Boundless Immortal Elder

Meng Chen really couldn't bear to refuse Daoist Ran Deng's request. After all, he had always been a warm-hearted person eager to help others.

Just as Meng Chen was about to set off for Biyou Palace, Yuanshi Tianzun waved his hand: "Disciple, let your teacher go instead! Since Daoist friend Ran Deng sincerely wishes to join My Chan Sect, the initiation ceremony should naturally be presided over by me personally."

Yuanshi Tianzun was uneasy—after all, Biyou Palace was the territory of the Disciples of Intercepting Teaching. Master Tongtian wouldn't do anything to Meng Chen, but those Disciples of Intercepting Teaching might not necessarily heed Master Tongtian's words.

If Meng Chen got into a conflict with the Disciples of Intercepting Teaching inside Biyou Palace, no matter how good Master Tongtian's temper was, he would have to punish Meng Chen.

Yuanshi Tianzun felt that until the internal affairs of Intercepting Teaching were settled, Meng Chen shouldn't appear alone in Biyou Palace.

Hearing Yuanshi Tianzun say this, Meng Chen felt a bit regretful inside. As the Eldest Senior Brother of Chan Sect, he had a duty to help junior brothers overcome difficulties in joining and dispersing their cultivation. He felt ashamed that he couldn't help his future junior brother disperse his cultivation.

"What Teacher says is most wise. This disciple overstepped his bounds."

Under Daoist Ran Deng's profound gaze, Meng Chen retreated back into the ranks.

At that moment, Daoist Ran Deng's heart had turned to ash. He had thought that with his cultivation level, joining Chan Sect would at least earn him a position as an elder or a guardian of the sect.

Who would have guessed that this hypocrite Meng Chen would pop up and, with a few words, force him to abandon his cultivation?

At Biyou Palace, Yuanshi Tianzun's sudden arrival left Master Tongtian greatly puzzled. Master Tongtian knew that Yuanshi Tianzun was being pestered by a sticky problem—why would he come to Biyou Palace instead of dealing with it?

Yuanshi Tianzun spoke bluntly: "Third Brother, this elder brother has come to borrow a treasure from you."

"Borrow a treasure? We are brothers—there's no need for the word 'borrow.' But Second Brother, you have the Pangu Banner in hand. Those two from the West shouldn't be a match for you, should they?"

Master Tongtian frowned slightly, a flicker of doubt in his eyes. "Second Brother, have you encountered a powerful enemy?"

Yuanshi Tianzun sighed softly: "This elder brother has come for Daoist friend Ran Deng. Third Brother knows that I do not accept those who come with prior training. I kindly advised Daoist friend Ran Deng to seek elsewhere, but his Dao heart was too steadfast."

He paused there. "To join My Chan Sect, he was willing to abandon his hard-earned Da Luo Dao Fruit and rebuild his cultivation of My Chan Sect's Daoist arts from the Golden Immortal level. Seeing his single-minded devotion to the Dao, I could only grant his wish."

"Wh—what?"

Master Tongtian's eyes went wide, thinking he had misheard.

A Zenith Heaven Golden Immortal, willing to abandon his Da Luo Dao Fruit just to become Yuanshi Tianzun's disciple. Most absurdly, Yuanshi Tianzun was actually preparing to grant it, intending to borrow the Hunyuan Golden Dou to erase Daoist Ran Deng's Da Luo Dao Fruit.

"Never judge a book by its cover. I never thought Daoist friend Ran Deng's devotion to the Dao would be so steadfast. It seems Daoist friend Ran Deng is wise playing the fool! Good, I'll definitely help with this!"

"Indeed! Daoist friend Ran Deng admires My Chan Sect. This elder brother truly couldn't bear to refuse him."

After Yuanshi Tianzun left, Master Tongtian summoned the Disciples of Intercepting Teaching and told them the story of Daoist Ran Deng's pursuit of the Dao, hoping to inspire their hearts and strengthen their Dao resolve.

When Yuanshi Tianzun returned to Jade Void Palace, Daoist Ran Deng immediately knelt respectfully, gazing at Yuanshi Tianzun with fervent eyes.

"Disciple greets Teacher. May Teacher trouble himself to disperse this disciple's cultivation!"

Yuanshi Tianzun looked at this disciple with satisfaction: "This Seat's words are as good as gold. Since I promised to accept you into the sect, I will not go back on my word. Once your cultivation is dispersed, there will no longer be a Daoist Ran Deng in heaven and earth—only Wu Liangzi of My Chan Sect."

