With a wave of his hand, Azure Dragon Lord Cangwu set up a spacetime barrier around the outskirts of the Boundless Tree Sea, separating this stretch of spacetime from the outside world.
From the outside, it looked as though a mass of Divine Light had pulled the Boundless Tree Sea into a parallel dimension. Those in the real world could neither see the Boundless Tree Sea nor approach it.
Then, Azure Dragon Lord Cangwu opened his mouth and exhaled. Countless Little Azure Dragons flew out and entered every corner of the Boundless Tree Sea, transforming the forest.
In Azure Dragon Lord Cangwu's view, the current Boundless Tree Sea was not fit to serve as the daoist temple of a Sage's Disciple and Dragon Clan crown prince. It had to be rebuilt into a grand formation that gathered spiritual energy, trapped and killed enemies, and provided defense before it could match Meng Chen's status.
Meng Chen had summoned a Guardian for much the same reason.
Making use of every available condition to benefit himself was his way of doing things. What fairness? People were unequal from the moment they were born. If he wanted to give everyone else fairness, he might as well kill himself—only death was fair.
As Meng Chen cultivated the Great Incarnation Technique, time quietly slipped away, though years had never been counted in the Primordial Wilderness to begin with.
New changes took place within Kunlun Mountain.
When Master Tongtian founded his sect, he had proclaimed to the Primordial Wilderness that Intercepting Teaching accepted all without discrimination. The moment those four words, "accepted all without discrimination," spread through the Primordial Wilderness, countless living beings went mad with excitement.
The vast majority of people joined under a Sage to find someone to rely on, and Meng Chen was no exception. Hongjun Daozu had long ago preached the Dao to all living beings, so the Primordial Wilderness did not lack Dao arts or divine abilities. Yet becoming a Sage's Disciple was equivalent to obtaining a talisman against death. No matter the circumstances, one would no longer have to fear falling.
People climbed upward, while water flowed downward. This was the most primal pursuit of all living beings, and there was nothing to criticize.
Thus, while the Chan Sect stopped accepting disciples, Intercepting Teaching expanded its recruitment. Faced with those pairs of yearning eyes, Master Tongtian decisively opened the door wide.
Golden Hoop Immortal, Jin Guangxian, Ling Ya Xian, Curly Head Immortal, Pilu Xian, Long-Eared Dingguang Immortal, Zhao Gongming, Yunxiao, Qiongxiao, Bixiao...
Batch after batch of immortals entered Intercepting Teaching.
Every one of these immortals was a talent, and they spoke pleasantly. More importantly, Master Tongtian had deduced that all of them were fated to join Intercepting Teaching.
At once, the number of Disciples of Intercepting Teaching began to grow explosively.
Luo Xuan, Lü Yue, the Four Sages of Nine Dragon Island, the Nine Luminaries Star Lords, the Ten Heavenly Lords of Ten Ultimates Island, the Twelve Divine Generals, the Twenty-Eight Constellations, the Thirty-Six Heavenly Spirits, the Seventy-Two Earthly Fiends, and other famous figures recorded in the Investiture of the Gods also followed the tide into Intercepting Teaching and became its disciples.
In a mere ten thousand years, the number of Disciples of Intercepting Teaching had expanded to three thousand.
The Chan Sect saw Intercepting Teaching's movements clearly, but Sage Laozi and Yuanshi Tianzun paid them no heed.
In truth, even if Master Tongtian accepted a hundred million disciples, the two Sages would not take it to heart. After all, it was Master Tongtian's family matter. Even as his elder brothers, they had no right to interfere in his affairs.
Between brothers, affection alone was not enough; they also needed mutual respect. Respect for a brother's choices, respect for a brother's beliefs, respect for a brother's ideals. If brothers could not even respect one another, their brotherly bond certainly would not last.
Sage Laozi and Yuanshi Tianzun thought this way, and they acted accordingly. Master Tongtian of this era was indeed quite restrained as well. Once the number of Disciples of Intercepting Teaching reached three thousand, he stopped taking in disciples.
