At Observing Heaven Hall, Fang Yang and his companions were holding a victory banquet to celebrate the successful founding of the Vegetable Tribe.
The Nine Luminaries True Lords and the Five True Lords sat on either side. Their followers took turns raising their cups to Fang Yang, their voices full of respect.
True Lord Chaotian, True Lord Caiwen, and the other three members of the Vegetable Tribe were all beaming. They had once been insignificant members of the Interception Sect, but now they had not only successfully established their tribe, they had also gained merit. It was a meteoric rise, and their gratitude toward Fang Yang had long since reached its peak.
"Senior Brother Fang Yang, the founding of the Vegetable Tribe brought down an immense amount of merit from the Heavenly Dao. Even Hundred Vegetable Mountain's fortune has grown several times stronger. All of this is thanks to you, Senior Brother."
Fang Yang smiled faintly and raised a hand to invite everyone to sit. His expression remained calm. "Merit and fortune are external things. For cultivators standing between Heaven and Earth, the most important thing is cultivation."
"No matter how much merit the Vegetable Tribe gains, it is still part of the cycle of karma. All things under Heaven follow the same law: every gain comes with a loss. Where there is merit, there is karma."
"The founding of the Vegetable Tribe and the favor of the Heavenly Dao are both a blessing and a shackle. If the tribe grows complacent one day and stops fulfilling its responsibilities, this merit will instantly turn into karmic flames, devour them, and leave them doomed for all eternity."
The five members of the Vegetable Tribe paled. Their joy cooled in an instant, and they hurriedly bowed. "Please enlighten us, Senior Brother!"
"Your elder brother taught you the Method of Spirit Transformation and Essence Condensation not so you would only know how to cultivate spiritual vegetables. You must spread this method and bring blessings to all under Heaven. Only when this fortune flows to all living beings will it truly be secure."
Though the Nine Luminaries True Lords were not Grass and Tree Immortals, they found Fang Yang's words compelling. True Lord Qian Yao cupped his hands and said:
"Senior Brother is absolutely right! Though we nine brothers have the Nine Luminaries Heavenly Dipper Array, if our cultivation does not reach Great Luo, it will remain no more than flowers reflected in a mirror and the moon's reflection in water. If we tie our own fortune to that of all living beings, then our fortune will be unshakable unless the entire race whose fortune we are bound to is destroyed."
Everyone understood the principle. But to put it into practice, they had to choose the right partner for binding their fortune.
Some, like Daoist Duobao, bound their fortune to the fortune of a dynasty. If that dynasty suffered a catastrophic disaster, the fortune of the sect would collapse too.
Some sects were more clever: they bound their fortune to the Protagonist of Heaven and Earth, then educated that race, ensuring the protagonist would not meet a fate of destruction.
Some sects had failed, while others had succeeded. But either way, they had to invest tremendous effort in the early stages.
Fang Yang, however, did not bind fortune through preaching. Instead, he tied it to others through shared interests.
As long as the myriad races of the Primordial Wilderness continued cultivating with resources created by the Vegetable Tribe, the tribe's fortune would flow without end.
In any world, resources were hard currency. Now that the Interception Sect could produce them, no race could refuse the sect.
Of course, Fang Yang's approach carried risks. He had to make sure the races that accepted the Interception Sect's help were not ungrateful.
If the sect helped these races build up their strength, only for them to turn around and pledge allegiance to other Saint-level powers, the Interception Sect would not only lose everything it had invested, it would become a laughingstock of the Myriad Worlds.
The races in the Western Land, for instance.
They were close to the Western Sect. If the Interception Sect went to help them, it might only end up making a fool of itself.
"The Vegetable Tribe's spiritual vegetables, the Alchemy Technique, and Divine Grain seeds are all the foundations on which our sect stands in the Primordial Wilderness. Teach without discrimination, and pass on the Dao with a proper method—that is the path to lasting success."
Preaching was not about winning the moment; it was about winning for a lifetime. Only when matters reached a critical juncture, leaving no choice but to take an unconventional path, should one preach in pursuit of a quick victory.
