Chapter 21

The three of them—Kunpeng included—could not help getting black lines on their foreheads after hearing this.

Putting aside whether ten million Great Thousand Worlds would be useful, what did "spend a hundred trillion merit" even mean?

Did the Great Desolation really have that much merit?

Even more outrageous was the idea of having the Six Sages create ten million Great Thousand Worlds—

That was even harsher than squeezing a production team's donkey dry!

Amid Kunpeng and the other two shaking their heads and sighing, the sages had already begun their respective acts of creation.

Unlike the other sages, who used magic treasures as the foundation for opening the heavens, Nuwa mainly cultivated the Great Dao of Creation.

Creating all things, bringing something from nothing, and creating living beings.

She had no need to borrow a magic treasure to force open the heavens. Relying solely on the Great Dao of Creation she had cultivated, she could evolve a world.

Nuwa's magic power surged as laws emerged and the Great Dao of Creation filled heaven and earth.

With a wave of her hand, she slowly evolved a Great Thousand World through the Great Dao of Creation.

A world of emptiness and desolation slowly revealed its embryonic form.

But this was merely the beginning of constructing a Great Thousand World.

At this point, the world was no more than an embryo with only a faint outline.

As the world embryo gradually took shape,

the power of the Saint's laws circulating around Nuwa surged like a tide.

Within this Great Thousand World,

the four elements of earth, fire, wind, and water gradually condensed.

The world's outline grew increasingly clear, as if a genuine heaven and earth were taking shape.

At the same time, Nuwa continued activating her divine abilities.

As Saint power poured in,

the laws of time, space, yin and yang, and the five elements began to appear one after another within the Great Thousand World,

eventually converging into a massive orb of five-element laws.

An ordinary Saint would usually rely on a magic treasure at this stage to forcibly break through the restraints of the laws.

But Nuwa, who cultivated the Great Dao of Creation, did not choose such a direct method.

She chose to patiently sort out the rules of this world,

like unraveling a tangled ball of thread.

After heaven and earth were first separated,

water, fire, and wind, as well as yin and yang and the five elements, gradually settled into place,

while time, space, and the passing of years were established in turn, and all things began to sprout.

Nuwa continued circulating the art of creation,

driving the growth of all things in the world.

She created three thousand races and enlightened billions of living beings,

then spread endless flowers, grass, and trees,

helping the living beings who had awakened their intelligence successfully take human form.

Witnessing everything emerge from nothing,

watching the world transform from deathly desolation into lush greenery and flourishing life,

Nuwa was deeply immersed in the joy of creation.

This process continued for a full three hundred years.

Without an Innate Supreme Treasure to assist her, she could not shorten the time required to create a world as the Three Pure Ones had.

The years flowed silently.

Another hundred-plus years passed,

and Sect Master Tongtian, relying on an Innate Supreme Treasure, swiftly created two Great Thousand Worlds.

Curious about what the world created by Nuwa through the Great Dao of Creation looked like, he specially came to visit her.

"Fellow Daoist Nuwa, how is the creation of your Great Thousand World going?"

Seeing Tongtian arrive, Nuwa replied with a smile:

"It's more than halfway complete.

Could it be that Fellow Daoist Tongtian has already finished?"

Tongtian gazed at the world Nuwa had created,

and praised it sincerely:

"Though I have already finished, compared with this world of yours brimming with life, the heaven and earth I created truly pale into insignificance."

The Great Thousand World created by Tongtian contained only a stretch of silence.

Though it possessed the various laws of the five elements and yin and yang,

it was far less vibrant than the world Nuwa had created through the Dao of Creation.

After carefully looking around, Tongtian sighed:

"As expected of someone who cultivates the Great Dao of Creation. Truly astonishing."

Nuwa smiled faintly and shook her head.

"You flatter me, Fellow Daoist."

As soon as she finished speaking, Nuwa suddenly sensed something.

After she created this Great Thousand World,

the laws of heaven and earth throughout the Great Desolation World seemed to have changed faintly as well.

