Within the boundless Pure and Bright Immortal Light, the figure fully materialized.
He wore a plain Daoist robe, his white hair falling to his shoulders, his gaze indifferent.
His aura merged with the Heavenly Dao. Non-action and Action—he was none other than Grand Pure Sage Laozi!
He did not look at the Myriad Human Race kneeling and trembling below. His calm gaze settled on Xuandu.
More precisely, it settled on the three imprisoned balls of cultivation-technique light.
"This technique must not appear in the world."
Laozi spoke in a flat voice, without a trace of worldly passion, yet his Words Followed Law.
At his words, the three balls of light containing the techniques gave off faint cracking sounds!
"Senior Uncle-Master!"
At this sight, Xuandu's pupils contracted. He cried out urgently.
The Hunyuan Power throughout his body surged wildly as he tried to break through the invisible Sage's Restraint!
But the Sage's Might was as vast as an abyss.
Even though he had attained Hunyuan, he was still like an insect trying to shake a tree, unable to break free in the slightest!
All he could do was watch as the three balls of light vanished.
"Why?"
Xuandu abruptly raised his head and stared straight at Laozi's impassive face, his voice carrying suppressed anger.
"This is a cultivation technique exclusive to the Human Race. It can help my people grow stronger and establish themselves in the Great Wilderness!"
"As a Sage, Senior Uncle-Master, why are you stopping the Human Race's rise?"
He already understood why Laozi had come.
The fluctuation in Human Race Fortune sensed at Shouyang Mountain must have been connected to his accepting the Myriad Human Race as disciples and drawing on the Interception Sect's Fortune Blessing.
And by passing down a cultivation technique exclusive to the Human Race, he had fully ignited the Human Race's Fire of Self-Improvement.
That fluctuation had probably reached its peak, finally alarming his Pure and Non-acting Senior Uncle-Master!
Laozi's gaze remained indifferent as he looked over Xuandu. His voice was still calm:
"The Human Race's Destiny is determined by Heaven."
"The Witch-Demon Tribulation is the prevailing trend."
"If this technique is passed down and the Human Race is drawn into the Tribulation Conflict too soon, it will bring disaster, not blessings."
Hearing this, Xuandu laughed instead of getting angry.
He looked at Laozi, then raised his eyes toward Wa Huang Palace beyond the Thirty-three Heavens.
"Determined by Heaven? Blessings or disaster?"
"'Determined by Heaven,' indeed! 'Disaster, not blessings,' indeed!"
His voice rose sharply, undisguised mockery in every word.
"Empress Nuwa created the Human Race, became a Sage through merit, and enjoys the offerings of Human Race Fortune, yet she ignores the Human Race's Suffering and lets them become the Demon Race's Blood Food!"
"Senior Uncle-Master, you founded the Human Sect and borrowed Human Race Fortune to attain Sainthood, yet you too remain indifferent to the Human Race's Survival!"
"And now, I want to seize a Glimmer of Hope for the Human Race and pass down a way for them to grow strong, but you've come here in person to stop me?"
Xuandu showed no regard for Laozi's dignity. Every word struck at the heart.
"When you used the Human Race to become a Sage, I never heard you say anything was 'determined by Heaven'!"
"When the Human Race was about to be slaughtered by the Demon Race, I never heard you talk about 'blessings or disaster'!"
"But the moment I try to help the Human Race stand on its own, suddenly it's determined by Heaven, and suddenly there's disaster!"
He stared at Laozi, anger and sorrow mingling in his eyes.
"Senior Uncle-Master, you and Empress Nuwa—how can you be so hypocritical?!"
"Boom!"
His words rang out like thunder from the Ninth Heaven, echoing along the East Sea Coast and in the hearts of countless powerful beings secretly watching!
The teacup in Daoist Duobao's hand trembled slightly.
In Biyou Palace on Golden Ao Island, Sect Leader Tongtian raised his swordlike brows. A hard-to-read glimmer flashed in his eyes.
At Jade Void Palace on Kunlun Mountain, Primordial Heavenly Venerate snorted coldly but said nothing.
In Western Paradise, Jieyin Zhunti exchanged glances, surprise flashing in their eyes.
Xuandu truly was audacious!
He dared to question Grand Pure Sage Laozi to his face, directly calling out the contradiction between his actions and those of Saintess Nuwa!
Below, the Myriad Myriad Human Race were even more shaken to their core, frozen in place.
