Zhou Ming: I'll Give You a Jiang Ziya. Are You Moved, Tongtian?

Buzhou Mountain.

Pangu Hall.

The Primordial Wilderness was once again thrown into turmoil by the Investiture of the Investiture of the Gods, yet within the Pangu Hall, there remained an eternal and unchanging tranquility.

Houtu's gentle face held a thoughtful expression.

She looked at Zhou Ming and spoke softly.

"Elder Brother, this Tribulation is set to begin ten thousand years from now, and there is Person destined for the Tribulation to oversee the Investiture of the Gods."

"Should our Wu Clan also send people to that Primordial Wilderness to search for this person?"

"Even if this person is useless to my Wu Clan, falling into the hands of the Clarify Sect or the Interception Sect could potentially change the course of the Tribulation."

"If we can find it first, we can use it to exchange for benefits with the Yuanshi Tianzun."

"Whether we give it to Fellow Daoist Tongtian or not, we can still reap considerable benefits."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Ming smiled faintly and shook his head gently.

"Sister Houtu, there's no need for that."

"We don't need to deliberately search for the Person destined for the Tribulation; I know information about him."

"I had already planned for this."

Houtu hearing this, a hint of curiosity flashed in Houtu's beautiful eyes.

My Elder Brother even foresaw this?

Zhou Ming continued speaking.

"Ten thousand years from now, when the Person destined for the Tribulation descends to earth, I will inform Tongtian of his whereabouts."

"Let him take this person as his apprentice."

"Consider it doing him a favor."

"And I'm also verifying something."

"To be given to Fellow Daoist Tongtian?"

Houtu was initially surprised, but after a moment's thought, she instantly understood Zhou Ming's plan.

She nodded slightly in agreement.

"Elder Brother's move is excellent."

"Since Elder Brother 're planning to obtain the Heaven-Opening Mark from Fellow Daoist Tongtian, let's do him some favors now, so he'll remember the kindness of our Wu Clan."

"Future negotiations will likely proceed more smoothly."

Showing favor first, then discussing the deal, will undoubtedly make things go much more smoothly.

After all, a treasure like the Heaven-Opening Mark would not be easily taken out unless absolutely necessary.

The more favors you do, the more certain you are of success.

This is Open Scheme.

I'm helping you because I owe you a favor, and also because I admire you.

But debts of gratitude are often the hardest to repay.

The arrogant and unruly Tongtian Sect Master received such a great favor from Zhou Ming.

If Zhou Ming were to actually ask for the Heaven-Opening Mark in the future, the scales in his heart would naturally tip.

Houtu looked at Zhou Ming and continued to ask.

"My Elder Brother just said, by the way... to verify something."

"Elder Brother, what exactly do you wish to verify?"

Zhou Ming met Houtu's probing gaze and slowly spoke.

"I want to see if the Person destined for the Tribulation this Tribulation is truly changeable."

"I want to see if this Person destined for the Tribulation becomes a disciple of the Interception Sect."

"Is the Interception Sect truly capable of overseeing the Investiture of the Investiture of the Gods?"

Houtu hearing this, Houtu frowned slightly. She felt as if she had grasped something, but it was still somewhat vague.

"What do you mean by that, Elder Brother?"

What does it mean that the Person destined for the Tribulation is changeable?

What does it mean that the Interception Sect) could preside over the Investiture of the Gods?

Could there be some unknown Variables involved?

Zhou Ming explained slowly.

"The Person destined for the Tribulation possesses the Auspicious sign of a flying bear. This was said by Hongjun himself; it is a predetermined Heavenly Secrets."

"But, Sister Houtu, have you ever considered that there might be more than one person possessing the ' Auspicious sign of a flying bear?"

"But... two?"

Upon hearing this, Houtu was suddenly jolted.

Two people?

There are actually two Auspicious sign of a flying bear?

This... this is impossible!

The Person destined for the Tribulation destined by Heaven to take on the great task of Investiture of the Gods should be unique, so why are there two at the same time?

Zhou Ming ignored her shock and continued speaking to himself.

"If I don't interfere, I'll let Heavenly Secrets decide on its own."

"Therefore, these two individuals, who possess the Auspicious sign of a flying bear, will eventually, through various fortuitous circumstances, become disciples of the Yuanshi Tianzun."

"And the one truly Person destined for the Tribulation will preside over this great undertaking of the Investiture of the Clarify Sect Investiture of the Gods."

"As for the other one, although he also possessed extraordinary features, he was not destined for greatness and ultimately became just an ordinary disciple of the Clarify Sect."

Zhou Ming's tone was calm, but it stirred up a storm in Houtu's heart.

She vaguely grasped something.

Zhou Ming continued.

"Among them, I already know the exact place of birth of That One Person destined for the Tribulation."

"But I do not know the exact location of the other person who possesses the Auspicious sign of a flying bear."

