Chapter 262 78: One Person Achieves Enlightenment, Chickens and Dogs Ascend to Heaven
"From this day forth, I shall preside over the rewards and punishments of the Human World. To those with merit, I shall grant great rewards. For those with transgressions, I shall enumerate their sins!"
"Now, let the rewards be given!"
Lu Xuan's voice was impassioned as another hundred portions of the Human Dao Trend descended upon his head!
Three hundred portions of the Human Dao Trend, rivaling the Celestial Son of Zhou of old!
The officials and citizens filling East Sea City, as well as the countless people across the world sitting in front of their televisions, all stared blankly at this scene, gazing at the miraculous spectacle.
In a single instant, tens of millions of ordinary civilians took a single step into the Jade Tower realm, their bodies instantly transforming them into Martial Masters at the Marrow Refining Realm!
In the Land of the Far South, a being bathed in shimmering Buddhist light lowered their gaze, sneered, and whispered:
"'Granting Longevity to all under heaven to end strife and war... a decent idea, I suppose. But it's far too naive. So this is the extent of the so-called Ancient Sons.'"
Elsewhere, a being suffused with Dao Rhyme also shook their head:
"'Presiding over the rewards and punishments of the Human World? Such arrogance. Never mind that the Immortals and Buddhas are about to return—even if they weren't, a single Great Virtue from Ancient Times is merely equivalent to the Grand Grade. How dare he make such a boast?'"
The one bathed in Buddhist light and the one suffused with Dao Rhyme glanced at each other and laughed in contempt.
"'Naive.'"
'Forget punishment, just look at the rewards... What will you use to reward them?'
'The universe is a constant sum. If something is added, something else must be taken away. To reward one thing, another must be depleted... In time, great conflict will inevitably arise again!'
'Unless he can create something from nothing, increasing the constant sum of the universe... Does this Lu Zi possess such an ability??'
However, in the next moment.
"Lu Xiuyuan."
Above the Celestial Vault of East Sea City, bearing the searing Human Dao Trend that blazed like a raging fire, Lu Xuan lowered his gaze and proclaimed:
"Lu Xiuyuan, you fought bloody battles on the frontier and did me the kindness of guiding me. I grant you the complete fortune of Creation to restore you to your true self and add nine thousand years to your life!"
As his voice fell, Lu Xuan showered down a vast amount of Divine Essence and Immortal Spiritual Qi. He even activated his Mediation of Creation, this time not to reorganize and reconstruct Postnatal Material, but to directly create Innate Material!
His Essence, Qi, and Spirit plummeted, but at this moment, the Human Dao Trend hung above his head like a canopy, instantly replenishing the immense consumption!
The Innate Material swirled down, followed by three Postnatal Peaches that shone with a vast Immortal Light, all of which landed in Lu Xiuyuan's body and upon his palm!
Everyone stared blankly at this scene. The weaker ones didn't have much of a reaction, but powerful beings like Li Yutong, who understood the preciousness of Innate Material and could feel the terrifying life essence swirling on the Peaches of Immortality, all paled.
Zhu Wuneng, in particular, shivered, his eyes widening as he muttered to himself in a daze:
"A... A Peach of Immortality??"
He sucked in a sharp breath.
Zhu Wuneng was quite knowledgeable and recognized that the technique Venerable Fusheng in the sky was using was likely the legendary Celestial Spirit's First Great Divine Technique: Me-di-a-tion of Cre-a-tion!
Wa Huang used the Mediation of Creation to create the Human Race, and the Primordial One used it to derive all of creation!
Lu Xiuyuan swallowed the three Peaches of Immortality. Nourished by the Innate Material and Divine Essence, his shattered Dao Foundation began to heal, and his aura soared higher and higher!
In one breath, he became a Celestial Human. In the next, an Earth Immortal. In another, he reached the Earth Immortal Level, returning to his peak.
Another breath later, as the Peach of Immortality suffused him and the Innate Material surged, Lu Xuan pointed a finger. A sliver of the Human Dao Trend descended, and Lu Xiuyuan took another step forward. This step took him straight into the True Immortal realm, becoming a venerable of the Ninth Grade.
The aura of a True Immortal blasted through East Sea City and continued to roil outwards until it swept across the entire Langya Province. In front of their televisions, countless people witnessed a dying, half-crippled old man who, in the blink of an eye, had blossomed and become a True Immortal!
'This... is what he calls a reward?'
Even Li Yutong was stunned, his eyes wide, his mind completely shaken.
Lu Xiuyuan bowed.
"Lu Xiuyuan... accepts the reward!"
"Good."
Lu Xuan lowered his gaze again and announced in a clear voice:
"Zheng Shan, former butcher of the shantytown; Li Cheng, former peddler of the shantytown; Chen Dong, former peddler of the shantytown; Wu Datong, former doctor of the shantytown; Wu Xiaoxu, child of the shantytown; residents of the former shantytown..."
"You have shown me kindness and have merit."
"You shall all be rewarded. I bestow upon you three thousand years of life, Cultivation to nourish your bodies, and divine splendor to brighten your souls!"
Following the long list of names, Lu Xuan showered down another stream of Divine Essence. Ninety percent of it fell into the bodies of his former neighbors, while ten percent surged toward Langya City and into the bodies of the Wu Family father and son.
The auras of the shantytown residents, who had only just reached the Marrow Refining Realm, surged once more. Their organs opened, and they became Grandmasters. Then, under the cleansing of the thin Innate Material, their Acupoints opened, elevating them to the rank of Grandmaster!
