163: Chapter 163 Verbal Punishment

Inside Yuxu Palace, silence fell once again.

Yuanshi Tianzun sat atop his auspicious clouds, saying nothing, his eyes swirling with deeply complex emotions.

Disappointment, anger, helplessness.

It turned out it wasn't Shi Yan pulling strings, but infighting within the Chan Sect.

The silence in Yuxu Palace was heavy enough to crush the clouds of the Nine Heavens.

Yuanshi Tianzun sat atop his auspicious clouds.

He lowered his gaze to look at Que Liusun, who was kneeling and bowing his head, not daring to breathe loudly.

There was no longer the icy glare from before, nor the anger of reprimand in his eyes; only a bottomless exhaustion remained, along with a trace of bewilderment he was unwilling to admit even to himself.

He had lived for endless eons, priding himself on acting with integrity, selecting Disciples strictly, and maintaining a strict code of conduct for his sect.

He had never imagined that the outstanding Disciples he had carefully cultivated would turn out like this.

He had personally raised a group of Disciples who were arrogant, dismissive of others, and would stab their own fellow Disciples in the back!

How ironic!

In a region he could not perceive, the true colors of his Disciples were fully revealed.

"Rise."

After a long while, he spoke, his voice sounding incredibly hoarse, without a ripple, revealing neither joy nor anger, only endless fatigue.

Que Liusun felt a weight lift from his heart, quickly kowtowed in salute, and slowly stood up.

"I am already aware of today's events."

Yuanshi Tianzun's gaze fell upon the vast sea of clouds outside the hall, his tone indifferent.

"You have just severed your corpse and attained the Dao; return to your dojo and stabilize your cultivation."

"Do not ever repeat such acts of stabbing fellow Disciples in the back again!"

"You may withdraw."

"This Disciple will strictly obey Revered Master's orders."

Having finished listening to Yuanshi's verbal lecture, Que Liusun immediately stood up and quickly left Yuxu Palace.

He didn't give his Revered Master a chance to add any more pressure.

With a sound of opening and closing.

The hall doors closed, sealing off everything from the outside world.

The vast Yuxu Palace returned to dead silence, leaving only Yuanshi Tianzun alone, sitting atop the auspicious clouds, facing the cold, misty hall by himself.

He sat quietly for a long time, so long that the Spiritual Root of Kunlun Mountain had withered and regrown.

Finally, hundreds of years later.

A soft whisper,

"...Was I really wrong?"

Slowly spilled from his lips, carrying a bewilderment, regret, and self-doubt that even a Saint could not mask.

...

Meanwhile, within a grotto-heaven on Kunlun Mountain.

Que Liusun, Master Lingbao, and Venerable Daoxing were gathered together once again at this moment.

Carrying emotions of unease and anxiety.

Master Lingbao stepped forward first, his voice kept extremely low, full of anxiety:

"Senior Brother, Revered Master summoned you, did he make things difficult for you? Did he hold you accountable for the three of us stabbing Senior Brother in the back?"

Venerable Daoxing also nodded quickly and asked, his brows furrowed tightly: "Yes, Senior Brother, did Teacher impose any heavy punishment?"

The matter of the backstabbing had always been a giant boulder hanging over their hearts.

Que Liusun looked at his two Junior Brothers, who were full of worry, his expression calm as he shook his head gently.

"No need to worry. Revered Master did not hold me accountable; he only told us not to violate sect rules again in the future."

Upon hearing this, Master Lingbao and Venerable Daoxing both let out long sighs of relief, their hanging hearts finally dropping, and expressions of relief appearing on their faces.

"Phew—!"

The former patted his chest, still feeling lingering fear: "Good, that's good!"

The latter also said with relief: "It's fortunate that I and Lingbao helped you become a Quasi-Saint, otherwise we would be at Qilin Cliff by now..."

"There is no need to mention past events again."

Regarding this, Que Liusun just waved his hand, warning the two.

After all, they had stabbed a fellow Disciple in the back; it was enough that they knew, but they shouldn't keep bringing it up.

"Understood, thank you for the reminder, Senior Brother."

Hearing this, Master Lingbao and Venerable Daoxing indicated they understood.

