Chapter 718: Dharma Lineage

Chapter 718: Chapter 718: Dharma Lineage

Once this array was fully deployed, its power would be incalculable.

However, under the Concealment Array laid by the Shadow Escape Banner, these sword-shaped Array Banners were all hidden. Xu Yunfan had even used a Magical Treasure Level Longsword—one he had forged by gathering Nine Heavens Star Essence and combining it with Heavenly Spirit and Earthly Evil Qi—to serve as the central pivot.

Just as Xu Yunfan was completely absorbed in remotely deploying two world-shaking Killing Arrays from hundreds of miles away through Han Shi’s hands, a faint yet undeniable ripple emanated from the Mountain Protection Array outside the Primordial Sect’s Divine Sky Mountain in the Taihua Spirit Ruins Realm.

Xu Yunfan’s brow furrowed, and he diverted a sliver of his consciousness.

His Divine Thought swept past the mountain, revealing the Controller of the Primordial Sect, True Monarch Pu Du, a Mid-Stage Golden Core cultivator. He stood smiling upon the sea of clouds outside the array, his aura perfectly harmonious, with a faint, compassionate Dao Rhyme emanating from him.

Xu Yunfan dared not slight this senior brother. With a mere thought, the Mountain Protection Array opened a gateway, and a path of Purple Gold Thunder Light unfurled to welcome the guest.

He appeared at the mountain gate in a flash, cupping his hands in salute.

"Senior Brother Pudu, what an honor. Forgive me for not greeting you sooner. Please, come in so we may talk."

A peaceful smile touched True Monarch Pu Du’s plain face as he nodded. "Junior Brother Shenxiao, you’re too kind."

He followed Xu Yunfan into the main hall of the Divine Sky Palace.

The two took their seats on a Cloud Platform, and a Spiritual Child manifested from pure Thunder Power served them fragrant Thunder Spirit Tea.

After a round of pleasantries about the Heaven and Earth Qi Mechanism and the Sect’s recent affairs, True Monarch Pu Du set down his teacup. His gaze settled on Xu Yunfan as he got to the heart of the matter.

"Junior Brother Shenxiao, you are now the Mountain Lord of one of the Nine Immortals Mountains, placing you among the Sect’s highest ranks. Each of the Primordial Sect’s Nine Great Immortal Mountains has its own Dharma Lineage. This is how their foundations remain stable and their Destiny endures."

True Monarch Pu Du’s tone was placid.

"You have established the Divine Sky Dharma Lineage, and disciples have gathered to you. Your lineage is beginning to flourish, which is a good thing. However, if a Dharma Lineage is to strengthen and the Primordial Sect is to prosper, merely gathering disciples to cultivate as they please will ultimately lead to a lack of structure."

Hearing this, Xu Yunfan couldn’t help but grumble inwardly. ’The Primordial Sect has always profited from its hands-off approach. For True Monarch Pu Du to show up unannounced like this... he must have an ulterior motive.’ A hint of confusion crossed his face.

"What do you mean, Senior Brother? My Divine Sky Peak has numerous disciples diligently practicing the Divine Sky Thunder Skill. The Dharma Lineage has been established. How could you call it unstructured?"

True Monarch Pu Du shook his head slightly.

"A Dharma Lineage is rooted in orderly succession, in passing the torch from one generation to the next. Though you have many disciples practicing the methods of Divine Sky, you have no true Direct Disciple to inherit your mantle. This is not a sustainable path."

Xu Yunfan was even more surprised. The Primordial Sect had always adhered to the iron-clad rule of survival of the fittest, where the strong prey on the weak. He spoke bluntly, "Senior Brother, isn’t the tradition of our Primordial Sect precisely survival of the fittest? The capable rise, and the weak are culled.

In the contest for the Great Dao, everyone relies on their own abilities. What need is there to deliberately accept and train disciples?

If the disciples under my tutelage have the talent and willpower, they will naturally rise to the top. If they fall along the way, that is the fate of their cultivation path. It cannot be forced."

In short, only the living can be called geniuses. A dead genius is no genius at all.

In the Primordial Sect’s history, spanning hundreds of thousands of years, there has been no shortage of late-bloomers who became Golden Core True Monarchs, ascending to the very apex of the Taihua Spirit Ruins Realm. There have even been quite a few Great True Monarchs at the Late-Stage Golden Core.

True Monarch Pu Du looked at Xu Yunfan, shook his head, and replied in that same unhurried tone, "That may be true. But the Sect’s development requires long-term planning. Some saplings possess excellent Root Bone Comprehension and superior temperament. Yet, simply because they lack a master’s guidance or crucial protection, they perish prematurely among the thorns of their cultivation journey. It would be a terrible shame."

