This infuriated Zhunti!
He abruptly revealed his eighteen-armed, twenty-four-faced Golden Body Dharma Image and leered at Yuanshi.
"Fellow Daoist, do you want to fight?"
Yuanshi looked at Zhunti in surprise, his eyes radiating concern.
"Are you sure?"
Jieyin swiftly grabbed Zhunti and pressed his palms together toward the Four Saints of the Mystic Gate. "This great calamity is meant to showcase our disciples. How can the saints fight the moment we arrive?"
Zhunti suddenly came to his senses!
"That was close!"
"If Senior Brother hadn't reminded me, I would have fallen into Yuanshi's trap!"
He immediately retorted.
"I don't think much of your Mystic Gate's meager disciples."
"I'm not afraid to say it outright—I don't trust you."
"Let me make this clear first!"
"If you saints of the Mystic Gate dare personally attack my disciples..."
Zhunti's expression instantly changed. His face twisted viciously, utterly unconcerned with maintaining a saint's dignity.
"I'll do exactly the same!"
The Western Teachings' disciples were the key to their Rise of the West!
The Two Sages of the West would feel heartache over the loss of even one!
With the Western Teachings holding such an overwhelming advantage, the Mystic Gate could only win if the saints intervened personally!
How could Zhunti allow that?
He immediately used his words to pin Yuanshi down!
Yuanshi hesitated!
Zhunti was horrified. Did the Mystic Gate's saints really intend to enter the fray themselves?
How despicable!
Zhunti's expression grew increasingly vicious. "Yuanshi, if you dare touch one of my disciples, I will kill one of yours."
"Let's see whose side has more disciples!"
Hiss!
Taishang, Yuanshi, Tongtian, and Nuwa, the saints of the Mystic Gate, all shook their heads inwardly.
Zhunti truly behaved like a petty villain!
It was a naked threat!
Yuanshi really did hesitate!
According to his calculations, if they wanted to break the Western Teachings' forces, they truly had to intervene personally.
But Tongtian had personally guaranteed that his disciples could contend against Minghe.
Taishang and Nuwa had also voted in favor.
In the end, Yuanshi chose to trust Tongtian once more!
Yet when it truly came time to make a promise, Yuanshi could not help but hesitate.
This was the Immeasurable Calamity!
One wrong choice could bury his Chan Jiao!
Not only Chan Jiao, but the entire eastern Mystic Gate as well!
Yuanshi was, after all, a saint. After a slight hesitation, he immediately reached a decision and answered with a question instead.
"What if you Western Saints strike first?"
Zhunti burst out laughing!
He laughed with immense satisfaction!
Yuanshi had backed down!
Zhunti and Jieyin exchanged glances, and both saw the joy in the other's eyes.
Yuanshi had truly backed down!
Otherwise, why would Yuanshi, the saint of Chan Jiao and the wisest among them, evade this question?
Zhunti said seriously, "If we personally intervene, you can do whatever you want!"
That was exactly what Yuanshi wanted to hear!
Yuanshi feigned hesitation and pondered for a long while before finally nodding hard. "Agreed!"
The two Western Saints both revealed mocking smiles!
Judging from the Four Saints of the Mystic Gate's cowardly appearance, the Western Teachings had this victory in the bag!
The four eastern saints also smiled together.
Taishang, Tongtian, and Nuwa subtly signaled to Yuanshi, "Well done!"
Yuanshi gave a slight nod.
He had been plotting against the Two Sages of the West all along!
Everything just now had merely been an act!
Not one of the Four Saints of the Mystic Gate trusted the character of the Two Sages of the West.
One saint constantly kept the words, "Fellow Daoist, you are fated with the West," on his lips.
One sect shamelessly reneged whenever things did not go its way.
One sect even dared to covet the Six Paths of Reincarnation.
Who would dare trust their character?
That would be irresponsible toward the disciples and followers who had chosen to follow them!
Tongtian had directly raised this very question.
Yuanshi immediately devised a countermeasure, which led to the scene of the Four Saints glaring at the Two Sages of the West.
The Four Saints' pressure had successfully lured the Two Sages of the West into the trap.
The plan had proceeded perfectly!
Both sides believed they had outmaneuvered the other.
As for who would claim the final victory, that would have to be seen slowly!
Yuanshi truly remained uneasy.
He asked Tongtian once again.
"Junior Brother, are you truly confident?"
Taishang could trust Tongtian without reservation because Xuandu, the Human Sect's sole disciple, would not fight at all!
