Public Trial

Yuanshi Tianzun was not in Jade Void Palace, and his throne stood empty. This was not strange. Yuanshi Tianzun could not possibly sit in Jade Void Palace at every moment; he had matters of his own to attend to.

Seeing that Yuanshi Tianzun was absent from Jade Void Palace, True Lord of Clear Void and Virtue was no longer afraid.

In his view, Yuanshi Tianzun was a Sage, and Jade Void Palace was Yuanshi Tianzun's Daoist Temple. Yuanshi Tianzun could not possibly have been unaware that Meng Chen had brought him to Jade Void Palace. Since Yuanshi Tianzun had not shown himself, it meant he had no intention of punishing him.

"Eldest Senior Brother, stop wasting your effort. How could Master punish me, his disciple, for the sake of a few outsiders? If you stop now, there is still time."

However, True Lord of Clear Void and Virtue had misunderstood.

If Yuanshi Tianzun had truly intended to shield True Lord of Clear Void and Virtue, he would not have been absent from Jade Void Palace. By not appearing, Yuanshi Tianzun was handing True Lord of Clear Void and Virtue over to Meng Chen.

No matter how reluctant Yuanshi Tianzun was to punish True Lord of Clear Void and Virtue, he would not slap his own face, because True Lord of Clear Void and Virtue had indeed violated the sect rules.

Yuanshi Tianzun had just entrusted Meng Chen with enforcing the sect rules, only to overturn those very rules the next moment. No Sage besides Sage Zhunti could do something like that.

Our Lady of Wudang next door had even locked Daoist Duobao in the Du Tian Divine Fire Prison for a full hundred thousand years, yet Master Tongtian had said nothing, had he?

Just as True Lord of Clear Void and Virtue was smugly congratulating himself, White Crane Disciple entered the great hall with a solemn expression. He bowed to Meng Chen. "Little Master, Master said that while he is away from the sect, all Chan Sect affairs are to be handled solely by Little Master."

True Lord of Clear Void and Virtue was dumbfounded upon hearing this. He had never expected such a turn of events.

It was one thing for Yuanshi Tianzun not to show himself, but he had even handed all authority over the Chan Sect to Meng Chen. Was he trying to make Meng Chen the acting sect leader of the Chan Sect?

"White Crane, go tell Master that Eldest Senior Brother is siding with outsiders against his own sect. The Chan Sect cannot be handed to him. It cannot be handed to him!"

True Lord of Clear Void and Virtue completely broke down. If he had not been suppressed, he would have grabbed White Crane Disciple by the clothes, shaken him wildly, and roared like a sect leader.

Yet White Crane Disciple did not even spare True Lord of Clear Void and Virtue a glance. As a mere attendant, all he needed was to maintain a good relationship with the future sect leader. As for the other Chan Sect disciples, if he was in the mood, he could give them a smile; if not, he would be a wooden puppet without emotions.

"Little Master, Master specifically instructed that disciples who violate the Chan Sect rules must never be indulged and allowed to grow worse. Our Chan Sect is the leader of the Immortal Dao and must set an example for all under heaven."

Upon hearing White Crane Disciple's words, True Lord of Clear Void and Virtue lost all hope. Even Yuanshi Tianzun had said so. There was no hope left for him.

Meng Chen cupped his hands toward White Crane Disciple. "Thank you for your trouble. Please inform Master that this disciple will certainly not bring shame upon the Chan Sect."

White Crane Disciple represented Yuanshi Tianzun, so he could accept Meng Chen's bow. But White Crane Disciple himself could not bear it. Thus, he returned the bow.

He knew how to conduct himself. He had to curry favor with his current employer, but he could not offend his next employer either.

He had to hold firmly onto his iron rice bowl as the Chan Sect leader's attendant. He was only a crane among the clouds; he could not leave this job.

After White Crane Disciple departed, Meng Chen gave True Lord of Clear Void and Virtue a deep look, then walked outside the gates of Jade Void Palace and rang the Jade Void Bell.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Meng Chen intended to punish True Lord of Clear Void and Virtue openly and justly. Naturally, he had to summon every Chan Sect disciple and publicly try True Lord of Clear Void and Virtue before the entire sect.

