My brother is so cunning

Chapter 1108 A Moment of Negligence

Inside the secluded meditation hall deep within the Jade Void Palace, the previously stagnant air suddenly surged, the auspicious clouds at the hall's entrance parted like a tide, and a golden light shot into the sky. The Primordial Celestial Venerable had finally ended his seclusion and slowly walked out of the hall.

The innate pure energy surrounding him was thicker than usual, but a layer of gloom lingered between his brows, clearly indicating that his seclusion to comprehend the secrets of heaven had not gone as smoothly as expected.

Upon seeing this, the young Taoist priest guarding outside the hall hurriedly stepped forward to report: "Master, the three senior uncles, Guang Chengzi, Yu Ding Zhenren, and Huang Long Zhenren, have been waiting outside the palace for many days, saying that they have important matters to report."

The young Taoist spoke with some hesitation, as if he knew the seriousness of the matter and dared not elaborate.

Yuanshi Tianzun paused, his gaze fixed on the outside of the palace. His fingertips, which had been calculating, suddenly stopped, and his face instantly darkened: "I have already foreseen that my Chan Sect will face a great calamity in the coming days."

After all, it's not about predicting the future. With the sage-level realm of the Primordial Heavenly Venerable, a little calculation is all it takes for past information to automatically converge and be known in the form of divine revelation.

The Primordial Celestial Venerable sensed that the Chan Sect's fortunes were low, as if a pillar of the sect was about to fall. Now, personally presiding over the divination, he saw clearly the bloody ominous light hidden in the heavenly secrets, a sign that a golden immortal had fallen and the sect was disgraced.

Before he finished speaking, Guang Chengzi, Yu Ding Zhenren, and Huanglong Zhenren rushed over. Although the three of them had changed into new robes, they could not hide the humiliation and indignation between their brows.

Upon seeing Yuanshi Tianzun, the three immediately knelt on the ground, their voices choked with sobs: "Master! We disciples are incompetent. Not only did we fail to capture the Jiejiao demon, but we also caused the tragic death of Fellow Daoist Chijingzi, whose primordial spirit was even captured by the Six Soul Banner! We disciples were even more... we were stripped of our magic treasures and clothing, and returned to Kunlun naked, causing the Chanjiao to lose all face!"

"What did you say?!"

The Primordial Celestial Venerable clenched his fist tightly, and the innate pure energy around his body surged violently. The auspicious clouds outside the hall seemed to be shaken and rolled by this anger.

"Junior Brother Chi Jingzi has perished... his soul has been captured."

Clearly sensing that his master was truly enraged, Guang Chengzi, a beloved disciple who had always been favored by Yuanshi Tianzun, couldn't help but feel nervous.

"The last sentence!"

"The disciples seized the magical treasures and clothing, and returned to Kunlun naked..."

"A bunch of useless trash, how dare you come back alive!"

Yuanshi Tianzun's words filled Guangchengzi, Yuding Zhenren, and Huanglong Zhenren with shame and indignation, making them want to smash their heads against the golden pillars in front of the Yuxu Palace.

The death of Chi Jingzi was far less unacceptable to Yuanshi Tianzun than the fact that several Golden Immortals of the Chan Sect were stripped naked and ran back.

It was just the death of a disciple. He had four disciples who betrayed their master and joined the Western Sect, but after calculation, he determined that it was the will of Heaven, and the Primordial Celestial Venerable did not pursue the matter any further.

We can accept losing four people without any problem, so what if one dies?

But the remaining three, running around naked in front of all the gods, Buddhas, and sentient beings of the Three Realms, were utterly disgraceful, like pulling a millstone with their bare bottoms, completely ruining the reputation of the traditionally righteous and glorious Chan Sect. In the future, when people mention the Tongtian Sect Leader, won't they all say: "That's the saint whose disciple was stripped naked and paraded through the heavens?" Where will he put his old face then?
How can one be the leader of a religion and a teacher to all people?

This has shaken the very foundation of the Chan sect!
Rather than fleeing back naked, Guang Chengzi and the other two immortals might as well fight it out right now. At worst, they would die and perish for the Chan Sect, and Yuanshi Tianzun would have an excuse to complain to Hongjun Daozu.

