Half a day ago.

The Buddhist School, Tiantai Sect.

In the Tiantai Sect's Scripture Repository, an old monk who often lamented that none of his lineage's disciples could comprehend their teachings, pressed his palms together. Hesitantly, he asked a monk who had his back turned to him:

"Venerable Master, won't acting in this way invite the animosity of the Daoist School and Shenzhou?"

"This disciple believes it is unwise."

The monk, eyes closed, tapped a wooden fish. His left hand held a string of prayer beads. He said calmly:

"Do not transmit Buddhist teachings, only the methods of breathing exercises."

"Announce to the world that although the Buddhist School cannot manifest in the world through supernatural powers, there are exceptions."

"Seeing this great world, with demons rampant, we are willing to show compassion, proactively break our vows, and widely impart cultivation methods."

"This is to prevent the people of Shenzhou from being harmed by demons and ghosts. This too is great compassion."

"As for Shenzhou and the Daoist School, there is no need to worry."

"Why is that?"

The tapping of the wooden fish stopped. The monk opened his eyes. They were clear, with a vermilion mark between his brows. With his red lips and white teeth, he looked like a boy of only seventeen or eighteen years old. He smiled and said:

"Precisely because…"

"This place is Shenzhou."

………………

Above Dragon Tiger Mountain, Zhang Ruosu and Wei Yuan's expressions darkened upon learning of the Buddhist School's actions. They had previously agreed with the Buddhist School, and the Buddhist School had indeed handed over their Foundation Establishment methods for reference. However, the old Daoist had never expected the Buddhist School to betray their allies at such a crucial moment.

Shenzhou had already been laying the groundwork in terms of public opinion for popularizing the Qi Nurturing Art.

Now it seemed that the effects had been almost entirely stolen by the Buddhist School.

Wei Yuan sat on a wooden chair with a backrest on one side.

For some reason, he thought of the past, of the sickly Daoist leading a child to escape during the Three Kingdoms period.

Of the bearded man who stood before the chaotic troops of Xu Province.

He too had been backstabbed by an ally, leading to such an end.

At this moment, the Daoists who had come to Dragon Tiger Mountain were already in an uproar. Some, with tempers like fire, were already grabbing their long swords and pulling out talismans, ready to fight the Buddhist School to the death. This middle-aged Daoist had a high level of cultivation, and several old Daoists were unable to restrain him for a time.

Zhang Ruosu saw this Daoist rushing out when he entered.

The old man stood at the door, his eyes drooping.

As the middle-aged Daoist passed him, he raised his hand and pressed it on the Daoist's shoulder.

The Daoist's movements stopped abruptly.

A surge of energy suddenly erupted.

The middle-aged Daoist, his face flushed red, could not take another step forward.

The old man asked calmly, "Where are you going?"

The Daoist gritted his teeth and said:

"Of course, to make things clear with the Buddhist School, to chop down the Buddha statues, and smash their temples!"

Zhang Ruosu's eyes narrowed slightly, and he sighed, "Absurd."

Without any visible movement, the middle-aged Daoist suddenly staggered backward, forced to use all his strength to resist. He stumbled several steps back before dispelling the force. Relieved, his legs happened to bump into something, and he subconsciously sat down, only to realize that he had returned to his original position.

Zhang Ruosu stood at the door, slowly retracting his palm, his expression calm but with a sense of oppression.

There was no doubt about the old Heavenly Master's profound and exquisite Daoism, having lived through two cycles of sixty years.

The middle-aged Daoist deflated and dropped the Fiery Demon-Slaying Sword in his hand with a clang, dejectedly saying:

"This isn't allowed, that isn't allowed."

"Old Heavenly Master, what are we supposed to do?!"

Zhang Ruosu strode in. The many Daoists who had been arguing slowly quieted down, watching the old Heavenly Master. Zhang Ruosu bent down, picked up the Fiery Demon-Slaying Sword, tapped it lightly with his finger, and the sound of the sword rang out, as clear as a dragon's roar. He said:

"Yes, you can go and kill your way up to the Tiantai Sect, and then what?"

