Chapter 3: The weak nurture only themselves, the strong nurture the world

"Ding, Low-level Martial Saint Experience Card used successfully. Gained Saint-level Martial Arts Cultivation, duration three minutes!"

"Three minutes?" Zhou Yi was first startled, then delighted. "Three minutes is enough!"

Because in this instant he felt incomparable power. It seemed that raising a hand or foot carried the might to destroy heaven and earth.

He understood instantly.

The "Saint" of this Saint-level Martial Arts Cultivation is the "Saint" of a saint!

"Shield!"

At the same moment, Yuan Shi let out a thunderous shout.

The Yuxu Liuli Lamp quivered lightly, and the flame inside flared up.

A crimson blaze spanning a thousand li trembled and surged wildly toward Zhou Yi.

It blocked the sky and eclipsed the sun; the crimson flame burned the heavens.

The Yuxu Liuli Lamp is a Preheavenly Spiritual Treasure.

At this moment Hongjun has not yet divided treasures at Fenbao Cliff, and a Preheavenly Spiritual Treasure is already exceedingly rare in the world.

The Three Pure Ones' cultivation is already the highest among the great beings.

Yuan Shi's magical power surged wildly, offering the Spiritual Treasure again. Everyone who saw him was startled.

Even Donghuang Taiyi, who possesses the companion Chaos Treasure Chaos Bell.

And Zhenyuanzi, who holds the Celestial Fetal Membrane, when seeing the Yuxu Liuli Lamp display a thousand‑li flame, couldn't help but slightly furrow his brow.

The remaining people, aside from Yuan Shi's other two brothers, were even more amazed.

"The second brother's temperament is still too arrogant, looking down on everyone except us. I hope that this time he will hold back at the crucial moment and not take this creature's life. If his heart doesn't change, there will be more calamities ahead."

The eldest of the Three Pure Ones, Taishang Daoist, shook his head and pitied Zhou Yi.

"Hmph! To call it arrogance sounds nice, but to call it disdain for everything sounds worse." The third, Tongtian Daoist, flicked his robe, his eyes blazing at Zhou Yi, "I could hope that fellow cultivator gives the second brother a lesson!"

Yet after speaking, Tongtian still shook his head, looking at Zhou Yi with regret.

Honghuang is vast, but beings that can rival the three brothers are exceedingly few.

Everyone thought Zhou Yi was unquestionably defeated!

Yet the next instant, their brows and eyes shot up wildly, mouths agape in astonishment, unable to believe it.

When the boundless crimson blaze surged toward Zhou Yi, a golden aura rose on his body.

His posture suddenly expanded, his skin turning entirely golden.

It is the divine‑level martial art "Six‑zhang Golden Body"!

The fire of the Yuxu Liuli Lamp, refining wind and forging thunder, is a trivial matter.

Yet after sweeping over Zhou Yi, it could not even harm a single hair on him.

Only to see Zhou Yi, now six zhang tall, standing motionless in the crimson fire, like an ancient golden statue!

"Hmph, this fire can't even warm me!"

"Weak!"

Zhou Yi let out a thunderous shout, thrusting both hands outward, grabbing fiercely to his left and right.

The crimson fire stretching thousands of li emitted a "boom", then vanished into nothingness.

At the same time, the Preheavenly Spiritual Treasure Yuxu Liuli Lamp within the crimson fire shuddered violently, exploding into fragments in an instant!

In that instant, everyone was wildly shocked.

They all thought Zhou Yi was definitively defeated.

Yet in the blink of an eye, Zhou Yi turned the tide with just one move.

And he even shattered the Preheavenly Spiritual Treasure!

What level of cultivation is this?

What made everyone even more terrified was!

Zhou Yi hadn't even used a magical artifact!

Moreover, they didn't even sense Zhou Yi employing magical power, let alone stirring the celestial qi.

Breaking the formation and shattering the treasure in midair—this could not be mere mortal strength!

In that moment, Zhou Yi became incomparably mysterious in everyone's eyes.

He possesses both bizarre power and transcendent cultivation.

And yet he is not a Honghuang being?

Who exactly is he?

Just as everyone was utterly amazed, Zhou Yi flickered in the void.

Everyone only saw a flash before their eyes.

When they finally saw clearly, Zhou Yi had already appeared behind Yuan Shi.

The onlookers didn't notice, and Yuan Shi in the midst remained oblivious.

Zhou Yi suddenly reached out, grasped Yuan Shi's neck, and pulled him backward.

At the same time he lifted his foot and kicked Yuan Shi's heel.

With that grab and kick, Yuan Shi lost his balance and fell to the ground with a "bang", landing in a heap of mud.

Immediately, a series of sharp gasps echoed out.

The origins and status of the Three Pure Ones have long been known throughout Honghuang.

Born from Pangu's primordial essence that opened the heavens, their status is exceedingly noble.

Wherever they go, they are revered!

Yet now, they were tripped into a mud puddle by someone?

Shocked, they turned to look at Zhou Yi.

At the same time, they suddenly realized.

Zhou Yi, this is intentional!

Given his just‑now performance, wiping out Yuan Shi would be no problem.

But he only made him stumble!

