Withering Prosperity Mountain lay less than a thousand miles east of Spirit Mountain in the Western Realm, famed far and wide for its unique geography. The mountain itself was not particularly tall, yet its ridge divided it into two completely opposite landscapes: the western slope was lush with verdant forests, brimming with life, with Spiritual Springs trickling through vibrant greenery; the eastern slope, meanwhile, had chaotic earth energy, sparse vegetation, exposed rocks, and a desolate yellow stillness like late autumn and deep winter. Tracing this strange sight to its roots, it was unexpectedly tied closely to Li Cha.
Back then, when he witnessed the conflict of the Demonic Path, he had destroyed this place completely. He had once used Great Mana to straighten out the Earth Veins, and the final boundary of his efforts had been set at Withering Prosperity Mountain. West of the mountain, the Earth Veins flowed freely and Spiritual Energy gradually recovered, bringing renewed vitality. East of it, his mana had fallen short, leaving the earth energy congested and chaotic, thus creating its withered appearance. This mountain was a vivid testament to both his past achievements and his unfinished work.
Today, Li Cha's choice to establish a Dharma altar here carried extraordinary meaning. Once the altar was erected, it meant he would conduct a systematic session of Preaching the Dao here, answering the doubts of all who came to listen as thoroughly as possible. He would no longer stay only three days at most in each place as he had during his previous travels. Withering Prosperity Mountain would become another major Tea Dao sanctuary beyond Yun Hua Grotto-Heaven. In the future, disciples might even be stationed here to spread the true essence of the Tea Dao.
Once word spread, countless living beings and cultivators of the West flocked in from every direction like parched land receiving long-awaited rain, gathering beneath Withering Prosperity Mountain. Even some who leaned toward the teachings of the Western Teachings grew curious and secretly came to listen.
Li Cha ascended the Dharma altar, his expression calm as Dao rhythms naturally circulated around him, faintly resonating with this stretch of Heaven and Earth that he had personally sorted out. He did not immediately speak of profound methods. Instead, he began with the most fundamental nature of "tea," proceeding from the shallow to the deep in a gentle, unhurried manner. From gathering fresh leaves in the mortal world... to cultivating spiritual tea and the resonance between harvesting seasons and the Spiritual Energy of Heaven and Earth; from savoring the myriad flavors of life in a cup of Pure Tea... to tempering the Soul Will; from the four truths of Tea Dao—"tranquility, harmony, delight, and truth"—to integrating those principles into cultivation, stabilizing the Dao Heart, and Clear the Mind and See the True Nature.
This lecture lasted a full hundred years. Li Cha expounded the Tea Dao from a mundane craft all the way to a complete system for comprehending the Heaven and Earth Laws through the Tea Dao, gathering the Five Qi within one's chest, and ultimately attaining the Golden Immortal Dao Fruit. He deliberately stopped at the Golden Immortal realm, for to the overwhelming majority of listeners below, Golden Immortals were already an attainable goal. The path of Da Luo was mysterious and unfathomable; learning of it too soon could easily breed delusions and cause one to lose the original heart of gradual cultivation.
No heavenly phenomenon descended during the hundred years of preaching, yet the spiritual energy on the western side of Withering Prosperity Mountain grew ever richer, faintly showing signs of spreading toward the barren eastern lands. The listeners below were utterly enthralled. Who knew how many had broken through bottlenecks that had plagued them for ages? To them, Li Cha's exposition of the Tea Dao was like hearing the true words of the Great Dao.
Just as Li Cha finished his sermon and began answering everyone's questions, the carefully prepared "ultimate combination" of the two men from the West made their entrance. Led by Maitreya, Kasyapa, Mahakasyapa, Ananda, and others, sixteen disciples under Jieyin and Zhunti—each among the finest in eloquence and cultivation—arrived together. Their auras ran deep; even the weakest was at the Early Da Luo realm, while Maitreya, their leader, had reached Late Da Luo. Even his rounded Buddha Light could not conceal his sharpness. They had come carrying questions that the two men of the West and a host of sages had painstakingly deduced to be the most difficult and most capable of shaking one's Dao Heart foundations. Their intent was to gain the upper hand in this debate and shatter the supreme Dao rhythm Li Cha had established here.
