Heavenly Dao's Scheme

"Immortal Pilu... no, I should call you Buddha Pilu now!"

"Don't you want revenge?"

"I happen to have an opportunity here..."

With a strange gleam in his eyes, Daoist Zhunti persuaded him.

Last time, at Purple Sky Palace, the Heavenly Dao had failed to uncover Ye Changqing's true background.

This had left the Heavenly Dao constantly uneasy.

In its eyes, Ye Changqing was even harder to deal with than Great God Pangu had been.

As the Heavenly Dao's spokesperson, if Old Ancestor Hongjun went to probe him, he would likely draw Ye Changqing's attention.

And Laozi and Venerable Primordial were bound to Sect Master Tongtian by common cause, so their loyalty could not be guaranteed.

Empress Nuwa had previously wanted to help Ye Changqing block Venerable Primordial, so she could not be used either.

Other than the Two Sages of the West, the Heavenly Dao had no other choice.

When the Two Sages of the West had founded their sect and become Saints, they lacked sufficient merit. They could only make grand vows to it, essentially becoming Saints on "credit."

They owed the Heavenly Dao an enormous amount of merit and were absolutely loyal to it.

Immortal Pilu was now a bald Buddha draped in kasaya robes, incomparably devout toward the Two Sages of the West.

And it was not just him. The eyes of those Jie Cult disciples who had been converted were filled with fanaticism.

"Amitabha!"

As Daoist Jieyin uttered a Buddhist invocation, the Heavenly Dao suddenly manifested in the Western World.

Massive amounts of merit descended from the heavens and fell upon those people, their cultivation beginning to soar wildly.

In the blink of an eye, their cultivation had surpassed what it had been before they were crippled.

With this immense heavenly merit, Buddha Pilu even severed his corpses of good and evil in one stroke, stepping into the ranks of Quasi-Saint experts.

Of the rest, more than half had their Three Flowers crowned and their Five Qi return to the origin, becoming Zenith Heaven Golden Immortals.

It was equivalent to the Western World gaining a huge group of talents out of thin air.

Daoist Jieyin and Daoist Zhunti exchanged smiles. In the near future, their Western Sect would surely flourish greatly.

It might even surpass the currently peerless Jie Cult!

"Where is Buddha Pilu?"

"Hurry and follow me to Azure Palace. Our Western Sect shall have a contest with the Jie Cult!"

The Two Sages of the West said with smiles to the gathered Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, and Arhats before them.

They had certainly calculated well, using former Jie Cult disciples against the Jie Cult.

Even if every one of them perished on Golden Ao Island, the two would not feel the slightest heartache.

So long as they helped the Heavenly Dao trap Ye Changqing or the Jie Cult, their benefits would naturally be plentiful.

A business requiring no capital—why not do it?

What was more, this would disgust Sect Master Tongtian and let them vent their anger.

Inside Ye Changqing's cave dwelling on Golden Ao Island, Zhao Gongming and the others had already awakened from their state of enlightenment.

That cup of Enlightenment Tea had been steeped an unknown number of times and had long since lost its effect.

One by one, they sighed mournfully, hating only that their talent was too dull.

As they looked at the serene and unhurried Ye Changqing, their eyes were full of envy.

If they possessed even one-tenth of their Senior Disciple Brother's talent, they would likely have already comprehended the formations by now.

Unfortunately, aside from a divine treasure like Enlightenment Tea, entering a state of enlightenment was harder for them than climbing to the heavens.

"Alright, let's end here for today. Senior Disciple Brother is tired..."

Daoist Duobao said to the reluctant group gazing at Ye Changqing.

But how could he himself not want to remain by his Senior Disciple Brother's side?

Senior Disciple Brother had always been selfless and had taken great care of junior brothers and sisters like them.

Otherwise, he could never have brought out Enlightenment Tea and the Chaos Formation Compendium to share with them.

Senior Disciple Brother had already given everything for the Jie Cult!

"Duobao, stay behind!"

Just as everyone was taking their leave of Ye Changqing, he called Daoist Duobao to a halt.

