The Era of the Saints Arrives

Once heaven and earth had returned to clarity, the saints exchanged glances. Grand Pure Laozi was the first to speak. "Junior Sister Nuwa, this Heavenly Dao...?"

Nuwa merely shook her head slightly. "I do not know either. I only know that the Dao Ancestor is no longer the Dao Ancestor!"

The expressions of the saints seemed to darken. At that moment, Nuwa took out a strand of Primordial Violet Qi. The Three Pure Ones likewise each produced their own strands of Primordial Violet Qi. Before they had become saints, none of them had been able to see the problem. But now that they had all become Primordial Zenith Heaven Golden Immortals, they could naturally perceive the true nature of the Primordial Violet Qi. Primordial Violet Qi was poison!

At that instant, they all turned to look at Jiang He below!

Suddenly being stared at by four saints, Jiang He's little heart hammered wildly! He could only give them an awkward smile. "Uh! Mother Goddess, Senior Grand Pure... heh heh, why are you all looking at me like that?"

Whether directly or indirectly, the four saints' attainment of sainthood had all formed karma with the little fellow below. Could it be that there was something about the Human Race that they did not know?

In truth, even Empress Nuwa did not know. She only knew that ever since she had created the Human Race and become a saint, without doing anything at all, her Cultivation Level had kept soaring. It was as though her strength had become linked to the Human Race—the greater the Human Race's fortune, the faster her Cultivation Level rose. In just a few thousand years, it had surged several times. By now, the Human Race had practically become her reverse scale!

Looking at the foolishly grinning Jiang He, the four saints all smiled knowingly. Even Yuanshi, who normally valued etiquette above all else, revealed a smile when he looked at Jiang He. This little fellow had truly brought the Three Pure Ones endless surprises. At the instant they attained sainthood, they seemed to have sensed the will of Father God Pangu. In that moment, the Three Pure Ones seemed to see another path of fate awaiting them—and its outcome was far from beautiful! Yet the source of all these changes seemed to be this little fellow!

After the four saints went their separate ways, Jiang He was taken away by Empress Nuwa, while the Three Pure Ones appeared to head for Pangu Hall of the Wu Race.

Deep within the chaos, a majestic palace floated silently amid endless turbulent currents. Within it, a hunched old man suddenly spat out a mouthful of golden blood. His hoarse voice drifted faintly from his lips. "Cough, cough! Heavenly Dao, in the end, you still lost! You forced me to abandon my true body and flee into chaos, yet in the end your calculations still came to nothing! Pangu... heh heh. What a scheme!" Seen from within the chaos, a plaque bearing the three words "Purple Cloud Palace" hung above the palace. Then the old man suddenly shouted, "I, Hongjun, will return!"

Western Continent, Mount Sumeru!

"Senior Brother, what are we to do? The four in the East have all become saints. Of those who entered the teacher's school and received Primordial Violet Qi, only you and I have yet to become saints. If this continues, we will be in grave danger!" Zhunti said anxiously to Jieyin.

"Difficult! Difficult! Difficult! It is difficult indeed! It is not as though you do not know the state of our West. Since the war between Dao and Devil, our Western lands have been left shattered beyond repair! Though the two of us brothers have spent all these years patching and mending it, it is still not enough to support the two of us becoming saints!" Jieyin said with a face full of sorrow.

"Then how about Senior Brother becoming a saint first? This junior brother can wait a while longer!" Zhunti said through gritted teeth.

"What are you saying, Junior Brother? You and I have been together ever since we took form. All these years, we have regarded reviving the West as our duty. We should advance and retreat together! Junior Brother, do not speak of this again!"

The two brothers had suffered bitterly. From the moment they were born, forget cultivation—even survival had been a problem amid the devastated Western Continent. Aside from the Seven Treasures Wonderful Tree and Six Pure Roots Bamboo that were their transformed true bodies, they did not possess a single Dharma treasure! Not to mention that the entire Western Continent was crying out in hunger, waiting for the two of them to save it!

Over time, Zhunti developed the habit of snatching whatever he saw! As a result, his merit was fundamentally insufficient to support his attainment of sainthood!

Zhunti had done the work of a villain, while Jieyin had received the merit for repairing the West. Now, asking him to cast Zhunti aside and become a saint alone—he truly could not do it!

"Could it be that our West truly has no hope after all?" Zhunti slumped onto the ground and muttered to himself.

"Junior Brother, do not look like this! Those in the East all attained sainthood through Enlightenment, so why can't our West do the same? But living beings in the West are ultimately too few to support two religions. Why don't the two of us establish one religion together and share its fortune?"

A glimmer of light appeared in Zhunti's eyes, and his heart settled at once! The two exchanged a glance, then prayed to the heavens. "Heavenly Dao above, I, Jieyin (Zhunti), have witnessed the suffering of the beings of the West, who have no path by which to seek the Dao. Here and now, we jointly establish the Western Religion. We are willing to use Buddhist teachings to enlighten all beings and deliver all people. Today, we use the Twelve-grade Golden Lotus of Merit to suppress the fortune of the Western Religion. May the Heavenly Dao bear witness."

