Xiuxian: I studied abroad in modern times

Chapter 594 Identity Exposed, Merit Awarded

Zheng Fa stood in the void, his entire body enveloped in merits that seemed to be tangible.

He felt conflicted. The tactile sensation on his skin told him that he was surrounded by a warm, open sea, yet his mind was clear, cool, and refreshed. His thoughts raced, and various ideas surfaced in his mind:

The Three Powers...

Creating humans...

Dao Fruit...

The difference between Primordial Techniques and Profound Subtle Techniques...

One question after another, one answer after another, appeared in turn, turning his mind into a complete mess.

Nuwa's voice rang in his mind: "The so-called rituals are actually connected to the three realms. The human race was absent before, and even we could hardly understand them."

Yes.

With the great supernatural powers of Nuwa and others, even if they had never seen how one could ascend from mortal to immortal, they would not be completely clueless.

According to Nuwa, their previous doubts stemmed from a lack of understanding of something—humans!

This is similar to being unable to solve a problem without the necessary conditions; without human beings, Nuwa and the others would naturally find it difficult to understand the function of rituals.

When the human race appeared in the world, Nuwa became a saint and gained a deeper understanding of the Dao. Naturally, she immediately understood the essence of the Dao in later generations.

"Rituals originated from the human race, and the most crucial aspect is that they are performed from the inside out."

Nuwa said something somewhat ambiguous, then fell silent, seemingly wanting Zheng Fa to understand it himself.

As if thunder had struck Zheng Fa's heart, it jolted him awake from his hazy slumber, and he finally understood what the Dao Fruit was.

From the moment they begin cultivating immortality, cultivators have been drawing upon the heavens and earth, absorbing spiritual energy and materials from the outside in.

It's like a plant absorbing nutrients during its growth period.

But now, Zheng Fa is about to bear fruit!
For cultivators themselves, the pursuit at this moment is "oneness"!
The Dharma body, the Yang spirit, and the Dharma treasure are combined into one, forming a Dao fruit that encompasses his entire life's cultivation experience.

But to the outside world, this Dao Fruit is like a seed!
He wants to be in harmony with Heaven, Earth, and Man, to spread his Taoist teachings, his beliefs, and his expectations, so that Heaven and Earth can witness and the people can recognize them.

Zheng Fa opened his sea of ​​consciousness, his Yang spirit, and his Jade Tablet of Creation, without any concealment, allowing all living beings in heaven and earth to see his inside and out.

Merit flowed like water into his limbs and bones, making his whole body glow with gold.

"He is not a stone that cannot be taken back!"

The moment Zheng Fa revealed all that he had to himself to all living beings in heaven and earth, the "Transformation of the Heavenly Gang and Earthly Fiends" naturally could not be maintained.

In the eyes of the Daoist of Creation, Shi Nandang's figure seemed to have had his disguise washed away by the seawater in the Sea of ​​Merit.

What appeared before them was an unfamiliar, young face.

Another question arose in the mind of the Creator Daoist—who is he?

"Zheng Fa!"

The Gu God and the Golden-Winged Roc shouted at the same time, their voices filled with the same hatred.

The Gu God remembered his Qiankun Cauldron.

The Golden-Winged Roc also couldn't forget about its Yin-Yang Two Qi Bottle.

The two looked at each other and suddenly felt a connection between their hearts.

"Is he Zheng Fa?" the Daoist of Creation asked in surprise. "How did he get in?"

The White Bone Demon Ancestor gently shook his head: "His transformation technique... I'm afraid it wasn't learned from me."

Now they understand perfectly well that the person who appeared in the Nine Heavens from the very beginning was Zheng Fa!
Bai Lian stared at Zheng Fa's somewhat unfamiliar face, as if trying to memorize him. After a long while, she said, "Among the current Dao-proving Loose Immortals, the one most likely to obtain the Primordial Purple Qi is... Zheng Fa?"

No one spoke; they all thought it was outrageous.

