Suppressing Duo Bao

Daoist Duobao escaped the Seal of Earth's suppression and immediately circulated his magic power, regrowing his right hand in an instant. Only the severed sleeve of his robe could not be restored—after all, it was a celestial treasure, not something conjured by transformation arts.

He was about to speak when he felt the sky darken above him. Without even looking, he raised his hand and offered up his self-crafted Miniature Immortal Slaughtering Sword.

This sword strike was the supreme blow of the Intercepting Teaching—slaying immortals, beheading gods, annihilating the Dao, and butchering heaven. Its sword-light illuminated heaven and earth.

Daoist Duobao could only sense that Meng Chen had made a move against him, but he had no idea how much magic power Meng Chen had mobilized or what divine ability he had employed.

Yu Shuixian's eyes went wide with terror. She had completely lost the will to resist.

Meng Chen's palm struck down, his five fingers transforming into mountains. Each mountain was as vast as a pillar of heaven, saturated with the aura of a saint's divine ability. The Seal of Infinity, the Seal of Dao's Oneness, the Seal of Yin and Yang, the Seal of Creation, the Seal of Yin and Yang again... Five seals, sealing off heaven and earth.

Each of these five dharma seals possessed the might to create or destroy worlds and overturn all daos. Meng Chen unleashed all five at once, their power combined. Let alone Daoist Duobao—even if a Primordial Unity Golden Immortal descended, they might not be able to withstand it.

Crack, crack, crack!

Under Yu Shuixian's horrified gaze, the Miniature Immortal Slaughtering Sword that Daoist Duobao had offered up shattered inch by inch, turning to ash. Daoist Duobao himself struggled desperately beneath Meng Chen's five-finger mountains.

"Ah!"

Daoist Duobao's crown exploded, his hair disheveled, veins bulging on his face. Countless treasures were manifested by him, bombarding the five-finger mountains wildly, but in the end, divine ability could not overcome the decree of heaven.

Boom!

As the five-finger mountains landed, Daoist Duobao, like a monkey, was utterly crushed beneath them. The mountains took root on the spot, quickly merging with the earth, cutting off Daoist Duobao's last hope.

"Eldest Senior Brother, you've suppressed Daoist Duobao?"

Guang Chengzi and the other two stared at Meng Chen in shock, their hearts filled with both admiration and worry.

Admiration, because the Chan Sect's eldest senior brother had effortlessly suppressed the Intercepting Teaching's eldest senior brother—from now on, they, as junior brothers, would have face when they went out.

Worry, because Daoist Duobao was Master Tongtian's most beloved disciple. Meng Chen's actions might well displease Master Tongtian.

Meng Chen, however, looked utterly unconcerned: "Duobao, as the Intercepting Teaching's eldest senior brother, not only fails to admonish his junior brothers and sisters and guide them back to the right path, but instead shields and protects them, fueling their arrogance. If I don't teach him a proper lesson today, he will surely whisper slander before Uncle-Master Tongtian in the future, destroying the friendship between the Chan and Intercepting Teachings."

The Intercepting Teaching's rules had not been enforced, and Daoist Duobao bore undeniable responsibility. Master Tongtian had entrusted him with the sect's authority, yet instead of fulfilling his duties, he used his position to form factions within the sect and harm fellow disciples.

"Seizing a thread of life"—what a fine doctrine it was. Yet under the Disciples of Intercepting Teaching's manipulation, it became a fig leaf for their lawlessness and slaughter of living beings.

No matter what a Disciple of Intercepting Teaching did, it was all "seizing a thread of life." Whoever opposed them was a puppet of the Heavenly Dao, a sanctimonious hypocrite.

In the end, "seizing a thread of life" became as hollow as "civil and martial virtue, blessing all creation."

During the Investiture of the Gods war, Wen Zhong was clearly a disciple of Holy Mother Jinling. By all rights, he should have been closer to the inner disciples. Yet every time Wen Zhong was defeated, he went to the outer sect to recruit people, batch after batch.

