The Three Pure Ones arrived first.
The gates of the Purple Cloud Palace were wide open.
The Taishang was the first to step into the palace, his face expressionless.
He walked straight to the first futon, sat down, and closed his eyes to rest.
Yuanshi arrived shortly after, his gaze sweeping across the hall before finally settling on the Taishang's retreating figure, without uttering a word.
He walked to the second prayer mat, sat cross-legged, and his posture was impeccably upright.
Tongtian was the last one to enter.
Seeing that his two senior brothers had already taken their seats, he merely raised an eyebrow, offered no greeting, and went straight to the third futon, where he casually sat down cross-legged and leaned back, his posture completely relaxed.
The three prayer cushions, seemingly close at hand, felt as if separated by thousands of mountains and rivers.
Before long, Jieyin Zhunti arrived.
Zhunti entered the hall, he sensed the strange atmosphere and quickly tugged at Jieyin's sleeve. The two walked to the last two prayer cushions and slowly sat down.
"Senior brother," Zhunti transmitted his voice through divine sense, "It seems the division of the Three Pure Ones has had a significant impact. Hehe, for us, it's simply a good thing."
"By the way, senior brother, what do you think is the reason Master summoned us here?"
Jieyin looked sorrowful and shook his head slightly. "I don't know, but I've always felt uneasy about Master's sudden summons."
"I sensed it too," Zhunti thought. "Since our master attained enlightenment, he said that he would never summon us unless it was for an important matter. Now that all six sages have arrived... I fear something great is about to happen."
As the two were secretly communicating, the gates of the Purple Cloud Palace slowly closed.
A moment later, a figure in a gray robe appeared silently on the high platform.
Dao Ancestor Hongjun.
The six people's pupils contracted, their hearts filled with shock; Hongjun had become powerful again.
Even now, as sages, they couldn't sense Hongjun's presence.
I simply can't imagine it.
"Greetings, Master!"
The six saints rose together and bowed in respect.
"Sit."
Hongjun only uttered one word.
Hongjun's gaze swept across the faces of the six sages one by one, finally settling on Yuanshi Tianzun.
"I have summoned you here today for one matter."
His voice was flat, yet it made all six saints' hearts tighten simultaneously.
" Haotian, you've come to this humble Daoist to lodge a complaint."
Upon hearing this, Yuanshi's expression changed slightly.
The two Westerners exchanged a glance.
"He said that although he was ordained by Heaven to rule the Heavenly Court and govern the Primordial Wilderness, few people submit to him," Hongjun continued, his tone calm, as if he were talking about a trivial matter. " Yuanshi, your disciples have repeatedly provoked Haotian and disregarded him. Is this true?"
Yuanshi bowed and said in a deep voice, "Reporting to Master, it is Haotian..."
"Enough," Hongjun interrupted, "This humble Daoist will not listen to explanations."
Yuanshi was furious.
In his heart, he cursed Haotian a thousand times over. How dare a mere Daoist boy complain to his master!
Hongjun shifted his gaze from Yuanshi, scanning the entire scene. "Now, a new calamity has begun, and the world is filled with carnage. Haotian has few capable men under his command, the Heavenly Court is empty, and it is difficult to maintain order in the Primordial Wilderness."
He paused, then said, word by word, "Therefore, this great calamity should revolve around the disciples of the Mystic Gate. We must use killing to avert the calamity."
"What?!"
Even a saint with a sagacious heart couldn't help but utter a sound at this moment.
Thousand Tribulations?
Surrounding Mystic Gate disciples?
To pay for the robbery with killing?
The Three Pure Ones Ones' expressions changed drastically.
Only the Two Sages of the West were initially startled, but then a hint of joy flashed across their faces.
They have broken away from Mystic Gate and established their own Buddhist sect.
This has nothing to do with them!
"Master!" Yuanshi couldn't help but speak, "A new calamity has begun, how can we, the disciples of the Mystic Gate, bear it? That brat Haotian..."
" Yuanshi." Hongjun's gaze fell upon Yuanshi, who immediately felt as if he had fallen into an ice cave, swallowing back the words he was about to say. "Are you questioning me?"
"This disciple dares not!" Yuanshi gritted his teeth and lowered his head, his heart filled with boundless hatred.
The Taishang spoke slowly, his voice still calm. "May I ask, Master, how should we deal with this calamity?"
Hongjun withdrew his gaze and said calmly, "This great calamity is called ' Investiture of the Gods '."
" Investiture of the Gods?" The Sect Master Tongtian frowned. "What is Investiture of the Gods?"
"The workings of Heavenly Dao require the Heavenly Court to maintain order. However, there are vacancies in the Heavenly Court's divine positions, which need to be filled." Hongjun's tone was completely calm. "In this great calamity, three hundred and sixty-five individuals will be selected to enter the Heavenly Court as gods, and be at the command of Haotian."
"Three hundred and sixty-five?!" Yuanshi could no longer contain himself and exclaimed, "Master! My Chan Sect only has a dozen or so disciples, and my Taishang Elder Brother only has Xuandu under his tutelage! How can we possibly gather so many spots?"
