Method of Becoming a Sage, Path of Balance

Within the Purple Cloud Palace, Hongjun spoke with eloquence, his words like lotus blossoms blooming from his tongue.

As he began to expound upon the Sage's Path, the entire Purple Cloud Palace became saturated with countless laws of the Heavenly Dao.

But unlike the previous two sermons, this time during the lecture, the listeners no longer felt the sudden clarity and enlightenment they had experienced before.

The first two sermons had covered the paths of the Golden Immortal and the Quasi-Sage.

At that time, everyone's cultivation realms happened to be at those stages, making the teachings perfectly suited to them.

Now, however, most of their cultivation remained at the Quasi-Sage level, and trying to comprehend the Sage's Path was nearly a fantasy.

Even the Three Pure Ones, seated upon their futons, were frowning deeply, straining with great difficulty to follow.

But Hongjun did not care.

He spoke on, absorbed in his own insights into the Sage's Path, gaining a few new understandings in the process.

One could say that the one who benefited most from this sermon was himself.

When Hongjun finally paused, the audience gradually awoke from their listening state, each left with only one thought: The Sage's Path was truly profound and unfathomable.

To Hongjun's slight surprise, Styx had awakened at the end of the previous two sermons, but this time he remained lost in a trance, his mind wandering beyond the heavens.

Perhaps this was a good thing for him.

At the very least, the Primordial Purple Qi originally intended for Styx would no longer need to be given.

Hongjun declared, "This sermon ends here. If any of you have questions, you may speak."

Laozi was the first to speak. He rose from his futon, bowed deeply, and asked, "May I ask the Sage, what is a Sage?"

Hongjun replied, "Beneath the Heavenly Dao, Sages emerge in response to the Heavenly Dao. They entrust their Primordial Spirit to the Heavenly Dao and govern the Primordial Wilderness on its behalf. Beneath the Sage, all living beings are but ants!"

At these words, the Purple Cloud Palace erupted in murmurs.

Beneath the Sage, all living beings are but ants!

If anyone else had said this, the assembled great powers would surely have scoffed at them.

But it was Hongjun who spoke these words!

Everyone had witnessed Hongjun's power; before him, they were indeed as weak as ants.

Thus, in that moment, a fervent desire to attain Sagehood ignited within everyone in the Purple Cloud Palace.

Yuanshi was the second to ask, "May I ask the Sage, how does one become a Sage?"

Hongjun answered, "The Three Thousand Great Daos can all lead to the Zenith Heaven Golden Immortal of the Origin, but they can be summarized into three methods. The first is to Prove Dao with Strength—using immense power to cleave open Chaos, create a world, and finally achieve the Great Dao. Those who attain the Zenith Heaven Golden Immortal of the Origin through this method are the strongest, but it is also the most difficult."

The audience nodded in agreement.

They were familiar with the concept of Proving Dao with Strength. The Great God Pangu, who created the Primordial Wilderness, had attempted to use this method. In the end, though he opened up the Primordial Wilderness, he also transformed into all things.

Of course, what Pangu sought to prove was not the Zenith Heaven Golden Immortal of the Origin, but an even higher realm.

Since even the Great God Pangu had failed at this method, none present considered themselves capable of surpassing him.

Hongjun continued, "The second method is the one This Daoist used to prove the Dao—the Three Corpses Severing Method. Severing one corpse within the body places one at Early Quasi-Sage, two corpses at Mid Quasi-Sage, and three corpses at Late Quasi-Sage. If the three corpses can be merged, one reaches the peak of Quasi-Sage. Finally, merging the three corpses with the original body naturally allows one to attain the Zenith Heaven Golden Immortal of the Origin. This method is not as difficult as Proving Dao with Strength, but it still requires great perseverance, and the strength after proving the Dao is respectable."

The listeners' eyes lit up.

After the second sermon, everyone had already embarked on the path of the Three Corpses Severing Method. Hearing Hongjun's explanation, they naturally felt this path was feasible.

