If you don't give up, I'd like to be your adoptive father.

Chapter 1256 Merits of Heaven and Earth
"So it was the Milky Way whirlpool." Nezha breathed a sigh of relief, then asked, "Can the water flowing back into the Milky Way be completely carried away by the Milky Way whirlpool and sent back to the Milky Way?"

Ao Gui shook his head and said, "The original purpose of the Heavenly River Whirlpool was simply to regulate the water volume of the Great River."

The mediation process can last for several years.

However, a reverse flow of the Milky Way could submerge the entire human world; the difference in scale between the two is enormous.

Nezha asked in surprise, "But the nearby villages, towns, and counties haven't been flooded. The Great Qin Celestial Master is also very confident and has told the people to stay at home!"

Ao Guidao said, "Grand Tutor Yu did more than just temporarily create a batch of Heavenly River Whirlpools."

She also adjusted the underground water veins within a radius of tens of thousands of miles, causing them to draw water from the surface together.

Nezha exclaimed in surprise, "In such a short time, she can change the underground water veins within a radius of tens of thousands of miles?"

Ao Gui said, "Does the Third Prince not know that for the past year, she has been reconstructing the water and earth veins in various counties of Shenzhou?"

She has already seized control of the land.

Now, with just a slight adjustment to the underground water veins, half of China can help Hengshan County release floodwaters.

It's as if all the water veins beneath the earth have become drainage channels.

Nezha said with a complicated expression, "No wonder she was so confident and declared that she would stop the waters of the Milky Way from flooding the human world."

Changjiang Longjun sighed and said, "Grand Tutor Yu is not only incredibly powerful, but also far-sighted."

Now she has only reconstructed the earth's veins and water veins in the southern part of Kyushu.

If you give her another two years, she can organize the entire territory of southern Shandong (east of the Xiaoshan Mountains) and tens of thousands of miles of northern land.

She could almost instantly control the weather in China, bringing either favorable weather or devastating floods and droughts.

This is an overstatement of the importance of Grand Tutor Yu.

If the Heavenly Court were abolished, and the rain god and rain master were no longer in the world, Grand Tutor Yu could indeed control the water volume in various counties and even indirectly affect rainfall by adjusting the underground water veins.

But now the divine way is too advanced, and the Heavenly Court has too much control over the power of rain. Even though the Great Qin Rain Master traveled around and worked hard, he was unable to save this year's disaster, let alone indirectly control rainfall through groundwater.

"However, this is still only a temporary solution. Even if Grand Tutor Yu had a hundred years, she would not be able to truly resolve the disaster of the Milky Way overflowing through the underground water veins."

The Dragon Lord of the Yangtze River looked up at the distant hole in the sky, estimated the rate at which the water volume was increasing, and continued, "With the current drainage capacity of the underground water veins, Hengshan County can only hold out for a maximum of eight hours."

If the hole in the sky is not repaired within eight hours, it will turn the surrounding area into a vast swamp within just half an hour.

In another half hour, the Central Plains will be turned into a swamp. At most a day later, the entire Jambudvipa will sink into the sea.

If the catastrophe is left unchecked, within ten days or half a month, there will be no land left on earth.

The world of Pangu completely transformed into a water world.

—If the Pangu world really becomes a water world, then our dragon race can finally say we've made it through.

Without humanity, the Heavenly Court will perish, and the Immortal Path will collapse. My "Dragon Path" will become the sole ruler of the world.

In that case, it won't be the Heavenly Court absorbing the Dragon Clan, but rather the Dragon Clan turning the tables and absorbing the Heavenly Court's divine path.

Ao Gui muttered to himself, a faint glimmer of expectation appearing in his eyes.

When Gonggong angrily struck Buzhou Mountain, the dragon clan was the happiest of all!
Unfortunately, their joy was short-lived, as the goddess Nuwa patched up the hole in the sky.

Nezha exclaimed in horror, "The calamity of the collapsing heavens is worsening so quickly?!"

"In a day or two at most, China will be submerged. It's simply unbelievable."

