PCJ – Chapter 606 The Great Wave Washes Away the Sand

Zhang Jiaohua stepped into the secret realm, and Wei Chenguang hurried over.

“Sect Master, you’re finally here,” Wei Chenguang said with a sigh of relief.

“What’s wrong? Did something happen in the secret realm?” Zhang Jiaohua asked, seeing Wei Chenguang’s expression and thinking there was trouble.

“It’s the spirit spring. It’s about to dry up. Now the people inside the secret realm are uneasy. If the spring dries up, many of them might leave,” Wei Chenguang explained.

“Those who can’t be kept, just let them go. Such people are of no use to Meishan Sect anyway. If we want to grow the sect, we ultimately have to rely on our own people. Talented individuals are hard to come by—keep an eye out for them. We don’t expect to catch up with the three holy lands overnight. Our development should be gradual. Quality over quantity,” Zhang Jiaohua said calmly.

Wei Chenguang nodded. “I think the same. While these people still don’t know the foundation of Meishan Sect, let’s use this chance to let the big waves wash away the sand—weed out those with bad intentions. Otherwise, the Xiyun Secret Realm will eventually become a mess.”

“Here’s what you do—leak word that the spiritual energy in Xiyun Secret Realm is about to dry up and that the Meishan Sect will soon disband. Let’s see how people react. Anyone who wants to leave—let them go,” Zhang Jiaohua said.

“That will probably cause a lot of people to leave,” Wei Chenguang said, a little worried.

Zhang Jiaohua smiled. “Those who are half-hearted would only bring chaos to the Xiyun Secret Realm. Better to let them go. Meishan Sect isn’t a charity house. If they want benefits without any loyalty, how can that be acceptable?”

Zhang Jiaohua let out a cold snort.

Wei Chenguang quickly nodded. “I’ll take care of it immediately.”

“Wait. There’s one more thing,” Zhang Jiaohua said, and told him about the newly discovered small secret realm at Meishan, though he didn’t mention the hot spring valley.

He continued, “Once this is settled, you’ll take people there. Let Leopard guide you. From now on, you’ll be in charge of things here. I want to do some work at the school.”

Wei Chenguang was confused. As a cultivator, what could Zhang Jiaohua possibly do in a mundane school? He felt it would just be a waste of time, but knowing Zhang Jiaohua, he didn’t voice his doubts.

Soon, a rumor spread throughout the secret realm: during the attack on Xiyun Secret Realm, the Xiyun Sect had depleted the spirit spring by activating their mountain-protecting formation. The remaining spring would soon dry up, and the Meishan Sect would be disbanded.

Kong Fangzhou was busy in the artifact refinery, preparing to forge some small tools. The setup had just been completed, and he wanted to get the workshop running soon.

“Kong, you’re still working on this? If you ask me, you should stop wasting your effort,” said Xia Peng, a rogue cultivator who had a decent relationship with Kong Fangzhou.

Kong Fangzhou smiled, “Brother Xia, what kind of talk is that? The Sect Master trusts me and appointed me head of the Refining Hall—I need to show some results.”

Xia Peng shook his head. “Looks like you haven’t heard the news.”

“What news?” Kong Fangzhou asked.

“They’re saying the spirit spring here is drying up and Meishan Sect is about to fall apart. All your hard work might be wasted,” Xia Peng said.

Kong Fangzhou’s face grew serious. “Where did you hear this?”

“Where else? The entire secret realm is buzzing about it, and no one from Meishan is denying it. Isn’t that suspicious? I’ve decided to leave and go back to the mundane world and be a rich man. You should consider your options too,” Xia Peng said.

Kong Fangzhou shook his head. “I’d advise you not to act too hastily.”

“Why not?” Xia Peng asked, puzzled.

“If the spring was really drying up, Meishan Sect should’ve known from the start. Why leak it only now? If the spring’s truly in danger, why form the sect in the first place? Wouldn’t it last longer if they didn’t?” Kong Fangzhou reasoned.

Xia Peng frowned. “But if that’s true, why isn’t Meishan denying the rumors?”

“Don’t you think the people here are too mixed? If this continues, there will be trouble. If it were me, I’d rather have fewer but loyal members than this unruly crowd. If you truly want to stay with Meishan, just stay. If the worst happens, you’ve lost nothing, right?” Kong saw the situation clearly.

“You’re sharp, Brother Kong. I’ll follow your advice and stay. I only thought of leaving because things felt so chaotic. But now, staying doesn’t seem so bad,” Xia Peng said with a smile.

But most people didn’t feel the same. When word spread about the drying spring, many immediately revealed their true colors.

“If the spring’s drying up, why bring us here? What a waste of time!”

“Yeah, Meishan Sect owes us an explanation. They tricked us into this!”

Some began smashing facilities, led by unknown instigators.

At that moment, Zhang Jiaohua and Wei Chenguang arrived. Zhang Jiaohua unleashed his full aura, instantly silencing the troublemakers.

“Stop! Have you forgotten what happened to the Xiyun Sect?” he roared.