Before Zhao Gongming died, he explicitly instructed Shen Gongbao, Wen Zhong, and the others not to let Yunxiao and her two sisters seek revenge. But what did Wen Zhong do?

This behavior was clearly using others as knives to fill the Investiture of the Gods roster with outer disciples.

When the outer disciples met with disaster, did a single inner disciple step forward to save them or avenge them? No. Not a single one.

If anyone claimed Wen Zhong's actions were merely his own doing, Meng Chen didn't believe it. A mere Wen Zhong—even if he had the guts of a bear and the heart of a leopard—wouldn't dare scheme against Zhao Gongming and his four siblings, or the Ten Heavenly Lords.

Wen Zhong was merely the mouthpiece of Daoist Duobao's faction!

That said, Meng Chen was no saint. He had no interest in the rights and wrongs within the Intercepting Teaching. Anyone willing to befriend the Chan Sect was his friend; anyone who opposed the Chan Sect was his enemy.

Daoist Duobao's faction clearly harbored ill intentions toward the Chan Sect. Zhao Gongming and Yunxiao's faction, by contrast, was relatively friendly. Between the two factions, Meng Chen naturally chose Zhao Gongming and Yunxiao's side.

Suppressing Daoist Duobao now served two purposes: first, to establish the Chan Sect's authority; second, to slap Daoist Duobao in the face, ruin his reputation within the Intercepting Teaching, and weaken his influence there.

With Daoist Duobao fallen, Zhao Gongming and Yunxiao's faction could rise.

What Meng Chen needed was an Intercepting Teaching that maintained friendly relations with the Chan Sect—not one that constantly harped on the "Hairy and Horned dispute."

This deeper meaning eluded Guang Chengzi and Chijingzi, and even more so, Daoist Duobao.

Daoist Duobao only felt engulfed by humiliation, all his face stripped away by Meng Chen. How could he ever lead the three thousand Disciples of Intercepting Teaching again?

Within the Three Pure Ones Palace, Yuanshi Tianzun and Master Tongtian watched everything unfold on Pointing Heaven Peak through the void.

"Second Brother, your disciple is exceedingly rude. Duobao is my Intercepting Teaching's foremost disciple. Such conduct is clearly a slap in the face to my sect."

Master Tongtian was somewhat displeased. After all, Daoist Duobao was his disciple. For Meng Chen to humiliate his disciple so without his permission showed a distinct lack of respect for him.

Yuanshi Tianzun, however, did not agree. He shook his head gently: "Third Brother, you spoil your disciples too much. Meng Chen has already said he is acting for the future of both our sects. Think about it—your disciples have repeatedly provoked mine, yet Duobao turns a blind eye. If this continues, what will become of our sects' relationship? If the disciples of both sects become enemies, how should we, as their masters, conduct ourselves? When that time comes, even if we wish to avoid a clash, we will have to fight for our respective disciples. We were originally of one breath—why make things so difficult for ourselves?"

Master Tongtian was taken aback, then understood Yuanshi Tianzun's meaning.

"Second Brother means that Duobao is not worth molding, and I chose the wrong foremost disciple for the Intercepting Teaching?"

Yuanshi Tianzun's expression darkened slightly: "The affairs of the Intercepting Teaching are for Third Brother to decide. Though I am your elder brother, I have no right to interfere. But Third Brother, spoiling a disciple is like killing a disciple. Today, you and I are still in the Primordial Wilderness and can shelter them. But if one day we must go beyond the realm to suppress the Chaos Demon Gods, and the disciples still do as they please, they may well be slain by other fellow cultivators in the Primordial Wilderness."

"This..."

Master Tongtian had been somewhat angry, but upon hearing Yuanshi Tianzun's persuasion, his anger suddenly dissipated. Perhaps he, too, understood that he had been spoiling his disciples.