As he watched the Human Race gathered around Nuwa, Laozi suddenly felt as though divine wisdom had been poured straight into his mind.
"I have grasped the Dao! I have grasped the Dao!"
"I am Laozi. Today, I establish the Human Teachings to enlighten the Human Race. Let the Human Teachings be founded!"
Before anyone could react to Laozi's declaration, the golden clouds of merit that had just dispersed gathered once more.
As the merit descended, Laozi casually brought out his Heaven and Earth Mysterious Yellow Pagoda.
He channeled all the merit bestowed by the golden clouds into the Heaven and Earth Mysterious Yellow Pagoda.
The Heavenly Dao responded, stirring Laozi's primordial violet qi. The strand of merit bestowed by the Heavenly Dao activated his creation merit, instantly raising his cultivation to the level of a Sage and allowing him to surpass Nuwa outright.
Seeing Laozi establish his teachings and become a Sage, Yuanshi's eyes lit up. He immediately understood.
"I am Heavenly Venerable Yuanshi. Today, I establish the Chan Sect here, to live in accordance with heaven and teach according to aptitude. Let the Chan Sect be founded!"
Following Laozi's successful attainment of the Dao, Heavenly Venerable Yuanshi followed his example and became a Sage as well.
Standing nearby, Zhunti and Jieyin could no longer remain calm after watching Yuanshi and Laozi establish their teachings and become Sages one after another.
Zhunti and Jieyin exchanged a glance and nodded.
"I am Zhunti!"
"I am Jieyin!"
"Today, we establish the Western Teachings here to deliver all living beings. Let the Heavenly Dao bear witness!"
As their words fell, a thunderous rumble rang out. Some merit did descend, but it was nowhere near enough to make the two of them Sages.
Nuwa had become a Sage by creating a race, one that would become the leading force of heaven and earth in the future. Naturally, the merit she received was immense.
Laozi and Yuanshi were descendants of Pangu, already possessing creation merit.
The merit bestowed by the Heavenly Dao had merely activated the merit they already carried.
But Zhunti and Jieyin were another matter entirely.
They had neither performed a great act of creation like Nuwa nor possessed a powerful background. They had merely founded a set of teachings, so the Heavenly Dao offered a token gesture and left it at that.
The two were dumbfounded.
Others had become Sages so easily. Why had everything suddenly gone silent when it was their turn?
They realized that their way forward must lie in accumulating merit. They simply did not have enough of it.
Seeing the primordial violet qi, which had only just begun to stir, about to return to its previous state, they grew anxious.
They immediately panicked.
"No! We cannot give up here!"
"I am Daoist Zhunti! Today, I make a great vow. Let the Heavenly Dao bear witness! Henceforth, I shall guide all living beings into nirvana, through countless immeasurable calamities!"
"I am Daoist Jieyin. Today, I make a great vow..."
To obtain merit, the two made dozens of great vows to the Heavenly Dao in succession.
After all their efforts, the Heavenly Dao finally bestowed enough merit.
Both successfully broke through and became Sages.
Unlike the others, however, neither could muster the slightest happiness.
They had originally thought that once they eliminated Hong Yun and became Sages, they could do whatever they pleased without owing anyone a karmic debt.
They had never expected that, despite all their calculations, they would evade Hong Yun only to fall into the Heavenly Dao's grasp, owing it an enormous karmic debt instead.
Those vows had not been made for nothing.
Every time they made a vow, the Heavenly Dao bestowed a great deal of merit.
All that merit would have to be repaid in the future-and repaid several times over.
Just thinking about the merit required to produce two Sages made their scalps prickle.
But there was no use saying anything more now.
Having chosen this path, they had to follow it through. Otherwise, if they failed to repay the Heavenly Dao's merit, their eventual fate would be utterly miserable.
Five Sages emerged together between heaven and earth, startling all living beings across the Primordial World.
Inside the Purple Cloud Palace, Hongjun sensed their movements and nodded in satisfaction.