He abruptly turned to look at Tongtian, his eyes flashing with cold light. "Only Tongtian's Interception Sect..."
"Enough!" Tongtian roared, " Yuanshi! What do you mean?!"
The atmosphere inside the hall suddenly became tense. There was an underlying tension among the Three Pure Ones, as if swords were about to be drawn.
Jieyin Zhunti exchanged a glance, both seeing the relief and calculation in each other's eyes.
Fortunately, they left the Mystic Gate early on; otherwise, the Buddhist sect might not have been able to escape these 365 spots today either!
Hongjun, however, seemed oblivious to the Three Pure Ones ' argument and continued, "The matter of the Investiture of the Gods is settled. You shall decide whose names to write on this Investiture of the Gods."
He raised his hand, and two items appeared in mid-air.
One item is an ancient scroll, entirely purple-gold, inscribed with the three Great Dao Rune " Investiture of the Gods ".
The other item is a wooden whip, about three feet six and a half inches long, with twenty-one sections, each section having four talismans, for a total of eighty-four talismans.
"These are the Investiture of the Gods and the God-Beating Whip," Hongjun said. " The Investiture of the Gods the Gods records the ranks of the gods, God-Beating Whip can strike those listed. You should discuss and fill in the names of your disciples on the list. Only when the list is full can you avert the calamity."
The six sages looked at the two treasures with different expressions.
Taishang Laozi slowly asked, "Master, how are those who made the list?"
"True spirits listed on the Investiture of the Investiture of the Gods are bound by its restrictions, their cultivation will never advance, and they must obey the Heavenly Court's orders," Hongjun said calmly. "But they can be spared life and avoid complete annihilation of body and soul."
The Sect Master Tongtian sneered, "What difference is that from death? To have no progress in cultivation and be at the mercy of others for all eternity, I, Jie Sect Disciple, would rather perish, body and soul!"
" Tongtian!" Yuanshi roared, "Your Interception Sect boasts of ten thousand immortals paying homage, and you have far more than a hundred thousand disciples! If your Interception Sect can't fill this quota, are you expecting my Chan Sect and my eldest brother's disciples to fill it?!"
" Yuanshi! You..."
Tongtian's hair and beard bristled, and his body emanated sword energy, causing the water, fire, and wind within the Purple Cloud Palace to become chaotic.
"Quiet!"
Hongjun gave a soft shout, his Saintly Might pressing down, Tongtian let out a muffled groan as his sword energy dissipated.
"This matter is settled and cannot be changed." Hongjun's gaze swept over the six sages. "You may discuss among yourselves how to allocate the quotas."
"You can discuss it yourselves."
After Hongjun finished speaking, he closed his eyes and ignored him.
The six people looked at the Investiture of the Gods and the God-Beating Whip floating in the air without saying a word.
Zhunti's eyes darted around, and he stood up, saying, "Fellow disciples, our Western Teachings is a separate lineage, having long since separated from the Mystic Gate. In this great calamity, our Western Teachings should not be involved."
The Jieyin followed suit, saying, "Not bad."
Tongtian sneered, "You became disciples of our master, and the cultivation methods you practiced evolved from Mystic Gate Daoist techniques. How can you say it's unrelated just because you say so?"
" Senior Brother Tongtian, you are mistaken! Our Western Teachings's separation from the Mystic Gate is due to the will of Heavenly Dao; everything has its own destiny."
Zhunti spoke with a smile, showing no fear whatsoever.
Tongtian roared angrily, "Your Western Teachings will not be able to escape this great calamity either!"
Yuanshi had no interest in discussing this; his mind was preoccupied with the 365 slots for the True Gods, and the number of his Chan Sect Disciple was limited.
Zhunti looked at the Three Pure Ones, as if he had thought of something, and said flatteringly, " Senior Brother Tongtian, isn't your Interception Sect supposed to have ten thousand immortals paying homage? You could easily write down the names of a few disciples, so why are you making us wait here?"
Yuanshi's eyes lit up. "That's right, Tongtian, you have tens of thousands of disciples. This time, the spots for the Investiture of Investiture of the Gods should be given to your Interception Sect. It'll give those beast-wearing, armor-clad beings a place to belong, anyway..."
" Yuanshi!"
Tongtian roared at Yuanshi, "You've gone too far! Aren't my disciples' lives valuable? Do you really want my Jie Sect Disciple to fall apart?"
Zhunti watched with a smile; he loved watching the Three Pure Ones fight amongst themselves.
Taishang did not speak, but a strange look flashed in his eyes as he looked at Tongtian.
At this moment, Hongjun opened his eyes and spoke.
"Alright, stop arguing. You should all go back and discuss this. Come back here to fill out the forms a hundred years from now."
After saying that, he disappeared.
Everyone bowed in unison and then left Purple Cloud Palace.
Tongtian looked at the group with icy eyes, snorted coldly, and flew away first.
"You really don't know your place, brother, look!"
Yuanshi was still blaming Tongtian for his disrespect and wanted Taishang to help him vent his anger, but Taishang shook his head and said, "Let's go."
Zhunti and Jieyin exchanged a glance, then followed them back to the Primordial Wilderness.