Chapter 304

I have passed down this Classic of the Way and Virtue, hoping that more fellow travelers will walk the road to eternity, adding a few splendid rays of color to this vast Honghuang universe.

The Moral Heavenly Venerable holds beautiful expectations for the future and for all beings, with heartfelt blessings.

As a pioneer on the Great Dao, he is also a teacher who imparts the Way and gives instruction.

He did not intend to block the path of later generations; instead, he hoped that those who share the Way would be ever more numerous and virtuous.

Of course, the Venerable also has a few modest requirements for those who share the Way.

Don't be just a bunch of good-for-nothings who rush to the front when making money but run faster than anyone when responsibility is needed.

One should ideally be a pillar of talent who develops fully in morality, intellect, physique, aesthetics, and labor, and can make the due contribution to the advancement of humanity.

Therefore, he conducted this grandest lecture, and at this moment of conclusion he condensed and refined it into over five thousand characters, achieving a classic where brief words hold great meaning.

Upon the scripture's appearance, in the unseen realm there arose Daoist chants and Buddhist hymns, echoing through ages and the epochs of the Myriad Heavens.

"The Dao that can be spoken is not the eternal Dao; the name that can be named is not the eternal name……"

——The Classic of the Way and Virtue!

The scripture moves on its own, carrying the wisdom and thought of a supreme Daoist Venerable, destined to influence countless ages and leave an incomparably clear and profound mark.

However.

Thought, as a thing, sometimes inevitably bears personal coloring.

Likewise, in the process of dissemination, some will agree and follow and practice it, while others will question it, standing on their own position to refute its reasoning.

This is all quite normal.

After all, even the Moral Heavenly Venerable himself has put forward a similar view, urging people to examine issues dialectically—since heaven and earth have yin and yang, good and evil…… in the realm of thought, a hundred flowers may bloom and swords clash, and that is not impossible.

And where there are objections, disputes arise—especially when one side harbors malice, either to suppress opponents for gain, or is a reborn nitpicker merely indulging in verbal sparring.

Too many, too many.

The Moral Heavenly Venerable does not yet possess such charm that everyone loves him.

Nor does he have the force to sweep the world and make all dissenters shut up obediently.

This Venerable himself is well aware of that.

He neither prints money nor has become Pangu; since none of these conditions is met, do not expect him to wave his arm and have the world follow.

Especially now that the Venerable has stepped into this mire, where witches, demons, and humans constantly think of smashing each other's brains out.

So.

When he saw that just a moment ago the venue was utterly silent, with hundreds of billions of listeners immersed in the Venerable's teaching, the next moment someone broke free from the Dao realm, eyes bright and alert, truly a nitpicker's soul aflame, their nitpicking power boiling within……

The Moral Heavenly Venerable feels not the slightest surprise.

Even without thinking, he knows——

This might be the Trumpet of some Heavenly Court demon god, coming now to wreck the show!

The Venerable has just fed everyone chicken soup.

Then this person who deliberately steps up to pick faults and argue will poison the chicken soup, turning the whole lecture into a bowl of poisonous chicken soup.

——You think effort is extremely useful, that through relentless struggle you can pass one road after another toward success…… yet some people are born already seated on the throne of success in your eyes!

——Never fool yourself into thinking you're inspired; most people who seem to be working hard are actually just being stupid.

——Your wholehearted effort is still not as good as someone else's casual messing around!

——If you don't strive, you'll never know what despair is!

……

The Moral Heavenly Venerable, upon imagining that scene, feels certain he will feel weary from the depths of his heart.

As an educator, he is very eloquent and persuasive.

He is also not unable to win in debates.

But he finds it hard to wake someone who is pretending to sleep—unless he uses his fists.

Moreover, doing so would likely cause the aura of success he has cultivated, the convincing halo that makes people believe, to totter on the brink of collapse.

——It's like he had already almost duped the audience below, his marketing was extremely successful, having promoted his innocently sweet image.

Then a greenhorn steps forward, exposing your old secrets…… tsk, that would be quite embarrassing.

'"Alas, what a pity…… too much of a pity."'

'"Nanhua didn't come with me; otherwise I wouldn't have to worry like this."'

The Moral Heavenly Venerable thought of a top True Person in his Daoist alliance.

Nanhua True Person!

The reason he thinks so is that, having surveyed the Daoist sect up and down, there is no one who surpasses this person in eloquence and debate.

Nanhua True Person, the Dream Butterfly Zhuang Zhou, is, across the whole Honghuang, one of the foremost masters of the verbal barrage, with extraordinarily rich imagination, effortless language use, flexible and versatile, able to make subtle, hard-to-articulate philosophy captivating, and besides, to leave anyone who dares to argue with him unable to utter a single word.

