Chapter 542

Speaking of effort, Fengxi yields to no one; he only convinces himself.

All along the way, sparks flew with lightning; apart from his own effort, there was also the effort of the era…… He himself remained still, yet everyone else rushed to act upon him!

As the leader of the Feng clan, the contemporary human king, the heir apparent of the Eastern Yi, and also the target of Buddhist bribes, the chief founder of Yun cultivation, the supervisor of the Heaven-Earth Bank's qi‑currency note printing, and moreover the faintly visible human‑dao background behind him……

Talking about cheats…… pah, it's about effort; Fengxi has never feared anyone!

Thus, he achieved a legendary cultivation feat—from an ordinary commoner to the present Taiyi Daluo, using only half an era, surpassing ninety‑nine percent nine of the world's veteran innate divinities.

Only a pity.

For the sake of a greater goal and ambition, Fengxi continues to develop discreetly, blending in with the dust, neither conspicuous nor inconspicuous, yielding the title of the finest offspring to the Heavenly Emperor Di Jun, so that he may now display his martial prowess.

Di Jun was delighted.

After countless hardships, he finally proved himself, truly able to pursue the ultimate Dao fruit—Pangu!

One sword, one palm, he hard‑resisted Nüwa, though he suffered a small loss…… that'll do!

Compared to Di Jun's beaming smile, Nüwa's complexion was not looking good.

The year is unfavorable!

Today she unleashed her ultimate move twice, yet both times it failed to achieve anything, making her doubt life.

Suffering a loss at Hunyuan's hands is fine—Hunyuan is ultimately stronger than her, the Heavenly Dao refined, born with cheats, destined to be overwhelmingly powerful; aside from the true Pangu, no one can subdue him, and his strength is beyond dispute.

But Di Jun this…… really makes one unwilling to accept.

Di Jun took a shortcut, using weapons to cheat!

But reality doesn't care whether you cut corners; it only looks at the result.

Moreover, Di Jun's shortcut method actually contains a rationale—how did the first Pangu, the August Emperor, step down?

Human hearts deviate, good and evil diverge; eventually the human Dao parts ways with them, leading to the epoch‑spanning showdown of the two great Pangu.

At this moment, Di Jun's single move, the Slaughter‑Witch Sword, divides hearts, tears the Dao fruit, and opposes Nüwa…… This is practically a youthful, condensed, abbreviated version of the August Emperor's struggle against the 'Honghuang'!

Even her brother couldn't fully resolve this issue, so he asked her, Nüwa, what could be done?

In a battle, fighting on and on, it reverted to the era's predicament…… Perhaps this is the heavenly will hidden in the dark: some problems keep recurring, appearing again and again, lying ahead, demanding we rise to the challenge and resolve them.

Fortunately, there was once a battle when Nüwa fished and caught some big fish, vaguely giving her a hint of a solution to the problem.

However, the timing is not yet ripe, leaving Nüwa in a vague, intermittent suppression…… or rather, not suppression but striving to bring it under control, developing within the pace she commands.

That is an extraordinarily exceptional path—

The Five Virtues Sage‑King Dao!

Merit.

Sage virtue.

Morality.

Blessing virtue.

Hidden virtue.

The Five Virtues endure; the Sage‑King governs them!

'When the Five Virtues are fully revealed, perhaps we can crack this Slaughter‑Witch Sword.'

Nüwa sighed deeply in her heart.

'Unfortunately, I originally didn't want to see them appear and become complete so quickly.'

'What can be done?'

'Di Jun's tossing about is practically forcing me to speed up the process, bringing the Five Virtues to completion.'

'Once the pace quickens, it's easy to leak and lose control.'

'Choosing the lesser of two evils…… rather than external pressure, it's better to first let the Five Virtues grow and strengthen, then speak of overcoming the era's predicament.'

Nüwa had no choice.

Some problems cannot be avoided; pretending not to see them doesn't make them disappear.

Di Jun turned the era's troubles into a weapon, evolving into a near‑unsolvable divine‑power killing strike aimed straight at the face…… pretending not to see it?

Then let me give you three cuts and six holes, stabbing you into half‑body paralysis!

