A Flood of Defections

With the Nine Luminaries True Lords joining him, Fang Yang finally had a force of his own within the Interception Sect.

Though this force was not powerful enough to turn the tide, it marked the beginning of his own faction.

In the future, whether he wanted to spread the Dao or deal with enemies outside the sect, Fang Yang would no longer have to fight alone.

Saint Mother Wudang, however, didn't react much. After building her small circle, she had achieved little.

The right to spread the Dao within the Interception Sect was controlled by Daoist Duobao. Unwilling to fight him, they had never tried to claim that right. Saint Mother Wudang and Zhao Gongming had special status, so they had symbolically taken on two disciples. Yun Xiao, the Nine Luminaries True Lords, and the Twelve Yuan Chen hadn't taken on any disciples at all.

Fang Yang was clearly different from Saint Mother Wudang. He had only recently been promoted to a personal disciple, yet he had already earned a huge amount of merit for the Interception Sect.

By rights, since Fang Yang was a disciple of the Interception Sect, most of the merit he earned should have belonged to Sect Master Tongtian.

But the saints of the Primordial Wilderness weren't capitalists. They never kept the merit their disciples earned for themselves.

That was why Fang Yang had received all the merit.

But from this merit, the Nine Luminaries True Lords saw hope.

If Fang Yang could earn merit once, then he could earn it again.

By following Fang Yang, they would have a chance to earn merit, too.

As for Saint Mother Wudang, her cultivation was simply profound. She couldn't help them earn merit, much less help them break through to Great Luo Golden Immortal.

Saint Mother Wudang knew her own limitations. Compared with Fang Yang's plan to earn merit, her Vacuum Homeland plan was little more than an unattainable dream.

Those who had merit were the ones worth following.

"Haha."

Fang Yang sensed the subtle tension between Saint Mother Wudang and the Nine Luminaries True Lords and burst out laughing.

"Don't let this bother you. We are all disciples of the Interception Sect, and Senior Sister Wudang has decided to stand with me. In the end, we're all on the same side."

For Fang Yang's sake, Saint Mother Wudang and the Nine Luminaries True Lords smiled at each other, putting aside the faint awkwardness they had felt.

Even so, Saint Mother Wudang certainly wouldn't abandon her Vacuum Homeland plan. She was a Great Luo Golden Immortal, and once her Dao-mark was established, there was no turning back.

For now, Saint Mother Wudang had only reached an agreement with Fang Yang about clearing up the Interception Sect's outer sect. When it came to carrying on and expanding the sect's teachings, she had her own ideas.

Only after all the misunderstandings had been cleared up did Saint Mother Wudang continue. "Junior Brother, there are more than forty-eight thousand Outer Disciples in our sect. Nearly seventy percent of them are immortals like you, who received our master's teachings and ascended to the Dao."

"These junior brothers and sisters only want to devote themselves to cultivation after joining the sect. They have none of the habits of the furred and horned, or those born from wetness and eggs."

"They are not the ones we need to deal with, but the scoundrels who have joined forces with the Seven Immortals of Penglai, Lü Yue, Luo Xuan, the Ten Heavenly Lords, and the others. You agree, don't you?"

Though many Outer Disciples supported Daoist Duobao, the vast majority had no choice in the matter.

These Outer Disciples were "incredibly lucky" to catch the eye of the Seven Immortals of Penglai and the others, who invited them to join their ranks.

The most typical example was Shi Ji Niangniang.

Shi Ji Niangniang had once been a virtuous female immortal, but her brilliance shone too brightly, and Ma Yuan set his sights on her.

Not only did Ma Yuan move his cave to Shi Ji Niangniang's Qingliang Mountain, he also corrupted the mountain with his Demonic Cultivation, turning a fine immortal paradise into an Ancient Demonic Domain.

Shi Ji Niangniang was upright by nature. She didn't want to fall out with Ma Yuan, but she also didn't know how to adapt. When she couldn't drive him away, she simply accepted his presence.

