Wolves Surround, Hongyun in Danger

Heavenshaker waved his hand, offering up the Four Swords of Zhu Xian and the Zhu Xian Formation Diagram, and shouted to the heavens: "I am Supreme Pure Heavenshaker, transformed from Pangu's Nascent Soul. Here and now, I establish a great sect, named the Jie Sect, teaching all without discrimination, to seize that thread of life for all living beings."

"I am the Jie Sect Leader, with the Immortal Slaying Sword Formation as the sect's supreme treasure. The Jie Sect is established!"

"Boom!" As Heavenshaker's voice fell, in that instant, from the depths of the unseen, the Heavenly Dao itself trembled. Above Heavenshaker's head, waves of Heavenly Dao merit surged forth.

Then the merit descended. Like Yuanshi, Heavenshaker rose from the mid-stage Quasi-Saint, climbing step by step, unstoppable.

Finally, with a thunderous roar, a terrifying saintly pressure, in no way inferior to Yuanshi's, burst forth from Heavenshaker's body.

In an instant, it swept across the Primordial World, covering heaven and earth. Countless living beings, one after another, knelt prostrate beneath this pressure.

At this moment, Heavenshaker had also proven the Dao, likewise through Dao Proving Through Merit, becoming a Heavenly Dao Saint.

And just as all living beings thought that the Three Pure Ones had agreed to become saints together, at that moment, when Heavenshaker withdrew his pressure and the beings were about to rise from the ground—

Suddenly, at that very instant, heaven and earth shook once more. The beings, sensing it in their hearts, looked westward, and immediately saw two figures walking out from Mount Sumeru.

Watching this scene, no one could remain calm. It was one thing for the Three Pure Ones to prove the Dao together.

Could it be that Jieyin and Zhunti had also chosen today to prove the Dao?

At this moment, Jieyin and Zhunti, the two senior and junior brothers, stood in the sky above Mount Sumeru and shouted to the heavens: "Heavenly Dao above! Now, we, Jieyin and Zhunti, together establish a great sect, named the Western Sect, to prosper the West and enlighten all beings."

"We two use the Twelve-Grade Merit Golden Lotus to suppress the Destiny of the Western Sect. The Western Sect is established!"

"Boom!"

As the two's voices fell, in that instant, the unseen Heavenly Dao responded. Waves of Heavenly Dao merit immediately gathered above their heads.

What happened next seemed to need no further explanation. These two would surely follow the Three Pure Ones, establishing a sect to prove the Dao and become saints.

Yet, contrary to everyone's imagination, they had assumed that with the merit from establishing the sect, Jieyin and Zhunti proving the Dao and becoming saints was a natural course.

But after all the merit had descended, Jieyin and Zhunti were only at the peak of Quasi-Saint.

They had not become saints!

This left everyone somewhat bewildered.

Both had established sects, yet the merit Jieyin and Zhunti obtained was not enough for them to become saints?

However, this was actually easy to understand. First, Jieyin and Zhunti were two people; they established one great sect together, so the merit gained was split, unlike the Three Pure Ones, each of whom established their own sect.

Second, Jieyin and Zhunti did not have the legacy of Pangu like the Three Pure Ones, with hidden merit of Creation within their Nascent Souls.

These factors combined meant that the merit they gained from establishing the sect was insufficient for them to prove the Dao and become saints.

Yet, Jieyin and Zhunti seemed to have anticipated this. Just when everyone thought they would fail to prove the Dao, suddenly, the two looked up again and, one after another, issued the Forty-Eight Great Vows to the sky.

They borrowed merit from the Heavenly Dao through these great vows.

"Boom!"

Heaven and earth roared. In an instant, the sky above Mount Sumeru darkened, and countless thunderbolts and lightning flashes appeared.

A massive eyeball appeared above the heads of Jieyin and Zhunti.

This eyeball was the Eye of the Heavenly Dao. The Eye of the Heavenly Dao looked down, gazing for a moment, then vanished from sight.

"Granted!"

An icy voice resounded. This voice was Hongjun's, or more precisely, it was the voice of the Heavenly Dao.

Hongjun had merged with the Heavenly Dao; at this moment, Hongjun was the incarnation of the Heavenly Dao. The Heavenly Dao acknowledged the Forty-Eight Great Vows issued by Jieyin and Zhunti.

Immediately, above the two's heads, waves of Heavenly Dao merit surged forth.

This merit was what the two had borrowed from the Heavenly Dao through the Forty-Eight Great Vows.

With the descent of this merit, this time, Jieyin and Zhunti finally succeeded in proving the Dao and becoming saints.

A terrifying saintly pressure also burst forth from their bodies, enveloping the entire Primordial World.

The living beings, who had just finished bowing to the Three Pure Ones, were now forced to bow to these two as well.

And thus, in a single day, five saints had been born in succession. This was the emergence of All Sages, shocking all living beings and leaving them somewhat numb.

It even gave people the feeling that becoming a saint was... this simple?

After Jieyin and Zhunti had also withdrawn, everyone's gaze turned involuntarily to Wuzhuang Temple on Longevity Mountain.

Because now, of those who possessed the Hongmeng Purple Qi, aside from Hongyun, the other six had all become saints.

So, what about Hongyun?

Would Hongyun also come out to establish a great sect, causing merit to descend from heaven, and then prove the Dao and become a saint?

Yet, everyone waited and waited, but Hongyun never appeared.

Inevitably, many thoughts arose in some people's minds.

After all, Hongyun was different from the Three Pure Ones and the others. During the lectures at Zixiao Palace, although Hongyun had obtained the Hongmeng Purple Qi, unfortunately, he had not become Hongjun's disciple.

Moreover, Hongjun had never said that Hongyun would definitely become a saint. Those who were certain to become saints were the Three Pure Ones and the like.

And now, the Three Pure Ones and the others had all fulfilled that, becoming saints one after another, leaving only Hongyun.

Or rather, only Hongyun's strand of Hongmeng Purple Qi remained.

That was the only remaining foundation for attaining sagehood. Since Hongyun had not become a sage, could it be seized and used for oneself?

Once such a thought took root in people's minds, it spread like a flood, unstoppable, endlessly multiplying.

The only difficulty was that Hongyun was now hiding in seclusion at Wuzhuang Temple on Longevity Mountain.

And Wuzhuang Temple on Longevity Mountain was the Dao Field of his friend Zhenyuanzi, who had laid down the Innate Wutu Great Formation.

This formation excelled at defense, and with the Earthly Scroll—one of the Three Books of Heaven, Earth, and Man—serving as its array eye, even the other great powers lacked confidence they could break through it.

Thus, though they harbored the desire to seize it, for the time being, they had no way to act and could only continue waiting for an opportunity.

"Ding, detected that the various sage sects are recruiting disciples. The host may make the following choices."

"Choice one: Join the Interpretation Sect. There is a certain chance of becoming its Deputy Sect Leader. Reward: one Origin of Innate Thunder."

"Choice two: Join the Jie Sect. Reward: one Origin of Innate Sword Dao (This quest has a high chance of failure. This system does not recommend the host choose this option.)"

"Choice three: Join the Western Sect. There is a very high chance of becoming its Deputy Sect Leader. Reward: one Origin of Innate Annihilation."

"Choice four: Ignore this matter. Reward: one Fragment of the Jade Disc of Creation."