The disciples of the Three Pure Ones arrived, and soon, two bhikkhus ushered them inside. The two Saints sat high upon the clouds. Aside from pilgrims such as Li Yunjing and Randeng, the various Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, Arhats, and bhikkhus of the Western Sect stood attendant at the sides of the two sect leaders.
All these disciples of the Western Sect chanted the Buddha's name. Waves of Sanskrit chants and Buddhist hymns echoed throughout the Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss, like an all-pervading spring breeze and drizzle, nourishing the entire world.
However, it was not yet the time of Buddhism's Great Prosperity. Although the Western Sect had many members, most of them were not highly cultivated. There was only one quasi-sage who could be called Buddha-level—the Saint Zhunti—and there were not many Grand Unity Golden Immortals at the Bodhisattva level either. Compared with the Interception Sect and even the Exposition Sect, they were somewhat weaker.
They were still far from the imposing force they would possess in the future, when Buddhism's Great Prosperity would see it practically unify the world.
After Li Yunjing and Randeng paid their respects to the Saints and offered their congratulations, they sat down like the other guests, separately on the left and right, waiting for the others to arrive and listening to the Saints expound the Great Dao.
Seven days later, one of the two Saints of the Western Sect, Saint Zhunti, sat upright atop a golden lotus. A world appeared between Saint Zhunti's palms and fingers, seeming both illusory and real. Buddhist lands filled his vision—it was actually the legendary Great Immortal Art of the Buddha's Palm.
A Daoist appeared. It was none other than one of the two Saints of the Western Sect, the Buddha Venerable Zhunti. The Daoist sat upon a golden lotus and called himself Buddha Ancestor, which was rather astonishing. The Western Buddhist land gradually drew closer to Zhunti. Between illusion and reality, it flew into Zhunti's hand. It was impossible to say whether it had become smaller or larger; all that filled the eye was the Buddhist land, and the Buddhist land was held within his palm.
"Bodhi was originally without a tree, and the bright mirror was not a stand. Originally, there was nothing at all—where could dust gather? The Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss opens wide the gate of expedience. Those who enter the gate of Ultimate Bliss will not be entangled by cause and effect or stained by right and wrong. They will not fall to heavenly disasters, perish through human calamities, be subdued by the five elements, or be destroyed by conflict."
Saint Zhunti directly began expounding his own Great Dao. For a time, Heavenly Flowers Scattering filled the sky, while all kinds of auspicious energy suffused the Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss. Li Yunjing listened in a daze of intoxication, but toward the end, he furrowed his brows. You're giving a sermon, so why have you started recruiting disciples too?
"Everything in the world is impermanent, and lands are fragile. The four great elements are suffering and emptiness; the five aggregates have no self. Birth, death, change, and transformation are false and without a master. The mind is the source of evil, and the body is a swamp of sin. Observe things in this way, and you will gradually depart from birth and death. Excessive desire brings suffering; the weariness of birth and death arises from greed and desire. With few desires and no striving, body and mind are free."
However, Daoist Jieyin soon manifested between Heaven and Earth and expounded his own Great Dao.
The two Saints each preached for three months. They merely skimmed the surface, but the profundity of their teachings still delivered Li Yunjing a tremendous shock and brought him great inspiration.
When the two Saints of the Western Sect preached on this occasion, countless rogue cultivators from the Primordial World also came west, aside from figures with backgrounds like Li Yunjing. After witnessing the Saints' techniques, many living beings were truly beguiled by Zhunti and Jieyin and joined the Western Sect.
For a time, the overall strength of the Western Sect increased fivefold. That was after the Two Sages of the West had selected only the best. Otherwise, they could have immediately surpassed the Interception Sect in numbers and become the greatest sect in the world.
Li Yunjing paid no attention to the Western Sect's increased strength. Those were matters of the future, and he had no way to stop them. He might as well calmly comprehend the Great Dao and advance to the quasi-sage realm as soon as possible.
Therefore, after returning to "Mount Kunlun," Li Yunjing immediately entered secluded cultivation, summarizing and expanding upon the Great Daos of the two Saints, Zhunti and Jieyin.
One day, two Saintly pressures suddenly manifested on "Mount Kunlun." Li Yunjing hurriedly awoke from his seclusion and immediately calculated with his fingers. He instantly revealed a bitter smile. What was destined to come had come after all.
