"Whew..." Houtu closed her eyes, drew a deep breath, and said to the many living beings kneeling before her, "I know what happened now. You may withdraw."
"Your Ladyship, please uphold justice for us!" Hearing her words, the leaders of the various races, led by the Ox Ancestor, pleaded with her again.
"Go," Houtu said lightly, without answering their plea.
With that, she swept her hand. Divine light flashed, and they all vanished, returning to their respective homelands.
After sending them away, Houtu opened her eyes, turned toward the west, and asked, "Senior Brother Zhunti, aren't you afraid that acting like this will tarnish your virtuous reputation?"
In the Western Lands, within the Pure Land Sacred Hall.
Seeing Gungun lower his head in silence, apparently considering whether to eat-and thus whether to accept the claim that he was "bound by fate" to Zhunti-Zhunti waited patiently. Suddenly, Houtu's voice reached his ears.
"My virtuous reputation..." Zhunti gazed eastward, a complicated look flashing through his eyes.
During the war between the Dao and the demons, the spiritual veins of the Western Lands had been utterly destroyed, making cultivation difficult for countless living beings. He and Jieyin had worked tirelessly, day after day and year after year, rebuilding and restoring those veins, saving countless lives. No one could dispute calling him a virtuous Saint!
But from now on, his reputation in the Primordial World would probably...
Ah! Zhunti sighed inwardly, then smiled and transmitted his voice. "Junior Sister, such is fate. If my reputation truly suffers one day, then that, too, is a consequence I am destined to bear. I... have no regrets!"
"What remarkable resolve, Senior Brother, to sacrifice even your reputation! I always thought that Saints, being immortal and standing above all living beings, had only reputation and fortune left to