Therefore, Nüwa decided to promote the development of the Five Virtues Dao, pouring in massive resources, herself providing blood‑aid, delegating some authority, no longer making absolute control the sole aim, but letting the ability to fight and function become the primary goal.

'After this battle, I shall open the cycle of rebirth and establish the Underworld.'

'Furthermore, I will attach the authority over that Underworld and rebirth to the name of the Five Virtues, conducting blood‑aid……'

'Thus, the foundation of the Five Virtues Dao will surely become more solid, right?'

Once rebirth is established and the Underworld opened, they are also allocated under the control of the Five Virtues.

This instantly constitutes a leap!

Hidden virtue needs no worry, with a mainstay…… and the remaining virtues will also reap great benefits.

Like that blessing virtue……

With the Underworld card in hand, still fear we cannot influence the living, making them strive desperately for 'true blessings,' following rules?

Once blessings arise, the sovereign who holds that card becomes boundless sage virtue, with all peoples looking up.

If exercised properly, restraining the people, speaking morality together, loving peace, mutual benefit…… naturally, merit becomes boundless.

Among the Five Virtues, they influence and promote each other; pulling one thread moves the whole body, each will see breakthroughs and improvement.

Perhaps, when developed to the limit, they could even stir and stir this era's epochal Pangu struggle——this is also one of the reasons Nüwa instinctively feared before.

After all, the tendency of the Five Virtues Dao is indeed quite problematic, causing Nüwa to frown.

Because some 'virtues' simply cannot be contested; there is fundamentally no dispute.

For example, merit cannot surpass Fuxi; sage virtue cannot exceed the August Emperor!

The merit of qi‑fortune is his creation; ruling heaven and earth, as the supreme Heavenly Emperor, others have also held it.

And now, the Donghuang Emperor, whose true nature has just been revealed, this leader of the ancient gods oversees the drafting and promotion of law, binding the myriad mortals and restricting the gods... Law is the lowest baseline of morality!

Donghuang Emperor

When one breaks the moral bottom line and violates public conscience, that is when the law steps in to impose sanctions.

Five Virtues Great Dao, Xihuang at peak can grasp three of them—merit, sage virtue, and morality.

They take three of the five—how can anyone else still play?

One side holds three votes, so voting always goes their way.

Nüwa, thinking back, felt her scalp go numb and her hair stand on end.

The Yin is treacherous!

Over these years, she aided Donghua, supported the construction of its Dongyi forces, all because she harbored a little ambition: she wanted to get a finger on morality, grasp the voting rights of this Great Dao in her own hand, expand her influence in the Five Virtues Sage Sovereign Dao, and increase her control strength.

But she never expected—she almost capsized.

If she continues ignorant and unaware, when the showdown comes, being secretly plotted against by her brother with a smile… that would be a most unjust loss.

To speak frankly.

Despite the Dragon Ancestor jumping up and down, organizing people to surround and kill Donghua, making the Nüwa Emperor extremely angry and hateful.

But despite her anger, she still felt a little grateful.

——If it weren't for this iron-willed child, she would have rashly charged up, relying on her peak‑offending skills to provoke Donghua and reveal her true identity……

Some consequences……are unimaginable!

Not like now, there's still room to play.

After Donghua was killed, the voting rights of the 'Morality' Great Dao were frozen—whether frozen by the Human Dao…… and what is the Human Dao's attitude toward the August Emperor?

Just like guarding against thieves!

On the other hand.

When the cycle of reincarnation was opened and the Underworld established, the voting rights of Yin virtue were already in Nüwa's hands.

Furthermore, with blessings, this is a contest of social welfare; currently the human race is thriving, steadily improving, led by wise leaders, everyone enjoys blessings…… This is Nüwa's trusted general—Fengxi, who has done a splendid job.

Holding the voting rights of Yin and Blessing virtues, on merit he is praised as the present-day supreme of merit, on sage virtue he is the joint leader of humanity and the Wu Clan, one of the Four Sovereigns of the Demon Race……

Making do, making do, seems not bad?

'Donghua died suddenly; my brother seems disheartened……'

Nüwa, thinking of Fuxi's aged appearance when he left, instantly went from fresh meat to old cured meat; that disheartened aura spread, and her whole complexion turned somewhat gray‑white.

'He……probably won't secretly plot against me again, right?!'