Ye Changqing looked at this Junior Brother, who appeared somewhat adorably dim-witted. The two of them had spent the longest time together.

"Duobao, can I trust you?"

He suddenly asked.

After the Investiture of the Gods Tribulation, this fellow with thick brows and big eyes had unexpectedly transformed himself into the leader of Buddhism.

Although Laozi had meddled in it, what were his own thoughts?

Daoist Duobao stared fixedly at Ye Changqing, his gaze utterly sincere.

If Senior Disciple Brother doubted him, why would he himself have appeared here?

"Promise me!"

"No matter what happens, do not betray the Jie Cult..."

Ye Changqing spoke softly.

"Alright!"

Daoist Duobao agreed without the slightest hesitation.

Just as he was about to step out of the cave dwelling, he seemed to hear Senior Disciple Brother's murmur.

"After I die, the Jie Cult will be entrusted to you..."

Daoist Duobao's body stiffened, and he left with tears in his eyes.

The doors of the cave dwelling slowly closed, and Ye Changqing finally set down the heavy stone in his heart.

Though Daoist Duobao looked honest and simple, his mind was exceptionally meticulous.

In the future Investiture of the Gods Tribulation, he had been the first to realize the importance of fighting as a group.

Although both the Immortal Slaying Sword Formation and the Myriad Immortals Formation had ended in failure, in the end, he had dared to draw his sword against Laozi, a Saint.

Daoist Duobao also had quite a few clever little tricks; sometimes, he had even more crafty ideas than Ye Changqing.

In Ye Changqing's view, he was even more gifted than Zhao Gongming and San Xiao when it came to carrying out his task.

On the plaza of the Azure Palace, the people who had departed gathered here once more and began comparing their respective insights.

Daoist Duobao asked the Ten Heavenly Lords below, "What do cultivators like us cultivate for?"

After thinking for a moment, Zhao Jiang answered earnestly, "To achieve the Primordial Unity Dao like Senior Disciple Brother!"

Daoist Duobao shot him a somewhat disdainful look and shook his head. This child was truly beyond saving.

There were countless billions upon billions of living beings in the Primordial World. If all of them could become Saints, would everything not be thrown into chaos?

From the creation of heaven and earth until now, there had only been seven or eight Saints, and Ye Changqing was the sole exception.

Moreover, the three thousand Chaos Demon Gods had been no weaker than Heavenly Dao Saints, yet they had still met the end of death and the dissipation of their Dao.

"No, no!"

"We cultivate for... survival!"

The Ten Heavenly Lords looked at one another, unable to quite understand Daoist Duobao's words.

Seeing their utterly bewildered expressions, Daoist Duobao immediately felt frustration at their failure to live up to expectations.

He began slowly guiding them to follow his train of thought.

"Think carefully—what did you first cultivate for?"

"Was it not to escape the jaws of your natural enemies, to stay alive?"

The Ten Heavenly Lords sank into thought. It really did seem to be so.

"In the future, our Jie Cult will face a great catastrophe. If we wish to survive and continue cultivating, we must stop at nothing!"

Daoist Duobao continued.

"Our Jie Cult claims that ten thousand immortals come to pay court, yet our strength is severely unbalanced. Many people do not even possess a single decent Dharma treasure."

"The coming tribulation will be incomparably dangerous. Without treasures to protect us, how will we cross the tribulation?"

"But there are only so many spiritual treasures in the entire Primordial World. What are we to do?"

Daoist Duobao's words immediately resonated with the Ten Heavenly Lords.

Although Sect Master Tongtian had obtained quite a few spiritual treasures at Treasure Distribution Rock, there were simply too many disciples to go around.

Even now, they did not possess a single suitable Dharma treasure, and could only rely on formations when facing enemies.

"Senior Disciple Brother Duobao, what should we do?"

Golden Light Holy Mother asked.

Daoist Duobao's eyes lit up. "That is an excellent question. You can be taught!"

"We go out and borrow from others!"

"Borrow from whom? Naturally, from those closest to us!"

"The Chan Sect has few disciples, but every one of them holds more than ten spiritual treasures. They are practically dripping with wealth!"