Zhunti's thoughts spun once, and he suddenly reacted.
Right.
Who would turn their back on merit?
Those Jie Sect disciples had stayed in Buddhism for so many years, long used to the benefits brought by Western Prosperity.
When the time truly came to choose, they might chant of old Jie Sect bonds with their mouths, but their feet might not necessarily be able to move.
"Besides—"
Jieyin continued.
"Fellow Daoist Tongtian is now with the Witch Clan and is valued by Fellow Daoist Zhou Ming."
"With his foundations, Attaining Hunyuan as a Daluo Golden Immortal is only a matter of time."
"If we lend a hand now and help this eldest disciple of his become a Saint..."
"It can be counted as sending him a favor with the current ahead of time."
"If, in the future, Fellow Daoist Tongtian can remember this bit of sentiment and be a little less harsh toward my West—"
"Then this deal is no loss."
Zhunti savored those words, and the more he savored them, the more meaning he found.
His senior brother saw much farther than he did, and far more clearly.
Whether Duobao left or not was not the core issue at all.
The core issue was—
"Senior Brother, what you truly want to see is not whether Tathagata leaves or not."
Zhunti suddenly stopped, those exceedingly shrewd eyes staring straight at Jieyin.
Jieyin stopped the prayer beads in his hand and looked up toward the horizon, in the direction of the Chaos beyond the Thirty-Third Heaven.
"Junior Brother, you still understand me best."
Jieyin let out a long breath of turbid air.
"Letting him attain the Dao is false."
"Using his hand to make a verification is true."
Zhunti's heart chilled.
"Verification?"
Something stirred in Zhunti's heart, and he instantly understood.
"Senior