"Above all else, the Heavenly Dao is supreme. How could Fellow Daoist Changsheng be so impulsive as to directly challenge the majesty of the Heavenly Dao?"
Just as the two were perplexed, Fuxi slightly furrowed his brow.
Though he had not known Lu Changsheng for long, based on his understanding of this fellow Daoist, he was by no means reckless.
However, the majesty of the Heavenly Dao could not be violated. Such conduct would likely be impossible to escape punishment for.
Fuxi remained silent, merely gazing at the firmament as he waited for the Heavenly Dao's response.
While countless living beings entertained their own thoughts, the Heavenly Dao finally revealed an unusual phenomenon.
Above the firmament, the Heavenly Dao Divine Wheel illuminated the void, and a pitch-black spatial rift suddenly appeared.
The Six Sages witnessed this scene, and all of them revealed astonishment.
The Heavenly Dao Void had actually manifested at this moment?
Could it be that the Heavenly Dao truly intended to grant Lu Changsheng's request?
The living beings of the Great Desolation might not understand the deeper meaning behind this scene, but the Sages knew its mystery all too well.
The Heavenly Dao Void was the core forbidden domain of the Heavenly Dao, maintaining the fundamental order that governed the operation of the Great Desolation.
If a Sage entered it to comprehend its mysteries, their cultivation could advance. Therefore, it normally never revealed itself.
It was much like a cultivator's Violet Palace—the most important place of all.
Dao Ancestor Hongjun, who was drinking premium immortal tea, spat out his tea when he saw this scene.
Haotian and Yaochi, who stood at his sides, were secretly startled when they saw the Dao Ancestor lose his composure.
Why was the Dao Ancestor so shaken?
They naturally did not know that, as the Heavenly Dao's representative, Hongjun had never entered the Heavenly Dao Void since merging with the Dao.
If he could enter it, Hongjun believed that with his talent and foundation, he would certainly be able to merge with the Great Dao more quickly.
Yet the Heavenly Dao had never given him the opportunity, preventing him from fully comprehending the true essence of the Heavenly Dao!
And what about Lu Changsheng? He was merely a little Quasi-Saint, yet the Heavenly Dao had actually allowed him to enter.
Such conduct—
It was just like the Heavenly Dao being an unparalleled beauty of peerless grace,
while Hongjun was a devoted follower who waited and sacrificed silently at this breathtaking woman's side, treating her with the utmost attentiveness and care.
Who could have imagined that the goddess he had painstakingly pursued would remain indifferent to him,
yet turn around and personally welcome another outstanding young man arriving in an immortal carriage?
Anyone would have found such a thing difficult to accept!
Let alone Dao Ancestor Hongjun.
At this thought,
Hongjun's face had already turned livid.
However, when the corner of his eye caught the two child attendants beside him staring at him in astonishment, he suddenly came to his senses.
He secretly suppressed the turmoil in his heart.
"Phew—I am the dignified Dao Ancestor. How could I be jealous of such a puny life-form?"
Although he had somewhat calmed himself, he still felt an unbearable bitterness in his chest.
The more he endured it, the angrier he became; the more he gave way, the more aggrieved he felt!
What am I still enduring for?
How could I not be jealous!!
"Crack!"
In the next moment, the teacup in Hongjun's hand, carved from Chaos Immortal Jade, instantly turned to flying ash.
"..."
Haotian and Yaochi exchanged a glance,
then quietly withdrew.
The Dao Ancestor at this moment was not someone they could afford to provoke. It was best to leave as quickly as possible.
Meanwhile, on the land of the Great Desolation, the living beings below the Saint Realm did not understand what this "Heavenly Dao Void"
actually was.
They merely saw the Heavenly Dao reveal such an extraordinary phenomenon. Though they did not understand it, they could sense that it was extraordinary.
When Lu Changsheng saw this void, a faint smile appeared at the corners of his lips, and he stepped inside without hesitation.
He knew the Heavenly Dao's weakness well,
so he was not worried that the Heavenly Dao would harm him.
Before the Six Sages could recover, Lu Changsheng had already entered the Heavenly Dao Void—
this left all the Sages dumbfounded for a moment.
He was in? Lu Changsheng had actually entered the Heavenly Dao Void?
He was the first living being to enter the Heavenly Dao Void since the creation of the Great Desolation!
