Chapter 260 The Great Emperor of the Eastern Pole Qinghua (Azure Flower)
"How could this be?"
"What is that Xuanqing Daoist doing now? "
"Why isn't this over yet!"
Looking at the merits surging above Kunlun Mountain, the great supernatural beings were filled with helplessness.
In the blink of an eye, the Xuanhuang merits had descended three times already. Could it be that this Primordial Heavenly Dao belongs to His family?
...
"Uh..."
"What's going on?"
Looking at the Xuanhuang merits surging towards him, Xuanqing was also a little confused. He didn't know where these merits came from.
Originally, Xuanqing had planned to leave Xuanqing Palace and go to Yuxu Palace to pay respects to the Three Pure Ones and share his joy with them.
But who knew that before he could even set off, boundless merits suddenly descended from the sky, leaving him somewhat bewildered.
These merits came inexplicably, truly leaving people puzzled.
"Great Sage, Great Compassion, Great Vow, Saving from Suffering and Calamity, Boundless and Limitless, Praise be to the Nine Heavens Immortal Venerable!"
"Great Sage, Great Compassion, Great Vow, Savior from Suffering, Boundless and Limitless, Praise be to the Celestial Venerable of the Nine Heavens!"
"Great Sage, Great Compassion, Great Vow, Savior from Suffering, Boundless and Limitless, Praise be to the Celestial Venerable of the Nine Heavens!"
...
Just as Xuan Qing was filled with doubt, suddenly, the sound of countless spirits praising him rang in his ears, wave after wave, vast and boundless, carrying an inexplicable emotion that shook his very soul.
"This..."
"What is going on?"
"Why is the power of countless spirits' vows being transmitted?" The sudden turn of events left Xuanqing stunned, his initial confusion turning into shock.
Aside from the Path of Currency and the Path of Qi Elixir, he hadn't done anything else. While these two paths could indeed accumulate merit, to say they could evoke the gratitude of all living beings was an exaggeration.
Only heartfelt gratitude from all living beings could ignite the power within them capable of shaking everything.
Clearly, the Path of Qi Elixir and the Path of Currency lacked this ability.
No matter what Xuanqing thought, the aura of merit continued to surge forth. It was overwhelming, obscuring everything; everywhere was filled with the aura of merit, and nothing could be seen.
Otherwise, with Xuanqing's strength as a Great Luo Golden Immortal, and the strength of many other powerful beings, how could they not see what was happening!
Rumble!
The Xuanhuang merit increased rapidly, exceeding the limits of Xuanqing's body in the blink of an eye. It surged forth from within him, forming a golden auspicious cloud covering a thousand miles above Kunlun Mountain.
And as the merit increased, the auspicious cloud continued to expand, attracting the attention of countless people.
...
And so, the golden auspicious clouds above Kunlun Mountain transformed into a vast expanse spanning ten thousand miles. The merit energy in the sky gradually subsided, and the heavenly secrets returned to clarity.
Upon careful calculation, the Xuanhuang merit Xuanqing received this time was no less than the merit he gained from creating the Innate Sword Dao.
This meant that, unbeknownst to Him, He had performed a great act of merit for all living beings, with an immeasurable and profound impact on the future of the primordial world.
Otherwise, the Heavenly Dao would not have bestowed so much merit, nor would he have received the power of all spirits.
"The Spirit Race?"
In the instant the heavenly secrets cleared, Xuanqing learned the origin of these Xuanhuang merits.
They clearly came from the most numerous and least noticeable race in the primordial world—the Spirit Race, a general term for all plants and trees of the primordial world!
All flowers, trees, mountains, rivers, spiritual herbs, and immortal roots—all natural spirits of the primordial world that took human form—could be called the Spirit Race.
However, for nature spirits to transform into human form is extremely difficult, requiring not only a long time but also countless tribulations.
Each nature spirit is an incomparably precious spiritual herb. They are needed to aid cultivation, and even more so to refine elixirs.
Thus, their fate is predictable.
Moreover, the higher the level of the innate spiritual root, the more difficult the transformation; top-tier innate spiritual roots have almost no chance of transformation.
All these factors combined make the number of experts among the spirit race extremely small. Great Luo Golden Immortals are few and far between. Top-tier combat power is almost nonexistent.
Oh! Not entirely. In truth, the spirit race's strength may not be weaker than the Wu and Yao races. Because the spirit race has produced two Hunyuan-level experts.
Considering this, the Wu and Yao races, without Hunyuan-level experts, seem to be inferior to the spirit race.
Not at all; their strength and weaknesses both stem from Hunyuan.
How immense is the fortune required to support two Hunyuan-level experts?
Therefore, the birth of these two Primordial Chaos experts nearly drained the Spirit Race's fortune and exhausted its resources, leading to its complete decline from which it has yet to recover. The Spirit Race's current miserable state in the primordial world may well be related to this.
Unfortunately, these two Primordial Chaos experts have complex origins, and their minds are elsewhere; they completely disregard the Spirit Race's fate, leaving it to its own devices.
Otherwise, with these two Primordial Chaos experts in charge, even if the Spirit Race couldn't become the protagonist of the world and rule the primordial world, becoming a regional overlord and watching the changing of the ages wouldn't have been difficult.
Otherwise, how could it have ended up in such a desolate state?
One of these two Primordial Chaos experts is the ancient powerhouse, Yangmei Immortal.
His true form is a hollow willow tree, one of the ten innate spiritual roots of the primordial world. His cultivation is unfathomable; he was the first being in the primordial world to achieve Primordial Chaos, even before the Dao Ancestor.
Legend has it that the Dao Ancestor once battled Yang Mei, exhausting all his magical treasures but failing to even touch him. Instead, Yang Mei took all his treasures, causing the Dao Ancestor to lose face greatly.
This demonstrates the immense power of Yang Mei!
Moreover, Yang Mei's previous incarnation was even more terrifying—the second-ranked demon god among the three thousand Chaos Demon Gods, a being who could wield immense power and influence.
Such a figure, whose heart was set on the Great Chaos beyond the realms, held the primordial world in contempt, and what were the Spirit Races compared to him?
The second Primordial Chaos expert was a supreme sage, born from the innate Bodhi tree, one of the ten innate spiritual roots of the primordial world—the second leader of the Western Sect—Zhunti Daoist.
Needless to say, Zhunti Daoists' ambition was solely focused on strengthening the Western Sect and restoring the ancient glory of the West.
Even the Western religion alone is proving somewhat overwhelming for Him, let alone the life or death of the Spirit Race!
This is what led to the Spirit Race's current predicament.
...
Today, the Spirit Race will thank Xuan Qing, all thanks to the influence of the Qi Dan Dao.
With the emergence of the Qi Dan Dao, people who wish to refine pills can now collect innate Qi in addition to gathering spiritual herbs.
In this way, countless Spirit Race members have been spared from destruction and given a chance to attain enlightenment.
In a single thought, countless lives have been saved—is this not immeasurable merit?
Although Xuan Qing established the Qi Dan Dao simply to create a new lineage outside of traditional alchemy, without considering the bigger picture, the Heavenly Dao judges actions by deeds, not intentions. Anyone who performs a great act of merit will receive profound merit, even if it is unintentional.
This is how Xuan Qing's merit came about.
(End of Chapter)