Chapter 249 Nine Heavens Immortal Venerable
Among the third-generation disciples of the Xuanmen, those who behaved improperly and violated the Xuanmen's precepts were undoubtedly the disciples of the Jiejiao sect.
In other words, if Xuanqing were to take on this task, the first to fall at his hands would most likely be his fellow disciples.
Saints, with their profound understanding and alignment with the Heavenly Dao, might not care too much about disciples burdened by karma; death is death.
But Xuanqing was not of saintly caliber; he couldn't bring himself to harm his fellow disciples. Moreover, even if he hardened his heart and dealt with a few of his disciples, what would others think?
Wouldn't that be tantamount to cutting himself off from the Jiejiao sect?
Furthermore, Xuanmen disciples weren't just those of the three sects. They included the successors of the Western Sect and the three thousand mortals of Zixiao Palace—all considered Xuanmen successors.
If Xuanqing were to harm their disciples, what would become of him!
Because of Xuanqing's status, those powerful beings might say something openly, even praising him and thanking him for cleaning up their ranks.
But what they might secretly plot against him remains unknown. "
My disciples have made mistakes, and I'll discipline them myself. Why should an outsider like you interfere and teach them a lesson?" What kind of logic is that? It's
one's own child; one can discipline them however one pleases behind closed doors. But outsiders can't interfere. That's how domineering the powerful beings of the prehistoric world are.
Supervising the disciples of the Xuanmen sect is a job with few benefits but with a multitude of drawbacks.
The better one does it, the more people one offends; the worse one does it, the more displeased the Three Pure Ones will be.
No matter what one does, it's impossible to do it well, impossible to satisfy everyone, and inevitably one will offend people—truly a very difficult job in the prehistoric world.
"Grand Master, Xuanqing has only cultivated for a few hundred thousand years, his qualifications are still shallow."
"Within the Xuanmen, I have not yet established any merits, how can I be worthy of such a heavy responsibility? It would be unacceptable to the crowd. I hope the Grand Master will consider this carefully and choose another capable person. There are many powerful immortals in the Xuanmen, among whom there are quite a few whose cultivation, character, and achievements far surpass Xuanqing's."
"Among them, there must be someone who can meet Grand Master's conditions and shoulder this heavy responsibility."
Xuanqing bowed to the Taiqing Saint and declined, citing his lack of qualifications.
His goal was to return to the Three Immortal Islands and become the ancestor of the scattered immortals, living a carefree life.
Sitting in that position, not to mention offending people, just dealing with the karma entangled within him every day would consume an unknown amount of time, completely losing the original meaning of the carefree immortal path.
Xuanqing was not stupid; his future was bright, how could he possibly covet such a position entangled in karma?
Karma is the biggest obstacle to cultivation.
Xuanqing's words were reasonable and convincing. But what kind of person is the Supreme Sage? With a mere thought, he can perceive the past and the future.
Xuanqing's little schemes couldn't escape His notice. He chuckled and said,
"You're quite cunning, but this position is undoubtedly yours."
Without giving Xuanqing a chance to reply, He continued,
"There are only four direct disciples of the Xuanmen." "
This humble Daoist, your master, your senior uncle, and your aunt Nuwa."
"The rest, such as Jieyin, Zhunti, Dijun, Zhenyuanzi, and the Styx, are all outsiders of the Xuanmen."
"What qualifications do they and their disciples have to shoulder this heavy responsibility? Doesn't this mean that our Xuanmen has no direct disciples?"
"Therefore, the person supervising the Xuanmen disciples must be a direct disciple of our Xuanmen."
"But your aunt Nuwa has neither established a sect nor accepted any disciples. Her only disciple is the patriarch of the human race, unsuitable to interfere in Xuanmen affairs."
"After considering all, you are the most suitable. You are a direct disciple of the Xuanmen, the first disciple of three generations, and your cultivation has reached the Great Luo Golden Immortal level."
"You are simply the chosen one."
Although the Three Pure Ones have many disciples, only Xuanqing truly understands the hearts of all three, and only He has attained the Great Luo Golden Immortal realm.
Therefore, who else should be chosen?
"Yes, Xuanqing will obey Master Uncle's decree!"
Having been told this far, Xuanqing had no choice but to accept the order.
"Very good!"
"You were born from innate pure energy, the most noble and pure, a born Dao Venerable of the Immortal Path."
"Today, I hereby bestow upon you the title of Immortal Venerable of the Xuanmen, wielding the Immortal-Binding Rope to oversee all disciples of the Xuanmen. Any disciple found violating the Xuanmen's precepts may be dealt with at your discretion."
"You must be fair and impartial, and not abuse your power arbitrarily, causing unnecessary trouble."
The Great Pure Saint is Hongjun's direct disciple, the first disciple of the Xuanmen, and the future master of the Xuanmen. In this era when Hongjun Daoist has retreated from the world, He is the nominal head of the Xuanmen.
Therefore, bestowing the title of Immortal Venerable is nothing to Him.
As the words of the Sage Taiqing faded, the mysterious fortune of the Xuanmen (Mysterious Gate) responded, sending down a wisp of purple energy that transformed into a Heavenly and Earthly Decree, which entered Xuanqing's body.
"Nine Heavens Immortal Venerable!"
This was the name of that Heavenly and Earthly Decree, bestowed upon Xuanqing by the fortune of the Xuanmen. From this day forward, he would be the Nine Heavens Immortal Venerable of the Xuanmen.
The Nine Heavens was named for its shared origin with the Heavenly Realm.
An Immortal Venerable was a supreme being of the Immortal Path, a Great Luo Dao Venerable.
This was a Heavenly and Earthly Decree condensed from the fortune of the Xuanmen. And the Xuanmen was the greatest power in the primordial world; its fortune was so profound that even the combined strength of the Wu and Yao races might not be able to match it.
After all, nominally, the Heavenly Court also belonged to the Xuanmen.
Therefore, the moment the Immortal Venerable's Decree was bestowed upon him, the Nine Heavens Immortal Seal on Xuanqing's body suddenly blazed with brilliant azure light, and his aura surged even higher.
However, the Nine Heavens Immortal Seal, aided by the Xuanmen's fortune, broke through the limitations of a high-grade innate spiritual treasure in one fell swoop, advancing to a top-grade innate spiritual treasure. This change in the Xuanmen's fortune immediately attracted the attention of powerful cultivators.
"Monitoring Xuanmen disciples?"
"Not a bad idea."
"However, I have no disciples, so this matter is irrelevant to me. It's those fellow cultivators with many disciples who are truly in trouble."
Inside the Nuwa Palace, Nuwa simply smiled and stopped paying attention to the matter. Ultimately, this matter wouldn't affect her.
"A Great Luo Golden Immortal!"
"I didn't expect that the disciples of the Three Pure Ones had already attained the Great Luo Golden Immortal realm."
"While our disciples, the strongest among them, are only at the late Taiyi stage, not even touching the threshold of the Great Luo Golden Immortal."
"The East is truly a land of outstanding people and abundant resources, truly enviable..."
On Mount Sumeru, the two saints, Jieyin and Zhunti, focused their attention on Xuanqing's cultivation, saying with some envy.
The West, compared to the East, was far too barren. The number of innate gods and demons born from them, besides the two of them, was less than two hands' breadth.
It was truly heartbreaking!
As for monitoring the disciples of the Xuanmen, the two saints didn't care.
The Western Sect placed the utmost importance on the cultivation of the mind, requiring the continuous accumulation of merit to ensure the mind was not invaded by external demons. Therefore, the current successors of the Western Sect were all people of profound merit.
They would never violate the Xuanmen precepts.
(End of Chapter)