Chapter 169

Everyone merely watched silently, not disturbing its creation; only Hongjun's complexion was somewhat unsightly.

Those subject to birth and death are form; those without birth and death are nature, they are spirit. All formed things decay; heaven and earth too are illusory bodies, and when the primordial cycle ends, its conclusion is shown. Only a speck of yang light, transcending calamity numbers, resides within the body as the sea of nature—that is the primordial spirit.

When Hongjun spoke to this point, the primordial spirit manifested, the Jade Disc of Creation shone brightly, and the ghost‑god that had originally fallen into the vision broke free and rushed toward where Hongjun was.

The ghost‑god knelt on the ground; he now had no visage, like an egg—smooth and round—his stature though much smaller, yet the Dao aura permeated.

Luo Hu also intensified the force of the Dao sound, seeking to guide that ghost‑god back into the demonic path, but his approach proved ineffective.

Until a thousand years passed, the discussion of the Dao ended, and the ghost‑god could not be attracted by Luo Hu.

When the crowd returned from their Dao discussion, Hongjun then broke into a radiant smile, pointing at the ghost‑god and said, "The debate between immortals and demons—superiority is now evident."

The demonic path is deceitful; though it may allow one to take the lead, it lacks enduring strength. Though this person was previously deluded by it, one whose heart yearns for the Great Dao will naturally return to the source and purify themselves.

People like to seek shortcuts, inevitably straying onto side paths, but ultimately they will still return to walk upon the Great Dao; these earlier detours are merely tempering.

Luo Hu's expression turned extremely grim, and he said:

"Betraying the classics and abandoning the Dao, changing from morning to evening—such faithless, treacherous wretches leave the Dao with no hope."

Having spoken these words, Luo Hu saw the ghost‑god's entire body ignite in raging flames; the fire resembled a dark mountain and white moon, deep and uncanny.

The ghost‑god, engulfed in fire, showed not the slightest struggle; his whole being was ecstatic, as if he felt nothing of the flames consuming himself.

The fire arose from the dantian, burned upon the Dao fruit, then drew up to the primordial spirit.

Seeing this, Hongjun furrowed his brows slightly and sighed, "To hear the Dao in the morning and die by evening is enough."

Thus he took no action, letting it turn to ash in the flames and be blown away by the wind.

"Fellow Daoist Luo Hu, the Dao discussion has now ended and superiority is decided—do you acknowledge it?"

Hongjun said.

Luo Hu merely gave a cold snort and retorted, "When was superiority decided? Your Dao discussion with me has nothing to do with this ghost‑god."

Moreover, within the demonic path he obtained creation, eliminated the six desires, his five viscera transformed and gave birth, he gained the Spirit‑Awakening Dao, his six bowels knew their destiny, and he became a six‑heaven ghost.

"Is this not attaining the Dao?"

Luo Hu's brows rose slightly as he spoke again: "Having turned from demon to immortal, what more is there to say? He merely ended up in ashes and annihilation—how can one claim that my demonic Dao has decided superiority?"

"I merely do not wish to quarrel with you, knowing that the one who has verified the Dao is not this ghost‑god, so I do not contend."

"As for superiority, it ought to be judged by the fellow Daoists; how could we seek it in this ghost‑god?"

Yang Mei and the others, hearing this, also felt Luo Hu's words were reasonable; the two spoke, saying that immortals and demons have no superiority, both directly pointing to the principle of the Great Dao.

If we consider the ghost‑god, both have arguable points, for after all he gained creation within the demonic path yet later rebelled to revere the immortal.

Thus, Yang Mei, the Five Elements elders, and the others all began to have headaches.

Luo Hu and Hongjun, meanwhile, silently awaited the judgment of the four, although they knew that in the end they would inevitably come to blows.

Yet facing these great gods of equal standing, they still wished to know how they would evaluate their own Great Dao, and also desired to determine superiority over each other.

Yang Mei, as the leader of the four, seeing that discussion yielded no result, stepped forward and said, "Immortals and demons have no superiority; we originally intended a peaceful drill, but in the end we cannot avoid judging by divine powers—alas, the suffering of all beings in the world."