"How fast is the spread of information today? How many eyes are on the Buddhist School right now? In this era, if you kill your way up to the Buddhist School today, tomorrow's headlines will be, 'The Buddhist School widely imparts cultivation methods, the Daoist School is resentful and goes up the mountain to kill people.' There might even be reports of civilians being injured. Do you want to ruin the reputation of our Daoist School in this generation?"

The middle-aged Daoist was stunned, and stammered, "This disciple, this disciple wouldn't dare. I'm only going to slay the Buddha."

"I won't take lives."

Zhang Ruosu shook his head and said:

"You say you want to slay the Buddha, what if those monks block your path? Will you slay them or not?"

"Even if you don't care about your reputation, you kill one monk, and there will be a second monk."

"The Daoist School's reputation will be ruined, and although the Buddhist School will have lost a few monks, their prestige will only grow higher."

"The methods will be spread even faster."

"Besides, if the Daoist School collapses, how will we promote and popularize the Qi Nurturing Art that we have painstakingly perfected? If this matter falls short, that will be a truly great sin, far more important than questioning the Buddhist School."

The middle-aged Daoist said indignantly, "So we can only swallow our anger?"

Zhang Ruosu said calmly, "How is that possible?"

He tapped the Fiery Demon-Slaying Sword.

A chilling sword aura filled the entire inner hall.

"If I, this old Daoist, do not give that big Buddha a sword to the head, my mind will never be at peace."

His words were understated, but the last few words sent a chill down the spines of the Daoists present, their hair standing on end. They could not help but think of the swordsmen who existed almost only in legends, who, if their minds were not at peace, would use their three-foot green blade to achieve it.

Zhang Ruosu's eyes swept over everyone, and he said slowly:

"However, there are priorities."

"The Daoist School's prestige is a small matter; the lives of the people are paramount."

"What we need to do now is to stop the specialization of cultivation caused by the Buddhist School's actions. Remember, we do not care about empty fame. What we need is to truly popularize cultivation, not to establish new factions, and not to rush up the mountain out of anger, granting others authority."

"This old Daoist has already spoken to the disciples down the mountain about this matter, and they have already begun to influence and suppress the Buddhist School's actions in terms of public opinion."

"To suppress the impact of the Buddhist School's actions as much as possible."

"And then the Shenzhou government will begin to popularize cultivation."

"After everything is over, this old Daoist will personally go up the mountain and reason with the Buddhist School!"

………………

The emotions of the many Daoists were finally suppressed by Zhang Ruosu for the time being, and they gradually left, returning to the task of promoting the Qi Nurturing Art. A look of exhaustion appeared on Zhang Ruosu's face. Seeing that Wei Yuan was still there, he shook his head, sat down on his chair, picked up a teacup and took a sip, only to realize it was tea. He was stunned for a moment, then put down the teacup and sighed self-deprecatingly:

"What a pity."

"If it were still a hundred years ago, this old Daoist would have killed his way up there with a sword long ago."

"But now is no longer a time for jianghu and killing. Slaying demons and monsters is still acceptable, but killing people is not. And no matter what, the Buddhist School has a broad foundation in Shenzhou, and many people believe in Buddhism. The impact would be too terrible. Besides, if we rush up there to slay Buddha statues and kill people, that's… that's against the law."

Wei Yuan said, "Pushing down Buddha statues in front of everyone is useless. Slaying Buddha in front of everyone will only backfire."

"This is a very insidious move."

Zhang Ruosu said:

"Yes, the Shenzhou Daoist School, the Heavenly Master's Mansion, knowingly breaks the law. The Buddhist School would be even happier if we went up the mountain."

"Moreover, the Buddhist School is teaching cultivation methods, and effective ones at that. Everyone wants to cultivate now, and forcibly stopping them will only be met with a storm of public opinion."

Wei Yuan pondered for a moment and said, "What if… a god went up the mountain to slay the Buddha?"

He thought of Wu Zhiqi, and of Guan Yunchang in the Wuhou Temple.

But Guan Yunchang had not yet awakened, which was the most regrettable thing.

Zhang Ruosu frowned and thought:

"It still comes back to the same question. If monks protect the Buddha with their bodies, will you slay them or not?"

"Some of them are not afraid of death."

