Chapter 861: Chasing Haotian

Facing the three Patrolling Envoys, Jing Wuzhen glanced downwards.

Li Qi was ambushed during his investigation and is now out of control. This must be a demonic thoughts entering his mind, causing his Inner World to become chaotic.

This is a Demonic Lord's method, and it's certainly not the only one. This is meant to restrict herself, Li Qi, and one of the two Buddhist disciples.

Furthermore, for the two Buddhist disciples to suppress the beings below, they would inevitably need to use Fourth Grade methods, which would directly attract the Patrolling Envoys, and she would have to deal with it, possibly without success.

Therefore, the only one who can act now is Sariputra.

The Demonic Lords really have a good plan.

However, there's a problem.

The Patrolling Envoys have already arrived, so how can the Demonic Lords act themselves? The Patrolling Envoys won't bother with so much talk; they only need to prevent anything forbidden by Heavenly Dao from happening, regardless of their personal stance.

Although Patrolling Envoys are drawn from various Dao Orthodoxy, they still maintain this basic integrity.

Or rather… only those who are not emotionally swayed will be selected as Patrolling Envoys.

It should be known that Patrolling Envoys have many benefits.

The greatest benefit is that they can directly receive the will of the Heavenly Dao of the world.

That's right, it's the Heavenly Dao of the world, not Haotian.

These two are completely different.

If Haotian were to be described… his scope encompasses the entire Universe, not just the world, so the world is actually rarely observed by Haotian.

Although the world is powerful, it is still too small; the outer regions are the truly vast places, and to Haotian, every life is the same.

“The Demonic Dao is leading sentient beings to become demons, and we are suppressing the demonic thoughts,” Jing Wuzhen said. “Although it involves the Fourth Grade, it will not cause additional consequences.”

“Hmm… there won’t be any battles above the Fourth Grade, right?” one Patrolling Angel said.

Hearing this, Jing Wuzhen swept her gaze over the three Patrolling Envoys before her.

One old man, who looked like he was from the Dao sect, with an immortal demeanor, a true Human Race of the world, smiling, seemed to have no hostility.

Another was a demon beast, who seemed to be a bird demon… a Roc? He had a righteous expression, and he was the one asking the question.

And a True Dragon, with a bored expression, seemingly dragged there by duty.

“I can’t guarantee it. We are currently encircling and suppressing a Demonic Lord, and this is one of the Demonic Lord’s methods,” Jing Wuzhen said. “Strictly speaking, this already counts as a battle.”

“I don’t care how you fight, whether you use the hearts of the people below, or the mutual cleansing of demonic thoughts, even if everyone below dies, do not involve direct Fourth Grade combat. Can you do that?” the Roc said.

“I can’t guarantee it, but we will try our best,” Jing Wuzhen said.

“I don’t want ‘try our best,’ I want ‘definitely.’ If you can’t do it, we will intervene. Every Fourth Grade battle is a harm to the world; you should understand this principle,” the Roc said sternly.

He seemed impolite, but everything he said was an irrefutable truth.

Fourth Grade battles are harmful to the world; for example, the battle between Li Qi and Qiu Zhi killed all the Earth Spirits within two thousand li of Baiyue.

This would invite Heavenly Punishment; if not for the Human Race’s strong suppression of the Heavenly Dao of the world, Qiu Zhi should have already been arrested.

“Fourth Grade battles are harmful to the world, so are the sentient beings below not?” Jing Wuzhen asked.

“No,” the Roc replied.

Then, he continued, “Mortals are born and die at will; life and death are merely the ebb and flow of the ocean. To damage the world itself for their sake is simply to put the cart before the horse.”

How to put it, Jing Wuzhen actually understood this principle.

It’s like plankton in the ocean.

Every minute, every second, a large number of plankton are born, die, or are swallowed by a whale in a single gulp, tens of trillions at once.

But as long as the ocean itself is fine, these plankton will quickly reappear.

However, damaging the world itself is like harming the ocean itself. A Fourth Grade battle is like an oil spill, enough to kill everything in the surrounding area, turning that area into a dead sea.

Compared to the ocean, the survival of plankton is truly insignificant.

