Darkness of the West

Western Church, Great Mount Sumeru Temple.

Sanskrit chants echoed through the hall. Golden flowers fell to the ground, golden lotuses sprouted from the earth, and supreme Western Esoteric Dharma transformed into Buddha Spirits that chanted sutras in the void. Golden Guardian Celestial Maiden and Silver Guardian Celestial Maiden wore Treasure Robes and danced gracefully.

By the Eight Treasures Merit Pool, two sages sat facing each other, discussing the affairs of the Western Church.

"Senior Brother, hand Ksitigarbha over to me. Let me train him. I will certainly make him a pillar of the West."

The first to speak was a young Daoist with a compassionate expression, clad in a gilded Daoist robe. His features were exceedingly kind, and at a glance, he looked like a truly good man.

He was Sage Zhunti, one of the Two Sages of the West.

Sitting opposite him was a man wearing a Withered Wood Crown, with center-parted hair hanging over his forehead. He looked somewhat like the white-haired old Daoist Jiang Ziya from Honor of Kings.

Upon hearing Sage Zhunti's request, Sage Jieyin immediately said with a sorrowful expression, "Ksitigarbha possesses great compassion and has comprehended the Past Amitabha Sutra. Spirit Platform Mountain is filled with Demonic Path Practitioners whom you converted. As your senior brother, I cannot hand Ksitigarbha over to you."

Sage Zhunti frowned slightly at those words, pressed his palms together, and said, "Senior Brother, Ksitigarbha once obtained some scriptures of the Demonic Path. Though he has not cultivated them, he is fated with the Demonic Path. If Senior Brother insists on keeping him in the church, you will certainly regret it."

He had taken a liking to Ksitigarbha's talent and was determined to keep Ksitigarbha in his own hands. However, Sage Jieyin would not let Sage Zhunti have his way.

"Enough!"

Sage Jieyin cut Sage Zhunti off. He looked directly at him and said sternly, "Do not forget that I am the leader of the Western Church!"

Sage Zhunti was stunned. He had not expected Sage Jieyin to use his status as church leader to suppress him.

One had to know that, so Sage Jieyin could obtain the opportunity at Purple Cloud Palace, he had acted like a clown and swindled a seat from Ancestor Hongyun.

For countless years, all the Western Church's shady dealings had been carried out by him and Spirit Platform Mountain. Before becoming a sage, many great powers had considered him a shameless wretch, and he knew it well.

Meanwhile, Sage Jieyin only needed to sit upon his lotus dais and enjoy the reverence and offerings of Western beings. Cutting flesh to feed the eagle, holding compassion in his heart—all the good reputations had been claimed by Sage Jieyin.

Sage Jieyin noticed Sage Zhunti's expression and knew that his words had been too harsh. His voice softened as he spoke:

"Junior Brother, I was impulsive just now. I have seen everything you have done for the West. If I am the golden lotus bathed in sunlight, then Junior Brother is the Root in the Darkness."

"Only by joining hands can you and I strengthen the West and bring it prosperity. The two of us are equally important to the West. It is merely that Junior Brother can be too extreme in his actions at times. Since Spirit Platform Mountain lacks people, Junior Brother may simply go to the Eastern Lands and convert another group. Why must you choose disciples of our own church?"

Upon hearing this, all the displeasure in Sage Zhunti's heart vanished.

Just as Sage Zhunti was preparing to rise and leave, the Boy in Blue-Gray Daoist Robe entered the hall. He immediately knelt and reported in a shrill voice, "Reporting to the two masters, this disciple has just received news that an upheaval has occurred within Intercepting Teaching. Daoist Duobao has fallen from favor, and Our Lady of Wudang has become Intercepting Teaching's senior sister."

"What!?"

The Two Sages of the West were jolted by the news, though neither showed any change in expression.

"Only ten thousand years have passed, yet Duo Bao has already been stripped of his position as Eldest Senior Brother. What exactly happened?"

During a Kalpa, even sages could not calculate the Heavenly Secrets. If the Western Church wished to learn of the affairs of the Human, Chan, and Intercepting Teachings, it could only rely on its intelligence network.

