Chapter 279

Right

Hongjun said, pausing briefly, then smiled and spoke.

In this Heavenly Dao Saint election, aside from Nüwa, there are five saint positions.

In other words, of the ten candidates, only half will pass and obtain the saint position certificate—Primordial Purple Qi.

Those who fail to pass, fellow Daoists, do not lose heart.

After all, the times are changing, the themes are changing… perhaps new demands will arise, requiring new saints to take office; perhaps some saint will lose virtue and thus abdicate; or perhaps some saint will grow weary and wish to make way for the worthy.

Sainthood is not an eternal, unchanging state, but something that can be changed.

The next saint position election still welcomes the participation of aspiring individuals.

The Dao Ancestor gazed into the future, but there was not much reaction from below.

Hongjun didn't mind this either; he simply flicked his duster and said, 'Well… open the box, check the tickets!'

As his words fell, spiritual light instantly appeared in the void.

One after another, brilliant spiritual light danced, flashing in the Purple Azure Palace, gathering onto the bodies of the ten saint candidates.

That spiritual light is the transformation of the combination of the will of the present Great Luo beings and the hall's rules, representing their vote.

Whom they approve and support, the spiritual light is stored in the corresponding void—that is the ballot box.

Until now, the ballot box has been opened, the spiritual light shining brilliantly, allowing the results to be revealed.

Many Great Luo beings are curious and awaiting.

What kind of result will that be?

……

Some saint candidates have spiritual light gathering continuously, like clouds and rain, magnificent and boundless.

Some saint candidates have spiritual light gathering around them so slowly it's pitiful, making it hard to bear to watch.

The gap between people is fully manifested at this moment.

Fengxi watched and watched, his eyebrows suddenly raised, feeling a bit surprised—

It partly matches his expectations, but also partly deviates.

Because, there are a few candidates estimated to be relatively 'unpopular' and not favored, yet they have received not few votes, with a very noticeable growth rate.

Ziguang Yuanjun, Minghe Mozu.

Fengxi murmured softly, his eyes flickering slightly, sending a sound transmission to his superior to inquire.

Hmm… this one? Nüwa pondered, then replied, 'Their situation is relatively special.'

The current vote situation has quite a bit of personal favors—different from your previous false dealings.

Hehe… Fengxi gave an embarrassed smile.

Ziguang Yuanjun, although this era is very low-key, almost like a nobody, that doesn't mean she lacks authority.

Nüwa continued explaining, 'She also has another honorific title—Doumu!'

What is Doumu?

She is the mother of the Big Dipper stars, and also the ancestor of all stars!

In a more ancient era, she was the sovereign ruling the starry skies… but in this era, she made way for Di Jun.

However, she still holds prestige in the hearts of some celestial beings of the starry skies, gaining their support.

Moreover, she is the sole female deity among the ten current candidates.

For those goddesses who don't care, or even ignore the witch-demon struggle, and can truly carve out a world for themselves at home… voting depends on mood, so supporting this sole deity is not surprising.

Oh. Fengxi let out an oh, indicating he had gained some strange and weird knowledge.

As for Minghe? Nüwa slightly pondered, 'His vote count increasing so fast may involve some under-the-table personal favors.'

After all, he is not merely in charge of punishment; he also holds a part-time position as the current demonic ancestor of the demonic sect, managing this shady industry for Luo Hu.

As for the demonic sect, one can infer through the special nature of the Purple Azure Palace that there are some secrets… it once flourished exceedingly, many innate deities were deceived and hoodwinked by the demonic ancestor Luo Hu, and mistakenly entered it.

Although in the end these deities all turned from evil to good, abandoned darkness for light… but how to put it?

After the world was brought to great order, this demonic sect was again activated by some sneaky individuals.

Holding aloft the greatest banner of destroying Honghuang, it is actually a gathering place for white gloves.

Many veteran Great Luo beings, among them not lacking great powers, want to do some outrageous things, unsuitable to use their true bodies with the great number… so they just hang a name in the demonic sect, adding an official demonic path alter ego.

After the deed is done, they let the alter ego from the demonic sect step forward to take responsibility for ×××.

Such conduct, I have always looked down upon associating with.

Nüwa's voice suddenly filled with righteousness, like a pure phoenix that refuses to associate with sparrows.

Fengxi blinked, recalling what he had seen and heard at the place where Luo Hu the demonic ancestor was sealed; the signal from Houtu mysteriously and wonderfully switched to the channel of the 'Heavenly Demon Lord of Creation'… his mood was quite strange.

However strange, he could not show it, let alone refute it in words.