Once that door had been opened, things quickly spiraled out of control.

Ma Yuan repeatedly crossed the line and backed Shi Ji Niangniang into a corner. In the end, she had no choice but to become part of the Seven Immortals of Penglai's faction.

Saint Mother Wudang didn't want to show people like Shi Ji Niangniang, who had no choice in the matter, any mercy.

In the past, Daoist Duobao had always taken priority over Shi Ji Niangniang and the others in Saint Mother Wudang's eyes.

So when Shi Ji Niangniang and the others were oppressed by the Seven Immortals of Penglai's faction, Saint Mother Wudang had kept silent.

But after deciding to turn the tide, she no longer cared what Daoist Duobao thought. She began to sympathize with people like Shi Ji Niangniang.

Saint Mother Wudang wasn't the perfectly virtuous person most people imagined. She had many sides, and that complexity was precisely one of the finest parts of human nature.

"Of course."

Fang Yang nodded.

He wasn't there to judge good and evil. He simply wanted to solve the problem of so many Outer Disciples bringing the Interception Sect's fortune to ruin.

Since Shi Ji Niangniang and the others had no choice in the matter, why slaughter them all and make new enemies for himself?

Seeing that Fang Yang was willing to do her this favor, Saint Mother Wudang's regard for him soared.

At least Fang Yang wasn't stubborn and self-willed. Working with someone like him, she wouldn't have to worry about the plan going wrong.

"If Junior Brother is willing to show them leniency, that couldn't be better. Senior Sister Jin Ling on Golden Ao Island has long shared my misgivings about Eldest Senior Brother's actions. If I reason with her and appeal to her feelings, she'll certainly join us."

"With the two of us and Senior Sister Jin Ling, we still won't be able to threaten Eldest Senior Brother's standing in our master's eyes, but our side will grow much stronger."

Saint Mother Wudang made the suggestion again.

Fang Yang wholeheartedly agreed. Of all the disciples of the Interception Sect, Saint Mother Jin Ling was the most virtuous, and she commanded great respect among them.

If she rallied them, who knew how many disciples of the Interception Sect would step forward in response?

If Saint Mother Wudang could truly persuade Saint Mother Jin Ling, the future of the Interception Sect would surely be bright, and it would never face annihilation.

"If Senior Sister has this in mind, then go ahead."

Fang Yang nodded in agreement.

Truthfully, relying on outside forces to solve the Interception Sect's problems was only a second-best solution. In the Primordial Wilderness, few dared to lay a hand on disciples of a Saint's Great Sect.

Fang Yang's order to hunt them down could only restrict the actions of the Interception Sect's Outer Disciples for a short time.

As time went on, no one would keep their eyes on them. Once Daoist Duobao and the Seven Immortals of Penglai showed themselves, the Great Powers of the Heavens would start giving them a wide berth.

It was different if the disciples of the Interception Sect dealt with them themselves. They didn't need to worry about Sect Master Tongtian's attitude.

Sect Master Tongtian had already let Fang Yang act as he saw fit. With that as his foundation, no matter how much of a stir Fang Yang caused, it would be entirely reasonable.

After Saint Mother Wudang returned to Golden Ao Island, Fang Yang went back to Qingcheng Mountain with the Nine Luminaries True Lords.

The Nine Luminaries True Lords planned to lay down the Heavenly Dipper Formation at Qingcheng Mountain, making it the Mountain Protecting Grand Array and guarding the Qingcheng Mountain Grotto-Heaven.

No sooner had Fang Yang and the others returned than another group of auras belonging to Taiyi Golden Immortals appeared, descending upon Qingcheng Mountain.

It turned out that more disciples of the Interception Sect had come to pay him a visit.

The Five True Lords of Hundred Vegetable Mountain had arrived!

They had also come to join Fang Yang. Their Race of Grass and Trees wanted a chance to shine, too.