Nuwa could trust Tongtian without reservation because only one of her disciples, Lingzhuzi, would take the field.
And with Nuwa's cultivation and Luck, protecting Lingzhuzi would be effortless.
In other words, nominally, the disciples of the Human Sect and Chan Jiao, together with those of Biyou Palace and Wa Imperial Palace, would join forces against the Western Teachings.
But in reality?
The only true saintly sect the Mystic Gate had deployed was Chan Jiao itself!
By rights, Chan Jiao should have been the main force in this confrontation against the West.
Yet Yuanshi knew perfectly well that Chan Jiao's disciples were absolutely no match for Minghe in cultivation.
Thus, he could only step aside for someone more capable.
They could only rely on Biyou Palace!
But what realm had Duobao and the other eight true disciples actually reached in their cultivation...
Who could say?
Yuanshi had no confidence at all!
The Western Teachings had ten thousand immortals gathered beneath its banner, led by Minghe, one of the Primordial Era's most formidable Quasi-Saints, with Lu Ya assisting him.
If the Mystic Gate failed to withstand them—
Yuanshi's Chan Jiao faced the threat of annihilation.
With his own orthodoxy at stake, even he, the Primordial Era's wisest great expert, became somewhat flustered!
Tongtian smiled faintly. "Trust me!"
Yuanshi grew anxious.
How could he trust such empty words?
Tongtian secretly transmitted a few words.
Yuanshi was utterly shocked. "Really?!"
Tongtian smiled and nodded.
Yuanshi was overjoyed. If that was the case, what did he have to fear?
There was absolutely nothing to fear!
Instead, he truly began worrying that the Two Sages of the West would resort to shameless tricks.
Yuanshi fixed the Two Sages of the West with even fiercer pressure.
Jieyin and Zhunti were utterly baffled.
Zhunti snapped, "Yuanshi, what are you trying to do now?!"
Yuanshi said sternly, "I'm afraid you'll shamelessly renege once you lose later!"
Zhunti was so angry he laughed!
He looked at his disciples with utter disdain. With this lineup, could the Western Teachings possibly lose?
Yuanshi was overthinking things!!
Zhunti could not be bothered with Yuanshi!
Jieyin smiled faintly and bowed. "Sorry for the trouble, Fellow Daoists."
Minghe and Lu Ya hurriedly replied, "How could we accept such a bow from our sect leader?"
The two Quasi-Saints looked at the ten thousand immortals under their command, then at the sparse and scattered forces opposite them, their spirits soaring to the heavens.
With such a disparity in strength between the two sides, they would have to try to lose!
Within the Immeasurable Great Array on Penglai Immortal Island,
Lin Dong grabbed a handful of wind and, through the source of Karma, immediately perceived the situation on the Investiture of the Gods Battlefield in the Earth Immortal Realm with perfect clarity.
"Interesting, interesting!"
"The Four Saints of the Mystic Gate are not entering the field personally, and are merely keeping watch over the Two Sages of the West?"
"With the wisdom of the Four Saints of the Mystic Gate, they must have planned before acting... Have they found a way to deal with the Western Teachings?"
"But where is their chance of victory?"
"Three hundred against ten thousand immortals... In a one-on-one contest, they have absolutely no chance of winning!"
"Unless..."
Lin Dong understood.
So that was it. No wonder the Four Saints were keeping such a close eye on the Two Sages of the West.
They were preventing them from jumping the wall in desperation!
Lin Dong found it rather fascinating.
Before he had transmigrated here, the history recorded in all manner of Primordial Era novels had always portrayed the Mystic Gate's saints as shamelessly bullying the weak and destroying the Interception Sect.
He had never expected that, despite their forces seeming so weak on the surface now,
they had no intention whatsoever of entering the fray personally!
This truly gave him a profound sense of accomplishment.
Moreover, the karmic thread from earlier seemed to involve an extraordinary figure.
"I never expected this!"
"A super expert renowned throughout the later Primordial Era would actually be refined into a puppet..."
"This is truly unimaginable!"
He sank into thought.
Since that person had been made into a puppet, where had the legend of him fighting Hongjun and defeating him originated?
It was completely incomprehensible!
After pondering for a while, Lin Dong found the waters of the Primordial Era growing ever deeper in his mind.
"Among the Chaos Demon Gods who survived the opening of heaven, Luohu was slain, while the patriarchs Yin-Yang and Qian-Kun were plotted against until they self-destructed."
