People in Conferred Gods: Rising from humble beginnings, I am the God of Wealth

Chapter 274 The Sage Asks Questions, Haotian Remains Unafraid!
The ancient starry sky.

Haotian and the Queen Mother sat facing each other, their faces beaming with smiles.

"My Dao Heart has reached perfection, and preparations are almost complete. How is the situation, Fellow Daoist?"

"I am ready!"

The Queen Mother also had a smile on her face. Before Yang Xuan went to heaven, she had never imagined that becoming the ruler of the Heavenly Court would have such hidden benefits.

Her cultivation was stuck at the peak of the Quasi-Saint level of the First Corpse for countless eons. Now, her Dao Heart is perfected, and the item for severing the corpse is ready.

Next, she can try to become a Quasi-Saint with two corpses, one of the few in the prehistoric world!
All of this was because of Yang Xuan, and the Queen Mother was filled with emotion when she thought of it.

"Ugh!"

"Unbeknownst to us, we have already incurred such a great debt of gratitude to you, my dear minister, and we do not know how we can ever repay it..."

The Queen Mother looked melancholy. In the primordial world, even saints had to repay their karmic debts.

Although they are the rulers of Heaven, holding high positions and wielding great power, they cannot compare to the saints. Naturally, they cannot escape the karmic debts they owe.

However, what frustrated the Queen Mother was that Yang Xuan had always seemed so indifferent to worldly desires.

Even if they were to offer assistance, it would be to ask for a skill or to learn about cultivation. If these were to happen to ordinary beings, their visits would incur a karmic debt to the Queen Mother and her companion.

But Yang Xuan is different; what he seeks is completely disproportionate to what he does.

How can some techniques and problems compare to the opportunity to sever the corpse?
Moreover, the speed was so fast. Before Yang Xuan ascended to heaven, Haotian and the Queen Mother, both quasi-saints, still needed to maintain the operation of the Heavenly Court with their quasi-saint cultivation, and their lives were incredibly miserable.

After Yang Xuan ascended to heaven, the situation in the Heavenly Court improved rapidly at a visible speed. The number of celestial beings and gods in the Heavenly Court increased, and the Heavenly Court was getting closer and closer to self-sustaining operation.

As a result, the pressure on Haotian and the Queen Mother gradually decreased, their Dao hearts became more fulfilled, and even their Dao cultivation increased.

After the Four Seas Dragon Lords and the Three Officials returned to their positions, the Heavenly Court no longer needed them to maintain their operations with their Quasi-Saint cultivation. The Heavenly Court officially gained the recognition of the Heavenly Dao and acquired more Heavenly Dao authority.

As the rulers of the Heavenly Court, Haotian and the Queen Mother reaped the greatest rewards, and their Dao hearts also increased significantly as a result.

In the years that followed, Yang Xuan established the Tiande Money Shop to seek Heavenly Merit for the gods and immortals of the Heavenly Court, which greatly increased the fortune of the Heavenly Court and enhanced the Heavenly Authority he gained.

Haotian and the Queen Mother did nothing, yet their cultivation level increased once again.

Over the years, they have consolidated their cultivation, improved their Daoist practice, and perfected their Daoist hearts. Now they have made all the preparations for severing their corpses and can try to sever their corpses at any time to become Quasi-Saints with Two Corpses.

More than ten Yuanhui ago, Yang Xuan had not yet ascended to heaven, and the two of them were jokingly referred to as the shame of quasi-saints by the beings of the prehistoric world.

Now, after only a dozen or so cycles, they have not only escaped their previous miserable state, but also have the potential to sever another corpse. Such a change can only be described as earth-shattering.

Even they themselves still find it unbelievable when they think back on it now.

Such a great favor was something the Queen Mother truly did not know how to repay. Even if she were willing to give away the entire Western Kunlun region, it would still be difficult to repay such a debt of gratitude.

As for Haotian, he had already made up his mind that once he brought Yang Xuan back to Zixiao Palace, he would cling to the Dao Ancestor's leg and beg him to give Yang Xuan more benefits.

If he can't resolve the karmic debts, how could the Dao Ancestor possibly have a problem?

"I wonder when you will return, my dear minister..."

Haotian thought to himself, hoping that Yang Xuan could return to the Heavenly Court as soon as possible.

But at that moment, he suddenly felt a terrifying pressure descend, and the void in front of him rippled like water, with endless purple energy spreading out from it.

When the void returned to calm, the ancient starry sky was filled with purple energy for hundreds of millions of miles. Two more figures appeared in front of Haotian and the other person.

One of them had a face as golden as glass, kind eyes, and three long strands of beard hanging down to his chest.

The other was a young Taoist priest with a Bodhi leaf mark between his eyebrows and eyes as deep as the Milky Way.

These two are none other than the Western Saints among the Six Saints of Heaven, namely Jieyin and Zhunti.

Although Haotian and the Queen Mother were puzzled as to why the two Western Saints had come today, they still bowed out of courtesy.

"Greetings, senior brothers!"

"Greetings to the two sages!"