"The Primordial Land is home to countless races: the Dragon, Phoenix, and Qilin Clans; the four races of the Four Spirits of Heaven-Opening; the Human Clan; the Mountain, River, Grass, and Tree Races... Every race has a reason to exist. The purpose of our Interception Sect is to discover the value of these races. The resources we hold are the key to opening the door to cooperation with them."
At his words, everyone in the hall looked enlightened.
This approach to spreading the Dao was certainly more reliable than indiscriminately preaching to everyone.
In the past, when the Interception Sect spread the Dao, it did not care whether anyone wanted to hear it. It simply established a Shangqing Temple.
In the Primordial World, who would dare slight Sect Master Tongtian? Sect Master Tongtian might not take offense, but his believers and disciples certainly would!
The Interception Sect's teachings had indeed spread, but the ideas that took root were often distorted.
Fang Yang's strategy was clearly more reliable. By winning over all sides with shared interests, he could make them willingly accept the Interception Sect's teachings.
True Lord Qian Yao nodded emphatically. Solar True Fire flickered in his eyes as he said gravely:
"Senior Brother is absolutely right! Daoist Duobao only knows how to use force to crush others. He thinks a strong fist can make the whole world submit, but he fails to see that a bowl of grain when one is hungry, or a pill when one is worn out, is worth far more than a hundred sermons or a thousand acts of intimidation. Which of the myriad races of the Primordial Wilderness could refuse real cultivation resources?"
Everyone in the hall was deeply encouraged. In the past, they had either been excluded or looked down upon in the Interception Sect. Now that they were following Fang Yang, they had not only gained real resources for cultivation, but also found a righteous path that went with the will of Heaven and the people, and earned boundless merit. Their sense of belonging had never been stronger.
Just then, a decree pierced through Qingcheng Mountain's Mountain Protecting Grand Array and entered Observing Heaven Hall.
Fang Yang and the others immediately stood and bowed respectfully to the decree.
It was a decree from Sect Master Tongtian. No one in the Interception Sect, nor even a powerful figure outside the sect, would dare treat it lightly.
From within the decree came Sect Master Tongtian's solemn voice:
"Fang Yang, my disciple, I have obtained the Method of Seeding Epidemics from your Grand Uncle-Master. This Great Divine Ability accords with our sect's teaching of intercepting a glimmer of life for all living beings. I command you to work with the Human Sect and the Sect of Enlightenment to complete this mission of spreading the Dao."
Before his words had faded, the sacred decree transformed into a streak of divine light and shot straight into Fang Yang's brow.
In an instant, an incomparably profound method containing the principles of disease prevention under Heaven was fully imprinted upon his Primordial Spirit.
The Method of Seeding Epidemics did not spread plagues. It used Immortal Qi to prevent illness, dispel disease, and improve the potential of all living beings. Saint Taiqing had derived this technique through profound Dao Cultivation. It was a supreme divine ability created to help the myriad races of the Primordial Wilderness avoid calamity and preserve their lives. It fit perfectly with the Interception Sect's teaching of "intercepting a glimmer of life."
Sect Master Tongtian had gone to the trouble of asking his elder brother for help. Naturally, Saint Taiqing had done his utmost.
Fang Yang was overjoyed. He immediately bowed and kowtowed again. "Your disciple Fang Yang respectfully obeys your decree, Master! I will work with fellow Daoists from the Human Sect and the Sect of Enlightenment to spread the Method of Seeding Epidemics and aid the myriad races. I will not fail the trust you have placed in me!"
Once the divine light faded, Fang Yang slowly rose. A faint glow still swirled between his brows. Clearly, he had already mastered the Method of Seeding Epidemics completely.
For a Saint to impart a divine ability directly to a disciple was no difficult task.
Of course, this was also because the Method of Seeding Epidemics was not a Combat Method. Otherwise, Sect Master Tongtian could not have helped Fang Yang master it outright.
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