The Unreasonableness of Saints

After hearing Zhou Jun's words, Di Kun nodded thoughtfully, indicating his agreement. He sighed. "After Nuwa became Saint, she merely glanced at the human race, left behind the last shred of tenderness, and never concerned herself with them again. That really is somewhat hard to justify! And ever since then, she has largely kept to herself and rarely shown her face. The reason behind it truly leaves one baffled."

Di Kun continued his analysis. "The reason they were able to become Saints through merit was not actually because they relied entirely on their own merit. Rather, it was because Primordial Violet Qi absorbed that merit, allowing them to become Saints.

"It is like a parasitic or symbiotic relationship. Primordial Violet Qi continuously grows stronger by absorbing that merit as nourishment. Moreover, when they seek the Dao, they also rely on Primordial Violet Qi to comprehend the Great Dao. And in their struggles, what they value is nothing more than merit and Fortune.

"Though all of this is in pursuit of the Great Dao, one cannot deny that such an approach has put the cart before the horse. After all, a ten-thousand-foot tower rises from level ground—if its foundation is unstable, how can one hope for it to stand for long?"

Zhou Jun deeply agreed with Di Kun's words and added, "Hongyun occupies three of the Four Innate Symbols! Moreover, he was formed from Pangu's Heart's blood and the first cloud merging together. There are far too many implications in that.

"Wind, water, and fire can combine to form all sorts of celestial phenomena—lightning, hail, blizzards, violent winds, torrential rains—and these are all manifestations of the righteous qi between Heaven and Earth. As the saying goes, 'Heaven and Earth possess righteous qi, which takes form in countless ways.' Hongyun's very existence is steeped in mystery."

Upon hearing this, Di Kun thoughtfully stroked his chin before slowly saying, "Now that you put it that way, it truly does make some sense. Hongyun's excessively kind nature does bear quite a resemblance to certain Confucian ideals. Although such a temperament may seem to have little practical use nowadays, do not forget that he is the first innate cloud, closely connected to celestial phenomena. Even the lightning tribulations of natural disasters owe something to him. If so, perhaps that is precisely why Hongjun could not tolerate him."

Di Kun paused, then continued his analysis. "Not only that, the role of the North Sea Black Tortoise must not be underestimated either. It can absorb the spiritual qi of Heaven and Earth as well as the qi of the Kalpa of Calamity, using its own flesh to nurture the living beings of the North Sea. More importantly, its shell is nearly the size of a continent. By its own strength alone, it sustained the entire North Sea. And it even held up the four pillars of Heaven, rendering tremendous service to this world. With such immense merit, after its True Spirit reincarnates, it should rightfully receive an unending stream of merit from Heaven and Earth."

Yet Di Kun abruptly changed tack, a puzzled expression appearing on his face. "But the final result is rather difficult to understand. After the Flame Emperor unified the human race, he took up residence in Huoyun Cave. With so much merit, he still failed to become a Saint. Does this mean there is some problem with the path of becoming a Saint through merit? Furthermore, ever since entering Huoyun Cave, he has never emerged again. Even during such a momentous event as the Human Emperor becoming the Son of Heaven, he never showed himself. The reason behind this truly warrants deep thought!"

Zhou Jun furrowed his brows and pondered. The more he thought about it, the more he felt that something seemed off, but the time in question was simply too far in the past. Many details had already become hazy, making it difficult to judge with certainty.

In the end, he helplessly shook his head and said with an indifferent look, "Forget it, forget it. Why think so much about it? It is still far too early for that time, and everything remains unknown. Perhaps we have only glimpsed part of the truth, but that is not important.

"Who knows? By then, perhaps we will already possess enough power to change all of it. Rather than dwelling on matters so far beyond our reach, we would do better to carefully plan our own path. That would be more practical and worthwhile."

He paused before continuing, "Besides, I suppose you can already guess what place I intend to open beneath the northern lands, right? That's right—Burial Ground. When the time comes, I will seek out the corpses of those fallen experts, along with their remnant souls and True Spirits. Then I will use Star Spirit to seal them away and bury them within the Burial Ground, to see whether they can be reborn.

"After all, these experts all possess considerable potential. If they can successfully attain the Dao, it will undoubtedly be of immense benefit to us. Burial Ground in particular is the key to getting us a seat at the table. We cannot be without pieces on the board, or it will be greatly disadvantageous to us."

Di Kun listened quietly without the slightest intention of refuting him. His gaze slowly swept over the living beings he had created with his own hands. Some ran and played, some perched in the trees, while others swam through the water. Every one of them brimmed with life.

Di Kun gazed at them, deep in thought. After a while, he finally said, "If that is the case, then in the time ahead, you will likely have no spare attention for your own affairs. Why not do me a favor? Take these living beings out of this world and let them develop freely. You may observe them as you please and see whether they can create all manner of things like the human race, thereby earning merit from Heaven and Earth."

He paused slightly, as though considering something, then continued, "Pay particular attention to their process of evolution. I believe that with the countless living beings in the Primordial Wilderness, the formation of civilization cannot possibly have begun only with the appearance of the human race. Take these Elves, for example. They have already created fire, clothes, and houses, yet they have not received any merit. Suirenshi, on the other hand, was also an innate human rather than a postnatal living being, yet he was able to obtain merit. There must be some secret hidden within this, and that secret is of vital importance to my plans!"

After hearing Di Kun out, Zhou Jun pondered for a moment before replying, "Mm, I have been using incarnations to observe them during this period, and I found that they have indeed created some things. However, none of those things carry any merit. Yet strangely enough, we can sense that Fortune seems to be gradually gathering around them.

"Especially after I brought the earliest living beings back to our cave abode on Wuyi Mountain, I could distinctly sense a current of Fortune gathering there, as though something were being nurtured. It is just that this Fortune remains very weak for now. I can only sense it; I have yet to see any actual movement. There is also another important discovery: the existence of the power of faith."

Upon hearing this, Di Kun could not help turning toward Zhou Jun, his face filled with suspicion as he pressed, "Is this because I created them, and because they believe in me?"

Zhou Jun nodded firmly and explained, "Exactly. I originally thought the power of faith would not appear until the Divine Path emerged, but I never expected it to exist already. Therefore, I boldly speculate that there may be a Divine Path, or a Path of Faith, between Heaven and Earth. It is just that, like Minghe, it may have been hidden away or altered by someone. We still do not know the specifics. For now, this is all the information I possess."