Chapter 336 - 142: Cultivate the Mind Before the Dao, Soul-controlling Insect, Mass Grave

"Fellow Daoist Su, you want to save them?"

The Celestial Secret Sect Master stroked his beard, a cold glint appearing in his eyes.

"I wouldn’t mind if they died ten times over. Of course I’m not going to save them."

Su Bai shook his head.

His gaze swept across the void, calm and indifferent:

"It’s just..."

"They deserve to die. But some people..."

"...don’t deserve to live!"

Looking around, Su Bai’s gaze held a hint of coldness.

’These Cultivators filling the sky might have all been human once. But now, how many are still human, and how many are ghosts?’

’Natural selection, survival of the fittest—this is the cycle of the Celestial Dao, the loop of cause and effect.’

’Just like wolves eat sheep and sheep eat grass, there is no absolute right or wrong.’

’But when sheep eat sheep, it’s a different story.’

’It’s the same principle as humans eating humans.’

’To pursue Cultivation, one must first cultivate the mind.’

’Only with a steadfast mind and a mind of insight can one bear the weight of Cultivation.’

’Without a steadfast mind, with a muddled character, all one’s Cultivation becomes like a castle in the air, a flower in a mirror, a moon in the water—destined to collapse one day.’

’This is what is meant by a heart for the Dao.’

As someone who had lived two lives and viewed the memories of countless criminals, Su Bai had a particularly deep understanding of cultivating the mind.

Sometimes, even a powerful Cultivator of the Righteous Dao with a weak character could, in a single errant thought, become a source of darkness in the world.

This was the essence of becoming a Demon or a Buddha in a single thought.

The surrounding True Masters were all stunned to hear this, their hearts filled with silent astonishment.

’Could it be that someone present has offended this white-robed young man?’

Others felt a sense of unease, a faint premonition that something major was about to happen!

"Fellow Daoist Su, what do you mean?"

The Celestial Secret Sect Master’s gaze sharpened slightly, as if he had guessed something.

Su Bai remained silent. With a mere thought, the ground beneath his feet began to shake, and the earth roiled.

Then, a Magic Altar burst from the soil, rising from the ground and carrying his body with it as it soared ten thousand zhang high.

This Magic Altar, formed from earth and stone, was nearly identical to the original one.

He stood upon the Magic Altar. His aura, which had just settled, now surged like a rising sun, vast and mighty!

It seemed that after such a great battle, he showed no signs of injury or weakness.

This left all the True Masters inwardly shocked.

Although the expressions of the Celestial Secret Sect Master and the Rebirth Buddha Venerable did not change, each was secretly making their own calculations.

"Since you all came to attend the Incense and Candle Grand Assembly, there’s no need to be in a hurry to leave."

After speaking, Su Bai raised his right hand.

RUMBLE!

A series of tremendous roars was heard as the earth churned. Soil rolled like waves, as if countless earth dragons were violently turning over.

One by one, earthen Magic Altars rose from the ruins, appearing in their original positions and in their original styles.

The only difference was that they lacked the ancient runes and were no longer connected to one another.

For someone with Cultivation as profound as his, changing the landscape with a flick of a finger was a basic feat. However, setting up a formation within it would not be so easy.

Of course, he had no need to set up a formation.

Under the crowd’s shocked and uncertain gazes, Su Bai sat down cross-legged, placed his hands on his knees, and slowly said:

"Sit."

Though it was just a single, simple word, spoken in the tone of a host inviting a guest...

...under the weight of his powerful aura from having just killed the Leader of the Gui Chen Sect, none of the True Masters dared to be slow.

However, they couldn’t help but hesitate, and their eyes turned to the Celestial Secret Sect Master, whose Daoist Robe fluttered around his transcendent, immortal-like bearing.

The Celestial Secret Sect Master stroked his white beard with his right hand, his mind racing with thoughts. Yet, he gave a faint smile, stepped onto a Magic Altar, and also sat down cross-legged.

"Since Fellow Daoist Su is so inclined, this old Daoist will naturally keep you company."

"Amitabha Buddha."

The Rebirth Buddha Venerable placed his palms together. Ever so compliant, he stepped forward and sat down with a warm smile.

The Monks behind him hesitated for a moment before also slowly taking their seats.

Seeing that the two great masters at the Feathered Transformation Level had both sat down, the others naturally no longer hesitated and took their seats one after another.

Before long, the only ones who had yet to sit were the various Daoists of the Gui Chen Sect.

These Daoists looked at each other, wanting to retreat.

But under the gazes of three top-tier experts, they were caught in a dilemma.

Even Gong Yan and Jiuyu, the two Feathered True Masters, dared not flee without permission.

"How could we dare refuse an invitation from a senior!"

It was Xiao Yu who, clenching his teeth, stepped onto a Magic Altar.

Only then did the other Daoists, their faces grim, silently ascend the Magic Altars one by one.

The guest had usurped the role of the host.

But given the circumstances, they had no choice but to comply.

"Fellow Daoist, what is your intention?"

After the many True Masters were seated, the first to speak was, unexpectedly, the Rebirth Buddha Venerable.

"I heard that the convening of this Incense and Candle Grand Assembly was your idea, Great Master?"

Su Bai’s gaze shifted to the old Monk, who had achieved Great Success in his Cultivation Technique.

He had heard of the Wansheng Institute’s Great Sun Tathagata Scripture and knew a fair bit about this Cultivation Technique.

This Cultivation Technique was extremely firm and yang, quite domineering in nature.

Most of the Wansheng Institute’s Cultivation Techniques were like this.

Therefore, the Monks of the Wansheng Institute acted with the most force, and there was no shortage of them who would start a fight at the slightest disagreement.

But this Rebirth Buddha Venerable was an oddity among them.

In his youth, he too had been extremely rigid. If he saw a person or matter he disliked, he wouldn’t hesitate to unleash a Mighty Celestial Dragon and strike with a Tathagata Seal!

But ever since he also began cultivating the Prajna Venerable Buddha Scripture, his temperament had undergone a heaven-and-earth-shattering change.

If not for this, it would have been impossible for him and the Gui Chen Sect to coexist peacefully within Yu Province for thousands of years.