Which of them hadn't been prepared for the Nine Heavens long ago? Yet now, an outsider like Zheng Fa has beaten them to it!
Bai Lian's words were squeezed out from between her teeth, like a chilly breeze:

"The person who drove Haori Mountain to the brink of despair?"

"This is the person who stole your Qiankun Cauldron, Gu Shen, and the Erqi Bottle from Dapeng?"

"This person who has ruined Master's grand plans time and time again?"

He turned to look at the silent Zaohua and the others: "Are we just going to sit idly by and do nothing?"

The Daoist of Creation asked, "What do you intend to do?"

"Stop him from attaining enlightenment!" Bai Lian said decisively. "Leaving aside the Primordial Purple Qi, this person's strength far surpasses others in the same realm. If he becomes a Loose Immortal, his power will be extraordinary!"

That makes sense, the problem is...

"How can we stop them?"

Bai Lian turned her head again and stared at the Gu God: "That depends on you, Fellow Daoist Gu God!"

The Gu God was slightly taken aback, then realized: "Silkworm, Painted Skin Moth? You knew all along?"

Not only Bai Lian, but even the Daoist of Creation had a calm expression.

The Gu God looked around, then at Zheng Fa, before finally scoffing, "I've gone to great lengths, only to be put on a foolish show for you?"

"All the scheming and infighting we did before was trivial," Bai Lian said softly. "If Shi Nandang takes the Primordial Purple Qi, it won't harm Master or us. But if Zheng Fa takes it... we will never be able to explain ourselves!"

The Gu God looked very dissatisfied: "I'm the only one making a move, and you're all just watching?"

The Creation said, "This place is not suitable for fighting; it is most suitable for your methods, God of Gu."

The Gu God snorted, "If it were before, I would have believed you were helpless, but now do you still think I'm a fool!"

After a moment of silence, Zaohua said in a low voice, "He has the Goddess Nuwa by his side."

Even Bai Lian looked like she had a toothache.

He wasn't without other ways to interfere with Zheng Fazheng's enlightenment, but there was one problem—those six great powers were still around!
Given the attitude of those six people towards Zheng Fa just now, if they were to act rashly, who knows what terrifying things they might encounter!
The Gu God understood, and his tone became even angrier: "You're afraid, but do you think I'm not?"

“Fellow Daoist Gu Shen, you don’t need to act now. Just interfere secretly when he is going through the most difficult time of his tribulation, and you will be able to ruin his path.” Bai Lian explained in detail, “We have all become Loose Immortals, so we naturally know how difficult it is.”

The Daoist of Creation nodded and said, "The Tribulation of a Loose Immortal consists of three tribulations: Heaven, Earth, and Man. If any one of these tribulations goes wrong, the person will die and their Dao will dissipate."

The God of Gu was still somewhat hesitant.

Others could also see that she was afraid of retaliation from Nuwa and the others for hindering Zheng Fa's tribulation.

Bai Lian explained, "I also learned about Fellow Daoist Gu Shen's supernatural powers from my master. It seems that even after entering the Nine Luminaries Heaven, you have left behind a means of resurrection in the outside world. Even if something happens to you in the Nine Luminaries Heaven, you will not truly die or perish."

The God of Gu continued to sneer, still unwilling to agree.

"I assure you, if you succeed, the entire Leiyin Temple will help you restore your cultivation, and perhaps even advance further," Bai Lian added. "Besides, we are not without our help here."

Everyone was taken aback and looked at Zhunti and the other person. Even the God of Gu's expression was somewhat moved.

Seeing that she was still hesitating, Bai Lian raised her voice a little: "Are you just going to stand by and watch him become a rogue immortal, Gu God?"

"Aren't you going to avenge the theft of the tripod?"

"Fellow Daoist, have you forgotten the hatred of killing your son?"

The Gu God looked up at Zheng Fa and gritted his teeth, saying, "You don't need to provoke me."

Seeing her expression, Bai Lian smiled gently and said nothing more, but also looked up at the sky.

