The Sage is Alarmed, a Mortal Asks the Jade Palace

The moment Daoist Duobao departed, the invisible mountain of Pressure on the Dharma Transmission Platform crumbled.

The dead silence shattered.

What followed was an eruption of noise like a volcano.

"We won!"

"Senior Disciple Brother Chen... he actually convinced the Senior Disciple Brother!"

"That wasn't convincing! That was crushing! Did you all see the Senior Disciple Brother's face at the end? He couldn't refute a thing!"

Thousands of Outer Sect Disciples now looked at Chen Changsheng's thin back, their eyes no longer holding a shred of sympathy or pity.

In its place was a fervor bordering on worship.

On this Golden Ao Island, where hierarchy was strict and the strong reigned supreme, an Outer Sect Disciple with a "shaky" cultivation base had dared to face a saint's personal disciple with reason, and with irrefutable facts, defended the survival path of those at the bottom.

This required not strength, but wisdom and courage far beyond strength.

Chen Changsheng felt the burning gazes behind him, yet felt no pride in his heart—only a rising chill.

The tallest tree is the first to be felled by the wind.

The first principle of the Dao of Survival was to stay out of the spotlight.

He turned to face the excited crowd, forcing a look of exhaustion and injury onto his face.

He cupped his hands, his lips moving as if to speak, but then he broke into a violent cough, his complexion growing even paler.

The crowd immediately quieted, their eyes filled with concern.

"Senior Disciple Brother Chen must have exhausted his spirit resisting the Senior Disciple Brother's Pressure!"

"Quick, let Senior Disciple Brother Chen go back and rest!"

Taking this opening, Chen Changsheng nodded weakly at the crowd, said no more, turned, and walked step by step back to his cave dwelling.

The stone door slammed shut.

Shutting out all the noise and worship.

Everything that happened on the Dharma Transmission Platform swept through Golden Ao Island like a storm.

From Outer Sect to Inner Sect, nearly every disciple was discussing that name.

Chen Changsheng.

And his earth-shaking question.

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

Inside a mist-wreathed immortal mountain cave, Zhao Gongming crushed the wine cup in his hand, liquor dripping through his fingers.

His face was full of complexity.

There was admiration, but even more worry.

"This kid has a nerve bigger than the sky."

He knew Duobao's nature well—stubborn and fiercely protective of his pride.

To be publicly refuted into silence by an Outer Sect Disciple today—this matter would not end easily.

In another, more ornate palace.

Daoist Duobao sat quietly on his meditation cushion, no trace of anger on his face, his calm terrifying.

Scattered on the ground before him were over a hundred jade slips.

These were all the records he had just ordered fetched from the Outer Sect archives, documenting every mission Outer Sect Disciples had undertaken over the past thousand years.

He picked one up at random.

His divine sense probed inside.

[Gengzi Year: To seize the East Sea's 'Profound Water Essence,' three hundred Outer Sect Disciples, led by Inner Sect Disciple Ma Yuan, set out. Ambushed by the Demon Race. All perished. Ma Yuan escaped, gravely wounded.]

He set down the slip and picked up another.

[Bingyin Year: Assisting the Eastern Marquis in Suppressing the Rebellion, five hundred Outer Sect Disciples deployed. Four hundred and twelve died. Three strands of Human Dao Merit obtained, all awarded to the leading Inner Sect Disciple.]

One slip.

Another slip.

Daoist Duobao's reading speed grew faster and faster. On his calm, unruffled face, fine beads of sweat began to seep out.

Cold data, shocking casualty counts, formed an invisible heavy hammer, striking his rock-solid Dao heart again and again.

He had always believed that Jie Sect disciples should charge forward boldly, that even Death of Dao was glory for the sect.

But what these records showed was no glory.

It was clearly a series of meaningless sacrifices.

Wave after wave of low-level disciples using their lives to trade for trivial merits and spoils for a handful of Inner Sect Disciples.

Chen Changsheng's words, like a curse, echoed over and over in his mind.

"Casualties are nearly ninety percent."

More than ninety percent.

The total casualty rate accumulated over these thousand years was a number he simply dared not calculate.

The doctrine he took pride in, the Great Path he believed in without doubt—before these bloody realities, it all seemed so laughable.

Crack.

