Journey to the West: I have Nine Golden Crows Inside Me
Chapter 1180 - 827 End of Tao lecture_2

Chapter 1180: 827 End of Tao lecture_2

"Hmm?"

"Could it be that within the Chan Teaching, there is someone who can actually best Jiang Chen?"

Upon hearing Primordial Heavenly Sovereign’s words, the Upper Qing Saint was truly shocked. He hadn’t expected that Primordial Heavenly Sovereign was actually harboring a competitive intent.

To him, the so-called fair competition was just a formality.

Jiang Chen’s strength was evident for all to see, almost comparable to Great Divine Transcendents. He also possessed many top-tier Innate Spiritual Treasures. With such strength, even if all the disciples of the Chan Teaching were to join forces, they would not be his match.

And this was only the power Jiang Chen had shown. If one were to include the strength he had kept hidden, then the disciples of the Chan Teaching were even less likely to be opponents.

Wasn’t this fair competition just a formality? With the Chan Teaching’s power, even if they were to go all out, they couldn’t possibly be a match for Jiang Chen. How could they compete?

At this time, even the Saint of Taiqing looked at the Primordial Heavenly Sovereign with strange eyes, also unable to understand how the Chan Teaching’s disciples could overcome Jiang Chen. Even if his disciple Xuan Du were to take action, it wouldn’t necessarily make him a match for Jiang Chen.

No, that’s not right. Jiang Chen is the Human King, and Xuan Du, being part of the Human Race, would not make a move against him when he has not acted immorally towards the world. Wouldn’t that be severing ties with the Human Race?

"Jiang Chen has a special status, and Xuan Du will not contend with him."

At that moment, the Saint of Taiqing suddenly took a stand. He was worried that if Primordial Heavenly Sovereign really could not think of a solution, he would push Xuan Du to take the fall, so he blocked off the issue in advance.

Although the Saint of Taiqing spoke obliquely, what sage wouldn’t be astute? After being temporarily taken aback, both understood his implication. Then, the face of Primordial Heavenly Sovereign darkened. The look he gave the Saint of Taiqing carried a hint of dissatisfaction.

Today, the Saint of Taiqing had come to undermine him.

"Ahem!"

"Let’s, the three brothers, make a pact: in the matter of our disciples, success or failure shall be left up to their own abilities, and none of us three shall interfere."

Pretending not to see Primordial Heavenly Sovereign’s gaze, the Saint of Taiqing continued.

From the threatening gesture the Upper Qing Saint had just made, he suddenly realized that he could side with Primordial Heavenly Sovereign but must not go too far.

Otherwise, should Hongjun Daizu one day suddenly remember the three of them and check on their affairs, finding out he was favoring Primordial Heavenly Sovereign, the consequences would not be pleasant to face.

Just to be safe, the Saint of Taiqing decided to do something fair.

"Good!"

Primordial Heavenly Sovereign nodded in agreement, endorsing the proposal of the Saint of Taiqing. It was only right. To disagree would seem to suggest he had other motives.

"Hmph, it should be so."

"Rest assured, I am not like you; I would not stoop to act against the younger generation."

While nodding in agreement, the Upper Qing Saint did not forget to imply a dig at Primordial Heavenly Sovereign and the Saint of Taiqing.

During the Enshrinement Calamity, everyone agreed not to intervene and let their disciples resolve their karma based on their abilities. However, after the Chan Teaching’s Twelve Golden Immortals were annihilated within the Nine-Bends Yellow River Array, Primordial Heavenly Sovereign couldn’t help himself and personally took action to slay the three who had set up the array.

That was a classic case of poor sportsmanship.

"It’s nothing, don’t overthink it, little brother. We swear by our Master’s name that we will not violate the pact."

With their dark history uncovered, both of them felt somewhat embarrassed and quickly assured with a promise, even going so far as to swear by Hongjun Daizu’s name.

Since Hongjun Daizu represents the Heavenly Dao, to swear by the name of the Heavenly Dao is to ensure the impossibility of breaking one’s oath, a cost not even a Saint can bear.

"Hmph, I hope you two will behave yourselves!"

Seeing the both of them take such a solemn oath, the Upper Qing Saint finally felt at ease, left a warning for them to consider, and then departed.

"Brother, why act like this? Did you see his attitude?"

The Upper Qing Saint had barely left when the Primordial Heavenly Sovereign couldn’t help but start complaining to the Taiqing Saint.

"Second brother, enough is enough. As the eldest, can’t you be a little more accommodating to him? Besides, it’s about time to return the Four Swords of Zhu Xian to him. Otherwise, a saint without a suitable magic treasure to hand, when seen by outsiders, would become a laughing stock."

