Jieyin's Suspicions

Zhunti's mind raced, and realization suddenly struck him.

Of course.

Who would turn down Merit?

Those Jie Sect Disciples had spent years in Buddhism, enjoying the benefits of the Great Prosperity of the West.

When the time came to choose, they might speak fondly of the Interception Sect, but that did not mean they would leave.

"Besides—"

Jieyin continued.

"Fellow Daoist Tongtian is now with the Wu Clan, and Fellow Daoist Zhou Ming holds him in high regard."

"With his foundation, it is only a matter of time before he attains the Primordial Chaos Grand Unity Golden Immortal."

"If we help his eldest disciple become a Saint now,"

"we will be doing him a favor in advance."

"If Fellow Daoist Tongtian remembers it and judges the West less harshly in the future—"

"then this bargain will have been worth it."

Zhunti considered his words. The more he thought about them, the more sense they made.

His senior brother had thought further ahead than he had, and seen the matter more clearly.

Whether Duobao left was not the real question.

The real question was—

"Senior brother, what you truly want to see isn't whether Tathagata leaves."

Zhunti broke off, his keen eyes fixed on Jieyin.

Jieyin stopped turning his Prayer Beads and looked toward the horizon, in the direction of the Chaos beyond the Thirty-Three Heavens.

"Junior brother, you understand me best."

Jieyin let out a long breath.

"Helping him attain the Dao is a pretext."

"What I really want is to use him to test something."

Zhunti's heart tightened.

"Test something?"

A thought struck him, and he understood at once.

"Senior brother, you want to see whether... Tathagata can truly merge his three corpses and attain the Dao?"

Jieyin nodded slowly, weariness and resignation entering his voice.

"Exactly."

"Junior brother,