"Shenzhou especially values human life. In this situation, public opinion is on the side of the Buddhist School. Once we make a move, we will be giving them ammunition. Besides, the Buddhist School's Mahayana Seven Sects are gathered together. Sects that have been around for so long cannot be without real means. Ordinary incense gods, because they have been asleep for too long, have weakened in strength, and may even be captured by the Buddhist School."

"We cannot rule out this possibility."

"All grievances can be put aside for now. What we need to do is suppress the Buddhist School's public opinion and popularize cultivation methods. As for venting our anger, a monk can run away, but the temple can't…"

Zhang Ruosu took out his phone and flipped through it, seeing nothing but praise online.

It seemed that because there were benefits, their enthusiasm was extremely high.

In this day and age of internet, the spread of cultivation methods was frightening.

What's more, there was the groundwork that Shenzhou had laid for the popularization of cultivation methods.

Zhang Ruosu shook his head and said, "Alright, Wei Yuan, your two previous actions, the first changing the course of the Huai River, and the second fighting with the Mountain Lord in Jiangnan Province, both caused quite a stir. Originally, they were meant to pave the way for the popularization of the Qi Nurturing Art, but now they have been used by the Buddhist School instead. The online buzz is very high right now."

"The hottest posts say that the one who controlled the wind in Jiangnan Province was a Buddhist protector, and that the one who changed the course of the Huai River was the Victorious Fighting Buddha."

"Heh… this rhetoric, this tactic, is truly characteristic of the Buddhist School."

"Stealing other people's things, and controlling public opinion, reversing black and white."

"In any case, all the benefits belong to the Buddhist School."

Wei Yuan lowered his eyes, tapping the table lightly with his fingers.

The old Daoist pointed to his phone and said:

"You see that, right?"

"Our real problem is not the Buddhist School and the temples, but this public opinion and its spread."

He sighed, "It is easy to slay the Buddha in the world, but difficult to slay the Buddha in the heart."

"If we cannot resolve this soon, and everyone cultivates Buddhist methods, and is forced to recite Buddhist scriptures as a result, it will be too late."

"Compared to that, what are a few mud and gold statues?"

Wei Yuan's expression tightened slightly, and he said slowly, "Use public opinion and information dissemination."

"I originally thought they were very stupid, very short-sighted, but now it seems that they are not stupid at all."

The old Daoist mocked himself, "Not only are they not stupid, but they are also very cunning and shrewd."

"It's just that such clever people disregard the interests of the world and Shenzhou, and are willing to sacrifice Shenzhou and its people to strengthen themselves."

"They don't have the slightest resemblance to monks. This tactic is more efficient than the world's most cunning merchants."

"I have always felt that there are good and bad people everywhere, but I have always felt that the Buddhist School is a bit strange. There are good monks inside, and quite a few of them, but the overall environment makes people feel confused."

"After the Sixth Patriarch Huineng received the mantle, he had to flee overnight to prevent being chased and killed by his fellow disciples. He only stopped decades later. The Tang Dynasty's Xuanzang, a human awakener, suppressed the Buddhist Nalanda Monastery single-handedly and was respected everywhere, but the orthodox Dharma he passed down was cut off after only two generations. The monks of Sakura Island had so much power during the Warring States period that they swayed the battles. Why do you think that is?"

"Forget it, what's the point of saying these idle words?"

"Wei Yuan, do you have any ideas?"

Wei Yuan nodded and was about to speak.

Suddenly, the phone rang. It was Zhang Ruosu's. He answered the phone, and Wei Yuan heard a familiar voice, slightly hurried. After listening for a moment, the old Daoist's aura became sharp, like a sword unsheathed. Wei Yuan's eyes darkened slightly, and he took out his own phone, opened the news, and saw the following words.

"Buddhist Master Ku Rong descends the mountain, walking slowly."

"One li per step, going to pay his respects to Dragon Tiger Mountain." (One li is approximately 0.5 kilometers)

"Demons and monsters are rampant in the world. He is willing to kneel for a long time at the foot of Dragon Tiger Mountain, begging Heavenly Master Zhang to widely open the gates of Dharma to save all living beings!"

The atmosphere inside the entire inner hall instantly became oppressive.

ps: Today's first update… 3400 words.

Rest assured, the plot should develop smoothly…