Deathly stillness!
The East Sea Coast fell into an unprecedented silence!
The wind stopped, the clouds condensed, and even the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi stirred by the Sage Dao Rhyme froze in midair.
Below, the myriad Human Race held their breath.
They did not understand the meaning of severing the Three Corpses or the Purple Heaven Palace's teachings.
But from the Saints' Sudden Change of Expression and the terrifying pressure that seemed ready to tear their Divine Souls apart, they understood one thing.
Master Xuandu's words had pierced the heavens!
And what he had pierced was the Supreme Heaven above the Saints' heads!
"You... you..."
Primordial Heavenly Venerate pointed at Xuandu with trembling fingers, his dignified face pale and flushed.
The Heavenly Celebration Cloud churned violently, its auspicious radiance flickering uncertainly.
His lips moved as he tried to deliver a harsh rebuke.
He wanted to crush this reckless junior completely with his Saintly Might.
Yet when the words reached his mouth, they lodged in his throat!
Rebuke him?
How could he rebuke him?
Deny the Dao Ancestor's teachings?
That would be deceiving his master and destroying his ancestors—grave treason!
Acknowledge the Dao Ancestor's teachings?
Then what essential difference was there between Xuandu teaching cultivation methods to his own disciples and the Dao Ancestor teaching them to his disciples?
Xuandu's question had directly elevated this act to the same level as the Dao Ancestor's teachings!
What was even more ruthless was that he had not asked whether they could teach—it was why they had learned!
This was a heart-piercing question!
A trap that could not be answered!
If they insisted on stopping Xuandu from teaching humans, they would indirectly be questioning the Dao Ancestor's teachings from back then!
Yet the Dao Ancestor's teachings were the foundation for the Great Wilderness Heavenly Dao's workings, the emergence of Saints, and the flourishing of the Mystic Gate!
To question the Dao Ancestor was to question the Heavenly Dao, and to question the legitimacy of their own Saint Positions!
This karma was too great, too terrifying!
Even Primordial Heavenly Venerate, ever proud and arrogant, felt a bone-chilling cold rise from within, leaving his limbs cold.
He stared fixedly at Xuandu. Beyond his fury, there was now a trace of wariness in his eyes!
This child's malice of mind, sharpness of words, and cunning use of karma were simply horrifying!
Laozi remained silent, his eyes closed, as though he had fused with the frozen time and space around him.
With a single thought, a Sage could deduce myriad ages.
Deep within his Dao Heart, Heavenly Dao Runes flickered as he frantically deduced every possible outcome of this karma.
Human Race Fortune, Jie Sect Karma, Nuwa's Saint Position, the Dao Ancestor's Heavenly Will...
Countless lines intertwined into a dense net.
And he and Yuanshi were now nailed to the center of that net by Xuandu's unanswerable question!
Non-action, non-action...
But now, how could he remain non-active?
Xuandu's actions were no longer merely about teaching humans.
He intended to completely clarify the vague attribution of Human Race Fortune!
Laozi had established the Human Sect and enjoyed the blessing of thirty percent of Human Race Fortune.
If he stood by and watched Xuandu lead the Human Race toward the Jie Sect, passing down an exclusive cultivation method and winning the hearts of the myriad Human Race...
Then the thirty percent fortune that maintained the stability of his Saint Realm would inevitably be shaken!
Even if he did not lose his Saint Position, his realm would surely fall!
This concerned the very foundation of his existence. How could he take it lightly?
Laozi's fingers curled slightly within his sleeve, so subtly that it was almost imperceptible.
For the first time, the indifferent and non-action aura around him showed a subtle fluctuation.
At the side, Primordial Heavenly Venerate saw everything: Laozi's silence and that subtle fluctuation in his aura.
His heart sank at first, but then uncontrollable ruthlessness surged within him!
Elder Brother was hesitating!
How could that be allowed?
Xuandu was as cunning as a fox and as vicious as a wolf!
First, he had used his status as a direct disciple of the Jie Sect to force back the Demon Court.
Then he had used Nuwa's karma to intimidate Elder Brother.
And now, he had even invoked the Dao Ancestor's lectures, placing everyone over a fire!
A step by step strategy, each link locking into the next!
If he were truly allowed to succeed today, to pass down Human Race cultivation methods and gather the hearts of the myriad Human Race...
Primordial Heavenly Venerate did not even dare imagine the consequences!
The Jie Sect's fortune would inevitably soar!
Tongtian's sect, filled with wet-born, egg-hatched, hairy-horned creatures, was already enjoying a prosperous aura. If it gained the blessing of Human Race Fortune as well...
Would there still be a place for his Chan Sect to establish a foothold in the future Great Wilderness?
What was more crucial was Elder Brother!
Elder Brother had become a Sage by establishing the Human Sect, and his bond with Human Race Fortune ran the deepest!
Thirty percent fortune!
Once that was seized by Xuandu, that wretch, Elder Brother's realm would fall, and the balance of the Three Pure Ones would immediately collapse!