For example——

You are not a fish; how can you know the joy of fish?

You are not me; how can you know that I do not know the joy of fish?

Nanhua True Person's achievements in philosophy are extremely high, and his expressive ability is likewise extremely strong; even if it were the Buddhist sect capable of matching the Daoist in debate, adept at the eloquent golden lotus, believing that all is mind-made and consummate in free will, the strongest Buddha in that regard would still be only evenly matched with Nanhua True Person.

Your Buddhist sect teaches that form is emptiness; I then speak of the Land of No-Where…… in discussing the Dao and discerning the law, my Nanhua has never feared anyone!

Thus, at this moment, the Moral Heavenly Venerable cannot help but miss this True Person.

With him present, who would still fear being unable to press those nitpickers, who are already itching to test their luck, to the ground and beat them?

'"What a pity……"'

The Moral Heavenly Venerable recalls Nanhua's recent whereabouts, only to find that he has been invited away by the Great Sage Kunpeng.

Kunpeng stirs up the second world; "Kun Kun" runs rampant and domineering in the spiritual world of mankind and all beings, occupying the largest share.

As for Nanhua True Person, he is very interested in researching that related field, so he simply stays there to conduct investigations and build his own Land of No-Where.

As for this, the Venerable of Morality and the Dao could not delay his path; he could only come to Mount Buzhou himself to give a speech, and moreover, alone, face myriad nitpickers.

But…

"Can this humble daoist be bullied by you guys?"

The Venerable, old godly and composed, flicked his whisk: 'Little nitpickers, if you have the ability, don't use the trumpet… go on your tuba, then the old dao will have the mood to chat a few sentences with you.'

In the whisk's sway, a mighty pressure swept across.

This pressure was very targeted.

Those who sat honestly on the chairs felt only a gentle breeze on their faces.

But those who wanted to stand up and raise objections were completely suppressed, unable to straighten up.

This made the faces of many beings change, their gaze suddenly deepening… this is the rhythm of calling for the tuba dad.

But… how could the Venerable of Morality and the Dao give them a chance?

He had never forgotten his mission, the main group he had to face.

He did not come to convince the nitpickers.

But to plant a beautiful seed in the hearts of present humanity, to guide them onto the proper path.

To have these neutral beings believe his grand principles, that is the most important!

'Fortunately, I had prepared early.'

'Besides, also give this lecture heading toward success a final promotion, inject a stimulant!'

The Venerable of Morality and the Dao's face put on a gentle smile.

In the eyes of the myriad billions of beings below, this smile glowed, incomparably splendid.

Before they could figure out what was happening.

Then the Venerable of Morality and the Dao leisurely opened his mouth, his tone and voice overflowing with joy.

'Originally so… originally so…'

'My Dao is accomplished… my Dao is accomplished!'

Immediately, a human below stood up, 'Congratulations, Venerable… may I ask, what Dao have you accomplished?'

'Holy Way… the Dao of a Saint!' the Venerable of Morality and the Dao laughed heartily, 'Your humble daoist has been valued by the Heavenly Dao, entrusted with an important mission, granted the Primordial Purple Qi, to be a preparatory Saint for the Heavenly Dao.'

'Merely these fruits of merit, I have long sought in vain… until today!'

'At this time and place, to transmit this Morality Doctrine, to establish a school of thought… the Heavenly Dao feels it, my merit is unsurpassed!'

'At last, letting me take the final step, I can instantly become a Saint!'

The Venerable of Morality and the Dao's voice shocked the world, shaking the eight wildernesses and six unions, the vast cosmos echoed with his sound.

'Humans, truly are my fortunate star… enough! enough! enough!'

'Thus, with my thoughts, among humanity I will establish a teaching, imparting the magnificent proper path to success, to repay the kindness that aided my Dao.'

'The Ren Sect is established!'

'The Holy Way is accomplished!'

The Venerable of Morality and the Dao shouted loudly.

He was extremely excited, the emotion rich in his voice infected countless beings listening to his words now.

But, a fleeting glint in the Venerable's eyes was calm, was composed.

'Humans… this is my final assistance, please accept it.'

With a Saint ascending here, the heavenly intentions of the great Luo who know the truth cannot be deceived, yet driving the rhythm of ignorant beings is advantageous everywhere.

'Hope that, before time wears away this influence, you can gain the upper hand over the Demon Race, not wasting the old dao's personal performance…'

While such thoughts lingered in the Venerable's heart, heaven and earth changed.

Endless auspicious omens appeared amidst the Honghuang heaven and earth.

In the brightest, most splendid light, the Venerable of Morality and the Dao became the most handsome being in the entire universe at this moment, the sole protagonist.

