The Saints Ascend, An Era of Saints

Pangu's Three Pure Ones each had their strengths: The Grand Pure One excelled at alchemy, the Jade Pure One at artifact refinement, and the Upper Pure One at formation arrangement.

This Nine Revolutions Golden Elixir was likely the finest pill the Grand Pure One Laozi had ever refined.

Just like his own Yellow Middle Plum, consuming one could instantly elevate a person to a Zenith Heaven Golden Immortal.

And what was most absurd—this pill seemed to have no side effects?

Unlike eating the Yellow Middle Plum, which, while granting Zenith Heaven Golden Immortal status, drained one's potential and made further breakthroughs impossible.

But even though the Nine Revolutions Golden Elixir was excellent, it was of little use to Minghe.

After all, first, eating it would do nothing for him, and second, he couldn't reverse-engineer the pill formula from it.

So Minghe simply put the Nine Revolutions Golden Elixir away and continued his seclusion.

Not long after Minghe entered seclusion, one day, the Primordial World suddenly trembled. Countless mighty beings were jolted awake from their closed-door cultivation. They looked up, their divine senses sweeping outward.

From the eastern lands, a vast and majestic aura rose. Above one of the Human Race's tribes, a figure stepped into the air and stood suspended.

This figure was none other than the Grand Pure One Laozi, one of Pangu's Three Pure Ones.

At that moment, Laozi unveiled the Taiji Diagram, transforming it into a golden bridge that spanned across the sky.

Standing atop the golden bridge, Laozi declared to the heavens: "Heavenly Dao above, I, the Grand Pure One Laozi, transformed from Pangu's Nascent Soul, hereby establish a sect, named the Human Religion."

"I am the founder of the Human Religion, tasked with teaching and guiding the Human Race. I use the Innate Supreme Treasure, the Taiji Diagram, to suppress the Human Religion's Destiny."

"The Human Religion, established!"

"Boom!" As Laozi's words fell, the Heavenly Dao stirred in the unseen depths, responding to his action and acknowledging the Human Religion he had founded.

Above Laozi's head, streams of Heavenly Dao Merit surged forth, coalescing into a massive golden cloud of merit.

Its radiance was blinding, impossible to look at directly.

The next moment, under the gaze of the entire world, the merit descended, landing upon Laozi.

As Laozi absorbed this Heavenly Dao Merit, his aura began to climb step by step.

Laozi had already severed his Three Corpses and was at the late Quasi-Saint stage.

Now, with the continuous infusion of merit, combined with the Creation Merit hidden deep within his Nascent Soul, which was also triggered at this moment, the two merits merged, instantly propelling Laozi's cultivation to new heights.

With a thunderous boom, Laozi ascended to Quasi-Saint Perfection. Even at this stage, the merit had not yet finished falling.

At this point, a Qingyun manifested above Laozi's head, and upon it, the incarnations of his Three Corpses appeared.

Laozi was clearly using the power of merit to drive the fusion of his Three Corpses, aiming for that final step—Three Corpses Unity, Dao Proving Through Severing Three Corpses.

And not only that—he was pursuing both Dao Proving Through Severing Three Corpses and Dao Proving Through Merit simultaneously, achieving enlightenment through both paths.

It must be said that, as one of Pangu's Three Pure Ones, Laozi's Qi Spirit was not insignificant.

Yet reality often defied expectations. After several attempts, Laozi discovered that his Three Corpses seemed to repel each other.

No matter how hard he pushed them to merge, they only resisted more fiercely.

As time passed, Laozi grew increasingly helpless. Three Corpses Unity was simply impossible.

And at this critical juncture, he couldn't stop even if he wanted to.

Since Dao Proving Through Severing Three Corpses was unattainable, he would have to rely on Dao Proving Through Merit—just like Nuwa had done.

"Boom!"

With Laozi's abandonment of that path, this time, the enlightenment went smoothly. A vast Saintly Pressure erupted from Laozi's body, sweeping across heaven and earth in an instant.

It enveloped the entire Primordial World. Wherever the pressure passed, countless beings were crushed to their knees.

Another Saint had appeared in this world.

Countless enlightenment phenomena manifested across heaven and earth: celestial maidens scattering flowers, golden lotuses sprouting from the earth, rays of multicolored light, and dazzling splendor.

A vast tide of purple qi rolled in from the east, covering the sky and blotting out the sun, a truly magnificent sight.

But at this moment, though Laozi had become a Saint, there was little joy on his face. Instead, he let out a long sigh.

With a flicker of movement, Laozi put away the Taiji Diagram, paying no further heed to the Human Race below.

He returned directly to Kunlun Mountain.

Not long after Laozi returned to Kunlun Mountain—before the heavenly phenomena had even begun to fade, and the Saintly Pressure had only just subsided—

suddenly, the Primordial World trembled once more. The mighty beings, sensing the shift, turned their gazes toward Kunlun Mountain.

And there, they saw another figure emerge from Kunlun Mountain, stepping into the air and standing aloft.

This figure was none other than the Jade Pure Primordial Beginning.

The crowd was startled. How similar this scene was to what had just happened with Laozi's enlightenment.

Could it be that Primordial Beginning was next? Two people, achieving Sainthood on the same day?

The next moment, as expected, Primordial Beginning raised the Pangu Banner and declared to the heavens: "Heavenly Dao above, I am the Jade Pure Primordial Beginning, transformed from Pangu's Nascent Soul. I hereby establish a great sect, named the Interpretation Sect, to follow the Mandate of Heaven and elucidate the Heavenly Will."

"I am the founder of the Interpretation Sect. I use the Innate Supreme Treasure, the Pangu Banner, to suppress its Destiny. The Interpretation Sect, established!"

"Boom!" As Yuanshi's voice fell, in that instant, the unseen Heavenly Dao rumbled in response, acknowledging the Interpretation Sect he had established. Above Yuanshi's head, waves of merit surged forth from the void.

Just as with Laozi's Dao-proving before, when the Heavenly Dao's merit descended, it also drew out the Creation Merit buried deep within Yuanshi's Primordial Spirit. The two streams of merit converged, causing Yuanshi's cultivation to soar step by step.

Yet Yuanshi did not have to wrestle with the same dilemma as Laozi, for he had only severed two corpses and was merely at the mid Quasi-Saint stage.

Now, driven by the merit, he reached the late Quasi-Saint stage in the blink of an eye, and still did not stop. His cultivation continued to rise, soon arriving at Quasi-Saint Perfection.

Finally, with a thunderous boom, a vast Saintly Pressure swept outward.

Yuanshi had also proven his Dao through merit, refining the Hongmeng Purple Qi to become an undying, indestructible Saint.

With Yuanshi at the center, countless miraculous phenomena bloomed, and a boundless tide of purple qi rolled in from all directions.

It cast Yuanshi's figure in an aura of solemn majesty, his presence overwhelming.

Another Saint had appeared in the world. Aside from the Dao Ancestor Hongjun, who had merged with the Dao, there were now three: Nuwa, Laozi, and Yuanshi.

And this day was destined to be one of unceasing commotion. Just as Yuanshi had finished proving his Dao, his Saintly Pressure not yet withdrawn, suddenly, another figure stepped out from Kunlun Mountain. He too rose into the air, walking to Yuanshi's side. This figure was none other than Supreme Pure Heavenshaker.