Chapter 234

As for how the myriad beings reacted, Hong Yun paid no attention.

Having gained merit from enlightening Sui Ren Shi, Hong Yun now firmly believed Chen Ku's words.

At the same time, he also developed greater expectations.

He had not forgotten that Chen Ku had previously said that among humanity there were several instances of merit, not just one.

Therefore, Sui Ren Shi would by no means be the end.

Hong Yun became more earnest, wandering among the land of the human ancestors, continuing to comprehend all aspects of humanity.

Indeed, the facts also made Hong Yun even more delighted.

After several years, he again felt that humanity's means of keeping warm were too primitive.

Before that, humanity already knew how to use animal hides, leaves, etc., to cover the body.

But that was merely out of the most basic instinct, used only to conceal privacy, not to the point of being completely naked.

And whenever the weather changed in the land of the human ancestors, when cold swept in, it would also cause many humans to freeze to death.

Therefore, Hong Yun enlightened Zhi Yi Shi, enabling him to comprehend weaving branches together to make clothing, thus letting humanity enter a new stage once again.

After several more years, everything seemed to proceed naturally, and Hong Yun encountered You Chao Shi once again.

Likewise, he received Hong Yun's enlightenment and built dwellings in the trees.

Thus, it could both shelter from wind and rain and evade the encroachment of beasts upon humanity.

Three great merits poured one after another into Hong Yun's body.

That day, while wandering, Hong Yun saw Chen Ku again.

"Haha, I thank you again, Daoist Chen Ku."

"Sui Ren, Zhi Yi, You Chao!"

"In this short span of over ten years, I have already obtained three instances of innate merit."

"Without your guidance, I would certainly not have this astonishing gain."

Hong Yun could not hide his great joy, bowing with a smiling face to thank Chen Ku.

For him, the gain from this journey among humanity surpassed the bitter contemplation and reflection of endless ages past.

After all, he was eager to attain the Dao and become a sage; being able to reap merit was all the more significant.

As for this, Chen Ku appeared rather indifferent.

"Hehe, Daoist Hong Yun, you were able to comprehend humanity's plight and enlighten the three great ancestors of humanity."

"This is also your fortune."

Chen Ku responded in this way.

In fact, he was quite clear that this was an inevitable trend in humanity's development.

In later legends, Sui Ren Shi, Zhi Yi Shi, and You Chao Shi are collectively called the Three Ancestors of Humanity, and are even considered more ancient than the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors.

The opportunity he had previously sensed in humanity was indeed the portent that the Three Ancestors were destined to appear.

This is why he took the lead, bringing Hong Yun here to plan this merit.

After a pause in his speech, Chen Ku continued:

"Since matters here are settled,"

"we two should also return to the Western realm."

Chen Ku made this decision.

Just as Hong Yun enlightened the Three Ancestors of humanity and reaped innate merit.

Chen Ku was also continually comprehending everything within humanity.

Under the support of a dream spanning ten thousand years, Chen Ku's gains in comprehending the Dao were also extraordinarily astonishing.

Now, he is only a step away from the peak of the Mixed Yuan Golden Immortal realm.

Moreover, Chen Ku also perceived humanity's fortune.

At present, it is indeed very weak, but given time, its potential is limitless.

This is humanity, which will inevitably become the protagonist of heaven and earth, naturally mysterious and miraculous.

In short, both of them reaped considerable gains this time.

Now, it is also time to conclude this journey and return to the Western Buddhist gate.

On the other side, upon hearing Chen Ku's words, Hong Yun was momentarily taken aback.

"Ah? Are we really going to return now?!"

"I still wanted to continue wandering for a while longer; perhaps I could gain even more merit."

Obviously, Hong Yun's interest was not yet exhausted.

Or rather, he had seen humanity's astonishing potential.

Therefore, he naturally believed that as long as they continued, merit would keep flowing endlessly.

Upon hearing his words, Chen Ku couldn't help but shake his head in helpless amusement.

"Hehe, Daoist, this matter should stop here."

"You must know, each descent of merit is a great blessing."

"Even if they continued, one could not expect to gain anything like before."

Upon hearing Chen Ku's words, Hong Yun then realized and couldn't help but blush.