"I had thought that person had survived alongside Hongjun and eventually fled into the Chaos Void... Who could have expected such a miserable end?"
"A puppet... Heh!"
Even that person had been secretly refined into a puppet by Hongjun at some unknown time. How terrifying was that?
In any case, until he attained the Dao, he absolutely could not leave the Primordial Era!
"Little Friend Lingbao may be in trouble. I must warn him!"
"I originally thought the Mystic Gate could defeat the West, but if that person joins the battle, then even as a puppet, he absolutely will not be someone the saints can withstand."
"Since Little Friend Lingbao is a direct disciple of the Mystic Gate, there is a high chance he is in danger..."
"Forget it!"
"Do what I can, then leave the rest to fate!"
Lin Dong took out an object, left behind several words of truth, and casually reached out, following the source of Karma straight toward Little Friend Lingbao.
He quietly watched the sphere of light before him.
"Perhaps there may be another way to resolve this crisis."
"That will depend on the fortunes of the Mystic Gate's saints!"
On the Investiture of the Gods Battlefield,
Minghe led the Ten Thousand Immortals of the Western Teachings, slowly pressing toward the great powers of the Mystic Gate.
"Fellow Daoists of the East, we have come to learn from your superior techniques!"
He was truly high-spirited. How was there the slightest trace of reluctance at being forced?
Minghe's crimson robe billowed in the wind, and there was none of his usual gloom on his face.
It was as though he had not been forcibly taken to the Western Teachings by Zhunti before!
Minghe absolutely refused to admit that he had been forcibly abducted.
Hadn't Saint Zhunti said that he was fated with the Western Teachings?
Minghe believed the Saint was right!
He, Minghe, was indeed fated with the West!
Other than him, Minghe, who had the ability to command the Ten Thousand Immortals of the Western Teachings?
Among these cultivators, even the weakest were Grand Unity Golden Immortals, while most were Daluo!
Nearly half of them were Grand Unity Golden Immortals. Even at the height of the Demon Court, it had not possessed such numbers!
Worthy indeed of a great Saintly sect!
As for the fact that these disciples were almost all former castoffs of the Interception Sect, Minghe simply ignored it.
A hero's origins mattered not. Hadn't he, Minghe, also abandoned his identity as the current Demon Sect Leader to join the Western Teachings?
In any case, these disciples were just like him: disciples of the Western Teachings.
And he was the commander of the Ten Thousand Immortals!
Minghe could hardly believe his own circumstances.
Originally, accidentally witnessing the disgraceful state of the two Western Saints should have been a heinous crime.
Yet unexpectedly, not only did the two Saints not blame him, they even invited him to join the Western Teachings and entrusted him with an important duty.
They directly placed the Ten Thousand Immortals of the Western Teachings in his hands.
They let him command the immortals and wage war upon the Investiture of the Gods Battlefield!
This had completely surpassed Minghe's expectations.
He was merely a disciple who had just joined the Western Teachings. What virtue or ability did he possess to command so many great powers?
Among these Ten Thousand Immortals, not counting the two Saints' direct disciples, Bhaisajyaguru and Maitreya...
Yet the two Saints had simply appointed him as commander.
Not only had they appointed Minghe commander, they had also made his status clear: beneath the two Saints and above the Ten Thousand Immortals, the undisputed third-in-command!
They had even handed their routine sect affairs over to him.
As for the foundational scriptures of the Western Teachings, they taught them to him wholeheartedly without the slightest concealment.
Minghe was deeply moved!
They were planning to hand the Western Teachings over to him!
Although Minghe had once been the current Demon Sect Leader and seemed carefree and unfettered,
if he were asked to abandon his status in the Western Teachings and return to being the Demon Sect Leader, he would absolutely be unwilling!
How could cowering in a divine hall within the Boundless Sea of Blood every day compare to commanding tens of thousands of immortals atop Mount Sumeru?
Furthermore, under the protection of the two Western Saints,
Minghe had no concerns whatsoever for his safety.
What was more, he could lead an army into the Immeasurable Calamity!
Cultivators of the Primordial Era held an extremely conflicted attitude toward the Immeasurable Calamity. They longed for it, yet feared it!
The reason for their fear was easy to understand. Once the Immeasurable Calamity swept across the world, even the most elite cultivators, Saints and Hunyuan beings excepted, could perish.
For instance, Di Jun, Taiyi, and most of the Twelve Ancestral Witches...
The reason for their longing was even simpler. Once they survived the calamity, they would gain Merit!!
