Chapter 1765: The Building Owner Becomes Virtuous

The greatest advantage of the young Great Venerables is their immense potential. Their ability to cultivate to the Five Decrepitudes of Heaven and Man in a short period demonstrates their extraordinary strength. They often perform great deeds in major battles, earning higher rankings. Their fatal flaw, however, is their lack of experience and insufficient accumulated merit. If the merit gained from battles is not enough, they will fail to achieve sagehood.

Cold Moon Sage's most favored candidate was Great Venerable Silver Moon. As a member of her Moon Palace, his leadership would naturally be more reassuring. Unfortunately, Great Venerable Silver Moon fell short.

"Palace Master, I still have hope," Great Venerable Silver Moon said, unwilling to give up. "Perhaps the remaining eight steles will secure my fourth-place ranking. With just one more layer of merit, my entry into sagehood will be set in stone."

Hearing this, Cold Moon Sage could only smile bitterly. His fifth-place nomination was barely achieved, and only thanks to some favor from the Heaven-Protecting Ancient Sage, who originated from Tianzhou. Aspiring to fourth place now was easier said than done.

The other nominated Sages had also each gained a layer of merit. The temple behind Ancient Zen Buddha Venerable became even more magnificent. A clear phantom image of Thunder Extinction Sage's second Merit God-Stele appeared, but unfortunately, it was still one layer short. Most notably, when the descending merit landed on Nine Nether Demon Lord, it transformed into golden blood and integrated into his body. His already peerlessly mighty Two-Calamity Realm became even more astonishing, subtly enabling him to contend with Ancient Zen Buddha Venerable.

Seeing this, Jiang Fan finally felt relieved. He had worried that if individuals who hadn't reached the Five Decrepitudes of Heaven and Man received merit, they wouldn't be able to bear it, and it would all go to waste. It turned out that for those who didn't need merit, the steles would flexibly convert it into what was needed for their current realm.

At the same time, three enormous golden feathers successively stacked upon the Pavilion Master of Jiangshan Yipin. The divine halo behind his head absorbed an immense amount of merit, becoming extraordinarily radiant. Like a blazing sun, its brilliance made it difficult for anyone to look directly at it.

The Sages' expressions changed, and they walked over one after another. "It's been hundreds of years; finally, we have a new fellow Daoist," Cold Moon Sage sighed with emotion. The Great Venerables present were filled with envy. Nothing made them feel more conflicted than personally witnessing a peer achieve sagehood. There was both envy and endless regret.

Jiang Fan's eyes were full of excitement; indeed, the Pavilion Master of Jiangshan Yipin was also reaching this stage! But then, his divine halo, as brilliant as the scorching sun, melted into golden liquid and was poured behind him, solidifying into a ten-foot-tall stone stele. Once the stele solidified, it would mean successful entry into sagehood. From then on, he would be a leader guiding the beings of the Central Land.

However, just as the stele was half-poured, the remaining golden liquid proved insufficient. The half-virtual, half-solid stele began to slowly dissipate.

Cold Moon Sage's expression subtly changed. "He actually failed?" she exclaimed. "He's an old-generation cultivator of the Five Decrepitudes of Heaven and Man," she wondered, "didn't he accumulate even a trace of merit in his daily life?"

The other Sages also showed surprise. According to their calculations, three large merit feathers, plus decades of accumulation, should have made entering sagehood absolutely problem-free.

Jiang Fan's expression changed; he knew what the problem was. Although Jiangshan Yipin Pavilion was a powerful faction, it was primarily a place of commerce. The Pavilion Master, his disciples, and his clients were all connected by mutual interest. How could there be faith, let alone merit?

The Pavilion Master of Jiangshan Yipin sighed lightly, as if he had expected it. "Perhaps this is my fate," he said.

Jiang Fan's eyes showed reluctance; the Pavilion Master of Jiangshan Yipin had given so much, only to be stopped short of sagehood in the end. Suddenly, he remembered something. He glanced at the God-Stele, which hadn't yet dissipated, and with a thought, he entered the Spatial Mirror. From a distance, he reached out towards the chubby belly of the little Qilin. The Merit God Pearl that the Qilin had swallowed was taken out. Compared to its initial grape size, the Merit God Pearl was now the size of an egg after several accumulations of merit. Anyway, his own merit would be carried by the little Qilin later. He would just borrow it for now.