Previously, he had simply been too impatient.

After all, merit is not something like a common cabbage you can find anywhere.

"Mmm... Daoist, your words are quite right."

"It seems that becoming a sage truly follows the saying: haste makes waste."

Red Cloud said as such.

After that, neither of them spoke further.

They immediately set out, leaving Mount Buzhou and returning to the Western Heaven and Earth.

Seeing Red Cloud and Chen Ku leave, countless powerful beings secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

"Fortunately, the merit Red Cloud has gathered is still not enough to attain the Dao and become a saint."

A powerful being sighed in this way.

Earlier, seeing Red Cloud reap three waves of great merit, many beings truly worried he would thereby attain the Dao and become a saint in one go.

By then, the three great sages of the West will be in command, and the heavenly and earthly situation will inevitably undergo another great change.

Of course, even if Red Cloud fails to attain the Dao and become a saint.

But countless beings remain full of envy at this time.

"Even if Red Cloud does not become a saint, possessing such vast merit makes him different from before."

"Not bad; if we ever face Old Ancestor Red Cloud in the future, we'll need to weigh him carefully."

"Even mighty beings like Emperor Jun and Taiyi of the demon court would hardly dare to move against Old Ancestor Red Cloud lightly anymore."

Such discussions never cease to be heard.

You should know that for eighty or ninety percent of primordial beings, they have never even obtained a trace of merit.

Therefore, in their eyes, Red Cloud's harvest is already a tremendous blessing.

Between heaven and earth, beings react in various ways.

Meanwhile, Kunlun Mountain is also not peaceful.

At this moment, in Kunlun Mountain, shadows loom and countless figures appear.

Even though the Kunlun immortal veins stretch for tens of thousands of miles, the place is filled with noisy crowds and constant clamor.

That's all!

These beings have all come wishing to become disciples of the Three Pure Ones.

Compared to the West, they are not lacking in any way.

Moreover, if one carefully senses, one can discover that those who come to seek a master have a deeper aura than those rushing to the West, obviously indicating higher cultivation.

Even the weakest among them possesses the cultivation of a true immortal or mystic immortal.

Even golden immortals are commonplace, not few in number.

Watching this scene, the Three Pure Ones all show expressions of pride.

There's nothing to be done!

Throughout endless ages, the number of Eastern cultivators has already reached an astonishing level, naturally incomparable to the West.

Furthermore, as the Three Pure Ones bear the title 'Orthodox Pangu,' they enjoy immense prestige and deterrent power in the hearts of countless beings.

Being close to water gets the moon first; this is why even more beings flock to Kunlun Mountain.

However, although many wish to become disciples, only a few actually succeed.

Among the Three Pure Ones, Laozi practices non-action, focusing solely on the word 'fate'.

Therefore, even among hundreds of millions of beings, he has not taken any as his disciple.

In Yuanshi's Sect of the Enlightenment, he accepts twelve upper immortals as disciples, who are his personally transmitted disciples.

The twelve upper immortals are the persons determined by the heavenly numbers of the Enlightenment Sect.

However, although they already match this number, Yuanshi's expression is strange.

In the depths of his mind, he seems to feel that something is off about these twelve upper immortals.

Upon sensing, he cannot grasp the point, and ultimately can only give up.

Finally, it is the sect of the Way of Severance led by Tongtian.

Although it claims to teach without discrimination, Tongtian naturally cannot possibly accept all beings as disciples.

Besides the eight personally transmitted disciples, Tongtian also accepts another one or two thousand disciples.

Those others are merely nominal outer-disciples of the Severance Sect.

Finally, compared to the mighty throng that came in high spirits, eighty or ninety percent of those countless beings can only leave dejected and disheartened.

Moreover, some beings, seeing that becoming a disciple of the Three Pure Ones is hopeless, turn and head toward the West instead.

Needless to say, they naturally hold the idea of 'if not the first choice, then the second,' continuing to try to become disciples of the Western Buddhist school.

After accepting disciples, the Three Pure Ones sit in meditation atop Kunlun Mountain.

"Hehe, two elder brothers."

"I didn't expect that my own Severance Sect would have the most disciples."

