Jieyin and Zhunti delved once more into the mysteries of their Primordial Violet Qi (primordial violet qi). Guided by its pulsing resonance, they finally grasped the final requirement for their ascension.
They needed to issue Grand Vows (Great Vow)!
"This..."
Both hesitated. They understood perfectly what this meant. To Achieve Sainthood (achieve sainthood) this way was to become indebted to the Heavenly Dao. To put it bluntly, they were being swindled by the Heavens. The path was hidden until they were halfway through, leaving them with no choice but to commit.
Why did the Sanqing ascend so effortlessly while they had to mortgage their futures? Indignation and resentment flared in their hearts, but the die was cast. The oath of the Sect had already been sworn; if they failed to ascend now, they would carry the burden of the oath without any of the power.
In a single heartbeat, the Two Sages of the West made their choice.
"Brother! Issue the vows!" Zhunti said, his face grave with a resolve he had never shown before. Beyond the power, he couldn't bear the thought of being the laughingstock of the universe yet again. If they failed this time, they might as well find a new world to live in.
Jieyin nodded. "The Merit from the Sect is enough for one of us to ascend. Junior Brother, you take this path. Establishing the Sect is enough for me!"
Zhunti stared at his brother in genuine shock. "Brother, you..."
"I was joking," Jieyin said with a sudden, natural smile. "Why are you frozen? We shall issue the vows together!" Though he smiled, his mind was already calculating the collective weight of their destiny.
Zhunti exhaled in relief, returning the smile. Together, they finalized the list of promises.
They rose once more, their Daoist robes snapping in a phantom wind. With solemn, majestic countenances, they swore forty-eight Grand Vows to the Heavenly Dao:
"First Vow: If I attain supreme enlightenment, and in my Buddha-realm there are Hells, hungry ghosts, or beasts... I shall not take supreme enlightenment."
"Second Vow: When I become a Buddha, all living beings in the ten directions who seek my realm shall possess bodies of pure purple-gold... or I shall not take enlightenment."
...
"Forty-eighth Vow: When I become a Buddha, if the Bodhisattvas of other worlds hear my name and do not achieve the stage of non-regression... I shall not take enlightenment."
As the forty-eighth vow was completed, golden lotuses began to fall across the infinite reaches of the Honghuang World. The Heavenly Dao responded instantly, as if it had been waiting for this exact collateral.
An immeasurable deluge of Karma (Merit) descended, drowning Jieyin and Zhunti in golden light. The Primordial Violet Qi within them dissolved, and a boundless, surging Saintly pressure erupted forth.
The Great Powers who had been waiting to mock them were stunned into silence. This was ruthless—to swear forty-eight impossible vows, each more difficult than the last. Combined with their Sect's promise of universal salvation, they had stacked impossibility upon impossibility.
They had discarded everything for the sake of power. Yet, most were envious. The sheer fact of their ascension covered all flaws. Looking into the depths of the Void Realm, one could see two golden figures seated in eternal meditation, chanting the Dao-sound (dao sound). Living beings with weak wills immediately prostrated themselves in worship.
"So this is a Saint..." one expert lamented. Even those as "unseemly" as the Western Duo appeared supreme and magnificent upon ascension. Who wouldn't want this? If given the chance, most would have sworn four hundred, or even four thousand vows just to taste that power.
"Five Saints in a single day, all through founding sects... perhaps I can do the same?"
This thought took root in the minds of many. Compared to Nuwa's path of creation, founding a sect seemed far easier to mimic—provided one had a good enough idea.
The Shift in Power
In an impossibly short span, the Western Duo followed the Sanqing into the ranks of the Saints. Their majesty swept across the world. While figures like Zhenyuanzi, Hongyun, and the Queen Mother of the West harbored their own thoughts, Styx let out a roar of pure frustration from the Sea of Blood. The Western Duo had failed at creation just like him, yet they had pivoted and succeeded while he remained a "clown."
In the Pangu Temple, the Ancestral Witches were beyond numb. They had once thrashed the Western Duo and stolen Mount Sumeru. Now, those "victims" were gods. All five of their primary enemies were now Saints.
I'm tired. Just let it end, the Witches thought, abandoning all struggle. Even if one of them became a Saint now, the sheer numbers were against them. Unless Father Pangu himself returned to the world, the situation was hopeless. Hou Tu sat in the back, her face a mask of sorrow, still haunted by the question: Why does the Pangu bloodline have no Saint?
The New Perspective
"Finally, we are Saints. This feeling is beyond words..."
Atop Mount Sumeru, Jieyin and Zhunti stood side-by-side. Their faces were flush with joy and wonder.
"Five Saints in one day, and our West claims two," Jieyin smiled. "The rise of the West is now unstoppable." Only after ascending could one feel this level of calm and confidence. The forty-eight vows suddenly felt like a bargain—they had traded words for absolute power.
"Heh, no wonder Ling Xiao could break the Immortal Slaying Formation so easily," Zhunti said, a cold sneer forming. "With this kind of power, anything is possible."
He felt that he, too, could now dismantle that formation with a flick of his wrist. Sainthood was the ultimate equalizer. Recalling how Ling Xiao had dominated them in the past made his blood boil. As if he was the only one who could do it.
"Now that we are in the same Realm, I hope you can remain so 'composed' the next time we meet," Zhunti thought. He turned to Jieyin. "Brother, what is our next move?"
"What do you think?" Jieyin asked with a chuckle. They locked eyes.
A chill ran through them as their old "Occupational Hazard" (the urge to kill each other) flared—but it vanished instantly, suppressed by their new Saintly constitutions. They were no longer under Ling Xiao's lingering influence.
The shadow was gone. The humiliation, however, remained. It had to be paid for in blood.
They had sworn to "transcend" all living beings. But before they saved the world, they would first "transcend"—kill—Ling Xiao.