The only challenge was that the Three Corpses Severing Method required three Innate Spiritual Treasures, which posed some difficulty for them.

Hongjun paid no heed to the thoughts of those below and continued on his own, "The third method is Proving the Dao through Merit. If one accumulates merit for the Primordial Wilderness, the Heavenly Dao will bestow merit in return. If the merit is sufficient, it is not impossible to leap from the Heavenly Immortal realm directly to the Zenith Heaven Golden Immortal of the Origin. However, the strength attained would be slightly inferior to those who prove the Dao through the first two methods."

This path was also viable for the audience.

After all, though merit was hard to come by, with effort they could still accumulate some.

Even if it took tens of millions of years, they might eventually gather enough merit to prove the Dao!

Seeing everyone lost in deep thought, Hongjun nodded with satisfaction.

Then he heard a discordant voice: "Then may I ask the Sage, what of the method of Proving the Dao through Laws?"

Hongjun turned his head, his face dark.

It was Styx!

He had truly returned at the most inopportune moment.

Hongjun had deliberately omitted the method of Proving the Dao through Laws, hoping no one would cultivate it.

But if he refused to answer Styx now, it would surely stir unrest among the other great powers.

Thus, despite his displeasure, Hongjun replied, "The method of Proving the Dao through Laws is not to be cultivated by anyone who lacks great fortune, great creation, or great perseverance!"

The crowd wished to ask more about Proving the Dao through Laws, but seeing Hongjun fall silent on the matter, they wisely held their tongues.

But Tongtian spoke up first, cutting in: "Sage, what you have just described are methods to attain the Zenith Heaven Golden Immortal of the Origin. How, then, does one prove the Sage?"

The crowd was startled, realizing this was indeed the case.

All three methods Hongjun had just explained were ways to attain the Zenith Heaven Golden Immortal of the Origin—he had not yet spoken of how to become a Sage.

Styx, having lost his chance to speak, did not seem to mind.

After all, he had already determined his path of Law Proving Dao, and his earlier inquiry was merely a whim.

During his battle with the Law Envoy in the Law Space, he had thoroughly understood how to proceed from here.

What was more intriguing was that the Law Force within Styx fluctuated unsteadily. His Creation Law, originally at forty-five percent, now seemed to be only around thirty percent.

What had happened?

Why had his Creation Law regressed?

To put it simply, during his clash with the Law Envoy, Styx had realized one point: balance.

He was the first to cultivate two Daos simultaneously.

Moreover, those two Daos were top-tier laws like Creation and Destruction.

Previously, he had focused solely on the Creation Law while neglecting the Destruction Law, causing an imbalance in the Law Force within his body.

Thus, even cultivating the Creation Law to forty-five percent was no match for the Law Envoy's thirty percent Creation Power.

Upon realizing this, Styx cut off his own arm—metaphorically speaking.

He directly abolished his hard-earned Creation Law down to about twenty percent, leveling it with the Destruction Law.

Once the two laws within him regained balance, Styx felt his comprehension of both laws surge forward by leaps and bounds!

With the Law Envoy also guiding (beating) him on the side, Styx progressed at an astonishing pace.

By intertwining the two Daos, both laws recovered to thirty percent.

Yet his combat power far surpassed what it had been before.

Styx was confident he could raise them to forty percent within a hundred thousand years, or even attain the Zenith Heaven Golden Immortal of the Origin within ten kalpas.

This way, he would finally carve out a place for himself in the Primordial Wilderness.

Moreover, the Gourd Vine and the Nine Heavens Breath Soil were both in his hands.

Without these two, Nüwa could not create humanity, and without humanity, the Era of Sages could not arrive.

In other words, the initiative from here on was entirely in Styx's own hands!

He could indefinitely postpone the arrival of the Era of Sages, unless he himself achieved enlightenment.

Not only that, but Styx also seemed to grasp why the Heavenly Dao had bestowed such fortune upon him.

It was likely for the sake of balance as well.

To balance him and Hongjun, preventing Hongjun from dominating the Primordial Wilderness alone.

Of course, this was merely his speculation.