Storms Rise Again

For Meng Chen himself, this breakthrough was a natural occurrence, nothing to celebrate. Only by cultivating to the Zenith Heaven Golden Immortal realm could he truly live up to his identity and background.

To put it bluntly, with his background and resources, even a pig could cultivate to the Primordial Unity Golden Immortal realm given enough time.

"Junior Brother, congratulations on attaining Primordial Unity. The Zenith Heaven realm is in sight!"

As soon as Meng Chen finished his cultivation, Azure Dragon Lord Cangwu appeared before him, offering congratulations with a smile. Yet Meng Chen couldn't help feeling that Azure Dragon Lord Cangwu's smile was somewhat strange.

"Thank you for your kind words, Senior Brother. Has something happened within the Chan Sect?"

This was Meng Chen's first reaction.

While the Disciples of Intercepting Teaching paid no heed to sect rules, some disciples of the Chan Sect were hardly any better.

Meng Chen had originally thought that the Chan Sect disciples would be too exhausted dealing with the Intercepting Teaching disciples to stir up trouble. But now, it seemed otherwise.

Azure Dragon Lord Cangwu nodded, his smile fading.

He hadn't cared much about the Chan Sect disciples' behavior before. However, Meng Chen was the Eldest Senior Brother of the Chan Sect and oversaw its rules. If he let things slide, Meng Chen would be negligent in his duties.

"Indeed. There's a certain True Lord of Clear Void and Virtue in the Chan Sect. To refine pills, he infiltrated the Zhu Yu Clan and stole their Young Clan Leader."

Meng Chen's expression turned serious.

In the Primordial Wilderness, besides birds and beasts, there were flowers, plants, insects, and fish. All living beings could become immortals.

The Zhu Yu Clan belonged to the Plant Spirit Race, their true form being the Zhu Yu Immortal Grass. Races like this were easily harvested by cultivators as spiritual herbs and immortal grasses.

Meng Chen didn't doubt Azure Dragon Lord Cangwu's words at all. Azure Dragon Lord Cangwu had no reason to deceive him. Moreover, the True Lord of Clear Void and Virtue himself lacked virtue.

During the Investiture of the Gods Calamity, the True Lord of Clear Void and Virtue passed by Zhaoge City, saw Huang Feihu's son Huang Tianhua playing in the garden, and abducted him without a second thought.

For someone like the True Lord of Clear Void and Virtue, stealing the Zhu Yu Clan's Young Clan Leader for pill refinement was hardly surprising.

"Truly lacking in virtue! If word of this spreads to the Intercepting Teaching and then to the Western Church, they'll surely make a big fuss over it. Yuanshi Tianzun's disciple is a kidnapper—how will the beings of the Three Realms view our Chan Sect?"

Meng Chen thought for a moment, then asked, "The Zhu Yu Clan's Young Clan Leader—he should be fine, right?"

"Well..."

Azure Dragon Lord Cangwu's face showed difficulty.

Seeing this, Meng Chen's heart sank. He understood what Azure Dragon Lord Cangwu meant.

Sure enough, Azure Dragon Lord Cangwu continued, "I only learned of this afterward. The Zhu Yu Clan went mad, searching Kunlun Mountain for their young master's traces."

"And it doesn't end there. When the Zhu Yu Clan's patriarch sensed the Zhu Yu Immortal Grass aura on the True Lord of Clear Void and Virtue and went to demand the return of his people, the True Lord beat him back to his original form. His fate goes without saying."

"You understand, Junior Brother. Our Eastern Celestial Pole cannot easily interfere in the affairs of Sage sects."

Azure Dragon Lord Cangwu was not a Chan Sect disciple; he was an outsider. Interfering in Sage sect matters would put him in the wrong, and Meng Chen wouldn't allow Azure Dragon Lord Cangwu to act.

The Chan Sect belonged to Yuanshi Tianzun, not to Meng Chen, and certainly not to the Azure Dragon Clan. If Azure Dragon Lord Cangwu intervened, people would inevitably suspect the Azure Dragon Clan of trying to usurp the Chan Sect.