'Then, another day I'll find him to discuss merit and sage virtue matters, let him tacitly accept my status as supreme of merit, top ruler, controlling these two votes…… the Way of the Five Virtues Sage Sovereign ought to remain under my control, without making waves.'

'If we count it up, Cang……he has made a huge contribution.'

'Good dragon, good reward.'

'By then, I'll let him die a little more happily.'

'Leave him a whole corpse, so his hard work wasn't in vain.'

Dragon Ancestor, Nüwa believes, this guy must die.

But there's room to discuss how he dies.

The Benevolent and Compassionate Empress Nüwa, feeling that at the time he helped uncover Xihuang's hidden killing move, decided to soften a bit, and would not give him death by a thousand cuts to repay the hatred for harming her brother.

Leave him a whole corpse, bury him properly—then not throw him into an oil cauldron…… no, it's not to seal him in the Qiankun Cauldron.

Sometimes, death is not the end.

On this, the Great Sage Kun‑peng has much to say.

He often hears the folk saying passed mouth to mouth: 'How big is the Kun? One pot can't stew it; how big is the Peng? Two grills.' Listening to it makes him shiver, his face losing color.

Too hard!

Someone actually craves his flesh!

It's the mouth‑watering kind of craving!

Isn't it just that he's been doing underground intelligence work for a long time, selling Nüwa's laziness, slacking, and skipping‑class info to Fuxi, selling it 1.8 million times, causing Fuxi to always accurately mobilize, pinching Nüwa's ears to drag her back, forcing her to study and work hard, pulling all‑nighters to make up lessons and enjoy blessings?

As for the killing intent being that strong?!

If you're not convinced, go settle accounts with your brother? Why bother me, this miserable wage‑slave!

Bullying the soft, fearing the hard!

The Demon Master let out the most sorrowful and indignant roar, accusing the world of injustice.

Is Nüwa's such behavior a distortion of divinity, or a decline of morality?

Let us together enter the inner world of Kun‑kun and trace back to the most ancient era.

……

Silently, Nüwa made a major decision that will surely cause a world‑shaking upheaval in the future.

Forced by the situation, the Demon Race possesses a slaughter‑Wu weapon; this strongest spear has already appeared.

As for the Wu Clan, they too must prepare the strongest shield, able to block the Demon Race's edge.

The Five Virtues endure, the Sage Sovereign rules the world!

Opening the cycle of reincarnation, establishing the Underworld…… the biggest stake is placed.

Meanwhile, sage virtue is packaged, merit is authorized……

Etcetera, etcetera.

The means of control must also keep up.

In the end, it was a bit rushed; there's a possibility of significant loss of control.

After all, this is a road with hope of leading to Pangu; it itself represents a kind of unseen great trend.

All we can do is try to influence, to grasp controlling shares—it's the only way.

However, considerations regarding these aspects can only be dealt with after the battle.

Right now, it's a time when the Heavenly Emperor is swollen with pride, hesitant yet full of ambition; it seems he is eager to try, wanting to step on the reputation of his elders to rise, polishing his own signboard… And unfortunately, the one being stepped on is none other than Empress Wa!

Regardless, Nüwa will stamp out this 'improper trend', as always upholding the prestige of Empress Wa, becoming a banner—'You want to test your sword on me? Borrow me to show off?'

I'll knock your head off!

Her face ice-cold, Nüwa's tone freezing cold, 'Di Jun, you're not bad—you can take one of my moves.'

'I just don't know—ten moves? A hundred moves? Ten thousand moves?'

'Won't you be beaten to death by me?!'

As soon as her words fell, she moved.

Rending eternity, her overwhelming aura surged across mountains and rivers, filling the heavens and earth.

The Honghuang world was but an illusion; the Great Dao of heaven and earth shifted and transformed, in a daze the era turned, the age fell into disorder, reflecting a span of years, a span of history, dragging an entire brilliant, glorious age into this space-time.

That was the moment when the supreme Heavenly Court once dominated the world, when both heavenly and human paths bowed in terrifying awe, with a supreme emperor seated on the throne, looking down upon the mortal realm.

Three thousand deities all paid homage, facing the Heavenly Emperor together, to forge an eternal Honghuang!

This is a reflected scene, an illusory image.