The Three Ancestors—Suiren Shi, Youchao Shi, and Ziyi Shi—turned deathly pale, their bodies icy cold.
The Holy Mother they believed in, the Grand Pure Sage they revered—could they really... really be like this?
Though Xuandu's words were cutting, they were all true!
Why did the Holy Mother who created them not care for them?
Why did the Grand Pure Sage, who founded a sect to protect them, not care for them either?
In the eyes of the Sages, were they truly nothing more than tools for attaining Sainthood?
Laozi's expression remained calm.
His Saint Heart was unruffled, impervious to countless tribulations.
But the faintest ripple passed through his eyes.
He was not angered by Xuandu's challenge. He simply looked at him and said slowly:
"The Dao of a Sage is beyond your understanding."
"The Human Race will rise, but not now. Forcing the matter will bring Heavenly Punishment."
"This technique cannot be allowed to appear in the world."
At that moment, a flash of inspiration suddenly struck Xuandu!
He gave up trying to force his way through the Sage's Restraint. The surging aura around him instantly subsided.
He raised his head. His gaze was no longer angry; instead, it became utterly calm.
He looked at Laozi and spoke each word with perfect clarity:
"Senior Uncle-Master, could it be that you've forgotten..."
He paused slightly and pointed behind him at the vast, densely packed Myriad Myriad Human Race.
"These Myriad Human Race have all become my disciples, my personal disciples!"
"When a master teaches his disciples cultivation techniques, helps them practice, and protects their Dao Path..."
Xuandu met Laozi's gaze, which had finally rippled with emotion, and challenged him coldly:
"That is only natural!"
"Senior Uncle-Master, as a Sage, would you truly stop me from teaching my own disciples?!"
"!!!"
In an instant, the world fell silent!
The wind stopped, the clouds froze, and even the pervasive Saintly Might seemed to pause!
Suiren Shi, Youchao Shi, and Ziyi Shi abruptly raised their heads, their eyes blazing with disbelief!
The Myriad Human Race below first froze, then understood what Xuandu meant!
That was right!
They had already taken Master Xuandu as their master!
What was wrong with their master passing a cultivation technique on to his disciples?
Though Grand Pure Sage Laozi was the Human Sect Master and held a lofty position, could he really interfere with another sect's master teaching his own disciples?
This was no longer interference in the Human Race's destiny, but interference in the Interception Sect's internal affairs!
Sect Leader Tongtian's gaze instantly pierced through the void and landed on Laozi, carrying a sharp edge.
Primordial Heavenly Venerate furrowed his brows.
A brilliant light flashed in the eyes of the Western Two Sages.
Xuandu, what a move!
In this desperate situation, he had managed to pry open a gap through the master-disciple relationship!
He had bound the Human Race's fate to the teaching of the Dao and the passing down of skills!
For the first time, clear astonishment appeared on Laozi's face, unchanged for countless ages.
He had evidently never expected Xuandu to argue from this angle.
Stop him from teaching his disciples a cultivation technique?
This was a principle recognized throughout the Great Wilderness. Even the Dao Ancestor had no grounds to stop him.
But if Xuandu were allowed to pass down this technique, the Human Race would surely rise...
Xuandu stood atop Altar Peak, his blue robes stirring in the breeze left by the fading Saintly Might.
He met Laozi's gaze without backing down.
The atmosphere had tightened to the breaking point.
Every gaze was fixed on Grand Pure Sage.
What would Laozi choose?
Would he keep trying to stop Xuandu, even if it meant turning completely against Tongtian?
Or would he let this happen?
The East Sea Coast was utterly silent.
Seeing this, the coldness in Xuandu's heart deepened.
How could he be satisfied?
Neither now nor in the original course of the Great Wilderness had Laozi or Nuwa ever helped the Human Race.
They had let billions of people become blood food, struggling to survive until they were nearly wiped out!
Now, he was passing down cultivation techniques to the Human Race, seizing that Glimmer of Hope for them.
Yet these two Sages, who had attained Sainthood through the Human Race, had become the greatest obstacles!
How unjust!
How ironic!
Xuandu could almost feel the indifferent gaze from Wa Huang Palace beyond the Thirty-three Heavens, somewhere in the Netherworld, falling upon this place.
Nuwa was watching too.
Since that was so...
He might as well tear this Heaven wide open!
Then no one would have any excuse left to stop him from teaching the Dao!
Before you continue