Chapter 670

In fact, when Taishang and the others attained sainthood, they weren't even at the peak of Semi-Sage, and their understanding of the Dao was still vastly distant from the Hunyuan layer.

The Six Sages were able to attain sainthood because they followed the path of Merit-Ascension.

Through merit, they directly gained the Heavenly Dao's recognition, received the sainthood as a gift, and were aided in becoming Sages.

By this method, no Dao comprehension whatsoever was needed to become a Sage.

Just like the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors, when they obtained the Human Dao's status, their own strength likely hadn't even reached Jin Xian.

Yet under the elevation of the Human Dao's status, the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors still gained power at the limit of Semi-Sage.

The status of Sainthood and the Human Dao's status elevate the user's strength realm because the enhanced power originates entirely from the Heavenly Dao and the Human Dao.

In other words, the Sages and the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors actually wield the power of the Heavenly Dao and the Human Dao, not their own.

Since this power belongs to the Heavenly Dao and the Human Dao, their actual cultivation realm naturally has no effect on their strength.

Attaining sainthood through this method has advantages and disadvantages.

The advantage is, of course, that it is much easier.

Simply accumulate enough merit, and you can attain sainthood.

The drawback is that the power used comes from the Heavenly Dao and the Human Dao—you have only the right to use it, not true ownership; once the Heavenly Dao and Human Dao reclaim it, you are instantly cast back to your original state.

For ordinary cultivators, Merit-Ascension can be considered a very good shortcut.

Dao comprehension is simply too difficult.

Luo Fu's rapid comprehension of the Dao stems from his insight rivaling the ultimate limit of the Dao itself.

Ordinary people, even Sages, have insight no greater than the Hunyuan layer.

Hunyuan and Dao differ by two full realms.

Precisely because Dao comprehension is so difficult, most cultivators see virtually no hope of fully comprehending the Dao and attaining Hunyuan Da Luo Jinxian, so most prefer to attain sainthood instead.

The Six Sages of the Primordial World ultimately chose Merit-Ascension.

On one hand, it was due to Ancestor Hongjun's manipulation.

Each of the six carried great destiny, great merit, and great karmic ties.

Ancestor Hongjun needed to elevate these six to sainthood in order to absorb their great destiny, great merit, and great karmic ties for himself.

On the other hand, the lineage was incomplete, Dao comprehension was too difficult, leaving them with virtually no hope of attaining Hunyuan.

Before the Six Sages attained sainthood, Ancestor Hongjun had only just begun transmitting the Dao in the Purple Cloud Palace.

The cultivators of the Primordial World had only just begun walking the path of the Dao.

Even if the Six Sages possessed extraordinary talent, they could not possibly have fully comprehended a single Dao and attained Hunyuan Da Luo Jinxian in such a short time.

Moreover, Ancestor Hongjun employed considerable cunning in his transmission.

Although he pointed out three paths to Hunyuan, he never thoroughly explained how to walk them or what constituted reaching their end.

The Primordial World also lacked complete Dao lineages, leaving people with no reference in cultivation.

Thus, after Ancestor Hongjun transmitted the Dao to the Primordial World, the cultivators were still feeling their way across the river.

The method of Severing the Three Corpses that Ancestor Hongjun taught to the Primordial cultivators was indeed a path to attainment.

But in truth, Severing the Three Corpses was merely an auxiliary method.

Severing the Three Corpses was meant to accelerate Dao comprehension.

It did not mean that once you severed the Three Corpses, you would inevitably attain Hunyuan Da Luo Jinxian.

After severing the Three Corpses, you still needed to fully comprehend one Dao before uniting the Three Corpses and attaining Hunyuan Da Luo Jinxian.

This secret, Ancestor Hongjun told no one.

One path, upon stepping onto it, showed no end in sight.

One path, however, was within reach.

Anyone placed in this position would likely choose the second path.

After all, Ancestor Hongjun had said: "Sages are Hunyuan, but Hunyuan are not necessarily Sages."

Thus, the Six Sages of the Primordial World fell into Ancestor Hongjun's trap.

Attaining sainthood granted the Six Sages the ability to mobilize the Heavenly Dao's power, but did not enhance their comprehension of the Dao.

The Heavenly Dao encompasses the Three Thousand Daos; being able to mobilize the Heavenly Dao's power implies mastery of all Three Thousand Daos.

Minor Dao insights serve little purpose.

The Heavenly Dao therefore had no reason to assist Sages in enhancing their Dao comprehension.

In fact, not many aeons have passed since the Ancient Primordial World.

This is evident from the fact that in the Journey to the West World, even the peak Semi-Sage Ancestor Minghe remains far from Hunyuan.

At this time, Saint Tongtian, ahead of all other great cultivators, had brought the Dao of the Sword to its limit, only one step away from breaking through to Hunyuan.

This alone shows that Saint Tongtian, as one of the Three Pure Ones, possessed truly extraordinary talent and insight.

He was virtually destined to attain Hunyuan.

This was also one reason Ancestor Hongjun favored the Three Pure Ones: elevating the Three Pure Ones—who were destined to attain Hunyuan—to sainthood not only gave him several useful pawns, but also minimized their influence on the Primordial World.

"Once I've finished here, I'll go meet Saint Tongtian—I'm curious how much of the Master's demeanor this Saint Tongtian possesses."

Luo Fu murmured softly, withdrawing his gaze.

He then turned his attention back to the Western Paradise Continent.

The Divine War shattered the Primordial World's landmass into fragments.

Under Ancestor Hongjun's might, these fragments were reshaped into the Earth Immortal Realm.

Of these, the four largest fragments became the Four Great Continents: Eastern Victory Divine Continent, Southern Endless Continent, Western Paradise Continent, and Northern All-Embracing Continent.

The Western Paradise Continent originated from the western region of the Primordial World, and is now the domain of Buddhism.

Compared to the other Mount Buzhou, the Western Paradise Continent is the most barren, covered entirely in deserts, with yellow sands swirling through the air; all Wan Ling here dwell in oases, scattered like stars across every corner of the Western Paradise Continent.

Originally, the Western Region of Cattle Worship was even more barren, with almost no traces of life activity.

Only through the tireless efforts of the Two Western Sages did the Western Region of Cattle Worship develop to its current state.

From this perspective, although the Two Western Sages were somewhat shameless, they could still be said to have labored with single-minded devotion.

Of course, the reason the Two Western Sages exerted such great effort to cultivate Buddhism was also due to strong self-interest.

If before becoming Sages, the Two Western Sages cultivated the West because they were born there and wished to establish their own power,

then after becoming Sages, the primary reason the Two Western Sages labored over the West became repaying a debt.

The debt owed to the Heavenly Dao from their ascension to Sagehood.

All six Sages of the Primordial Chaos attained Sagehood through merit.

The Three Pure Ones were born from the Primordial Spirit of Pangu, inherently possessing a portion of the merit from Pangu's creation of heaven and earth, and were themselves great bearers of merit.