Abolishing Cultivation

"Eldest Senior Brother, Senior Brother True Lord of Clear Void and Virtue merely used immortal herbs to refine pills—why must you be so furious?"

Meng Chen had originally believed that the other disciples merely disregarded the lives of the Plant Spirit Race, and that with proper guidance, he could reshape their thinking. To his surprise, Juliusun stepped forward to plead for the True Lord of Clear Void and Virtue.

This was hard to judge.

In the Primordial Wilderness, disregarding life was perfectly normal. Humans do not empathize with ants, and tigers do not empathize with lions.

But what were their identities now? They were the grand-disciples of Hongjun Daozu, the disciples of Yuanshi Tianzun, the followers of a Heavenly Dao Sage.

In the eyes of a Sage, the Demon Race, the Wu Race, the Human Race, the Plant Spirit Race, and ants were all the same—no different from one another.

In their position, they must fulfill their duties. Since they had become members of Xuanmen, they must embody "Heaven and Earth are ruthless, treating all things as straw dogs."

Failing to do so would sooner or later incur the disgust of the Heavenly Dao.

Hearing someone plead for him, the True Lord of Clear Void and Virtue's eyes immediately gleamed with smugness. He shot Meng Chen a triumphant look, as if to say, "Eldest Senior Brother, you're too rigid. See? Even Junior Brother Juliusun doesn't accept you."

Meng Chen ignored the True Lord of Clear Void and Virtue's gaze. He looked at Juliusun, a faint smile on his face.

When the assembled Chan Sect disciples saw the smile on Meng Chen's face, they couldn't help but shiver. That smile was anything but kind.

Juliusun stiffened his neck and forced himself to say, "Eldest Senior Brother, no matter what, Senior Brother True Lord of Clear Void and Virtue is still a fellow disciple. If you disregard the bond between brothers, do you also disregard the Teacher's love for his disciples? Shedding blood among brothers—how would the Teacher bear it?"

Guang Chengzi, Yellow Dragon True Man, and the other four inwardly screamed "deadly" and quietly shuffled their feet backward, as if trying to shield Juliusun in front of them.

Meng Chen's smile didn't fade, but the coldness in his eyes deepened.

Juliusun felt a powerful aura converging from all directions, trapping him within. His entire body felt as if a mountain were pressing down on him; he couldn't even move a single finger.

Then, a massive dragon head appeared before him. This dragon head was so vast it resembled a star, and when it opened its mouth, sun, moon, and stars all entered its maw, bearing down to swallow him whole.

"Eldest Senior Brother, no!"

Facing a life-and-death crisis, Juliusun hastily begged for mercy.

As his words rang out, everything returned to normal. The oppressive aura vanished, and the enormous dragon head disappeared.

Juliusun looked around and saw his fellow disciples staring at him with bewildered expressions.

Tap, tap!

He turned back and saw Meng Chen striding toward him with the steps of a demon.

"No what? No punishment, or no devouring you? You think yourself lofty and mighty, free to decide the life and death of Plant Spirit Race immortals. Do you know that my true form is the Azure Dragon? In my eyes, you are nothing but my food. Would you willingly let me eat you?"

Meng Chen's gaze burned like a torch, fixed on Juliusun, as if the slightest wrong answer would make him swallow Juliusun whole.

Under Meng Chen's stare, Juliusun wanted to retreat, but his legs felt as heavy as lead, unable to move.

"What, you can't do it? The principles the Teacher taught you—you've completely ignored them."

"Do you not know that every living being is Pangu? The myriad races differ greatly in appearance, but their essence is the same. You don't even understand that the physical body and outer form are illusions, yet you dare to spout nonsense here, calling Plant Spirit Race immortals 'immortal herbs.'"

"Even the Teacher respects every living being, every life, yet you set yourself up as the master of all things, wanting to replace the Heavenly Dao and arbitrarily decide life and death. What gives you the right?"

Meng Chen's voice boomed like a great bell, echoing through the Jade Void Hall and relentlessly striking the hearts of every Chan Sect disciple.

His voice grew louder, and the pressure he exuded grew stronger. Under his might, Juliusun finally couldn't stop trembling.

"Eldest Senior Brother, harming a fellow disciple violates the sect rules."

After a long pause, he finally squeezed out those words.

At this point, Meng Chen no longer wanted to speak. He had nothing left to say to Juliusun.