Then, with Tongtian reigning alone, how could Yuanshi continue to control the Jade Pure Dao Lineage, follow Heaven's mandate, select roots, and preserve the dignity of Pangu Orthodox Lineage?
As one rose while the other declined, his Chan Sect's Dao lineage might face the danger of destruction!
No!
Xuandu could absolutely not be allowed to succeed!
He had to completely muddy the waters and drag more people into this!
With that thought, a fierce look flashed through Primordial Heavenly Venerate's eyes, and all hesitation vanished.
He suddenly turned, his gaze like cold lightning as it stabbed toward a patch of void in the east!
There, an incomparably hidden Sage's Spiritual Sense was quietly entrenched, observing the situation unfold.
It was Saintess Nuwa, who had never truly appeared from beginning to end, yet had been watching this place all along!
"Junior Sister Nuwa!"
Primordial Heavenly Venerate's voice suddenly rose, piercing through the void and reaching the core of that Spiritual Sense!
"Since you arrived long ago, why hide your head and show your tail, watching from the sidelines?"
"This concerns the Human Race's foundation, the Holy Mother's Saint Position, and even the flow of Great Wilderness fortune!"
"Junior Sister, as the mother and creator of the Human Race, you receive the Human Race's offerings of fortune and became a Sage through merit!"
"Now that the Human Race's fate is about to be decided, Xuandu seeks to defy fate. Junior Sister..."
Primordial Heavenly Venerate paused slightly, his tone abruptly turning into a sharp question:
"Could it be that you truly intend to watch with your own eyes and stand by without doing anything?!"
Boom!
As soon as these words were spoken, the East Sea Coast, which had just fallen into deathly stillness because of Xuandu's shocking question, underwent another sudden change in atmosphere!
The Spiritual Senses of all the Great Powers watching in secret fluctuated violently!
The teacup in Daoist Duobao's hand cracked, a thin fissure spreading across it!
Saint Mother Jinling, Saint Mother Wudang, and the others suddenly stood up, their expressions incomparably grave!
Within Biyou Palace, Sect Leader Tongtian's gaze turned cold. Sword Qi soared to the heavens around him, tearing through layer upon layer of void and pointing directly toward Yuanshi!
What a Yuanshi!
Unable to face Xuandu's question head-on himself, he had directly dragged Nuwa, who had been hidden behind the scenes all along, into the open!
He wanted to completely throw the situation into chaos, muddy the waters, and ensure no one could escape!
Below, the myriad Human Race's hearts trembled greatly as they looked up at the sky in confusion.
Nuwa... Holy Mother Empress?
The Holy Mother who had created them had truly... been watching all along?
Suiren Shi, Youchao Shi, and Ziyi Shi, the Three Ancestors, turned deathly pale. Their lips trembled, yet they could not speak a single word.
The Holy Mother they had worshipped for countless years had not appeared during their most despairing and helpless moments.
Now, Master Xuandu was risking his life to fight for a glimmer of hope for them, yet the Holy Mother... was going to step out and stop him?
At the Altar Peak.
Xuandu's pupils contracted slightly as well.
Yuanshi's move was ruthless—and poisonous!
He had directly forced Nuwa from behind the scenes to the forefront!
Nuwa's karma with the Human Race was that of creator and created, Holy Mother and her people.
This karma was more direct and more fundamental than Laozi's establishment of the Human Sect!
If Nuwa declared her opposition to Xuandu teaching humans at this moment...
Then the nature of the matter would completely change!
It would no longer be a conflict of ideals within the Jie Sect and Mystic Gate, nor simply the Human Race's path toward self-reliance.
Instead... it would be the Holy Mother abandoning her people!
The creator would personally extinguish the hope of the created to struggle for survival!
The weight and terror of this karma were enough to shake the foundation of Nuwa's Saint Position!
It might even trigger Heavenly Dao Backlash!
Yuanshi was forcing Nuwa onto a dead end, forcing her to stand alongside Laozi and suppress Xuandu, suppress the Human Race!
What a plan to kill two birds with one stone... no, to kill three birds with one stone!
It would not only resolve his own predicament of being cornered by Xuandu's question, but also drag Nuwa into the water to bear the karma with him, and perhaps join forces with Laozi to completely choke off Xuandu's chance to teach humans!
Ruthless! Poisonous! Merciless!
Xuandu's thoughts raced, and in an instant, he understood all of Yuanshi's calculations.
He could not retreat!
He could not retreat even a single step!
If he retreated now, it would mean eternal damnation!
The Human Race would never have another chance to rise, and his own Great Dao would be obstructed as well!
His gaze swept over Yuanshi's shifting expression, then over Laozi, who still had his eyes closed in deduction, his aura fluctuating.
Finally, he slowly turned toward the ethereal Spiritual Sense in the east, which Yuanshi had exposed and which could no longer remain hidden.
Since they wanted chaos, then he would make this game even more chaotic!
Just as Xuandu was about to speak and prepare to meet this unprecedented crisis.
That patch of void finally responded.
Before you continue