However, the two Western Saints merely nodded in response to Haotian and the Queen Mother's bow, which was considered their reply.

Then, Zhunti looked at Haotian and the Queen Mother with a blank expression.

"Are you two aware that Yang Xuan, a second-rank emperor of the Heavenly Court, has been bewitching my Western Sect disciples in the Netherworld and luring Ksitigarbha to leave the Western Sect and join the Underworld?"

His tone was calm, but carried a clear sense of accusation.

Upon hearing this, both Haotian and the Queen Mother frowned slightly, realizing that the two Western Saints had come with ill intentions.

The Queen Mother glanced at Haotian, then chose to remain silent.

Although she was also the ruler of Heaven, she was only a junior in front of the sages, so how could she dare to argue with the two Western sages?

But Haotian is different. He is a disciple of Hongjun Daozu, and can be addressed as a fellow disciple to the sage, so they can be considered to be of the same generation.

Moreover, with the Dao Ancestor backing him up, Haotian was able to disregard the Heavenly Venerable of the Primordial Beginning and refuse the request of Taiyi Zhenren and the Antarctic Immortal to become First-Rank Emperors, and he was also unafraid of being questioned by the two Western Saints.

Faced with Zhunti's question, which was clearly accusatory, Haotian did not show much on his face, but he was extremely disdainful in his heart.

Bewitchment?

Even if what you say is true, how can a sect of saints have its direct disciples be seduced and led astray? Shouldn't you look for the reasons within yourselves? How can you blame Yang Xuan for this?
Haotian mentally complained for a moment, then seriously pondered how Yang Xuan would handle the situation if he were here.

After a brief silence, Haotian bowed to the guide, deliberately feigning confusion, and said:
"Is that so? There must be some misunderstanding. Minister Yang Xuan only succeeded in overcoming the Heavenly Tribulation and becoming a Great Luo Golden Immortal after returning from the Underworld. How could he have done such a thing?"

"I hope my senior brother will investigate this matter thoroughly. I suspect that some villains are behind this, trying to frame Minister Yang Xuan and sow discord between the Heavenly Court and the Western Religion."

"This is truly despicable. If you find out who is behind this, please tell me so I can see who this villain is!"

In the end, Haotian even showed a hint of anger, which can be described as a masterful performance.

His words were also a clear message to the two Western Saints that Yang Xuan was equivalent to the Heavenly Court.

If you insist that Yang Xuan bewitched Ksitigarbha, causing Ksitigarbha to break away from the Western Paradise and become the Third-Rank Savior of Suffering and Relief of Sins in the Underworld, then you are saying that this was done by the Heavenly Court, and that it was the will of the Heavenly Emperor.

As for who the villain he was referring to was, it wasn't hard to tell. Both Jieyin and Zhunti were displeased upon hearing Haotian's reply.

They originally came to find Haotian and the Queen Mother with two purposes.

One method was to pressure Haotian and the Queen Mother to recall Yang Xuan, bring him to Mount Sumeru, and have him explain his role in bewitching Ksitigarbha.

The Western Sect is the lineage of those two saints. Since the Western Sect has lost one of Ksitigarbha Bodhisattvas, then they will use you, the culprit, to make amends.

This is also an opportunity for you, and Haotian and the Queen Mother should be grateful.

They wouldn't even agree to join the Western Religion and become the personal disciples of the two Western Saints.

Unexpectedly, Haotian's attitude was so firm, which was tantamount to telling the two of them in a clear way.

If we insist that Yang Xuan was responsible for Ksitigarbha's separation from the Western Sect, then Haotian would believe that the two Western Saints thought that he had instructed Yang Xuan to do it.

If you really want to hold someone accountable, just tell him directly that it has nothing to do with Yang Xuan.

This result was both unexpected and reasonable.

After all, the Heavenly Court's current state is all thanks to Yang Xuan alone.

It's hard to say whether the Heavenly Court would decline without Yang Xuan, but it would be difficult to make further progress. It's understandable that Haotian is unwilling to hand over Yang Xuan.

Yang Xuan is too important to the Heavenly Court. It would be difficult to get Haotian to hand over Yang Xuan with just words. However, it would be inappropriate to use force in front of Haotian.

Jieyin and Zhunti exchanged a glance and decided to put the matter aside for the time being. Inviting Yang Xuan to join the sect was not urgent and could be discussed later.

Although they are currently unable to deduce Yang Xuan's whereabouts, this does not mean that with their level of cultivation, they will not be able to find Yang Xuan.

Since Haotian is unwilling to cooperate, they will find an opportunity later to personally 'invite' Yang Xuan to join the sect.

However, to find Yang Xuan through means other than deduction, more arrangements are needed. Ideally, we should wait for Yang Xuan to show himself, which will take more time.

Fortunately, they didn't have high hopes of getting Haotian to hand over Yang Xuan when they came here today.

Their main objective today is to retrieve Maitreya's human seed bag and golden cymbals; failing to do so would be a loss of face for them.