The Dragon King of the Yangtze River sighed, "Third Prince, have you ever seen a flood destroy a riverbank? The hole in the sky is the riverbank that is collapsing."

The amount of water in a large river is limited. After the flood discharge, the water flow in the river channel decreases, and the impact force will gradually weaken.

The Milky Way, however, possesses endless water; the more dikes it breaches, the more ferocious the flood becomes.

Just like now, the rainfall an hour ago was less than half the amount it is now.

An hour later, the rainfall will be twice as much again.

Third Prince, you calculate for yourself, how many times will the rainfall increase after eight hours?

Nezha was getting impatient. "It's been almost half a day, why hasn't my second brother returned yet?"

Ao Gui hesitated for a moment, then said, "The Heavenly Emperor just issued a decree, ordering all the Star Lords to return to their positions immediately and be ready to activate the Zhou Tian Star Array at any time."

I reckon something must have happened in the heavens. Perhaps the Third Prince could go and check on Nuwa's Palace.

The Dragon King of the Yangtze River is also a star deity in the heavens.

However, his "Four Rivers Star" is not important in the heavens, but can exert its strongest power in the great rivers of the human world.

Once the Zhou Tian Star Array is complete, he will respond to the Heavenly Emperor's command in the great rivers of the mortal realm.

"Hmm, I'll go take a look!" Nezha's Wind Fire Wheels shot out two beams of fire, and he flew away in an instant.

As soon as Nezha approached Nuwa's Palace, he was momentarily distracted.

Because the flow of time changed again, from the normal "celestial time" to "human time".

Upon entering the gate, he was surprised to find a group of "old immortals" already waiting inside the hall.

Not only were there the old immortals of the Chan Sect, but also several disciples of Laozi, as well as the "true old immortals" of the same generation as the Three Pure Ones.

Even with Nezha's carefree personality, he was now cautious, honest, and respectful, bowing deeply to each of the old immortals.

After a while, he finally pulled the short, fat, bald Taiyi Tianzun away from the inner courtyard and went to a corner to whisper to each other.

"Master, what are you doing here? Several of my uncles and even Grandmaster Burning Lamp, Buddha Tathagata, Doumu Yuanjun, and Zhen Yuanzi, the ancestor of earth immortals, have all come. What are you all doing here?"

Compared to the true masters, even his own master seemed like a junior. He couldn't stand in the center position; instead, he had to chat and laugh with the masters who were in the center.

"What else could they be doing? Yu Fengxian and Chong Heihu, those two idiots, have caused a huge disaster."

The entire human world is in danger of collapse.

"You just came from Hengshan, so you don't know much about this," said Taiyi Tianzun with a smile.

Nezha asked, puzzled, "I know that the human world is in danger of collapse. In just one day, the land of China will sink to the bottom of the sea. But what are you laughing at? It looks so creepy and wicked."

Taiyi Tianzun's smile froze. He touched his greasy, fat face and said, "How am I so kind and approachable? Where am I creepy or wicked?"

"The world is about to sink into the sea, yet you laugh heartily. Isn't that creepy? Isn't that wicked?"

"Oh right, where's my second brother? He's also at Nuwa Palace, have you seen him?" Nezha then remembered the purpose of his trip.

He had already walked around the inner courtyard, and many old immortals had brought their disciples over.

Some who were not of high enough status were still waiting in the outer hall, but there was no sign of Brother Yang.

"Yang Jian is in the inner palace, helping Goddess Nuwa refine the five-colored stones!" Taiyi Tianzun laughed again. "He's lucky; although he arrived a bit late, he ran into us."

If he came alone and was blocked by a group of powerful immortals, he probably wouldn't even get to see the goddess Nuwa.

We've been lucky too.

Upon seeing Yang Jian arrive, the Goddess Nuwa immediately selected him to enter the inner palace to refine the five-colored stones.

This shows that the merit of mending the sky should rightfully belong to my Chan Sect!

Who knows, your master might just have a chance to seize this immense wealth!

Nezha suddenly realized, "You've all come here to steal the credit for mending the sky?"

