Chapter Sixteen: Luo Houyi—An Encounter on the Road with Zhunti and Jieyin

Lost in thought for a long time, Hongjun rode his auspicious cloud back along the way to investigate. The more he looked, the heavier his heart became.

"The calamity that befell the western wilderness is partly my responsibility. I fear I will have to repay this debt someday, yet I have no idea how..."

He shook his head and arrived at the site where Rahu had self-destructed, scanning the area with his divine sense. Soon, he gathered the four Swords of Immortal Slaughter and the Immortal Slaughter Array Diagram scattered across the land. However, the God-Slaying Spear was nowhere to be found, no matter how he searched. Even after employing his powers to calculate its whereabouts, all he got was a cloud of uncertainty.

"Strange, where is the God-Slaying Spear? Did Rahu explode together with it?" Hongjun frowned, unable to unravel the matter.

He shook his head and gave up his search, his figure vanishing from sight—he had sensed his opportunity to become a saint and returned to his domain to attempt the breakthrough.

He was unaware that Rahu's self-destruction was merely a diversion; escaping was the true purpose. At the moment of explosion, Rahu's soul quietly merged with the God-Slaying Spear, tearing through the wilderness and flying toward the chaos beyond.

Perhaps when Hongjun attains sainthood, he might be able to deduce the truth, but by then it would be far too late.

...

Li Tian, along with Nuwa and Fuxi, had already fled to a place billions of miles away from Rahu’s explosion, so they were only lightly affected. But even so, they were astounded by the sheer power unleashed.

Looking back, they saw nothing but desolation—there wasn’t a single leaf left. Even at the fringes of the shockwave, no ordinary creatures or plants could withstand it.

This was the southern border of the western continent of the wilderness. Besides Li Tian and his companions, several other innate deities had also escaped here in panic. Now, all of them were drenched in cold sweat, secretly grateful that they were far enough away and had sensed danger early. Otherwise, even as innate deities, they might not have survived.

"So this is Rahu—how terrifying. If he had won, wouldn’t all beings in the wilderness be condemned to live forever in his shadow?" Nuwa said, still shaken.

On their way out, Li Tian had briefly explained Rahu and the demonic path to Nuwa and Fuxi. Thus, neither felt any sympathy for Rahu, and along the way, they worried about Hongjun, fearing he might fail and plunge the wilderness into the demonic path.

Yet Li Tian held a different opinion. The so-called demonic path was merely the supremacy of power. In his previous life, he had read countless fantasy novels depicting worlds where the strong preyed on the weak, even gods raising mortals as livestock... And didn’t many people still live well in those worlds? Besides, in a world of survival of the fittest, the ones who suffer are the weak. Li Tian did not consider himself one of them.

Of course, these were only musings. In the wilderness, the demonic path was destined never to flourish. For "if the demonic path thrives, the law of karma becomes obscure." From the opening of heaven and earth, the Heavenly Dao began recording the karma of all beings. If the demonic path were to prosper, what purpose would karma serve?

---

Shaking his head, Li Tian prepared to leave with Nuwa and Fuxi, but at that moment, two figures approached from the opposite direction.

The leader’s face was troubled, holding a golden pillar—the Supreme Treasure of Merit, the Guiding Banner. The other had an imposing, dignified presence, with his head covered in dense black granules like hair, though their nature was unknown.

With a single glance, Li Tian recognized them as the future Two Saints of the West—Zhunti and Jieyin. These two were peculiar, eschewing the orthodox path of the Celestial Sect to pursue equality among all beings and moral guidance... creating the Western Buddhist sect. Perhaps it was because they were often bullied when weak that they developed such ideals?

"Zhunti and Jieyin greet the three fellow Daoists."

The pair bowed before Li Tian, Nuwa, and Fuxi, for their striking appearance and extraordinary bearing inspired a desire for friendship—and perhaps a chance to spread their doctrine.

"My full title is Supreme Sumeru Emperor of Sublime Dharma, but you may call me Supreme Heaven," Li Tian replied.

"My name is Fuxi."

"I am Nuwa."

Since Li Tian had introduced himself, Nuwa and Fuxi followed suit.

"So it is Supreme Heaven, Fuxi, and Nuwa. My senior brother and I greet you," Zhunti said.

Standing close to Zhunti, Li Tian’s curiosity was piqued by the strange granules on his head. Recalling that future Buddhist statues often had similar ‘bumps,’ he instinctively leaned closer to examine them.

"Supreme Heaven, fellow Daoist?" Zhunti asked, puzzled, touching his head.

Li Tian coughed lightly to cover his embarrassment. "I’m curious about those things on Zhunti’s head; I hope you’ll forgive my lack of manners."

Nuwa and Fuxi looked on curiously as well, but didn’t think much of it. At the dawn of heaven and earth, the forms of beings in the wilderness were often strange and varied, so they assumed these were features left over from Zhunti’s transformation.

---

"My junior brother is the transformed form of one of the ten innate spiritual roots—the Bodhi Tree. The things on his head are Bodhi fruits, remnants he was unwilling to discard when he took human form," Jieyin explained, his face still troubled.

"My senior brother speaks truly," Zhunti replied sheepishly. He then plucked one from his head, and in a flash of red light, the black granule transformed into a palm-sized red fruit. "Fate has brought us together. Since Supreme Heaven is interested, I’ll gift you one."

"Thank you." Li Tian accepted it and immediately stored it in his magical treasure. A Bodhi seed was indeed a fine thing.

The group chatted idly. With Zhunti and Jieyin’s deliberate friendliness, they quickly became acquainted.

"My senior brother and I have witnessed the suffering of all beings and cannot bear it in our hearts. Thus, we travel the world, punishing evil and promoting good, hoping all creatures can live in peace. Would the three of you care to join us?" Zhunti asked.

With the groundwork laid, he spoke naturally, as one deeply moved by the woes of the world. Nuwa and Fuxi couldn’t help but be touched by their lofty ideals. Hearing the invitation, they glanced at Li Tian.

Li Tian couldn’t help but view them with newfound respect. If nothing else, their skill at persuasion was admirable. Had he not known their true character, he might have been lured into their trap.

But since they spoke so righteously, Li Tian didn’t want to refuse and leave a bad impression on Nuwa and Fuxi. After some thought, he nodded and replied, "Gladly."

"Such virtue, fellow Daoists!" Zhunti and Jieyin were overjoyed, bowing once more. Secretly, they began plotting how to convert the three into their sect... though this was doomed to fail.

"Not at all—compared to you two, I am still far behind," Li Tian said with a smile, inwardly scheming.

What should he do? Buddhism shuns women—if I caught two female demons and made them pair up, how would these two react?

Hmm... That’s rather wicked.