In that instant, everyone felt a faint sense of awe and fear toward Zhou Yi.

They thought privately that they must never offend Zhou Yi in the future.

In this Vast Wilderness World, life and death are trivial; losing face is the real big thing!

Someone like Yuan Shi being tripped and stumbling will surely become the biggest joke of the Vast Wilderness World later.

"How daring you are!" Taishang was the first to recover his senses and shouted at Zhou Yi.

At this moment, the Three Pure Ones had not yet separated, sharing the same spirit.

Yuan Shi's embarrassment is the Three Pure Ones' embarrassment.

Taishang, while shouting, also intended to strike at Zhou Yi.

Zhou Yi no longer paid any attention to Yuan Shi, and glared at Taishang in an instant.

At this moment, his saint‑level cultivation had already faded, yet Zhou Yi's gaze still bore boundless authority.

Stared at by Zhou Yi, Taishang was frightened enough to halt his actions.

Zhou Yi smiled at him, "Taishang, you are formed from Pangu's primordial essence, a heavenly precursor spirit."

"And you also hold compassion in your heart! Yet you lack a touch of detachment."

"I give you a word of advice: from now on cultivate self‑cultivation and act through non‑action. If not, someday you will, like Yuan Shi, be tripped and end up a dog‑chewed mud!"

The Honghuang Calamity continues to spread to the Journey to the West world!

Coincidentally, indeed there will later be a primordial spirit monkey that will trip Taishang Laojun into a dog‑chewed mud!

Taishang heard this and was startled.

At the same time, seeing Zhou Yi step back voluntarily, he no longer thought of striking.

Zhou Yi, having stepped back, took a deep breath.

As he inhaled, his aura suddenly waned, his six‑zhang stature returned to normal, and the golden light surrounding him fully receded.

Three minutes had passed, and his saint‑level cultivation had already faded.

But everyone thought that Zhou Yi had voluntarily suppressed his inner fire and lowered his cultivation.

Therefore, even though Zhou Yi quickly returned to his usual aura, no one dared to act or speak recklessly.

Yuan Shi did the same; after getting up from the ground, he stared steadily at Zhou Yi.

He already harbored apprehension in his heart and truly dared not move.

Zhou Yi scanned everyone with a glance, his mind suddenly active, "With a single move I can shock all the great powers; now seems the perfect moment to unleash a verbal barrage!"

Muttering to himself, Zhou Yi suddenly stared fiercely at Yuan Shi.

"Hmph! The Hongjun Way, throwing oneself into the Heavenly Dao, Taishang forgets emotion. Claiming to be in harmony with the Dao, it's merely abandoning feeling to become a spokesperson of the Heavenly Dao—what else is it but a lower path?"

"Moreover, you all come seeking the Dao only because your cultivation tempts you, driven by selfish desire. This kind of inferior path actually suits you!"

Hearing this, the crowd was startled again.

Some were stunned, others showed confusion.

Seeking the Dao, if not for cultivation, then for what?

How does it become selfish then?

Although Yuan Shi was alarmed by Zhou Yi's power, his face still could not hide it.

Now listening to Zhou Yi's words, he found it even more laughable, "Ridiculous! Our cultivation is precisely to pursue greater strength. Selfishness? That's the nature of us cultivators; where does the notion of selfishness come from!"

"Nonsense!" Zhou Yi shouted back bluntly.

"The weak perfect themselves alone; the strong benefit the world. That is the Great Dao!"

"Pangu opened the heavens and split the earth, creating the Vast Wilderness World. Yet this desolate land is overrun by beasts, with demons and liches each forming their own camps…"

"You, as Pangu's incarnation, should have refined the Vast Wilderness World, yet you only pursue cultivation, inverting cause and effect!"

When these words were spoken, Yuan Shi remained unmoved, as if Zhou Yi's remarks had not reached him.

He merely let out a cold snort, "All the beings of the world are merely wet‑born, egg‑hatching fools; good or bad, what does it matter to me?"

"Pangu opened the heavens and split the earth merely to seek the Great Dao. I, being formed from Pangu, inherit Pangu's will and again pursue the Great Dao; what is wrong with that!"

"Fallacious reasoning, utterly laughable."

"That old thing is truly stubborn!" Zhou Yi heard this and silently spat in his heart.

His previous remarks actually came from Confucian teachings, and they did hold some merit.

He didn't expect that Yuan Shi didn't absorb any of it.

Zhou Yi thought his eloquence was lacking, and hurriedly re‑thought, reorganizing his arguments.

But at that moment, a crisp "ding" rang in his mind.

"Congratulations, host, for propagating the Confucian Compassionate Way, and initially shaking the hearts of Tongtian, Nüwa, Hongyun, and Houtu seeking the Dao!"

"Received a fourth‑tier rating, rewarded with 1000 Destiny Points, and granted a copy of the Divine Martial Art "Lion's Roar"."

Listening to this, Zhou Yi turned his head to look at Tongtian, Nüwa, Hongyun, and Houtu.

He saw the four of them all bowing their heads, brows slightly furrowed.

Moreover, Tongtian could be heard murmuring softly, "The weak perfect themselves alone, the strong benefit the world?"