Chapter 77: The Great Way of the Bloody Sea, Difficulty in Calming the Heart of the Posterior Earth
Speaking of the great events in the vast wilderness, after Zhou Cheng's second ascension to Kunlun to discuss the Tao, there was another hundred-year war between the three tribes. When Zhou Cheng returned to Qingqiu Mountain, 300 years had quietly passed.
This time, the three tribes fought fiercely, even if Zhou Cheng was a saint, he felt extremely shocked and the killing was not inferior to the Witch War. As for what Zhou Cheng said, the outcome of the war was also a mixed bag.
The war between the three tribes escalated from simple slaughter to a desperate struggle for survival, with the witch and demon tribes fighting fiercely over the human tribe. The humans were almost wiped out or captured. The saint intervened, ending the hundred-year calamity of the human tribe, but its impact was extremely far-reaching.
Gains and losses are just a matter of numbers, standing at the foot of Qingqiu Mountain, Zhou Cheng couldn't help but sigh quietly.
The Three Clans' Rebellion, under the circumstances of him blocking the heavenly machine for a hundred years, ultimately pulled in Zhōu Yuánzǐ, Xī Fāng Jiào's two people and several other saints, greatly reducing the luck of the Wū Yāo two clans. It seems that the future war between the Wū Yāo will definitely have even more brutal struggles. The battle at Wǔ Zhuāng Guān was a bit heavy-handed, losing face for Lǎo Zi, and also strained his relationship with Nǚ Wā. However, Zhōu Chéng did not regret it in the slightest. At least he conveyed a very clear message to Hóng Huāng's many powerful gods: I, Zhōu Chéng, can be low-key, can ignore your struggles for the Dao and luck, can ignore your despicable and base behavior, but you absolutely cannot provoke me, absolutely cannot shake the foundation of humanity. Otherwise, don't blame me for smashing you to death.
Although Zhou Cheng only had a few decades of human life experience, compared to the billions of years of dry cultivation after his rebirth, that kind of life with blood and flesh, with sorrow and joy, with love and hate was truly too precious. It was precisely this that made him more deeply understand the hardships and helplessness of humanity in the face of nature, in the face of powerful forces, and in the face of disasters. Zhou Cheng, who had become a Mixed Yuan Saint, had one thing that was most precious compared to other saints - he had once been an ordinary person. From simplicity to complexity, from tiny ants to giant ants, this experience was the richest and most colorful, and also the most subtle place where the Great Way evolved. Zhou Cheng himself had jumped out of the three realms and was no longer in the five elements, but the rest of humanity did not have the power, did not have a backer, and were truly like tiny ants. In today's Hongyuan, whether it was witches or demons, whenever they encountered humans, they could humiliate them at will, and the Heavenly Way would not intervene - was there really no one who could stop this? Was humanity destined to be slaughtered in such a way?
No, it's absolutely not like that. Standing at the foot of Qingqiu Mountain, Zhou Cheng recalled the feeling of his previous life's home, and his heart was unexpectedly clear and more determined than ever before.
Heaven is not benevolent, sages are not affectionate, and I, Zhou Cheng, am also not affectionate? No.
His love for the human race is absolutely different from Nüwa's condescending pity for the demon tribe, nor is it a saintly playfulness to find joy in teasing. It is a kind of sympathy that can be felt deeply, a concern like brothers and sisters. For the sake of humanity, Zhou Cheng can give up everything.
Why can't someone stand up and speak for humanity? Why must humans be treated like ants? Why do saints have to rely on playing with the lives of sentient beings to pass through countless kalpas?
Although Hong Jun appeared to protect the Heavenly Way, rebuking him for not being allowed to use the Pangu Sword that once truly opened the sky and is now enough to defy heaven at will, he didn't put it in his heart at all.
When Pangu Sword is truly used, there are only two situations. One is that someone has come to kill him, and ordinary people can't handle it, but if a saint comes together to kill him, he probably can't help but use it, after all, self-preservation is also the way of saints; The second is that someone wants to exterminate the human race, so sorry, even if it means going against heaven, he has to get rid of that guy, what's there to fear about going against heaven, even if it means fighting until the void breaks and the world returns to chaos, all will be destroyed, but he must prove that Zhou Cheng's way is correct, his idea of protecting the human race is correct. The rest of the saints' ways are self-preservation, never changing, but Zhou Cheng's way is different, the mechanism of becoming a saint is to protect this human race, and the place where the great Tao cares about is also as Pangu said, protecting all living beings. This is also why when he fully protects the human race, he has never exterminated the witches and demons. It's just that relationships have intimacy and distance, love and hate have lightness and heaviness, and he chooses to protect the human race.