When he talked about sect rules with Juliusun, Juliusun talked about brotherhood. When he talked about brotherhood, Juliusun started talking about sect rules again.

In short, Juliusun only ever spoke about what benefited him; anything unfavorable, he would always avoid.

Meng Chen returned to his original position, ignoring Juliusun. He looked at all the Chan Sect disciples and spoke:

"Fellow junior brothers, I know many of you think I am heartless. But I tell you, sect rules have never been about sentiment. You can flip through the rules of My Teaching and see if any article contains the word 'sentiment.' No matter who it is, if they violate the rules, I will deal with them according to the rules. No one's pleas will make a difference."

His words rang out with force, lingering coldly in the hall.

These junior brothers of his simply didn't understand that sect rules were both a constraint and a protection. Like now—if not for the protection of the sect rules, Juliusun would have already been laid flat.

At that, no one had anything left to say.

In status, in strength, in reasoning—Meng Chen held the upper hand in all. Especially in strength; even if they all attacked together, Meng Chen would suppress them.

Guang Chengzi, Yu Ding Zhenren, Cihang Zhenren, and Yellow Dragon True Man, however, began to admire Meng Chen. They thought that if they were in his position, they would have let it slide lightly.

Guang Chengzi fully agreed with Meng Chen's viewpoint, because it was exactly Yuanshi Tianzun's viewpoint. Yet, if forced to choose between fellow disciples and outsiders, he would hesitate for a while and ultimately be swayed by brotherly bonds, making a big deal small and a small deal nothing.

"My resolve is inferior to Eldest Senior Brother's. The Teacher's decision was right. Only Eldest Senior Brother has the ability to manage My Teaching well."

Guang Chengzi was completely convinced by Meng Chen, and his heart gradually leaned toward him.

Yu Ding Zhenren and the other two decided to wait and see. If Meng Chen truly could suppress Juliusun and the others, they would fully join his camp.

Wu Liangzi, however, inwardly cried out in alarm. This was not the situation he wanted to see.

A Sage's great teaching was protected by the Heavenly Dao and would not easily decline, because it represented the will of the Heavenly Dao. To destroy a Sage's teaching, one had to let it rot from within, causing it to lose the Heavenly Dao's protection.

If Meng Chen kept this up, how could the Chan Sect decay? It seemed that as soon as any rotten branch appeared, Meng Chen would prune it away.

At last, Meng Chen turned to the True Lord of Clear Void and Virtue and announced:

"The True Lord of Clear Void and Virtue harmed his fellow Daoists and slaughtered living beings—his crimes are unforgivable. Now, on behalf of my master, I strip the True Lord of Clear Void and Virtue of all his cultivation, sever his immortal root, and expel him from the Chan Sect!"

"What!?"

Hearing Meng Chen's words, Juliusun and the other Chan Sect disciples trembled. They never imagined Meng Chen would be so ruthless, leaving the True Lord of Clear Void and Virtue no path to survival.

The next moment, Meng Chen raised his hand, and a black gourd appeared in his palm. He channeled his magic power, and the black gourd emitted a suction force, drawing the True Lord of Clear Void and Virtue inside.

"Aaaah!"

Immortal light flared on the gourd, and a series of agonized screams echoed from within, turning Juliusun and the others' faces pale.

Only then did they realize Meng Chen was serious—he wasn't just making empty threats.

After a moment, the screams ceased. Meng Chen patted the gourd, and the True Lord of Clear Void and Virtue flew out like a dead dog.

Now stripped of all cultivation, even his Magic Treasure taken away, he curled up on the ground like a beggar, wracked with unbearable pain.

"This..."

Juliusun and the others, witnessing this, felt their hearts pound with terror, the hairs on their backs standing on end as they were filled with dread toward Meng Chen.

"Meng Chen, you're so venomous! You've crippled all my cultivation—you might as well have killed me!"

The True Lord of Clear Void and Virtue glared at Meng Chen with venomous eyes, as if he wished to devour him whole.

But Meng Chen said calmly, "No need to rush. I won't kill you—someone else will. You used their Young Clan Leader and Clan Leader as alchemical ingredients; I have to give them an explanation."

His implication was clear: he would hand the True Lord of Clear Void and Virtue over to the Blue Silver Grass Clan, the Zhu Yu Clan, and other Plant Spirit Races for judgment.

Coincidentally, Meng Chen also planned to build a foundation for the Chan Sect. The Plant Spirit Race had the best intelligence network, after all—few paid attention to the flowers and grass around them.