"Western Religion, arise!"

As Jieyin and Zhunti made their Heavenly Dao vows, boundless phenomena emerged between heaven and earth. Violet qi swept across the skies, auspicious qi surged in rolling waves, and merit golden light stretched for ten thousand miles. Countless Heavenly Dao merits descended, merging with the Primordial Violet Qi deep within their Primordial Spirits and driving their Cultivation Levels all the way upward—mid-stage Quasi-Sage, late-stage Quasi-Sage, Quasi-Sage Great Completion. Before long, they surpassed Quasi-Sage Great Completion and advanced into the Half-Step Sage Realm.

At that very moment, the merit seemed to lack the strength to continue. Zhunti was greatly alarmed. "Senior Brother!" The two exchanged looks, then prayed to the sky once more. "Heavenly Dao above, I, Jieyin (Zhunti), am willing to make great vows: to deliver all beings and revive the West. May the Heavenly Dao show mercy!

"When I attain Buddhahood, should the beings of the ten directions hear my name, give rise to Bodhi hearts, cultivate every merit, practice the Six Paramitas, and remain steadfast without retreat; should they further dedicate their good roots and wish to be born in my realm, thinking of me single-mindedly without ceasing day or night—when their lives come to an end, I and the assembly of Bodhisattvas shall appear before them. Within but an instant, they shall be born in my land and become Avaivartika Bodhisattvas. If this vow is not fulfilled, I shall not take..."

That string of vows caused the Heavenly Dao to send down merit once more. They made a full forty-eight great vows, and the auras around the two finally entered the Sage Realm. Yet if they failed to fulfill their vows, their Cultivation Levels would be doomed never to advance another inch, remaining at the early stage of the Sage Realm.

Seeing the two become saints together, the beings of the Primordial World offered their congratulations one after another. Only Hongyun wore a sorrowful expression. After all, of the seven who had received Primordial Violet Qi, he was the only one who had yet to become a saint.

Meanwhile, deep within the Blood Sea, Old Ancestor Minghe suddenly flew into the air and prayed to the heavens. "Heavenly Dao above, I am Old Ancestor Minghe. Today, I shall use the Asura Race as a foundation to complete the Heavenly Dao and establish the Asura Religion! I shall use the Twelve-grade Karmic Fire Red Lotus to suppress its fortune. May the Heavenly Dao bear witness!"

The beings of the Primordial World were dumbfounded. Damn, was this never going to end? Numerous Great Experts of the Primordial World turned their gazes toward the Blood Sea.

Unfortunately, the merit Old Ancestor Minghe received this time was clearly insufficient. It only raised his Cultivation Level to Quasi-Sage Great Completion before it stopped increasing!

Feeling that his Cultivation Level was no longer rising, Old Ancestor Minghe sighed softly. Could it be that one truly could not become a saint without Primordial Violet Qi? His gaze turned toward distant Wuzhuang Temple!

Now, only Hongyun had yet to become a saint. It was not only Minghe who had his eyes on him—numerous Great Experts of the Primordial World were watching Hongyun as well!

Wuzhuang Temple

"Dao Brother Hongyun, how do you feel now?" Zhenyuanzi looked at Hongyun with a face full of anticipation, hoping he would say, "My Dao is complete!"

"What do you mean, how do I feel? The same as always!" Hongyun was sorrowful too. Recently, he had sensed far too much malice. Though he had always enjoyed wandering the world, he scarcely dared step outside Wuzhuang Temple anymore!

"Alas!"

Zhenyuanzi sighed. "You should stay here obediently for the time being!"

Hongyun gritted his teeth. Fine! He would avoid the limelight here for now and enter seclusion first!

The Primordial World did not count the years. Before long, ten thousand years had passed since the birth of the Human Race!

Beyond the chaos and the Primordial World, Wa Huang Tian!

"Your Majesty! Mother Goddess, when can I go out? I'm about to suffocate to death!"

At this moment, Jiang He was throwing a tantrum in Wa Huang Tian.

Yes, throwing a tantrum. Ever since figuring out Nuwa's thoughts, Jiang He seemed to have grown much bolder! Over these years, Empress Nuwa had kept him by her side and taught him. In addition, the laws he primarily cultivated already had masters, so he had secretly gone to the Wu Race and spoken with the Ancestor Witches. The Twelve Ancestor Witches then opened up the cheat for Jiang He! His comprehension of the laws rapidly increased, and he caught a ride into the Great Luo Golden Immortal realm!

And so, worried that he had advanced too quickly and that his state of mind would become unstable, Nuwa had caught him and shut him into seclusion until now!

Having not returned to the Human Race for nearly ten thousand years, Jiang He missed them greatly. Although he had learned the Human Race's general circumstances through the Red Dust Pearl, and Feng Liyue would occasionally come to Wa Huang Tian to visit him, he knew quite a lot about the Human Race.

But since he had not seen it with his own eyes, there were many plans he did not trust Jiang Shan and the others to carry out. It made him pace and stamp his feet anxiously within Nuwa Palace!

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