The Heavenly Venerable of Primordial Beginning had already roughly understood the cause and effect of the calculation just now, and knew that it was the Four Immortals of the Chan Sect who took the lead in attacking the city that believed in the Jie Sect, in order to lure out Wen Rui and capture him.

Since the Chan Sect made the first move, it is understandable that Wen Rui retaliated and killed one of the immortals. Even if this case were taken to the Dao Ancestor Hongjun, the Chan Sect would not be in the best position.

The Chan Sect attacked first, but one of their members also died. The two losses cancel each other out, so the Dao Ancestor Hongjun will probably just punish both sides equally, ordering the disciples of both sides to reflect on their mistakes in seclusion for a thousand years, without showing favoritism to either side.

However, if Wen Rui were to act too ruthlessly and kill all four Golden Immortals of the Chan Sect, it would clearly exceed the limits of legitimate self-defense. Not to mention that the Tongtian Sect Leader couldn't protect him, even the Tongtian Sect Leader himself would be in trouble.

These three useless fellows were spoiled by Yuanshi Tianzun. When faced with a powerful enemy, they didn't know how to fight desperately. They always thought that their master would come to their rescue or stand up for them and protect them.

As a result, they made the worst choice. In order to save their lives, they resorted to the humiliation of bearing heavy burdens, failing to give the Chan Sect any face and instead exposing their true colors.

Yuanshi Tianzun understood these complexities, so how could he not be angry?

Unfortunately, what's done is done. Even if they were killed now, it wouldn't undo the disgrace of the Chan Sect. Yuanshi Tianzun could only swallow his anger and restrain himself from lashing out. He patiently said, "Although I have deduced the general outline, I do not know the details. Please tell me in detail what happened and how you came to provoke the Jie Sect!"

Guang Chengzi hurriedly gave a detailed account of the battle in Hunshi City, from Yun Zhongzi's visit to Kunlun Mountain to seek an audience, to the four Golden Immortals of Chan Sect taking the initiative to attack, to the fierce battle with the mortal army that controlled strange machines, to the Creation Heavenly Venerable wielding the Soul-Devouring Sword and the Six Soul Banner, and finally the humiliation of being forced to surrender and retreat. He recounted everything in detail.

After listening, Yuanshi Tianzun remained silent for a long time, his gaze drifting towards the depths of the clouds outside the hall. After a long while, he spoke, his tone suddenly filled with complex emotions: "I never expected that... Wen Zhong's son, in just two hundred years, could spread the Jie Sect so deeply into the mortal realm."

The scene before the Investiture of the Gods appeared in his mind—at that time, although dynasties changed in the mortal world, the old customs of farming and hunting still prevailed. The spread of Taoist magic was limited to disciples of immortal sects. Hundreds or thousands of years passed, and the pattern of the world was unlikely to change much.

But now?

In just two hundred years, a new school of thought called "the secret method of intercepting heaven" has emerged, and mortal believers can influence the heavenly court with incense offerings. Even the long-dormant Jie Sect can be revived through this.

Two hundred years in the mortal realm is but a fleeting moment for an immortal, like playing a game of chess. For a saint who is immortal, it is but a blink of an eye.

Thinking of this, a wave of regret washed over him, and his voice lowered: "Back then, after defeating Junior Brother Tongtian, our Chan Sect took control of the Daoist lineage of the Three Realms. We thought we would have no rivals left, so we gradually lost our vigilance and spent our days in seclusion, neglecting to pay attention to the changes in the mortal world and the movements of the remnants of the Jie Sect. Now that I think about it, I was really negligent!"

Upon hearing this, Guang Chengzi and the others in the hall lowered their heads. It was true that some mortal cultivators had come to Kunlun to seek help and reported to them that the mortal realm had encountered a great calamity caused by the invasion of demonic insects, but they had not taken it seriously. They thought it was just a minor calamity that the Heavenly Court and the Western Sect could easily resolve by joining forces, without needing the intervention of immortals like them who stood at the pinnacle of the Three Realms.

Take the Journey to the West Calamity, for example. It was a calamity of medium magnitude, yet it didn't even require the immortals of the Chan Sect to descend to the mortal realm to intervene. The Heavenly Court and the Western Sect easily settled the matter by simply putting on a show.

(End of this chapter)