Saint

Seeing Bai Jing calm his heart so quickly, Laozi praised, "This man's temperament is quite good."

Yuanshi and Tongtian both nodded. Not just anyone could resist the temptation of a spiritual treasure that shared their very origin.

"If it were another spiritual treasure, I would not mind forming a good bond with him. But this Green Duckweed Sword is absolutely out of the question," Tongtian said.

Laozi and Yuanshi deeply agreed. The spiritual treasures in their hands were far more than merely three top-grade innate spiritual treasures—they also symbolized the bond between the Three Pure Ones.

After the Three Pure Ones' first lecture at Zixiao Palace, they had divided up the treasure gourds and continued their travels. Then they suddenly came upon a place blazing with divine light, pure qi filling the sky. Looking closely, they found that it was a green lotus.

After making a few calculations, Laozi uncovered the green lotus's origin and learned that it had transformed from a mature lotus seed of the Chaos Green Lotus.

Back when the Chaos Green Lotus had shattered alongside Pangu's creation of heaven and earth, it transformed into countless supreme treasures. Among them, four immature lotus seeds became the Twelfth-Grade World-Destroying Black Lotus, the Twelfth-Grade Merit Golden Lotus, the Twelfth-Grade Karmic Fire Red Lotus, and the Twelfth-Grade Pure World White Lotus. Yet precisely because they had been immature, those four lotuses escaped disaster instead.

The sole mature lotus seed transformed into the Twenty-Fourth-Grade Creation Green Lotus, an innate supreme treasure. But because it lacked the merit of creating heaven and earth, the Heavenly Dao of the Primordial World would not permit it to exist as an innate supreme treasure. That was why it faced this calamity today.

While traveling, the Three Pure Ones encountered it and saw that this supreme treasure was about to shatter. Laozi flew forward and pointed at the green lotus. "Red flower."

At once, the red flower atop the green lotus transformed into a Coiled Dragon Knuckle Staff and fell into Laozi's hand.

Yuanshi Tianzun also reached out and pointed. "White lotus root." The white lotus root transformed into a Three-Treasure Jade Ruyi and fell into Yuanshi's hand.

Tongtian likewise pointed at the green lotus. "Green lotus leaf." The lotus leaf transformed into a Green Duckweed Sword and fell into Tongtian's hand.

These three treasures were all top-grade innate spiritual treasures, just as the saying went: "Red flower, white lotus root, green lotus leaf—the Three Pure Ones were originally one family."

Having barely suppressed the stirring in his heart, Bai Jing naturally did not set his gaze upon those three spiritual treasures again. He turned to look at the others instead.

Among those standing ahead were a man in a purple-gold Daoist robe chatting merrily with a man in red robes, a young Daoist standing with a sword on his back, a sinister expert with gloomy eyes, a brother and sister traveling together, two Daoists clad in tattered, patch-covered clothes, and a pair of brothers bearing the air of emperors. One of them occasionally glanced toward Houtu.

"Fellow Daoist Bai Jing, those ahead are all great powers of the Primordial World. The one in purple-gold Daoist robes is Zhenyuanzi, while the one in red robes is Hongyun. The young Daoist carrying a sword is Minghe, and the one with gloomy eyes is Kunpeng," Houtu transmitted to Bai Jing, briefly introducing several of the great powers ahead.

Bai Jing matched these people to the images he knew from his previous life, glanced twice in Fuxi and Nuwa's direction, then stopped paying attention to the great powers in front of him.

Over the next thousand-odd years, more and more living beings gathered behind them. As the yuanhui drew near, Bai Jing was meditating with his eyes closed when he suddenly heard a soft sound. The countless great powers hurriedly opened their eyes and looked over, only to see the gates of Zixiao Palace crack open slightly, a small head timidly peeking out from within.

It was a delicately carved little girl. Seeing so many people made the female Daoist attendant somewhat nervous, and the little head she had poked out immediately withdrew. Only after a long while did she peek out again and say timidly, "The yuanhui has arrived. Master's second lecture is about to begin. Please enter the hall."

