Chapter 545: Sanqing Bicker

"Back then, if I had possessed eight Four Swords of Immortal Execution, would I have been able to slaughter you all at will?"

Once Tongtian said this, both the Second Qing and the two Western Saints were somewhat speechless.

After so many years, Tongtian was actually still dwelling on that matter from back then.

If there really were eight Four Swords of Immortal Execution combined with Tongtian's strength, it was uncertain whether they truly would have been slaughtered at will.

After all, the Four Swords of Immortal Execution were the strongest killing Spirit Treasures aside from the God-Slaying Spear; their inherent baleful and slaughtering Qi were things even Saints dared not easily provoke.

"Tongtian is joking," Jieyin said.

Tongtian Jiaozhu glanced at the two Western Saints and said, "I am not joking; I am just missing an opportunity."

"However, I can tell you that what is happening in the Three Realms now has nothing to do with me."

"I am too lazy to manage these matters anymore; the Jie Sect has already been ruined by you lot, hmph."

"Tongtian, the Jie Sect teaches without discrimination and benefits the myriad living beings of heaven and earth, but after all, they are just creatures with fur and horns, a motley crew of mixed quality. Such a sect simply cannot last long in the world."

Yuanshi, who had not spoken until now, said.

Although Yuanshi Tianzun was the second brother, he adopted the attitude of the eldest to lecture others.

This made Tongtian Jiaozhu feel very displeased, and he retorted: "Elder brother, what good things are in your Chan Sect? You speak of benevolence, righteousness, and morality, yet you use your own disciples to block the Killing Tribulation, one by one, hmph."

"You look down on my Jie Sect? During the War of Investiture, your Twelve Golden Immortals slaughtered how many of my sect's disciples, calling it 'verifying my Killing Tribulation,' but in reality, they are all trash who couldn't even break through to Great Luo Golden Immortal, tainted by the Calamity of the Red Dust, with the Heavenly Dao Killing Tribulation upon them—I am embarrassed to even point it out for you."

"You..." Yuanshi was retorted until his face turned blue and red.

Taiqing closed his eyes, still ignoring them.

"Tongtian, as your brother, I was cleaning up your sect for your own good, to prevent you, a dignified Saint, from bearing eternal infamy because of those creatures with fur and horns, born of wet eggs," Yuanshi said.

"Heh, what about the Three Xiao? They were merely Great Luo Golden Immortals, yet you had to take action yourselves?"

"And what about Zhao Gongming? He was still schemed against by you until his death."

"And my disciples Jinling, Wudang, and Guiling." Tongtian's face revealed a look of regret.

Among them, Jinling Shengmu was the disciple Tongtian regretted the most; with her potential, there was a tiny hope of becoming a Saint, and even if she didn't, reaching the peak of Quasi-Saint would have been no problem.

Like the Three Xiao and Zhao Gongming, the worst of them were at least Quasi-Saints.

Unfortunately, because of the Investiture, they all ended up on the list.

This time, Yuanshi Tianzun did not refute.

Because what Tongtian said was the truth; if they hadn't taken action, the Chan Sect's disciples might have been wiped out by these direct disciples of Tongtian.

Even so, the Twelve Golden Immortals had their Three Flowers and Five Qis shaved away by the Three Xiao, demoted to mortal bodies, and forced to suffer the misery of the Red Dust.

Because of this, the Three Xiao suffered a tragic fate.

"Ahem, the matter has already passed. Senior Brother Tongtian, we should focus more on current affairs," Zhun Ti said.

"Get lost. Didn't I say that the matter of the Journey to the West has nothing to do with me?" Tongtian said bluntly.

Zhun Ti and Jieyin scratched their heads and looked at Yuanshi Tianzun.

"It has nothing to do with me either. How many years has it been? I have not stepped one foot out of this Purple Heaven Palace," Yuanshi said.

"It has nothing to do with me either," Taiqing said directly, not waiting for the two Western Saints to ask.

This made Zhun Ti and Jieyin feel even more of a headache. Then who exactly was causing trouble behind the scenes?

