Hongjun sat upright on the Great Dao Meditation Cushion and looked toward Daoist Zhunti and Daoist Jieyin.
"Teacher, you must uphold justice for us!"
Once everyone had arrived, Daoist Zhunti and Daoist Jieyin began pouring out their grievances. Daoist Jieyin bowed with his hands clasped. "Teacher, you decreed this Karmic Calamity to repay the Karma owed to the Western Buddhist Sect, giving the impoverished Western Lands a chance to develop and thereby offsetting the causes of the immeasurable Karmic Calamity. Your disciples followed your teachings faithfully. We spent thousands of years making arrangements, never daring to slacken, but..."
At this point!
Tears streamed down his face as he spoke.
Daoist Jieyin continued, "But when the Karmic Calamity began, we discovered that someone had interfered, usurping the Fortune of Spirit Vine, the chosen one of the calamity, and scheming against our Western Lands. Thousands of years of preparations were destroyed in a single stroke, and we failed to fulfill the charge you entrusted to us."
"Junior Brother Jieyin, this Karmic Calamity was indeed meant to repay the Karma owed to the Western Lands. None of us opposed it."
"But clearly, your calculations were flawed, and you failed to investigate carefully. Yet you come here crying that someone interfered. Tell us, then-who was it?"
Laozi understood what Daoist Zhunti meant. He had decided that someone among them had been pulling strings behind the scenes, stealing Spirit Vine's Fortune and Merit!
"Senior Brother, if we knew who it was, why would we come here to ask Teacher to uphold justice?"
Daoist Zhunti chimed in, "Senior Brother, I am a Saint as well. I would not claim to possess exceptional talent, but when it comes to the affairs of the Primordial World, even if a Quasi-Saint interfered, I could still divine something of it.