As soon as Yaochi finished speaking, the two Daoist attendants pushed open the gates of Zixiao Palace together, one on each side.

Bai Jing nearly laughed aloud. This was the future Queen Mother of the West? How could she be this adorable now? He glanced again at the young male attendant on the other side. Haotian had apparently worn a stern face since childhood, carrying a hint of majesty.

Seeing the gates of Zixiao Palace open, the gathered great powers entered one after another.

Hongjun had already assigned the seats during his previous lecture, and everyone went to sit in the places where they had listened to the Dao last time.

Houtu called Bai Jing over to the spot where the Twelve Ancestral Witches had sat during the previous lecture. Her elder brothers and sisters would not be coming, and since the seat would remain empty anyway, it was better to let Bai Jing sit there.

A moment later, the gates of Zixiao Palace closed. Those below hurriedly settled into their seats. Upon the cushion at the very front, a figure shifted from illusion into reality and appeared in an instant.

Bai Jing's expression tightened, because he could not tell at all how Hongjun had appeared. Even though he could see Hongjun sitting there, he could not sense his existence.

It was as though Hongjun had always been there, yet he himself could not perceive him. And yet it was also as though Hongjun had never appeared at all.

Before coming here, he had imagined what a Saint might be like. But after seeing Hongjun, he felt that his imagination had still been far too impoverished. So this is a Saint? Truly unfathomable! Bai Jing was nearly breaking into a cold sweat.

Hongjun sat upright at the very front and swept his gaze over the people below. A quarter of the cultivators who had attended the first lecture at Zixiao Palace had not come, replaced by new cultivators.

Other than a few specific individuals, Hongjun did not care who came to hear the Dao.

After a moment, Hongjun spoke. "This lecture will last three thousand years and shall expound the path of the quasi-Saint. A quasi-Saint is the transitional stage between a Great Luo Golden Immortal and a Saint. Thus, before discussing quasi-Saints, I must first discuss Saints."

Laozi then asked, "May I ask, Saint, what exactly is a Saint?"

Looking down from above, Hongjun calmly swept his gaze over the three thousand great powers below. Endless Dao charm filled his eyes, making everyone's scalps prickle.

Only after a moment did Hongjun's oppressive gaze fade. He slowly said, "A Saint rules heaven and earth and the universe, remains unweathered through ten thousand kalpas, is untouched by karma, abides eternally with heaven, exists alongside the Dao, knows all, and can do all.

"A Saint comprehends all things and all beings, the great thousand worlds; with their eyes, they behold the past, present, and future, and in their palms, they unfold time and space, birth and destruction, reincarnation.

"At a Saint's thought, the Heavenly Dao itself changes. Boundless and immeasurable, neither born nor extinguished, returning to the silent void; able to gather and disperse, neither arising nor perishing, unweathered through ten thousand kalpas, transcending time and space, untouched by karma, wandering beyond all things, not founded upon the cycles of time and space, eternal and everlasting.

"Beneath Saints, all are ants."

That single sentence—"Beneath Saints, all are ants"—caused many of the great powers present to lose their composure. After cultivating bitterly for countless years, were we still merely ants in the end?

Bitterness appeared on many faces below, and some even began to doubt their own cultivation.

Yet some great powers were not discouraged. Instead, their fighting spirit blazed even fiercer, and they came to yearn all the more for sainthood.

Even Laozi found it difficult to maintain his tranquil, detached state of mind. Bowing, he asked, "May I ask, Saint, how can one become a Saint?"

Even Laozi could not remain tranquil and detached before a Saint, Bai Jing sighed inwardly.

Houtu, however, was utterly lost. Their Witch Clan had no Primordial Spirits, while every Dao Hongjun taught was related to the Primordial Spirit. Did that not mean the Witch Clan had no chance of becoming Saints?