Jieyin smiled wryly, Zhunti ignored him, and Yuanshi's expression was unfriendly.

Looking at the three saints, the Great Sage Equaling Heaven sighed heavily.

In the chaotic void, in the Purple Cloud Palace, a young man muttered to himself, "What are you all supposed to do?"

Heaven and earth are ruthless, treating all things as worthless; the sage is ruthless, treating the people as ants.

In the Hall of Divine Punishment, the cocoon of light trembled, and a voice called out from the void: "Brother, I'm so sorry."

Kong Xuan asked Zhunti, "Zhunti, where is my disciple Zhao Gongming?"

Zhunti's face twitched, and he said firmly, "My fellow Daoist's disciple has a karmic connection with the West, and I have come here to guide him."

Upon hearing this, the Great Sage Equaling Heaven asked, "Is Zhen Yi here?"

Zhen Yi hurriedly knelt down and said, "Master, your disciple is here."

The Great Sage Equaling Heaven said, "Your opportunity has arrived. I now bestow upon you the Primordial Purple Qi, and you will be punished by Heaven to become a saint."

Zhen Yi said, "Heaven is above, I am Zhen Yi. Since my birth millions of years ago, I have seen many injustices in the primordial world. In order to balance this primordial land and restore peace and harmony, I hereby establish Heavenly Punishment. Heavenly Punishment manifests."

As Zhen Yi spoke, a gigantic black eye appeared in the void above the nine heavens, shaped like a yin-yang fish, its color also black. Suddenly, a ruler emerged from Zhen Yi's celestial spirit—the Xuanhuang Merit Ruler. As soon as the ruler flew out, a purple lightning bolt shot down from the blood-red giant eye and struck the ruler. Instantly, the Xuanhuang Merit Ruler disintegrated and vanished. At the same time, Zhen Yi coughed up several mouthfuls of blood, his face turning pale. Perhaps in an instant, or perhaps over thousands of years, the purple lightning bolt disappeared, and the Xuanhuang Merit Ruler also vanished. In its place, a sword appeared, its blade flashing with purple lightning, the words "Heavenly Punishment" engraved on its hilt. The Heavenly Punishment instantly merged into Zhen Yi's celestial spirit and disappeared, along with the gigantic black eye in the sky.

The Heavenly Tribulation is established, and merit descends. Zhen Yi floats in the air and continues: "I, Zhen Yi, will be in charge of Heavenly Punishment. All living beings in the primordial world, whether they aspire to become immortals, Buddhas, demons, or monsters, must undergo the baptism of Heavenly Tribulation, known as 'Crossing the Tribulation.' Those who pass will ascend, while those who fail will have their souls scattered. The Heavenly Tribulation does not record the process, only the result. The virtuous can ascend to heaven in broad daylight, while the wicked will undergo tribulations of varying degrees, such as 'three nines,' 'six nines,' or 'nine nines,' based on the cause and effect of their good and evil deeds. Those who pass will succeed, otherwise their souls will be scattered. I observe that those who cultivate Buddhism are of varying character, many being eloquent and charlatanous. Therefore, those who wish to cultivate Buddhism, except for those with great merit, must all undergo the baptism of tribulations of six nines or more. Those who pass will become Buddhas, while those who fail will have their souls scattered and unable to be reborn. From this day forward, I am Zhen Yi, the Heavenly Venerable. Heavenly Punishment is established."

Zhen Yi, having achieved sainthood, bowed and said, "Disciple thanks Master for granting this wish." He then said to Zhunti, "Brother Zhunti, the karma between you and my Penglai is immense. Now you have incurred another great karmic debt. Quickly release my nephew, or we will incur another karmic debt." After saying this, he chuckled sinisterly twice.

When Zhunti saw that Zhenyi had become a saint, he was greatly shocked. He was furious to see that the Heavenly Punishment was still causing trouble for Buddhism, and that a Buddha had to undergo the sixty-nine or ninety-nine Heavenly Tribulations. He said to Zhenyi, "Don't even think about it."

The guide said, "We still need to go through another round."

The Great Sage Equal to Heaven said, “Alright, Zhenyuan and Zhenyi, go ahead.”

The four saints entered the void to fight. Before long, the saints returned. No one knew the outcome. All that everyone saw was Zhunti with disheveled hair. Zhunti shook his hand, and Zhao Gongming appeared. As soon as he came out, he saw the Great Sage Equaling Heaven and hugged his leg, saying, "Grandmaster, give me a magic weapon. I can't take it anymore!"

The Monkey King threw out the other eighteen Sea-Stabilizing Pearls and said, "Damn it, all you remember are magic weapons. Why don't you start cultivating? Idiot, be careful you don't get stuffed into a sack again next time, you fool."

Jieyin and Zhunti returned to the Western Paradise with long faces. On the way, Zhunti asked, "Senior brother, why does the Great Sage Equaling Heaven also have the foundation of the Great Dao? How do you think we'll resolve all the karma we've imposed on him?"

Jieyin smiled bitterly and said, "Junior brother, don't be afraid. The Great Sage Equaling Heaven is only a quasi-sage. Although he controls the laws of time, he is far inferior to a sage. Don't worry about it."

Chapter 40, Twenty-Seven Demonic Sects Establish Sainthood (Part 1)

Penglai Island, Heaven and Earth Palace.

The Monkey King asked, "Ke'er, where is your true form?"

Ke'er said, "Liang, I am trapped under Mount Buzhou, but I don't know when I will be able to get out."

The Great Sage Equaling Heaven said, "Mount Buzhou is almost there."

The Monkey King and Ke'er were making out sweetly in the Heavenly Palace, unaware that the Kunpeng of the far north would become their future enemy.

It is said that Kunpeng was severely injured by the Great Sage Equaling Heaven with a single foot strike, but Kunpeng did not stop. He continued to fly rapidly towards the Northern Sea with his badly injured body. As he flew, Kunpeng muttered to himself: "You Great Sage Equaling Heaven, how dare you bully me like this! If I become a saint, I will make you pay!"

A voice echoed from the void: "Is that all you want to do to become a saint?"

Kunpeng unconsciously replied, "Who doesn't want to become a saint?" Only after saying that did he realize something was wrong. He searched the area within a thousand miles hundreds of times with his divine sense, but there was clearly no life within that radius. So what about the sound from just now?

Kunpeng looked left and right, but couldn't find the source of the sound. Startled, Kunpeng flew back to its lair at top speed, as if it had encountered a ghost.

Before they had flown far, the voice came again: "Want to become a saint? It's not that hard. Just become my disciple, huh?"

The flying Kunpeng was unaware of the space behind him. Just after the voice finished speaking, the space behind him collapsed, emitting an immense suction force that pulled him in, only to instantly return to normal.

Kunpeng awoke peacefully and saw a palace before him, named the Heavenly Dao Palace. Kunpeng stood up, looking at this palace whose grandeur was no less than that of the Purple Cloud Palace, and was puzzled.

As if knowing that Kunpeng had awakened, the palace gates slowly opened, and a voice came from inside saying, "Come in."

Kunpeng entered the palace and saw a young Taoist sitting on the throne. Kunpeng hurriedly bowed and said, "Kunpeng pays respects to the Heavenly Sage and hopes that the Sage will accept me as his disciple."

The young man smiled and said, "Alright, I will now accept you as my disciple. Your eldest brother is Wutian, your second brother is Jehovah, and you will be my third disciple. Your two brothers are currently in seclusion. After they emerge from seclusion, I will send them to find you."

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