The Primordial Elder likewise stepped forward and said:

"Both of you Daoists are great talents; we mundane folk are ultimately foolish and incapable, unable to judge—let the two of you decide for yourselves." The Five Elements Elder felt slightly offended by the Primordial Elder's words, yet did not know how to rebut, for the two Daoists' paths are indeed hard to evaluate.

If he were to speak nonsense and judge by preference, the Five Elements Elder could not do such a thing.

In the end he could only mutter: "Indeed so, superiority is hard to discern; all point directly to the Great Dao, the future is boundless, and one can prove the path of the Mixed Origin."

Hongjun and Luo Hu could only direct their gaze toward the last person, the Yin‑Yang Elder.

Seeing the Yin‑Yang Elder, his brows were tightly knit, yin and yang Dao circulating throughout his body, as he mutually argued the immortal and demonic Dao, directly comparing them on the Dao.

No matter how they compared, it was merely demon waxing and Dao waning, Dao waxing and demon waning, endlessly cycling.

After a moment, the Yin‑Yang Elder abandoned this behavior and spoke:

"Immortal and demon balance yin and yang; on the Dao there is no deficiency, superiority is hard to distinguish; in my yin and yang I have practiced myriad billions of cycles, all are thus—still, you should evaluate yourselves."

Yang Mei and the crowd exchanged a glance, then withdrew upon the heavy clouds, quietly awaiting their duel.

They did not urge them to go to Chaos to fight; both desired to unite with the Heavenly Dao, and the Heavenly Dao was likewise so.

If they went to Chaos, how would they then manifest upon the Heavenly Dao? Thus they also refrained from this pointless effort; after all, the primordial world's beings are now scarce, and it is enough for them to contend.

Luo Hu and Hongjun both sat cross‑legged on the ground, calmly restoring the mind‑spirit expended in their earlier Dao discussion.

They knew that the other, as their great foe, was no easy opponent; only by ensuring they were at peak condition could they truly determine superiority.

The Eastern Continent.

On the battlefield of the Dragon and Qilin clans, Ao Xing had just withdrawn from the fight, calmed his turbulent qi, and then headed toward the Dragon clan's western main camp.

Now the Dragon tribe mainly divides into two fronts: the Nan Fang front, close to the Nan Fang Continent, primarily faces the avian great army led by the Phoenix tribe, commanded by the Imprisoned Ox.

The Western front mainly faces the beast great army led by the Qilin tribe, especially a division of the White Tiger tribe, which is extremely troublesome, commanded by the Glowering.

Since Ao Xing joined the battlefield, relying on spiritual treasures and the advantage of magical powers, he has run rampant unchecked, even achieving the feat of slaying formations.

Through this battlefield, Ao Xing has thoroughly established his prestige among the Dragon tribe, and even shows signs of spreading his fame throughout the primordial world.

Unfortunately, although Ao Xing is strong, he ultimately cannot influence the overall situation; under the encirclement of the two tribes attacking the Dragon tribe, he can only ease part of the pressure on smaller battlefields.

Whenever the two armies face off, they mainly rely on legions, both sides combining techniques with grand formations to manipulate water currents and soil in opposition.

These water currents and soil, endowed with boundless spiritual qi and divine power, become terrifyingly abnormal; even their slightest fluctuation can easily overturn heaven and earth.

Ao Xing has personally witnessed countless great mountains turn into earth and stone, forming massive sand waves, while the earth continually trembles and splits.

Its scale is so grand that a moment's carelessness can leave even a Great Luo Golden Immortal unable to escape the onslaught.

A slight rise or fall will cause multitudes of beings to die miserably on the spot, leaving no remains.

These scenes have dealt Ao Xing a tremendous impact, also making him understand the importance of prohibiting unauthorized actions on the battlefield.

After all, anyone who slightly oversteps cannot escape misfortune.

PS: Yesterday I owed one chapter; by month‑end I still owe two chapters, plus another one; I will try to finish before 12:00, still working overtime.

(End of chapter)