Honghuang Fuxi: Nuwa, I Want You to Help Me Cultivate

The doors of Zixiao Palace's main hall closed, and Hongjun, seated cross-legged atop a blue cloud, slowly opened his eyes.

He swept his gaze over the Zenith Heaven Golden Immortals present, observing the changes they had undergone over the past thousand years.

The changes in most of the Zenith Heaven Golden Immortals had all been within his calculations and drew no notice from him.

But when his gaze passed over Fuxi, it lingered on him for a moment longer.

Though it was only a moment, it was enough for a Sage to ponder the myriad things of the world.

Four thousand years ago, when Hongjun first preached the Dao, he and his disciples had calculated Fuxi's fate. The result had been hazy and uncertain, impossible to deduce.

And now, when he calculated it once more, Fuxi's fate had become even harder to deduce, as though he were looking out over a fog-shrouded sea.

Though he could not deduce Fuxi's fate, Hongjun still sensed a familiar aura from him.

That aura somewhat resembled a fragment of Serendipity he had sensed many years ago.

In his calculations, that Serendipity should have been divided among many people. Yet now, only Fuxi carried its aura.

It seemed that some unforeseen changes had occurred over the past thousand years as well.

But Hongjun was neither particularly surprised nor startled, for his gaze had never been fixed on changes in individuals. So long as the great tide of history remained unchanged, the river had to be allowed to stir up a few ripples.

With that, Hongjun began his lecture.

"This time, I shall speak of the Dao of Quasi-Saints. You must listen carefully."

"The Dao of Quasi-Saints concerns the methods by which you will become Saints in the future. There must be no negligence or slackness."

"After becoming a Quasi-Saint, one must determine one's future method of becoming a Saint."

At this moment, someone raised a question.

"Master, may I ask what methods there are for becoming a Saint?"

The one who spoke was Nuwa. She had always been deeply interested in the methods of becoming a Saint.

Ever since Fuxi had mentioned the might of Saints to her several thousand years ago, Nuwa had grown interested in the path to Sainthood.

Now that Hongjun had brought it up, Nuwa could not wait to ask.

Seeing his disciple inquire, Hongjun answered:

"To attain Sainthood and prove the Dao is arduous and perilous. There are three methods of becoming a Saint."

Upon hearing that Hongjun was about to explain the path to Sainthood, all the Zenith Heaven Golden Immortals present focused their minds and looked toward him.

Even Fuxi widened his eyes as he stared at Hongjun, beginning to listen to the methods of becoming a Quasi-Saint.

Although Fuxi knew what methods existed for becoming a Saint, he was completely in the dark as to how one actually proved the Dao.

Now that they knew Saints existed beyond the Zenith Heaven Golden Immortal realm, what Zenith Heaven Golden Immortal would not wish to become a Saint?

Though the Dao of Quasi-Saints was also extremely important, it was ultimately not as enticing as the path to Sainthood.

Hongjun explained unhurriedly, "There are three methods of attaining Sainthood and proving the Dao."

"These three methods are Law Proving, Slaying Three Corpses Proving, and Merit Proving."

Upon hearing the words "Law Proving," the Twelve Ancestral Witches all sat up straight and listened with utter concentration.

The Twelve Ancestral Witches had been formed from Pangu's Essence Blood. Each of them had mastered a Law from the moment of birth, so naturally they hoped to become Saints through Law Proving.

Fuxi explained:

"Law Proving means exploring a Law to its utmost limit, then proving the Great Dao at the end of that Law."

"This method of proving the Dao is the most difficult, the most complex, and the most perilous. It depends entirely on one's painstaking study and personal comprehension of the Great Dao of Laws."

Houtu of the Twelve Ancestral Witches asked, "Dao Ancestor, just how difficult is this method of Law Proving? Do we have a chance to attempt it?"

Hongjun looked into the distance and said in an ancient, weathered voice, "As far as I know, in the entire Hong Huang World, only Great God Pangu, who opened the heavens, successfully proved the Dao with Strength. But after opening the heavens, his strength was exhausted, and he perished, his Dao dissipating."