His direct superior wants to maintain his image of righteous integrity before his subordinates; at this moment, spouting blatant truths would easily get him noted in a little black book.

Being noted in a little black book by one's superior is already dangerous… especially when that superior is an immensely powerful goddess?

This makes it even more dangerous and terrifying!

So, Fengxi quickly concealed his abnormal mood, went along with the flow, and loudly praised Nüwa's noble conduct, not mingling with the vulgar world.

It's a pity those people cannot be like me, pure and self-loving, dignified and upright. Nüwa accepted the praise complacently, then sighed, 'Opening an account in the demonic sect, hanging a name, they've been tossed about and risen.'

And since an account has been opened,

That is only natural; one must give some face to the master of the demonic sect… this is personal favor.

Upon hearing this from Nüwa, Fengxi suddenly understood completely.

He knew that, starting from those with great supernatural powers, they have the ability in this Purple Azure Palace to exert a certain degree of dominance, one person can grab several tickets.

The stronger, the more votes!

And they cast one of their votes for the Nether River Demon Ancestor, an official of the demon sect, to give him face, so that his voting result wouldn't look bad, even ending up at the bottom… This is also human nature.

Moreover, some ordinary-strength Great Luo work in the demon sect—the demonic path, although its reputation isn't great, is also a smooth road for promotion, and can even produce Great Luo!

"However, you don't need to worry too much." Nüwa transmitted via voice, smiling and comforting, "Human sentiment cannot outweigh the greater trend; those who can do this are ultimately a minority, while the majority still follow the rules, obeying the commands of the Wu and Demon high-ranking Great Luo."

"If there aren't too many surprises, the Nether River's vote count is about to max out, and it won't affect the overall situation."

Just as Nüwa said.

Not much time had passed.

The Nether River Demon Ancestor's vote count stopped growing, and no more spiritual light gathered.

Although the Demon Ancestor's face showed some regret, he wasn't very angry.

After all, he at least had a few hundred votes, so his face was still presentable.

As for Zhenyuanzi, he was somewhat amused and exasperated—he was the one at the bottom!

Among the ten Saint candidates, his vote count was the lowest.

However, this great immortal was also quite open-minded.

He had a smile on his face, not annoyed, but rather took interest in observing the vote-checking of the other Saint candidates.

In last place was Zhenyuanzi.

As for second-to-last and third-to-last, they were taken by Doumu and the Nether River.

The remaining seven—the Three Pure Ones, the Two Buddhas, Kunpeng, and Red Yun—were still in fierce competition.

And soon after.

Zhunti first stopped his growth momentum, while Red Yun, with a very subtle vote advantage over him, took sixth place.

By this point, the top five were determined.

The Three Pure Ones, Jieyin, and Kunpeng.

Fengxi looked at the result, furrowed his brow slightly, and consulted with several top Wu cultivators: "We've worked so hard on vote manipulation, yet Red Yun's data is still so poor?"

"On the contrary, it seems that Kunpeng, who didn't have much support, actually has quite a few people acknowledging him."

"Ah, this really gives one a headache."

"Heh, just putting in the effort is enough." Mu secretly transmitted back, "Having Kunpeng rise, for us the result is not unacceptable; it's basically giving the Demon Race trouble."

"Indeed." Fengxi nodded.

He then looked again at the continuing gathering of spiritual light, ranking the five Saint candidates.

Kunpeng was the first to stop.

Then, in order, were Yuanshi and Lingbao.

Jieyin the Ancient Buddha and the Moral Heavenly Venerable were contending for first place!

In the end, Jieyin the Ancient Buddha lost to the Moral Heavenly Venerable by a slight margin.

Jieyin the Ancient Buddha looked at his own results, chuckled, and praised the Moral Heavenly Venerable: "I thought that after all these years of running the Buddhist school, I would be best at winning people's hearts… focusing on credit loans, providing convenience for many fellow cultivators, helping them pass related examinations—just by registering under my Buddhist school and doing some affiliation."

"I didn't expect to still lose to the Venerable… the Venerable truly has great talent."

"The Ancient Buddha overpraises me." The Moral Heavenly Venerable shook his head repeatedly, "In this case, my victory was really just a bit of cleverness."

"By leveraging Pangu's banner, I gained a corresponding boost… mainly because the fellow cultivators present still remember Pangu's achievements and are willing to endorse promoting his ideas as the primary task of Honghuang, subtly transcending factional divides, which gave me this result."

The Venerable spoke frankly.

This is also not false.

His first place, aside from the Daoist sect's contribution and the Wu Clan's support, even a few from the Demon Race cast their votes for the Moral Heavenly Venerable.