“They are not plankton,” Jing Wuzhen said at this point, then looked down, “If you must say, they are… hope, the future, unborn fetuses.”

Jing Wuzhen couldn’t help but recall many years ago, when she was only in the Ninth Grade.

At that time, she had an extraordinary encounter—

She had once met a Heavenly God!

That was a true Heavenly God, not a Mortal who claimed to be a god.

She was born in a Third Grade world, a colonial world of the world. The indigenous people had been wiped out by the Human Race, and even the world’s master was killed.

Of course, that was many, many years ago. When Jing Wuzhen was actually born, it was already the Human Race.

She was born as a member of the Human Race, and from a young age, she received the education of the Human Race. Speaking of which, she was also a noble and serious young person when she was little.

Of course, she still looks very serious now.

However, during a ‘pacification’ process targeting an outer world, the Human Race was intercepted by a Heavenly God.

Jing Wuzhen died in that battle.

However, she didn’t truly die. After the war ended, that ‘Heavenly God’ ‘resurrected’ everyone.

Including all those who died from the Human Race, all were resurrected, without any omissions.

Jing Wuzhen was curious as to why, so she mustered her courage and personally asked the Heavenly God.

This truly took… a lot of courage. A Ninth Grade Mortal, under pressure, spoke to a Heavenly God who was at least Third Grade.

But the Heavenly God answered Jing Wuzhen’s question in detail.

Jing Wuzhen then had a new question. She asked, “Why do you answer me, Senior? Am I a special existence?”

The Heavenly God replied that she was not special at all; it was simply that the Heavenly God treated all life equally, including the Human Race and the worlds occupied by the Human Race.

That’s why he intervened to stop all of it, but then brought everyone back to life afterwards.

Jing Wuzhen couldn’t understand this approach, but she also had doubts about her own survival.

She proposed that she wanted to follow the other party, to see his answer.

The Heavenly God refused.

But Jing Wuzhen at that time was Human Race; humans do not yield to difficulties. They are always full of confidence in challenging natural forces.

So, she actively embarked on the ‘Dao-seeking’ path.

In this process, she gradually began to understand why the Heavenly God did this.

Because… the Heavenly God was aligning with ‘Haotian.’

And Jing Wuzhen also gradually became aware of ‘Haotian’ and was deeply moved by his gentleness.

She still remembers to this day, when she realized what Haotian had done, she cried loudly in shock and sorrow, the usually serious female warrior seemed to have turned into a child.

But in reality, it was so.

To Haotian, all things in this Universe are like children.

Haotian is selfless, and it is precisely because of his existence that this Universe has become what it is today.

In fact, Haotian may be the first First Grade in the entire Universe, and also the first naturally born First Grade. He is almost as ancient as the Universe itself.

In other words… if Haotian didn’t nod, no life would have been born in this Universe.

However, Haotian not only allowed the Universe to be born but also personally nurtured the first batch of ‘Heavenly Gods’ who appeared after him.

A First Grade can manipulate time. If Haotian wanted to, he could make all these subsequent Heavenly Gods into whatever he desired, but in reality, he did not.

He merely gazed at them gently.

The first batch of ‘Heavenly Gods’ created many things, and these things gave birth to various races and lives.

And towards these Acquired lives, Haotian showed no favoritism, still treating all things equally, even things beyond life.

A stone, a person, a river, an animal—all these things seemed equal in Haotian’s eyes.

Then, cultivation was born, as was the pursuit of Dao, and even the method to ascend to First Grade.

All of this happened under Haotian’s gaze. He gently watched it all unfold, without any obstruction.

It can be said that if Haotian did not nod, then in ancient times, no cultivator in the world would have been able to ascend to First Grade.

As the only First Grade at the time, Haotian possessed absolute power, suppressing everyone else except himself, ensuring only he could become First Grade.

This way, he could gain eternal hegemony and permanently possess this world.

But he did not do so; instead, he gladly accepted the second First Grade.

Then came the third, the fourth, and so on, until now.

Hao, meaning vast and boundless, as in ‘Haotian Wuji,’ refers to the endlessness of Haotian.

What a vast capacity this is.

Even when facing others breaking through to First Grade, he made no moves, allowing other First Grade to appear, thereby depriving him of his authority, yet he could completely tolerate it.

