Qin Feng's calm, faintly mocking voice rang out like thunder from a clear sky, exploding clearly beside everyone's ears and deep within the Spiritual Sense hidden in the void.
Help repair the mountain gate?
What an insult!
What arrogance!
High in the heavens, the expressions of the twelve Chan Sect Golden Immortals, who had been looking down upon all beings like lofty gods, instantly froze.
Chi Jingzi, the most hot-tempered among them, exploded on the spot.
"Insolence!"
His furious roar made even the heavens tremble.
Chi Jingzi stepped forward, immortal light surging around him. Pointing at Qin Feng below, he sternly rebuked him, "You demon! You struck viciously and injured my junior brother Taiyi, committing an unforgivable crime! Now that we senior brothers have come to hold you accountable, not only do you refuse to surrender, but you still dare twist your words and invert right and wrong! Do you truly think the Chan Sect's immortal swords are dull?!"
That roar carried the supreme pressure of a Grand Unity Golden Immortal. Any ordinary living being who heard it would likely have their soul shattered on the spot and be reduced to ashes.
Yet Qin Feng stood there without moving in the slightest. Not even the corner of his robes fluttered.
He did not even look at the enraged Chi Jingzi. Instead, he turned his gaze toward Taiyi Zhenren, whose face had gone pale within the group, and the mocking smile at his lips deepened.
"Struck first?"
Qin Feng suddenly sneered. His voice was not loud, yet bolstered by a mysterious power, it instantly spread through the Nine Heavens and Ten Lands, as though he were declaring it to the entire Primordial World.
"Taiyi Zhenren came uninvited, trespassed into another's abode, and tried to seize it by force without a word. Relying on his Grand Unity cultivation, he even used his strength to bully my wife and attempted to commit an outrage against her."
"Is this the hospitality of your Jade Void Palace on Kunlun Mountain?"
"I merely could not stand by and, on behalf of Primal Beginning Saint, gave a slight lesson to this unruly disciple of his, whose conduct was no different from that of a bandit. What wrong had I committed?"
Qin Feng's voice abruptly rose. Every word was a sword, every sentence struck at the heart, becoming rolling heavenly sound that interrogated every Golden Immortal present.
"Could it be that, in your Chan Sect's eyes, a Saint's disciple stands above all others? That they may bully anyone they please? You alone may use your power to oppress others, while no one else is allowed to defend themselves?!"
That final question boomed like a morning bell and evening drum.
An eerie silence descended upon heaven and earth.
Every Chan Sect Golden Immortal, including the previously furious Chi Jingzi, fell silent.
Their mouths opened, but they discovered they could not utter a single word in rebuttal.
Because every word Qin Feng had said was true!
They had not come to ask who was right or wrong. Taiyi had been beaten, and the Chan Sect had lost face, so they had mobilized in force to demand an explanation.
In their deeply rooted beliefs, a Saint's disciple was reason itself!
But now, before all the Great Powers of the Primordial World, Qin Feng had ruthlessly torn apart that hypocritical "reason," exposing the brutal, tyrannical truth beneath it!
"Th... this fellow certainly has a sharp tongue!"
Within the void, the Spiritual Sense of Great Powers fluctuated violently.
"More than a sharp tongue! He has seized the moral high ground and thrown the Chan Sect onto the fire!"
"Interesting, truly interesting! The Chan Sect has kicked an ancient divine iron plate this time!"
Within the Northern Darkness Demon Master Palace, Kunpeng stood stunned for a long while before erupting into even heartier laughter. His laughter stirred the entire North Sea into towering waves.
"Well said! A splendid rebuke! Hahaha! Those sanctimonious hypocrites deserve to be cursed like that! Better yet, anger every last one of them to death on the spot!"
Inside Fire Cloud Cave, the fighting intent in Human Emperor Xuanyuan's eyes burned ever hotter. He clapped his hands and praised, "Satisfying! This man possesses the bearing of an ancient sage of our human race. With reason as his sword, he could repel ten thousand armies!"
Shennong and Fuxi exchanged a glance, each seeing profound shock in the other's eyes.
They had thought this would be an utterly one-sided crushing defeat, yet after a single exchange, the Chan Sect had already suffered a complete rout in reason.
Seeing his fellow disciples rendered speechless, their faces shifting between green and white, Yu Ding Zhenren slowly stepped out from the ranks.
His face was stern, and he held the Immortal Slaying Sword. His aura was as steady as a mountain. Unlike the others' agitation, he appeared exceptionally calm.
"Fellow Daoist, your words are mistaken."
Yu Ding Zhenren's voice rang out with unquestionable authority. "The Investiture of the Gods Calamity is the great trend of the Heavenly Dao. Those who follow Heaven prosper, while those who defy Heaven perish. Fellow Daoist Shi Ji is within the calamity and was destined to suffer this tribulation. This is Heaven's decree. We fellow disciples act according to our master's decree, following Heaven's will to set disorder right. By forcibly interfering, Fellow Daoist, you have already gone against Heaven. Do you still not realize it?"
What a Yu Ding Zhenren!
What a "following Heaven's will"!
He directly elevated Taiyi Zhenren's personal evil deeds to the level of "the great trend of the Heavenly Dao," cleverly switching the concept and turning a private grievance into a righteous act of carrying out Heaven's will.
As soon as these words were spoken, the other Golden Immortals immediately came to their senses. Their backs straightened once more, and their gazes toward Qin Feng again took on the air of judgment.