Most importantly, the Merit gained from surviving an Immeasurable Calamity was the purest.
At other times, even if one performed good deeds and gained Merit, it was inevitable that it would become tainted by other Karma.
And Karma was what cultivators found most troublesome!
Take the Twelve Golden Immortals of Chan Jiao, for example. They had become the fuse that ignited the Investiture of the Gods Calamity.
The reason was that, when they had assisted the Human Emperor Xuanyuan in the past, they had killed too excessively.
Although they had gained Merit, they had also become entangled in Karma.
They had long been unable to attain Quasi-Sainthood.
Thus, they became the fuse of the Investiture of the Gods Calamity.
But the Merit gained from surviving an Immeasurable Calamity was entirely different.
The Immeasurable Calamity itself existed to eliminate the Karma within the Primordial Era.
Therefore, the Merit obtained after passing through the calamity was the purest, and the thing all cultivators desired most.
Minghe desired it even more desperately.
He was one of the foremost Quasi-Saints of the Primordial Era.
He had always stood alongside Zhen Yuanzi of Wuzhuang Temple and Kunpeng of the Northern Underworld Ice Ocean.
His ranking was even above Haotian, lord of the Three Realms!
Minghe had no intention of being merely a Quasi-Saint!
He wanted to go a step further!
For that, he needed Merit—an enormous amount of Merit!
The arrival of the Investiture of the Gods Calamity could be sensed by all the great powers of the Primordial Era.
The former Minghe would never have dared entertain such thoughts.
But now...
Minghe looked at the Ten Thousand Immortals beneath his command. Every one of them was at least a Grand Unity Golden Immortal, and more than half were Grand Unity Golden Immortals.
Suddenly, boundless confidence surged within him!
With such a lineup, how could the Mystic Gate possibly win?
He shouted, "Fellow Daoists of the Mystic Gate, we have come to experience your great techniques and Supernatural Powers!"
As his voice rang out, Minghe's aura soared.
It crossed countless spans of space and time, charging toward the Mystic Gate camp.
With the aura of a peak Quasi-Saint unleashed, if the Saints did not intervene, who could withstand it?
The Ten Thousand Immortals of the Western Teachings answered in unison.
The auras of the Ten Thousand Immortals connected in sheets, soaring straight into the heavens and shaking the Eastern World!
The disciples of Chan Jiao changed expression dramatically.
From Randeng downward, all of them lost color.
Among the Twelve Golden Immortals, from Guang Chengzi, the Bell-Striking Immortal, and Chi Jingzi, the Chime-Striking Immortal, downward, their faces were as pale as gold foil.
The might of the Ten Thousand Immortals of the Western Teachings swept over them like the sky collapsing.
Vast and surging like a heavenly river, it crushed the cultivators until they could scarcely breathe.
Minghe, commander of the Western Teachings, laughed loudly. "Fellow Daoists of the Eastern Mystic Gate, we have come to experience your Supernatural Powers. Who will grant us instruction?"
He asked three times in succession.
Each time, his voice was more magnificent than before.
By the end, his voice echoed through the Earth Immortal Realm, actually producing reverberations.
Its momentum was terrifying!
The two Western Saints exchanged glances, and both saw delight in the other's eyes!
The Dao Hearts of Chan Jiao's disciples seemed to have serious problems!
In this clash between East and West, Chan Jiao was the main force. Defeating them would be equivalent to defeating the Eastern Mystic Gate.
Why was that?
The Human Sect did not have a single disciple!
The Wa Imperial Palace had only one disciple participating, whose cultivation was merely that of a minor Grand Unity Golden Immortal.
Biyou Palace had more than they did, but only eight people!
Only Chan Jiao had many disciples!
They were clearly the main force of the allied army of the Saints of the Mystic Gate.
The delight on the faces of the two Western Saints grew increasingly intense as they stared fixedly at the Four Saints of the Mystic Gate.
The moment the other side showed any sign of personally taking action, then...
they could not blame them for acting!
Yuanshi's expression was incomparably ugly, so dark it seemed water could drip from it.
Fortunately, he usually kept a stern face, so no one noticed anything unusual at this moment.
Yuanshi had never imagined that the Dao Hearts of this batch of disciples he had carefully selected and nurtured would be so unsteady!
The Western Teachings had not even reached them yet; they had merely unleashed their might.
And what had become of these disciples?
Shameful!
Utterly shameful!
Back when he selected disciples, he would accept none without profound innate foundations and reject all without exceptional comprehension.
Before you continue