Chapter 642: Speech Techniques Teaching

Senior Sister, in the coming days… cough, I’ve casually calculated that quite a few events will unfold.

If one day, the immortals of Jiejiao follow Senior Brother Duo Bao in surrounding Ling Shan, the Western Teachings will certainly deny everything with all their might at that time.

Based on my calculations, their denials will mainly fall into three categories.

First, they'll vehemently deny it, claiming that any insulting actions weren't their doing. In that case, you shouldn't get involved—just pretend I never said anything, and Senior Brother Duo Bao and the others can handle it easily. By then, the evidence should be irrefutable.

Second, the Western Teachings might directly admit fault, offering up a scapegoat to try and quell Jiejiao's anger. This is one of their usual tactics—they might even kill the scapegoat right in front of you.

At that point, you can choose to speak up or stay silent…

If you decide to speak up, play to your strengths—act a bit melancholic, show some concern, and take the Western Teachings' side to argue a few points. Then, admit the fault on their behalf. I’ll prepare the exact words for you later.

The third scenario is if the Western Teachings produce so-called evidence, claiming the stone tablets were fabricated by outsiders and making it sound convincing. In that case, you must step forward and hold them accountable no matter what.

“Bite them to death? Like, literally pounce and bite? Ah-woo, like that? But I’m specialized in Yuan Shen divine abilities and defensive ones…”

“…Wait, I need to think if I should entrust such a crucial plan to you.”

“Uh?”

Deep in her Dao heart, the words of Junior Brother Chang Geng echoed. Gui Ling Sheng Mu controlled her expression and assessed the situation before her.

She could do it; she was certain.

It was just her first time pulling off something like this, and it made her a bit nervous. Her Dao heart, which had been still for dozens of Yuan Hui, was now pounding wildly.

Junior Brother Chang Geng was really quite a remarkable person.

Handsome, clever, always full of schemes—nothing seemed to stump him.

Occasionally, she’d even heard Master honoring him with praise, saying he was probably already plotting to challenge the Heavenly Dao…

How terrifying that was.

Oh, no distractions—she had to stay focused on the situation.

Gui Ling Sheng Mu snapped herself out of it and kept her eyes on the Western Teachings’ response.

Before they arrived, Senior Brother Duo Bao had sent a message instructing them to surround but not attack, letting Senior Sister Jin Ling take the lead. The goal was to force the two saints of the Western Teachings to show themselves.

To avoid the saints slaughtering their experts outright, they needed to wait for the saints to make the first move, then their disciples could follow—that was the ideal scenario for Jiejiao.

Of course, the two saints of the Western Teachings would have their own countermeasures. Today's battle was far from simple—it involved layers of schemes, not just surrounding, killing, and withdrawing.

As Junior Brother Chang Geng had said, the key to victory lay in forcing the Western Teachings’ saints to appear.

That required Jiejiao to hold the moral high ground and exert continuous pressure on the Western Teachings.

The “task” Junior Brother Chang Geng had assigned her was both challenging and vital.

What Gui Ling Sheng Mu saw was—

Senior Sister Jin Ling exuding an aura of furious authority, leaving the Western Teachings’ elders too intimidated to speak;

thousands of Jiejiao immortals encircling Ling Shan, with nearly all of Jiejiao’s elite forces deployed, their pressure extending for over 100,000 li.

The heavens darkened, and the cosmos twisted.

It was as if they were about to sink the entire Xi Niu He Continent into the primordial world.

Yet, their side was holding back, not fully revealing their Dao realms, opting for a posture of intimidation instead.

Senior Sister Jin Ling’s Dragon-Tiger Ruyi glowed brilliantly, and Senior Sister Yun Xiao’s Hunyuan Jindou emitted dazzling light;

Gui Ling Sheng Mu understood the signal—her eyes gleamed with faint green light, and her jade flute in hand radiated waves of energy.

The Jiejiao immortals brandished their treasures!

“Hold on! Hold on!”

An elder from the Western Teachings shouted, “There seems to be some misunderstanding between us!”

Gui Ling Sheng Mu nearly broke character.

These people were exactly as Junior Brother Chang Geng had described—normally, they bullied the innocent with arrogance and smug smirks, spouting lines like “You have affinity with our Western Teachings” or “Better you than me,” committing all sorts of misdeeds without a shred of conscience.

But when faced with a stronger force suppressing them, they turned into cowering turtles, shirking responsibility and showing no backbone.

The Western Teachings were rotten to the core, all because their leader had poor character.

With that thought, Gui Ling Sheng Mu felt no guilt whatsoever. She began brewing her strategy, with lines ready to spill out.