"So many years have gone by, so much hatred and resentment should have been cleanly washed away by now. It’s time to give our third brother some dignity."

The words of the Taiqing Saint were heavy, it was as if he was just short of outright saying that the Primordial Heavenly Sovereign had no regard for brotherly affection, not willing to leave any dignity for the Upper Qing Saint.

"I am helping junior brother to rebuild the doctrine, and you return his treasures to him. In this way, we can also consider the feud and grievances between us and him resolved."

Perhaps feeling that his previous words were too harsh, the Taiqing Saint paused, then continued.

This was indeed true. Originally, Zhang Daoling was selected as a nominal disciple by the Taiqing Saint, intended to carry forward the Taiqing lineage, but he ended up being taken over by Jiang Chen and became the pillar of the Upper Qing lineage.

Truthfully, if the Taiqing Saint really didn’t want this to happen, even with the Upper Qing Saint as a backer, the Shangqing Palace’s Jiang Chen wouldn’t have been able to stand firm.

The strongest saint of the Heavenly Dao and the contemporary leader of the Mystic Sect, how could the Taiqing Saint be a mere figurehead? He was always the one calculating others; how could others have the chance to outwit him?

But somehow, he suddenly started to care about brotherly ties, and that’s why he stepped back, allowing Jiang Chen to take advantage.

"Brother, you are right!"

Being spoken to like that by the Taiqing Saint, even if the Primordial Heavenly Sovereign was furious, he couldn’t express his anger at this time, otherwise, he would appear to have disregarded brotherly bonds.

"You don’t need to take the conflict of the Ghost Dao to heart too much this time, it’s just a matter of going through the motions anyway."

"There’s no need to worry about the disciples getting into trouble either. Today is different from the past; all these younger generations have grown up. They are all Innate Dao Sovereigns, reaching an immortal and indestructible state. Even if they are slain, they won’t truly fall."

The Taiqing Saint continued to persuade, this being the reason he dared to promise not to interfere in this matter.

The Golden Immortals of the Chan Teaching are now Innate Dao Sovereigns, immortal and indestructible beings. Even if Jiang Chen is powerful, he couldn’t completely annihilate them. With this being the case, what else is there to worry about?

The Primordial Heavenly Sovereign was somewhat speechless. Were his disciples really that bad? Why had everyone assumed that his disciples weren’t a match for Jiang Chen?

It should be known that for the conflict of the Ghost Dao this time, even the Upper Qing Saint said that the Chan Teaching disciples could use the Four Swords of Zhu Xian. Once combined, their power has reached the level of an Innate Treasure. The Primordial Heavenly Sovereign truly couldn’t believe that they could not defeat Jiang Chen with such power.

"Brother, let’s not speak of this anymore. Let us just wait and see," he said.

Unwilling to waste any more words, the Primordial Heavenly Sovereign gestured indifferently, hurriedly left the place, and went back to summon his disciples.

He needed to plan carefully to ensure that his disciples would win this conflict of the Ghost Dao and to severely crush the arrogant spirit of the Upper Qing Saint.

...

......

One year passed by in the blink of an eye.

Feeling that the time had arrived, Jiang Chen stopped lecturing, and suddenly all of Heaven and Earth fell silent, and the phenomena filling the entire city of Wrongful Death City disappeared.

However, the ghosts below who were listening to the Tao did not come to their senses immediately but were still immersed in their enlightenment.

"Well, it is a matter of fate. I shall give you all one more chance," he said.

Seeing the intoxicated faces of the ghosts below, Jiang Chen thought for a moment and then suddenly waved his sleeve.

In an instant, the winds and clouds of Heaven and Earth changed, and above the sky of the Netherworld, the illusion of the Cycle of Stars suddenly appeared. Then countless streams of silvery-white starlight rained down from the sky like a deluge, enveloping the entire Wrongful Death City.

This was the starlight of the Cycle, drawn forth by Jiang Chen using his great divine ability. Among the various forces between Heaven and Earth, apart from yin energy, the force most suited to the soul is the power of the stars of the Cycle.

But the Boundless Starry Sky was the territory of the Demon Clan, and the Netherworld was the domain of the Witch Clan. How could the Demon Clan allow the starlight to appear in the Netherworld? And after the decline of the Demon Clan, the shattered Boundless Starry Sky left not enough starlight for the human realm itself; how could there be any spare starlight shining on the Netherworld?

It can be said that the light of the stars of the Cycle had never shone on the Netherworld before, and this time Jiang Chen, using his great divine ability to summon the stars and manifest them in the Netherworld, was indeed an unprecedented phenomenon.