Heavenly Dao's Merit Loss, Gaining the Great Dao

Inside the Purple Cloud Palace, the chaotic and glittering "Jade Terrace Immortal Gathering" continued.

Countless female immortals, vying for Heavenly Dao Merit, displayed their unique divine abilities, like the Eight Immortals crossing the sea. Some showcased traditional immortal postures and dances, others performed obscure divine techniques, and some even refined elixirs and drew talismans on the spot. The entire hall felt like a grand expo of Primordial Era talents.

The disciples of the Intercepting Sect had not yet gathered, but Sect Master Tongtian already had a few registered disciples attending him. At this moment, amidst the crowd, three fairies with distinct temperaments yet equally peerless beauty drew particular attention. They were the future renowned Three Virtuous Ladies of Auspiciousness – Yun Xiao, Qiong Xiao, and Bi Xiao.

Seeing the varying amounts of merit earned by those performing ahead, the three sisters conferred and decided to go big.

Yun Xiao conjured the Primordial Gold Jar (a replica? Or in its nascent form? Its golden light blazed brilliantly), Qiong Xiao held the Golden Flood Dragon Scissors (illusory shadows danced), and Bi Xiao was surrounded by the Dragon Binding Rope (spiritual light flickered). The three sisters did not deploy the infamous Nine Bends Yellow River Formation. Instead, they combined the illusory forms of these three future immensely powerful treasures, evolving a profound joint attack technique that was both offensive and defensive, yet possessed astonishing beauty.

Golden light and spiritual ropes intertwined, like dragons and snakes emerging from the sea, or celestial maidens scattering flowers. It was sharp yet graceful, lethal yet imbued with profound principles. Although its power far from matched its later iterations, its unique Dao rhythm and incredible synchronicity instantly captivated the entire audience.

On the high platform where the judges sat, Sect Master Tongtian, who had been rather uninterested (he was forcibly dragged by Xiao Kuang to "observe and learn," and to fill a seat), suddenly opened his half-closed eyes, which now shone with brilliance!

"Good!" he exclaimed involuntarily, clapping his hands in admiration. "What marvelous Spiritual Treasures! What coordination! What comprehension!"

He grew more delighted the more he watched. The joint attack technique displayed by the three sisters subtly echoed the profound mysteries of formations, yet was unrestrained and exceptionally agile, faintly resonating with his own pursuit of the "intercepting a sliver of life" Dao! Especially the ingenuity of evolving lethal spiritual treasures into a display of unique beauty, which deeply pleased him!

"Such excellent talent, to be wandering outside, is truly a waste of heaven's bounty!" Sect Master Tongtian was instantly filled with a strong desire to recruit them. "If they were to join my sect and receive a little guidance, they would surely become pillars of my Intercepting Sect in the future! Yes! I must inquire about them immediately upon returning; these three fairies must be brought into my fold!"

He was already contemplating how to lure... ah, no, how to invite the three fairies to join the future Intercepting Sect. As for merit? That was secondary! Talent was paramount!

Meanwhile, Xiao Kuang, seated at the main table, cared nothing for Dao rhythm or potential. He simply found the glittering, beautiful performance by the young ladies pleasing to the eye. With a grand wave of his hand, he generously declared:

[Excellent coordination, cool special effects, and bonus points for appearance! +1888 Merit!] The massive merit counter ticked again, eliciting gasps of envy from the crowd. The three sisters happily accepted the merit and gracefully descended from the stage.

Xiao Kuang continued his "tyrannical ruler" style of scoring, dispensing Heavenly Dao Merit like flowing water. Deep within his sea of consciousness, the Heavenly Dao core, though in a "out of sight, out of mind" dormant state, instinctively recorded the expenditure of merit. Every disbursement caused the slumbering code to twitch slightly, as if bleeding.

[Merit Reserve -100... -200... -1500... -1888... Warning! Merit Reserve below safety line!] [Initiating mandatory calculation of total expenditure for this "Jade Terrace Immortal Gathering" and... potential revenue... (passive execution during dormancy)]

However, the moment this mandatory calculation began, the Heavenly Dao core abruptly detected an extremely abnormal and completely unexpected data stream!