He paused, then emphasized, "It’s a great pity for them to die along the way."

Xu Yunfan’s mind raced.

’What True Monarch Pu Du just said is completely at odds with the Primordial Sect’s typically cruel style.’

’The Primordial Sect nurtures cultivators who can slaughter their way out of a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood. Its philosophy is all about letting them run wild—a dead genius ceases to be a genius.’

’Only an environment like this can produce the kind of vicious cultivators that the Wansheng Sword Sect and the Puchen Pure Land denounce as demonic heretics.’

’As the Controller, how could True Monarch Pu Du not understand this principle?’

’His sudden talk about it being a shame for these ’saplings’ must have a deeper meaning.’

’Besides, if you’re cannon fodder, you should have the self-awareness to act like it. The Qi Cultivation disciples of the Primordial Sect are either manipulated into karmic entanglements by Foundation Establishment Daoist Masters and turned into invisible puppets, or they’re crushed by various ’loans,’ after which their bodies and Divine Souls are used as nourishment.’

’It’s like harvesting leeks. Once one crop is reaped, they just open the gates, recruit more disciples, and wait for the right time to reap again.’

’Such is the Primordial Sect’s unique way of ’passing the torch’.’

A troubled and evasive expression appeared on Xu Yunfan’s face. He cupped his hands and said, "What you say is reasonable, Senior Brother. It’s just that I’ve only recently taken charge of Divine Sky Mountain. My hands are full with various affairs, and I dare not neglect my own Cultivation. I’m afraid I have no time to spare for meticulously instructing a disciple.

Besides, taking on a disciple to pass on the Dao is a heavy responsibility, not a trivial matter.

Even my current followers, such as Bi Yuan, have been with me for years, and I have yet to formally accept them as disciples..."

As True Monarch Pu Du listened to Xu Yunfan’s deflections, the smile on his face remained, but his eyes grew a few shades deeper.

He lifted his teacup, took a delicate sip, and remarked casually, "Bi Yuan? I remember him. Back on Divine Sky Peak, he was your guide, in a manner of speaking. Now, buoyed by the Destiny of your Divine Sky Dharma Lineage, he’s managed to establish a Dao Foundation. Quite a feat for him."

The implication was clear: Bi Yuan had only managed to reach Foundation Establishment by riding the coattails of the Destiny generated when Xu Yunfan became a True Monarch and established Divine Sky Mountain. In True Monarch Pu Du’s view, Bi Yuan’s own talent and potential were mediocre at best.

Xu Yunfan understood. ’The assessment that Bi Yuan had barely managed to establish his Dao Foundation meant he clearly didn’t carry enough weight in True Monarch Pu Du’s eyes.’

’Moreover, both Lu Chuan and Chu Chengnan practiced other arts, not the way of Divine Sky. It was only natural that True Monarch Pu Du would want Xu Yunfan to give something back, not just take from the Primordial Sect.’

At this thought, Xu Yunfan couldn’t help but let out a dry cough or two, and he said no more.

True Monarch Pu Du set down his teacup and looked directly at Xu Yunfan, his tone as placid as ever.

"As for responsibility... True Monarch Qing Yuan has perished, and the karmic entanglements left behind by his lineage, along with various affairs both within and outside the Sect, must be handled by someone.

Some burdens, others may not be able to shoulder, nor would they be willing. Junior Brother, you are now the Lord of Divine Sky Mountain. There are some things you must accept."

He didn’t say outright that Xu Yunfan had killed him, but by linking True Monarch Qing Yuan’s death with the phrase "you must accept," the meaning was self-evident.

’This old fox,’ Xu Yunfan thought. ’He sat back and did nothing when I was ascending to the Daoist Golden Core and seeking my Fruit Position. He sat back and did nothing when I killed True Monarch Qing Yuan. And now he comes running here to drone on at me.’

Xu Yunfan’s heart seized, but his expression instantly turned solemn. He declared with righteous indignation, "Senior Brother, you are mistaken! Senior Brother Qingyuan met with calamity and fell because his luck ran out and he was surrounded by powerful enemies. What does that have to do with me?

While Senior Brother Qingyuan and I may have had our philosophical disagreements, the bond between sect brothers remained. I would have had absolutely no reason to harm him! You must not believe such rumors, Senior Brother!"

He denied it flatly, his attitude resolute.

True Monarch Pu Du watched Xu Yunfan’s somewhat impassioned denial, a profound smile playing on his lips. He neither confirmed nor refuted the claim, merely lifting his cup to take another sip, as if the Thunder Spirit Tea held an endless depth of flavor.