be beings born in response to heaven and earth's fortune.

As long as they helped them educate the people, they could obtain merit.

The positions of Imperial Teachers behind the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors were especially coveted.

Though All Saints did not lack such merit, seeking this opportunity for their ** would bring nothing but benefits.

Not only would this strengthen the destiny of their own sects, it would also allow their ** to receive the favor of great destiny and attain transcendent status.

Yuanshi, Tongtian, Jieyin, Zhunti, and the other Saints all longed for this.

They had no need to personally compete for merit, but they could make plans for their **. Thus, they also set their sights on the soon-to-rise Human Race.

Nuwa clearly sensed the importance All Saints placed on the Human Race.

Therefore, she recommended herself to take responsibility for determining the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors.

She believed that her status as the Human Ancestral Mother would give her an advantage.

But Li Er knew that the ownership of this authority did not depend solely on one's status. It depended even more on possessing the supreme Innate Spiritual Treasure that symbolized the Human Race's Imperial Dao and sovereign authority—the Kongtong Seal.

Among All Saints, Li Er watched silently, believing that this authority would ultimately fall into his hands, for it had been the duty of his previous self, Laozi, as the Daoist sect's eldest brother.

Yet although Nuwa was fearful inside, she still strongly recommended herself and fought for this opportunity.

Hongjun's decision unexpectedly pointed toward Li Er.

He declared to All Saints that he would grant the authority to Laozi rather than Nuwa.

This pushed Nuwa's predicament to the height of embarrassment.

Nuwa had already worried that the authority to nominate candidates would fall into someone else's hands, especially Li Er's.

Therefore, Nuwa, who normally disliked contention, had actually taken the initiative to recommend herself and fight for it.

Her goal was to prevent the authority to nominate candidates from falling into another's hands.