"Mm, I am indeed the North Sea Black Tortoise! Greetings, Daoist Nuwa!"
Beichen bypassed the other three Destined Saints and greeted Nuwa.
He knew Nuwa was the Mother of the Earth, broad-minded, and his first impression of her was far better than of the other three Destined Saints.
"Greetings, Daoist Mysterious Turtle!" Nuwa replied to Beichen just as courteously.
Nuwa seemed about to ask him something, but paused and turned to look at the sky instead. "Daoist Mysterious Turtle, once I have completed my great task of Mending the Heavens, I'll return and speak with you!"
With that, Nuwa carried the Mysterious Sky Divine Dragon Pillar toward the center of the world.
At the same time, one Mysterious Sky Divine Dragon Pillar after another descended upon the Four Poles. They were far more majestic and imposing than the legs of the Mysterious Turtle!
"Just as I expected from the Mysterious Sky Divine Dragon Pillars I risked my life to refine. They're truly extraordinary!"
Beichen felt gratified.
Beichen was too caught up in his admiration to notice the killing intent in the eyes of the three Destined Saints as they looked at him.
Beichen had merely spoken to Nuwa, yet he had completely ignored the three of them, which enraged them.
"This little Mysterious Turtle, born of wetness and eggs, was supposed to have its four legs cut off to support the sky, but instead it took a shortcut and bewitched the Heaven and Earth Great Dao. It deserves to die!" Primordial Lord of Heaven muttered. "And it dares to disregard us? How arrogant!"
The four Mysterious Sky Divine Dragon Pillars settled into place at the Four Poles. A tremendous Ruyi Force surged upward, and the sky rose higher, stretching for hundreds of millions of miles.
The sky cleared, and Void Spirit Light descended. A sense of peace spread across the earth.
The world was still in shambles, but the sky had been raised, and the Heavenly Dao's laws had returned to their proper order. Countless Primordial Evil Beasts fled, no longer daring to rampage.
"We did it!"
Joy appeared on Nuwa's face.
Just then, the Heavenly Dao in the void rang out with a deep, resonant sound, like a great bell, as if praising the one who had mended the sky.
"The Heavenly Dao is about to bestow merit!"
A subtle gleam flickered in the eyes of Grand Pure Lord of Morality.
The next moment, an expanse of Heaven and Earth Merit, millions of acres wide, appeared from nowhere. It gathered like countless seas merging together, spread across the heavens, and made the entire world tremble.
"The merit for Mending the Heavens is this immense!"
The three saints gazed at the merit, swallowing hard as longing gleamed in their eyes.
"We helped protect Junior Sister while she mended the sky. I wonder if we'll get a share of the merit," Heavenly Lord of the Primordial Treasure murmured.
"Heh. I'm afraid it has nothing to do with us."
Grand Pure Lord of Morality had learned Heaven's secrets in advance, and a trace of regret surfaced on his face.
"Eldest Brother, surely we ought to receive a share of the merit. Why do you say we won't?" Primordial Lord of Heaven asked, puzzled.
Crack!
Just then, a thunderclap split the heavens. The millions of acres of merit divided in two, with the two portions exactly equal.
"The Heavenly Dao's merit is about to descend. Hurry and get out of the way!"
Countless demons within tens of thousands of miles fled frantically, avoiding the merit.
Though it was merit bestowed from the heavens, it benefited only its recipient. If any unrelated beings were present and tried to seize it, the power of merit would kill them, leaving no trace behind!
This was true of both Heaven and Earth Great Dao Merit and Heavenly Dao Merit. All manner of demons feared that the merit descending from the heavens might mistake them for thieves and strike them down.
In the Primordial World, everyone knew this: if merit wasn't yours, you must never try to seize it!
As the countless demons scattered, the two portions of merit separated. One poured down over Nuwa, settling upon her.
The other fell toward the Three Islands of the Vast Sea like a raging tide and poured into Beichen.
The Heavenly Dao continued to bestow merit for several decades before finally sending it all down.
As a Mysterious Turtle, Beichen had cultivated for ten thousand years. He had crossed the realms of Mortal Immortal, Earth Immortal, Heaven Immortal, True Immortal, Primordial Unity True Immortal, and Mystic Immortal, reaching the early stage of the Golden Immortal Realm. Now, after absorbing half of the merit for Mending the Heavens, he broke through to the late stage of the Golden Immortal Realm in one leap.