It all depended on which script the Western Teachings chose!

As previously agreed on the way here, Senior Sister Qiong Xiao stepped forward at that moment…

Qiong Xiao’s face was slightly cold, her Golden Jiao Scissors letting out roars, while the Dragon-Binding Rope around her coiled like a living azure dragon.

She shouted coldly,

“Misunderstanding? Oh, we’ve got far too many of those.

What a Western Teachings!

Ever since ancient times, you’ve been poaching disciples from Jiejiao, using every trick in the book—force, deception, you name it!

Our master, out of respect for the two saints of the Western Teachings who once listened to the Dao at Zixiao Palace, chose not to hold it against you. And yet, you treat Jiejiao as easy prey!

All these years, you’ve stirred up trouble between the three teachings of the Daoist path, openly and in secret!

Every conflict between Jiejiao and Chan Jiao, every bloodshed—your Western Teachings had a hand in it!

You claim to be destined for great prosperity, saying it’s heaven’s will, but you stoop to any low for it. How shameless!

Now, with the great calamity descending, you’ve offended my brother-in-law and been drawn into the jie itself. Instead of figuring out how to survive it, you’re still playing your scheming games, manipulating Chan Jiao to turn against us in Jiejiao, disregarding the blood ties of the three Daoist teachings!

And those stone tablets—you even tried to make them look ancient?

Is this to make people think the feud between Jiejiao and Chan Jiao was predetermined from ancient times?

Your intentions are murderous! Today, Jiejiao and you will fight to the death!”

With that, Qiong Xiao’s chest heaved with anger, and she hurled the Golden Jiao Scissors straight at the five elders before her.

Gui Ling Sheng Mu’s heart skipped a beat, worried that Qiong Xiao’s action might directly summon the saints.

The Golden Jiao Scissors transformed into an ancient azure dragon, but the elders were prepared, joining forces to counter it. Bursts of treasure light flashed, and they managed to repel the scissors.

As expected of those chosen as deputy leaders—they had real skill.

Qiong Xiao glared with wide eyes, ready to charge forward, but was stopped by a glance from Senior Sister Yun Xiao.

Yun Xiao stepped forward smoothly.

With just that one step, the elders retreated in unison, their eyes filled with wariness as they activated their treasures.

One elder hurriedly shouted, “Xianzi, please don’t act!

Is Jiejiao truly so unreasonable, attacking without explanation or justification, intent on destroying Ling Shan!?

As fellow great teachings under saints, this is blatant bullying!”

Yun Xiao parted her lips lightly, her voice drifting through the clouds and echoing across Ling Shan,

“Right and wrong will be judged by all. This matter is already done, no matter how you deny it.

Since the Western Teachings have chosen to oppose Jiejiao and act with such malice, aiming to make us fight Chan Jiao to the death, is it unreasonable for Jiejiao to come here and do the same?”

“The origins of these stone tablets haven’t been verified yet!”

“This is clearly a setup by the Immortal Alliance!”

“Our Western Teachings have always stayed out of Jiejiao’s way—so why couldn’t it be Chan Jiao’s scheme?”

Yun Xiao’s brows furrowed slightly, and she was about to strike.

But Qiong Xiao snorted from the side, pointing the Golden Jiao Scissors at the elders and scolding,

“You just said this is a setup by the Immortal Alliance?

So, you’re implying that the Heavenly Court is deliberately framing you? In other words, you’re accusing my brother-in-law of splashing dirt on your Ling Shan?”

The elders frowned, and one quickly said, “Not exactly…”

“Got it!” Qiong Xiao turned and walked away. “Wait for me—I’ll go to the Heavenly Court and fetch my brother-in-law to settle this fairly!”

“No, no need!”

A deputy leader of the Western Teachings called out, “Xianzi, please wait! There’s no need to trouble Tai Bai Jin Xing over this!

This matter… ah, we didn’t want to air our dirty laundry.”

Gui Ling Sheng Mu’s heart jumped—this was it!

All eyes in heaven and earth turned to that elder, who sighed and spoke slowly,

“This was indeed the act of a disciple in our Western Teachings, but it was his own reckless doing, with no connection to our teachings as a whole.

Lately, with the killing calamity emerging, our Western Teachings have been quite anxious. A disciple once reported to our teacher, suggesting we stir up the two Daoist teachings in the calamity, making you two tigers fight and weaken each other.

What a childish and dishonorable scheme! Our teacher scolded that disciple on the spot and expelled him from Ling Shan—we can all vouch for this, as we saw it with our own eyes.