A tempting, blood‑red Xuan-Yellow River that makes one want to kill Saints and loot goods, spanned the heavens and descended!

When the river reached his person.

Inside the Venerable of Morality and the Dao, suddenly a bright flash, a vast expanse of Xuan‑Yellow water appeared, merging with it.

Finally, a stunningly brilliant golden light flashed, shining in the hearts of all beings, letting them know this is called 'Merit Golden Light'.

The golden light shone resplendently.

Although clearly visible to the utmost Luo's eyes, it far falls short of Nüwa's so‑called 'Merit of Creating Humans'.

But, after the Venerable's slight embellishment, beings who see no fault will regard it as no different from Nüwa, both being the most inconceivable great achievement.

Heavenly Dao Saint!

At the same time, humanity, which had already left a deep mark in their hearts, now had that impression frenziedly deepened.

After all.

With only one Saint, it could still be called an accident.

But two consecutive Saints—Lady Nüwa and the Venerable of Morality and the Dao—are both related to humanity.

This too easily lets people's imaginations run wild.

Although behind this, it is actually many players' silent efforts.

…

'Hiss!'

In Mount Buzhou, Fengxi drew a sharp breath.

He somewhat achingly looked at the merit sea in Houtu's little treasury that had become a bit shallower, feeling a heart‑wrenching pain… although the money spent was Nüwa's, that kind of flesh‑cutting, blood‑letting ache seemed to fall upon him.

'Inviting the Venerable of Morality and the Dao to give a lecture to humanity, this lecture fee is simply astronomical…'

Fengxi muttered, his complexion not looking good.

However, seeing the Venerable of Dao and Virtue's tit-for-tat and final assist, his complexion eased considerably.

Considering the future gains from this assist…

"Hmm, it's still quite worthwhile."

Fengxi's mindset settled.

Afterwards, he had a question: "Venerable of Dao and Virtue, you're in such a rush to become a Saint... won't you indulge a bit longer?"

"It's not that he doesn't want to, but that he cannot."

The Ancestral Witch Houtu, who had appeared at some point, smiled and answered his confusion.

"Once the Venerable of Dao and Virtue pulls off this job, he must come ashore, become a Heavenly Dao Saint, and obtain a death-exempting golden medal."

"Otherwise, he'd likely be besieged by a group of top-tier divine-ability experts as soon as he stepped out of Mount Buzhou, getting beaten until blood flows from both ends."

"Thus, becoming a Saint is also a reasonable refuge for the Venerable of Dao and Virtue."

"Afterward, we also can't expect too much from him... once one enters the Heavenly Dao, one is not free to act, and cannot easily break free."

"For humanity to win, in the end they must rely on themselves."

"No matter how much assistance there is, that final step still requires personal effort... your work team needs to tighten its pace."

Speaking of this, a hint of worry appeared on Houtu's face.

"The opponent won't give us many chances."

"After two consecutive Saint-promotions, someone will lose their temper."

Fengxi blinked slightly, then immediately realized, "Your Highness, you mean..."

"The third Purple Cloud Palace meeting will likely come soon." Houtu affirmed Fengxi's guess: "The time left for humanity is not much."

Upon these words, both the master and servant present fell silent.

The future of humanity, although a glimmer of hope has been seen.

But this glimmer of hope is still too elusive, hard to grasp fully.

…

In the brilliant, blinding golden light, the Venerable of Dao and Virtue refined the Primordial Purple Qi, grasped part of the Heavenly Dao's authority, and made a great stride forward from his original administrator role.

Put simply—before he was a second-level administrator, now he is a first-level administrator!

By relying on the Heavenly Dao Saint's karmic position, the Venerable of Dao and Virtue's future steps... can almost float a bit as he walks.

Of course.

The position of a Heavenly Dao Saint is a benefit, but also a big pit.

To put it vividly, that is... a blessing!

However, for ordinary beings, even a fraction of this blessing is worth pursuing.

Because power is real and not illusory.

At the moment the Venerable of Dao and Virtue ascended to the Saintly position, a vast, surging pressure filled the cosmos and mountains and rivers, displaying his greatness and exaltedness.

But soon, these pressures and breaths transformed into an extremely gentle undulation, like flowing water, quietly streaming, cleansing the world, cleansing all beings.

The highest good is like water.

Just like the virtue of the Heavenly Venerable.

All beings receive that grace, with sincere reverence and blessings; the spiritual light thus gathers, encircling the Venerable of Dao and Virtue's side, incessantly chanting, becoming an ultimate manifestation of his virtuous teaching.

Venerable of Dao and Virtue, may your saintly longevity be boundless!

(End of chapter)