Chapter 702 - 703: Waiting for Change Through Delay… No Good!

Chapter 702: Chapter 703: Waiting for Change Through Delay... No Good!

Peak of One Big Happy Family.

Moonlight shimmered brilliantly, lanterns glowed dazzlingly.

Inside and outside the sect gathered together for the sect-wide assembly.

Cui Hao raised his cup to the moon, talking at length about the hardships and dangers during his missions. Exactly how much was fabricated and how much was real—probably only Cui Hao and Chen Baiqing knew.

Given that Cui Hao told his stories vividly, San Dong listened with great enthusiasm.

Seeing there was an audience, Chen Baiqing naturally wouldn’t expose the authenticity of Cui Hao’s stories.

Or rather, even if there was nothing real, Chen Baiqing wouldn’t expose it.

Bai Xuanling, holding a wine flask in her hand, walked to Chu Xingchen’s side with a smile on her lips:

"Yingling’s aptitude is outstanding. Reaching Spirit Transformation at her age—even at my age, I couldn’t compare."

Chu Xingchen raised his eyebrows slightly:

"Naturally. Just look at who her master is."

Bai Xuanling smiled lightly at this:

"You really know how to flatter yourself."

Chu Xingchen nodded gently and didn’t continue the topic, instead turning to ask:

"Sister Bai, before you were entangled by heart demon killing intent, so you needed to go into seclusion to suppress it. Now that the heart demon is resolved and you’re free in body and mind, I thought you’d travel around. Why do you still stay on Zhuji Peak all the time and not go out for a stroll?"

Bai Xuanling smiled lightly:

"A hundred years ago, I already finished seeing all the places I wanted to see. The people I really wanted to kill wouldn’t have survived until now anyway."

"Besides a bunch of people flattering me and making me nauseous, what fun is there in going out?"

"Being free now is the best change. At least my body and mind are much more relaxed. Good moods are better not ruined by blind fools."

Chu Xingchen nodded gently:

"Makes sense... living lazily is the greatest blessing."

Bai Xuanling’s gaze shifted, watching Xie Lingyu who was also participating in the games. In her heart, she couldn’t help but sigh.

Her precious Lingyu had also been influenced by Chu Xingchen, no longer carrying that overly cold expression from before.

While sighing in her heart, she also spoke:

"Your lazy good days are almost over too. Two big events—do you know about both of them?"

Chu Xingchen’s tone suddenly rose somewhat, his words no longer casual:

"Naturally I know. The five continents and ten thousand directions are all on my shoulders."

"Are there things I can not know, dare to not know?"

Bai Xuanling looked at Chu Xingchen strangely, not knowing what he was up to again. Her tone carried slight wariness:

"Are you okay?"

"Of course I’m not okay." Chu Xingchen’s tone became more dejected. "I’ll have to be running through wind and rain again."

Bai Xuanling asked, somewhat puzzled:

"It shouldn’t require you to run through wind and rain, right? You’re nominally overseeing both matters—just finalizing the details should be enough?"

Chu Xingchen shrugged helplessly and didn’t continue answering.

The two matters Bai Xuanling referred to.

The first was that the Buddhist sect had now reached a critical point. Runan demanded a final discussion regarding the Radiant Buddha matter, and secondly, the matter of demons emerging from the Buddhist sect required a first negotiation with Chu Xingchen.

Specific terms could be negotiated. The Buddhist sect’s most important condition was—Chu Xingchen’s promise that the current Buddhist sect could be trusted, that it hadn’t fallen into demon hands, and that this incident was merely an accident.

The Buddhist sect had always been renowned throughout the world by its name, with countless temples established everywhere.

Reputation was especially important to the Buddhist sect.

At least especially important to the grassroots Buddhist sect.

The great tribulation had calmed, but the anger and unwillingness in inherited memories would not calm because of it.

It wasn’t only cultivators who had memories—mortals who inherited those memories also harbored anger.

