Sanctimonious Talk

"Second Brother, your chief disciple was truly ruthless! He was so cold and merciless. Were you really at ease handing the Chan Sect over to him?"

Master Tongtian had witnessed the entire affair. Seeing that Meng Chen had actually crippled True Lord of Clear Void and Virtue's cultivation and expelled him from the Chan Sect, he could not help but ask.

If it had been him, he would not have been able to do something so ruthless.

No one was flawless; what mattered was correcting one's mistakes. When a junior brother made a mistake, his senior brother should reason with him, enlighten him with reason, and give him a chance to turn over a new leaf—not kill, kill, kill, kill, kill.

This involved a difference in ideals. Master Tongtian would always leave everyone a Thread of Life.

Yuanshi Tianzun merely smiled. "Precisely because of this, I can rest assured. To lead a teaching, one must cast aside the seven emotions and six desires, rewarding and punishing fairly. The leader of a teaching is the model for all living beings. Every word and deed of his teaches all living beings. When those above favor something, those below will take it even further. If a teaching's leader protected his fellow disciples out of personal feelings, the other immortals would surely follow suit."

As he spoke, he looked toward Master Tongtian, and his tone instantly turned solemn.

"If Meng Chen spared Clear Void today, then in the future, other Chan Sect disciples would harbor hopes of getting away with it. For their own selfish desires, they would create fresh calamities and slaughter in the Primordial Wilderness. Sometimes, mercilessness is true compassion."

Master Tongtian only agreed with half of Yuanshi Tianzun's words. He did not agree with the other half.

"If Clear Void could turn back from the brink and return to the righteous path, then the righteous path would gain another capable force. Rather than killing Clear Void, it would be better to enlighten him with reason and let him use his power to benefit all living beings. If we simply slaughter without giving younger generations who have gone astray a chance to repent, they may give up on themselves and commit even more acts that outrage both Heaven and man."

Master Tongtian meant that one should not push things too far. If one did, it would drive people into desperate rebellion.

Hearing this, Yuanshi Tianzun nodded slightly. "Third Brother, your words make sense. There are no absolutes in this world. It is precisely because of this that the Chan Sect and Intercepting Teaching came into being. Then let time prove which of our paths is right!"

Yuanshi Tianzun was rational. Arguments over matters of principle were meaningless. After all, Yuanshi Tianzun was not Sage Jieyin and did not possess the gift of making lotus flowers bloom from his tongue.

Master Tongtian fell silent for a moment before suddenly asking, "Second Brother, can you truly be merciless?"

The smile vanished from Yuanshi Tianzun's face. He shook his head. "I cannot either."

Everyone could speak grand principles, but actually carrying them out was not something everyone could do. Even Saints could not achieve the two words "merciless."

"Then your chief disciple is quite frightening!"

Master Tongtian sighed. Yuanshi Tianzun could not accomplish it, yet Meng Chen could. That was enough to show that Meng Chen was a person without feelings.

Yet Yuanshi Tianzun disagreed. He frowned slightly. "Third Brother, people have those close to them and those distant from them. To me, Clear Void is a disciple I carefully nurtured, so naturally I cannot bear to be harsh with him. But to my disciple, Clear Void is merely a familiar stranger. I am your fellow disciple, and Daoist Jieyin is also your fellow disciple. To you, are Daoist Jieyin and I the same?"

"Of course not!"

Master Tongtian laughed helplessly and shook his head, realizing that he had been somewhat subjective in his view of the matter.

Meng Chen's actions affected not only the Chan Sect, but every Sage sect.

The Sage's Disciples had always believed that once they became disciples of a Sage, they had secured an iron rice bowl and could remain above others forever. But True Lord of Clear Void and Virtue's fate told them that even a Sage's Disciple could one day be expelled from his master's gate.

"How dare Meng Chen do this? He is openly opposing all Sage's Disciples. Is he not afraid of being besieged by every Sage's Disciple?"

When Jin Guangxian received the news of True Lord of Clear Void and Virtue's fall, he immediately flew into a rage.

He did not pity True Lord of Clear Void and Virtue. He was dissatisfied that Meng Chen had dealt with a Sage's Disciple in such a manner. Being a Sage's Disciple was not merely an identity, but a social class. In the Primordial Wilderness, aside from the Saints, the most honored class was that of the Sage's Disciples. Meng Chen's actions could be said to have directly shattered that class.

Meng Chen had declared to the Primordial Wilderness that Sage's Disciples possessed no special privileges and would still be punished for wrongdoing. This offended the interests of many Sage's Disciples.

Naturally, the Sage's Disciples in question were disciples like Jin Guangxian, who possessed such admirable qualities as "lofty spirit," "unrestrained freedom," "open and upright conduct," and "true temperament."

Curly Head Immortal's expression was incomparably gloomy. "Meng Chen relies on his powerful cultivation and does not take us seriously. Unfortunately, Eldest Senior Brother was plotted against by Wudang and lost the authority to enforce the sect rules. Otherwise, how could matters have become so troublesome?"

Although Daoist Duobao was no longer the Eldest Senior Brother of Intercepting Teaching, the Disciples of Intercepting Teaching who had always followed him still addressed him as Eldest Senior Brother.

Daoist Duobao had merely lost the authority to enforce the sect rules; he had not lost the support of the disciples within his faction. This was also what caused Our Lady of Wudang the greatest headache.

Wuyun Xian, Long-Eared Dingguang Immortal, and the others had formed a clique, covering for and protecting one another. Our Lady of Wudang wanted to manage Intercepting Teaching properly, but she was always unable to act freely.

Daoist Duobao wore a calm expression. After Meng Chen had viciously beaten him, his image in the hearts of the Disciples of Intercepting Teaching had plummeted. Now, he needed to endure humiliation and hardship to regain the trust of the Disciples of Intercepting Teaching and Master Tongtian.

"Junior Brothers, Teacher's decision cannot be wrong. Since Teacher believes that Eldest Senior Sister can manage My Teaching well, we should support Eldest Senior Sister Wudang unconditionally."

Seeing Daoist Duobao speak well of Our Lady of Wudang again, Wuyun Xian and the others all felt helpless.

"Eldest Senior Brother, you place too much importance on fellow disciple ties. You treat Wudang as Eldest Senior Sister, but does Wudang treat you as Eldest Senior Brother?"

Daoist Duobao frowned and warned in a low voice, "Junior Brother Wuyun Xian, do not say things that harm the unity of My Teaching again. If I hear it again, even if Wudang does not punish you, I will."

"Eldest Senior Brother, you are simply too kind."

Daoist Duobao's sanctimonious talk successfully won over Wuyun Xian and the others. These disciples already liked hearing pleasant words. Shen Gongbao could talk circles around them with just two sentences, let alone Daoist Duobao.

Meanwhile, in the Western Church, the Two Sages of the West grew anxious.

When they learned that Meng Chen had suppressed Daoist Duobao, the Two Sages of the West had not panicked. When they learned that Daoist Ran Deng had become Wu Liangzi and had his cultivation abolished, the Two Sages of the West had not panicked.

However, upon learning that Meng Chen had expelled True Lord of Clear Void and Virtue from the Chan Sect according to the sect rules, the Two Sages of the West finally became anxious. The significance of Meng Chen's action was enormous, seriously threatening the Western Church's scheme against the Chan Sect and Intercepting Teaching.

If the upper echelons of the Chan Sect and Intercepting Teaching truly managed their sects according to the sect rules, then those two sects would have no possibility of decline.