Zhunti showed no airs of a saint, letting out a light laugh, "It is I who have come uninvited, disturbing the Dao Lord."
Zhunti stepped onto the Jianmu, passing through its thirty-three heavens.
The Jianmu had grown from the height of the thirty-second heaven to the thirty-third, silently. Had Zhunti not come in person, no one would have noticed.
He praised, "Dao Lord has great perseverance."
Qing Ling smiled and said, "I cannot compare to a saint, who rises early and sleeps late, toiling tirelessly for the great prosperity of the West. It is their fortune to have a saint like you."
Zhunti was deeply moved by his words. He clasped his hands together and said, "Thank you, Dao Lord, for your understanding."
In the eyes of all beings, he was one of the Six Saints, meant to be aloof. Yet, he descended to the mortal realm, toiling endlessly. He had been mocked by countless powerful beings and ancient ancestors in their hearts. Though he could disregard it, a sense of solitude lingered within him.
Qing Ling was the first powerful being to genuinely praise him, not like those hypocritical ones who appeared respectful on the surface but harbored mockery within.
He possessed a Bodhi heart, capable not only of guarding his own mind but also of perceiving the good and evil in the hearts of all beings.
From Qing Ling, he felt only genuine sincerity.
Zhunti reached the summit of Jianmu. The pressure of the thirty-third heaven was nothing to him, like brushing away dust from his body.
"Zhunti has a word, and wishes to ask the Dao Lord."
Qing Ling smiled faintly and casually said, "Saint, please speak."
Zhunti clasped his hands together and chanted a Buddhist name, "I am the co-leader of the two Western religions, toiling for the great prosperity of the West, neglecting the affairs of the sect. My elder brother Jie Yin is deeply engrossed in Buddhist cultivation and detached from worldly matters. The sect is in disarray, with countless threads to untangle, and lacks a leader.
I wonder if the Dao Lord would be willing to endure hardship for the beings of the West, join our Western Buddhist sect as the third co-leader, and wield the authority of leadership? My brother and I will never interfere with your actions.
Furthermore, my brother and I will bestow upon the Dao Lord increased fortune and augmented destiny, to help you achieve Hunyuan!"
Qing Ling's expression faltered. This was an invitation to invest in the Western religion, a kind of surprise executive appointment with major shareholder status?
Such a grand temptation was almost more alluring than the Primordial Purple Qi. After all, a single strand of purple qi could not compare to the support of two saints coupled with the backing of a great Western sect's fortune in potentially achieving Hunyuan.
Moreover, Buddhism dominated the West, unlike the East, where the Wu and Yao tribes governed heaven and earth, where numerous powerful beings and ancient ancestors established their dojos, and where the three schools of Daoism vied for supremacy. To hold the authority of a sect was truly enticing!
Qing Ling was silent for a long time before his expression returned to normal. "The Saint is truly willing to make sacrifices for the great prosperity of the West."
Zhunti smiled and said, "Only by letting go can one gain."
Qing Ling nodded. "What the Saint said is precisely what I intended to say."
This time, it was Zhunti's turn to be taken aback. He realized and said, "Could it be that the Dao Lord is refusing?"
Qing Ling sighed. "I am not suited to lead a great sect. If I had harbored such ambitions, I would have been the Heavenly Emperor of the Yao race when it was first established.
As for the path to Hunyuan, I already have a plan and do not need the Saint's assistance."
Zhunti was astonished. "The Dao Lord is about to achieve Hunyuan so soon? If you are not entirely certain, it is best to cultivate for some more time. After all, the path you tread is the same as the Ancestor of Dao, unprecedented and unmatched. Caution is never excessive."
Zhunti's words were not hollow but a genuine concern for him. In the past, countless astonishingly talented and renowned Chaos gods and demons, after two lifetimes of cultivation, blessed with supreme fortune, opportunities, perseverance, and wisdom, only Hongjun managed to forge the Dao. All the others perished.
In Zhunti's view, even if it were a thousand or ten thousand epochs later, any increase in certainty was beneficial. Whether from personal sentiment or self-interest, he wished for Qing Ling to live well.