The Buddhist sect had continuously wanted to negotiate with Chu Xingchen on this matter, but Chu Xingchen had always refused, citing unhealed injuries—even though before that he had specially invited Zheng Zhaoling to Tianyan Sect.

But if Chu Xingchen said he wasn’t well, no one could really say much about it.

Runan had also initially planned to wait for change through delay—not making a final decision was also a strategy.

Naturally, Runan’s strategy was effective. Waiting for change through delay did bring results.

But the results were probably not what Runan had hoped for.

Based on information speculation, the strategy of waiting for change through delay had completely pushed the Buddhist sect in another direction.

The Karma Buddhas were already somewhat dissatisfied with the current Buddhist sect. Now, using this matter, they naturally pressured Runan—how many traitors are in the Buddhist sect and you don’t even know? Do you know how many people outside are watching us?

The Secular Buddhas never had high awareness regarding the Buddhist sect to begin with. Facing the Karma Buddhas’ challenge, they also simply thought—these damn monks are going to start killing people!

Runan’s balancing act, above absolute dissatisfaction and life-and-death killing intent, had completely lost its effect.

Even if Runan could suppress both sides’ dissatisfaction on the surface, the hostility wouldn’t dissipate. It would become an undercurrent beneath calm waters.

Naturally, there was a reason that made Runan completely unable to hold on.

A Karma Buddha directly abandoned the Buddhist sect and defected to Radiant Buddha.

This matter was as earth-shattering as the splitting of heaven and earth for the Buddhist sect.

It also showed the Buddhist sect’s few remaining Karma Buddhas a new path—how can we revitalize this Buddhist sect by following Runan, who only knows how to protect bugs?!

Just kick both the Secular Buddhas and Runan out, and go find Radiant Buddha of the Mahayana Buddhist Teachings!

From then on, Runan had no more methods to deal with Karma Buddhas who had choices.

After all, where there’s one, there’ll be two.

It’s not like he could lock up all the Karma Buddhas, right?

That would be no different from suicide.

The Buddhist sect had finally reached a state of near-collapse.

For Runan, the Buddhist sect’s internal situation was now a dead end. The rivalry between Karma Buddhas and Secular Buddhas was no longer something he could easily quell.

Only by bringing in external forces—and the only person with confirmed reliability was naturally Chu Xingchen.

First, settle the Radiant Buddha matter. Even if he can’t be killed, at least he can’t be allowed to accept more Karma Buddhas, causing the Buddhist sect’s power to completely collapse.

Second, restore the world’s former correct view of the Buddhist sect.

At least let the points Karma Buddhas argue about dissipate somewhat, and then there’ll be more room for maneuver.

Regardless of whether these plans were effective, they were things the Buddhist sect needed to do first.

After all, if they didn’t act, the Buddhist sect would truly look like it was falling apart.

Runan couldn’t really expect a bunch of Secular Buddhas who couldn’t even recite the Buddhist heart sutras completely to hold up this Buddhist sect.

The core of the Buddhist sect remained those Karma Buddhas the Buddhist sect had cultivated since childhood.

If the Karma Buddhas were lost, then the current Buddhist sect would truly be just a sect wearing the Buddhist sect’s name.

In the future, when people recognized the Buddhist sect, it would only be Radiant Buddha.

The real Buddhist sect would become a fake Buddhist sect.

When Chu Xingchen saw these messages, he also sighed in his heart—the Little Thunder Temple... had finally become the Great Thunder Temple.

Chu Xingchen naturally had to handle this matter.

The Buddhist sect’s Secular Buddhas were quite numerous now. At least at this stage, the Buddhist sect couldn’t be allowed to completely fall into chaos.

After all, you couldn’t expect the Celestial Demons not to seize this opportunity, right?

Runan also had a bit of a broken-jar-smashing attitude, wanting Chu Xingchen to solve it.

So even if he was unwilling.

Chu Xingchen had to personally step forward and negotiate to resolve this matter.

He couldn’t help but sigh lightly:

"A life of toil."

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