Golden Turtle Island.
"Brother Ox, you're here to seek a master too?"
"Yeah. This is Sect Master Tongtian's first public recruitment of disciples since becoming a Saint. I wonder if I'll be chosen. The Interception Sect is a Saint's great sect."
"The Interception Sect accepts all without distinction. We all have a chance to join this Saint's great sect."
Li Er rubbed his head, trying to shake off the dizziness. The surrounding clamor was so loud that he could not make out what anyone was saying.
Besides, they smelled absolutely awful.
When he saw their bizarre outfits clearly, he wondered how he had ended up at a convention. He had to admit that these guys' costumes were remarkably lifelike.
These "people" had horns on their heads, scales on their backs, and some even had protruding fangs.
Have these people gone crazy from reading too many novels? What nonsense about accepting all without distinction and joining Sect Master Tongtian's Interception Sect.
Absolutely insane.
Li Er remembered finding a bronze box left behind by one of his ancestors, a sorcerer, while sorting through things back home. Mysterious patterns had been carved onto it.
When he opened it, he found a bead. The moment he picked it up to inspect it, the bead shot straight into his dantian, and then he passed out.
When he woke up again, he had inexplicably arrived at this convention.
"This little thing can't even smell demonic aura? He's Human Race! Their flesh is the tenderest..." The leopard-headed man licked his sharp teeth.
"Quiet!"
The deer demon hurriedly grabbed his companion. His antlers trembled slightly from fear as he said, "Look at him. There isn't the slightest fluctuation of spiritual power around him. Either he's an ant with no cultivation whatsoever, or—"
"He's a great power who has returned to simplicity!"
"How could he be some great power? Look at those stupid eyes. He's obviously tender Human Race, the kind that crunches when you bite into it."
To join the Interception Sect, the deer demon hurriedly dragged the leopard demon away.
Listening to their chatter, Li Er looked around at the strange creatures dressed in bizarre clothing, with ox heads or deer antlers and grotesque faces. Some were even flying over from behind.
At that moment, he felt the world spinning.
He had transmigrated!
He was panicking badly, but he had one trait: the more panicked he was, the calmer he became; the more excited he was, the colder he became; the more thrilled he was, the more composed he became.
His mind raced as he considered every possible way out. His brain was practically smoking, yet he still could not think of a way to escape this certain death.
"Quick! The gates of Biyou Palace are open! Hurry over, Sect Master Tongtian is about to appear!"
At that moment, an excited voice rang out.
Li Er's eyes lit up. That was right—he had to follow the crowd and seek a master.
As long as he became Sect Master Tongtian's disciple, these demons would all become his fellow disciples. As fellow disciples, these monsters would not eat him. That leopard-headed guy had even said he was crunchy.
He had to become a disciple!
The previously noisy voices instantly vanished. These strange creatures exerted all their strength and rushed toward Biyou Palace. Not a single one dared to fly through the air.
After all, this was a Saint's sacred ground. Who would dare behave recklessly?
A cloud of dust rose from the ground and spread through the air.
Li Er was instantly enveloped in dust. Even his short crew cut turned ash-gray, while an unprecedentedly resolute light burst from his eyes.
He did not rush to run. Instead, he walked forward step by step. He knew that if he started running, these demons would discover that he had no cultivation at all.
One of them had just said he could not see through Li Er's realm. That was Li Er's best protection. He could not shatter the image of an otherworldly expert.
He had to act like a devout seeker of the Dao, like some great expert cultivating amid the mortal world—calm and unhurried in all things.
Right now, he had to put on an act. If he did not, he would die.
An hour later.
Li Er reached the vast square before Biyou Palace. Fortunately, the road here had not been difficult to travel.
Good heavens, there were probably hundreds of thousands of demons and all kinds of living beings quietly gathered here, packed so densely that they stretched as far as the eye could see.
They all gazed expectantly toward Biyou Palace, waiting for Sect Master Tongtian to emerge.
Li Er calmly found a spot at the very back and sat down. In truth, his heart was about to leap out of his chest, but he forced himself to remain composed.
He was parched, yet he did not even dare swallow his saliva. The pressure was unimaginable.
At least tens of thousands of eyes were fixed on him. He could feel the scrutiny constantly sweeping over his entire body, as if they could see straight through him.
Fortunately, after he sat down, the gazes and that feeling of being watched vanished. But he did not relax in the slightest and remained highly vigilant.
He was only an ordinary mortal. If demons really ate him, no one would be able to save him.
