Chapter 83: Primordial

"Alright, Yinghuo Daofriend, you're right."

Xiang Xuanqing had to admit that Yuan Huang spoke with great wisdom.

"Since it’s a merit system, naturally it needs multiple points of blossoming."

"Right!" Yuan Huang lifted her head proudly, feeling she was brilliantly clever.

Xiang Xuanqing turned again to the [Merit Black Lotus] pointed to by Luo Hou—it was a manifestation of merit Dao he had crafted himself.

He asked: "They embody the virtues of Yin-Yang and the Five Phases. Luo Hou Daofriend, what virtue is yours?"

Luo Hou thought seriously: "You could call it Black Virtue—or perhaps… Martial Virtue!"

"Martial Virtue?"

The gods blinked, thinking Luo Hou was shameless.

But they then recalled that Luo Hou had now become a Great Luo Supreme, firmly seated as the top combat power in Taiwei Yuan.

So they reluctantly accepted it.

"Actually, the name Sacred Virtue sounds quite nice too," Xiang Xuanqing suggested.

"Sacred Virtue? Those who follow me prosper, those who oppose me perish—hmm, not bad!" Luo Hou gladly adopted Xiang Xuanqing’s suggestion.

The words "Sacred Virtue" perfectly matched the bold, upright aesthetic of the demonic path.

"I can call mine the Dao of Morality!" Jing Yao, the Purple Qi Supreme, interrupted before Xiang Xuanqing could ask, volunteering to introduce his [Dao of Morality].

The vast, radiant purple qi—how noble, how awe-inspiring!

Wasn’t this precisely the very symbol of morality?

"Of course, if you prefer, you can call it [Merit Virtue Dao]."

Jing Yao smiled: "From now on, my Purple Qi Divine Star will be responsible for bestowing blessings."

When I appear, purple qi will surge thirty thousand li, divine light illuminating nine thousand realms.

"Daofriend Xuanying, what is your Dao called?" The gods turned to Ming He.

They had all seen the Dao he fabricated—bloodlight surging to heaven, faintly tainted with calamity—hardly resembling proper merit at all.

"My Dao… I haven’t decided yet… haven’t decided," Ming He stammered, avoiding their gaze, unable to come up with a single word.

Seeing his awkwardness, Xiang Xuanqing changed the subject: "First, tell us how your Dao calculates merit."

Jing Yao chimed in: "Yes, describe the effects—we can help you name it."

"Well… well, I’ll tell you then!"

Ming He took a deep breath and began describing his "masterpiece."

"My Dao is more like a Killing Calamity Dao. Under its rules, sentient beings caught in a killing calamity gain merit and fortune."

"The more firmly one walks the path of killing, the deeper one sinks into the calamity, the greater the merit tilt—and the stronger the fortune boost!"

The listeners found no flaw.

"That’s quite useful!" Yuan Huang, the Fire Radiance Supreme, spoke up. Ming He’s creation was genuinely practical.

Especially in celestial worlds where fishing masters had laid traps—this [Killing Calamity Dao] was the ultimate chaos-bringer in any calamity.

The kind that annoyed people to death without killing them.

Imagine: a fishing master painstakingly sets a trap, triggers a killing calamity, ready to harvest fortune and reap the calamity fruit.

Then you swoop in, invade with your [Killing Calamity Dao], and stir up chaos like a fish in water—you’d drive that fishing master insane.

"But—"

Before anyone could praise him, Ming He added a twist.

After long hesitation, he spoke as if ashamed: "I don’t know why, but when I crafted this Dao, there was a slight mishap—it deviated from the intended effect."

"What do you mean?"

"Under this Dao’s influence, merit does indeed favor you—but misfortune follows right behind."

Ming He explained: "The deeper you sink into the killing calamity, the more merit you gain; the more merit you gain, the more unlucky you become; the more unlucky you become, the deeper you sink… and so on, endlessly."

"Sentient beings affected by this Dao will remain in a state of simultaneous 'merit boost' and 'persistent misfortune.'"

"So I don’t know what to name this merit."

The gods fell silent.

"What kind of Schrödinger’s merit is this?" Xiang Xuanqing pressed his palm to his forehead, sighing deeply.

He never imagined that among Taiwei Yuan’s pack of war wolves, Ming He had once again become the husky.

How to describe his Dao?

If only the first half existed, it would be a masterpiece.

But with the second half? It was truly depraved.

Depraved in every sense.

His Dao should be called [Killing Fortune Dao].

Is there killing? Yes!

Is there fortune? Also yes!

But his "killing" indirectly murders the "fortune"!

Whoever received the favor of this [Killing Fortune Dao]—no, better to say, was shrouded in bloodlight—

Would likely become just like Ming He himself.

Unmatched in killing, yet catastrophically unlucky, yet always barely surviving.

This was essentially mass-producing [Primordial Hole-Digging Sacred Bodies]!

"Applying merit to this extent is an art," said Zhen Yuanzi, the Earth Radiance Supreme, expressing appreciation for Ming He’s absurdity.

He offered Ming He a face-saving excuse by calling it "art."

In the end, after discussion, they settled on naming Ming He’s creation [Killing Calamity Merit].

Killing within calamity, fortune within calamity, killing hidden within fortune.

Ming He accepted this gladly.

They hadn’t even named his Dao "Depraved"—that was already generous.

After all, even he himself thought it was depraved.

It harmed others—and it harmed his own people too.

Thus, the gods finally confirmed their own "Virtues."

Then, each bestowed merit upon themselves and uploaded to Tian Shi Yuan whatever they found interesting.