That was right, they were following Heaven's will! He was the one defying Heaven!
Upon hearing this, Qin Feng's expression became exceedingly strange.
He first froze for a moment, then seemed to have heard the funniest joke in the world. He could not help but throw back his head and laugh wildly.
"Ha... hahaha!"
His laughter grew louder and more unrestrained, shaking the clouds of the Nine Heavens into endless turmoil. It also made the faces of the twelve Golden Immortals in the sky grow darker and gloomier.
"Heaven's decree? What a Heaven's decree!"
Qin Feng's laughter abruptly stopped, and his gaze instantly turned sharp as a blade, as though it could pierce everyone's soul.
"Let me ask you: what is Heaven's decree?"
"Back in the Purple Sky Palace, Dao Ancestor Hongjun personally declared that the Great Dao had three thousand paths and taught without discrimination. Every being in the Primordial World could seek that sliver of life and pursue the Dao to attain immortality! That was the true righteous path of heaven and earth!"
"But what about your Chan Sect?"
Qin Feng raised his hand and pointed at the twelve radiant golden figures in the heavens, his voice like ancient ice that would never melt, carrying bone-piercing cold.
"You constantly speak of 'those with fur and horns, those born damp and hatched from eggs,' forcibly dividing all beings into ranks. Unless one possesses deep origins and profound fortune, one is unworthy to enter the Chan Sect's gates, unworthy to seek the Great Dao!"
"I ask you again!"
"Is this truly Heaven's decree, or merely the decree of your Chan Sect?!"
"Can your narrow-minded sectarian prejudice and your arrogant conduct of claiming superiority over all others live up to the compassion of Great God Pangu, who created the world and transformed into all things?"
"Can it live up to Dao Ancestor Hongjun's grand wish to spread the Dao throughout the world and save all living beings?!"
Boom!
Every question Qin Feng asked was like an invisible giant hammer, smashing fiercely into the hearts of the Twelve Golden Immortals and into the Dao Hearts they took such pride in!
If his first speech had torn away the Chan Sect's fig leaf of tyranny and favoritism,
then this second speech directly targeted the fundamental flaw in the Chan Sect's doctrine, denying from the root the "legitimacy" of their sect's establishment!
These were words that slew the heart!
These were arguments that destroyed the Dao!
"Pfft!"
Huang Long Zhenren, whose cultivation was somewhat weaker and whose Dao Heart had never been stable, bore the brunt of the impact. His mind collapsed under those words, and he immediately spat out a mouthful of golden immortal blood. His face turned pale as paper.
Even the other Golden Immortals, including those with resolute Dao Hearts like Guang Chengzi and Yu Ding Zhenren, underwent a drastic change in expression. Their eyes filled with shock and fury.
Their Dao Hearts violently wavered beneath the assault of those heart-slaying words. Even the brilliant golden wheels of merit behind their heads dimmed somewhat.
Yes... Dao Ancestor said to teach without discrimination.
Why did our Chan Sect insist on dividing beings into high and low, noble and base?
Was what we followed truly Heaven's decree?
Once that thought arose, it became like an inner demon growing madly, nearly causing their Dao Hearts to collapse!
"Demon words that deceive the masses! You... you dare slander our doctrine!"
Guang Chengzi was both shocked and enraged. Pointing at Qin Feng, even his voice changed pitch.
He wanted to refute him, only to realize he had no grounds for rebuttal!
Because this was a question the Chan Sect—and even their master, Yuanshi Tianzun—could not avoid!
At that moment, every Great Power secretly observing throughout the Primordial World was petrified.
Within Wuzhuang Temple, the teacup in Zhen Yuanzi's hand fell to the ground with a crack and shattered into pieces. Yet he did not seem to notice, merely staring fixedly at Skull Perch Mountain, his face full of disbelief.
"Mad... he is truly mad! This fellow... he actually dares publicly interrogate a Saint's doctrine!"
On Mount Sumeru of the Western Teachings, Zhunti Daoren's smile had long vanished, replaced by unprecedented gravity.
"Senior Brother, this man... his arguments bear a striking resemblance to the doctrines of our Western Teachings!"
The suffering on Jieyin Daoren's face deepened. He nodded. "This child cannot be underestimated."
Seeing the twelve Golden Immortals in the heavens turn green with rage one after another, their auras in disorder and their Dao Hearts unstable from his words, the curve of Qin Feng's lips grew colder and colder.
He knew the timing was about right.
Qin Feng spoke aloud once more. This time, his voice was filled with utmost contempt and mockery as it spread throughout the Primordial Three Realms.
"The mighty Chan Sect, under a Saint's banner—twelve Grand Unity Golden Immortals advancing in overwhelming force and with murderous momentum to besiege a mere one man like me!"
"For what purpose?"
"To stand up for a junior brother whose conduct resembles that of a mountain bandit!"
"Tsk, tsk, tsk..."
Qin Feng shook his head and made several meaningless clicking sounds. They were not loud, yet they struck the twelve Golden Immortals' faces like resounding slaps.
"If this matter were to spread, All Spirits of the Primordial World, countless living beings, would only say that your Chan Sect was tyrannical and protective of its own, using power to crush others, utterly lacking the virtue and bearing expected of a Saint's disciples!"
"Today, at this very moment, in this very place!"
Qin Feng's gaze swept over the faces that had already turned the color of pig liver like a sharp sword. Then, word by word, he pronounced his judgment:
"Your Chan Sect has completely lost its face!"
Before you continue