Inside Biyou Palace.
At that moment, Sect Master Tongtian looked at the hundreds of thousands of demons and other living beings outside who had come to seek him as their master, and felt that declaring he accepted all without distinction had been far too rash.
Sure enough, food could be eaten carelessly, but words could not be spoken carelessly.
But the problem was, he had already boasted. Those people outside were all waiting. Could he simply refuse to go out?
In any case, the enormous Biyou Palace needed some people to fill it out. He would pick the best of a bad bunch and select some as disciples.
Hm? There was actually a Human Race member with no cultivation at all? Just an ordinary mortal?
Then how had this little fellow reached Golden Turtle Island? Could he be some demon's food, brought here because it had been too embarrassed to eat him and then dumped here?
That was probably why he had come here.
Forget it. He would wait until the boy reached him before going out. When he recruited disciples later, if the boy arrived last, he would get the illusion that he was rather important.
It was like at Zixiao Palace—only after everyone had arrived did his teacher, Hongjun, appear.
Still, this little fellow had good temperament. Faced with the stares of so many beings, he could actually remain so calm and detached.
Strange. As a dignified Saint, he actually could not see through him completely. Was it because the boy had no cultivation and thus could not form karmic ties?
Forget it. It was time for this venerable one to make his entrance.
Outside Biyou Palace.
The square, once filled with soft whispers and secret exchanges between primordial spirits, suddenly fell into utter silence.
It was as though an invisible force had gently brushed over everyone's hearts, making every sound disappear beneath its majesty.
Then, a Saint's unique pressure descended from above, like thunder in the heavens—soundless, yet deeply shocking.
As that pressure descended, lotus flowers overflowing with spiritual energy strangely condensed in the void. They spun lightly and bloomed with dazzling radiance, making Biyou Palace seem dreamlike and unreal.
Nine streams of brilliant light slowly flowed from Biyou Palace, weaving into mysterious patterns. They seemed like traces of the Great Dao, yet also like the secrets of heaven and earth, stirring endless thoughts.
At that instant, countless people seemed to hear the whispers of the Great Dao beside their ears. The voice was distant and profound, like heavenly music, intoxicating them beyond escape.
Their hearts seemed to be touched by some mysterious power, sinking into deep enlightenment.
No one could see the Saint's face with either their naked eyes or divine sense. Only amid the intertwining of their spirits did a majestic figure gradually emerge in everyone's hearts.
He was the renowned and transcendent Saint—Sect Master Tongtian.
Sect Master Tongtian was quite pleased with his entrance. His gaze swept across the crowd, then his brows furrowed as confusion flashed through his eyes.
Good heavens, what was that late mortal doing? He was secretly reaching out to pluck the spiritual lotus flowers and eat them. Was he thirsty?
How interesting. He had become interested in this mortal.
He would first expound the Dao and see what kind of aptitude these people possessed. After all, he still needed to accept some disciples.
At that moment, Sect Master Tongtian slowly opened his lips and began to expound the supreme Dao he had comprehended, using it as a method to select disciples and seek out those outstanding individuals capable of grasping the true essence of the Great Dao.
His voice was distant and deep, as though it crossed the boundaries of time and space and touched the depths of every soul present. "The Dao originates from one source. I call it 'Interception.'
"Interception is not severance. Rather, it contains a thread of life. It is the foundation of the Dao and the source of all things.
"This Dao emphasizes following nature and seizing fleeting opportunities. Only by finding a thread of hope amid desperate circumstances can one comprehend the mysteries of heaven and earth and grasp the true essence of the Great Dao."
As Sect Master Tongtian's words fell, even the surrounding air seemed to solidify. Every word contained endless profundity, drawing everyone into deep contemplation.
They seemed to see a path leading into an unknown realm. On this path, only those who truly comprehended the Dao of Interception could travel ever farther and ultimately reach that supreme realm.
Questions that had once baffled them in cultivation were silently understood. Spiritual light continuously arose around people in the square as their cultivation broke through again and again.
That was the power of a Saint expounding the Dao.
But Li Er could not understand a single word. As Sect Master Tongtian expounded the Dao, he only felt increasingly thirsty. Looking at the spiritual lotus flowers that kept appearing, he secretly tried eating one and discovered that nothing happened.
Then he ate another. And another...
As he continued consuming the spiritual lotus flowers, he gradually felt a stream of vital essence circulating through his meridians. In an instant, he seemed to see every tendon, meridian, and bone in his body.
"Is this cultivation?"
Before you continue