Journey to the West: Signing in for 500 Years-Chapter 378 - 372: The Fate of not Becoming a Saint【Request for Subscription and Monthly Tickets】_1
Tongtian Hierarch looked deeply into Sha Chen’s eyes.
He chuckled, "You certainly know how to press an advantage, don’t you? Thinking you can stand under my banner and throw your weight around just because I reside here?"
Sha Chen gave a sly smile. Even with his intentions laid bare, he was unfazed.
Tongtian Hierarch said, "If you really want to take shelter under a banner, you could become my disciple. Then certainly no one would dare to bully you."
There it was again.
Sha Chen pretended not to hear and proceeded to pour wine for the Tongtian Hierarch, placing the best dishes before him. "Saint, try the fine wine here. It’s top-notch, much better than what we had before."
The Tongtian Hierarch knew Sha Chen was changing the subject but did not call him out on it. After tasting a few sips of wine and a few bites of food, he found them indeed much improved. They were indeed much better than before.
After three rounds of drinks and a sampling of various flavors, the Tongtian Hierarch finally asked, "Do you plan to keep staying here?"
The question seemed casual, but Sha Chen could sense that the Tongtian Hierarch was seriously inquiring about his stance. Then, he too became serious.
After a pause, he nodded and said, "Yes, I wish to continue my secluded cultivation here. It’s too dangerous outside; this place is safe."
Tongtian Hierarch said, "You are already a Quasi-Saint. Under the heavens, there are few who can beat you."
Sha Chen replied, "After all, there are some, right?"
The Tongtian Hierarch was left speechless. How could there be such a coward?
He then said, "With your current strength, I can confidently say that within the same realm, you are unbeatable. If you leave now and experience the world, refine your state of mind, only then can you go further. Otherwise, you’ll just be spinning your wheels, going nowhere."
He spoke earnestly, "The Quasi-Saint Realm is completely different from the others. Once you reach this realm, if you do not cultivate your state of mind, it’s very hard to advance in your cultivation level. Moreover, if you wish to step into the Saint Realm, how can you achieve sainthood without going out to gain worldly experience and accumulate great merits?"
Sha Chen had once told him that to become a Saint, it would be best to achieve sainthood here before venturing out. Now, the Tongtian Hierarch was telling him directly: without undergoing trials and accumulating merit, it is impossible to become a Saint.
This was truly heart-to-heart advice, and Sha Chen was somewhat surprised.
Saints do not wish for others to become Saints. The reason Zhenyuanzi has not yet achieved sainthood, aside from lacking the necessary enlightenment and fate, is also related to the suppression by the current Six Saints of the heavens. After all, in the current world, the Saints are beyond the mundane, and having a few opponents is already quite enough. They compete for territories and strive for merits. If an outsider were to contest for these, their domains and merits would diminish, and to grow stronger, they would need to exert much greater effort. Therefore, at this level, Saints do not wish for others to rise and compete with them.
Yet from the words of the Tongtian Hierarch, Sha Chen sensed an indifference to whether he became a Saint. In fact, it seemed the Tongtian Hierarch was even interested in guiding him towards it.
He was taken aback for a moment, looking at the Tongtian Hierarch in disbelief. Then, he asked in astonishment, "Does the Sect Hierarch also wish for me to become a Saint?"
Tongtian Hierarch took a sip of his wine, glanced at him, and said, "To be honest, even with your talent, I still don’t think you’re qualified to become a Saint. However, should you become one, I would be pleased.
"For many years, the title of Saint has been held by just a few of us. Those who came after could not achieve sainthood due to limited Saint Positions, and ultimately settled for becoming Sub-Sages."
He looked at Sha Chen, chuckled, and said, "If you could do it, you might shake the current Saint Positions. To be honest, the ones who should be most worried are Nuwa and those two bald heads from the World of Ultimate Bliss."
Tongtian Hierarch laughed smugly; he was absolutely confident that if Sha Chen were to qualify for sainthood, even if the Saint Positions were contested, he would not be the one to step down. After all, there were clearly three weaker than him. He could even rival Laozi, and Lord Yuan Shi might not necessarily be his match.
Sha Chen said with a grin, "If that’s the case, then I might as well become a Saint."
Tongtian Hierarch knocked on his head and said, "What are you daydreaming about? I only hope you can become a Saint, but in reality, I’m not optimistic about your chances."
Sha Chen rolled his eyes and said, "What do you mean by that, Saint? Are you saying I don’t have the talent?"
But Tongtian Hierarch replied, "To tell you the truth, your talent is the best I’ve seen. In terms of innate potential, you are only considered above average, not the best. However, talent isn’t just about innate potential; it includes other aspects as well. When considering everything together—insight, innate potential, and physique—you are the best."
