My brother is so cunning

Chapter 1104 Why Fight? A Clash of Ideologies

Of the many immortals who came to pay homage to the Jie Sect back then, only a few hundred remain today. And which one of them did not lose their beloved family and friends in the Investiture of the Gods?

Just like Zhao Gongming, he not only died, but also implicated his three sisters. Although they were all deified after their deaths, one of them was in charge of the Ministry of Finance in Heaven, while the other three controlled the Wheel of Reincarnation in the Underworld.

The world's wealth flows like water, and the wheel of reincarnation keeps turning endlessly. The four siblings are extremely busy with their divine duties and have no time to spare.

Even if their souls and bodies remain intact, and they live as long as heaven and earth, it would be almost impossible for them to meet again.

Among the other immortals of the Jie Sect, who doesn't have several close friends, brothers, or like-minded partners?

Even if the other party is of demon or monster race origin, the Jie Sect does not care about such differences in status, and treats everyone equally and with love.

However, within the Ten Thousand Immortals Formation, they could only watch helplessly as their relatives and lovers perished under the Golden Immortal Sword of the Chan Sect. Even those few who were lucky enough to survive were captured by the hypocritical bald monks of the Western Sect, with demons serving as their mounts and monsters as their protectors, forced to be treated like cattle and horses, slaves and servants, never to rise again.

Wen Rui's words instantly exposed the deep-seated wounds buried in the hearts of the Jie Sect immortals, awakening the most unbearable, long-buried memories within them.

"Fellow disciples and seniors, do you really believe that the disastrous defeat in the Investiture of the Gods was retribution for our Jie Sect's ignorance of heavenly secrets and our defiance of the heavens?"

Wen Rui sneered, “The reason we failed is that from the very beginning, our fighting spirit was not firm enough. This is reflected in the fact that the Golden Immortals of the Chan Sect were captured by us many times, but we never executed them decisively. We left room for maneuver and showed mercy everywhere. We were timid and indecisive. How could we not fail?”

"Our fighting spirit and faith were not firm enough, which is why we had traitors like Chang Er Ding Guangxian, who turned against us at the most critical moment and caused us to lose everything."

The immortals in the hall seemed to be deep in thought upon hearing this, but Wen Zhong still had a furrowed brow, and his third eye between his brows emitted a divine light, locking onto Wen Rui. The more he looked at him, the more he felt that something was wrong.

"You unfilial son, are there any ulterior motives in your words? It seems you are trying to sow discord between the Chan and Jie sects. War with the Chan sect is of paramount importance. If we suffer another crushing defeat due to a moment of impulsiveness, our Jie sect will truly have no chance of recovery! The billions of living beings in the mortal realm will also be caught up in the flames of war and suffer undeserved calamities."

Wen Zhong stepped forward, confronting Wen Rui from a distance, and questioned him sharply: "Don't think I don't know, you're quite capable now. Chi Jingzi was definitely not forced to fight back in self-defense as you claim. With your skills, capturing him would have been no difficult task. Yet you killed him. Was it to create this tense standoff and drag us into chaos so that you could achieve your ulterior motives?"

No one knows a son better than his father. Wen Zhong really guessed Wen Rui's thoughts. He wanted to bring the immortals of the Jie Sect into the game. Otherwise, how could he fight against the saints of the three religions alone and complete the system task of unifying the three religions?
Killing Chi Jingzi was a risky move, involving a certain degree of gambling.

The gamble was whether the Jiejiao sect would stand firmly behind him to protect him and become a solid support for his decisive battle against the Chanjiao and the Western Sect.

Similarly, the gamble was on whether Yuanshi Tianzun would be blinded by anger, cut off all channels of negotiation, and launch a counterattack against the Jie Sect.

If it were just a minor skirmish, merely humiliating the Golden Immortals of the Chan Sect, or even injuring them, the conflict wouldn't escalate. The sages from both sides could step in, sit down, and discuss the overall situation of the Three Realms, and then re-evaluate it.