After all, Qing Ling had once discussed the Great Dao with him and his brother by the Eight Treasures Pool, and they had shared the same fate of being imprisoned atop Mount Sumeru.
Qing Ling smiled and said, "Thank you, Saint, for your consideration. However, time waits for no one, and some opportunities appear only once in a lifetime.
Does the Saint know why those powerful beings who have survived since ancient times, with their profound magic and immeasurable divine abilities, have been unable to flourish since ancient times and can only eke out an existence in heaven and earth?"
Zhunti's eyebrows curved, and he said humbly, "This humble monk wishes to hear your profound insight."
Qing Ling quickly replied, "The Saint flatters me. It is not profound insight, merely a unique and simple perspective that I dare to share with the Saint.
These powerful beings possess wisdom beyond calculation, contingencies that even the Heavenly Dao cannot fully grasp, and intricate sources of fortune. They possess all the conditions for achieving the Great Dao, yet they will never attain it."
Zhunti pondered and asked, "What is the Dao Lord's opinion?"
"It is simply a matter of eras.
Each person has their own opportune moment, each day has its zenith. They missed their own eras. Their era, that most crucial and perfect era, was when they were preoccupied with laying plans for the future, with profound foresight, and in doing so, they missed their sole, most suitable era.
Everyone has but one era, and if it is missed, it is lost forever.
If grasped, one can soar to the heavens!
Those powerful beings lost their eras. Now and in the future, with countless new fortunes and powerful beings vying for supremacy, their situation will only worsen.
Therefore, Saint, you should understand my meaning, should you not?"
Zhunti was taken aback. He had never heard such a novel line of thought before. His thoughts shifted, and he sighed, "The Dao Lord is implying that you cannot afford to miss this opportunity. The end of the Wu-Yao era is your most suitable time to achieve the Dao."
Qing Ling nodded. "What the Saint has said is precisely what Qing Ling thinks."
Zhunti's heart wavered. He had come to prevent Qing Ling from leaving Jianmu. Now, the man had accurately informed him that stopping him now would be obstructing his path to Dao. The enmity of obstructing the Dao was greater than that of killing a wife and child, a hatred that could not be shared.
Was the benefit of the Western sect more important, or the camaraderie and karma between him and Qing Ling, and his own adherence to his original heart?
If it were his original heart, Zhunti would never have obstructed him. He wished for all beings to have the Dao to seek, the Dharma to be born, for the Great Dao to reach the heavens, for worldly suffering to vanish, and for all beings to escape suffering.
However, Lao Tzu and Yuan Shi had personally promised him that once the Wu and Yao tribes withdrew from the Primordial Great Desolation, they would permit the Western Buddhist sect to propagate their teachings in the eastern fringe.
For a moment, the saint hesitated.
In the Chaos, Jie Yin arrived before a majestic World Tree, clasped his hands, and said, "Excuse me for intruding."
Chaos Yi looked at Saint Jie Yin expressionlessly and said, "Is the Saint here to stop me?"
Jie Yin gave a bitter smile and nodded.
Chaos Yi then asked, "Then please answer this question, Saint. In your heart, are the beings of one region more important, or are all beings under heaven more important?"
Jie Yin frowned and shook his head. "This humble monk does not know. But one must observe the time, consider the cause, and ponder the effect. All must start from the root of the matter, from the actual circumstances of all things."
Hearing this, Chaos Yi said no more, closed his eyes, and fell into slumber.
On the Wu-Yao battlefield, the Great Witches of the Wu tribe finally could not resist intervening.
Although the individual strength of the Wu tribe was formidable, capable of fighting a hundred or a thousand enemies, the Yao tribe's numbers were vast, comprising countless races. The Wu tribe, despite their strength, was a single race, outnumbered.
Therefore, they could only deploy high-end combatants to balance the battle. Fortunately, the three hundred and sixty-five Yao Saints of the Yao tribe had entered the Zhou Tian Star Array. The remaining over a hundred Yao Saints were no match for the over a hundred fierce Wu tribesmen.
After all, the Wu tribe was renowned for its formidable combat prowess, capable of fighting multiple enemies at once.