The crowd was stunned, though a few remained bold.

“You invited us here without telling us the spring was nearly dry. That’s deception!” someone shouted.

“What’s your name?” Zhang Jiaohua asked.

“Ruan Linzhi,” the man replied.

“Ruan Linzhi, have you contributed anything to the secret realm? Made any sacrifices? Has Meishan Sect charged you for using the spring?” Zhang Jiaohua asked.

Ruan Linzhi looked embarrassed. “That… that’s not the point. The spring is drying up, and I want to leave.”

“No problem. We said from the start that you’re free to leave. But you’ve damaged our facilities. If we let you go like this, how can Meishan Sect stand in the cultivation world?” Zhang’s tone turned sharp.

“So what do you want?” Ruan Linzhi asked nervously.

“Anyone who took part in the destruction must sever an arm before leaving,” Zhang Jiaohua said coldly.

“You wouldn’t dare!” Ruan Linzhi panicked.

A streak of light flew from Zhang Jiaohua’s hand. Ruan Linzhi tried to dodge, others scattered in fear. He activated a defensive talisman, forming a barrier—but the light broke through effortlessly and severed his right arm, which thudded to the ground.

Blood sprayed like mist.

“Ahhh!” Ruan Linzhi screamed in agony.

Everyone was stunned.

“Please, spare us! We’ll pay double!” some cowards dropped to their knees, begging.

Zhang Jiaohua said coldly, “Anyone who wants to leave, go. But if you cause trouble—this is your fate!”

The Meishan law enforcers, already prepared, moved in and arrested the vandals. Screams followed. Zhang Jiaohua wasn’t being cruel—without discipline, a sect couldn’t survive. He had already shown mercy by not taking their lives.

Those who participated in the destruction were few—mostly low-level riffraff. True cultivators wouldn’t be so rash.

A wave of people left—over two-thirds. The once-bustling secret realm became quiet and clear.

“Sect Master, how should we deal with those men?” Wei Chenguang asked.

“What do you think?” Zhang countered.

Wei Chenguang spoke quietly, “Though they’re not much in the cultivation world, they still have powers. If they seek revenge on mortals after leaving, we can’t stop them. It may be best to…”

He made a slicing gesture.

Zhang Jiaohua hesitated, then clenched his teeth. “You take care of it.”

Wei Chenguang nodded. “I’ll handle it cleanly.”

“I’ll replenish the spring this time, but it may be a long while before I return,” Zhang Jiaohua said.

“Don’t worry, Sect Master. I’ll take care of everything and report to you as needed,” Wei Chenguang replied.

Zhang Jiaohua felt unsettled after deciding the fates of several men—but he knew this was inevitable. Founding a cultivation sect wasn’t child’s play.

Suddenly, he longed to return to the mundane world—to the peace of his campus, where there was no scheming, only quiet. That, too, was a form of cultivation.

“You’re back?” Mei Qing greeted as Zhang Jiaohua entered the lab.

Zhang Jiaohua nodded without speaking, walking straight to his experimental samples. Though he’d just handled sect affairs, he’d also returned periodically for lab work. The experiments weren’t going smoothly. The second batch had made progress, but not enough.

“This is already quite impressive. If you publish your findings, it’d make a top-tier paper. Few in the world can match this,” Mei Qing said.

“But what’s the point?” Zhang Jiaohua asked.

Mei Qing was stunned. She realized Zhang Jiaohua wasn’t like other researchers who were content with a paper—he wanted results.

“Are you preparing for the third stage?” Mei Qing asked.

“Of course,” Zhang Jiaohua nodded.

“How confident are you this time?” Mei Qing asked.

“If I was sure of the outcome, it wouldn’t be research—it’d be engineering,” Zhang Jiaohua replied with a smile.

Mei Qing chuckled. “True. Still, the second stage went well, didn’t it?”

“Yes, it proved I’m on the right path. But it doesn’t guarantee I’ll reach the final result. I underestimated the challenge. I feel like I’m nowhere near the real issue,” Zhang Jiaohua said, frowning.

“What do you mean?” Mei Qing asked.

“Where do I come from?” Zhang Jiaohua said quietly.

Mei Qing widened her eyes—what kind of question was that? Then she realized it was philosophical. In life sciences, it was about the origin of consciousness.

Zhang Jiaohua knew more than anyone—souls exist. He could even see them. He suddenly thought of Jinhu and the others—where were they now? If reincarnation were real, they should be several years old by now.

Tears welled up in his eyes.

“Jiaohua? What’s wrong?” Mei Qing noticed his strange silence. Looking up, she saw tears fall from his eyes.

“Nothing. Just… remembering something,” Zhang Jiaohua said, turning away. After a while, he turned back, eyes still moist, lashes stuck together.

Mei Qing suddenly felt she couldn’t fully understand the boy in front of her. Beneath his youthful face was a deep, mature sorrow.

She couldn’t help but step forward and hold Zhang Jiaohua like a child, gently pulling him into her arms.