Master Tongtian's actions allowed the Chan Sect disciples to breathe a sigh of relief.
With so many Disciples of Intercepting Teaching, there were inevitably good and bad among them, including some who failed to obey sect rules. Yet under the eyes of the Sage, they behaved cautiously and committed only trivial offenses that could hardly be punished, leaving even Master Tongtian unable to discipline them properly.
The gap in cultivation had yet to widen. With so many Disciples of Intercepting Teaching, the Chan Sect disciples could hardly help being afraid.
On Pointing Heaven Peak, Guang Chengzi, Chijingzi, and Taiyi Zhenren gathered together.
"Senior Brother Guang Chengzi, that Lü Yue has gone too far! He released a plague near my Azure Sky Peak, poisoning everything within a million li of it until not a blade of grass remained and all living things turned to ash. A perfectly fine immortal blessed land has become a forbidden zone of life."
Taiyi Zhenren poured out his grievances. He had only just finished setting up his daoist temple, yet Lü Yue had forced him to move.
Chijingzi sighed. "My Chi Jing Cliff has been fortunate enough to escape the plague's devastation. But Jin Guangxian, Ling Ya Xian, and Curly Head Immortal keep eating raw flesh and drinking blood near my daoist temple."
He could not understand it. Jin Guangxian and the others had clearly attained immortality, so why did they still act as they had when they were beasts, unable to cast off their beastly habits?
Hearing Chijingzi and Taiyi Zhenren speak, Guang Chengzi could not help pouring out his own grievances as well.
"What is that compared to mine? Pointing Heaven Peak may be free of plague and the stench of blood, but Pilu Xian often meets Yu Shuixian nearby. Ever since I accidentally came upon them once, they have become increasingly brazen, appearing beneath Pointing Heaven Peak again and again."
By this point, Guang Chengzi was somewhat embarrassed.
"When those two are together, they behave as though no one else exists. At times, Yu Shuixian even makes all kinds of shameful sounds that make it impossible for others to enter meditation."
"Yu Shuixian? I feel as though I've heard of her somewhere before."
Taiyi Zhenren's face took on a thoughtful expression when he heard the name. "Oh, I remember now. This female fellow Daoist is a Rogue Cultivator who inherited some of Grandma Wushan's teachings and specializes in harvesting yang to replenish yin. It is said that any male immortal who becomes involved with her will become lost in her tender embrace and allow her to harvest his essence. Could it be that she saw Senior Brother Guang Chengzi's abundant primal yang and set her sights on him..."
After saying this, Taiyi Zhenren cautiously glanced at Guang Chengzi.
Guang Chengzi flew into a rage. "Nonsense! How could I be such a shameless person?"
"Ah!"
The moment his words fell, an unrestrained moan pierced through layer upon layer of space beneath the mountain, shooting straight into the clouds and reaching Pointing Heaven Peak.
Guang Chengzi felt the sound brim with boundless temptation, and his mind nearly lost control. He hurriedly circulated his mana and formed a barrier around himself.
Yet the sound seemed to possess some kind of magic. It passed straight through Guang Chengzi's mana barrier and entered his heart.
Taiyi Zhenren and Chijingzi were both puzzled by Guang Chengzi's reaction. The two of them merely felt somewhat embarrassed, so why did Guang Chengzi need to circulate his mana to resist it?
Taiyi Zhenren suddenly thought of something, and his expression changed. "Not good! This is the Succubus Demonic Sound. Whoever hears it will have a seed of desire planted in their heart. Each time the Succubus Demonic Sound rings out, it will be far more powerful than before. Act quickly—do not let Senior Brother Guang Chengzi be bewitched by that demoness!"
As Taiyi Zhenren spoke, a dark purple club appeared in his hand. With a furious roar, he brought it down upon Guang Chengzi's head. The instant the club struck him, Guang Chengzi's state of mind cleared, and the fire of desire he could not suppress was extinguished.
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