Laozi reached enlightenment. The Heavenly Secret was laid bare before his mind; he finally knew exactly how to Achieve Sainthood (achieve sainthood).
"It has come to this, after all."
The thought flashed briefly, but he did not dwell on it. He knew his path to power was tied to the Human Race. He would establish the Human Sect (Ren Jiao) and undertake the duty of civilizing humanity. And the boy standing before him—born of the Ziwei Star with the natural aura of an emperor—was destined to be his first Disciple.
Young Zi Wei, however, looked at the elderly man and shook his head. His expression was firm, even stubborn.
"I am not willing to take you as my master," the boy declared.
At this stage, Zi Wei had not yet experienced his Awakening, but his instincts told him to be wary. He felt this old man carried a belly full of schemes and likely had some ulterior motive for approaching him.
"Not willing?" Laozi was momentarily stunned. Given his status, if word got out that he was seeking a disciple, the line of hopefuls would stretch from here to Mount Buzhou. Yet, he didn't feel the slightest bit of anger; instead, his admiration for the boy grew. The rejection only made the youth seem more exceptional.
"Young man, I will give you some time to consider. There is no need to answer me immediately."
Laozi spoke with a calm smile. He didn't reveal his true identity. Instead, he planned to become a Saint first—letting the universe itself announce his worth. Once that happened, the boy would surely seek him out of his own accord. As the Orthodox Lineage of Pangu, he didn't need to humble himself further to recruit a mere human.
With a slight shimmer of his silhouette, Laozi vanished.
In the next heartbeat, the deep sky above the Human Clan's lands began to roar. A terrifying, nameless pressure began to surge like a rising tide. Laozi's eyes were like ancient wells, still and profound, as Yin and Yang energies swirled within them to manifest the Taiji Diagram (taiji diagram). He let out a shout that echoed through the heavens and earth.
"I, Taiqing Laozi, seeing the frailty of the Human Race, desire to spread the Dao among them! I hereby establish the Human Sect to civilize humanity, using the Innate Supreme Treasure, the Taiji Diagram, to suppress its Luck!"
The moment the declaration fell, the Heavenly Dao responded. Thunder rolled across the Great Desolation, and a cascading waterfall of Heavenly Merit (Karma) came pouring down from the void. Under this golden deluge, the Primordial Violet Qi in Laozi's body began to dissolve, fusing seamlessly with his Pangu Creation Karma.
Rumble...
Laozi's realm ascended; his aura exploded in magnitude. A massive golden wheel of Karma manifested behind his head, turning nearly solid in its brilliance. Then, a boundless Saintly Pressure erupted from his body, sweeping across the Honghuang World without limit.
At this moment, every great power in the world froze. Their Divine Souls trembled under the weight of his majesty. This was nothing like the "False Ascension" of the Western Duo from before; this was the real thing. The Heavenly Merit and the Sainthood Aura were authentic, and in fact, Laozi's pressure was even more intense than Nuwa's had been on her wedding day.
"Taiqing Laozi has achieved Sainthood!" "This is the real deal, unlike those two in the West who were just playing around." "We congratulate the Taiqing Saint on his ascension!"
The shouts of countless immortals rang through the clouds, and the entire Great Desolation was thrown into a frenzy. After the disappointment of the Western Duo's failure, Laozi's success felt even more earth-shattering.
Empress Wa Heaven
Nuwa felt Laozi's aura and felt a prickle of displeasure. Although Laozi's ascension was ordained by the Heavenly Dao, the Human Race was her creation. By establishing a sect based on her humans, Laozi was effectively siphoning away a portion of her Luck. It was impossible for her to be truly happy about it.
Western Mount Sumeru
Jieyin and Zhunti felt the pressure, and their faces turned pale.
"Laozi has done it!?" Zhunti's eyes were filled with a mix of horror, envy, and deep-seated bitterness.
"He is the head of the Sanqing, after all. It was inevitable he would walk ahead of us," Jieyin said, though his smile was uglier than a crying face. He was only pretending to be magnanimous; the jealousy in his heart was real.
"Where is our opportunity?" Zhunti asked, his voice filled with unwillingness. He had already abandoned the idea of "creating a race" after the lightning nearly claimed his life.
"Our opportunity..." Jieyin whispered. Just then, the long-dormant Primordial Violet Qi in his soul gave a sudden pulse.
"This..."
Jieyin's expression shifted from gloom to wild ecstasy. It was here. That feeling—the spark of hope.
"Senior Brother, why are you so joyful?" Zhunti asked, trembling with excitement.
Jieyin steadied his breathing, his eyes shining with a rare confidence. "I have reached enlightenment. My ascension is imminent. I shall prove my Dao immediately after Laozi!"
He didn't care if they were behind Laozi; as long as they beat Yuanshi and Tongtian to the finish line, it was enough.
Sun Star
"Laozi is a Saint now. The others will surely follow soon. We have to hurry!"
Inside the Ling Xiao Treasure Hall, Di Jun sensed the pressure and spoke with a grave expression.
"This is the advantage of taking the shortcut," Tai Yi lamented. "The path of Law (Law) must be walked step by step; breaking through is incredibly difficult by comparison." Laozi's path had no bottlenecks—he simply traded Merit for power.
"Difficult or not, we must persevere," Di Jun said. "Once the Sanqing and those two 'hybrid hairs' in the West become Saints, they will surely come looking for trouble. We must reach the Primordial Chaos (Hun Yuan) realm as soon as possible. We cannot let Third Brother fight alone. He cannot handle that many Saints by himself."
Tai Yi nodded heavily, his eyes burning with resolve.
Pangu Temple
The Ancestral Witches were completely shaken. They hadn't forgotten their blood-grudge with the Sanqing, but they had been so preoccupied with the Yao Race that they had momentarily let their guard down. Laozi's ascension felt like a heavy slap to the face, waking them up to a terrifying reality.
"Big Brother, what do we do?" Zhu Rong asked. For once, the hot-headed God of Fire looked truly afraid. Nuwa's shadow was still looming over them, and now there was a second Saint to worry about.
"A disaster! A total disaster! Heaven wants to exterminate the Pangu bloodline!" Gonggong roared in a mix of fury and despair.
"Everyone, calm down!" Di Jiang slammed his hand down, standing up with a dark expression. He was panicked inside, but as the leader, he couldn't show it. "There may still be a turn of events! We haven't lost yet!"