Nuwa, who had been at the early stage of Grand Unity Golden Immortal, absorbed the merit and cultivated for these several decades, reaching the late stage of Grand Unity Golden Immortal. She had just barely caught up with the other three Destined Saints.
"Congratulations, Junior Sister, on successfully obtaining the merit for Mending the Heavens!"
The three Destined Saints hurried over to congratulate her.
"Thank you, Senior Brothers, for protecting me!" Nuwa replied with a smile.
Sect Master Tongtian was deeply puzzled. "Eldest Brother, since the three of us were protecting her, why didn't any of the merit for Mending the Heavens come to us?"
Grand Pure Lord of Morality shook his head with a smile. "Junior Brother Tongtian, this is all because of that Mysterious Turtle!"
"Protecting her? What were we protecting her from? While Junior Sister mended the sky, we merely watched from the sidelines. How could that count as protecting her?"
"According to the original course of events, Junior Sister was supposed to cut off the Mysterious Turtle's four legs to support the world. The North Sea Black Tortoise was a regional overlord of the North Sea. It would have been difficult for Junior Sister to cut off its legs on her own, so we would have had to assist her. Then we would have cut off the legs and supported the sky, earning Heavenly Dao Merit!"
"But the Mysterious Turtle refined pillars to support the sky himself. We no longer contributed to mending the sky or protecting her, so naturally, we received no merit!"
Originally, Nuwa was supposed to receive half the merit for Mending the Heavens, while the remaining half would be divided equally among the three Destined Saints. But Beichen's actions had changed the course of events. The other three had come away empty-handed!
Rumble!
After the Heavenly Dao bestowed its merit, golden light once more filled the world. From within the boundless void, the world again bestowed Great Dao Merit!
Mending the Heavens also involved the Heaven and Earth Great Dao, so Great Dao Merit naturally descended.
But this Great Dao Merit was a single, undivided mass, and it headed straight for Beichen.
A smile touched Beichen's eyes. He didn't hesitate, absorbing all the Heaven and Earth Great Dao Merit in one go.
This took another twenty years. Beichen's cultivation had reached the peak of the Golden Immortal Realm, only half a step away from the Grand Unity Golden Immortal Realm!
"Damn it! That Mysterious Turtle has received the favor of the Heaven and Earth Great Dao yet again!"
The Destined Saints all looked on with envy.
"Senior Brother, why?" Tongtian was still deeply puzzled.
"Because supporting the world is more important than mending the sky. Mending the sky involves only the Heavenly Dao, while supporting the world involves the Heaven and Earth Great Dao." Grand Pure Lord of Morality sighed. "I didn't expect the Heaven and Earth Great Dao to attribute all the merit for supporting the sky to the Mysterious Turtle. It truly favors him!"
"Damn it, damn it!" Primordial Lord of Heaven was furious. "Senior Brothers, we've made an enemy of this Mysterious Turtle today! From now on, he'll be our mortal enemy!"
The other two said nothing, but they too secretly bore a grudge against Beichen.
Nuwa alone gazed at Beichen, deep in thought.
A moment later, she quickly flew over to him. "Daoist North Sea Black Tortoise, would you be willing to become my disciple?"
"Huh?" Beichen was taken aback.
First, he was surprised that Nuwa wanted to take him as her disciple.
Second, he found it strange that Nuwa and the other three Destined Saints were currently at such low cultivation levels. They were only at the late stage of Grand Unity Golden Immortal and had yet to reach the Great Encompassing realm.
Could this mean the Witch-Demon Tribulation hadn't ended?
If the Witch-Demon Tribulation had ended, all four of them should have been at least Quasi-Saints!
"Daoist Mysterious Turtle, my master, Hongjun, is a Quasi-Saint and will surely attain a Saint Position in the future. Under his guidance, we will achieve great things as well. If you become my disciple, you'll gain many benefits!"
Nuwa spoke with easy grace.
But she also had her own motives. After all, the Heaven and Earth Great Dao favored Beichen, and if she became his master, the benefits would be boundless.
Before you continue