"What do you mean by 'robbery'? Don't use such harsh language. Not everyone can mend the sky."

"If we don't intervene, will the human world really sink to the bottom of the sea?" said Taiyi Tianzun. "Is it really worth going to such lengths?" Nezha asked hesitantly. "You've already attained the Great Luo realm, what use are you for merit?"

Taiyi Tianzun sighed, “So what if you’re a Great Luo Golden Immortal? You’ve seen what happened to the ‘Five Ancestors of Zhuling’ before.”

If they had even a single 'Golden Lotus of Merit' within them, they wouldn't have perished and all their millennia of arduous cultivation vanished in a single mistake."

Nezha said, "The Great Immortal Jinglin made a grand vow to atone for his sins with a million celestial merits, but the 'Heavenly Emperor' ignored him completely."

Taiyi Tianzun said calmly, "What's the use of making grand vows when the heavenly punishment is about to hit you?

Moreover, the "Heavenly Skill" mentioned by Taoist Jinglin is only effective for the "Little Heavenly Lords" of the Heavenly Court, and has no effect on the real "Great Heavenly Lords".

"Heaven doesn't recognize the Heavenly Court's achievements."

The literal meaning of "merit and virtue" is "meritorious deeds and virtuous conduct".

Different perspectives lead to different standards for judging achievements and virtues.

For example, Bai Qi massacred 400,000 surrendered soldiers of the Zhao state.

According to the standards of the Qin people, General Bai Qi had made great contributions, so it was only right to build a shrine and temple for him.

In the hearts of the people of Zhao, Bai Qi deserved to go to the eighteenth level of hell.

Other mortals held Bai Qi in high esteem, considering him a hero who had rendered great service, yet he was excessively bloodthirsty.

For the demon race, the infighting among humans is of no concern to them; they are indifferent to merit or demerit.

Heavenly merits are merits and virtues recognized by the Heavenly Court, while Yin merits are merits and virtues recognized by the Underworld.

The underworld belongs to the Heavenly Court and, like the Heavenly Court, is based on humanity. Therefore, the standards for Heavenly Merit and Underworld Merit are very much in line with the values ​​of the human race.

For example, the True Immortal of Heyang once asked about the matter, and went around slaying demons and monsters to raise funds to repay his "study loan".

In the world of demons, however, the "heavenly merits" of cultivators are equivalent to sins.

So, does there exist an "eternal achievement" that transcends race and time, something that all existence within the Pangu world—past, present, and future—must acknowledge?
It really exists; it is called "Heaven and Earth Merits" or "Heavenly Way Merits".

Mortals seek merit in secret, cultivators seek merit in heaven, and immortals seek merit from heaven and earth.

"To attract so many immortals, how much merit will this patching of the sky bring?" Nezha asked curiously.

“Very many, enough to enable at least two hundred Golden Immortals to attain the Great Luo realm.” Taiyi Tianzun chuckled.

"Two hundred Great Luo Golden Immortals~~" Nezha exclaimed in shock, "Is it really that exaggerated? It's just that Mount Heng collapsed."

“What do you mean ‘just Mount Heng’? Those are the Five Sacred Mountains. The Five Sacred Mountains are the pillars of heaven in the Central Plains!” Taiyi Tianzun said solemnly.

"When Mount Buzhou collapsed, did it accumulate so much merit? At that time, there were no Great Luo Golden Immortals in the Three Realms other than the Dao Ancestor," Nezha asked.

Taiyi Tianzun thought for a moment and said, "It seems to be about the same. Back then, the three Dao Ancestors only assisted from the sidelines, yet they still managed to condense thirty 'Golden Lotuses of Merit'."

Given the circumstances at the time, a golden lotus certainly could not attain sainthood.

However, if they were kept until now, helping a Golden Immortal attain the Great Luo realm would be a piece of cake.

The goddess Nuwa, who personally mended the sky, probably received ten times the merit of the Dao Ancestor.

The merits of heaven and earth were greater at Buzhou Mountain.

Even if the merit gained from the collapse of Mount Heng is less, the scale is not significantly different.

