Heavenly Venerate Bestows Treasure

The recruitment of disciples concluded, and the three Sages each returned to their own palaces with their disciples.

Although the Three Pure Ones had not yet split their households, they were Sages after all, and could not possibly crowd into a single palace. Sage Laozi established the Grand Purity Palace at Sitting-Forget Peak, Yuanshi Tianzun established the Jade Void Palace at Qilin Cliff, and Master Tongtian established the Biyou Palace at Jue Tian Ridge.

Yuanshi Tianzun sat high upon his Cloud Bed, gazing at the talent-filled Jade Void Palace with deep satisfaction. His Chan Sect was no longer an empty shell; with this batch of disciples, he could expand and glorify his lineage.

His gaze swept across the assembled disciples, finally settling on Meng Chen. "Meng Chen is the son of the Meng Zhang Divine Lord, with a foundation comparable to a Primordial Saint. From now on, he shall be the Eldest Senior Brother of My Teaching, in charge of its rules and regulations, overseeing rewards for good and punishment for evil."

Meng Chen had not expected Yuanshi Tianzun to hold him in such high regard. He quickly bowed in salute. "Teacher, rest assured. This disciple will not fail the trust you have placed in me."

The internal situation of the Chan Sect was relatively simple, not as complicated as the Intercepting Teaching. With just over a dozen people, Meng Chen could easily win over two or three and grasp everything happening within the entire sect with perfect clarity.

If it were the Intercepting Teaching, with ten thousand immortals paying court and countless factions, management would be an immense headache.

However, Meng Chen did not become complacent because of this. Instead, a sense of urgency arose in his heart.

Enforcing the sect rules was a sure way to make enemies. Without the strength to suppress others, the one in charge of discipline would become a target for everyone.

What if, in the future, the one who became the sect leader was not Meng Chen, but Guang Chengzi? Guang Chengzi might settle old scores and come looking for trouble.

Meng Chen silently resolved to keep his cultivation at least one major realm, or two minor realms, above his fellow disciples. Only then could he firmly suppress them.

Seeing Meng Chen's reaction, Yuanshi Tianzun could not have been more pleased. Unmoved by favor or disgrace, unshaken by external things—this was the senior disciple he had chosen.

Guang Chengzi and the others looked at Meng Chen with surprise. They had not expected his background to be so illustrious. This status could only be compared to the few little Golden Crows in the Heavenly Court.

"Meng Chen, you are the senior disciple of My Teaching, representing its face."

"This is the Wu Ji Apricot Yellow Banner, a top-grade Innate Spiritual Treasure of infinite mystery. I obtained it from the Treasure-Dividing Rock."

"This is the top-grade Innate Spiritual Treasure, the Creation Gourd, which I obtained from the Primordial Gourd Vine. It has the wondrous ability to refine all things and revert them to their origin."

"Now, I bestow these two treasures upon you, hoping you will advance by leaps and bounds and grow quickly into the pillar of our sect."

"Thank you for the gifts, Teacher!"

Meng Chen bowed respectfully. After receiving the two top-grade Innate Spiritual Treasures, he felt his backbone had straightened considerably.

He was not lacking in treasures. What he wore on his body and stepped on with his feet were all innate treasures.

The shoes on his feet were called the Three Realms Striding Shoes. These shoes were treasures containing the Law of Space. With a single thought, he could roam the ends of the earth, the myriad heavens, wherever he pleased.

The robe on his body was called the Seamless Celestial Garment. With his current cultivation, activating the Seamless Celestial Garment, even if he stood still, a Primordial Unity Golden Immortal could not break his defense.

The crown on his head was called the Cloud Shadow Moon Crown, which had the effect of concealing his form and isolating him from the deduction of Heavenly Secrets.

However, he did not possess a single treasure of the level of a top-grade Innate Spiritual Treasure. Even his father only had one top-grade Innate Spiritual Treasure.

One must know that during the Dragon-Han Initial Tribulation, top-grade Innate Spiritual Treasures were treasures at the clan-suppressing level. The most supreme treasures of the Dragon Clan, Phoenix Clan, and Qilin Clan were only top-grade Innate Spiritual Treasures.

