Volume One: The Calamity of the Lich Chapter 134: Ming He Forges the Asura, the Heavenly Dao Descends

“Elder, this—! I haven’t done anything. This doesn’t seem appropriate!” Minghe looked uneasily at Qingxuan.

“Enough with the nonsense. I promised you a share of fortune, and I won’t shortchange you. This is your privilege as a witness. If you refuse it, do you want me to owe you a karmic debt?” Qingxuan feigned displeasure as he glanced at Minghe.

“I’ve already gained much from observing your creation of the spirit race, and my fortune has been immense as it is.”

“I told you to accept, so take it. As for what you mentioned, it’s what you deserve—remember that.” Of course, Qingxuan couldn’t tell him outright that if he hadn’t brought Minghe here and let him create the Asura clan, the matter of reincarnation would have been obstructed.

“Now, remain here in seclusion for a while. Comprehend fully everything you’ve gained from the process. There’s more I’ll need you to do afterward.” With that, Qingxuan instructed Minghe, arranged for his seclusion at this place, and left him to his own devices.

Only a thousand years passed in the outside world before Qingxuan sensed a breakthrough emanating from within the great formation.

“Excellent, the late stage of Hunyuan Golden Immortal. His grasp of the laws is nearly perfect and his foundation is solid.” As soon as Qingxuan entered the formation, he understood everything about Minghe’s condition and praised him, greatly pleased.

“My achievements today are all thanks to you, Elder. Without your guidance, I’d still be struggling at the early stage of Hunyuan Golden Immortal, barely making any progress.” The more Minghe understood about the primordial world, the more he realized how much he owed to Qingxuan.

“Enough. Since that’s the case, it’s time to arrange your next task!” Qingxuan reached out into the void, and with a casual wave, the two of them appeared once more in the Sea of Blood.

Then Qingxuan spoke: “Begin.”

Minghe, oblivious to Qingxuan’s impatience, accepted without protest when Qingxuan handed him a generous amount of primordial earth and divine water. Minghe thought to himself that he would repay this favor in the future.

With those materials in hand, Minghe seemed transformed. He began to mold and shape, using the earth and water according to the vision in his heart.

Qingxuan watched, wondering if, despite all his interferences and adjustments, the appearance of the Asura clan was unchangeable.

In the end, Qingxuan could only think, “Let it be. Perhaps this form suits the Six Paths of Reincarnation, or the underworld itself, best.”

For in Minghe’s hands, the Asura women emerged dazzling and seductive, each one a beauty of peerless grace. Among them, seventy-two stood out for their extraordinary allure. Qingxuan mused that these must be the Asura princesses.

But when it came to the men, they were an eyesore—grotesque and fierce, not a single pleasant face among them.

“Tsk tsk, what on earth have you crafted here!” Qingxuan couldn’t help but comment.

But Minghe, fully absorbed in his task, did not hear.

At last, the forms of the Asura clan were complete.

“One last step!” Qingxuan thought.

Minghe then merged souls Qingxuan had previously delivered with the bodies he had crafted, and continuously drew more souls from the Sea of Blood. Most were suffused with murderous energy; pure souls proved useless for the race he was creating.

One by one, new beings took form under Minghe’s hand, and as he created the final one, reaching a total of 129,600, he stopped, feeling something within.

“Heaven above, earth below; I, Minghe, sense in my heart that souls wander homeless in the Sea of Blood, where life is extinct. Thus, I create a new race within this sea—the Asura clan, established!”

With another flash of inspiration, Minghe spoke again.

Qingxuan, too, felt a stirring within. He swiftly extended his right hand, grasped at the void, and a red lotus appeared in his palm. This was not the original Chaos Green Lotus seed, but a red lotus of karmic fire, now nearly a Chaos Spirit Root. It was the twelve-petaled Karmic Fire Red Lotus, born of destiny.

Qingxuan tossed the red lotus to Minghe, who, understanding, accepted it at once.

“Heaven above, earth below; I, Minghe, inspired in heart, hereby establish the Asura Sect. With the supreme innate treasures—the Yuan Tu, Abi swords, and the Karmic Fire Red Lotus—to suppress our fate, I, Minghe, am sect master of the Asura Sect. The Asura Sect is established!”

At this moment, even before Hongjun’s Xuanmen had emerged, Minghe became the first to found a sect in the primordial world.

In an instant, countless streams of fortune converged upon him.

Qingxuan could not help but marvel. “Who would have thought, by sheer accident, this boy would seize such advantage? The first founder enjoys boundless fortune; his future is limitless.”

After the proclamation to heaven and earth, tens of thousands of acres’ worth of Xuanhuang merit descended. One layer settled directly onto the three supreme innate treasures, with the Karmic Fire Red Lotus as the main focus. Another layer merged completely with the Sea of Blood, and two more fell upon the newly-created Asura clan.

The remaining merit drifted towards Qingxuan, who waved it to Minghe, allowing him to absorb the rest.

With this merit, Minghe, already at the late stage of Hunyuan Golden Immortal, found himself on the verge of breaking through to become a Heavenly Dao Saint, driven both by the force of merit and the will of Heaven itself.

Minghe sensed that if he used this vast merit, he would instantly shatter his current limits and become a Saint of unimaginable power. Indeed, with so much merit and fortune, should he break through, he would reach the late stage of Saint directly.

Qingxuan quickly cautioned him, “Steady your heart and resist the influence of Heaven. If you use merit to break through, your future cultivation will be extremely difficult—all your previous effort wasted! Do you want instant power and status, or to attain true Dao through your own effort? The choice is yours!”

At these words, Minghe immediately suppressed his urge to break through, following Qingxuan’s advice. He condensed all the merit into a golden wheel, which shone within his primordial spirit.

But as soon as Minghe formed this resistance, he felt the crushing pressure of Heaven descend upon him, making it nearly impossible to breathe. Sensing this, Qingxuan radiated golden light, connecting with the Earth Dao to jointly resist Heaven’s oppression.

At last, both Qingxuan and Minghe felt only a wave of fury from Heaven, before the pressure abruptly vanished.

Qingxuan spoke with satisfaction, “Well done, to resist such temptation. In the future, you’ll be grateful for the choice you made today.”

Hearing this, Minghe’s gratitude toward Qingxuan was plain to see. Then Minghe turned to gaze upon the Asura clan he had created.