Chapter 211: Following the Same Track

The hall's interior suddenly surged with hidden currents. Tai Qing Sheng Ren watched with his eyes, his nose, his heart; his disciples were few, so naturally he had no intention to interfere.

Nüwa toyed with the remaining multicolored stones from repairing the heavens, evidently lacking interest in the throne of the Heavenly Emperor.

The two saints of the Western Sect exchanged a glance, and Zhunti spoke first: "Report, Master, our Medicine Master Venerable possesses both virtue and talent; should he take charge of the Heavenly Court…"

"The Western Sect's hand stretches too far!" Tongtian Jiaozhu slammed the table, his Qingping Sword humming at his side, "The Heavenly Court belongs to the Eastern orthodoxy; when will it ever be your turn to dictate?"

Jieyin, twirling his prayer beads at an unhurried pace, said: "Dao friend Tongtian, your words are mistaken; Honghuang has no east–west distinction. Moreover, the ruler of the Heavenly Court should possess a heart to universal salvation…"

Before the words finished, Yuanshi Tianzun's jade ruyi struck the table heavily, its crisp sound cutting off the dispute.

The atmosphere in the Dao Ancestor hall suddenly tightened. Tongtian Jiaozhu ignored the Jieyin Saint, and directly bowed to Hongyuan: "Teacher, please discern; our chief disciple Duobao Daoist has profound karmic ties and outstanding talent, fit to assume the throne of the Heavenly Emperor."

Yuanshi Tianzun gently stroked the jade ruyi and continued: "Matters of the East should be decided by the East, but the disciples of Tongtian's junior brothers are all aberrant practitioners; if they were to govern the Heavenly Court, they would struggle to command the masses. Under my seat, Limozi is a Preheavenly pure Qi embodiment, with a pure and profound cultivation, making him the suitable candidate."

He cast a sideways glance at Tongtian's Qingping Sword at his waist, his words laced with barbs.

The smile on Tongtian's face remained, but a cold glint flashed in his eyes. The long‑standing grudges between the Yuxu Palace and the Biyou Palace, spanning tens of thousands of years, now acquired a fresh scar.

"Your words are mistaken!" Jieyin Saint, frantic, manifested a golden‑body form, "The Heavenly Emperor must harbor a heart to universal salvation; I, the Western Medicine Master Bodhisattva…"

The sentence was cut off as Zhunti Saint grabbed his collar, and the Bodhi branch nearly knocked the case over.

Nüwa toyed with a red embroidered sphere as a wall ornament, while Tai Qing Sheng Ren kept his eyes closed, nurturing his spirit. The quarrel among the four saints grew louder, and the clouds before the Dao Ancestor's seat churned like boiling water.

"Noisy!" Hongyuan snapped his finger on the table; the ZiXiao thunder shook the Saint's true spirit. When everyone fell silent, the Dao Ancestor's gaze swept over the disciples of varied expressions: "Haotian, Yaochi, where are you?"

The two young boys with hanging hair stepped forward in response, and under the astonished stare of the saints, their bodies gradually elongated.

In an instant, Haotian transformed into a valiant divine lord with sword‑like brows and starry eyes, while Yaochi became the elegant and noble Nine‑Heaven Xuan Nu.

Their bodies were surrounded by auspicious clouds, and above their heads hung the Haotian Mirror and the plain Cloud Realm Banner bestowed by Hongyuan.

"From today onward, they shall govern the Heavenly Court," the Dao Ancestor sent the Investiture of the Gods from his sleeve into Haotian's hand, "You all must assist them well."

Jieyin stared at the Preheavenly Spiritual Treasure's throat knot rolling, while Yuanshi's wide sleeves held the Three‑Treasure jade ruyi flickering on and off; Tongtian let out a cold hum, flicked his sleeve, and left.

Outside the hall, the clouds of the Thirty‑Three Heavens shifted abruptly, and the aura of the Great Calamity had already begun to permeate.

During the Dao Ancestor Hongyuan's bestowal ceremony, Haotian happily received his destined divine weapons, the Haotian Mirror and the Haotian Tower.

These two Preheavenly supreme treasures, balanced in offense and defense, caused his power to surge instantly.

Yaochi obtained the plain Cloud Realm Banner among the Preheavenly Five‑Direction Flags; this top‑tier defensive artifact, upon its debut, attracted Zhunti Saint's scorching gaze, for the entire Western Sect could not muster such a caliber of treasure.

The Dao Ancestor's gifts were not finished; he casually added a Preheavenly jade hairpin as an accessory for Yaochi, and also transferred the top of the Ten Spiritual Roots, the Peaches Tree, into her name.

Zhunti Saint stared wide‑eyed; though esteemed as a Saint, he possessed only two or three Preheavenly supreme treasures to hold the stage.

