After Jieyin finished weighing the pros and cons, Zhunti fell into deep thought.
Until now, he had only focused on earning Merit and restoring the Western Region.
He hadn't given much thought to Haotian.
They were Sages.
They could look down on Haotian's origins.
But now, they couldn't deny it.
Haotian was a thorny problem.
He'd put everything right out in the open.
Naturally, he wasn't afraid of anyone copying him.
Anyone who learned from him would have to share some of the Merit with Haotian.
And they'd owe him something, too.
Whether it was Karma or a favor, it didn't matter.
Either way, they'd be in his debt.
And when Haotian came calling to settle the score, they couldn't do anything to him.
They'd even have to repay what they owed without complaint.
After all, Dao Ancestor Hongjun was backing Haotian.
They could disregard Haotian, but they couldn't slight Dao Ancestor.
The last person who'd slighted Dao Ancestor—
No one knew which corner of the world his ashes had drifted to by now.
Did they really think Dao Ancestor had intervened during the second Wu and Yao war to help the Demon Race?
Bullshit!
He'd simply waited for the Demon Race to reveal its full strength.
Then he'd used the Witch Clan to wipe it out completely.
Otherwise, with so many beings in the Demon Race having taken human form before the end of the world, it would surely have grown powerful enough to dominate the Primordial World.
And Dao Ancestor's reason for dealing with the Demon Race was simple.
Dijun and Taiyi had slighted him by killing East Prince Gong.
Otherwise, who became the Primordial World's chosen rulers had no effect on Hongjun whatsoever.
Why would he have gone to such lengths?
Would the Demon Race growing powerful threaten Dao Ancestor's interests?
How could it?
All Six Sages of the Primordial World had come from Zixiao Palace.
Dijun and Taiyi had come from Zixiao Palace, too.
So what?
How could that possibly affect Dao Ancestor Hongjun's interests?
As for threatening his authority?
Even less likely!
If they wanted to undermine his authority, they'd better first prove themselves stronger than him.
Otherwise, he could have everything arranged for them in the blink of an eye.
Thinking of Haotian's complicated situation, Zhunti felt a headache coming on.
Dijun and Taiyi could afford to misread the situation. Zhunti couldn't.
The Western Teachings had made it this far not only because he had no shame, but also because he could read the situation.
Why else had he set his sights on Hong Yun and Kunpeng at Zixiao Palace?
Why hadn't he gone after Taishang and Yuanshi instead?
Because he understood the situation, Zhunti knew where Dao Ancestor Hongjun drew the line when it came to Haotian.
They could look down on Haotian, but if they actually made a move against him—
Whether they plotted against him or simply beat him up—
As long as it made Dao Ancestor Hongjun lose face, they'd better brace themselves for his righteous, iron fist.
"Blind to the will of Heaven!"
Those words had originated with him.
Zhunti didn't want Dao Ancestor Hongjun branding him as someone blind to the will of Heaven.
That was as good as putting a bounty on his own head.
But look at the Western Region's situation now.
Zhunti wasn't willing to give up on "borrowing" Haotian's method.
Before he'd seen any hope, he might have been able to endure it.
He could even rack his brains for other ways to improve the Western Region's plight.
But now, hope was right in front of him. To give it up just like that—
That would hurt even more than losing an Innate Supreme Treasure.
After carefully weighing the pros and cons, Zhunti spoke with difficulty. "Senior Brother!
"There's no other way.
"We've thought about this for so long, but we still haven't found a way to improve the Western Region at its roots.
"Now the solution is right in front of us. I really don't want to let it slip away.
"For the sake of all living beings in the Western Region,
"I'm willing to endure a little grievance."
Seeing that Zhunti had made up his mind, Jieyin nodded. "Since you've decided, I'll support you.
"We'll face whatever comes together!
"Let's start refining those treasures now!"
"Agreed!"
At Mount Sumeru, the Two Sages of the West had made their choice.