The sage's thoughts raced; almost the instant Haotian finished speaking, Zhunti had already considered these matters. His expression remained unchanged, showing no displeasure, and he said calmly:

"Since you've said so, junior brother, I'll assume there's some misunderstanding, but..."

The guide paused slightly, then gently tapped his finger, creating two cloud mirrors.

The scene depicted in these two cloud mirrors is Yang Xuan asking Maitreya to borrow the Human Seed Bag and the Golden Bell.

"I wonder what you think of this matter, Junior Brother? Your Heavenly Court's Second-Rank Emperor stole a spiritual treasure from my Western Sect. Don't you owe us an explanation?"

Upon hearing this, the Queen Mother frowned, her face showing displeasure, while Haotian's expression darkened, his eyes burning with anger.

These two Western saints are utterly shameless!
When Yang Xuan left the Netherworld, he was only a Taiyi Golden Immortal, but he was blocked by Maitreya, a cultivator in the late stage of Daluo Golden Immortal.

A Great Luo Golden Immortal blocking a Taiyi Golden Immortal—and this Great Luo Golden Immortal even comes from a saintly sect like the Western Sect—isn't this behavior blatant bullying of the weak by the strong?

Bullying the weak is a major taboo in ancient times. If I can kill someone else's juniors today, their elders will kill your juniors tomorrow.

If this trend were allowed to spread, wouldn't the prehistoric world be in chaos? Which family's juniors would dare to roam the prehistoric world then?

For this reason, there is an unwritten rule in the primordial world: matters between juniors should be resolved by the juniors themselves.

Even if you can't win and want revenge, you should invite your peers to help.

Unless there is a huge karmic cause and effect, there would never be a situation where a Great Luo Golden Immortal causes trouble for a Taiyi Golden Immortal.

Even if Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva broke away from the Western Sect and joined the Underworld as the Third-Rank Savior from Suffering and Sin, it seems to have some connection with Yang Xuan, but there is no direct evidence to prove this.

It is clearly against the rules for Maitreya, a Great Golden Immortal, to cause trouble for Yang Xuan.

When Haotian first learned of this, he was furious. If it weren't for the fact that Maitreya, Bixiao, Xingtian, and others had chased after him and he had suffered quite a bit, he would have gone to Mount Sumeru to demand an explanation from the two Western Saints.

Unexpectedly, before he even reached Mount Sumeru, the two Western Saints came to confront them and turn the tables on him.

What's even more outrageous is that he only just learned that when Yang Xuan left the underworld a few years ago, he was once again blocked by Maitreya.

Moreover, this time, Maitreya made preparations in advance, setting up formations and ambushes along Yang Xuan's inevitable route.

A Western Sect disciple at the late stage of the Great Luo Golden Immortal realm came to trouble Yang Xuan, who had just broken through and was still at the early stage of the Great Luo Golden Immortal realm, and even set up an array in advance. Isn't this going a bit too far?

More importantly, Haotian was well aware that Yang Xuan was always cautious in his actions, possessed a magical treasure that could shield him from heavenly secrets, and had a sage protecting him from those secrets.

Even he, a quasi-saint, found it difficult to deduce anything related to it.

Even if Maitreya is a disciple of the Western Sect, how could he deduce Yang Xuan's departure route and thus set up the formation in advance?
Without the guidance of the two Western Saints, Haotian would not have believed it.

As a result, the two Western Saints still dared to come to his door, not mentioning at all that Maitreya had caused trouble for Yang Xuan, and even turned the tables, saying that Yang Xuan had stolen Maitreya's spiritual treasure.

Openly and secretly, everyone said that no matter what, Yang Xuan had to return the spiritual treasure that he had stolen to the Western Sect today.

This is incredibly disrespectful to Haotian. Does he really think of him as some shameful quasi-saint with no background?
Haotian's face was gloomy and he was furious. His words also lacked some of the respect he was showing.

"Sage, please don't joke. Last time, Maitreya, a Great Golden Immortal, went to cause trouble for Minister Yang. Is that reasonable?"

“This time, although Minister Yang’s cultivation has also broken through to the Great Luo Golden Immortal realm, he is still two minor realms behind Maitreya. It is reasonable that Maitreya set up an array in advance to cause trouble for Minister Yang.”

"Moreover, Minister Yang borrowed Maitreya's spiritual treasure on his own merits, without asking us for help or seeking assistance from anyone else."

"I would like to ask the two sages, since Maitreya first caused trouble for Minister Yang, and Yang Xuan ultimately borrowed the spiritual treasure using his own supernatural powers, how can there be any talk of robbery, and how can there be any talk of returning it!"

Haotian's words showed absolutely no mercy. Before the two Western Saints became saints, few dared to speak to them like that, let alone after they became saints.

Their faces immediately turned angry, and their aura became even more terrifying.

An invisible pressure, like an ancient divine mountain, pressed down on Haotian and the other person, as if to crush these two who dared to offend the divine might.

Let the person before you understand what it means to be an ant before a sage!

However, Haotian seemed not to feel this pressure at all and did not back down in the slightest.

(End of this chapter)