What if the sages decide to turn back the clock of history, restore the old order, abolish the new order that Wen Rui has worked so hard to establish, and then reinstate racial segregation, dividing humans and demons into different continents for a divide-and-rule approach, with each of the three religions governing its own territory?

Wouldn't Wen Rui's efforts have been in vain, and the system's task would never be completed?

Although his scheme was exposed, Wen Rui sighed calmly, "Alas, old man, you're getting more and more timid with age, just like the Holy Mother of Wudang. A crushing defeat has terrified you, and you're no longer as brave as you used to be." "Grandson, who are you calling terrified?"

Before Wen Zhong could speak, the Holy Mother of Wudang roared, "You ungrateful wretch! Now that you've become so powerful, have you forgotten how you used to hide in Lishan under my protection and swindle money and sex from my granddaughter?"

Wen Rui shrank back, not daring to retort, and then said seriously, "Holy Mother, please don't be angry. If you think your courage is not lost, then let me ask you, what exactly were we fighting against the Chan Sect back then?"

The sudden change of topic startled the Holy Mother of Wudang, who was puzzled as to what Wen Rui was up to and what kind of veiled attack she was having.

"The master's command, the enmity of fellow disciples, anger, resentment, and delusions..."

The Holy Mother of Wudang pondered for a moment, then suddenly said warily, "Why are you asking this? Does it have anything to do with your murder and trouble?"

"The essence of war is a contest between spirit and matter, and the belief in 'why we fight' is the core of spiritual strength."

Wen Rui spoke eloquently: "We have the Immortal Slaughtering Sword Formation, the Primordial Golden Cauldron, the Sea-Stabilizing Pearl... and countless immortal disciples. These are merely material forces. The spiritual force lies in the fact that every disciple knows what they are fighting for."

“Magic weapons can be damaged, and supernatural powers can be broken, but when everyone clearly understands ‘what they are fighting to protect,’ they will become an invincible force. This force can enable an army to be reborn in desperate situations, allow a nation to survive in times of crisis, and ensure that war always moves in the direction of ‘protecting justice and defending dignity.’”

"Our defeat lies in the fact that, although thousands of immortals came to pay homage, the vast majority of them did not know what they were fighting for."

"Among the Ten Thousand Immortals Formation, more than 90% of the immortals of the Jie Sect came on the orders of their leader to repay the kindness of the leader's teachings."

"The remaining ten percent are either for revenge for their fellow disciples who were slaughtered by the Golden Immortals of the Chan Sect, or to help their close relatives and friends, or because they are indignant that the Chan Sect bullies and despises the Jie Sect so much, and want to fight for the honor of our sect."

"With such mixed beliefs among these immortals, how could they possibly improve their cohesion and fighting strength? As a result, they were a disorganized mess when the fighting started, and there were even traitors at crucial moments."

Wen Rui's words caused all the immortals in the hall to fall into deep thought, and even the Tongtian Sect Leader's eyes flickered with thought.

Back then, when Tongtian Jiaozhu shifted from avoiding war to actively participating in it, his initial thought was actually about establishing the Jiejiao doctrine, which was essentially a clash of ideologies.

He once said to Guang Chengzi, “Guang Chengzi, you once scolded my disciples for not distinguishing right from wrong, good from bad, and teaching even birds and beasts indiscriminately, regarding them as one. My master taught three kinds of friends, and I am on par with birds and beasts. Brother Dao, are you not from the same lineage as me?”

The anger that influenced his decision to join the war was what broke Tongtian Jiaozhu's defenses the most, what pierced his heart the most, and what bothered him the most. It was the group of immortals from the Chan Sect, the Western Sect, and the Human Sect who kept saying that he only accepted people who were "wearing fur and horns, born from eggs and moisture" and "incomplete in the six senses", and that he was associating with beasts.

At its core, the Chan School refutes the Jie School's fundamental doctrine of "education for all".

(End of this chapter)