However, when Nüwa exerts her full power, true and false, virtual and real… even if it is a counterfeit, it is astonishingly lifelike.

The gods were moved.

Because they could sense it—their own innate spiritual light illuminates endless space-time, and in that realm they also have an avatar that coincides with the 'self' in the image, and moreover they receive orders and are invested, faintly being governed by the supreme Heavenly Emperor!

It's practically like returning to those days!

Of course, there are similarities as well as differences.

It's merely a likeness, not the real thing.

Because… the Heavenly Emperor has changed!

It should have been August Emperor, but now it has become Nüwa—perhaps she lacks the power to reflect a Pangu, or perhaps her rebellious fervor is intense, so she openly sits on the throne and issues commands for conquest.

'Suppress!'

'Kill!'

'Destroy!'

Illusion overlapping reality, Nüwa seems like the true supreme Heavenly Emperor, issuing commands to the universe, her majesty endless.

At the three commands, myriad deities stir, as if to march against Chaos, together to carve out a brilliant and eternal age!

This sight made Di Jun's face turn white.

'Nüwa!'

He didn't even bother with honorifics—one can imagine his state of mind—'You… this is unmartial!'

'Is this move of yours still a one-on-one duel with me!'

'How is it not?' Nüwa sat alone on the throne, her eyes icy cold, one hand holding Pangu's essence blood bursting with light, while the other hand swept and touched Mount Yu, 'I used my own ability to cast this great summoning—on what grounds do you say I lack martial virtue!'

'Nonsense!' Di Jun raged furiously, 'Don't think I don't know—inside you, who knows how many great witches and ancestral witches are mixing true and false forms, appearing illusory but actually exerting their full strength!'

'Do you have any evidence?' Nüwa sneered.

'…' Di Jun was speechless.

Empress Wa's power of creation is unmatched under heaven; the false she makes is indistinguishable from the true, with no flaw detectable—except for the innate spiritual light.

But the innate spiritual light… you must first kill that Great Luo before you can see it.

So, what concrete evidence is there?

It does not exist.

However…

'I'm also muddle-headed… you're like this, what evidence do I still need to speak of?'

Di Jun gave a soft shout, sword light bursting forth, sweeping Mount Yu, shaking open Nüwa's hand, and at the same time, while facing the divine army's expedition, he employed the great summoning unique to the Heavenly Emperor.

'Where are the Heavenly Court's demon gods?'

'Send them up!'

At one command, the demon gods rallied!

The stars of the heavens turned, the ten great Yao Marshals struck together, the August Emperor demon master lunged forth… this is a shocking sight.

Faced with this situation, certain figures in Nüwa's great summoning did not hide themselves—such as Jumang Ancestral Witch, Di Jiang Ancestral Witch, Zhu Long Ancestral Witch, etc. —their aura fierce, ready to fight.

However…

Just as the flames of war were about to reignite heaven and earth, to bathe the universe in blood, at last a mighty leader stepped forward, wishing to resolve this calamity and bring hope of peace.

'Everyone, hold your hands!'

'Peace is paramount! Peace is paramount!'

Amid the urgent shouts, a surging river of Chaos suddenly appeared, stretching across the battlefield about to be slaughtered until heaven and earth split, barely serving to somewhat separate the conflict.

The gods looked over, wondering which clueless fool dared to come and break up the fight.

Do you not know that the leaders of both the Wu and Demon sides are now feeling pumped up?

One slip, and it escalates from friction between Empress Wa and the Heavenly Emperor into a melee of a group of Taiyi Great Luos bringing their lackeys!

The Demon Race sends four, the Wu Clan also sends four—Longzu has temporarily been expelled from the Wu Clan, after all he is the biggest fuse leading to Donghua's death; it's not bad if Houtu doesn't have people chop him up together.

The camps are fierce, and their numbers are formidable.

Moreover, each side possesses a vast ancient formation—either able to draw on the might of the myriad beings to invoke human Dao support, or to assert sole supremacy with Pangu's divine might!

These are players who can cheat; an ordinary iron-headed Taiyi daring to charge up will in minutes mince you into meat paste, blast you into dregs!

Yet upon seeing this, they all fell speechless.

Not to mention… this… actually has a bit of drama.

(End of chapter)