The first to challenge him was Venerable Kasyapa. His face was lean, his gaze bright, and he pressed his palms together as he asked, "Senior Yun Hua, since the Tea Dao advocates a heart of 'non-contention,' treating all things equally without making distinctions, why travel everywhere preaching the Dao and promoting your own ideas? If there is no contention, then whom do you contend with by cultivating mana and divine abilities, by raising your cultivation? Is this not self-contradictory?"
Li Cha smiled faintly. His voice flowed like a clear spring, soothing the restlessness in everyone's hearts. "What Fellow Daoist Kasyapa asks concerns the outward appearance of 'contention.' The Tea Dao's non-contention is not cowardly retreat. It is transcendence of the heart, refusing to be enslaved by external things or moved by gain and loss. Yet the Primordial Wilderness is not an ideal land, and the Great Dao must also be protected. Non-contention is the composure of 'none being able to contend against me.' That is to say, if you wish to discuss the Dao and reason with me, I shall naturally treat you with reason. But if you wish to act tyrannically, this poor Daoist happens to know a little about fists and kicks as well. To spread the Dao through the Primordial Wilderness without the strength to protect it, no matter how many truths one possesses, they are merely flowers in a mirror and castles in the air. This is not 'contention.' It is 'upholding.'"
Those words not only explained that the true meaning of the Tea Dao's "non-contention" was inner transcendence rather than inaction, but also pointed out the necessity of retaining strength in the real Primordial Wilderness. The logic was rigorous and flawless. Kasyapa was left speechless for a moment and silently withdrew.
Seeing this, Maitreya knew he could not find an opening through Li Cha himself. He stepped forward, his trademark smile still on his face, though his tone carried an edge. "Senior Yun Hua's Dao is profound. This junior greatly admires it. Might this junior seek guidance from one of your esteemed disciples?"
Li Cha's gaze swept across Maitreya. He understood his intentions but did not stop him, merely nodding. "You may. Whom do you wish to ask?"
Maitreya turned his gaze toward Wu Zhiqi, who was restlessly fidgeting nearby, and smiled. "Then I ask Fellow Daoist Wu Zhiqi to offer his guidance."
Wu Zhiqi had been picking through his fur. When he heard someone call him, he froze for a moment, then walked forward with a foolish grin. "Me? Hehe, I only entered the sect not long ago. I don't know much."
Maitreya's expression shifted, and his tone became heavy with sorrow for the world. "I have a grand wish: that the lands of the Primordial Wilderness may know no more conflict or slaughter, and that all living beings may find peace and happiness. Does the Tea Dao have a method to resolve this?" The question was exceedingly insidious. He had directly thrown an almost unsolvable problem at the seemingly reckless Wu Zhiqi. No matter how Wu Zhiqi answered, it would be difficult to make his response complete.
Wu Zhiqi scratched his head furiously as he listened. The question was far too profound for him. He grew so anxious that he scratched at his ears and cheeks, constantly looking toward Li Cha.
Li Cha's expression remained unchanged as he sent him a voice transmission. "Answer according to what is in your heart. Do not constrain yourself. Speak your mind freely."
Having received his master's approval, Wu Zhiqi steeled himself. He puffed out his chest and declared loudly, "Fellow Daoist Maitreya, my answer represents only myself. It does not represent my master, nor does it represent the Tea Dao! My view is—use killing to stop killing, and use forceful authority to resolve conflict! Are you satisfied with that answer?"
The entire audience was shocked. This answer was utterly at odds with the peace and tranquility advocated by the Tea Dao!
A flash of satisfaction crossed Maitreya's eyes, and he immediately pressed on. "Fellow Daoist Wu Zhiqi, your answer runs completely contrary to the Tea Dao taught by your master. How could it possibly satisfy me? Furthermore, how do you determine who deserves to die? Killing itself is the source of conflict, so how can killing stop killing? Under forceful authority, there is nothing but fear and suppression. How can that be called truly resolving conflict?"