Taiqing continued: "Two fellow Daoists, there is more than just the few of us as Saints in this world, right? Clear your thoughts, broaden your perspective, and don't always stare at what's right in front of you."

As his words fell, the expressions of Jieyin and Zhun Ti changed abruptly.

"Senior Brother Taiqing, do you mean that this matter is related to the Wa Palace and Houtu?" Jieyin said.

Taiqing smiled without a word, saying nothing more.

"Behind the Demon Race is Nuwa, and behind the Ancestral Witches is Houtu. Is that so hard to guess?" Yuanshi said.

Jieyin and Zhun Ti were silent.

Among the Six Saints, although Nuwa was the first to become a Saint, she acted low-key and rarely intervened in the affairs of Renjian, and her figure was absent from the Saints' power struggles.

Although the Investiture was initiated by Nuwa, Nuwa did not get involved in it.

As for Houtu, she transformed her body into the cycle of reincarnation and guarded the Nine Nether Hell; she could not leave the Underworld, let alone influence the current trend of heaven and earth.

These two could be considered the most easily overlooked Saints.

Zhun Ti suddenly slapped his head and said:

"I was careless. Now that we brothers are trapped in the Purple Heaven Palace, only Nuwa is free, residing in the Wa Palace. If she is interfering in the major events of the Three Realms today, we really cannot manage it."

"Zhun Ti, speak with evidence. Where did you see Junior Sister Nuwa take action? What can the resurrection of the Demon Emperor and the Ancestral Witches prove?" Tongtian said.

"Fellow Daoist Tongtian, regardless, the current situation of heaven and earth has changed; this is an indisputable fact."

"We cannot leave the Purple Heaven Palace, sigh. Teacher, where are you?" Jieyin wailed in grief, unable to sit still.

"When a major event occurs, the Heavenly Dao will naturally correct the trend of heaven and earth. Don't always think about intervening," Tongtian said.

Hearing this, how could Zhun Ti and Jieyin listen any further? It concerned the prosperity of Buddhism.

If they could not seize the opportunity this time, Buddhism would turn from prosperity to decline after the Journey to the West, and when the Great Tribulation descended, the entire foundation of Buddhism would be replaced.

And unlike the Sanqing, the Sanqing became Saints by relying on their own Grand Merit and Hongmeng Purple Qi, becoming Saints in one fell swoop.

How could the two Western Saints have the same opportunity as the Sanqing? With their aptitude, they had no chance to become Saints at all; even with Hongmeng Purple Qi, they were still a little short.

Therefore, Jieyin and Zhun Ti successively made Forty-Eight Great Vows to save the world, thereby causing the Heavenly Dao to bestow Merit upon them to become Saints.

A vow, a vow—in the end, it is just a wish, meaning it is a fact that has not yet been realized.

The Heavenly Dao sensed this and bestowed Merit in advance, so after the two Western Saints became Saints, they naturally needed to repay the Merit to the Heavenly Dao.

Just imagine, the amount of Merit required to make two Great Luo Golden Immortals directly become Saints must be enormous, almost immeasurable.

Likewise, this was the price of becoming a Saint.

If they could not fulfill the Forty-Eight Great Vows, the Heavenly Dao would backlash, and one day, they would still fall from the Saint realm.

Having stayed in the realm of a Saint for so long, who would be willing to fall into the mortal dust?

Therefore, no matter what, Zhun Ti and Jieyin must find every possible way to ensure the success of the Journey to the West.

This is also the fundamental difference between the two Western Saints and the Sanqing!

One embraces Merit to become a Saint, while the other borrows Merit to become a Saint.

The two Saints, Jieyin and Zhun Ti, looked toward the Earth Immortal Realm, wishing they could personally take action to suppress everything.

Unfortunately, is the Purple Heaven Palace not an insurmountable barrier?

"Zhun Ti, if it truly comes to that step, let your avatar go and resolve these obstacles," Jieyin transmitted his voice.

Although they were in the Purple Heaven Palace, they still left behind Cloning in the world below; while not Saints, they were still powerful.

"Brother, how could I possibly block the Twelve Ancestral Witches and the Demon Emperor with my own strength? If they were to intervene, I would have no way to stop them," Zhun Ti said.