Chapter 41: Allocating the Two Supreme Treasures

"Fellow Daoist, your words make sense," said one of them. As Emperor Jun spoke, the others all voiced their agreement.

It was clear to everyone present that, with only one supreme treasure, there was no way to distribute it fairly under the current circumstances. The best solution was to forge the Monument of the Dao; once it was complete, they could together seek the Great Dao to decide its allocation.

With the power wielded by the Great Dao, a just arrangement was certain. None of the mighty ones present harbored the slightest worry.

Kunpeng could only resign himself to the decision.

...

Time flowed swiftly. In the blink of an eye, another five hundred great cycles passed—an expanse of epochs.

For five hundred cycles, twenty-one mighty beings combined their powers, drawing on the Dao of Heaven pervading the primordial world and the force of the Chaotic Great Dao itself.

At last, in the five-hundredth cycle, they realized their long-held goal: forging a breathtaking codex, the very first law code of the primordial world. This code was acknowledged by the Wu clan, representing the earth; by the Celestial Court, sovereign of the nine heavens; and by Fuxi, Nuwa, and the other gods.

In other words, this codex was for all of creation, its power and future influence unimaginable.

Sensing this, the Great Dao gathered boundless merit, which coalesced into another resplendent seven-colored cloud of virtue.

Everyone was stunned.

Zhenyuanzi sighed from the heart: "In the past, I always believed that the seven-colored cloud of merit was unattainable, almost invisible, but now, having united our strength to safeguard the primordial world for the sake of all beings, how simple it seems to attain this so-called seven-colored cloud!"

Hongyun added, "Only today do I truly understand that, so long as one gives wholeheartedly to the primordial world, even the supreme merit is neither unreachable nor rare."

Even Emperor Jun sighed with genuine feeling: "Within a mere thousand great cycles, the seven-colored cloud of virtue has appeared twice. It stands to reason that, in days to come, such merit will appear again and again. With the Celestial Court, the Ancestral Teaching, and the Divine Court guarding the primordial world, eternal prosperity and everlasting glory are assured!"

...

Once again, the seven-colored cloud was divided into five portions: one for Emperor Cang, while the remaining four were allotted among the twenty-one mighty ones. The largest share merged into the Monument of the Dao, which absorbed it, transforming into a supreme merit spirit treasure.

All those present reaped abundant rewards.

Gazing at the two treasures suspended before them, Emperor Jun smiled. "Let us jointly submit a petition, seeking the judgment of the Great Dao on how these treasures should be divided!"

"Agreed!" everyone responded. "It is as it should be!"

Kunpeng, dissatisfied, grumbled, "Judging by how the Great Dao distributed merit, it is clear that Emperor Cang of the Wu clan contributed the most in creating the script and codex. If the Great Dao is to distribute the treasures, won't they both end up in his hands?"

Hongyun, ever the peacemaker, smiled kindly. "There is no need to worry, fellow Daoist. The Great Dao is supremely impartial; how could there be any injustice? Even if Emperor Cang gave the most, the merit already granted is reward enough. As for the division of spirit treasures, the Great Dao will determine who among us is fated for them, and will not decide rashly."

"Agreed," Kunpeng muttered to himself, finding Hongyun’s words reasonable, and said no more.

Thus, the matter was settled. Together, they composed a petition to the Great Dao and, by means of their vast powers, entreated the Dao to allocate the treasures.

Twenty-one mighty ones, two supreme treasures—how should they be distributed? Even Emperor Cang could not say, and perhaps not even the Great Dao itself.

As everyone pondered, the heavens above suddenly churned, and an overwhelming might descended—the power of the Great Dao itself.

First, beams of light shot forth, striking the hard-won Jade Slips of the Great Dao, dividing them into twenty-one shares. Each mighty one received one. Examining these treasures, they realized each slip corresponded precisely to the script they themselves had helped create.

Though a supreme merit spirit treasure had been divided into twenty-one parts, the Jade Slips of the Great Dao were still the highest-grade spirit treasures. For instance, Emperor Jun and Donghuang Taiyi would one day become the most supreme Hunyuan God-Demons, while among the Three Teachings, figures like Burning Lantern would, in this tribulation, at best sever one of their good or evil corpses, attaining the rank of quasi-teacher. The gap between Burning Lantern and Donghuang Taiyi was immense.

Refining the treasures with their powers, the mighty ones discovered that most of the Jade Slips in their hands were high-grade merit spirit treasures, with only a few being merely of middle grade.

The twelve Ancestral Witches exchanged glances. Zu Wu Dijang declared, “We brothers are as one; whosever the treasure, it makes no difference. If the twelve slips are divided, their power is greatly diminished—better to unite them!”

So the twelve Ancestral Witches combined their slips, which fused into a single, ordinary supreme merit spirit treasure.

Fuxi and Nuwa smiled and did likewise, fusing their slips into a top-tier high-grade merit spirit treasure.

Emperor Jun and the Eastern Emperor, following suit, also produced a top-tier high-grade merit spirit treasure.

Zhenyuanzi and Hongyun did the same.

Only Minghe, Kunpeng, and the Eastern King each kept their own, all of which were middle-grade merit spirit treasures.

Emperor Jun and Donghuang, having long wished to befriend Kunpeng, considered for a moment, then, without hesitation, presented their treasures to him.

Yet, even with Kunpeng’s addition, it was still not enough to upgrade their merit spirit treasure to the supreme grade.

Fuxi and Nuwa, pondering, likewise presented their treasures to the Wu clan.

The power of the Jade Slips in the hands of the Wu clan was thus further increased.

...

All pondered in silence.

Seeing how the Great Dao had divided the Jade Slips, they wondered if the "Divine Monument of Heaven" would be distributed the same way.

They were overthinking it, of course.

The Great Dao did not apportion it thus. Instead, a thunderous, mirror-like radiance appeared in the sky and, with a sweep of its light, projected a small Heavenly Dao Monument into the hands of each of the twenty-two present—including Emperor Cang—each a middle-grade acquired spirit treasure.

Encased in endless thunder, the monument they had painstakingly forged was taken away by the Great Dao itself.

“Ah!” Emperor Cang marveled inwardly, "The Great Dao has taken our treasure!"

Zu Wu Houtu could not help but smile. "It has not taken it, but merely keeps it in stewardship. With the tokens in our hands, we can command the Heavenly Dao Monument. Should we need to enforce the heavenly law, the Dao and Heaven will respond. Its power will be limitless!"