Stop it, Taoist, Your Fight almost Ruins the DAO!

"Taoist Priest, you say, why has it come to this?"

Gazing at the Monk who once was full of spirit and now reduced to this state, Yi Chen sighed deeply in his heart and took a large gulp of alcohol before saying,

"The Buddha's Disciple is not wrong, if you must say there is a mistake, it is only that the Buddha's Disciple lacks experience."

"Shen Hui, you are too idealistic in your thinking."

Yi Chen said each word deliberately while looking into Shen Hui's lifeless eyes.

If it were a matter of debating scriptures, ten Yi Chens would be no match for Shen Hui—who could only entangle and confuse with the tactics of an internet gentleman's six arts—but when it comes to practical matters, ten Shen Huis would not be enough to beat a single Yi Chen.

"If the Taoist Priest were in my shoes, I wonder how you would act? How could I save the root cause of all this?"

Faced with Yi Chen's response, a flicker of emotion finally surfaced in the dead stillness of Shen Hui's eyes.

He had been trapped in this episode of the past for far too long without finding a way out.

"Buddha's Disciple, I am not as noble and upright as you, Master. I shall speak my thoughts, and you listen if you will."

"My wisdom is insufficient to fulfill the Master's former aspirations of rescuing the Tenant Farmers and that girl named Chun Ya, but if you let me handle it, I might have a strategy that could work."

"Shen Hui, do you know why you couldn't bring Chun Ya back or save those Tenant Farmers? Because you are naive!"

"Naive?" Shen Hui looked up in astonishment.

"Yes, naive."

"You are neither as ruthless nor as cunning as I am, and you cannot get things done just by chanting sutras."

"Since we are idle tonight, why don't I tell the Buddha's Disciple a story?"

With a slap on the Spirit Beast Bag, Miao Zi immediately sensed the refined taste and appeared, bustling about, and soon a campfire rose beside the two.

After doing all this, it went straight to catch some game nearby, then to the water to grab more than a dozen plump fish and began gutting them not far away.

Under the starlight, Yi Chen concisely recounted the story of "The Journey to the West Sequel" to Shen Hui.

"Master, have you comprehended? Where did Wutian make his greatest mistake?"

"Taoist Priest, forgive this ignorant monk," Yi Chen took out a bamboo skewer, strung up the fish that Miao Zi had prepared, and began to roast them while elucidating.

He scoffed, "Wutian's biggest mistake was disrupting the order by crossing class barriers—he was an Upper Realm celestial being. Descending to the Lower Realm, he stood in the position of a mortal, sympathizing with their plight and revolting against the injustice of the Upper Realm. It would be odd if the celestial realm didn't spurn him."

"In a way, Buddha's Disciple, you are lucky. You have extraordinary intelligence, and no Sect could produce a second Buddha's Disciple like you from Mount Daguangming—otherwise, your fate would be far worse than this."

"The Buddha Ancestor is different; he liked the mortals of the Lower Realm, so he bestowed upon them the title of Bodhisattva Holy Mother. This way, they were rightfully by his side, and no one else would object."

"So, Buddha's Disciple—you could have brought that girl named Chun Ya into our circle, but you actually tried to stand up for Chun Ya, overthrow the vested interest groups of Mount Daguangming, and meddle in other Sects' affairs. This approach is virtually handing over the leadership of the Buddhist Sect on a silver platter."

"You are seeking your own doom. If this could succeed, then I'll be damned."

"If it were me, this old Taoist would, as a Buddha's Disciple, first promise and attract a bunch of elders, recommending that girl named Chun Ya to a Nunnery Monastery or other subordinate cultivation sects."

"With the status of Buddha's Disciple, you could help her embark on the Cultivation path by any means necessary, given Mount Daguangming has no second Buddha's Disciple—you, Master, hold a singular and valuable position."

"Afterward, this Taoist Priest would stop at nothing to seize resources, enhance Cultivation, gain greater power, and capture more resources."

"When my wings are sufficiently developed, in the name of exchange, I would bring Chun Ya to Mount Daguangming, assign her any position—who would dare object then?"

"By that time, you might be able to slightly ease the stranglehold on those Tenant Farmers' necks. Of course, not to excess; if previously they gave eight parts, then now four parts might suffice to reach a new equilibrium."

"Of course, throughout this process, forming cliques, personal plotting, empty flattery, and backstabbing are inevitable."

Amidst Shen Hui's shocked expression, Yi Chen proudly recounted dozens of unorthodox schemes he had come up with effortlessly.

Shen Hui had thought Yi Chen to be scheming, but he never imagined Yi Chen could be this treacherous.

It was like a lump of coal—so black it shone!

While the methods were malicious, the feasibility was exceptionally high.

"Taoist Priest…"

"Ah... I have lost my composure. Actually, Buddha's Disciple, to tell the truth, I am not usually like this," Yi Chen said with an embarrassed smile, realizing he had overshown his Astonishing Wisdom.

After his True Technique Breakthrough, he had become a bit too flighty and careless, even daring to blurt out the whole truth.

To sum up Yi Chen's plan, it was actually quite simple.

In a nutshell, either you are greatly wise, able to "win hearts as Zhou Gong fed those hungry," becoming a peerless, balanced Master, or you do as Yi Chengzi did, "united as brothers, their sharpness can cut through metal," taking the interests of one side to enrich your own people while giving a little to those below.

For example, in the Demon Realm, the Fair Demon Emperor very much put this into practice, shearing the old Demonkin nobility nearly to the quick to raise a high echelon in the Demon Righteous Church who are firmly on his side along with the Holy Venerable Jia Loulan. Otherwise, without tangible benefits, he would just be a busy mole whacker and couldn't enjoy such lavish leisure days.