It turned out that the doctrines of the Interception Sect and the Exposition Sect differed, and their disciples often quarreled. This time, Wuyunxian of the Interception Sect clashed with Taiyi Zhenren. Wuyunxian was no match for him and immediately called his fellow disciples, which led to a great melee.
The result was naturally that the Interception Sect gained the upper hand. They beat the Twelve Golden Immortals of the Exposition Sect into fleeing with their heads covered. This situation immediately enraged Primordial Heavenly Venerate and consequently alarmed Sect Master Tongtian.
The two Saints began blaming each other over the affairs of their disciples. They were only a step away from fighting outright.
Seeing this, Laozi shook his head helplessly. Heaven's mandate could not be defied. It seemed that the Three Pure Ones Parting Ways was an inevitable result. The Heavenly Dao would not allow the three brothers to remain united forever and monopolize the Primordial World!
At this moment, Primordial Heavenly Venerate shouted, "Third Brother, look at what you have accepted as disciples. They are arrogant, lawless, and heedless of everyone! Where is their respect for their teachers and elders? Where are their manners and upbringing? A bunch of creatures born from moisture and hatched from eggs!"
"Second Brother! What do you mean by that?" Primordial Heavenly Venerate's words made Sect Master Tongtian's face flush with anger. If not for the last shred of reason he possessed, he would have brought out the Immortal Slaying Sword Formation and fought Primordial Heavenly Venerate to determine the victor.
"Second Brother! Third Brother! Stop arguing! Although this 'Mount Kunlun' is vast, in the end, it cannot accommodate the Dao lineages of all three of us."
Taishang Laojun suddenly manifested between the two and suppressed their quarrel. Seeing that they had calmed down somewhat, he continued, "As your elder brother, I have decided to take Xuandu with me and cultivate on 'Shouyang Mountain.' As for matters here, the two of you can handle them yourselves!"
"Big Brother, ever since Pangu Opens the Sky, the three of us brothers have been together. How can we separate? My argument with Second Brother was merely angry words!" Sect Master Tongtian immediately grew anxious. He had been angry, yes, but he had never imagined that the Three Pure Ones would part ways!
"Big Brother, Third Brother and I merely exchanged angry words just now. You cannot leave!"
Such a major matter as the Three Pure Ones Parting Ways was naturally something Primordial Heavenly Venerate was unwilling to accept as well. Like Sect Master Tongtian, he immediately began offering explanations.
"Forget it. Heaven's mandate cannot be defied. Even Saints cannot go against the general trend of Heaven and Earth." Laozi offered this explanation.
Primordial Heavenly Venerate and Sect Master Tongtian calculated with their fingers, and it was indeed so. The Three Pure Ones Parting Ways was unavoidable. If they insisted on forcing things, who knew what kind of enormous trouble their disciples might cause.
Saints did not become entangled in cause and effect. If something happened, it would naturally befall their disciples. If things continued this way, the next clash between their disciples would likely result in deaths and injuries.
"If that is the case, then I will also take my disciples away from 'Mount Kunlun' and find another place to settle down!" Since he knew separation was unavoidable, Sect Master Tongtian made his decision at once, turned around, and left for the "Upper Pure Palace."
"This?"
Primordial Heavenly Venerate was somewhat stunned. He had not expected the Three Pure Ones to disperse just like that.
Li Yunjing watched the scene before him and sighed. He suddenly walked before Primordial Heavenly Venerate, bowed respectfully, and said, "Second Senior Brother, these are the 'Enlightenment Tea Leaves' this disciple has accumulated. I offer them to you. From now on, every three thousand years, I will return to 'Mount Kunlun' to visit you."
"Yunjing, you..." Primordial Heavenly Venerate sighed deeply at such a sensible disciple as Li Yunjing. "Your Uncle-Master will keep the 'Chaos Palace' for you. Whenever you want to return and stay, come back and live there for a while."
In the end, he gave Li Yunjing a promise.
A promise to keep a home for him on "Mount Kunlun"!
If all the disciples under Third Brother had been like Li Yunjing, then even if they had defied Heaven, Primordial Heavenly Venerate would have kept Third Brother's lineage. But when he thought of the other disciples, most of whom were creatures born from moisture and hatched from eggs, Primordial Heavenly Venerate felt disgust rise from the depths of his heart.
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