Even more unbelievable was the fact that,
the Sages of the Great Desolation had still been unable to set foot in the Heavenly Dao Void,
yet a mere Quasi-Saint had entered it before them?
It was truly infuriating to compare people.
The Heavenly Dao Void that all the Sages had sought but could not obtain—
how could Lu Changsheng, whose Dao realm stopped at the Quasi-Saint level, come and go from it as he pleased?
Lu Changsheng took one step into the Heavenly Dao Void.
The surroundings were pitch-black and boundless, vastness stretching beyond sight.
Faint starlight dotted the distance, and every star represented a living being.
The River of Destiny spread through the void like a resplendent galaxy, reflecting the trajectories of all living beings.
This place was like the central hub of the Great Desolation World, governing all laws and order.
At that moment, the Eye of Heavenly Punishment slowly opened deep within the starry sky.
That majestic giant eye stared straight at Lu Changsheng,
as though examining his origins—
a living being of the Great Desolation actually possessed merit surpassing the Heavenly Dao,
shocking even the Heavenly Dao itself.
Lu Changsheng paid no attention to the gaze of the Eye of Heavenly Punishment,
and spoke with a smile:
"Brother Heavenly Dao, since you allowed me in, that means you agree to help me distribute the merit.
I'll trouble you with the rest!"
After his voice fell, the Eye of Heavenly Punishment gave no response,
continuing to stare at him in silence.
Lu Changsheng took it as tacit agreement,
and with a wave of his hand, ten trillion units of merit surged forth,
illuminating the pitch-black starry sky with overflowing golden radiance,
to the point that even the Eye of Heavenly Punishment was nearly blinded by the light.
Lu Changsheng slightly restrained the golden radiance and said with a beaming smile:
"It isn't much merit, only ten trillion.
I'll leave it here for now. I'll trouble you to distribute it on my behalf."
Only then did the Eye of Heavenly Punishment recover its vision,
but it was once again stunned by the ten trillion units of merit.
What did ten trillion units of merit represent?
The one trillion units of merit from before had already shaken all the living beings of the Great Desolation,
and even the Heavenly Dao had paused in astonishment, its divine wheel momentarily still.
One trillion was already this astonishing,
yet now it had been multiplied into ten trillion?
And he had even casually said that it was "not much"?
If this did not count as much,
then what did the Heavenly Dao count as?
A pauper? A beggar?
However, all of Lu Changsheng's merit had been bestowed by the system...
Therefore, the Heavenly Dao could not investigate the state of Lu Changsheng's merit.
If it could have found out, the Heavenly Dao would probably have collapsed on the spot long ago.
After all, ten trillion units of merit amounted to merely one-tenth of his total merit.
Although it could not discover Lu Changsheng's true depths,
the Eye of Heavenly Punishment quickly responded instinctively after a brief moment of confusion.
As the Eye of Heavenly Punishment lightly blinked,
the Heavenly Dao Void suddenly trembled,
and the vast starry universe shook violently.
Amid the roar of space and time,
a divine staff was gently lifted before Lu Changsheng
by the power of the Heavenly Dao.
Lu Changsheng looked up,
only to see dense Heavenly Dao Order swirling around the divine staff,
the might of the Heavenly Dao pervading the area as Heavenly Dao radiance flowed across its body.
As the radiance flickered,
the unique Dao patterns engraved on the staff interwove with the light.
At the same time, that familiar tremor of the Heavenly Dao came once more.
Though he could not understand the Heavenly Dao's language,
its meaning went straight into Lu Changsheng's mind—
it was roughly inviting him to replace Hongjun and become the new representative of the Heavenly Dao,
while bestowing upon him this Heavenly Dao Divine Staff.
This staff possessed most of the authority of the Heavenly Dao,
such as freely summoning heavenly tribulations and the Eye of Heavenly Punishment,
and even modifying part of the Heavenly Dao Order, among other abilities.
Just as the Heavenly Dao was conveying its intent to Lu Changsheng,
Hongjun, who was waiting in Zixiao Palace for Lu Changsheng to leave, suddenly felt a sense of danger.
He muttered in surprise:
"Strange. Where did this sense of danger come from?"
As Hongjun muttered to himself, he immediately began deducing,
but found nothing at all.
Now that the Heavenly Secrets had already tilted toward Lu Changsheng, how could Hongjun calculate anything?