Over a hundred Great Witches entered the fray, their colossal bodies capable of overturning heavens with a flip of their hands and caving in the earth with a step. Their destructive power was akin to the end of days, driving back countless demons.
Immediately, several Yao Saints soared into the air, transforming into their divine forms. They either engaged in close-quarters combat with their physical bodies or fought with divine abilities and magic.
Although the over a hundred Yao Saints were not to be trifled with, the Wu tribe's robust physiques were comparable to innate defensive spiritual treasures. Coupled with the protection of their Wu Sha, ordinary divine abilities and spells were weakened by thirty to forty percent, rendering them incapable of harming these formidable Great Witches.
However, fortunately, all the Yao Saints were Da Luo existences, so there was no immediate threat to their lives, though some were being suppressed.
Bai Ze, witnessing this scene, felt concerned. The high-end combat forces were locked in a stalemate in the heavens. If the Twelve Ancestral Witches did not appear, the Zhou Tian Star Array would not activate, and the three hundred and sixty-five Yao Saints and twelve Great Demon Gods would be unable to act. The vast majority of the Yao tribe's high-end combat forces were thus tied down.
He sighed and said, "Eight-headed Demon God, I implore you to exert your influence to deter those Great Witches. After all, the morale of the Yao tribe must not falter."
Qi heard this, nodded in agreement, and alone left the array, rushing towards the Wu-Yao battlefield.
Bai Ze then dispatched Kong Xuan, Da Luo powerhouses from the White Tiger tribe, the Da Luo from the Heavenly Fox tribe, and the Da Luo from the Giant Lion tribe – these powerful Da Luo from exceptionally strong tribes – to stabilize the battlefield.
With this, only the last three Demon Gods remained by Bai Ze's side, to guard against any unforeseen circumstances.
Qi entered the battlefield. With the release of his immense pressure, a sky full of blood-red light spread across the heavens. He narrowed his eyes, his hand already resting on the Fate-Slaying Blade at his back. His intent unified, he drew his blade, and in an instant, the heavens and earth turned blood-red, as if the Grim Reaper's scythe had severed life, separating existence from non-existence.
The next moment, a Great Witch, who was suppressing a Yao Saint, was instantly split in two from head to toe. His colossal body crashed to the ground.
The Yao Saint was greatly astonished. Seeing who had drawn the blade, he quickly said, "Thank you, Lord Demon God, for your intervention."
Qi nodded slightly and then looked at the next Great Witch.
With just this one blade, he had shattered the Great Witch's indomitable body. In truth, he had not shattered the Great Witch's physical body but his heart. The moment the blade descended, the blade's intent had already shattered the unsuspecting Great Witch's will. Once the will was broken, his life dissipated. When life ceased, his body naturally fell apart and returned to heaven and earth.
This was the terrifying power of the Dao of the Blade combined with the Fate-Slaying Blade.
On another battlefield, Kong Xuan, despite only having the cultivation of a Yao Saint, swept his Five-Colored Divine Light from behind him. Xuan Guang bloomed, manifesting the principles of the Five Elements and the power of cosmic magnetism, capable of overcoming all Five Elements in the world. It was truly terrifying. Even ordinary Great Witches were suppressed by him, fighting one against four or five, a truly heaven-defying feat.
The Da Luo of the Heavenly Fox tribe was from the Qing Qiu Fox lineage. Her name was Da Ji, possessing the Nine-Tailed Fox bloodline, second only to the Tu Shan Demon God among the fox tribe. Every movement she made exuded an inherent charm. Simply standing in the center of the battlefield attracted the gazes of countless Wu tribesmen, and even the Yao tribesmen were not immune. Fortunately, her charm was under her control and only targeted the Wu tribe. Even so, many Yao tribesmen were still entranced by her.
Across the entire battlefield, even those Great Witches with firm willpower had seven or eight of them drawn into the Nine Heavens Illusion, unable to escape.
Seeing this, several top Great Witches of the Wu tribe appeared. A burly man holding a giant axe, with boundless battle intent surging like a tide throughout heaven and earth, walked towards Qi, sneering, "Eight-headed Demon God, come and try whether you can sever my Xing Tian's fate!"