After all… the Demon Race has a sovereign who stepped down from Pangu's position.

We still have to give face to this old leader.

Otherwise, Fuxi is currently silent, and who knows what he might do in the future.

—I might not be clear about who gave me gifts.

But who didn't give me gifts?

I will definitely note it down in my little notebook.

"Furthermore, this result doesn't really prove anything…" The Moral Heavenly Venerable smiled, "Besides, since we're all Saints, what's the point of talking about superiority or inferiority?"

"Just speaking of this vote data… does only the Great Luo present here get to decide?"

"We also need to consult the opinion of the general human consciousness… we haven't reached the point of laughing last."

The Venerable glanced at the not‑far‑away Kunpeng Great Sage, whose face shone with a mix of joy and surprise, as if hinting at something.

Jieyin the Ancient Buddha understood the tacit signal, nodding and shaking his head, first giving his junior—Zhunti—a comforting glance.

Next, he locked eyes with the Dao Ancestor Hongjun, his gaze seeming to carry deep meaning.

The Dao Ancestor was smiling.

He stood on the Dao platform, overlooking the lively, bustling atmosphere in the palace—some were joyfully leaping and offering congratulations repeatedly, while others sighed and lamented, wondering when the goddess would be able to rise up and hold her head high.

"Heh."

Hongjun swept away the dust with a flick of his whisk, his world‑shaking power flowing, cleansing the hall's clamor and restlessness, drawing the attention of all divinities.

"The vote results are out; upholding the principle of fairness, openness, and justice… who has any objections? You may raise them now."

He glanced around; in the silence of the Great Luo's heavenly will in the hall, he confirmed everyone's approval.

Afterward, Hongjun did not directly bestow the Primordial Purple Qi to confirm the Saint positions.

Instead, he urged a vast will to give the final verdict.

"Since there are no objections."

"Then, please let the overall human will, according to its own inclination, grant weight to the corresponding Saint candidates."

"The final result will be determined by combining the Great Luo vote count with the human will's weight, thereby assigning the Saint positions."

The Dao Ancestor spoke loudly.

Upon hearing these words, a divine being's expression changed dramatically, and they were about to say something.

But at this moment, the Dao Ancestor is quite overbearing.

"Saint... Saint indeed!"

Hongjun's tone was leisurely, yet carried an unstoppable aura: "When sages emerge, they educate humanity... only then are they true saints."

"The Great Luo vote is to determine ability, determine the scope of teaching materials."

"However, since it is education, we also need to understand innate talents and inclinations toward the human way."

"Therefore, the vast multitude of all living beings should also have their own voice."

As the Dao Ancestor spoke, he pointed his hand, and saw behind the hall an endless expanse of mighty spiritual light, which at that moment began to fluctuate violently, resonating with each saint candidate.

This is assigning weights, multiplying each vote by a coefficient, which will bring changes!

In an instant, some showed joy on their faces, while others jumped up, muttering the words 'behind-the-scenes'.

Everyone could clearly see that some saint candidates had low weights; even if their base votes were high, they now had to be cut, and the final data decreased.

Similarly, some saint candidates had high weights; even if their votes were relatively low, after multiplying by a larger coefficient, their numbers increased greatly compared to before.

In this process, who laughs? Who cries?

Like Zhunti, who is laughing right now.

He, the administrator in charge of teaching within the Buddhist school, has become the direct beneficiary in this situation.

In the human realm, the weight given to teaching is quite high!

Even the Three Pure Ones Heavenly Lords have received a certain enhancement at this moment.

Of course, corresponding to those who laugh, some also have twitching eyes.

——Giant fish-bird!

His calculation result is a decline.

This also counts as feedback on part of the human realm's opinions—some things are not necessary, their importance is greatly discounted, there is room for replacement, so the weight naturally becomes relatively small.

Thus the giant fish-bird has been badly screwed.

He watched helplessly as his ranking began to fall... surpassed by Zhunti, and also surpassed by Hongyun.

This made his heart feel stifled; he almost shouted loudly 'What gives?' and 'There's a behind-the-scenes!'

However, in the Dao Ancestor Hongjun's frighteningly indifferent gaze, the giant fish-bird's mouth twisted and eyes askew, yet he still couldn't shout these words throughout the entire the Zixiao Palace.

However, his stifled feeling hasn't accumulated for too long.

With a 'pfft' sound, the giant fish-bird laughed out loud, not too bothered about his seventh place.

He looked at the Dao Ancestor on the Dao platform with a strange gaze.

Many Great Luo Heavenly Intentions also made the same motion.

——Now, two are tied for fifth place; how will this be handled?

(End of chapter)