Jing Yao uploaded several volumes of alchemical texts, plus one particularly amusing one: [The Chaotic Taiji Spirit Book].

At the end of this spirit book, Jing Yao had specifically marked: "Special Edition."

Curious, Xiang Xuanqing exchanged for it.

Immediately, a chaotic stream of Dao sounds erupted, exploding violently in his mind: "Chaos gives birth to Taiji, Taiji gives birth to two aunts, two aunts give birth to four uncles, four uncles give birth to eight kids. The eight kids need milk; after drinking this milk, forget that kid…"

Xiang Xuanqing widened his eyes: "What the hell is this?"

Taiji gives birth to two aunts? Two aunts give birth to four uncles?

Is Taiji really born this way?!!

Xiang Xuanqing snapped his head toward Jing Yao Supreme.

He now had zero faith left in the [Dao of Morality] of the Dao of Morality Supreme.

"The office of the Dao of Morality Supreme has been ruined. Sigh~"

Xiang Xuanqing sighed deeply, looking heartbroken.

The next second, he shoved the [Chaotic Taiji Spirit Book] into his sleeve, planning to take it back and criticize it thoroughly.

"But luckily, Li Ming Daofriend is a proper person. When we eventually establish the [Lingbao Supreme] office, he won’t be corrupted by it…"

"Hey? Yinghuo Daofriend, your uploaded Great Size Change and Golden Light on Earth techniques seem different from what I understand?" Tai Yi, after exchanging for Yuan Huang’s techniques, looked utterly confused.

Weren’t these techniques meant to be cultivated to strengthen oneself?

Why were they being used on enemies?

Yuan Huang countered: "Just tell me—do they work well?"

"They work extremely well."

Tai Yi analyzed the technique’s application, unable to suppress a grin.

The technique harmed others to benefit oneself.

It was a disguised way to strengthen oneself.

"Then that’s settled."

Yuan Huang exchanged for Wang Shu, the Moon Radiance Supreme’s [Lunar Body Refinement Chapter].

At first glance, it was a scripture describing the method of transcendence.

"The dead refine their forms underground; corpses remain as if alive, and after long time, attain Dao… Wait, how can this scripture only be cultivated after death? Can’t you refine it while alive?"

Yuan Huang felt something was off: "Attaining Dao after death? Why does this feel so strange?"

This didn’t seem like something from the living world at all.

She turned to Wang Shu and whispered: "Moon Daofriend, is this path truly viable?"

"Hard to say—I’ve never practiced it myself," Wang Shu shook her head.

"Then why upload it?"

"Primordial deities have infinite life and boundless exploratory capacity. Sometimes a single idea can uncover an entirely different path. Besides…"

Wang Shu’s spiritual eyes flickered with a hint of mischief: "What if some deity in Taiwei Yuan actually succeeds in cultivating it?"

Yuan Huang met her gaze, then looked again at the scripture in his hands.

Thank goodness I asked one more question, otherwise...

All the gods of Taiwei Yuan delight in sharing their own unorthodox things.

They also enjoy exchanging each other’s “masterpieces.”

“You don’t need Taiwei Yuan to use Tian Shi Yuan’s function—anytime you want to share something, you can upload it.”

Upon hearing this, the gods all turned to look at Xiang Xuanqing.

“Too wicked! Taiwei Tian Di is truly too wicked.”

“Exactly, exactly.”

“You know full well that what everyone uploads to Tian Shi Yuan isn’t orthodox—yet you still talk like this? Aren’t you blatantly tempting us to keep causing trouble after we return?”

“But I love you for being such a rogue!”

A single remark from Xiang Xuanqing reignited everyone’s enthusiasm for continuing their unorthodox antics.

Xiang Xuanqing smiled. You fellows...

“Does anyone have any other topics?”

Xiang Xuanqing’s gaze swept slowly over the gods of Taiwei, then he nodded: “If not, could someone tell me about the Qilin Clan? I’m quite curious what they’re up to these days.”

All the gods of Taiwei turned to look at Zu Long.

“Why are you all staring at me?” Zu Long glanced left and right.

“Comrade Chenxing, weren’t you just furious about the Qilin Clan? Tell us about their movements,” Fu Xi said with a faint smile, his eyes half-lidded.

“What movements? I don’t know!”

Zu Long answered confidently: “I was busy celebrating when I got back, forgot to pay attention to what they actually did—only remember they’re pretty wicked.”

After returning, he had been entirely occupied with the dragon clan’s reproductive endeavors.

He only remembered anything about the Qilin Clan because he happened to overhear a bit of the Turtle Chancellor’s report.

“Then can you explain what this concept of ‘bearing heaven and earth’ actually means?”

“I don’t know—I was busy celebrating,” Zu Long shook his head.

“Thirty?”

“I don’t know—I was busy celebrating,” Zu Long shook his head again.

“Then...”

"I don't know—I was busy celebrating," Zu Long interrupted with a quick remark.

“We haven’t even asked yet,” the gods sighed, pressing their palms to their foreheads.

Zu Long said: “Don’t ask. If you ask, the answer is always: celebrating.”

【Jin Yao Tai Bai Shang Zun】Puti gazed deeply at Zu Long: “Friend, your six senses are impure!”

“Who says so?”

Zu Long felt perfectly fine about himself: “I think my six senses are quite clean.”

“My eyes crave sights, my ears crave sounds, my nose craves scents, my tongue craves flavors, my mind craves thoughts, my body craves sensation.”

“I cultivate the Dao of Desire—what’s wrong with celebrating when I return?”

Of the three thousand streams, I take but one dipperful.

That is my philosophy!

————

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(End of Chapter)