"To prove the Dao through Laws, one must explore a Law to its utmost limit. This places extremely high demands on one's comprehension, and the process of proving the Dao is incomparably perilous. The slightest accident can easily result in one's fall."

Hongjun's words caused the Twelve Ancestral Witches' expressions to darken. Though they had mastered Laws, their comprehension was poor, and their use of Laws mainly relied on their innate physical gifts.

With their comprehension, they likely could not explore and cultivate their Laws to the utmost limit even in billions upon billions of years.

Yet Fuxi was very interested in Law Proving, because only Law Proving could create a Great Dao Sage. The remaining two methods could only create Heavenly Dao Sages, and the gap between the two kinds of Saints was quite immense.

Though Law Proving was difficult, Fuxi's physical body had been strengthened by Pangu's Essence Blood, while his primordial spirit had been strengthened by Pangu's Primordial Spirit. It was not entirely impossible for him to achieve Law Proving.

Of course, that did not mean Fuxi would ignore the methods of Slaying Three Corpses Proving and Merit Proving that came next.

Fuxi was determined to pursue becoming a Great Dao Sage, but proving the Dao as a Great Dao Sage might require long ages.

For the sake of surviving and developing in the Hong Huang World, Fuxi did not mind first proving the Dao through Slaying Three Corpses.

"Master, then how does Slaying Three Corpses Proving work?"

Taishang Laojun asked.

Hongjun said calmly, "I myself attained Sainthood and proved the Dao through the method of Slaying Three Corpses. Slaying Three Corpses is a process that can only be completed from the Quasi-Saint realm to the Saint realm."

"All living beings possess a Good Corpse, an Evil Corpse, and an Obsession Corpse."

"Slay the Good Corpse, and one may become a Quasi-Saint."

"Once all three corpses are slain, one reaches the Peak Quasi-Saint realm."

"Next, merge the three corpses into one, and you may complete your proving of the Dao."

Taishang Laojun asked again, "May I ask, Teacher, how exactly does one Slay Three Corpses Proving?"

Hongjun answered, "To slay the three corpses, one must borrow the power of a Dharma treasure. Whether Acquired Spiritual Treasures or Innate Supreme Treasures, both may be used to slay the three corpses. Generally speaking, however, the higher the treasure's grade, the better the result of slaying the three corpses, and the more powerful one will be afterward."

Chapter 36: Six Ears, Hongjun Seals the Dao

As soon as Hongjun finished explaining the method of Slaying Three Corpses Proving, the expressions of some Zenith Heaven Golden Immortals without spiritual treasures turned ugly.

Among them, Jieyin and Zhunti wore the darkest expressions, standing out above all others.

The thought of Fuxi having taken two Innate Spiritual Treasures from them was already enough to twist their hearts out of shape.

Upon hearing Hongjun's explanation, Fuxi immediately thought of his Seven-Colored Glazed Treasure Gourd.

Although the Seven-Colored Glazed Treasure Gourd had not reached the grade of an Innate Supreme Treasure, it had already surpassed one. It would certainly be more than enough for slaying the three corpses.

Of course, if he could obtain Hongmeng Purple Qi and raise this treasure gourd into an Innate Supreme Treasure, the three corpses he slayed would undoubtedly be even stronger.

Since a Dharma treasure's grade would affect one's strength, Fuxi naturally wanted to raise his power to the utmost limit.

However, there were only so many Innate Supreme Treasures, and many of them already had owners. They would not be easy to seize.

If the system proved capable enough to reward him with several Innate Supreme Treasures, then using them to slay the three corpses would surely yield the best results.

But if Fuxi ultimately failed to obtain several Innate Supreme Treasures, then making do with a few Supreme Grade Innate Spiritual Treasures would not be entirely unacceptable.

Fuxi could only keep such thoughts to himself. If they got out, they would probably provoke curses from the Zenith Heaven Golden Immortals of the primordial world.