In the sky, Zheng Fa's sermon finally began.

At this moment, he understood that the so-called ritual was actually a vow of faith. "Heaven and earth bear witness, and all the sages are aware of it."

“I, Zheng Fa, am a descendant of the human race. I inherited the legacy of the ancient sages, gathered the wisdom of all living beings, forged the jade tablets, and created the Yellow Court Classic.”

"Today, my practice has been completed, and I have attained the fruit of enlightenment!"

Within the Qiankun Cauldron, smoke and clouds surged like dragons, soaring straight into the sky.

The six Nuwas, who possessed the power to dominate the primordial world, stood silently to the side, seemingly content to play a supporting role, leaving the attention of all living beings in the world to Zheng Fa.

The thousands of newly born humans remained kneeling on the ground, yet they couldn't help but raise their heads to look at this strange yet familiar kin.

The Sea of ​​Merit in the sky was surging with angry waves, as if muffled thunder was rumbling.

"My way is threefold: first, people; second, the masses; and third, innovation."

"Humanity prospers!"

"The many overcome the few!"

"The new is better than the past!"

Today, in Zheng Fa's understanding, the significance of the Nine Luminaries Heaven is actually only one:
To let future generations understand the significance of the human race.

Cultivating immortality is essentially a process of individual empowerment, but the path to immortality for humans is not like that—compared to the myriad races of the primordial world, the advantages of humans are their own wisdom and their cooperation and communication with each other.

The test that Goddess Nuwa was referring to, the two words she asked him to do earlier, were essentially meant to make him remember this matter.

He looked towards the goddess Nuwa and saw her smiling slightly at him, seemingly with some relief.

Even many things that were previously unclear have now been explained:
For example, why are there such big differences between ancient and modern methods of cultivating immortality?
The biggest reason is still the human race.

When Hongjun preached, the human race had not yet been born, and those cultivation methods were completely unsuitable for human cultivation.

In fact, Tongtian had never heard of any cultivator before becoming a Loose Immortal.

Therefore, the methods used in later generations were actually modified specifically for the human race.

First, it supplemented some low-level cultivation methods.

Secondly, some of the essence of Hongjun's teachings were combined into the cultivation methods of the human race.

Simply put, a set of cultivation methods suitable for the human race was developed based on the Taoist teachings transmitted by Hongjun.

Even now, when Zheng Fa looks back at those ancient legends, especially the so-called founding of religions by the Supreme Beings, he always feels that what they were actually doing was this:
Improve the Taoist methods to make them suitable for the human race.

In this way, the Daoist arts can grow and reproduce by using the human race as a vessel.

It is precisely because of this that they are able to gain merit, just like the goddess Nuwa.

After saying those three sentences, Zheng Fa felt as if his spirit had become one with the world, especially with the newly born human race.

Although these people hadn't even learned the language yet, they seemed to understand what Zheng Fa was saying, and they danced with joy.

He looked at these humans, his tone very soft:
"My path has two great aspirations!"

"My wish is for humanity to carry on this legacy and integrate all laws."

"My second wish is for humanity to overcome all obstacles and usher in a new era."

These bewildered and confused newborn humans seemed to truly understand his words. They slowly stood up, their feet firmly planted on the ground, heads held high, looking up at him.

Meanwhile, outside Kunlun Mountain, from all directions, from the highest heavens to the deepest hells, wails and cries rang out incessantly.

There were the roars of dragons, the cries of phoenixes, and countless mythical beasts crying and wailing, as if they had witnessed the end of the world.

The Wu and Yao races, who had previously fought for the position of overlords of heaven and earth, are now crying out in extreme misery and resentment.

For all the races of the primordial world, the birth of the human race was not a good thing, especially when Zheng Fa proclaimed the way of the human race to heaven and earth. In the darkness, they indeed understood their own situation.

Not every race is willing to be a supporting character in the world.

No one is willing to become a so-called sage, serving as nourishment for the development of other races.