It discovered that as these female immortals of the Primordial Era desperately showcased themselves, bloomed with brilliance, and interpreted the Great Dao (even if imperfectly) in their pursuit of merit, their own luck, spirituality, and even their comprehension of the laws of heaven and earth were stimulated, collided, and sublimated in this process!

This collective, positive (though impure in motive), and vibrant behavior, full of life and creativity, had invisibly greatly promoted the "vitality" and "liveliness" of the Primordial world!

The Dao of Yin and Yang lies in harmony and union. The blooming of myriad things is a manifestation of creation and prosperity!

The inspiration, techniques, and even the arguments and comparisons that erupted from these female immortals' pursuit of "beauty" subtly conformed to a natural Great Dao of "competing to grow"! Their expenditure of spiritual power and display of talent generated fluctuations and Dao rhythm that, in turn, were feeding back into the world, making the Primordial world's law network more active, richer, and... more stable?

And this positive, fundamental promotion and replenishment at the global level generated a feedback that was not ordinary Heavenly Dao Merit, but... a more fundamental, more precious, and something that even the Heavenly Dao itself could not generate in large quantities – Great Dao Merit!

Although the feedback generated by each individual female immortal was minuscule, the cumulative effect of tens of thousands of Primordial female immortals "involuting" simultaneously at this moment, converging into trickles, had formed a significant, pure force of Great Dao Merit, which quietly flowed into the origin of the Heavenly Dao.

[Calculation Result: Consumed Ordinary Heavenly Dao Merit: Total 50,000 units.]

[Received Great Dao Merit Feedback: Total 60,000 units.]

[Net Profit: +10,000 units of Great Dao Merit!]

[Conclusion: This event... resulted in a net profit?! And acquired higher-tier energy?!]

The slumbering Heavenly Dao Will was "startled" awake by this calculation result!

It "looked" at the pure Great Dao Merit flowing into its origin, then "looked" at the lazy Dao Ancestor outside randomly dispensing ordinary merit, and then "looked" back at the unbelievable calculation result...

The Heavenly Dao core fell into an unprecedented, extreme state of chaos and bewilderment.

What... what is going on? This lazy bum... is messing around, like a spendthrift, squandering my ordinary merit... and the result is... he actually... profited? And profited in more valuable Great Dao Merit?!

Where is the logic?! Where is the reason?! Where is the principle of the Heavenly Dao's impartiality?!

It could not understand! It simply could not understand!

It felt like a miser watching his foolish son wildly spending money outside, agonizing over every penny, only to discover that the junk his son randomly bought contained priceless treasures, making a huge profit instead!

Absurd! Bizarre! Incomprehensible!

For the first time, deep within the cold, emotionless core of the Heavenly Dao, a complex, almost comical, urge to laugh at the sky but unable to do so... an utterly speechless "laughter" arose.

What is this?!

It looked at Xiao Kuang's "I'm happy, so I'll reward" spendthrift demeanor, then felt the slowly growing Great Dao Merit within its being...

The Heavenly Dao, this supreme collective of rules, at this moment, experienced an unprecedented, profound sense of powerlessness and... a strange sense of recognition?

Could it be that... this lazy bum's reckless actions... truly align with some deeper "Great Dao" that even it cannot comprehend?

[...(;￣д￣) ...]

[Logic module overloaded... unable to parse... attempting to accept the current situation...]

[New strategy:... Monitor closely... Guide appropriately... Prevent irreversible damage... Simultaneously... record all his absurd actions... attempt to analyze if unknown patterns are involved...]

The Heavenly Dao's light reignited, but no longer with anger or despair. Instead, it was filled with a complex, experimental-like... curiosity and helplessness.

It looked at the female immortals below, ecstatic from receiving merit, at Tongtian excited about discovering promising talents, and at Xiao Kuang still scoring randomly...

The Heavenly Dao silently, secretly hid the Great Dao Merit it had just earned, and then... tacitly allowed this absurd "Jade Terrace Immortal Gathering" to continue.

It even... felt a little anticipation for what else this lazy bum might do next? (Of course, this thought was immediately suppressed by the Heavenly Dao. Too dangerous!)

Can being a spendthrift... also lead to wealth? This Dao Ancestor's path is truly wild.