"Guangchengzi, you've always believed that root foundation was everything, looking down on beings with inferior root foundations."
"Today, I'll seal your cultivation and turn you into a snake spirit with a thousand years of Dao Cultivation. You'll enter the mortal world and spread the Great Dao of the Mystic Gate. Once you've earned Three Thousand Merits, the restriction on you will naturally be lifted."
Sect Master Tongtian's voice rang out slowly. A Saint's words held the power of law, and golden Saintly Dao Runes drilled into Guangchengzi's brow.
Seeing this, Guangchengzi was overwhelmed by endless fear.
He had never imagined that Sect Master Tongtian would pull a move like this. Even more unexpected was that Primordial Heavenly Venerate would simply watch as Sect Master Tongtian demoted him to a creature born with fur and horns, from wetness or from eggs.
But under a Saint's majesty, he dared not say or do anything.
He realized that he had misjudged the relationship among the Three Pure Ones.
They were not merely three brothers; they were also three divine Saints with distinct personalities, born from the division of Pangu's Primordial Spirit.
The Three Pure Ones were one body, and the Three Teachings were one family. Every disciple of the Three Teachings was not only the disciple of their own teacher, but also a disciple of the other Two Pure Ones.
If Sect Master Tongtian wanted to punish him, Primordial Heavenly Venerate would not step forward to defend him.
Sure enough, the next moment, Primordial Heavenly Venerate's voice rang out from the hall as well.
"Duobao, ever since you attained the Dao, you've taught the people that 'repay kindness with resentment' and 'it's a blessing to suffer losses.' Now I'll seal all your cultivation and send you into the cycle of reincarnation to endure a Thousand Lifetimes of Suffering."
"For a thousand lifetimes, you'll suffer loss after loss and hardship after hardship. If, over those thousand lifetimes, you can guide back to the Righteous Path everyone who insults, slanders, bullies, or mocks you, then you'll have rendered a great service to the Mystic Gate."
Then Primordial Heavenly Venerate's power entered Daoist Duobao's body, sealing all his magic power.
Despair filled Daoist Duobao's eyes. He had taught the people that way because he believed "it's better to avoid trouble."
If everyone could forgive those who bullied and persecuted them, the world would be at peace at once, and the things his junior brothers and sisters did would seem perfectly ordinary.
Who could have guessed that he would walk into Eight Sceneries Palace and land right in the Three Pure Ones' sights?
Sect Master Tongtian might have been reluctant to punish him severely, but Primordial Heavenly Venerate had shown no mercy at all.
"Go. Both of you, cultivate well, and don't waste this opportunity."
A beam of azure light descended, enveloping them both and sending them to the places where they belonged.
Inside the hall, Primordial Heavenly Venerate and Sect Master Tongtian felt heavyhearted. Guangchengzi and Daoist Duobao were their most beloved disciples. Normally, if anyone used their seniority to bully them, the two Saints would have stepped in to seek justice.
But now, they could only watch helplessly as their disciples fell into tribulation.
Saint Taiqing closed his eyes and sighed softly. The Dao Sound he spoke was gentle, like a spring breeze bringing rain:
"Second Brother, Third Brother, it's not that we're cruel. It's simply that without dispelling Demonic Obstacles, the Great Dao is impossible to attain."
"Duobao is hypocritical and false, while Guangchengzi is deeply fixated. The two of them have become the root of discord between the Chan and Jie Sects. If we don't enlighten them, they'll bring disaster upon the Mystic Gate in the future. They may even provoke a deadly struggle between the Saint Great Sects, bringing devastation to all living beings."
"Elder Brother is right," Sect Master Tongtian said, his voice low. "My disciple appears to be uncompetitive and magnanimous, but in truth, he hides a lust for power in his heart. He lets his sect's disciples run wild merely to protect his own position. It has nothing to do with intercepting a glimmer of life."
"Hopefully, a thousand lifetimes of suffering will help him understand his mistakes, even if only a little."
That was what Sect Master Tongtian said, but deep down, he wasn't sure.
No one knew a disciple better than his teacher. Sect Master Tongtian had watched Daoist Duobao grow up and understood his nature better than anyone.
Daoist Duobao wasn't evil; he was hypocritical. His kindness was all an act.
Sect Master Tongtian had never exposed him because he felt that Duobao's willingness to pretend to be a benevolent deity, and his ability to restrain himself from stirring up trouble, were worthy of approval.
Primordial Heavenly Venerate gazed toward the place where Guangchengzi had disappeared, and a hint of gloom crossed his eyes.
Guangchengzi was the foremost disciple of Jade Void Palace. Primordial Heavenly Venerate had carefully nurtured him for countless years and placed great hopes in him. Who could have foreseen that his indulgence would make Guangchengzi so arrogant?
"My Jade Void Disciples have always cultivated virtue and valued the Dao Heart, yet I raised a stubborn disciple who looks down on all others and treats living beings with contempt."
Primordial Heavenly Venerate spoke slowly, his voice tinged with faint melancholy.
"Only by becoming a snake spirit and personally experiencing the hardships endured by birds and beasts will he understand that all beings are equal, and that the Dao lies in the heart, not the form. Three Thousand Merits are not a punishment; they're an opportunity for him to forge his Dao Heart anew."
Saint Taiqing nodded slightly. Light flowed through the Mystic Light Treasure Mirror, revealing two scenes within it:
In a barren mountain, Guangchengzi was being hunted by a group of Human Qi Practitioners.
Guangchengzi didn't understand. He hadn't done anything, so why were these Human Qi Practitioners hunting him?
Did he want to become a snake spirit? Of course not, but he had no choice!
At that moment, Guangchengzi began to understand, if only a little, the helplessness of beings who cultivated to immortality in the bodies of birds and beasts.
Primordial Heavenly Venerate watched this scene and nodded with satisfaction.
Guangchengzi was his disciple, after all. He certainly wouldn't let anything happen to him.
Meanwhile, Daoist Duobao had already reincarnated in a small world.
Time Flow in the small world was much faster than in the Primordial World.
In his first life, Daoist Duobao was born into a farming family with a modest estate. His father was lame, his mother was mentally disabled, and the household was run by his paternal grandparents.
But when Daoist Duobao was six, his grandparents both died from overwork.
With no one to support the family, their clan took back all their land and property, driving them into a thatched hut.
Daoist Duobao was furious enough to want to kill, but when he remembered Primordial Heavenly Venerate's words, he didn't dare.
Primordial Heavenly Venerate had told him to guide back to the Righteous Path those who bullied and humiliated him.
In the past, Daoist Duobao had enjoyed saying such things to his followers. Now that he had to do it himself, he found it deeply unpleasant.
In his second life, he was born to a wealthy family, but kidnappers abducted him and turned him into a beggar. Vicious dogs tore at him, passersby spat on him, and the scraps in his broken bowl were covered in spit.
In his third life, he was a scholar. After ten years of hard study, a powerful family stole his place in the examinations. Then he was falsely accused of cheating, thrown into prison, and tortured mercilessly.
His fourth life, fifth life... his tenth life.
In every life, he endured endless suffering. In every life, someone bullied, humiliated, slandered, or mocked him.
Primordial Heavenly Venerate and Sect Master Tongtian sent out their Divine Senses to silently watch over their disciples.
From time to time, they would even take the form of tribulations and teach their disciples through words and example.
They had come to realize that mere words couldn't enlighten all living beings. Sometimes, people also needed to experience things for themselves and grasp the Great Dao through what they went through.
People couldn't teach people, but one lesson from experience was enough.
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