Journey to the West: I have Nine Golden Crows Inside Me
Chapter 1697 - 1098 join hands

Chapter 1697: 1098 join hands

"Since you don’t know, then so be it."

Whether Taiyi was lying, no one could be certain. But given his words, it was clear that even if they continued to question him, they wouldn’t be able to extract anything more.

Thus, after seeing no further answers, the crowd chose to leave directly. Leaving Taiyi behind was merely to ask if he was aware of Di Jun’s situation—since he claimed ignorance, there was no need to continue the conversation.

Otherwise, lingering on would only lead to mounting mutual disdain, and the most likely outcome would be an uncontrollable clash, resulting in a chaotic skirmish.

But now was clearly not the right moment for such conflict.

From the incident concerning Di Jun, it could be determined that remnants of those Chaos Demigods outside the Prehistoric World must be scheming something.

In this critical moment of crisis for the Prehistoric World, these supreme beings of Heaven and Earth must exercise restraint. Even if disputes arise, they should be minimal and contained to preserve their strength and avoid internal strife.

A true life-and-death battle must only take place after dealing with the Chaos Demigods.

Otherwise, if they engage in mutual slaughter before the Chaos Demigods even attack, resulting in large-scale losses among the high-ranked beings, they would eventually become powerless to resist the Chaos Demigods’ invasion. In that scenario, they would become the sinners of Heaven and Earth itself.

Earlier, the Taoist Ancestors convened everyone at Zixiao Palace and established the pact of non-killing—likely foreseeing the Chaos Demigods’ impending invasion, thus explicitly proposing this agreement to safeguard the strength of the Prehistoric World.

The Great Divine Transcendents may not hold as significant a value, as long as their casualties weren’t too extensive. However, the Saints and Daluo Jinxian of the Primordial are different; they are the core pillars of the Prehistoric World and cannot afford misfortune.

This explains why, before Taiyi’s resurrection, everyone unleashed their most potent Divine Abilities against him without hesitation. Yet, after his revival, everybody immediately withdrew their hands—no one dared further action against him.

Upon Taiyi’s revival, he became one of the pillars of the Prehistoric World. With considerations of the overall situation in mind, no one dared to strike him further.

"The Chaos Demigods have begun to reveal themselves. The Prehistoric World is facing increasingly dire situations. A single careless step may lead to complete destruction."

"As Saints, you bear the responsibilities of your station. You ought to safeguard Heaven and Earth diligently, instead of entangling yourselves repeatedly in trivialities—fixated on personal gain while scheming against one another behind the scenes."

"The Chaos Demigods have surfaced, yet you, as Saints, failed to detect them promptly. This has already been an act of negligence. If you allow the Chaos Demigods to invade, how could you still stand above all living beings?"

"Once may be forgiven, twice tolerated—but thrice is unacceptable. The Prehistoric World has already endured two catastrophic calamities under your gaze. Should the Chaos Demigods succeed in their invasion this time, it wouldn’t be unreasonable to question whether you still deserve your sacred positions."

"I’ve spoken my piece. I hope you, especially the Saint of Taiqing leading among Saints, will reflect carefully."

Before leaving, Jiang Chen suddenly spoke, delivering a stern rebuke to the Saints, openly accusing them of negligence.

His motive in speaking so was to undermine the Saints’ authority. To achieve this aim, even at the risk of harming allies, Jiang Chen simply didn’t care.

Having finished his words, Jiang Chen departed. However, after his departure, the faces of the six Saints darkened, none more so than the Saint of Taiqing, whose complexion turned ashen.

Jiang Chen’s targeting of him was evident, yet there was little he could refute—because Jiang Chen’s words were right. Protecting Heaven and Earth was his duty.

Since the Great Ancient Era, the Prehistoric World had been shattered twice, and they had failed to prevent it—this was a clear dereliction of their responsibilities.

"My disciple’s words are indeed correct. Our master selected us as Saints to assist the Heavenly Dao in governing the Prehistoric World."

"But look at what we’ve made of the Prehistoric World now—less than a fraction of its former peak."

"This is our guilt."

"If this time, the Prehistoric World is successfully invaded by the Chaos Demigods, then I wouldn’t have the face to remain a Saint any longer. I might as well relinquish my sacred position."

The Saint of Shangqing did not grow angry at Jiang Chen’s words but instead fell into deep self-reproach. For he bore primary responsibility for the second destruction of the Prehistoric World.

As a mentor, he failed in his duties to protect his disciples. As a Saint, he failed to fulfill his responsibility to preserve the Prehistoric World and its living beings.

It was precisely due to these experiences that the Saint of Shangqing grew weary—his heart inclined toward relinquishing his sacred position.

The sacred position had nearly become a burden to him. As such, perhaps it was better to abandon it soon and salvage some semblance of dignity.

"The broken Heaven and Earth, the suffering of living beings—this is my error. As Jiang Chen pointed out, if the Prehistoric World falls to the Chaos Demigods, I too will have no face to continue as a Saint."

Empress Nuwa remarked in kind with a sense of lament. To her, the moment she ascended into sainthood, she was naturally joyous.

But that joy did not last long. With the outbreak of the Demon Clan’s massacre against humankind, she was bound by her identity, unable to intervene or assist—forced to helplessly bear witness as her children were slaughtered by the Demon Clan.

Since that moment, Empress Nuwa’s attachment to her sacred position waned significantly. The idea of relinquishing it had long taken root in her thoughts. Were it not for these circumstances, why would she have vanished from the spotlight for so long, to the point of nearly retreating from the world?

"???"

Off to the side, Taiyi had yet to leave. Hearing the remarks from the Saint of Shangqing and Empress Nuwa, an odd expression flickered across his face.

What was going on here? Just what had transpired during his absence?

That sacred position, which had once driven people to madness, seemed all but unwanted now—two Saints in rapid succession expressing a willingness to abandon it!