Tongtian looks at Laozi and Yuanshi, saying this with a smile on his face.

He is also quite satisfied with having accepted one or two thousand disciples.

Upon hearing this, Yuanshi's face shows no ripple or wave.

"Third Brother, who is said to teach without discrimination, naturally has the most lenient requirements for disciples."

"Although the number is large, the quality is mixed, and their usefulness is hardly worth mentioning."

Obviously, by this point Yuanshi still feels some contempt for the Severance Sect's doctrine.

Upon hearing this, Tongtian immediately prepares to speak in rebuttal.

It seems that the doctrinal dispute between the two is about to begin again.

Suddenly, Laozi beside them speaks:

"You need not argue about this."

"Second brother, third brother, could it be that you haven't noticed that we've been toyed with by that Western?"

Unexpectedly, Laozi seemed not to care about his previous acceptance of disciples.

On the contrary, his tone revealed deep resentment, and he coldly gazed toward the western heavens and earth.

Upon hearing this, Yuanshi and Tongtian both froze, somewhat puzzled.

"What do you mean by this, elder brother?!"

"Our taking in disciples, what does it have to do with the West?!"

The two spoke in unison, full of doubt.

Upon hearing this, Laozi's tone grew even more gloomy.

"When we spread the Dao and take in disciples, the West actually dares to exploit the opening and plot to seize humanity's merit."

"Truly hateful!"

Saying this, Laozi's gaze also turned toward the direction of the ancestral land of humanity on Mount Buzhou.

No need to say more, previously Hongyun consecutively obtained three waves of merit.

This matter, the Three Pure Ones naturally had already taken notice of it.

What Laozi said about being toyed with by the West also refers precisely to this matter.

If it were any other matter, Laozi would have long since descended with force, even wiping out Hongyun.

But there's no denying that everything Hongyun has done for humanity is indeed beneficial to humanity.

Under the burden of merit, saints instead become more wary, fearing contamination by merit's backlash.

One could say Laozi is holding his nose and must accept this result, which is indeed somewhat stifling.

However, regarding Laozi's words, Yuanshi and Tongtian are somewhat indifferent.

All that was heard was Yuanshi letting out a cold laugh, then speaking:

"Hehe... elder brother, why bother to mind this?!"

"Although Hongyun has schemed a lot, the merit he has obtained is ultimately limited."

"Wanting to become a saint is still far off."

As a saint, Yuanshi is very clear: if one truly wishes to prove the Dao, the required merit is as vast as an abyss.

Relying solely on what Hongyun previously reaped, though not to say it's a drop in the bucket, it still falls far short of the level needed to become a saint.

Beside him, Tongtian also nodded in agreement.

"Exactly!"

"Supreme Elder Brother, having already established the Ren Sect, the karmic ties within are enormous."

"Hongyun's actions will surely end up being futile, like trying to carry water in a bamboo basket."

In their view, Laozi's lingering concern is really unnecessary.

But Laozi's expression showed no sign of easing.

On the contrary, the more he pondered, the more Laozi felt vexed, his resentment unabated.

"You lot would never understand its deep meaning."

"Three waves of merit are indeed nothing, but......"

Laozi seemed to be responding to Yuanshi and Tongtian, yet also muttering to himself.

Afterward, he did not speak those words aloud.

As Yuanshi and Tongtian said, for a saint, the three waves of merit Hongyun obtained still amount to nothing worth mentioning.

But most importantly, through this matter, Hongyun has become karmically linked with humanity.

Laozi can now clearly sense that, by enlightening humanity's Three Ancestors, Hongyun has also taken up a portion of humanity's fortune.

"How can this be allowed?!"

The human lineage was created by Nüwa, and Laozi also established the Ren Sect based on humanity's fortune.

Naturally, all of humanity's fortune should be divided between Nüwa and Laozi.

But now, there is also Hongyun, who also wants a share of it.

Isn't this tantamount to snatching food from Laozi's mouth?

"Moreover, humanity's potential is immense."

"Even if Hongyun only occupies a small part, given time, it will likely become enormously large......"

Laozi stared blankly, sighing softly.

In the depths of his heart, a sense of unease has arisen.