Azure Dragon Lord Cangwu could only act freely when protecting Meng Chen. In such cases, even Yuanshi Tianzun had no reason to be displeased.

Meng Chen: "..."

He was truly speechless. He had barely managed to suppress the Intercepting Teaching's problems, and now the Chan Sect itself had created another.

Meng Chen could already imagine the Intercepting Teaching disciples mocking the Chan Sect.

He took a deep breath, his gaze sharpening as he made up his mind. This trend could not be allowed to continue; this precedent could not be set. He would not let the Chan Sect become a monster in the hearts of all beings.

"It seems Junior Brother Yellow Dragon is about to become one of the Twelve Golden Immortals."

Meng Chen sighed inwardly, and his figure dissolved into a wisp of green smoke, vanishing between heaven and earth.

At the foot of Clear Void Peak, experts from five clans—Blue Silver, Zhu Yu, Migu, Zidou, and Jiangzhu—gathered together. Over a dozen Golden Immortal experts joined forces, unleashing thousands of divine abilities in a frenzied battle against the True Lord of Clear Void and Virtue.

Among these five clans, the Blue Silver Clan's experts were the most formidable. The Blue Silver Clan were descendants of Acquired Spiritual Roots, born with the divine ability "Great Entanglement Art." When cultivated to perfection, this art could entangle the ages and the myriad paths of the universe, sealing them forever.

Yet even with over a dozen Golden Immortal experts united, they were no match for the True Lord of Clear Void and Virtue.

The True Lord of Clear Void and Virtue possessed the Innate Spiritual Treasure, the Five Fires Seven Birds Fan, which specifically countered the Plant Spirit Race. With a wave, he summoned a sea of flames that suppressed the divine abilities of the over a dozen Golden Immortals.

"True Lord of Clear Void and Virtue, you harm the Plant Spirit Race of Kunlun Mountain to refine your pills—you are unworthy of being a Sage's disciple!"

"Even if we all die here today, we'll take you, this demon, down with us!"

The Third Elder of the Blue Silver Clan suddenly revealed his true form, transforming into a Blue Silver Immortal Grass a thousand meters tall. The Blue Silver Immortal Grass twisted and coiled through the void, carving countless Dao marks, even entangling the flames of the Five Fires Seven Birds Fan into its own body. The sea of flames vanished in an instant.

Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle!

Though the Blue Silver Immortal Grass was a celestial treasure, how could it withstand the flames of the Five Fires Seven Birds Fan? In an instant, the Third Elder of the Blue Silver Clan turned to ash, scattering between heaven and earth.

Seeing this, the Great Elder of the Blue Silver Clan was filled with grief and fury. He knew the Third Elder had sacrificed his life to pave the way for the others.

"Kill!"

The experts of the Plant Spirit Race were also driven to madness.

Their clans had all lost outstanding juniors to the True Lord of Clear Void and Virtue's evil hands. They had to fight for their race's future.

They had to tell their descendants that they were immortals, not cultivation resources for other immortals!

Facing the siege of many experts, the True Lord of Clear Void and Virtue showed no fear. After all this fighting, he hadn't even lost a single hair. He remained as immortal and ethereal as ever.

"Hmph! You wretches, you don't understand the times or the heavenly mandate. You are clearly spiritual herbs meant for consumption, yet you insist on transforming into immortals. Don't you realize you are defying the heavenly mandate? Enough. This humble priest will beat you all back to your original forms and return you to your proper place."

The True Lord of Clear Void and Virtue wore a righteous expression, as if expounding some great truth.

As his words fell, he struck again. A Small Chiliocosm appeared behind him, crashing down upon the Plant Spirit Race experts.

This strike was like a falling star from the heavens, shattering endless void. Before the Small Chiliocosm even landed, heaven and earth were already destroyed. The song of destruction echoed through the void.

The Plant Spirit Race experts had only just stepped into the Golden Immortal realm—how could they withstand such an attack? One by one, despair filled their faces, and then, like moths to a flame, they threw themselves at the True Lord of Clear Void and Virtue's Small Chiliocosm.