It had to be said that the Three Pure Ones relied too heavily on the Heavenly Secrets. They had no awareness of intelligence gathering whatsoever. By the time of the Investiture of the Gods Calamity, Chan Sect and Intercepting Teaching—two great sage sects—had actually been played around by a single Shen Gongbao.

The boy bent at the waist, not daring to look directly upon the sages' holy visages. Perhaps because he was too nervous, his voice became even shriller. "It was Meng Chen. Meng Chen, the Eldest Senior Brother of Chan Sect, took action and suppressed Daoist Duobao, forcing him to kneel. Thus, Daoist Duobao lost the possibility of controlling Intercepting Teaching."

Upon hearing this, the Two Sages of the West immediately felt as though they had lifted a stone only to smash their own feet.

Sage Zhunti waved a hand. "Go. Report at once if anything happens."

"Yes!"

The Boy in Blue-Gray Daoist Robe flicked the whisk in his hand, backed away three steps, then turned and left the great hall.

Once the boy had departed, the expressions of the Two Sages of the West darkened at the same time.

Sage Zhunti spoke first. "Senior Brother, this time it was my mistake. I chose the wrong people. They were too hasty. Before even figuring out Chan Sect's strength, they rushed to sow discord. Now, Daoist Duobao has fallen from favor. It will be much harder to scheme against Intercepting Teaching."

As the saying went, one need not fear godlike opponents, only pig teammates. In the eyes of the Two Sages of the West, Daoist Duobao was Master Tongtian's pig teammate.

Following the principle that an enemy's pig teammate was one's own good friend, the Two Sages of the West had regarded Daoist Duobao as a good friend.

Sage Jieyin shook his head.

"This matter cannot be blamed on Junior Brother. If anyone is to blame, it is our people for being too impatient. How could plotting against a great sage sect be so easy? We must first destroy Intercepting Teaching from within before it can crumble and disintegrate. Duo Bao is an extremely ambitious man, and he is even Supreme Above All in manner. If he became Intercepting Teaching's Eldest Senior Brother, he would certainly lead Intercepting Teaching toward decay. At that time, all we would need to do was make a slight move and spread some Demonic Path divine abilities among Intercepting Teaching. Those disciples would surely be unable to resist the temptation and begin cultivating demonic arts. Who would have thought that our scheme would be stillborn before it even began?"

At this point, Sage Zhunti's eyes had begun to dart about. He was desperately trying to find a way to make up for the losses caused by Daoist Duobao's fall from favor. To him, nothing was more important than defeating the Three Pure Ones and making the Western Church the foremost great orthodoxy of the Primordial Wilderness.

Sage Jieyin was like a roundworm in Sage Zhunti's belly. The moment Sage Zhunti's eyes shifted, he knew what Sage Zhunti intended to do.

However, he was willing to wipe Sage Zhunti's butt. The Western Church could not do without Sage Zhunti, and neither could he.

After a moment, Sage Zhunti suddenly said, "Senior Brother, I know a friend in the Primordial Wilderness who has always yearned with heart and soul for our Western Church. I once promised him that if he accomplished a major task for the Western Church, I would make him the Third Sect Master of the Western Church."

"Which friend?"

Sage Jieyin did not care much. The Second Sect Master, Third Sect Master, and Fourth Sect Master were merely nominal sect masters. Only the Great Sect Master was the true leader of the Western Church.

"It is friend Ran Deng."

"Ran Deng!?"

Sage Jieyin was also startled upon hearing this. He was a Primordial Saint! Daoist Ran Deng had only suffered from late emergence. Otherwise, his cultivation would certainly not have been so limited now.

"That is right! I intend to have friend Ran Deng join Chan Sect. Since the piece on Intercepting Teaching's board cannot move for the time being, we will place a piece within Chan Sect instead. Once the time is right, we will have the pieces in both Chan Sect and Intercepting Teaching act together."

Sage Zhunti was exceptionally gifted at playing with conspiracies and schemes. Otherwise, he could not have become the Darkness of the West.

"Good. We shall proceed as you say!"

Sage Jieyin nodded and agreed to Sage Zhunti's proposal.