Nezha asked in confusion, "How can Mount Heng compare to Mount Buzhou?"

Taiyi Tianzun said, "You can't just compare the size of the mountains; you have to compare their influence."

When Mount Buzhou collapsed, it only resulted in the extermination of all humankind and the drowning of a portion of the witch and demon races.

Now that Mount Heng has collapsed, it is the same as the extermination of all humankind and the complete destruction of humanity.

Back then, the human race didn't even have 'kingdoms'.

Humanity is flourishing now; those who save humanity will surely gain great fortune from it.

When Mount Buzhou collapsed, Ren Dao was just a poor boy with only a few copper coins in his entire fortune.

Saving humanity might at most result in humanity writing a "loan shark IOU," but the sage is simply drawing upon the merits of heaven in advance.

Now, humanity has developed into a wealthy lord with immense riches. He saved the lives of the entire lord's clan and directly received huge benefits from the fortune of humanity.

Nezha said thoughtfully, "No wonder you rushed over here in such a hurry. No wonder even the Buddha of the West came. But even if he came, would it be of any use? The merit of mending the sky definitely belongs to Master, not to 'outsiders'."

In the inner courtyard in the distance, Buddha turned his head and glanced in this direction.

"My disciple is right!" Taiyi Tianzun was delighted and affectionately stroked his obedient disciple's head.

"Let's go, let's wait at the entrance of the back hall, don't let the 'outsiders' get there first."

He took his apprentice's hand and returned to the inner courtyard.

"Something's not right!" Nezha looked around again, suddenly realized something, and whispered, "Why isn't there a single Golden Immortal here who is preparing to attain enlightenment?"
If they truly possessed so much merit from heaven and earth, then they would be the most insane.

To mend the sky, they might not only block the gates of Nuwa's palace, but also kneel on the ground, kowtow, and wail.

Especially those Golden Immortals who voluntarily enter the tribulation, they desperately need the merits of Heaven and Earth.

"You think they don't want to cry? They're probably practically crying from hunger right now."

"But one must know one's own limitations; they are simply not capable enough," Taiyi Tianzun chuckled.

He patted his large chest forcefully and said proudly, "Only a Great Luo Golden Immortal can delve into the heart of heaven, continue the laws of the Great Dao, and complete the mending of the heavens."

Nezha asked, "Does it have to be a Great Luo Golden Immortal? My second brother said he could give it a try."

He will need the merits of heaven and earth to attain the Great Luo realm in the future!

The surrounding bigwigs all looked over with inexplicable expressions.

Taiyi Tianzun shook his head repeatedly, “How can such a thing be tried casually? If the sky is successfully mended, there will certainly be merit from heaven and earth; but if it is messed up, a terrible disaster will befall you, and you may even die on the spot.”

However, you don't need to feel sorry for him.

"You can't get the fatty meat, but getting a few sips of broth is easy."

Doumu Yuanjun's eyes flickered, and she asked with a smile, "Yang Erlang was also involved in this catastrophe, wasn't he?"

Taiyi Tianzun paused for a moment, then said solemnly, "Yu Fengxian provoked Yang Jian first, which is why Yang Jian revealed her identity."

It doesn't even qualify as a minor offense.

The catastrophe had absolutely nothing to do with him.

Several old immortals from the Chan Sect immediately chimed in in agreement.

Doumu Yuanjun's smile faded, and she said calmly, "In any case, 'Heaven' struck him a few times with divine lightning."

The Buddha clasped his hands together and said, “Amitabha, those who are involved in the calamity of the collapse of the heavens are disliked and rejected by ‘Heaven’, and I’m afraid they will not be able to penetrate the ‘Heaven’s heart’.”

He hesitated for a moment, then said softly, "The last time the sky was mended, it wasn't just Nuwa who did it all by herself."

Several Daoist patriarchs and numerous powerful figures all had helpers.

Perhaps we should follow the old practice this time as well.

Let's discuss how to allocate the 'tasks'.

Don't fight, don't snatch, let's work together peacefully to mend the sky.

(End of this chapter)