Looking at the green hills, the descendants of Menzhong planted their favorite lush cypresses and junipers all over the mountain. When the mountain wind blows, it is the sound of pines that never ceases to reach the ears. Under the pull of the great Tao, Zhou Cheng was moved, thinking a lot, in an instant, as if thousands of years had passed leisurely.
The way is actually right in front of you at the moment you turn around.
Zhou Cheng finally set his sights on the ultimate goal of the Great Way: to live a good life, protect humanity, and incidentally rob those great thief saints.
This time, the enlightenment of the Saint Realm was extremely rare. Although his cultivation had not increased, it made Zhou Cheng feel that since the beginning of time, he had never been so eager and idealistic before. He couldn't help but sing out loud:
The way of the mind is clear and the will is high
Infinite kalpas have a way period
Alas, the sky is overcast and does not reveal its clear face
Misty and hazy view of Qingqiu
After finishing his poem, Zhou Cheng was in a rare good mood and decided to cultivate quietly without disturbing anyone. He slowly walked up the mountain on foot. The vast Qing Hill Mountain Range seemed to be hiding many powerful auras, probably with many Golden Immortal cultivators hiding in their caves to practice.
The numerous disasters of the Flood did not affect this Qing Hill at all. Looking around, it is still a vast expanse of peaks and ridges, majestic and steep. Some mountains are like swords thrust into the sea of clouds, while others have precipices as straight as walls, making it difficult for birds to perch. When the gentle breeze passes by, the mountain waves surge again and again, seeming to express joy, anger, happiness, and sadness, all mixed together. There are also flying cliffs with inverted waterfalls, which appear crystal clear and translucent like jade from a distance.
Nine heavens fly down the green jade belt, the green hills are like a bi-colored jade hairpin. Zhou Cheng's heart is clear and bright, but the natural scenery of Qingqiu Mountain is even more touching to him. He picks up his pace and finally reaches the top of Qingqiu Mountain, where he takes in all the sights with one glance, and suddenly everything becomes clear.
Shi Zhong accompanied Zhu Yu to the shores of Qingping Lake, where she had returned to her true form. He built a hut made of grass and stayed there day and night, guarding her. During the day, he practiced meditation and recited the Huangting Jing; at night, he fetched clear water from Qingping Lake to water the green bamboo that Zhu Yu had transformed into, fearing that she would suffer without the nourishment of rain and dew. Although he was still friendly with others during the day, except when he went to Qingqiu Mountain every month to burn incense and worship Zhou Cheng, he never left Qingping Lake. What a devoted lover, but later on, there will be more to consider, thought Zhou Cheng to himself.
Kong Xuan was still infatuated with his cultivation, day and night, offering sacrifices to the five-colored divine light behind him. With the help of the spiritual energy of Qingqiu Mountain and the great creation of the Chaos Scripture, he had already achieved great success in his five-colored cultivation, far surpassing the progress of a lone cultivator in later generations.
Bai Meng and Bai Lu were frantically searching for Bai Yun all over the mountains, fearing that he had slipped away. That little scamp Bai Yun was indeed mischievous, unexpectedly mastering the skin-changing technique from Zhou Cheng's Hunyuan chapter. At this moment, he was sitting on the dragon throne in the Longwang Temple of Qingping Lake, clinking cups with Huang Jing and drinking merrily. In three hundred years, Bai Yun's appearance as a young child had hardly changed, holding a wine cup and drinking, making Zhou Cheng wonder if Huang Jing was abducting children. However, seeing Huang Jing's bitter smile on the dragon throne alongside Bai Yun, Zhou Cheng couldn't help but burst out laughing.
"You all come with me to see Xie Yu Xuan!" Zhou Cheng took a step forward and went straight into Xie Yu Xuan's place.
After Zhou Cheng returned to the mountain, another hundred years passed before Hou Tu discussed the Blood Sea, and the Nether River retracted its hand, causing the Blood Sea to temporarily return to calm.
Houtu tribe, in the ancestral temple of Houtu, Houtu himself was wandering in the vast expanse of the universe. At this time, it had been a hundred years since he debated with Xuehai. After returning from Xuehai, Houtu always felt that his heart could not calm down, so he closed his door to contemplate and understand the Tao, wanting to understand what was holding him back. A hundred years have passed, but unfortunately, the time has not yet come, and there is nothing to gain.
"Huh?!" The Empress of the Earth suddenly opened her beautiful eyes, which shone with regret and puzzlement.
"It's all the same; what is destined to happen will still happen."
He let out a soft sigh and entered the treasury to retrieve the Heaven and Earth Mysterious Yellow Luminous Pagoda, then headed straight for the Nine Underworlds Blood Sea.
(Today, I've written to this point and feel deeply moved. Even if there's a chance in the future, I swear not to become a god, but remain everyone's brother, discussing my clumsy works with everyone, laughing and joking together, living a carefree life. I'm not ashamed to say that my goal is to be the first ordinary writer!)