For Yuanshi Tianzun to give out two at once made him both grateful and excited.

He had made the right choice in becoming Yuanshi Tianzun's disciple. If he had become Master Tongtian's disciple, Master Tongtian simply could not have produced so many treasures.

It wasn't that Master Tongtian was bad, but that the Intercepting Teaching had too many disciples. With many wolves and little meat, and Master Tongtian having to keep the scales balanced, he could not possibly bestow two top-grade Innate Spiritual Treasures on a single disciple.

In the end, choosing a teacher had to align with one's own interests. As long as Yuanshi Tianzun treated him well, Meng Chen didn't care if Yuanshi Tianzun bullied the weak. After all, it wasn't him being bullied by Yuanshi Tianzun.

Yuanshi Tianzun nodded slightly, then looked at Guang Chengzi. Two beams of treasure light flew out along with his gaze.

"These are the Paired Swords of Yin and Yang and the Rainbow Sweeping Robe, both high-grade Innate Spiritual Treasures. You must contemplate them well."

"Thank you for the gifts, Teacher!"

Yuanshi Tianzun's treasure-refining art was famous throughout the Primordial Wilderness. He might be somewhat short on Innate Spiritual Treasures, but he had Acquired Spiritual Treasures in abundance.

Every disciple who had formally acknowledged him as teacher received a reward from Yuanshi Tianzun. Even the least favored Yellow Dragon True Man obtained a Sky Serpent Sword.

An Acquired Spiritual Treasure personally refined by a Sage contained the Sage's Dao charm. Its power might not match that of a killing-type Innate Spiritual Treasure, but it was not far off from other types of Innate Spiritual Treasures.

Yellow Dragon True Man held the Sky Serpent Sword, grinning foolishly, almost forgetting to give thanks.

He, too, had been poor for too long, burdened by karmic sin, with everything going wrong. This time, he had come to Kunlun Mountain to participate in the trial on a whim.

Dreams might be unrealistic, but what if they came true?

Yellow Dragon True Man had succeeded. He had become a disciple of Yuanshi Tianzun. He was now completely satisfied and dared not ask for more.

With the status of a Sage's disciple, no one in the Primordial Wilderness would dare to kill him. As long as he was cautious and didn't court trouble, once he cultivated to the Zenith Heaven Golden Immortal realm, he could lie back and enjoy the carefree Immortal Dao.

After bestowing magic treasures upon all his disciples, Yuanshi Tianzun finally spoke solemnly:

"To enter my Chan Sect, the first thing you must learn is the Way of the Immortal."

"My Chan Sect is the Pangu Sect. As the Pangu Sect, we should hold all living beings in our hearts, be compassionate, educate the multitudes, open their wisdom, and teach them to respect life and revere nature."

"Heaven and Earth were born from Father Pangu. Therefore, all living beings are Pangu, and all things are Pangu. To respect all beings and revere nature is to respect Pangu and revere Pangu."

"The Witch and Demon Clans, though they rule Heaven and Earth, do not cultivate good karma, do not respect Heaven, Earth, or nature, and have incurred karmic retribution with Father Pangu. They are doomed to destruction."

No one had expected that the first thing Yuanshi Tianzun would do after they entered the sect was not to teach them Dao techniques, but to instruct them in the sect rules.

At the same time, in the Biyou Palace, Master Tongtian was also giving a lecture to his disciples.

"What is the Intercepting Teaching? To intercept a thread of life for all beings—that is the Intercepting Teaching. This thread of life is not found between Heaven and Earth, nor within the Heavenly Dao, but within the beings themselves."

"The fate of all beings lies in a single thought of their own. Whether they become demons or immortals is their own choice."

"What the Intercepting Teaching seeks to impart to all beings are the laws of Heaven and Earth, the principles of cause and effect. Once beings understand these principles, they can, according to them, intercept a thread of life for themselves in the midst of adversity."

A fat man weighing two hundred jin sat opposite Master Tongtian, quietly listening to his lecture, lost in thought.