Little did we know, he went to the Three Thousand Worlds on his own, found a place abundant in incense offerings, and committed this deed…”

The elder delivered this story with such sincerity that he even teared up at the emotional parts.

It was quite the performance.

In the Tai Bai Palace at the Heavenly Court, in front of the Dan Room on Xiao Qiong Peak,

Master Xuan Du murmured, “Is this really how it happened?”

“Of course not,” Li Chang Sheng said calmly. “It’s clearly the Western Teachings’ standard tactic to downplay a big issue and turn it into nothing.”

The master laughed. “Could this be your handiwork, Junior Brother?”

Li Chang Sheng nodded while replying, “How could it be? Not at all, Senior Brother. You know how busy I’ve been lately, rushing around everywhere.

It’s obvious the Western Teachings are deliberately stirring up discord within the Daoist path—it’s unforgivable.”

The people present immediately understood and said no more, continuing to watch the developments, with the Taiji Diagram on standby.

In the bronze mirror, the elder finished his story, and the Western Teachings handed over a Golden Immortal realm cultivator who was barely breathing. Without waiting for Jiejiao’s response, they killed him on the spot, destroying his Yuan Shen and presenting his head.

Senior Mother Jin Ling cursed the Western Teachings for their shamelessness and was about to throw her Jade Ruyi.

The Western Teachings’ deputy leaders wailed and shouted that Jiejiao was being unreasonable and bullying with force.

The Jiejiao immortals advanced another hundred zhang, but a chilling Dao rhythm spread everywhere, making the Da Luo and Golden Immortals tremble with fear.

It was the rhythm of a saint.

The Western Teachings’ deputy leaders quickly changed their tune.

One elder shouted, “Is Jiejiao trying to dominate the primordial world?”

“You act like this—do you even respect the saints?

If you dare take another step, we’ll fight to the death to defend Ling Shan!

We’ll have no choice but to summon our teacher and leave you all here at the foot of Ling Shan!”

Senior Mother Jin Ling was furious and about to engage in battle, even if it meant facing a saint.

Hidden in the shadows, Daoist Duo Bao sighed inwardly, knowing he had to step in, though it would put them at a disadvantage.

The biggest problem was the Western Teachings having two saints.

Today, Jiejiao was determined to strip the Western Teachings’ saints of their influence, but they first needed to force out Zhun Ti or Jie Yin, so Master Tong Tian could drag them into a battle beyond the heavens.

Facing Zhun Ti Saint, the one in position was Senior Brother Duo Bao.

Thus, Duo Bao had hidden first, planning to appear only when the situation turned against them— ideally after or at the same time as Zhun Ti Saint, giving Jiejiao half the victory.

They could push into Ling Shan, but the casualties would be severe, and the Jiejiao immortals would face at least half a saint’s wrath.

Although people often joked about the Sixth Saint’s power, the saint realm completely overwhelmed the Da Luo realm.

Unless it was a quasi-saint who had severed the three corpses and was just a step away, even they could only hold out briefly against the Sixth Saint—winning was out of the question.

Now, Jiejiao’s side was clearly struggling against the Western Teachings, so Duo Bao had no choice but to…

“Um, excuse me!”

A crisp voice suddenly rang out, pausing the tense standoff at Ling Shan like pressing stop.

Gazes and immortal senses turned toward the source, where a fairy in a light green dress, gripping her jade flute nervously, floated forward to stand beside Senior Sister Yun Xiao and said softly,

“Senior Sister Jin Ling, I feel like… we’re being a bit too aggressive today.”

As soon as she spoke, the Jiejiao immortals were puzzled, with some showing outright shock.

The Western Teachings side was stunned at first, then overjoyed, looking at the fairy as if she were a new female saint.

Internal divisions in Jiejiao?

At this critical moment, one of the eight great disciples, Gui Ling Sheng Mu, was speaking up for the Western Teachings?

What a heaven-sent opportunity!

However, the Western Teachings’ followers didn’t notice that, aside from shouting, “Xianzi, how righteous! Our Western Teachings don’t deserve such punishment!”

They didn’t know how to respond.

Gui Ling Sheng Mu said gently, “To be fair, it does seem like they don’t deserve this.”

Qiong Xiao quickly sent a voice transmission, “What are you saying? This is a matter of our teachings’ survival!”

Gui Ling Sheng Mu could only give her a slightly apologetic look and continued, “Senior Sister Jin Ling, Senior Sister Yun Xiao, aren’t we being a little too hasty?

They’ve already paid with a disciple’s life. Are we really here to destroy their Ling Shan?”

The Jiejiao immortals frowned, unsure of this tactic.

The Western Teachings’ followers chimed in with agreement, saying, “Exactly, exactly.”

