Sect Master Tongtian!

"Junior Brother, I know you don't trust me. You're worried that one of your senior brothers or sisters sent me to test you."

Just as Fang Yang was about to make up some excuse to get out of it, True Lord Earth Mao spoke plainly, pointing out what was troubling him.

That was right. Fang Yang really didn't trust True Lord Earth Mao. He wasn't like Tu Xingsun or Yin Jiao, who would trust just about anyone who came along.

Fang Yang was worried this had something to do with factional struggles within the Interception Sect. So he planned to speak honestly without offending anyone.

Unexpectedly, True Lord Earth Mao had gone straight to the heart of the matter.

"If you're still uneasy, Junior Brother, I can swear an oath to our teacher. If I bear you any ill will, may our teacher strip me of all my cultivation and cast me out of the sect."

For reasons unknown, True Lord Earth Mao had actually sworn an oath to Sect Master Tongtian. That made Fang Yang trust him a little more.

Sect Master Tongtian was a Saint, and Saints patrolled the heavens on Heaven's behalf. Swearing an oath to Sect Master Tongtian was the same as swearing one to the Heavenly Dao.

Since True Lord Earth Mao had even brought Sect Master Tongtian into this, Fang Yang had no choice but to speak honestly. If he kept concealing his thoughts and Sect Master Tongtian really did take an interest, wouldn't he think Fang Yang was two-faced?

"All right. Since you've gone this far, Senior Brother, I'll stop beating around the bush."

Fang Yang's thoughts returned to fifty thousand years ago, when he had still been a Mysterious Immortal. To break through to the Golden Immortal Realm, he had traveled over mountains and beneath seas, collecting natural treasures rich in spiritual energy.

As he passed an island, he saw a powerful Interception Sect cultivator slaughter every living creature on it and refine them into a treasure called the Ghost White Bone Banner.

He had survived not because he had gone unnoticed, but because he was a Disciple of the Sect of Interception.

After witnessing that scene, he looked up at the sky above the island, his face full of admiration, and praised, "This senior brother's cultivation is so profound. I'm afraid I'll never reach such heights."

Fang Yang knew that in a world like the Primordial Wilderness, the most important thing was to keep yourself safe.

If you had the power, you could certainly follow the example of those Great Divine Ability Users and slay demons. In that case, you were the one who made the rules.

But before you had the power to make rules, you had to follow someone else's.

Whoever was strongest was in the right!

Fang Yang recounted everything he had seen at the time, one detail at a time. However, he offered no opinion on what had happened.

He described it like a news report, using only neutral words and keeping all emotion out of it.

Hearing this, True Lord Earth Mao smiled meaningfully.

This "Junior Brother" of his was almost absurdly cautious. Even after he had gone this far, his "Junior Brother" still hadn't let a single thing slip or shown him how he felt.

"All right, let me ask you one more question, Junior Brother. Our Interception Sect's doctrine is to intercept a glimmer of life for all beings. Yet the actions of our fellow disciples clearly go against that. Does that mean our sect's doctrine is all show and no substance?"

The question left Fang Yang at a loss.

Could he really answer something concerning the Interception Sect's doctrine? As a Disciple of the Sect of Interception, even if the sect were rotten to the core, he couldn't say its doctrine was flawed!

He pondered for a moment before speaking slowly. "I don't know how Senior Brother understands our sect's doctrine. In my humble opinion, intercepting a glimmer of life isn't as simple as it seems on the surface."

He had thought long and hard before giving that answer. In fact, after joining the Interception Sect, he had considered similar questions himself.

From the perspective of the lowest beings, True Lord Earth Mao's interpretation was indeed right. But if you raised your own position to the level of Heaven and Earth, you would gain a new understanding.

"I'd like to hear more."

A look of anticipation appeared in True Lord Earth Mao's eyes.

"In my humble opinion, the survival of our sect is inseparable from its doctrine. Our teacher passed the doctrine on to us, and it became ours. If we follow the right path, the doctrine can evolve into the Great Dao, and our sect will endure forever alongside it. But if we go astray, the doctrine will collapse, and our sect will vanish along with it."

Fang Yang's tone was heavy, because the Interception Sect really had failed. The Path of Jie Heaven had not evolved into the Great Dao, and the sect had fallen, disappearing from the Primordial Wilderness.

Hearing this, True Lord Earth Mao's eyes shone with a light they had never shown before. He looked at Fang Yang as Qu Yang had once looked at Liu Zhengfeng.

"Junior Brother, you're only in the Golden Immortal Realm, yet you've already grasped the true meaning of our sect's doctrine. Your insight is greater than that of some of our direct-disciple Senior Sisters."

Fang Yang didn't dare accept that praise.

His direct-disciple Senior Brothers and Senior Sisters were Great Luo Golden Immortals who had attained the Dao back in the era of Tian Huang. How could a nobody at the Golden Immortal Realm like him possibly be better than them?

"Senior Brother gives me too much credit. This is only my personal opinion, and I'm sure I've got it wrong. Everything in our sect should be decided by our teacher. Whatever our teacher says, that's what it is."

Seeing Fang Yang still pretend to have no opinions of his own at a time like this, Sect Master Tongtian could no longer hold back.

He had taken the form of True Lord Earth Mao to visit and investigate his disciple. He hadn't expected this disciple of his to be so cautious.

"True Lord Earth Mao" smiled faintly, and his appearance changed. The plain-looking Daoist became a young Daoist dressed in a Purple Cloud Dao Robe and wearing a Tongtian Purple Gold Crown.

Rays of rosy light and auspicious clouds surrounded the young Daoist. When his eyes opened and closed, it seemed as though stars and rivers revolved within them. Just standing there, he made Fang Yang feel an immense pressure, like a mountain or an ocean.

"T-Teacher!"

Fang Yang was utterly astonished. He hurriedly bowed and paid his respects.

It wasn't as if he couldn't bring himself to bow now. In his previous life, he had even bowed before statues of gods. The person before him was not only a god above all gods, but also the teacher who had granted him immortality.

"Your disciple Fang Yang greets you, Teacher! I didn't know you were here just now, and I made reckless guesses about our sect's doctrine. Please forgive me."

He finally understood why True Lord Earth Mao had dared to swear an oath to Sect Master Tongtian. "True Lord Earth Mao" was Sect Master Tongtian himself, so of course he could swear whatever oath he liked.

Sect Master Tongtian lifted Fang Yang to his feet with one hand, and the pressure around him slowly faded. His voice was gentle.

"Fang Yang, what you just said is exactly why I founded the Interception Sect. A Saint enlightens all beings by guiding them to realize the Dao, not by forcing principles into them. That isn't enlightenment; it's conversion. Do you understand?"

Saints could not enlighten all beings through words or scriptures.

Saints stood too high and wielded too much power. Forget the scriptures of a Saint—even a Saint's fart would smell sweet, if Saints could fart.

If a Saint used scriptures to enlighten all beings, they would only make them follow blindly, and the result would be far from ideal.

Fang Yang's existence had brought Sect Master Tongtian a tremendous surprise.

If he hadn't felt a sudden impulse to investigate the Outer Disciple who had saved the Daughter of the Human Emperor, he would never have known that the Interception Sect had such a talented person hidden among its outer disciples.