Liu Mang watched the Merit Golden Light in the sky draw ever closer, listening to the ethereal immortal music ringing beside his ears, and felt utterly speechless.
"Damn it, again!"
In the blink of an eye, the auspicious clouds formed from Merit arrived above Liu Mang and the woman.
While the woman was still confused, a huge mass of Merit entered her body. She froze at first, then followed the fortune carried by the Merit, closed her eyes, and began to comprehend it.
The woman did not know why she had done that. It was simply as though, in the unseen depths of fate, the Merit had given her a prompting that she needed to do so, and she had naturally followed it.
As the woman comprehended it, not only she herself but even the clothing on her body, which had also been bathed in the Merit Light, began to change.
Another portion of Merit that had been headed toward Liu Mang had been moving along just fine, only to stop before him without moving, as though it were wondering: Why are you again, you bastard?
Liu Mang slowly stretched out his right hand and waved it before the Merit. "Hi!"
The next second, he shot toward Nu Wa like a wild dog that had slipped its leash. His legs moved faster than wheels, and while his feet were still frantically pedaling through the air, his mouth did not rest as he shouted at the top of his lungs.
"Mother, save me!"
"More Merit is trying to hurt me!"
Merit: ...I'm going to chase you to death, damn it!
Meanwhile, Nu Wa had been expounding the Dao to Taishang and the others. She had initially only intended to answer Taishang's questions about attaining the Dao, but unexpectedly, during the process of answering him, she gained a deeper understanding of the Dao herself. Her realm, which had previously been as stable as a mountain, actually began to loosen ever so slightly, filling her with delight.
Just as she was speaking with great enthusiasm, Liu Mang's desperate cry for help, as if he had seen a ghost, rang beside her ears. Nu Wa frowned, and her voice came to a stop.
Taishang and the others, who had been sensing the rhythm of the Great Dao, also woke with a start.
Taishang and the others had originally been immersed in comprehending the Dao. They all felt that they were getting closer and closer to attaining the Dao, and the direction toward attaining it had become increasingly clear.
The last time they had felt this way had been the previous time.
Even when Saint Hong Jun had expounded the Dao to them, they had not felt it so clearly.
It was not that Hong Jun was inferior to Nu Wa, nor was it that Hong Jun had deliberately withheld anything.
It was simply because, over the past nearly million years, their strength had improved enormously, and thus their understanding of the Dao had become clearer as well.
As Nu Wa stopped expounding the Dao, Liu Mang's ghostly wails and howls rang out, waking Taishang and the others from their immersion in the rhythm of the Great Dao.
The awakened crowd could not help but burn with anger. They decided that if Liu Mang could not provide a reasonable explanation, then even with Nu Wa protecting him, he would not escape a beating today.
The few of them exchanged glances, nodded in unison, and cast murderous looks at Liu Mang.
"Hiss!"
Seeing the huge mass of Merit Golden Light chasing Liu Mang and drawing ever closer, they all sucked in a breath of cold air.
With a flick of Nu Wa's sleeve, Liu Mang appeared at her side. He was still running in place through the air until he realized something was wrong and finally stopped.
The Merit that had been chasing Liu Mang also appeared in Nu Wa's hand.
"You unfilial child, what did you do? Why is there Merit again?"
Huh? Why did I say again?
Liu Mang looked at the furious Nu Wa with a wronged expression.
"I want to know too! I didn't do anything. I just told her to use leaves... Holy shit!"
Liu Mang pointed at the woman wrapped in Merit. Halfway through his words, he froze and could not help blurting out a curse.
No way, no way? Could this be Ziyi's Merit?
Liu Mang looked at the Merit in Nu Wa's hand with a puzzled expression. As though it understood his gaze, the Merit bobbed up and down in Nu Wa's palm.
Merit: What else would it be?
Are you kidding me? This damn thing counts as clothing? Did I become the Ziyi Clan?
Liu Mang was utterly speechless. He had merely felt that the woman could not go about naked, so he had given her an idea and strung together two skirts of leaves to cover herself.
No, that's not right! She should be the Ziyi Clan! I only suggested it; she was the one who made it. Otherwise, the Merit would not have given the larger share to her.
Thank goodness, thank goodness. Damn it, if I had accidentally erased one of the three Human Race ancestors, wouldn't I have become a sinner for all eternity?
