Heavenly Dao Appears, Merit Descends

Hong Yuan, witnessing this scene of the Heavenly Dao manifesting, finally couldn't help but speak: "I thought you had forgotten?"

As Hong Yuan's voice faded, the void above suddenly became filled with Merit Power.

The next moment, it descended upon the surviving myriad races.

That was the Merit Power earned by all beings for slaying Fierce Beasts in this battle.

Since the Fierce Beasts were born from Grievance and Fiendish Energy, eliminating them naturally benefited the Primordial Wilderness.

Moreover, the Fierce Beasts carried much flesh and blood of the Chaos Demon Gods, whose fall could also supplement some of the Primordial Wilderness's deficiencies.

Thus, to reward the merits of all, the Heavenly Dao naturally bestowed Merit.

Why hadn't it been granted during the earlier slaughter?

Of course, because that was the most perilous moment of the Kalpa's aura, and the Heavenly Dao could not choose to grant Merit at such a time, so it delayed until now, when the great battle had slightly subsided.

The myriad races felt the Merit Power falling upon them and suddenly understood.

So this was the Heavenly Dao rewarding them for the Fierce Beasts they had slain.

Thus, the myriad races wept with gratitude, all thanking the Heavenly Dao's majesty.

With this Merit, the injuries of the myriad races quickly healed.

Their strength even saw a certain increase.

Among them, figures like Luohu, Yang Mei, and other Golden Immortals of the Origin received the greatest amount of Merit.

The wounds they had suffered were now rapidly recovering.

Yang Mei looked at the Merit Power in his hand and couldn't help but sigh: "What a pity for fellow Daoist Hun Peng and the others. If they had lived to this moment, with this Merit, stepping into the mid-stage Golden Immortal of the Origin would likely have been effortless."

But such is the Kalpa—life and death are fated.

Only those who survive have the right, and the future.

Meanwhile, in the Fierce Beast nest, Shen Ni's face changed drastically upon seeing the Heavenly Dao bestow Merit.

He simply couldn't understand why the Heavenly Dao would grant Merit to the myriad races.

Was his Fierce Beast clan meant to be slaughtered, meant to die?!

Qiong Qi beside him also cursed: "This Heavenly Dao is truly unjust. Why do they get Merit, while my Fierce Beast clan gets none? Is this still the Heavenly Dao? Is this still called Merit?!"

Though furious, Shen Ni maintained his reason.

At this moment, he couldn't help but regret letting Yang Mei and the others leave.

With this Merit, their recovery time would likely be greatly reduced, and they might even advance further.

Thinking this, Shen Ni quickly urged Qiong Qi and the others.

"Hurry and absorb the Grievance and Fiendish Energy between heaven and earth. Break through to the late-stage Golden Immortal of the Origin as soon as possible. If possible, let our clan's peak Great Luo Golden Immortals break through too!"

With that, Shen Ni swiftly returned to his cultivation site.

He wanted to try—could he break through to the Zenith Heaven Golden Immortal of the Origin in one go?

If he succeeded, this battle would surely be won!

If not, victory or defeat would be uncertain.

As Shen Ni entered cultivation, Qiong Qi and the others finally realized the gravity of the situation. After passing down Shen Ni's words, they too hurriedly began seclusion to cultivate.

For a time, as both the myriad races and the Fierce Beasts fell silent, focused on breaking through their cultivation, the Primordial Wilderness unexpectedly entered a rare period of tranquility.

Not far from Mount Sumeru, Han Su and Cuiwei sat dazedly in place, their eyes bloodshot, looking utterly dejected.

Around them were child attendants, each grievously wounded.

Though the Merit the Heavenly Dao had bestowed upon them was considerable, not a single one felt joy.

They just sat in silence, some with reddened eyes, tears streaming uncontrollably.

In this battle, they had lost nearly two thousand.

Of the initial three thousand child attendants, only a little over a thousand remained.

This was only because they had many treasures.

They knew the Kalpa was terrifying, but they hadn't known it would be this terrifying.

Now, whenever they closed their eyes, they could recall the child attendants who had died before them.

Especially Han Su and Cuiwei—their hearts were the most pained.

They truly didn't know how to face their Master when the time came.

So many child attendants had followed them, and so many had fallen.

In Hong Yuan's great hall stood a massive mirror.

It showed the current state of Han Su and the others.

The child attendants Hong Yuan had resurrected were also by his side, now restored to their doll-like appearances. As they watched the dejected Han Su and the others in the mirror, they lowered their heads in shame.

They hadn't expected their Master to be watching them every moment.

Not only were they paying attention to them, they had even resurrected them.

Thinking back to the crude, foul language that had constantly hung on their lips back then, the group of boy and girl attendants suddenly felt a bit embarrassed.

So they asked in a somewhat childish, milky voice.

"Master, should we still tell Big Brother and Big Sister? They seem to be having a pretty rough time of it..."

Hong Yuan waved his hand dismissively. "No need. Let them be for now. It's not a problem, and it's not the most important thing."

Having said this, Hong Yuan paused, his gaze sweeping over the attendants with a hint of amusement.

"What I've heard, though, is that you all have two faces, hmm? How about letting your Master get a look at them?!"

Hearing Hong Yuan's words, the attendants immediately shrank their necks, none of them daring to meet his eyes.

"Master... we... we won't do it again..."

Hong Yuan looked at the obedient, well-behaved children before him. Who would have guessed that outside, they were nothing but arrogant, unruly ruffians?

Always threatening to shove someone's head up a steel gate.

So polite. So well-behaved.

"I have a question for you all."

"Master, please speak! If we know the answer, we will definitely tell you!"

Hong Yuan hesitated for a moment, then voiced the doubt in his heart.

"Did that fellow Yang Mei teach you to be like that?"

After all, when Ancestor Yang Mei had come to visit before, he had occasionally taught the attendants a thing or two.

After all, he was the Dao Venerable—how could he be such a base and despicable person?

So it had to be Yang Mei who taught them.

Mm, that made perfect sense.

The attendants were stunned for a moment upon hearing Hong Yuan's question, then cautiously glanced at his expression.

That one look made them shudder.

So, trembling, they could only answer, "It should... it should be him..."

Hong Yuan lightly tapped the longsword in his hand, casting a nonchalant glance at them. "Should be? Are you certain?"

"Master, you misheard! What we meant was that it was indeed Ancestor Yang Mei who taught us!" The attendants quickly caught on and hastily corrected themselves.

Hearing this, Hong Yuan looked as if he had suddenly realized something.

"I see. This Seat knew it—who else could it be but him?"

He paused, then continued, "Enough. Don't bring this up again. If anyone asks, you may tell them the truth just like this."

"We understand!"

Outside the Primordial Wilderness, Ancestor Yang Mei, who had been cultivating, suddenly stopped. He scratched his head in confusion.

Why does this old Daoist feel like someone is scheming against me?