Without a second thought, Jiang Fan quickly tossed it in before the God-Stele completely dissipated. The Merit God Pearl encountered the God-Stele, immediately melting into golden liquid and pouring onto it. The God-Stele, which was about to dissipate, immediately began to solidify again. And with the newly added golden liquid, it continued to solidify. When less than ten drops of golden liquid remained, the God-Stele finally transitioned completely from its illusory state, solidifying into a real, existing stone stele! The Merit God-Stele was forged!

Lines of text appeared on it: "Herein, Great Venerable Wuming (Nameless), by involving himself in the situation, drew three Giant Emperors down to the lower realm. He assisted the Grand Libationer in killing one and injuring another, and eliminated one himself, thus saving the perilous situation when all seemed lost and protecting the common people. His merit is immeasurable. He is hereby granted one Merit God-Stele and one Daoist title of 'Sage Wuming,' for his benevolence to the Central Land and establishing merit for a thousand autumns."

Subsequently, the Merit God-Stele integrated into the Pavilion Master of Jiangshan Yipin's body. His body immediately underwent earth-shattering changes. His Divine Transformation realm body transformed into an immortal Sage body, and his Divine Transformation realm power qualitatively changed into Sage power, capable of tearing world barriers with bare hands. An aura of sagehood, causing all beings to tremble and worship, slowly emanated from his body like flowing water.

The Pavilion Master of Jiangshan Yipin slowly opened his eyes, a moist sheen glimmering within them. His voice trembled slightly. "I've finally reached this point," he whispered. At this moment, the suppressed frustration he had carried in his heart for countless years was finally released. He could no longer maintain his usual composure and calm.

"Congratulations, Sage Wuming!" Jiang Fan said with a smile.

The Pavilion Master of Jiangshan Yipin wiped away his tears and embraced Jiang Fan tightly. He didn't utter any words of thanks, because his gratitude was beyond words.

"Young Emperor Mountain congratulates Fellow Daoist Wuming on achieving Sagehood!""Medicine God Hall congratulates Fellow Daoist Wuming on successful enlightenment!""Moon Palace congratulates Fellow Daoist Wuming on entering Sagehood through merit!""Buddha Kingdom congratulates the Central Land on gaining another Sage!""Divine Weapon State congratulates Sage Wuming of Taicang Great State!""Myriad Demon Great State congratulates humanity on gaining another Sage!"

The six Sages all offered congratulations in unison. But their gazes were all surprisingly fixed on Jiang Fan. They had originally thought the Pavilion Master of Jiangshan Yipin would fail to become a Sage, but two unexpected things happened. One surprise was that Jiang Fan actually possessed a Merit God Pearl! The other surprise was that he was actually willing to give it to the Pavilion Master of Jiangshan Yipin. A Merit God Pearl required decades or even centuries of accumulation, or could only be obtained by achieving great merit during times of chaos. Yet Jiang Fan had given it away without hesitation to help the Pavilion Master of Jiangshan Yipin achieve sagehood.

The Sages' lips moved, all wanting to ask Jiang Fan if he had any spare Merit God Pearls. But at this moment, the nine Merit God-Steles of the Ancient Sages vibrated again. The fourth place was about to be revealed.

"Fourth place on the Demon Race Ancient Sage Merit Ranking: Great Venerable Xingyuan.""Fourth place on the Buddhist Dao Ancient Sage Merit Ranking: Great Venerable Xingyuan.""Fourth place on the Confucian Dao Ancient Sage Merit Ranking: Great Venerable Xingyuan.""Fourth place on the Cloud Wild Ancient Sage Merit Ranking: Great Venerable Xingyuan.""Fourth place on the Undying Ancient Sage Merit Ranking: Samsara Mountain Master.""Fourth place on the Heaven-Protecting Ancient Sage Merit Ranking: Great Venerable Xingyuan."

The fourth place was set.