The news of the Tianfeng Dynasty's downfall spread like wildfire throughout the four regions.
"Have you heard? The Tianfeng Dynasty is gone! Overnight, it was wiped out by Xiao Chen and a mere armored idiot!"
"The Heavenly Wind Dynasty was one of the top powers in the Southern Region, with a Transcending Tribulation old monster to keep things in check. How could it just disappear like that?"
"That's Xiao Chen! He can even kill a tribulation cultivator from the Xuan Tian Sect. What's a Southern Region Dynasty compared to him? I think this is a sign that he's heading straight for the Xuan Tian Sect!"
In teahouses and taverns, cultivators discussed amongst themselves, their eyes filled with apprehension as they looked towards the Northern Region. The sky over the Southern Region had been completely transformed by this annihilation, and everyone knew that this was just the beginning—Xiao Chen's flames of revenge would inevitably reach the Xuan Tian Sect in the Northern Region sooner or later.
Xuantian Sect, Council Hall.
Zhao Xuan sat at the head of the table, his fingertips digging deep marks into the jade armrest. The elders in the hall fell silent, even their breathing became soft.
"Useless! A bunch of useless trash!" Zhao Xuan suddenly crushed the communication jade slip in his hand. The fragments of the jade slip pierced his palm, drawing blood, but he was completely unaware. "The Tianfeng Dynasty couldn't even last a day? Xiao Chen's speed is that fast?"
"Sect Master," a white-haired elder said in a trembling voice, "Xiao Chen is now at the Integration Realm, and with that mysterious body cultivator helper, his strength is unfathomable. The Heavenly Wind Dynasty... is no match for him."
"Not a match for him?" Zhao Xuan sneered, a mad glint in his eyes. "Then what about us? When he attacks our mountain gate, will we just stand there like the Tianfeng Dynasty, waiting to be slaughtered?"
No one dared to speak. Reconciliation? Absolutely impossible; the two sides were already mortal enemies, locked in a life-or-death struggle.
Resistance? Xiao Chen's growth rate is too fast, so fast that it makes them despair. He can easily kill even those undergoing tribulation. Is the remaining strength of the Xuan Tian Sect enough for him to kill?
The air inside the main hall was oppressive, as if a storm was about to break.
In a nameless little mountain village on the southern border.
The stench of blood mingled with the foul smell of monsters, permeating the dilapidated village.
Amidst the ruins, broken limbs and congealed bloodstains lay scattered, while several vultures circled low overhead, emitting piercing cries.
Su She stood at the village entrance, his blue robe fluttering in the wind, his hands gripping the scroll tightly, his knuckles turning white.
He came here to preach, but he never expected to see such a hell on earth—the entire mountain village was reduced to eight elderly, weak, women and children on the verge of death, while the rest of the people had become minced meat under the claws of monsters.
Beside the millstone at the village entrance, five Buddhist and Taoist monks dressed in gray robes sat cross-legged, chanting scriptures with their eyes closed, seemingly oblivious to the horrific scene before them. Their robes were spotless, a stark contrast to the surrounding bloodshed.
"You!" Su She's voice trembled with rage as he strode forward, pointing at the mangled corpses. "Why did you stand by and watch them die?!"
The leading monk slowly opened his eyes, his gaze calm and unwavering, as if looking at an ignorant child: "Benefactor, this is their fate, what does it have to do with us?"
"Fate?" Su She trembled with rage. "Those are dozens of lives! Living, breathing people! You, as Buddhist and Taoist cultivators, keep talking about compassion, why didn't you lend a hand?"
“They don’t believe in Buddha, they don’t worship Buddha,” another monk said calmly, his tone carrying a hint of barely perceptible arrogance. “Buddha is compassionate, he only guides believers. For those who do not believe, tribulations are tests, so why should we interfere?”
"Absurd!" Su She roared. "The Great Way is in Heaven, and all beings are equal! How can you stand by and watch someone die just because of belief or disbelief? Are you practicing Buddhism, or some selfish and self-serving false path?"
He always remembered his master's words, "Confucianism and Taoism exist among men," believing that all cultivators, regardless of their different paths, share the same common goal of serving the common people.
But the five Buddhist and Taoist practitioners in front of him made him feel a chill in his heart—it turned out that not all seekers of the Tao had a heart to save the world.
The leading monk frowned slightly: "Your words are insolent; do you perhaps intend to provoke the dignity of Buddhism?"
Su She took a deep breath, suppressed the turmoil in his heart, and turned to look in the direction of the Western Regions.
He recalled the monk he had met in the Southern Region who had persuaded him to convert to Buddhism, and the monk's words that "Buddhism is vast and can save all living beings." He suddenly wanted to go to the Buddhist holy sites in the Western Region to see if the Buddhas there were also so indifferent.
"I'm too lazy to argue with you." Su She turned around and prepared to leave.
"Trying to leave?" The leading monk's eyes turned cold as he stood up to block him. "You have shown disrespect to Buddhism and Taoism, and you intend to stir up trouble in the Western Regions. How can we let you leave?"
The other four monks also stood up and surrounded Sushe in the middle. Their bodies were surrounded by a faint Buddhist light, but they also carried a menacing aura.
"Benefactor, you are too naive." The leading monk sneered, "This world is inherently a dog-eat-dog world. The monsters devour the people because the people are weak; if we don't save them, it's because they don't believe in Buddhism, and they have only themselves to blame. You want to spread the Dharma and save the world? That's nothing but wishful thinking!"
"Survival of the fittest?" Su She looked at them, the last glimmer of hope in his eyes extinguished.
He had always thought that although the path of spreading the word was difficult, there would always be like-minded people. But now he realized that the complexity of human hearts was far more damaging than the claws of monsters.
"You are not worthy to discuss the Way."
The five monks immediately surrounded Su She, saying, "Then we can't let you leave, benefactor," and then they took the initiative to attack.
Su She slowly took out a book from his bosom—it was a book that his master, Lin Zhou, had given him when he left the Qingyun Sect, saying, "If you encounter something you can't figure out, just flip through it; it might be helpful." The book cover was simple and unadorned, with only three characters on it: *Tao Te Ching*.
He turned the pages, his fingertips tracing the yellowed paper, and softly recited: "The Tao gives birth to One, One gives birth to Two, Two gives birth to Three, Three gives birth to all things..."
As he recited, a dazzling golden light suddenly burst forth from the Tao Te Ching, and three large golden characters flew out of the book—"The Tao that can be told!"
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