Primordial Era: Refusing Hongjun's path to sainthood, I attained the Dao of Hunyuan.

Chapter 166 Xuanhuang's Scheme

"Gather the four monkeys, strengthen our fortune, and seize the opportunity to attain enlightenment?"

Zhen Yuanzi frowned upon hearing this and said, "In that case, the chances are extremely high, but that's all for the future. Let's get through this great tribulation first."

"This great calamity will probably be difficult to overcome. Although the Investiture of the Gods can save many lives, it has only intensified the struggle among the saints."

Xuanhuang nodded and said, "That's true. But it's inevitable. With so many sages, conflict is unavoidable, especially a struggle for lineage. How many sage lineages can the Three Realms accommodate?"

Upon hearing this, Zhen Yuanzi became even more troubled. After pondering for a while without success, he said again, "Let's talk about Hongyun instead."

"Hongyun has been through so many tribulations, doesn't she have any plans to return?"

Xuanhuang said, "When he returns, it will be the time for him to attain enlightenment. However, there is a problem now. If my disciple attains enlightenment in two consecutive kalpas, then Hongyun's enlightenment will probably have to be postponed."

After saying that, Xuanhuang shook his head repeatedly, clearly unable to make a decision.

Zhen Yuanzi remained silent, silently calculating the secrets of heaven. After a long period of deduction, he opened his eyes and shook his head, saying, "If two people attain enlightenment in the next two great eons, the spiritual energy of heaven and earth will become extremely thin, almost reaching its limit. But if three people attain enlightenment, I'm afraid..."

"The calamity of the end times?" Xuanhuang asked.

Zhen Yuanzi nodded and said, "That's right. During the Tribulation of the End of Dharma, the spiritual energy in the world will be greatly depleted. At that time, let alone attaining the Dao, even cultivation will be extremely difficult."

"Senior Brother Xuanhuang."

Zhen Yuanzi said in a deep voice, "Let's wait a little longer."

Xuanhuang remained silent.

Seeing that he didn't react, Zhen Yuanzi said angrily, "Do you intend to disregard all living beings?"

"In that case, then..."

Zhen Yuanzi ultimately couldn't bring himself to say those harsh words.

Xuanhuang chuckled and said, "You'll join forces with the sages to deal with me?"

Zhen Yuanzi grunted, clearly acquiescing.

"Ugh!"

Xuanhuang sighed and said, "Actually, I have two more methods. Would you like to hear them, Junior Brother?"

Zhen Yuanzi asked, "What method?"

"It's very simple."

Xuanhuang smiled and said, "First, there's the Styx River. He said it a long time ago: to kill heaven, earth, and all living beings. Also, to kill saints."

"Killing a sage will produce a Primordial Chaos cultivator, thus avoiding any loss of spiritual energy. There might even be some left over."

Zhen Yuanzi laughed and said, "Then which saint do you want to kill? Moreover, this matter can be said to be defying the heavens; even Master Hongjun would not tolerate you."

Xuanhuang nodded and said, "I'll just mention the second method: destroy one or several innate supreme treasures or innate spiritual treasures. These innate treasures contain extremely rich spiritual energy, which can buy some time."

Zhen Yuanzi shook his head again, saying, "The method is good, but how many innate treasures are there? Junior Brothers Jieyin and Zhunti don't even have one, yet you're willing to give them up. Do you want to destroy the Hunyuan Sword or the Chaos Pearl?"

"How about the Tai Chi diagram?" Xuanhuang asked seriously.

Zhen Yuanzi said, "Then you'll have to ask your senior brother. If he agrees, I naturally have no objection."

"Um."

Both of them fell silent, clearly considering the feasibility of the matter.

Xuanhuang did it for his disciple, while Zhen Yuanzi did it for his best friend.

However, after thinking it over, the two shook their heads in unison, not because they couldn't do it.

Even if they could do it, they would still feel heartache and be reluctant to do it.

Although the Taiji diagram is Lao Tzu's treasure, there are only so many innate treasures in the primordial world. Destroying any one of them would be a waste of resources.

"Let's leave the matter of Hongyun aside for now. Tell me one last thing. Why did you come to me?" Zhen Yuanzi asked.

