Primordial Era: Becoming the Great Emperor of Humanity from the Start

Chapter 71 Lao Tzu's Thoughts!

Jiang Heng entered the Taoist temple with Grand Master Xuandu and soon met Laozi, one of the Three Pure Ones and the head of the Six Sages.

This was not the first time Jiang Heng had met the Taiqing Sage Laozi. Compared to when he preached among the human race, the Taiqing Sage had not changed at all.

He was still dressed as an old man in a Taoist robe, surrounded by a mysterious Taoist aura, making people hesitant to look directly at the Supreme Saint.

"Greetings, Sage Taiqing/Master!" Jiang Heng and Grand Master Xuandu bowed and said respectfully.

"Xuan Du, you may leave now!" said the Sage of Taiqing.

"Master! I, Xuandu, shall take my leave for now!" Grand Master Xuandu bowed once more to the Sage Taiqing before taking his leave.

Now, only Jiang Heng and the Sage Taiqing remain in the Taoist temple, and the atmosphere suddenly becomes somewhat subtle.

Jiang Heng lowered his eyes and looked around, not looking at the Taiqing Sage, but keeping his eyes on his nose and his nose on his heart, without uttering a word.

The Sage Taiqing seemed lost in thought, and remained silent after Grand Master Xuandu left.

The Taoist temple fell silent, with only a mysterious Taoist aura flowing through it, and one could vaguely see the Yin and Yang energies swirling within.

It was unclear how much time had passed before the Sage of Taiqing seemed to remember Jiang Heng's existence and spoke again:

"Jiang Heng, the sovereign of the human race, you have done very well since I began preaching among the human race. Do you know why I summoned you to the Taiqing Realm this time?"

"Since the Sage has summoned me here, there must be a reason, but how can I possibly fathom the Sage's thoughts?" Jiang Heng said respectfully.

Although Jiang Heng had many guesses in his heart, he naturally tried to say as little as possible in front of the sage, especially the Taiqing Sage.

Saying more doesn't necessarily mean you're wrong, but being sparing with words is definitely the safest approach, especially in front of the Supreme Sage.

The Sage Taiqing smiled without saying a word, simply watching Jiang Heng silently. Jiang Heng remained silent, but a chill unconsciously rose in his heart.

The Grand Sage's gaze seemed calm and unperturbed, but Jiang Heng felt that all his secrets had become completely exposed in the Grand Sage's eyes.

"Do you know why I preached among the human race?" After a long while, the Sage Taiqing spoke again.

"It is to repay the karma of establishing the Human Religion within my human race!" Jiang Heng answered honestly.

This question is actually not difficult. If Jiang Heng, as the ruler of the human race, still doesn't know anything about it, it would be a bit unreasonable.

"Indeed! I established the Human Religion among the human race and thereby gained boundless merit, thus attaining enlightenment. I cannot fail to repay this karmic debt!"

Therefore, I not only preached among humans for a thousand years, but also took Xuandu as my disciple and made him the vice leader of the Human Sect.

"Now that the cause and effect are settled, I will have no further connection with the human race, and from now on, I will never interfere in the affairs of the human race again!" said the Sage Taiqing.

Jiang Heng remained silent. What the Sage Taiqing said was indeed true, and later history had also witnessed the truth of these words.

While other sages were plotting for the fate of humanity, only the Taiqing Sage Laozi remained detached from worldly affairs and never participated in the struggle for the fate of humanity.

Some might say that the Sage Taiqing established the Human Religion among the human race, and as long as the human race does not perish, the Sage Taiqing will forever enjoy the fortune of the human race.

That's true, but after the Sage Taiqing established the Human Religion, he completely abandoned it and had no intention of developing or expanding it.

If not, given the status of the Sage Taiqing among the human race, it should not be difficult for the Human Cult to completely take the initiative among the human race and thus completely control the fate of the human race.

But the Sage of Taiqing never intended to do so. It was as if everything in the outside world was irrelevant to this sage, and he was indeed always in a state of tranquility and inaction.

The only exception might be that he helped Yuanshi Tianzun during the Investiture of the Gods, which allowed the Chan Sect to overpower the Jie Sect.

Is the Sage of Taiqing truly so indifferent and detached? Is this why he remained unmoved while the demon race slaughtered billions of humans?

Jiang Heng didn't know, but he did know that whatever the Taiqing Sage's intentions were, they were actually unimportant to the human race.

Since the dawn of humanity, the human race has stood firm in the primordial world, relying not on anything else but on the four words "self-improvement and perseverance".

No matter what hardships we endure, humanity should not seek help from heaven, earth, countless gods and Buddhas, or lofty saints.

Jiang Heng, having traveled from the future, naturally knew that when billions of humans were slaughtered by the demon race, both the Taiqing Saint and the Nuwa Saint remained silent.

Jiang Heng harbored no resentment towards this. After all, the human race was created by the sage Nuwa, and had no right to demand anything of her.

The same applies to the Sage Taiqing. As he himself said, he had settled his karmic ties with the human race, so he did not ask anything of them and naturally would not concern himself with them.

Jiang Heng hated those who were originally indifferent to the human race, but when the human race prospered, they thought of coming to the human race to earn merit.

Jiang Heng was more wary of the Taiqing Sage. After all, the Taiqing Sage had passed down the Golden Core cultivation method to the human race.

In fact, for the human race at that time, the Golden Core cultivation method, although not very sophisticated, was still a cultivation method.