Meanwhile, Primordial Heavenly Venerate on Kunlun Mountain wore a look of utter astonishment.
He'd discovered that even he couldn't refine those small bottles to be better than Haotian's.
What was especially absurd was that these Acquired Spiritual Treasures contained Innate Dao Restrictions.
That made no sense at all.
Everyone in the Primordial World knew that a major reason Innate Spiritual Treasures were considered innate was their unique Innate Dao Restrictions.
"Laws of Heaven and Earth" might be a more fitting name for them.
So what had Haotian done?
He'd put Innate Dao Restrictions into Acquired Spiritual Treasures.
And judging by the number of small bottles, there were clearly an enormous number of these Innate Dao Restrictions.
Haotian couldn't possibly have owned so many small bottles.
The Qiankun Cauldron could indeed reverse the acquired and restore the innate.
But—
There were tens of thousands of treasures!
How long would it take to do that with the Qiankun Cauldron?
Even if Haotian had started the moment Dao Ancestor joined with the Heavenly Dao, he couldn't have stockpiled this many bottles.
So the only explanation was that Haotian had refined the bottles himself.
And even he, Primordial Heavenly Venerate, hadn't mastered that skill.
Was there any justice in this?
Had he simply been paying too little attention to the Primordial World for too long?
Had the world's standard of artifact refining really become this high?
I!
Primordial Heavenly Venerate!
A true descendant of Pangu, one of the Three Pure Ones.
A Sage of the highest order!
The Sage hailed as the greatest master of artifact refining.
And now he was being told—
That in the art of artifact refining, he couldn't beat Haotian.
This was the biggest joke he'd heard since the day he was born!
By the boundless Dao Ancestor!
Had Dao Ancestor secretly given Haotian special lessons?
Had he taught Haotian some unique artifact-refining method behind the backs of his disciples?
It had to be!
Otherwise, how could Haotian, with his cultivation, surpass him in artifact refining?
The more he thought about it, the more certain Primordial Heavenly Venerate became.
Well, well!
Dao Ancestor had a real skill and had chosen not to teach his proper disciples, but instead passed it on to a mere child attendant?
What kind of unique lineage was this?
On Kunlun Mountain, the more Primordial Heavenly Venerate thought about it, the more unfair it seemed.
And with Haotian having made him lose face before, his dissatisfaction with Haotian grew even stronger.
Meanwhile, Haotian hadn't stopped what he was doing just because the Sages had their own opinions of him.
He bustled about the Northern Region like a busy little bee.
After finishing the formation near the Black Tortoise's body, he moved on to set up formations farther away.
None of the Northern Region's inhabitants foolishly stepped forward to stop him.
The occasional demonic creature, driven mad by baleful energy, was casually struck down by Haotian.
Time flew by, and a thousand years passed in the blink of an eye.
One day,
Haotian and his companions used up the last "small bottle."
Four vast beams of Golden Wheel of Merit descended from the sky.
The work Haotian and the others had done had brought great benefits to the Northern Region of the Primordial World.
The Heavenly Dao had sensed this and bestowed Merit as a reward.
As the Merit came to him, Haotian didn't forget to remind the others.
"Don't use Merit to increase your cultivation!"
Though they didn't understand what he meant, Tai Bai Jin Xing and Yaoji did as he said.
As the Merit slowly flowed into their Purple Mansions,
the Golden Wheels of Merit behind Haotian and the others gradually solidified.
Seeing Haotian and his companions blessed with Merit, the powerful beings of the Primordial World could no longer restrain their longing.
They'd made all the preparations. They were only waiting for Haotian and his companions to leave.
Then they'd head straight for the Northern Region.
First, they'd study the treasures Haotian had refined, then imitate him.
They'd get themselves a share of the Merit, too.
After a long while,
Haotian and his companions had absorbed all the Merit. Only then did they return to the Heavenly Court under Haotian's leadership.
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