It should be known that even if other First Grade didn’t have that idea, as long as a second First Grade appeared, Haotian’s control over reality would change from ‘absolute’ to ‘relative.’

Thus, the second First Grade of this Universe, ‘Taiyi,’ also appeared.

‘Taiyi’ is not one of the First Gods; he is the ‘Lord of Star Officials,’ meaning an Acquired Heavenly God. After Haotian led the First Gods in constructing the entire Universe, he actually got a head start, and as an Acquired God, he became First Grade before the First Gods.

With the appearance of Taiyi, the Divine Path also reached its peak.

Next came the Four Symbols; although the Four Symbols themselves are not First Grade, when they combine forces, they can reach the level of First Grade.

Then came the Five Elements Masters.

Wood Master Jumang, Fire Master Zhu Rong, Metal Master Rushou, Water Master Xuanming, and Earth Master Houtu are also existences almost on par with the Four Symbols.

Using the Four Symbols and the Five Elements Masters as raw Materials, with the Five Elements Qi as the foundation, the ‘Reality Universe’ with the Four Symbols operating as its laws gradually began to take shape.

Later, led by Houtu, the ‘Underworld’ was born, almost identical to the Reality Universe.

Various Dao Orthodoxy later established forces in the Underworld as well, now visible as ‘Underworld,’ ‘Six Paths of Reincarnation,’ and ‘Hell.’

This Universe gradually developed into its current state.

It can be said that the current world, thriving and with myriad Dao Orthodoxy competing, is inseparable from Haotian’s gentleness.

Even for Haotian, this was something that completely harmed himself, and it was also meaningless.

After Haotian’s birth, the world itself was illusory.

Because, in that period, the entire Universe, only Haotian possessed reality. As a naturally born First Grade, only he was real; all other existences were illusory and could be easily erased by Haotian.

But Haotian never erased anything. He treated all illusions as real, watching them grow. Eventually, unique flowers bloomed from the illusions.

Even if Haotian was no longer special because of this, he still watched it all.

To this day, in Haotian’s eyes, those high and mighty First Grade and the illusory sentient beings below probably have no difference.

Among the Heavenly Gods, those who followed Haotian mostly shared this attitude.

After understanding a great deal, Jing Wuzhen eventually also left the Human Race. Although according to the Human Race’s classification, she was still considered a ‘human,’ she was no longer of the same Dao. However, she did not turn to the Divine Path but chose ‘Martial Dao.’

The influence of the Human Race still existed, and she found it difficult to accept the Heavenly Gods’ complete impartiality.

Ultimately, limited by her own moral sense, her Martial Dao Divine Intent transformed into two swords, ‘Sanction’ and ‘Punishment,’ to maintain the state between illusion and reality, and also to protect the proper living environment for Mortals.

Just as Haotian did.

She was also like this.

That’s why she would act against the Demonic Dao and also against the True Dragons, because the Demonic Dao and the True Dragons are the two Dao Orthodoxy that care the least about Mortal lives.

Amidst her recollections, unknowingly, her Martial Dao Divine Intent behind her had already unfolded.

“Hmph… those words, and your actions, you want to force a fight, are you really that eager? For the sake of Mortals, one against three, and didn’t you say there’s also a Demonic Lord? This isn’t just one against three; you’ll have to fight many people,” the Roc spread its wings and let out a threatening low growl.

“In this world, there is no distinction of Mortal. You and I are both part of the world, and our lives, and the lives of so-called Mortals, are actually equally important,” Jing Wuzhen said, gripping the two swords.

“Since we can’t agree on this, are there any other options left? Between you and me, there is a Dao dispute.”

Jing Wuzhen said so.

“Mm-hmm, you’re right. Then, please, Heavenly Dao, isolate this place to avoid additional damage,” the Roc said to the sky.

The surroundings were indeed isolated; the Heavenly Dao responded. This was a Patrolling Angel’s authority.

“By the way, any last words?” the Roc asked.

“Last words? Oh, right, if you have a chance to walk out of here alive, tell Li Qi that his constant deadpan expression is annoying. He should think more about happy things. This Dao-seeking path, though full of thorns, is actually quite interesting.”