Blood rained down outside the mountains, the sky was a vast expanse of white, and in a daze, an era came to an end amidst the interplay of red and white.

The Daoist of Creation watched this scene in silence for an unknown period of time before speaking in a hoarse voice, "When you attained enlightenment, did you have such a grand spectacle? Did all the races weep?"

Everyone remained silent; clearly, they had never seen anything like this before.

"What does he want to do? The Dao Ancestor of the human race?! How is that possible!" The Golden-Winged Roc said coldly, "I have never seen such an arrogant oath of Dao fruit!"

His expression was even more unpleasant than others, after all, he was not human and was particularly sensitive to Zheng Fa's thoughts.

“No, how can such a Dao fruit based on this concept gain the recognition of all living beings in heaven and earth?” Bai Lian frowned. “This kind of Dao fruit, which concerns the entire human race, requires an audience of hundreds of millions.”

"This kind of Dao Fruit requires the approval of the human race in all the heavens and myriad worlds!"

These words stunned everyone, and then they realized that the audience was extremely important to the ritual. Without the audience's recognition, it would be impossible to achieve the Dao!

Therefore, most Dao Fruit cultivators will establish their own forces.

For someone like Zheng Fa, who has extremely high ambitions for attaining enlightenment, the requirements are even higher.

The White Bone Demon Ancestor shook his head and said, "He has absolutely no chance of succeeding! He doesn't even need the Gu God to intervene."

The others nodded in agreement.

They were all enlightened beings and understood this very well.

"If there isn't enough audience to support the Dao Fruit and connect with heaven and earth, then the larger the Dao Fruit, the more empty it becomes!" The White Bone Demon Ancestor sneered. "This person has probably had too many smooth sailing days and lost his mind!"

At that moment, the thousand or so humans involuntarily began to whisper and repeat Zheng Fafang's Dao Fruit oath.

At first, their tone was very awkward and their voices were uneven.

Later, it seemed as if they were not only imitating, but even understood, and their movements became so synchronized that their voices echoed through the valley.

Heaven, earth, and humanity seemed to resonate subtly in these chants.

The aura emanating from Zheng Fa became even more mysterious amidst this vibration.

The smoke from the Qiankun Cauldron enveloped him, making him feel ethereal and as if he had become one with all things.

"The ritual is complete?" The Gu God's eyes widened, and he asked hatefully, "Is this because of the Qiankun Cauldron?"

The Daoist of Creation stared blankly, then looked abruptly at the newly born humans: "Perhaps it is the Qiankun Cauldron, but the most important thing is these humans!"

"...Humans?"

"In later generations, the human race will have flourished, and naturally, a large number of people will be needed to achieve the Dao Fruit." The Daoist of Creation spoke with disbelief. "But at this time and in this place, these people are the entire human race."

"..."

"They acknowledged that the fruit of Zhengfa's path had been achieved."

After hearing the Creator's conjecture, everyone looked at Zheng Fa and Nuwa with increasing irritation.

Zheng Fa's vow to attain the Dao Fruit has indeed been fulfilled, and has even begun to trigger the tribulations of the Loose Immortals:
The tribulation of becoming a Loose Immortal, or rather, the tribulation of attaining Dao Fruit, is different from before—before, it was the tribulation of wind, fire, and thunder, but after becoming a Loose Immortal, it becomes the tribulation of heaven, earth, and man.

According to classic texts such as the "Red Cloud Jade Book" that directly point to the Dao, among the three tribulations, the Heavenly Tribulation is to inquire about one's heart, the Earthly Tribulation is to test one's immortal body, and the Human Tribulation is to determine life and death.

Bai Lian looked at the Gu God, her voice cold, even carrying a hint of fear:
"The greater the vow of Dao Fruit, the stronger the tribulation, and the greater the test of a cultivator's character and Dao techniques." He stared at the Gu God and said, word by word, "This is your chance!"

The Gu God's expression was also very solemn.

"If you can stop him, even if you die here, my master will allow you to attain enlightenment again!"

(End of this chapter)