Senior Mother Jin Ling furrowed her brows but said, “Junior Sister, I know you’re kind-hearted and hate to see slaughter, but today, it’s the Western Teachings who tried to destroy us first.”

“Why do you say that?”

Gui Ling Sheng Mu said seriously, “Jiejiao is known for ‘ten thousand immortals coming to court,’ the largest among the saintly teachings in terms of disciples. We cultivate on immortal islands and have no direct conflicts with the Western Teachings.

Logically, they shouldn’t want to oppose us.

Maybe there’s more to this—we should investigate thoroughly before confronting them.”

“Junior Sister, you…”

Senior Mother Jin Ling’s eyes flashed with golden light, as if trying to see through Gui Ling Sheng Mu.

At that moment, Senior Sister Yun Xiao, who had figured out the scheme, spoke warmly, “They do have direct conflicts with us.”

“Please explain, Senior Sister,” Gui Ling Sheng Mu said, looking around Ling Shan. “I believe that anyone who becomes a saint must be of upright character, recognized by the Heavenly Dao.

As a saintly teaching, they must be guided by their saints—surely they can’t be that corrupt.”

On Xiao Qiong Peak, Master and Kong Xuan watched the scene in the bronze mirror, both baffled.

Kong Xuan wondered, “Has Jiejiao produced a traitor? And one of the top disciples at that? How could she switch sides like this?”

“Chang Sheng, what does this mean?” Master asked, full of confusion. “Why is Junior Sister Gui Ling defending them?”

Li Chang Sheng smiled. “Don’t worry, Senior Brother. Yun probably understands by now. I gave Yun some hints earlier, and this is just Gui Ling Senior Sister putting on a counterplay with her.”

“What’s the reasoning behind this?” Kong Xuan asked, puzzled.

Li Chang Sheng glanced at Ling E, who blinked and whispered, “Is it that move?”

“Which one?” Li Chang Sheng said with a hint of mischief. “Go on, explain.”

Ling E giggled. “I don’t know.”

Li Chang Sheng was about to explain when the dialogue in the bronze mirror continued.

Yun Xiao sighed softly, “Junior Sister, you’re still too naive.”

Senior Mother Jin Ling said coldly, “Never mind the recent centuries—just before the great calamity, the Western Teachings spread teachings in the mortal world that numb people’s minds, all for their own prosperity, hoping for better reincarnations.

And that’s not all—they built incense-based divine kingdoms, took in demonic beasts, forcibly converted people, and caused widespread death.

In their saints’ eyes, the whole world means nothing compared to their Western prosperity. What more could you expect from them?”

“How could saints stoop so low?”

Gui Ling Sheng Mu’s eyes showed reluctance and disbelief. “The saints of the Western Teachings should uphold reason and righteousness.”

“Don’t spout nonsense, Jin Ling Sheng Mu!”

An elder from Ling Shan roared, “Your lies will have consequences!

Gui Ling Xianzi is right—our teacher is of noble character and impeccable virtue!”

“Senior Sister,” Gui Ling Sheng Mu continued to persuade, “I think we should proceed cautiously today.

Since the Western Teachings have admitted their fault, acknowledging that the stone tablets were their doing to stir up conflict among the three Daoist teachings and make us fight Chan Jiao…

But it was just an idea—they hadn’t actually done it yet…”

“My foolish junior sister!”

Senior Mother Wu Dang said firmly, “Isn’t having the idea enough? They’ve already taken action, just short of spreading the tablets!

That’s a grave offense—they’ve made enemies for life!”

“Exactly!”

Lv Yue said loudly, “If I don’t settle this at Ling Shan today, my anger won’t subside!”

The Jiejiao immortals shouted in agreement,

“Junior Sister Gui Ling, you’re too soft-hearted! You’re being fooled by the Western Teachings’ facade!”

“The Western Teachings dare mention virtue? Disgraceful—aren’t you afraid of heavenly punishment?”

“Make the Western Teachings’ people swear a great oath and repeat what they said!”

“Trash Western Teachings! I’ll fight them to the end!”

In an instant, the Jiejiao immortals were fired up, on the verge of exploding!

The Western Teachings’ immortals were still catching up, wondering why a Jiejiao disciple speaking for them had only fueled the Jiejiao immortals’ rage.

They were already postured for a bloody battle but didn’t dare respond directly, given their mountain of misdeeds.

How had they suddenly become so disadvantaged?

“Ah—”

A sigh drifted in, the saint’s Dao rhythm turning into clear immortal light, suppressing the noisy waves from the Jiejiao immortals.

The saint of the Western Teachings had no choice but to appear.