Chapter 95: Ancestral Witches' Wealth, True Cultivation of the Dao

Before possessing the ability to change the world, one must first adapt to the world in order to grow better.

On the road of humanity's rise, it is not a smooth, bright path; one must also learn and compete.

To carve out a path from a Honghuang world where integrity is thrown about everywhere and the lower limit is as deep as an abyss…… one must have integrity that can be thrown farther and a lower limit that is even lower!

Only thus can one defeat all the myriad races of heaven and earth, and reclaim one's independent sovereignty from those shameless stake-holding Great Luos…… This is the correct, the only choice!

Damn it, I can't continue writing this!

Fengxi stretched out a hand to cover his face.

I hope that among humanity a seed of truth, goodness, and beauty can be preserved…… so that it doesn't evolve into the evil of this world or something like that.

He prayed in his heart…… not knowing how useful this actually is.

Fengxi briefly recalled that, in the time-space he came from, humanity's performance in weapons development and self-destructive tendencies……

Then——

Uh……

He chose to forget, forcing himself to shift his attention.

If he doesn't shift, he might start doubting life.

Fortunately, there is a Great Witch by his side; much of the information Mu possesses is quite attention-grabbing.

"Sir…… I have a question." Fengxi smacked his lips, "the Three Pure Ones Heavenly Lords, and two eminent Buddhist figures…… now that they have taken the initiative to spread their own doctrine in Honghuang……"

"Do they have that…… what's it called…… attaining sainthood?"

"I've heard that the three Heavenly Lords possess the merit left by Pangu the Ancestral God from opening heaven; by establishing a great teaching, they can draw forth this merit…… then refine the primordial purple qi, and instantly attain sainthood!"

"Uh……" Mu fell silent for a moment in response to Fengxi's question, "……"

There are too many flaws; even someone as strong as he doesn't know where to start.

"As for the merit of opening heaven……" the Great Witch spoke slowly, recalling his own youthful days and his presently empty wallet, suddenly feeling tears well up, "I have a little understanding……"

"Recall the past: Pangu opened heaven, slew three thousand demon gods, shattered the chaos era, only then creating this splendid Honghuang…… therefore there is great merit."

"The source of the merit of opening heaven admits no doubt." Mu said, sounding somewhat choked, like an employee whose company went bankrupt and boss fled, left with unpaid wages and still burdened with loans such as mortgages and car loans, "In our Wu Clan, we have inherited a substantial amount of cleanly sourced opening-heaven merit……"

"Precisely because of this opening-heaven merit, the twelve Ancestral Witches were able to link together such a mighty Wu Clan forces, with Great Witches appearing one after another……"

"Just like the clan's recent headline—heartfelt congratulations to the Heaven Department's elite lesser witch, who sat in meditation for seven days under a rhododendron tree, coinciding with the rhododendron blossoms, instantly attained enlightenment, smiled while holding a flower, and achieved the rank of Great Witch!"

"Oh oh oh, I know that." Fengxi nodded repeatedly.

"This is actually a Great Luo powerhouse from outside the Wu Clan who has firmly determined his allegiance, transferred his innate spiritual light, and pushed the Trumpet within the Wu Clan up to the rank of Great Witch." Mu sighed deeply, "Why?"

"This is naturally because the Ancestral Witches offer high welfare benefits…… ultimately they have inherited a rich legacy from Pangu the Great God!"

"With this legacy in place, even without considering future dividends for humanity, just the wages and benefits the Ancestral Witches currently offer Great Witches are quite tempting."

"Eh? Oh!" Fengxi was first a bit startled, then realized, drawing out his tone so long that Mu's gaze turned hostile, as if wanting to strike him.

Fengxi immediately fell silent.

"Great Luos also need to make a living." Mu's face was sorrowful, "If one lacks ambition and thinks that achieving Great Luo status is enough to be content, that's fine…… but if one still wishes to progress, one actually needs to actively participate in the Honghuang game, relying on luck and merit, to mutually verify and resonate with the Dao fruition of Pangu the Great God who has become Honghuang, making it easier to open up the path ahead."

"So, Great Luos also must compete for luck and merit!"

"However, among Great Luos there are also three-six-nine ranks…… luck and merit are not something you can simply vie for if you wish."

"Some Great Luos are doing very well, with a multitude of industrial enterprises under them, making things naturally easy…… for example, on the sun star, the two demon sovereigns Di Jun and Taiyi!"

"The great sun hangs high, illuminating all Myriad Heavens and worlds, occupying a portion of the authority over the source of life——this is naturally a treasure basin!"

"Or like the Dragon Race, or renting out the clan's labor to do odd jobs, or dominating the waters…… spreading one's operations wide can also support the Great Luos within the clan."

"And for example, the Phoenix lineage, plucking countless divine bird feathers to weave feathered garments, opening the immortal volcano, providing refined weapon processing, selling arms and enjoying it…… this lineage's Great Luos also live quite comfortably."

"These are those who are doing well."