Though Wu Zhiqi was blunt by nature, he was not stupid. Faced with repeated questioning, his ferocity was instead roused. He bared his teeth. "Kill those who actively start conflicts and create slaughter, of course! Eliminate the source of chaos, and you stop the killing! Under strong authority, establish rules and laws. Orders must be obeyed, and violators heavily punished! When everyone knows that causing trouble brings severe punishment, they will naturally restrain themselves, and conflicts will decrease! Isn't that a form of resolution? Must we be like you, thinking that merely talking can make vicious criminals put down their butcher's knives? Old Wu doesn't believe it!" His words were rough, yet they carried the blunt logic of jungle law, making some listeners accustomed to the twisting arguments of the Western Teachings fall into thought instead.
Maitreya was momentarily speechless. He had not expected Wu Zhiqi to answer like this, much less for such crooked reasoning to gain agreement. Seeing that they could not gain an advantage in the Dao debate, Jieyin and Zhunti, seated high atop Spirit Mountain, grew anxious. Disregarding their status, they secretly transmitted their divine thoughts directly into the minds of several of Li Cha's disciples. Their words sowed discord, implying that Li Cha had not taught them the true core of the Great Dao; they mocked them for disgracing their sect; they even tried to use the pressure of the Mid-Stage Quasi-Saint realm to disturb Shi Qing and Forget Worry's minds.
Such conduct was no longer a Dao debate. It was utterly despicable!
Li Cha had remained calm despite being harassed by all manner of strange questions over the past several days, but now the other side was using their strength to bully the weak, secretly targeting his disciples and attempting to shake their Dao Hearts!
A man could endure this, but not that!
Li Cha's expression suddenly darkened, and the peaceful aura around him instantly turned sharp as a sword! He rose to his full height, looked coldly toward Spirit Mountain, and snorted. "What fine Western Wondrous Dharma. Unable to win through Dao debate, you resort to such filthy tricks! Do you truly think this poor Daoist has no temper?!"
Before his words had even faded, his figure had already transformed into a brilliant streak of light, tearing through the sky and charging toward Spirit Mountain with overwhelming might! His speed far exceeded the perception of everyone present.
The next moment, earth-shaking roars of energy erupted from the distant western horizon! "Crack! Crack!" "Rumble!"
Amid them came suppressed cries of pain and screams that echoed through the clouds. That sound was beyond anything a single word like "miserable" could describe.
Beneath Withering Prosperity Mountain, all was silent. Every listener stared dumbfounded toward the western sky, where laws were in chaos and treasure light occasionally burst forth, accompanied by unceasing sounds of "sparring" and the miserable howls of those two men. Maitreya, Kasyapa, and the other Western disciples went pale with fright, trembling from head to toe. They no longer cared about debating the Dao; their hearts held nothing but boundless terror.
This one-sided "exchange" continued for nearly two hours. Then, two extremely bedraggled figures, their monk robes torn to pieces, their faces bruised and swollen, their Buddha Light dim beyond measure, tumbled down from the clouds while supporting each other. They used almost every ounce of strength they had just to steady themselves, then fled in utter panic toward the depths of Spirit Mountain without looking back!
Li Cha's figure promptly appeared atop the Dharma altar of Withering Prosperity Mountain. His robes fluttered, spotless and untouched by dust, his expression calm again as if he had merely gone out for a stroll. He sat down indifferently and continued answering the questions of those listeners whose doubts had not yet been resolved.
At this moment, no one below was thinking about questions anymore. Their eyes shone with curiosity and excitement as they whispered among themselves.
"My heavens... those two were beaten so badly!"
"Patriarch Yun Hua is... incredible!"
"Two hours! They screamed miserably for a whole two hours! The Western Teachings have truly lost face this time!"
Li Cha saw this but did not point it out. The corner of his mouth merely curled upward almost imperceptibly. His attack today had been both a punishment for the despicable conduct of the two men from the West and a defense of his disciples. Yet was it not also an opportunity to show the entire West that the Tea Dao was not a Dao that could be bullied? If they wished to stop him from spreading the Dao, they should first weigh whether they had the strength!
After this battle, the final obstacle to the Tea Dao's spread through the West was completely swept away by Li Cha in this domineering fashion. The Withering Prosperity Mountain sanctuary stood firm as a rock from that day onward.
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