Meng Chen Leaves Seclusion

Under the management of Azure Dragon Lord Cangwu, the once chaotic primordial forest of the Boundless Tree Sea had become a sacred cultivation land filled with birdsong, floral fragrance, and swirling immortal energy.

Every tree here had been branded with Array Dao Runes. Thousands upon thousands of trees, arranged in a special formation, composed a grand array that integrated spirit gathering, trapping, killing, and defense.

Let alone the newly initiated Disciples of Intercepting Teaching, even Daoist Ran Deng could not break in.

This was exactly the effect Meng Chen wanted. His own cultivation ground had to be as impregnable as iron. If outsiders could casually find his Daoist Temple, what safety would there be?

After ten thousand years of cultivation, Meng Chen had finally completed the Great Incarnation Technique. Within his body, in the Great Thousand World, the Innate Spiritual Root had taken root, becoming the world's center and growing rapidly.

The Primordial Chaos Spiritual Energy produced by the Innate Spiritual Root was fully and unreservedly fed back to Meng Chen, increasing his origin.

Meng Chen's origin was now improving every moment. Whether he cultivated or not, whether he refined treasures or not, the increase in his origin accelerated his cultivation speed. His comprehension of the laws of time, space, and destiny advanced by leaps and bounds.

Not only that, after refining the Innate Spiritual Root, Meng Chen also learned its name.

This Innate Spiritual Root was called the Undying Tree. It was formed when the Life Demon God's origin fell into the Primordial Wilderness and was nurtured by the laws of heaven and earth. Strictly speaking, the Undying Tree was not an Innate Spiritual Root, but a fragmentary Primordial Chaos Spiritual Root.

The Undying Tree possessed extremely strong vitality. When it matured and bore fruit, a mortal who ate one could achieve eternal life directly.

Note: eternal life, not eternal youth.

As long as the Undying Tree's true body did not die, any living being who consumed its fruit would live forever, never perishing. In other words, eating the Undying Tree's fruit guaranteed at least becoming a pseudo Great Luo Golden Immortal.

"Could the legendary Nine Revolutions Great Luo Golden Pill be refined using the Undying Tree's fruit as the main ingredient?"

After learning all the wonders of the Undying Tree, Meng Chen subconsciously thought. He only considered it briefly, not delving deeper. When the Undying Tree bore fruit, he would pick a few and give them to Sage Laozi to verify.

As a nephew-disciple, offering some small gifts to his uncle-master was perfectly reasonable.

"Junior Brother, it seems you've cultivated some remarkable divine ability? I sense that your aura is growing stronger every moment."

Seeing Meng Chen finish his cultivation, Azure Dragon Lord Cangwu immediately appeared to inquire.

Meng Chen opened his eyes and nodded. "Indeed, I've gained quite a bit. At this rate, within three Yuanhui, I will be able to condense the Three Flowers on the Crown and become a Primordial Unity Golden Immortal. But Golden Immortals are ants, and Primordial Unity Golden Immortals are also ants. Only Great Luo Golden Immortals can truly be called immortals."

Even so, Meng Chen was still very eager to become a Primordial Unity Golden Immortal. As the Eldest Senior Brother of the Chan Sect, if he could not suppress his fellow disciples with absolute cultivation and realm, he would be unworthy of the title.

If he used every trick and could only fight Guang Chengzi to a draw, relying on a flaw Guang Chengzi revealed to win, how could Meng Chen have the face to call himself Eldest Senior Brother?

"As expected of Junior Brother. What will you do next?"

Azure Dragon Lord Cangwu was overjoyed. Their Dragon Clan's prince should have this kind of confidence.

"It's been ten thousand years since I entered the sect. I plan to meet my fellow junior brothers and strengthen our bonds. In the endless years to come, I will fight alongside them."

Meng Chen stood up abruptly, a powerful will rising from him. This will turned into a dragon when meeting wind, a tiger when meeting clouds. The dragon roared to the nine heavens, the tiger shook heaven and earth, making the world tremble.