Upon hearing this, Xuanhuang straightened his expression and asked, "Junior brother, I want to ask you, what treasure did our teacher give you?"

Upon hearing this, Zhen Yuanzi fell silent.

Upon seeing this, Xuanhuang immediately understood and said, "It's the Jade Tablet of Creation, isn't it?"

"You can't hide it from me."

Zhen Yuanzi shook his head. With a thought, a round object appeared behind his head. It was shaped like a tablet and was the color of jade. It was the Jade Tablet of Creation.

Xuanhuang glanced at it and felt it was profound and mysterious, for this Jade Tablet of Creation contained three thousand Heavenly Daos.

The reason it is called the Three Thousand Heavenly Paths instead of the Three Thousand Great Paths is because during the Great Calamity of Creation, the Jade Tablet of Creation was also damaged, and most of the Great Paths it contained were lost.

Later, when Hongjun attained enlightenment, he used the Heavenly Dao to complete the Jade Tablet of Creation, and the Dao on it naturally became the Dao of Heaven.

There are also three thousand.

"I came here to see if my junior brother has truly obtained this treasure, and I have come specifically to borrow it," Xuanhuang said.

"If you need it, I'll lend it to you."

Zhen Yuanzi said, "I only borrowed this treasure from you, and your determination to commit murder also owes a debt to my efforts."

After saying this, Zhen Yuanzi shook his head repeatedly, but he was also decisive, and the Jade Tablet of Creation floated down in front of Xuanhuang.

Xuanhuang took the Jade Tablet of Creation and laughed, "You say I'm going to commit murder, but you underestimate me too much."

"Actually, what I said just now was just a joke. Although it's feasible, I have a better way. In the future, not only my disciples, but also Hongyun, will be safe and sound when they attain enlightenment." Xuanhuang seemed extremely confident.

This moved Zhen Yuanzi, who asked, "What other way do you have?"

Xuanhuang said, "We can't say yet."

Zhen Yuanzi had no choice but to give up.

The two chatted for a long time before Xuanhuang finally left Wanshou Mountain.

After seeing Xuanhuang off, Zhen Yuanzi remained silent for a long time, then muttered to himself, "I'm afraid if I don't lend you the Jade Tablet of Creation, you really will do that."

Thinking of the two methods Xuanhuang had mentioned earlier, Zhen Yuanzi still felt a chill run down his spine. Whether it was killing a saint or destroying a supreme innate treasure, the difficulty of the two was roughly the same.

Killing a saint is out of the question, but destroying a supreme innate treasure certainly wouldn't be done by oneself. It could only be the work of another saint.

But for a sage, a supreme innate treasure is like his lifeline. If you destroy someone else's supreme innate treasure, then that person will naturally fight you to the death.

So, in a way, he's not much different from the Saint of Slaughter.

Furthermore, the Three Pure Ones are brothers, and Jieyin and Zhunti are also very close. As for Nuwa, Xuanhuang would not possibly lay a hand on a woman.

Therefore, once Xuanhuang makes a move, he will have to subdue at least two or three saints, and even all the saints may join forces to fight against him.

The thought of that scene made Zhen Yuanzi very uneasy. He even suspected that Xuanhuang had foreseen this day long ago, which was why he did not become a sage.

"Compared to him, this great calamity seems insignificant," Zhen Yuanzi said.

He was quite worried about this great calamity, after all, if the saints fought each other for the sake of the orthodox lineage, the consequences would be very difficult to manage.

But compared to Xuanhuang's scheme, what are the battles between the saints?

Just then, as Zhen Yuanzi returned to Wuzhuang Temple, the void suddenly trembled slightly, and then a Taoist priest walked out of the void.

Zhen Yuanzi was surprised to see that this Taoist was actually Hongjun Daozu.

"Disciple greets Master." Zhen Yuanzi quickly bowed after regaining his senses.

"Let's skip it."

Hongjun Daozu smiled, then asked, "Tell me, did Xuanhuang come here to borrow the Jade Tablet of Creation from you?"

Knowing he couldn't hide it any longer, Zhen Yuanzi nodded and said, "That's true."

(End of this chapter)