At that thought, inspiration suddenly struck Nuwa, as if she had understood something.

A look of astonishment appeared on her face, and she thought to herself:

Could Fellow Daoist Changsheng be trying to complete the Heavenly Dao Order of the Great Desolation by creating Great Thousand Worlds?

The more she thought about it, the more likely it seemed.

After all, what ordinary cultivator would spend tens of millions or even hundreds of millions of merit creating meaningless Great Thousand Worlds?

Upon realizing this, Nuwa could not help exclaiming in shock:

"Fellow Daoist Changsheng's move is truly earth-shaking, unprecedented throughout history."

Tongtian had also noticed the changes in the Great Desolation's laws by then.

Hearing Nuwa's words, he first furrowed his brows slightly before suddenly understanding.

"So that's how it is!"

"This is Fellow Daoist Changsheng's plan!

No wonder anyone would be so generous as to take out so much merit for something that seems useless.

Even as a Saint, I have to admit that Fellow Daoist Changsheng's schemes reach farther than mine.

Could he truly be the Child of the Heavenly Dao, born into this world to fulfill the Heavenly Dao's mission?"

Because of the misunderstanding between the two sages,

Lu Changsheng's original image as a wastrel causing trouble suddenly became lofty and mysterious.

If Lu Changsheng had learned of their conversation,

he would certainly have hurriedly denied it:

I'm not.

I didn't.

Don't make wild guesses!

He really only wanted to squander a little.

As Tongtian and Nuwa's speculation spread, the other sages also sensed the changes in the Great Desolation,

and each formed their own conjectures.

For a time, all the sages worked even harder at creating worlds.

Time flowed on, and several hundred years passed in a flash.

The Six Sages gathered atop Kunlun Mountain, savoring immortal tea.

This time, they had created nine Great Thousand Worlds together.

The Three Pure Ones had the assistance of Innate Supreme Treasures, so they were faster, each creating two worlds.

As they drank tea, the sages discussed the perfection of the Great Desolation's order and Lu Changsheng's far-reaching plan.

After a round of praise, only endless emotion remained.

One hundred and ten

"What a plan capable of shaking the entire universe! Fellow Daoist Changsheng is truly peerless in talent!"

Just as the sages were sighing with emotion,

Lu Changsheng was leisurely lying in a grand chair, dreaming of spending all his merit within ten thousand years and proving the Dao to become a Great Dao Saint.

Suddenly, the heavenly omens came to an abrupt halt.

Lu Changsheng woke up at once.

He glanced at the Great Desolation, which had returned to calmness Outside Wuji Heaven,

then calculated with his fingers for a moment before traversing through spacetime,

appearing atop Kunlun Mountain.

Seeing the Six Sages gathered there, Lu Changsheng said with a beaming smile:

"Several hundred years have passed in the blink of an eye. Sorry for the trouble, all of you sages."

As he spoke, Lu Changsheng sensed briefly and immediately understood how many worlds each sage had created.

After all, he had already given his spiritual soul imprint to the sages,

so whenever a sage created a world, his spiritual soul imprint would be directly branded onto the world's origin,

placing the entire world under Lu Changsheng's control.

Sensing that the Six Sages had created nine Great Thousand Worlds together over these several hundred years,

Lu Changsheng found it acceptable, but thought the sages could still do better.

Thus, he encouraged them:

"It's only nine worlds.

Come on, all of you sages. Create several million Great Thousand Worlds and earn a few billion merit. Wouldn't that be satisfying?"

The moment Primordial heard this, he spat out his tea.

He had to be joking, right?

Several million Great Thousand Worlds?

Even if the Six Sages risked their lives, they could not create that many.

What did he take sages for?

Production-team donkeys?

Hearing the number Lu Changsheng had mentioned, the other sages were also stunned.

"Several million Great Thousand Worlds? Fellow Daoist, are you joking?

How long would it take to create so many worlds?"

Tongtian shook his head.