The group of shantytown neighbors, who had been ordinary people just a moment ago but were now Grandmasters, bowed in unison.
"We... accept the reward!"
Another sliver of the Human Dao Trend blew toward Langya City. A moment later, the aura of a True Immortal once again surged, shaking the entire province.
"Wu Datong accepts the reward!"
Another True Immortal was born!
Li Yutong felt as if he were suffocating. 'This...'
Lu Xuan continued to go through the list of his old acquaintances, and shrouded by the Human Dao Trend, he bestowed upon them one by one Peaches of Immortality, Innate Material, Divine Essence, and even slivers of the Human Dao Trend itself.
Nearing the end, his gaze grew profound.
"Li Xiaosang, you have merit. I grant you Cultivation and reward you with three thousand years of life."
As he spoke, Lu Xuan's eyes shone brilliantly, like two Great Sun Golden Lamps, illuminating Cause and Effect. Following the threads of karma, he threw a Peach of Immortality, Divine Essence, and other items, sending them flying toward a distant city.
"Yan Huang, your Longque Technology is managed with strict discipline, abides by the law, and does not exploit the people. This too is a meritorious deed. I grant you nine thousand years of life. If you are willing to have Longque Technology return the people's livelihood to the people, then in the future, you may be granted the Human Dao Trend to break through your realm and attain Immortality."
He now understood why the heads of several financial groups, despite already being in the Grand Grade, had established their corporations. It wasn't out of a lust for power and influence, but to use the corporations to span across the populace, gather the Human Dao Trend for themselves, and finally use it to break through the Great Grade Realm and take that final step.
Far away in Shengjing, Yan Huang's voice thundered out, crossing hundreds of thousands of miles to echo in the skies above East Sea City, where it was then broadcast into millions of homes through countless cameras.
"Yan Huang accepts the reward!"
"And I am willing to have Longque Technology return the people's livelihood to the people!"
"Good!" Lu Xuan announced, throwing three Peaches of Immortality. He then added, "Within three years, I will forge a great foundation for you and send you into Immortality!"
After speaking, he took a deep breath and recited again:
"There is a woman, Yan Jiangxue."
In Shengjing, Xiaoyan's eyes widened, and she looked on in eager anticipation.
A hint of a smile flashed across Lu Xuan's face, but he immediately followed it with a majestic voice:
"She has merit. I grant her half an Innate Peach of Immortality, adding one hundred and twenty thousand years of life, which is exactly one yuan."
He furiously activated his Mediation of Creation as the Human Dao Trend descended from above his head. With the support of the Trend, Lu Xuan endured the discomfort of his drained Essence, Qi, and Spirit. A complete Innate Peach of Immortality appeared in his hand; half of it fell into his own stomach, and the other half flew toward Shengjing, landing in the young woman's hand.
"Half for you, half for me."
He said with a smile.
"Yan Jiangxue accepts the reward." Xiaoyan's eyes curved into crescents as she smiled.
It was only at this moment that the countless onlookers finally realized and understood: this first round of rewards from Lu Zi... was all for the people close to him.
Zhu Wuneng was practically drooling, muttering to himself:
"'Innate Peach of Immortality... Goddammit, that's an Innate Peach of Immortality...'"
Meanwhile, Li Yutong wore a complex expression. A sudden surge of emotion filled his heart, and he muttered to himself:
"'When one person achieves Enlightenment...'"
He then let out a soft laugh, his eyes shining brightly.
"'The Human Dao Trend is forged. Now we just have to see how he intends to change Heaven and Earth.'"
"'The Immortals and Buddhas are about to return, the financial groups are running rampant, remnants of the Immortals and Buddhas are causing chaos in the East, West, South, and North, and outside the pass, hundreds of millions of the Demon Race are drooling with greed... The Great Sun has set. Can you truly illuminate the mountains and rivers?'"
Lu Xuan seemed to sense something. He lowered his head and looked toward the Speaker who had chosen to gamble on him, sending him the vast Human Dao Trend.
He smiled and spoke softly, yet his voice was like thunder:
"When one attains a small Dao, one blesses the small world around them. When one attains the Great Dao, one blesses all living beings under heaven."
"Though I have not yet achieved the Great Dao, from now on in the Human World, I will mete out punishment, and I will bestow rewards."
"I will punish those who deserve punishment and reward those who deserve reward."
"When I achieve the Great Dao, I will surely bring about World Clarity and create a world of great harmony!"
Lu Xuan spoke clearly, as if making a Grand Aspiration, but in reality, he was merely describing his own Dao—the Dao he sought.
He had four karmic ties: one was Chu Shuangtian, one was Lu Xiuyuan, one was Zheng Shan, and one was Li Xiaosang.
And now, the tribulations of his old acquaintances were all eliminated, and his Karma Tribulation was also eliminated.
In a single step, he ascended to the Sixth Tribulation: the Tribulation of the Self.
In another breath, he understood his true self. What he sought was World Clarity. It was so in the past, it is so now, and it will be so... in the future.
Having understood his true self, he would now break through this tribulation.
In an instant, he passed through two tribulations in a row, becoming a Seven Tribulations Earth Immortal.
At this moment, the myriad people listened intently to his discourse on punishment and reward, to his grand aspiration to bless all living beings, and their hearts surged with emotion.
Then, another five hundred portions of the Human Dao Trend descended upon the young man's head.
Eight hundred portions of the Human Dao Trend gathered around him, his body becoming a magnificent Great Sun. The light grew ever brighter, illuminating the entire Langya Province.