Hearing this, Wu Liangzi's heart trembled uncontrollably. He ached inside. He had cultivated for so many years to reach his current achievement, yet he was forced by this master-disciple pair, Yuanshi Tianzun and Meng Chen, to cripple his own cultivation.

What was even more hateful was that this pair was even going to change his Daoist title.

Yes, he saw it now—everything he had suffered was a scheme designed by Yuanshi Tianzun and Meng Chen. One wanted to use him to establish authority and discourage others from kneeling outside Jade Void Palace; the other would stop at nothing to suppress him, afraid that his entry into Chan Sect would threaten his own position.

Falling into the hands of this master-disciple pair, Wu Liangzi accepted his fate!

"Many thanks, Teacher!"

"Hmm! Your teacher will now disperse your cultivation. The process will be a bit painful—bear with it."

Yuanshi Tianzun held the Hunyuan Golden Dou and suspended it above Wu Liangzi's head. The Hunyuan Golden Dou blazed with light, and a vortex appeared, sucking Daoist Ran Deng inside.

Inside the Hunyuan Golden Dou, Wu Liangzi felt as if he had entered a spinning washing machine, his cultivation and physical body separating.

As his cultivation was drawn out, Wu Liangzi was in agony. Every moment, it felt like he was in a hell of needles, his entire body pierced by countless steel spikes.

The moment his Da Luo Dao Fruit dissolved, rivers of time surged out from his body, flowing back into the River of Fate. In the end, even his Spacetime Anchor Point was sucked out.

Wu Liangzi's aura grew weaker and weaker, his magical power draining to the bottom. He had never been so feeble.

Once, he was an undying, immortal Zenith Heaven Golden Immortal. Now, he was a mere Mystic Immortal—an ant-like existence.

Wu Liangzi's mentality nearly shattered, but he still remembered his mission, remembered Sage Zhunti's promise. He was meant to be the leader of a Sage's great sect—if he couldn't endure even this humiliation, how could he become the Third Sect Master of the Western Church?

Watching Wu Liangzi's joyful expression from the side, even though Wu Liangzi was his enemy, Meng Chen couldn't help but admire him.

Wu Liangzi's endurance surpassed even Gou Jian's, but the more such a person could endure, the more dangerous he was. So Meng Chen would rather offend him to the death than let him go.

Meng Chen couldn't give Wu Liangzi the chance to win over Cihang, Manjushri, Samantabhadra, and Juliusun.

He already regarded the future Chan Sect as his own possession. Cihang, Manjushri, and the others were all his designated excellent workers. Wu Liangzi trying to lure these four into the Western Church was like poaching his talent.

This kind of behavior from Wu Liangzi was absolutely unacceptable to him.

Having successfully dispersed his cultivation, Wu Liangzi wept tears of joy: "Teacher, this disciple can finally enter Teacher's tutelage."

"Hmm!"

Yuanshi Tianzun looked at Wu Liangzi with satisfaction. "From now on, you will cultivate alongside your senior brothers Yun Zhongzi and Immortal Elder of the South Pole."

Hearing Yuanshi Tianzun's words, Wu Liangzi nearly fainted from rage. He had knelt outside Jade Void Palace for three years and abandoned his entire cultivation—only to become a nominal disciple?

But he couldn't defy Yuanshi Tianzun's words. He bowed deeply: "Disciple Wu Liangzi greets Teacher."

"Good!"

Yuanshi Tianzun waved his hand, and a jade slip flew before Wu Liangzi.

"Since you've entered Chan Sect, you are qualified to cultivate its techniques. This technique is called the Jade Clarity Grand Yi Heavenly Immortal Formula, specially created by your teacher for you. After dispersing your cultivation, your foundation is damaged. To cultivate the Great Dao, you must practice this Jade Clarity Grand Yi Heavenly Immortal Formula to stabilize your foundation. Do not be greedy and practice other techniques of My Teaching. Understood?"

Wu Liangzi took the jade slip with trembling hands, his face full of piety on the surface, but his heart was filled with bitterness.

The Jade Clarity Grand Yi Heavenly Immortal Formula—the name sounded decent enough, but he, a Primordial Saint, was now reduced to starting from an ordinary technique, strictly forbidden from practicing any others. In his eyes, Yuanshi Tianzun was suppressing him.

Yet this was the price he paid for shamelessly clinging on and morally blackmailing Yuanshi Tianzun into letting him join Chan Sect!