"Therefore, ten thousand years from now, I will inform Tongtian of the location of the 'true' one destined for That One Person destined for the Tribulation."

"Let him get there first and recruit this person into the Interception Sect."

"In that case, the Clarify Sect will likely only be able to receive the remaining one."

A glint of "inquiry" shone in Zhou Ming's eyes.

"That's exactly what I want to verify."

"When the Person destined for the Tribulation joined the Interception Sect..."

"And then, another disciple of the Clarify Sect appeared, also possessing the ' Auspicious sign of a flying bear '..."

"Does this authority to 'confer divine Investiture of the Gods ' follow the 'human' or the 'religion'?"

"This one, whom Tongtian accepted, will continue the destiny of the Person destined for the Tribulation, and let the Interception Sect preside over the Investiture of the Gods."

"It was the That One accepted by the Clarify Sect who rose to prominence, replacing the former and becoming the new Person destined for the Tribulation."

Hearing this, Houtu finally understood.

"I see..."

"My Elder Brother suspects that this so-called Person destined for the Tribulation was, from the very beginning, destined to come only from the Clarify Sect!"

"The so-called 'each according to their own ability, and those with the right fate will obtain it' is nothing more than empty words spoken to Tongtian."

"Regardless of what Tongtian does, and regardless of whether he finds the true Person destined for the Tribulation, the one who will ultimately preside over the Investiture of the Gods will inevitably be the Clarify Sect!"

Zhou Ming nodded with a smile, which was taken as tacit agreement with her statement.

"Good."

"This is just a suspicion; it's not certain yet."

This speculation is not unfounded.

This is a highly probable conclusion he reached by combining his knowledge of the Investiture of the Investiture of the Gods from his previous life with his analysis of Hongjun and the ways in which Heavenly Dao operates.

The power of the Interception Sect was ultimately too great.

With Ten Thousand Immortals Paying Homage, the Fortune was at its peak, far surpassing that of the Clarify Sect, which only had Twelve Golden Immortals.

If they were to obtain the Investiture of the Gods and the God-Beating Whip, and take control of the Investiture of the Investiture of the Gods, thus gaining absolute initiative, then the Interception Sect would have an even greater advantage.

Therefore, it is entirely possible that the Tongtian Sect Master, with this enormous advantage, could forcefully carve out a sliver of hope for the Interception Sect and allow them to safely weather this Tribulation.

But is this in the interest of Heavenly Dao and Hongjun?

That's clearly not true.

They went to great lengths to initiate this Tribulation in order to weaken the Mystic Gate and suppress the Three Pure Ones.

How could they possibly stand by and watch the Interception Sect escape their predicament?

Therefore, from the very beginning, this so-called "each relying on their own abilities" was probably not a fair game.

Houtu was incredibly clever and immediately grasped the key to it.

A chill ran through her heart.

"If what you've predicted, Elder Brother, is true, then this so-called Investiture of the Gods Tribulation is, from beginning to end, a conspiracy against the Interception Sect."

"Fellow Daoist Tongtian and his Interception Sect have absolutely no chance of winning."

She couldn't help but feel a pang of sorrow for Tongtian.

Zhou Ming shook his head, correcting her statement.

"Sister Houtu, your vision is too narrow."

"This Tribulation is primarily aimed at the Three Pure Ones themselves."

"Their respective Dao Lineage were merely incidental."

"After all, the simplest and most effective way to deal with them is to target their most cherished Dao Lineage."

Houtu was somewhat puzzled.

"Targeting the Three Pure Ones themselves?"

"Good."

Zhou Ming's gaze was deep and unfathomable.

"Whether it's the Interception Sect or the Clarify Sect, they are merely tools used by Hongjun to manipulate the Three Pure Ones and force them to kill each other."

Hongjun made the Three Pure Ones sign the Investiture of the Gods because he wanted to see the disciples of the Chan and Jie Sects kill each other and for the Three Pure Ones to fight each other to protect their own Dao Lineage.

Only they committed a heinous crime, shattering the Primordial Wilderness and causing immense suffering to all living beings.

They were tainted by boundless Karma, which completely depleted the merits they inherited as the true descendants of Pangu Orthodox in the Merit of Heaven Opening...

Only then can Hongjun rightfully produce the "Saint-Smiting Pill" and appear as a savior.

In the name of punishment, these three were completely shackled.

This is Hongjun's true purpose.

"I see."

Houtu let out a soft breath, her eyes filled with sincere admiration as she looked at Zhou Ming.

"Their Dao Lineage are their greatest weakness."

"Since Elder Brother were prepared, I'm relieved."

"Now, all we need to do is wait for the so-called Person destined for the Tribulation to be born ten thousand years from now."

Just then, Zhou Ming's mind stirred, and his brows furrowed slightly.

Houtu looked at Zhou Ming Mingdao.

"Elder Brother, what happened?"