Many Treasures Accuses, Data Slaps the Sage's Top Disciple

Crack.

A crisp sound rang out as the jade slip crumbled to powder in Daoist Duobao's palm.

Fine dust slipped through his fingers, falling like a silent mockery.

The Registered Disciple before him trembled, lowering his head even further, his breath frozen.

"Leave a thread for others?"

Duobao spoke, his voice not loud, yet carrying a suppressed fury that seemed to congeal the very air around him.

"The very foundation of our Jie Sect is to seize a thread of life for all things in heaven and earth! That thread is fought for, snatched for—not yielded through retreat!"

"Master, please calm your wrath!"

The disciple, terrified out of his wits, kowtowed repeatedly.

Duobao did not spare him another glance. He spun abruptly, gazing into the sea of clouds where the Outer Sect Disciples dwelled.

A vast, overwhelming aura surged skyward.

With a single step, his form vanished from where he stood.

On the Outer Sect's Dharma Transmission Platform, several hundred disciples were gathered in small clusters, engaged in heated discussion.

Nearly every face bore an expression mingled with excitement and approval.

"Don't you think Article Thirty-Seven of that Guidebook is brilliant? 'Beware of any fellow disciple who tries to call you brother and paint you a rosy picture—he's either after your treasure or wants you to take a hit for him.' It hits the nail on the head!"

"I find Article Fifty-Two more useful: 'Never speak ill of any Inner Sect senior brother or sister behind their backs, because you never know which rock or cloud is their treasure in disguise.' Tsk, gives me chills just thinking about it."

"The first clause of the general principles is the ultimate truth! To live—that is everything!"

Just as the crowd was buzzing with fervor, a terrifying pressure descended from the heavens.

It fell like an invisible mountain, instantly crushing down on every heart.

The clamor of thousands on the Dharma Transmission Platform vanished in a single breath.

Every disciple felt their chest tighten, their spiritual power sluggish and difficult to circulate.

They looked up in shock.

A figure hovered midair, clad in the Myriad Treasure Daoist Robe, his expression cold and stern as he gazed down upon the masses like a god inspecting ants.

"Greetings, Senior Disciple Duobao!"

Someone, quick to react, called out with a trembling voice.

Rustle!

All the Outer Sect Disciples on the platform dropped to their knees, silent as cicadas in winter.

Daoist Duobao.

The senior Inner Sect Disciple of the Jie Sect, the foremost beneath the saints, overseeing countless sect affairs—a name of great renown.

Why would he suddenly grace the Outer Sect with his presence?

Duobao paid no heed to their bows. His gaze, sharp as a blade, swept across every fearful face below.

"That so-called Guidebook—who wrote it?"

His voice pierced the clouds, ringing clearly in every ear.

"Step forward."

Dead silence.

The disciples knelt, heads buried deep. No one dared to look up, no one dared to speak.

Though they revered the Guidebook as a golden rule, they all knew its doctrine of "avoidance" and "fear of battle" ran counter to the Jie Sect's long-held teachings.

Now that the senior disciple had come to call them out, who would dare to confess?

Seeing no response, Duobao's brow furrowed slightly, and the pressure intensified.

Some disciples of lower cultivation turned pale, their bodies beginning to shake uncontrollably.

"No one will own up?"

Duobao's voice turned icy.

"Such twisted, heretical nonsense that corrupts the sect's very heart—like a plague! Not only do you fail to resist it, but you pass it around and treat it as gospel! What kind of order is this!"

"Today, if no one steps forward, all who have circulated this material will face ten years of wall-facing meditation on Repentance Cliff!"

At these words, a stifled stir rippled through the crowd below.

Ten years!

For Outer Sect Disciples like them, ten years of wall-facing would be enough to sever their path of cultivation!

Yet even so, no one dared to come forward.

In that suffocating silence, a soft footstep sounded.

It was faint, yet in the absolute stillness of the Dharma Transmission Platform, it rang out with striking clarity.

Everyone turned to look.

A slightly thin young man slowly walked out from behind the crowd, step by step.

His face was pale, his aura weak, like a mortal just recovering from a serious illness, as if a gust of wind could knock him over.

It was Chen Changsheng.

He passed through the crowd, which parted automatically, and came to the front, respectfully bowing to Daoist Duobao in the sky.

"Outer Sect Disciple Chen Changsheng pays respects to Senior Disciple Brother."

His voice was calm, without a trace of fear toward authority or any hint of provocation—only pure respect.

Daoist Duobao looked down at him, his gaze appraising.

"Did you write this?"

Chen Changsheng shook his head.

"This disciple does not know who authored this work."

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"Then why did you step forward?"

Daoist Duobao's tone carried a hint of displeasure.

Chen Changsheng straightened up, facing a pressure that could shake even a Golden Immortal's mind, and wore a perfectly appropriate look of confusion on his face.

"This disciple merely felt that what the Guidebook says, though not in line with our sect's unyielding Great Dao, still... holds some reason."

As soon as he said this, the hearts of the thousand-plus disciples kneeling behind him leaped into their throats.