After suffering a backlash from the Great Dao the last time he deduced Lu Changsheng's fate,
he no longer dared to forcefully divine the Heavenly Secrets.
At that moment, the Eye of Heavenly Punishment gazed at Lu Changsheng with a smile, waiting for his agreement.
After all, this was the position of the Heavenly Dao's representative,
and it even came with the exceptional bestowal of the Heavenly Dao Divine Staff.
His status far surpassed Hongjun's puppet-like position.
Given such terms, there was no way a living being of the Great Desolation would refuse.
However, before the Eye of Heavenly Punishment could remain confident for long,
Lu Changsheng impatiently waved his hand and refused:
"Brother, what are you doing?
I call you brother, yet you want me to become your puppet underling?"
Wouldn't that completely mess up our seniority?
You should leave this position of representative to your puppet to handle!
When the Eye of Heavenly Punishment heard Lu Changsheng reject it, it froze for a moment.
This was the representative of the Heavenly Dao—
moreover, it was a position of real power that controlled the Heavenly Dao Divine Staff.
It was far stronger than a puppet like Hongjun.
Such an extraordinary honor had actually been refused?
The Heavenly Dao could not make sense of it no matter how hard it tried.
Lu Changsheng's refusal, however, had its own reasoning.
If he exhausted all his merit, he would be able to transcend the Heavenly Dao and become a Great Dao Saint.
For now, the Heavenly Dao could still call him brother.
But on the day he achieved success—
the Heavenly Dao would merely be a little underling beneath his seat.
However, Lu Changsheng's gaze swept over the Heavenly Dao Divine Staff.
He reached out and took it, playing with it for a moment before saying:
"This thing isn't bad. I'll take it.
"As for the position of little brother, leave it to Hongjun."
After saying this, Lu Changsheng completely ignored the astonished state of the Eye of Heavenly Punishment.
He took up the Heavenly Dao Divine Staff and turned to leave.
After walking a few steps, he suddenly remembered something.
He turned around and sternly warned the Eye of Heavenly Punishment:
"Brother, you must remember one thing—
"In the future, whenever you distribute merit, you must use the portion I left here.
"If you don't use my merit, I'll definitely get angry when the time comes.
"Once I get angry, I'll no longer have any interest in opening up a great world within the Great Wilderness."
This was simply an outright threat.
But Lu Changsheng had calculated that the Heavenly Dao could do nothing to him.
As for what the Heavenly Dao thought, he didn't care.
He only wanted to squander that million trillion merit completely.
Cooperating with the Heavenly Dao was merely a shortcut.
The Eye of Heavenly Punishment watched Lu Changsheng's figure slowly recede, once again falling into confusion.
How absurd was this?
I am the dignified Heavenly Dao, yet I'm actually being threatened like this?
And for such a reason?
Merit was like money in later generations—
I'm actually being threatened because I can't help someone "save money"?
This was truly incomprehensible!
Looking across the entire Great Wilderness, only this extraordinary person could do something like this.
And yet, the Heavenly Dao was helpless against it.
After Lu Changsheng left the Heavenly Dao Void,
deep within the starry sky, the Heavenly Dao let out a burst of uncontrollable, murmured agitation.
Its approximate meaning was:
"Since my birth, through endless ages, I have never encountered someone so peculiar!"
Lu Changsheng had no idea that his actions had made the Eye of Heavenly Punishment unable to resist silently complaining.
Holding the Heavenly Dao Divine Staff, he once again descended before the Great Wilderness and its billions upon billions of living beings.
When the gathered beings saw Lu Changsheng appear completely unharmed, they were all utterly shaken.
Immediately afterward, they also noticed the divine staff in his hand.
Although no one recognized the object, the vast Heaven's might flowing through it was impossible to ignore.
Unlike the lower-level living beings of the Great Wilderness, the Six Sages recognized the origin of the Heavenly Dao Divine Staff at a glance.
The moment they saw the divine staff, the Six Sages froze on the spot.
"That—could it be the Heavenly Dao Divine Staff, symbolizing the authority of the Heavenly Dao?"
Taiqing Laozi exclaimed in shock.
One had to know that even their master—the teacher of the sages, the founder of the Mystic Sect, the Dao Ancestor Hongjun who represented the Heavenly Dao—had never possessed the Heavenly Dao Divine Staff!
Yet this quasi-sage before them could actually wield the Heavenly Dao Divine Staff?
This was simply inconceivable!
Before you continue