"And where there are those who do well, there are naturally those who do poorly." Mu sighed, "Some Great Luos have tried to create clans…… but after creating a clan, what then?"

"What specialty products does the clan have? Compared to the myriad races of Honghuang, does it have competitiveness?"

"Although Great Luo products can outstrip ninety-nine percent of the world's clans…… but among the top-tier clans, which isn't backed by a powerful Great Luo behind them? Profits have already been mostly divided up."

"Besides creating clans, other endeavors such as establishing teachings and building forces have long seen batch after batch of impoverished Great Luos rushing forward to try."

"Unfortunately, those who manage to reap any benefit from this process are one in ten!"

"Finally, looking back suddenly…… one finds it's better to just work for the demon sovereigns or the Ancestral Witches."

Mu's tone was calm like a dead pool, as if he had endured far too many societal beatings.

This Honghuang is too realistic!

Only the Great Luos standing at the peak have the right to act freely and at will, holding the chips, and can carry out long-term planning.

Impoverished Great Luos, if they still wish to advance their strength, have no choice but to sell themselves into labor.

The demon god of the Demon Race.

The Great Witch of the Wu Clan.

Except for a small portion, the rest…… have the words 'poverty' written all over their faces.

And in this regard, the Ancestral Witches can proudly say——their wages and benefits, the distribution of luck and merit, are top-notch across the entire Honghuang!

Thus the Wu Clan today is not lacking lesser witches who, through sudden enlightenment, prove the Dao and achieve the rank of Great Witch——don't ask, the answer is genius!

This situation, we must thank Pangu the Great God.

It is he who, generously without compare, left the Wu Clan a wealth vast to the point of terror…… the Houtu Ancestral Witch who oversees the finances has the most say on this.

"The Ancestral Witches' merit of opening heaven—I know how that works." Mu sighed lightly, "but the Three Pure Ones…… these three Heavenly Lords' merit of opening heaven, I'm a bit confused about."

"Moreover, the theory that their primordial spirits originated from a division of Pangu's primordial spirit…… is also worth investigating."

"But no matter how you say it…… they really are rich!" Mu felt immense envy, immensely envious, "Like the Virtuous Heavenly Lord, who sets the standard for the Mysterious Gate and establishes the game rules…… in every word and line, it shines with the golden light of merit!"

"Standard, is it something anyone can just blurt out and establish?"

Of course not!

It was bought with money!

"Moral Heavenly Venerable, waving brilliant, eye‑catching primordial merit, convinced one great adept after another to approve his standard and his explanation of the Dao." Mu's eyes reddened, "Even if someone's ideas run counter to his… but the merit coins he waves in his hand are simply too many!"

Moral Heavenly Venerable formed the Sect Alliance, repeatedly mending its Dao lineage thought and expanding influence; in this process there were no shortage of innate divinities and ancient Grand Luos joining—Grand Void Zhenren Chisongzi, Southern Splendid Zhenren Zhuangzi, and so on.

Why?

Besides the fact that their ideas align and Moral Heavenly Venerable is of good character, admirable in his dealings, his command of qi and merit is also crucial.

Otherwise, a faction that runs purely on love, even able to skimp on resource distribution, would hardly last long!

Having spoken of Moral Heavenly Venerable, now speaking of Yuanshi Tianzun." Mu continued, "Yuanshi Tianzun is all about branding—he wants to make the Sect's name resound and raise its added value.

If it were you, what would you do?" He asked Fengxi.

I… have the Sect Disciples go out to debate the Dao and make a name? Then hire a navy to promote, letting people know the Sect produces experts? Could that cultivate talent?" Fengxi probed.

Too slow… and too unreliable." Mu kept shaking his head, "In Honghuang, experts are as numerous as clouds, trumpets as frequent as rain!

Debating the Dao—who knows which day you'll stumble!

Even a Wise Man's thousand considerations may still have one lapse… who can guarantee that his own disciples won't hit an iron plate for hundreds to tens of millions of years?

Then victory comes from the navy, defeat also from the navy!

What then?" Fengxi had no recourse.

Stupid!" Mu gave him an exasperated look, "Just pour money into it!

Bribing opponents with money… if that got exposed, it wouldn't be good, right?" Fengxi muttered.

Who told you to bribe opponents?" Mu was speechless, "I mean doing public welfare, doing charity!

Slapping a good image on a brand while focusing solely on product quality is inappropriate—one always needs some spiritual supplementary promotion." He advised Fengxi, "Then even if the product side slips up unintentionally, you can still play the emotion card, indulge in sentiment, so a single black mark won't drag down the whole thing!

Yuanshi Tianzun is exactly doing that.

He is frenziedly pouring merit, summoning manpower—among them not lacking Grand Luos—to build public facilities for the Honghuang world, making life easier for beings, or to clean up ancient battlefields left over from the Dragon‑Phoenix era, turning blighted land into blessed ground, nurturing myriad beings!

After finishing, he then builds a Daoist temple on the spot, expounds his achievements, and tells the world this is a good deed done by the Sect!