After all, creating a Great Thousand World consumed a Saint's Origin,

and although merit could help restore it,

the thought of the number "several million"

was still far too exaggerated.

Lu Changsheng saw Tongtian shake his head, smiled faintly, and said:

"Sorry, I said that wrong just now."

Upon hearing this, all the sages breathed a sigh of relief,

thinking to themselves:

Lu Changsheng must have misspoken and added an extra "million"

word.

After all, several hundred Great Thousand Worlds made sense,

especially since a single Great Thousand World contained ten million merit.

Someone with Lu Changsheng's profound background surely could not produce such a tremendous amount.

He did not notice what the sages were thinking. His gaze swept over everyone as he calmly said:

"More precisely, it should be ten million Great Thousand Worlds."

"Pfft—"

Having just relaxed, Primordial Heavenly Lord, who was drinking tea, spat out another mouthful upon hearing this.

What difference was there between several million and ten million?

Were they not both goals beyond reach?

Laozi could no longer hold back and asked Lu Changsheng:

"Fellow Daoist Changsheng, could it be that you misunderstand the creation of Great Thousand Worlds? Or have you overestimated the abilities of sages?"

Among the Two Sages of the West, Zhunti immediately chimed in:

"Exactly! Do you think sages can create Great Thousand Worlds effortlessly? It consumes a Saint's Origin!"

Jieyin also added:

"Ten million Great Thousand Worlds would be far too distant a goal even for us sages.

Fellow Daoist Changsheng, though we are willing to work for merit, you cannot treat us like oxen and horses."

Hearing the Two Sages of the West, the Three Pure Ones and Nuwa rarely showed their agreement with what they had said.

The number was truly ten million. It was simply too astonishing.

Could it be that they really intended to treat them as livestock and drive them around?

Seeing the excitement among the Sages, Lu Changsheng had no intention of explaining further.

He believed that in this Great Desolation World, there was no problem that merit could not solve.

Thus, he said no more and prepared to settle the merit from the creation of the world first.

After all, nothing was more convincing than merit.

Just as Lu Changsheng was about to withdraw the merit, the system suddenly issued a prompt:

Ding—the world created by Nuwa is brimming with vitality and possesses complete laws. It can be rated as creation-grade, granting an additional two million merit as a reward.

Hearing the system's prompt, Lu Changsheng's eyes lit up.

With a wave of his hand, he displayed ninety-two million merit in golden clouds above Kunlun Mountain.

In an instant, the boundless golden clouds shrouded the sky, while the endless golden light of merit illuminated the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths. It was dazzlingly brilliant, making the Sages almost unable to look directly at it.

The billions of living beings across the Great Desolation also witnessed the endless golden sea of clouds atop Kunlun Mountain. Every one of them was shaken and amazed.

"Boundless Heavenly Venerate... This, this is actually such immense merit?"

Guangchengzi cried out in shock.

Lu Changsheng's voice shook the Great Desolation as he proclaimed:

"The six Sages of the Profound Sect created the nine Great Thousand Worlds. Their achievements are outstanding, and they deserve ninety-two million merit!"

His voice spread throughout the Great Desolation, throwing all living beings into an uproar.

"Creating a Great Thousand World can actually earn ten million merit?"

"No wonder the Sages have continually created worlds for hundreds of years. It turns out it was all because of Immortal Venerable Changsheng!"

"What kind of magnificence does Immortal Venerable Changsheng possess? A useless Great Thousand World is worth ten million merit. He is truly extravagant!"

"Extravagant? He is simply squandering it without restraint!"

At that moment, deep within the Blood Sea.

Hearing Lu Changsheng's words, Ming He's eyes reddened, and jealousy raged within him:

"I, too, shall create a Great Thousand World!"

As soon as he said this, he suddenly came to his senses:

"Wait, I have yet to become a Sage. How could I create a Great Thousand World?"

At this thought, Ming He let out an unwilling roar:

"No—I refuse to accept this—"