Hearing Liu Mang's inner thoughts, Nu Wa roughly understood what had happened.
She looked at Liu Mang, unsure what to say for a moment.
You really can cause trouble. I looked away for less than the time it takes to burn an incense stick, and you brought me Merit. If I left you alone any longer, would you poke a hole in the heavens for me?
I'm honestly worried that if I leave you in Hong Huang, you'll wreck Hong Huang before Hong Jun completely merges with the Heavenly Dao!
Nu Wa looked at Liu Mang with a conflicted expression, and she could not help silently sympathizing with Tongtian's future life.
With a bastard like this around, there would be no peaceful days ahead. She truly did not know whether leaving him to Senior Brother Tongtian had been right or wrong.
Liu Mang could not hear Nu Wa's thoughts. Otherwise, he would definitely have said that he was not the one who pierced the heavens; that had been the Wu Clan's third brother's doing.
We Liu Mang have principles. What is mine is mine! If I did not do it, no one can pin the blame on me.
Taishang and the others also looked at Liu Mang in utter speechlessness. It was their first time seeing someone avoid Merit as though it were some vicious beast.
Merit was something others could beg for their entire lives without obtaining, yet when it came to Liu Mang, it was like poison.
More importantly, how had he gotten such a huge mass of it?
Yuanshi and Jieyin looked at the Merit belonging to Liu Mang in Nu Wa's hand with faces full of envy.
To anyone in Hong Huang, Merit was something that could only be encountered by chance and never sought after. It could be used to refine Merit Spiritual Treasures, help them comprehend the heavens and understand the Dao, offset karmic sins... the uses were too numerous to list.
People like them would only ever find that they had too little Merit. When they encountered it, they practically wished to offer themselves up to it. Who would be like Liu Mang, seeing Merit as though he had seen a ghost?
Merit chased after him like a dog, forcing him to accept it. He could not refuse even if he wanted to.
Damn it, comparing people can make one die; comparing goods can make one throw them away.
"Merit has no thoughts, nor will it harm you. Just accept it without worry!"
As Nu Wa spoke, she sent the Merit into Liu Mang's body and placed it together with the Merit he had received when they had created humans, rather than allowing it to enhance his strength as it had for the Human Race woman.
"In the future, whether you are refining Spiritual Treasures or averting calamities and tribulations, you can use Merit to offset them."
Seeing Liu Mang's disgusted expression, everyone could not help cursing inwardly.
I want it so badly! If you truly don't want it, could you teach me how to earn Merit?
Only after doing all this did Nu Wa turn to look at everyone again.
"As for attaining the Dao, I have said nearly all that I can say. Though it is not everything, I have explained ninety percent of it."
"The matter of attaining the Dao relies more on one's own comprehension. There are three thousand Great Daos; different paths lead to different ways."
The first Dao referred to the Great Dao; the latter Dao referred to the path of attaining the Dao.
Hearing Nu Wa's words, everyone nodded repeatedly. At their level of cultivation, they mostly drew upon each other's understanding of the Dao. If they simply walked someone else's path to attaining the Dao all over again, they would not have any hope of attaining it now.
Taishang smiled faintly. "Time and fate—everything has long been destined in the unseen depths of fate. Being able to hear a Saint expound the Dao is already an extraordinary opportunity. I dare not ask for more."
After Taishang spoke, everyone turned to look at Liu Mang. Knowing that he was at fault, Liu Mang looked back at them with a sheepish smile.
He could not help it. Thinking of Hong Jun merging with the Heavenly Dao, while Merit came from the heaven and earth of Hong Huang, made him feel that there was something wrong with Merit.
If he had disturbed everyone over anything else, Liu Mang definitely would not have escaped this beating.
But this was Merit. Liu Mang was one protected by the Merit of heaven and earth, so they had to weigh the consequences before making a move.
Besides, the Merit was inside Liu Mang and had not yet been used.
If they accidentally triggered a backlash, they would not even have a place to cry.
Seeing the scene fall silent once more, Tongtian gave a carefree smile. "We have listened to two Saints expound the Dao. In that regard, we are already ahead of everyone in Hong Huang. I am content."
"It is also time to leave!"
Before you continue