Crazy!

Was this Chen Changsheng insane?

To dare say, right in front of Senior Disciple Brother, that those crooked, heretical words had reason?

"Oh?"

Daoist Duobao laughed in anger. He moved, silently landing before Chen Changsheng, the two of them no more than three steps apart.

"Some reason? Then tell me, what reason is that?"

He stared at Chen Changsheng, asking word by word: "Is it reasonable to teach people to flee before battle, or to teach them to cling to life out of cowardice?"

"We disciples of the Jie Sect cultivate to defy heaven and change fate, seeking transcendence and freedom! If everyone acted like that Guidebook says—hiding at every trouble, fleeing at every tribulation—then how would our Jie Sect be any different from a Head-Shrinking turtle? What Great Dao would there be to speak of!"

His voice boomed like thunder, carrying the Dao Charm of a Zenith Heaven Golden Immortal, shaking the Primordial Spirits of the surrounding disciples and churning their blood and qi.

Chen Changsheng, however, seemed unaffected, merely bowing again.

"Senior Disciple Brother, please calm your anger."

He raised his head, his tone still steady.

"This disciple is dull and does not understand the Great Dao. This disciple only knows that to cultivate the Dao, one must first stay alive."

He paused, then shifted his words.

"May I ask Senior Disciple Brother: Half a month ago, Senior Disciple Brother Zhang Feng led a hundred Outer Sect fellow disciples down the mountain to protect the human race. Could that be considered brave and vigorous, not diminishing the prestige of our Jie Sect?"

Daoist Duobao was taken aback, unsure why he suddenly brought this up, but still snorted coldly.

"Naturally."

"Then this disciple asks again: Where are those hundred fellow disciples now?"

Chen Changsheng's voice was not loud, but it struck like a heavy hammer, slamming hard into Daoist Duobao's heart.

And into the hearts of every disciple present.

Daoist Duobao's expression instantly turned somewhat ugly.

As the Inner Sect Senior Disciple Brother, he naturally knew of that incident.

Nearly a hundred spirited disciples had gone down the mountain, and in the end, only thirteen battered survivors returned. The rest had all fallen, not even their true spirits escaping back.

It was the Outer Sect's greatest loss in recent years for the Jie Sect.

And also an unhealable scar in the hearts of all Outer Sect disciples.

Chen Changsheng gave him no time to think, continuing on. His voice was clear and calm, laying out a cold set of numbers before everyone.

"One hundred went out, thirteen returned—casualties near ninety percent."

"This disciple presumes to ask, on behalf of those nearly ninety percent of fellow disciples."

"What did their deaths win? And for our Jie Sect, what thread of life did they cut off?"

"If they had also seen that Guidebook, understood how to assess risk, knew how to preserve themselves, would they still be standing here on the Dharma Transmission Platform today, listening to Senior Disciple Brother's teachings?"

A barrage of questions, like sharp daggers, pierced straight into the heart.

Daoist Duobao was completely stunned.

He opened his mouth, but found he could not utter a single word.

Yes.

He could denounce Chen Changsheng's words as the actions of a coward.

But could he go and denounce those nearly ninety fellow disciples who had already turned to ash?

Could he say to those surviving disciples, still healing in their caves, that they should have just died?

No.

The great Dao of the Jie Sect, which he took such pride in, seemed utterly pale and powerless before the bloody reality of "ninety percent casualties."

The entire Dharma Transmission Platform was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

All the Outer Sect Disciples raised their heads, staring at Chen Changsheng's thin silhouette, their eyes filled with shock and fervor.

He had spoken what all of them wanted to say but dared not.

Chen Changsheng bowed deeply to the silent Daoist Duobao for the third time.

"Senior Disciple Brother, only by living can there be a Great Dao. This disciple believes that this is the greatest truth of the Guidebook."

Having said this, he stood quietly to the side and spoke no more.

Daoist Duobao stared fixedly at Chen Changsheng—this Outer Sect Disciple whose aura was so faint he seemed on the verge of falling at any moment—and for the first time, an expression called "wavering" appeared in his eyes.

A long moment passed.

He forced out a sentence through gritted teeth.

"Smooth words and insinuations."

He flicked his sleeve, turned, transformed into a streak of light, and shot into the sky, leaving not a single word behind.

The oppressive pressure that had weighed on everyone's hearts dissipated like smoke.

Only after Daoist Duobao's figure had completely vanished beyond the horizon did the Dharma Transmission Platform erupt into a thunderous roar of discussion.

Everyone's gaze focused on Chen Changsheng.

Awe, worship, gratitude.

In Chen Changsheng's mind, the cold system notification sounded.

[Ding! Detected host using the 'Dao of Survival' philosophy to directly shake the Dao heart of a core Jie Sect disciple, successfully triggering the first ideological line dispute within the Jie Sect!]

[Influence of the Dao of Survival has greatly expanded. Main quest progress increased!]

[Reward obtained: Three Thousand Years of Cultivation! Introductory insight into the Divine Ability Sever Causality!]

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