"Good. Five have become Sages. Only that bastard Tongtian remains."
"Forget it. I shall leave him alone for now. His path of cultivation has already been severed, and there is still some time before the Investiture Calamity. There is no hurry."
Hongjun comforted himself.
Having only just left Xu Tong, he truly had no desire to see him again right now.
Now that Nuwa and the others had successfully attained the Dao, Hongjun could continue his Dao integration.
Thinking that Tongtian's path of cultivation had already been severed, he simply stopped watching him and left him to his own devices.
However, the shock caused by the five Sages attaining the Dao together was far from over.
On Buzhou Mountain, Nuwa and the others exchanged glances.
With their cultivation raised to the level of Sages, their understanding of the Heavenly Dao had deepened.
Although they could not comprehend its workings as Hongjun did, they could still sense certain things.
All five sensed that, despite their attainment of the Dao, the Heavenly Dao remained incomplete. It seemed someone else had yet to attain the Dao.
But after waiting for a long time, they noticed no change.
Laozi glanced at the others and asked.
"Junior Sister Nuwa, have you sensed anything unusual?"
Nuwa nodded.
"The Heavenly Dao seems incomplete. It is still missing a Sage."
"But as things stand, that Sage may not emerge today."
Hearing Nuwa's words, the others finally understood that they were not alone in sensing this.
They exchanged glances, then each returned to their own cultivation grounds.
Yet even after returning, Laozi remained puzzled.
"How strange. Why did some merit fly elsewhere when Nuwa attained the Dao?"
"And then there is this missing Sage's seat."
"In all likelihood, that remaining seat belongs to Tongtian."
"But why is Third Brother unwilling to become a Sage? And why is the Heavenly Dao so insistent that Tongtian's failure to become a Sage prompted it to warn all five of us?"
Laozi was deeply perplexed.
We are all Sages just the same. Tongtian has not become a Sage, and you, the Heavenly Dao, are this anxious?
When we had not become Sages, you merely gave us a reminder.
Good grief, must you be so blatantly biased?
Laozi grumbled inwardly.
Within his cultivation grounds, Xu Tong had likewise heard the news of the five becoming Sages.
"Have they all finally become Sages?"
"The Human Race has appeared as well. That means the Witch Clan and the Demon Tribe are about to fight their decisive battle."
Xu Tong mused inwardly.
"I wonder what Hongjun will do with one missing from his five Sages."
"Who cares? I am already a primordial Daluo golden immortal, so becoming a Sage is impossible anyway. Let him nurse that headache himself."
Inside Pangu Hall, the Twelve Ancestral Witches gathered.
Every one of them wore a frown, their faces heavy with worry.
"Eldest Brother, what should we do now? Nuwa of the Demon Tribe has become a Sage first, but where is our Witch Clan's opportunity? The Demon Tribe is already mustering its forces. If a Sage attacks us, I fear we will not be able to resist."
Gonggong sat below the dais, his face full of anxiety.
Dijiang frowned without answering.
How could he not know the peril the Witch Clan faced?
But what could he do about it?
Zhurong looked around at his siblings in the hall.
"Everyone, the Dao Ancestor previously said that our Witch Clan also has a way to attain the Dao, but that the time has not yet come. Why not go ask the Dao Ancestor where exactly our opportunity lies?"
Yet the moment Zhurong finished speaking, Houtu shook her head, rejecting his suggestion.
"Brother Zhurong, that will not work. The Dao Ancestor has already undergone Dao integration. I have heard that even his disciples, such as Laozi, find it extremely difficult to see him. I fear we have no hope of meeting him at all."
"I think we should visit Kunlun Mountain instead."
"Kunlun Mountain? Are you suggesting we ask Laozi and Yuanshi?"
The others were puzzled.
Houtu shook her head.
"No. I just discovered that the strand of merit lost when Nuwa became a Sage did not disappear. It fell into Tongtian's hands."
Before you continue