Yuanshi Tianzun, over these years his frenzied actions have stretched from the Honghuang continent to the four vast seas, then to the boundless starry sky… he has poured down countless merit, also benefitting countless beings!

So nowadays when people mention Sect members, they don't say how strong they are, but call them true cultivators of the Dao!

This is truly an invaluable excellent brand image… in the future, if a Sect Disciple goes out to serve a human king, relying on this brand's boost, they can easily attain a senior advisor post, and be received by the king with the courtesy due a teacher.

Mu gave a faint smile, "You think it's because that disciple's strength is so great that the king pays him respect?

Wrong, it's the Sect's solid, concrete achievements that have become the disciple's political asset!

Innately they'll be seen as possessing noble virtue and good cultivation, not misleading the country or harming the people, worthy of being entrusted with important duties!

Fengxi stared dumbfounded.

Knows how to play!

Really knows how to play!

Some people, even if they hold vast wealth, still don't know how to spend it to maximize benefit.

The Three Pure Ones Heavenly Venerables are obviously not on that list.

Each one has grand vision and grand bearing!

What about Numinous Treasure Heavenly Venerable?

Numinous Treasure Heavenly Venerable works in perfect tandem with Yuanshi Tianzun." Mu said, "He tours Honghuang, expounding the Dao everywhere… where does he give his lectures?

Right in the Daoist temple where Yuanshi Tianzun left a record of his achievements!

On one hand, backed by achievements, it naturally makes people three parts more trusting and respectful; on the other, it lets beings drawn in by a Grand Luo's Dao exposition concretely understand the Sect's achievements, thereby continuing to expand influence!

Also, Numinous Treasure Heavenly Venerable also pours money, wildly pouring money, pouring it into every Dao exposition, pouring it onto his own disciples!

So, the number of his disciples is terrifyingly many!

The internal unity and cohesion is also terrifyingly high!" Mu admired, "Every disciple holds boundless respect and affection for this master!

Although those disciples vary in quality, some even have misdeeds… but in respecting the teacher and valuing the Dao, they are nearly perfect.

And via these disciples spreading, the Sect's prestige can further increase, expanding influence among lower‑rank beings, perfectly complementing the high‑level path of Moral Heavenly Venerable!

The Sect's three‑in‑one strategy is no trivial matter!" Mu sighed long, "Each struggling Dao lineage squeezed out can only say they lost without injustice!

With money still able to be spent in the right places, how many opponents can withstand that?" Mu shook his head, "That is, the Buddhist sect… within it hides a terrifying existence, whose marketing and PR capabilities have reached the pinnacle, adept at manipulating hearts, only then can they match up to a fight.

Listening to the great shaman's words, Fengxi didn't know how many times he had to lift his chin back up.

Mu didn't mind Fengxi's faux pas, but continued, "This is the competition between the Sect and the Buddhist sect over qi and merit… as for the Primordial Purple Qi?

And what about the Saint's sayings?

Primordial Purple Qi, I roughly understand what's going on." Mu's brows furrowed slightly, "The Saint's position, executing Heaven's Dao… it was only just proposed at the first 3,000 Grand Luo Assembly in the the Zixiao Palace, and still not confirmed.

Not confirmed?" Fengxi leaned forward, "No cushion to sit on?

You're overthinking it." Mu chuckled, "Such a somewhat key position, even the Dao Ancestor couldn't decide it with a single word!

One must go through a long period of standoff, discussion, and compromise.

Everyone is a dignitary with status; the meetings concern immeasurable eons of important affairs—how could they be as undiscriminating as bandits splitting loot?

Without wrangling for hundreds of thousands of years, with all sides represented, how could that work?

To settle the Saint's position, likely need a second or even third Grand Luo Assembly.

Oh oh oh." Fengxi understood, then his curiosity grew even more, "I've heard legends about the the Zixiao Palace, but there are too many versions, leaving me rather confused… Could you simply tell me what happened the first time in the the Zixiao Palace?

Was anyone late? Which major decisions that I am qualified to know were passed?

Late? No one was late. As for the decisions you're qualified to know? Actually they're just the rumors you've heard.

Slaying the three corpses?" Fengxi pressed.

Yes… Hongjun's golden words: without slaying the three corpses, one cannot attain the Dao." Mu smiled, "In the Dragon‑Phoenix era, one didn't need to slay the three corpses and could still attain the Dao… but from this era onward, it doesn't work.

Didn't I tell you before? Outside the Wu Clan it's very lively." Mu's voice was faint, his gaze shifting, looking toward the River of Time.

"Soon, you will witness... a lament belonging to seekers of the Dao!"

Fengxi's heart skipped a beat.

In the next instant, his pupils contracted, and his keen spiritual sense sensed a great terror.

Suiyue Changhe rose with waves, its tumultuous cleansing shaking ancient and modern!

A colossal, vast figure rose from the river!

"I, today, shall prove the Dao!"

He roared, his power beyond imagination!

(End of chapter)