Sha Chen smiled faintly. Inwardly, he marveled: a Saint is indeed a Saint, truly extraordinary. Ordinary people, seeing his rapid progress in cultivation, would think his talent and potential were the strongest in history. After all, no one has ever gone from True Immortal to Quasi-Saint in such a short time. In just over two hundred years, how many have transitioned from True Immortal to Quasi-Saint? Since Dragon Han’s First Calamity, there has been only him, Sha Chen. Had it been someone else, they would definitely say that Sha Chen was the one with the greatest natural talent and potential in history, unmatched by anyone. But only Sha Chen himself knew that his talent was not the best; it was only slightly better than Sun Wukong and Yang Jian by a small margin. Was such talent considered very good? During the Divine Enthronement and Journey to the West periods, it could be considered the best, but in the entire history of the primordial era, it really wasn’t much. Especially during the era of the Witch and Demon Great War, when an endless number of monstrous geniuses emerged. The Daluo Golden Immortals, who are few and far between in this era, were nothing more than minions back then. Monstrous geniuses at the Quasi-Saint level were a dime a dozen in that age. Although they were ancient creatures who had lived for countless years, the ability to rely on age to dominate in an era lacking sufficient Dao Techniques, and to cultivate to the Daluo Golden Immortal and Quasi-Saint levels, truly marked them as monsters among monsters. Given enough resources and the right Dao Techniques, they would surely have grown to levels that would inspire despair and horror. Perhaps in that era, Quasi-Saints were as common as dogs. Even Saints might have been more numerous.
Sha Chen recognized that his talent was higher than that of Sun Wokong and Yang Jian, but it still fell short compared to those great monsters of the Witch and Demon Great War era. So, he was very clear about his own level and positioned himself correctly.
He shook his head and said, "The Saint truly overpraises me. My talent is actually quite ordinary; it’s just that I had better opportunities that have led to my current achievements."
It was through the system’s rewards and the continuous offerings from his followers that he was able to improve rapidly and grow to where he was today. It was mainly the system’s rewards that mattered, which included various Dao Techniques and Divine Powers, as well as guidance from Saints that allowed him to elevate quickly. Otherwise, he would not have been able to grow this fast. But Sha Chen’s talent was steadily increasing; it had been raised from merely average to a higher level. Otherwise, if he had continued to grow with his previous talent, he feared that even with the current resources and support, it might take tens of thousands of years, or even a lifetime, and he might still not reach his current realm. Because reaching the Daluo Golden Immortal and Quasi-Saint levels isn’t just about having resources; it requires a certain talent and understanding—that’s the threshold. Sha Chen also had to continuously enhance his talent and understanding to raise his own ceiling; otherwise, he wouldn’t have been able to break through.
Tongtian Hierarch looked at Sha Chen and said indifferently, "You don’t need to be modest. I’ve said it: if you have the talent, then you have it. But sometimes, strength isn’t just about having talent.
"I have told you before, you have the potential to become a Saint, but you lack the destiny and the opportunity to do so. Don’t blame me for being harsh; this is the truth. No Saint has ever become one just through cultivation."
Sha Chen fell silent.
What the Tongtian Hierarch said wasn’t harsh at all, but rather quite sincere. If the Tongtian Hierarch didn’t truly care about him, he wouldn’t have told him these things.
The Tongtian Hierarch continued, "Every Saint has gone through countless brutal trials. Outsiders might think that we six were rather lucky to have taken those six positions, and then become Saints.
"But outsiders are mistaken; taking those six positions simply means shouldering greater responsibilities. In fact, we became Saints on our own. The teacher didn’t give us much help; at most, we just had the convenience to ask the teacher about Dao Techniques we didn’t understand on a normal day."
Sha Chen looked earnest and serious. He knew the Tongtian Hierarch was imparting truths to him.
The Tongtian Hierarch continued, "The teacher has held three sermons to teach, receive disciples, and resolve doubts for the people, and the Dao Techniques that we were able to obtain weren’t much more than what was given in those three sermons.
"We were able to become Saints because we relied on ourselves, went out into the world to accumulate merit, created our own worlds, and amassed a tremendous amount of merit."
The Tongtian Hierarch added, "If we really had any advantage, it’s that our path was clearer.
"By following the teacher, we knew accumulating merit could lead to sainthood. We focused our studies in this direction and avoided some detours that others might take. That’s all."
Sha Chen nodded.
In the past, the people qualified to take those six Saint Positions were not few, as their strengths were pretty much evenly matched—figures like Kunpeng, Hongyun, Zhenyuanzi, the Nine-winged mosquito, the Ancestor of the Ming River, as well as the twelve Ancestral Witches, and many other powerful beings of that time. Their strength back then, while somewhat varied, was not significantly different. If a real life-and-death battle had ensued, who would win and who would lose was truly unpredictable. But when the Tongtian Hierarch and the others qualified to take those positions, it wasn’t just because of their talent and strength, or their opportunities and cunning; above all, it was destiny. It was written in their fate that they would take those positions. And so, they came to possess the destiny to become Saints, received guidance from Hongjun, and thereafter, gained the qualifications and potential to become Saints.
The Tongtian Hierarch said, "You lack that destiny and those qualifications. At least, if you do not leave here, you have no entitlement.
"Accumulating merit is not something you can achieve in seclusion."