The jade slip in his hand was unconsciously crushed to powder.

Daoist Duobao slowly closed his eyes. An unprecedented confusion enveloped his Primordial Spirit.

Could I be wrong?

Is the path of the Jie Sect truly wrong?

Just as Golden Ao Island was churning with undercurrents from this ideological storm...

Above the Nine Heavens, deep within the sea of clouds, inside an ancient, majestic, and eternal palace—

Jade Palace.

Sect Leader Tongtian sat cross-legged on his Cloud Bed, eyes slightly shut, Dao Charm flowing around him as if he had merged completely with heaven and earth.

Suddenly, the void before him rippled like water.

A Treasure Mirror materialized out of thin air.

What the mirror revealed was the image of Daoist Duobao, spirit lost and Dao Heart shaken.

Sect Leader Tongtian slowly opened his eyes.

What kind of eyes were those? They seemed to contain the birth and death of universes, the rotation of stars.

As a Saint, he was one with the Heavenly Dao. Everything that happened on Golden Ao Island could not escape his perception.

He had also "seen" that Guidebook.

At first, he thought it was just an amusing prank and paid it no mind.

But he never expected this little "prank" to shake the Dao Heart of his foremost disciple.

"To live—that is where the Great Path lies..."

He murmured these words softly, and for the first time, a hint of an emotion called "intrigue" appeared in his eyes.

He had pointed out to his disciples the Great Path of "seizing a thread of life."

Yet it seemed his disciples had all walked this path too narrowly.

They only knew how to "fight," forgetting that "avoiding" was also a means to better "survive."

Sect Leader Tongtian moved his mind, and the scene in the Treasure Mirror shifted.

What appeared in the mirror was Chen Changsheng's crude cave dwelling.

At this moment, Chen Changsheng was sitting cross-legged, a joyful expression on his face as he counted the rewards the system had just distributed.

Three Thousand Years of Cultivation!

Divine Ability Sever Causality Introductory Enlightenment!

His cultivation had advanced again, only a step away from Late Golden Immortal.

More importantly, he had taken a crucial step in understanding the second layer of the Great Freedom Head-Shrinking Technique—[Sever Causality].

Once he mastered this technique, he could actively sever the subtle karmic ties between himself and the outside world, making his presence even weaker and less likely to be dragged into trouble.

This was the core of survival!

Just then, the cave's restrictions were gently triggered.

Chen Changsheng's heart tightened. He composed himself and instantly resumed his usual sickly demeanor.

Opening the stone door, the visitor turned out to be Zhao Gongming.

"Senior Brother Gongming?"

Zhao Gongming slipped inside and casually set up a soundproof barrier, his expression grave.

"Junior Brother Changsheng, this time, you've stirred things up too much."

"What does Senior Brother mean by that?" Chen Changsheng looked utterly innocent.

"Still pretending?" Zhao Gongming said with some exasperation. "I know Senior Brother Duobao's character best. You made him lose face today. He won't say it, but he'll hold a grudge. Be extremely careful in your future actions!"

A warmth spread through Chen Changsheng's heart. He solemnly bowed to Zhao Gongming.

"Thank you for the warning, Senior Brother. This junior understands."

Zhao Gongming nodded, then couldn't help asking, "But tell me, kid—are you really not afraid of death, or do you actually have that kind of confidence?"

Hearing this, Chen Changsheng only smiled calmly.

"This disciple simply thinks—if seeking to live is itself a sin, then what is the purpose of cultivating the Dao?"

Inside the Jade Palace.

Sect Leader Tongtian watched Chen Changsheng's calm smile in the mirror, heard his light, dismissive retort, and the amusement in his eyes grew ever richer.

This little disciple was somewhat interesting.

A long moment passed.

He smiled.

The laughter was not loud, yet it seemed to brighten the entire Jade Palace by several degrees.

He slowly raised his hand and gently tapped the void.

The next moment.

A voice—majestic, vast, impossible to refuse—rang out without warning in the heart of every living being on Golden Ao Island.

Whether they were Inner Sect Disciples in seclusion or Outer Sect Disciples in heated debate, whether they were birds in flight or beasts on the ground.

Every single existence, at that instant, heard that voice.

"Outer Sect Disciple Chen Changsheng, come to the Jade Palace to see me."