What did he mean, making do with Supreme Grade Innate Spiritual Treasures? Did he know how many Zenith Heaven Golden Immortals did not even possess Acquired Spiritual Treasures?

Naturally, Fuxi himself did not currently have many Supreme Grade Innate Spiritual Treasures either. But he possessed a system even more heaven-defying than a Chaos Supreme Treasure, and he believed it would not disappoint him.

Still, Fuxi was not in a particularly good mood.

He believed that once the second sermon ended, the number of Zenith Heaven Golden Immortals taking part in treasure-snatching throughout the primordial world would likely multiply severalfold. When that time came, seizing treasures would certainly become much more difficult.

Just as everyone was considering how to acquire Dharma treasures, a voice broke through their wandering thoughts.

"May I ask the Dao Ancestor, how does one achieve sainthood through merit?"

Everyone looked up and discovered that the speaker was Eastern Prince Gong, standing at the rear of the group.

Eastern Prince Gong's reason for asking this question was simple.

His comprehension was not particularly strong. Relying on Law Proving would be immensely difficult, with little chance of success; nor was his cultivation high, and he did not possess many Dharma treasures, making Slaying Three Corpses Proving equally unrealistic.

Most importantly, Hongjun had just emphasized that Merit Proving carried the least danger. This greatly interested Eastern Prince Gong, who feared death.

Yet Fuxi looked at Eastern Prince Gong as though he were looking at a fool.

For someone like Eastern Prince Gong, who loved putting on airs and lacked virtue, to actually wish to achieve proving through merit—what irony.

Hongjun's answer to Eastern Prince Gong also revealed Hongjun's attitude.

Hongjun said, "Merit Proving depends entirely on one's own comprehension."

Hongjun's words left Eastern Prince Gong completely at sea, but he could not keep pressing Hongjun with questions. He could only nod and say, "Many thanks for the Dao Ancestor's guidance."

Those who had also wished to ask about Merit Proving were likewise left bewildered by the Dao Ancestor's answer, their faces full of confusion.

Having finished explaining the three methods of proving the Dao and becoming a Saint, Hongjun said, "Next, I shall begin expounding the way of the Quasi-Saint."

The entire Zixiao Palace instantly fell silent. Every Zenith Heaven Golden Immortal sat upright and listened without moving, as though they had all turned into wax statues.

When a Saint expounded the Dao, heavenly flowers rained down, and golden lotuses sprang from the earth.

Wave after wave of profound Dao resonance filled the entire Zixiao Palace.

Compared with the way of the Zenith Heaven Golden Immortal, the way of the Quasi-Saint had far fewer branches, yet its difficulty rose in a straight line. Thus, Hongjun needed to spend more time explaining it.

Where the winding path led into secluded depths.

Though the way of the Quasi-Saint was profound, mysterious, obscure, and difficult to grasp, the Zenith Heaven Golden Immortals present still listened as though intoxicated. Phenomena appeared and vanished within each of their eyes.

In the blink of an eye, the sermon had continued for a thousand years.

Just as Hongjun finished explaining a Quasi-Saint Dao principle, he suddenly paused for a moment.

While the Zenith Heaven Golden Immortals wondered why the Dao Ancestor was not continuing, Hongjun suddenly erupted with the aura of the Saint realm.

"Wretch! You dare eavesdrop upon my sermon—your audacity reaches the heavens!"

Hongjun's rebuke was like divine thunder from the Nine Heavens roaring in unison, shaking the Zenith Heaven Golden Immortals in the hall until their hearts pounded and their souls trembled.

Who was so bold as to dare eavesdrop on a Saint's sermon?

Everyone immediately probed beyond Zixiao Palace, only to find no trace of any living being outside.

"Heaven has the virtue of cherishing life, so I shall spare your life."

"But though the death penalty may be remitted, living punishment cannot be escaped!"

"I shall seal your path to the Great Dao, so that for the rest of your life, you may neither comprehend the Dao, hear the Dao, nor cultivate the Dao."