The purpose of sect rules was not to punish those who had already broken them, but to warn those who had yet to do so. Once someone had violated the rules and caused losses to the sect, what meaning was there in punishing that person?

The moment the Jade Void Bell rang, none of the Chan Sect disciples dared delay. They rushed toward Jade Void Palace as quickly as they could.

They had initially thought Yuanshi Tianzun was summoning them. Yet when they entered Jade Void Palace, they found only Meng Chen standing beneath Yuanshi Tianzun's throne and True Lord of Clear Void and Virtue suppressed by the Seal of Infinity. The Chan Sect disciples were all dumbfounded, unable to understand what Meng Chen was doing.

When Wu Liangzi saw that True Lord of Clear Void and Virtue had actually been suppressed, his heart skipped a beat.

With his experience, he could clearly sense that something was wrong. Meng Chen had not only suppressed a fellow disciple but had also brought him to Jade Void Palace. The implications were worth pondering.

Seeing so many fellow disciples arrive, True Lord of Clear Void and Virtue wanted to call for help. Meng Chen waved a hand, and True Lord of Clear Void and Virtue's mouth sealed shut.

"This..."

The other Chan Sect disciples felt their hearts pound in terror at the sight.

Meng Chen stepped forward two paces with a solemn expression. "Junior Brothers, and Junior Brother Wu Liangzi."

Upon hearing this, Wu Liangzi nearly cursed aloud. Was there really a need to treat him so differently? He was a Chan Sect disciple now too!

"I believe you must all be wondering why I suppressed Junior Brother Clear Void. I am deeply grieved that such a thing has happened. Our Chan Sect is the model for all immortals and will one day lead the immortal hosts of the world. Yet someone insists on bringing disgrace upon the Chan Sect."

True Lord of Clear Void and Virtue felt no shame. He glared stubbornly and defiantly at Meng Chen, as though he wished to devour him alive.

But Meng Chen did not stop. "For the sake of refining pills, Junior Brother Clear Void committed atrocious acts. He infiltrated the Zhu Yu Clan, the Blue Silver Grass Clan, and many other Plant Spirit Race clans, stealing the immortals of their clans and refining them into pills. Later, when immortals from many plant races sought the return of their clansmen from Junior Brother Clear Void, they too suffered persecution at his hands."

These words only made Guang Chengzi, Yu Ding Zhenren, Cihang Zhenren, and Yellow Dragon True Man frown. The other Chan Sect disciples looked utterly bewildered.

These disciples had not realized at all that True Lord of Clear Void and Virtue's actions had violated the sect rules. Or rather, they had not considered the Plant Spirit Race to be the "kindly living beings" mentioned in the sect rules.

The Chan Sect did not prohibit killing. Punishing evil and eliminating wickedness did not violate the sect rules.

However, like True Lord of Clear Void and Virtue, these disciples did not regard the immortals of the Plant Spirit Race as immortals. Deep down, they believed Plant Spirit Race immortals were merely walking medicinal ingredients.

Seeing this, Meng Chen felt nothing but disappointment. People said the Disciples of Intercepting Teaching were a chaotic mix of dragons and snakes, but how much better were Chan Sect disciples? As the Eldest Senior Brother of the Chan Sect, he had a long and arduous road ahead.

However, Meng Chen was extremely satisfied with Guang Chengzi and the other three, especially Guang Chengzi.

The negative judgments of Guang Chengzi from his previous life mostly stemmed from Guang Chengzi's slaughter of the Jiuli Tribe. Yet from Guang Chengzi's position at the time, Guang Chengzi had done nothing wrong!

The Jiuli Tribe possessed only half Human Race blood, and their hearts still leaned toward the Wu Clan. How were they innocent?

The Jiuli Tribe was a pawn the Wu Clan had planted among the Human Race. If that pawn was not destroyed, the Wu Clan could infiltrate its power into the Human Race at any time.

In Guang Chengzi's view, only by completely wiping out the Jiuli Tribe could he destroy the Wu Clan's pawn and extinguish the Wu Clan's dreams of claiming the Human Emperor's throne.

Killing the people of the Jiuli Tribe and sending them to meet their most beloved Goddess Houtu was not a good thing?

Guang Chengzi had morality when morality was called for, and acted decisively when slaughter was needed. No wonder Yuanshi Tianzun favored him the most.