The last time he miscalculated the Six Realms of Reincarnation, he lost the empowered divine pestle and the Six Pure Bamboo, which he gave to Zhou Yi; now his pockets are cleaner than his face, unable to produce even a decent treasure, making his life truly stifling.

"From today, Haotian holds the Heavenly Emperor's seal, and Yaochi receives the Queen Mother's scepter." Hongyuan's words just finished, the Heavenly Dao responded, scattering a sky of merit‑filled golden light.

These two boys, who originally served tea and water, saw their cultivation rocket upward, soaring straight into the Quasi Saint realm.

If the great beings of Honghuang, who toiled for hundreds of millions of years to reach the Quasi Saint threshold, witnessed this scene, they would likely be so enraged they'd shut themselves off on the spot; a senior simply naming them could offset their million‑year cultivations.

When Haotian and Yaochi, marching proudly, arrived to assume their posts in the Heavenly Court, the saints were about to disperse, and Zhunti suddenly bowed and stepped forward: "Master, report, this Witch‑Undead War has riddled heaven and earth with countless wounds; another wave like this will likely cause Honghuang to collapse!"

The remark left all the saints bewildered, except the old master who, keeping his eyes closed to nurture his spirit, suddenly opened them, casting a meaning‑laden glance at Zhunti.

The Dao Ancestor gave a slight nod: "Now the Human Race rises; merely the Quasi Saints number five…"

The words halted abruptly, and dark currents surged within the ZiXiao Palace.

The saints outwardly remained composed, but their inner calculations clicked loudly; how should the great cake of Human Race destiny be divided?

Zhunti paced, swinging a Seven‑Treasure wondrous tree, spitting stars that flew: "That Zhou Yi of the Human Race has only cultivated for a few years? He now stands shoulder‑to‑shoulder with Taiyi! If this continues wildly, Honghuang will be torn into eight pieces."

Speaking, she stole glances at the Dao Ancestor's expression, while her prayer beads spun rapidly.

Jieyin, timely taking the thread, said: "In my view, we should put these Quasi Saints in a pigeon cage. As long as the Human Race does not annihilate itself, they should not be released to run wild, lest the heavenly stems clash and ruin the world." Beneath his kasaya, his fingers counted, calculating how much the underworld merit pool could rise.

The Dao Ancestor half‑raised his eyelid: "Continue." At his fingertips, the Heavenly Dao chain's phantom shadows flickered in and out.

Nüwa's red embroidered sphere in her sleeve suddenly heated up; clearly these two donkeys intended to break the Human Race's backbone!

Just as she was about to speak, Tai Qing grabbed a dust‑sweeping fan and pressed her wrist.

Sure enough, the Dao Ancestor's next words were decisive: "Nüwa, Tai Qing, you two shall build a retirement home for the Human Race. All above the Great Luo shall be sealed into the Fire‑Cloud Cave; only those who have not annihilated the race may exit."

Zhunti's mouth twitched, almost laughing, and he quickly grasped a technique to stabilize his golden body.

Jieyin's clasped palms trembled; without Zhou Yi and his troublemakers, the Wu Clan's lingering souls in the underworld would still be at their mercy, as if merit‑filled golden lotuses bloomed across the spirit mountains.

Tai Qing, twirling the Taiji diagram, turned: "Junior sister, add a few seals to the Fire‑Cloud Cave?"

Nüwa, face darkened, flung out a Landscape and State diagram; within the scroll, the Human Race's destiny golden dragon suddenly lost two of its whiskers.

Outside the Thirty‑Three Heavens, a startling thunder exploded, shaking the Eight‑Scenery Palace's alchemical furnace, which spewed black smoke.

The saints each harbored their own thoughts as they returned from the ZiXiao Palace beyond the Thirty‑Three Heavens to Honghuang. En route, Nüwa deliberately slowed her cloud‑head to walk alongside Tai Qing, recalling the Dao Ancestor Hongyuan's instructions.

"Since the Teacher gave the order personally, we must implement it promptly. Shall we first summon the Human Race's princess to inform her? He'll surely grant a face‑saving gesture to the Dao Ancestor." Tai Qing, twirling his beard, suggested.

Nüwa nodded in agreement: "Senior brother, you've thought this through, and I also have matters to discuss with Zhou Yi; may I take the lead?" Seeing Tai Qing nod, she immediately rode a cloud back to the Dao Hall, summoning a personal attendant: "Hurry to the Human Race and deliver the message; have the princess come at once to Nüwa's palace."

The attendant, Lingzhuzi, arrived at the Human Race's sacred land just as Zhou Yi was examining the River Map and Luo Script.

Since the Witch‑Undead War, this Quasi Saint peak‑level powerhouse has become renowned throughout Honghuang.

"Lingzhuzi, by the Saint's command, please have the princess relocate to the Thirty‑Three Heavens," the boy bowed respectfully, yet saw the other stare at him as if…