In any case, having a method is better than having no method at all. In this respect, Jiang Heng couldn't really blame the Sage Taiqing for anything.

However, Jiang Heng was somewhat uncertain whether the Sage Taiqing did it casually or deliberately, as the difference between the two was enormous.

Jiang Heng pondered the meaning behind the words of the Sage Taiqing, but to no avail; his doubts only grew stronger.

"Thank you for your guidance, Sage Taiqing. Humanity should indeed strive for self-improvement!" Jiang Heng could only nod and say.

"Self-reliance and continuous improvement? That's excellent! If humanity can keep this in mind, there's always a day when it can rise again!"

"You must be wondering why I had Xuandu invite you to this Taiqing Realm!" the Taiqing Sage said slowly.

"Please enlighten me, Sage Taiqing!" Jiang Heng said.

"Don't worry! I will not accept you as a disciple. Your path is completely different from mine, and you cannot be accepted into the Human Sect!"

The reason I've summoned you here is to discuss something with you. I hope that the Six Paths of Reincarnation can remain stable during the Third Lich War!

Upon hearing this, Jiang Heng was slightly taken aback. He had considered countless possibilities, but he never expected that the Sage Taiqing would be referring to this matter.

They didn't ask about the Heaven-Covering Emperor Law created by Jiang Heng, nor about the Human Cult's missionary work among the human race, nor how Jiang Heng acquired his current strength.

Even when Jiang Heng fought against Donghuang Taiyi, the Taiqing Sage helped him, but the Taiqing Sage never mentioned it.

Jiang Heng never expected that the Sage Taiqing would speak of the Six Paths of Reincarnation. Moreover, why would the Sage Taiqing speak of the Six Paths of Reincarnation to him?

In the primordial world, who doesn't know that the Six Paths of Reincarnation were transformed from the ancestral witch Houtu, and that the witch clan now manages the Six Paths of Reincarnation?

If the Sage of Taiqing did not want any accidents to happen in the cycle of reincarnation, he should have gone to the witch clan in the underworld. Why did he go to Jiang Heng instead?

Could it be that the Sage of Taiqing has already seen through the fact that all the things in the Six Paths of Reincarnation are actually orchestrated by Jiang Heng behind the scenes?

Jiang Heng was initially startled, but then dismissed the idea. If the Sage of Taiqing had truly seen through all his schemes, how could he possibly have a proper conversation with the Sage of Taiqing here?

Even more so, let alone the Supreme Saint, it's likely that Dao Ancestor Hongjun would have already unleashed his thunderous wrath, turning Jiang Heng to ashes in an instant.

"Forgive my ignorance, but I don't know what the Sage Taiqing meant by this?" Jiang Heng asked, calming himself down.

"I witnessed your battle with the Western Sect disciples. You did very well; the Western Sect has no right to interfere in the cycle of reincarnation."

"You can proceed with your plans with confidence. I can guarantee that the two Western sages will not personally intervene!" said the Taiqing Sage.

Jiang Heng then realized that his battle with Ksitigarbha and other Western Sect disciples from afar had already caught the eye of the Supreme Saint.

Perhaps that's why the Sage Taiqing believed he had a close relationship with the witch clan in the underworld, which led to his earlier remarks.

Moreover, Jiang Heng also discerned another layer of meaning in the words of the Sage of Taiqing: the Sage of Taiqing was actually disgusted by the Western Religion's plan for the Six Paths of Reincarnation.

The two Western sages will not personally intervene. In other words, if the two Western sages were to take action, the Taiqing Sage would stop them.

This was naturally good news for Jiang Heng. As long as the two Western Saints didn't personally intervene, what did Jiang Heng have to fear?

"I instruct the Supreme Sage that the Six Paths of Reincarnation are extremely important to the entire primordial world, and naturally, it will not be drawn into the vortex of the Lich War!"

Jiang Heng quickly made his stance clear: it wasn't that Jiang Heng could influence the Wu tribe, but rather that this was something the ancestral witches had already agreed upon.

Under Jiang Heng's influence, the Ancestral Witches had long regarded the Six Paths of Reincarnation as the last foundation of the Witch Clan.

If the Witch Clan suffers any mishap during the Lich War, the Six Paths of Reincarnation will become a sanctuary for the remaining Witch Clan, preventing their extinction.

As for the Wu clan within the Six Paths of Reincarnation, as long as they do not actively seek death, even the Heavenly Dao cannot exterminate them.

Therefore, there was no problem with Jiang Heng's promise to the Sage Taiqing.

The Sage of Taiqing gave Jiang Heng a deep look and said, "I hope so!"

Then, the Sage Taiqing waved his hand and said, "Now that everything is settled, you may return to the human race!"

Jiang Heng bowed respectfully and slowly withdrew from the Taoist temple, his mind still pondering the true intentions of the Sage Taiqing.

After waiting for a long time, Grand Master Xuandu immediately greeted Jiang Heng with excitement as he walked out of the Taoist temple.

"How is it? Does Master want to accept you as a disciple?" Grand Master Xuandu asked impatiently.

Jiang Heng shook his head and said, "The Sage Taiqing sent me here for other matters!"

Grand Master Xuandu looked regretful and even comforted Jiang Heng before sending him out of Taiqing Realm.

"The leader of the Six Saints is indeed unfathomable!"

Jiang Heng looked back at Taiqing Realm and muttered to himself.

(End of this chapter)