Azure Dragon Lord Cangwu knew that this will originated from Meng Chen's Dao Heart, transcending magical power. That was why he found it so shocking. To move the heavens with mere will—how firm must Meng Chen's Dao Heart be?

Meng Chen left Azure Dragon Lord Cangwu in the Boundless Tree Sea, then transformed into a beam of golden light and plunged into the endless sky.

As soon as he left the Boundless Tree Sea, he sensed several streams of magical power clashing nearby. He looked toward the source and saw three immortals hunting a group of spirit beasts.

These three immortals all possessed pure Shangqing Magic Power, but their magic carried a bloody aura. Their appearances were not that of the Pangu Creation Dao Body. They had either long noses and large ears, or green faces and fangs.

The one with the long nose and large ears grabbed a spirit deer, didn't even skin it, and bit directly into its artery.

The one with the green face and fangs opened a bloody maw, his massive lion head emitting suction, swallowing spirit beasts one after another.

"Has it finally begun?"

Meng Chen glanced at the direction of Ling Ya Xian and the other two, then shot off into the distance.

He was only responsible for enforcing the Chan Sect's rules, not the Intercepting Teaching's. The Chan Sect's rules did include observing Pure Rules and Precepts and forbidding the slaughter of living beings, but how the Disciples of Intercepting Teaching acted was none of his concern.

Still, the appearance of these Intercepting Teaching disciples indicated that the Three Pure Ones were about to Part Ways.

The Three Pure Ones Parting Ways had little to do with the differences between the two sects. Why would siblings who had all started their own families still crowd together? The Three Pure Ones were brothers, not husband and wife. Only husband and wife lived together for life.

But Meng Chen needed to confirm one thing. He now suspected that the Disciples of Intercepting Teaching were conducting an Obedience Test on Master Tongtian.

Master Tongtian was too lenient with his disciples, but that leniency kept lowering his bottom line. By the time of the Investiture of the Gods Calamity, the Disciples of Intercepting Teaching treated Master Tongtian's decrees as wind past their ears.

Worse, some directly betrayed Master Tongtian and defected to the Western Church.

Meng Chen pondered inwardly. If that was really the case, then the Chan Sect and the Intercepting Teaching might truly face a war. Soon, he arrived at Pointing Heaven Peak.

Chan Sect disciples could sense each other's aura.

On the peak, Guang Chengzi, Chijingzi, and Taiyi Zhenren were sitting in a circle, chanting the Yellow Court Scripture to cleanse the dust from their hearts.

Yu Shuixian had truly set her sights on Guang Chengzi, coming repeatedly to seduce him. Fortunately, Chijingzi and Taiyi Zhenren helped him, preserving Guang Chengzi's purity. But as Yu Shuixian's visits to Pointing Heaven Peak increased, even Chijingzi and Taiyi Zhenren were struggling to hold out.

Meng Chen saw at a glance that the three had fallen under a baleful art. He waved his hand, scattering a patch of cyan immortal light.

"Mm~ ah~"

The immortal light descended, landing on Guang Chengzi, Chijingzi, and Taiyi Zhenren. Instantly, strange, piercing gasps came from within their bodies.

When the gasps reached their peak, the sound abruptly stopped. Three clumps of black qi left their bodies. Meng Chen struck casually, and the three clumps of black qi turned to nothing, gone forever.

Without those three clumps of black qi, Guang Chengzi, Chijingzi, and Taiyi Zhenren felt their Dao Heart clarity restored, their minds filled with ease. They opened their eyes, saw Meng Chen, and knew he had removed the baleful art from them.

"Thank you, Eldest Senior Brother, for your help!"

"No need for formalities, three junior brothers. What happened here?"

Meng Chen asked knowingly.

How could he not see that they had been cursed by Intercepting Teaching disciples? But he needed to know the full story.