"The three of us are gathered; you two should listen carefully to the Dao of the Quasi-Saint here."

As the words fell, faint golden light began to swirl within the grotto-heaven, and the Dao rhyme of the Quasi-Saint slowly unfurled.

Que Liusun began to speak in detail about his insights into becoming a Quasi-Saint.

Seeing this, Master Lingbao and Venerable Daoxing also put away all distracting thoughts.

They sat cross-legged, calmed their minds, and listened intently.

...

"Senior Brother, Shi Yan is indeed cunning. I didn't expect Guangchengzi to be like this!"

At the top of Mount Sumeru, Zhunti thought of Guangchengzi's appearance and looked towards the Coast of the East Sea with some wariness.

As the teacher of the Fifth Emperor, after the Karma settlement, he hadn't even received a sliver of Karma, but had instead received a whole lot of resentment.

Before this, who could have imagined it?

The Human Race's Shi Yan is truly a monster who became a Hunyuan while hiding in plain sight.

Such deep schemes, such terrifying foresight!

After the wariness, it turned into mockery.

"Senior Brother, look at how the Chan Sect has stumbled so badly this time. That guy Yuanshi must have lost all face."

Zhunti turned to look at the Jieyin Taoist sitting quietly with his eyes closed beside him, his power contained within his body. His tone carried a bit of sighing, yet hid a trace of schadenfreude.

"Always going on about how his Disciples have deep blessings, looking down on this, looking down on that! Now he's stumbled, hasn't he?"

Jieyin Taoist slowly opened his eyes, his gaze peaceful, without joy or sorrow, but he nodded slightly, his voice indifferent:

"Karma cycles; it should be so."

"Ineffective education, coddling Disciples, and indulging the immorality of his followers—this is the cause. The loss of Karma and the tarnishing of his sect's reputation today is the effect."

Hearing this, the smile in Zhunti's eyes deepened: "Senior Brother is right..."

He paused, then seemed to think of something.

His gaze looked towards the Beiming Sea, looking at an Innate Blood Sea Grass within a grotto-heaven.

That Blood Sea Grass possessed an Innate root that shouldn't belong to this time, and the power of the Heavenly Dao around it was dense, its cultivation at the Perfection of the Taiyi Golden Immortal.

"Senior Brother, do you think after Haotian returns, the Heavenly Court will hold a Flat Peach Banquet? I am really looking forward to meeting Yuanshi again!"

That's right, that Blood Sea Grass was Haotian's final incarnation.

With the blessing of these many factors, it should soon be able to become a Grand Unity Golden Immortal and return to the Heavenly Court!

Returning to the Heavenly Court, feasting all directions.

Jieyin Taoist followed his gaze, a ripple barely perceptible in the depths of his eyes, and said softly:

"Haotian returning to his position is a fixed number of the Heavenly Dao. The Flat Peach Banquet will come sooner or later."

Hearing this, Zhunti chuckled, his voice full of schadenfreude:

"Senior Brother is absolutely right!"

"It's only a matter of time. I really want to let Yaoshi meet Que Liusun! Let him look down on the West, and let Yaoshi properly suppress his proud Disciple!"

Yaoshi is at the Middle Stage of Quasi-Saint, while Que Liusun is at the Early Stage of Quasi-Saint; no matter how one thinks about it, he couldn't lose.

"At that time, our Western Luck can rise another wave!"

"Hahahaha!"

Que Liusun's defeat would surely attract some Eastern Cultivators to go to the West to seek apprenticeship.

Jieyin, satisfied with this, uttered one word: "Good!"

Thinking of the future revitalized West, Zhunti couldn't help himself.

He took out the top-grade Innate Spirit Treasure, the seven treasures tree, and took out three Innate Bodhi seeds from it.

Then he threw them to Yaoshi, who was in seclusion.

Looking at the Dao-enlightenment spiritual object in front of him, Yaoshi was extremely excited.

He quickly stood up and bowed to the Void Realm: "Thank you, Teacher, for the reward!"

"Hmm. Cultivate well!"

Looking at his own generosity, Zhunti thought.

Who dares to say the West is poor?

Who dares to say the West is defeated?

When it comes to treating excellent Disciples, the West is not inferior to the East at all!!