Duobao Deploys the Immortal Slaying Sword Array

And he ended up choosing these kinds of things!

Yuanshi suddenly understood; he had forgotten the most important aspect of a cultivator: the Dao Heart!

In reality, for disciples of a Sage, innate talent and comprehension were not the most important factors.

A Sage has plenty of means to improve their aptitude.

However, the heart that seeks the Dao is something a Sage cannot bestow.

They are born with it!

The Great Dao is boundless, and the path is filled with countless tribulations.

Without a firm Dao Heart, one will sooner or later perish on the road to seeking the Dao.

When a cultivator steps onto the path of the Dao, they are playing a long game.

Only the cultivator who can reach the end is a good cultivator.

No matter how brilliant one is in the early stages, if they stop at a certain realm and are surpassed by those who came later, that is failure!

Yuanshi reflected deeply: "In the future, when Chan Jiao accepts disciples, the factor of the Dao Heart must be taken into account!"

He understood that he could not count on his own disciples.

The cultivators of the Western Teachings had not even arrived yet, and they were already acting so cowardly.

If they were to truly meet face-to-face, would they not just surrender immediately?

If that were really the case, Yuanshi decided, he might as well slap them to death!

It would save him from losing face.

As things stood, he instead calmed down.

Since Junior Brother Tongtian said his disciples could be trusted, then he would place his full trust in Junior Brother Tongtian!

Minghe felt exceptionally refreshed.

Pointing at the noses of those under the Four Saints of the Mystic Gate and berating them—

Before this, he wouldn't have dared to even think about such a thing, let alone do it!

Those were disciples of Sages!

But now, he had done exactly that.

So what if they were disciples of Sages?

He, Minghe, was also a disciple of a Sage!

Minghe was just about to insult the Mystic Gate a bit more.

When he heard a steady voice ring out: "Let us of the Mystic Gate come to experience the Supernatural Powers of our friends from the West!"

Minghe's laughter came to an abrupt halt!

He hadn't even finished venting his emotions yet!

And yet, someone had come to interrupt?

How detestable!

He wanted to see who was so bold.

He saw eight immortals rising from above Jin'ao Island in the East Sea; they were none other than the Eight Great Disciples of Tongtian.

The appearance of these eight people gave Minghe quite a start—each and every one of them had a massive Golden Wheel of Merit hovering behind them.

The golden wheels turned slowly, emitting a peaceful and serene radiance.

Minghe's eyes turned red with envy!

Just how much merit was required to condense such a golden wheel?

He wanted one so badly!

Minghe suddenly came to his senses, his wariness increasing significantly: "These eight are actually True Immortals of Fortune and Virtue; my Blood God Son... cannot be used!"

Even in the midst of a great tribulation, one cannot simply kill whoever they want.

In the Primordial Era, there was a saying: no matter the circumstances, if you see a powerful being with a Golden Wheel of Merit above their head, you must befriend them; you must never make them your enemy!

These True Immortals of Fortune and Virtue are the darlings of the Heavenly Dao; to be their enemy is, in disguise, to be an enemy of the Heavenly Dao.

To a certain extent, before their merit is completely exhausted, they can truly do whatever they want!

It is not that such True Immortals of Fortune and Virtue cannot be killed.

But to kill them, one must first expend twice the amount of merit they possess.

Merit is not easily obtained; who would be willing to do such a thankless task?

Minghe's Blood God Son was a Supernatural Power of the Demon Sect, naturally countered by the light of merit.

If he were to truly use the Blood God Son Great Method, it would truly be inviting humiliation upon himself.

The appearance of Duobao, Zhao Gongming, and the other Eight Great Disciples of Biyou Palace instantly halted the arrogant momentum of Minghe!

Minghe was extremely displeased. Just as he was about to utter some tough words to save face, he suddenly heard the voices of two Sages arrive one after the other: "Fellow Daoist, be careful. Their cultivation levels are on par with yours!"

Hiss!

Minghe looked at the Eight Great Disciples in astonishment!

On par with his own cultivation realm...

Does that not mean all eight of these people are at the Peak Quasi-Saint realm?!

At this moment, Minghe felt a slight panic—this can't be real, right?!

When the Eight Great Disciples of Biyou Palace appeared, aside from Tongtian, the Three Saints of the Mystic Gate and the Two Sages of the West all had the same thought as Minghe:

"True Immortals of Fortune and Virtue, Peak Quasi-Saints! This can't be real!"

This was simply too exaggerated!

How many True Immortals of Fortune and Virtue are there in the Primordial Era?

The Three Sage Emperors in Huoyun Cave count!

Yun Zhongzi of Chan Jiao counts!

Are there any others? No!

Even the titan of the Mystic Gate, Zhen Yuanzi, one of the three top Quasi-Saints, does not count as a True Immortal of Fortune and Virtue!

Yet Biyou Palace, of all places, just produced eight of them!

Yuanshi was shocked, but he immediately felt relieved.

He sighed in his heart:

"In the end, Junior Brother Tongtian's merit in teaching is indeed superior!"

"My Chan Jiao must change its strategy for accepting disciples."

"The Twelve Golden Immortals... can no longer be used!"

Yuanshi was incredibly resolute; once he had decided on something, he would never easily change his mind.

No one knew that at this very moment, the future of the Twelve Golden Immortals within Chan Jiao was already finished.

"With these eight Quasi-Saints here, the Mystic Gate might not necessarily lose!"

In Yuanshi's view, the Mystic Gate still did not hold the advantage; it was merely a fifty-fifty split with the West.

But as soon as he thought of what Tongtian had said, Yuanshi secretly calculated: "In this great war, my Mystic Gate shall prevail!"

"Even if all the current Chan Jiao disciples are lost, it would still be worth it."

He was a peerless strategist.

In his eyes, even if the Twelve Golden Immortals were not rotten wood, they were not much better...

If sacrificing them could secure victory in this great calamity, Yuanshi would be absolutely delighted!

What he feared was the severance of the Daoist lineage, not the actual well-being of his disciples.

To a certain extent, the Twelve Golden Immortals of Chan Jiao were bound to the sect and enjoyed a dense amount of Luck.

Therefore, it was the Luck that Yuanshi was reluctant to part with, not the specific individuals among the Twelve Golden Immortals!

In the history of the Primordial Era before Lin Dong transmigrated, who served as the second-generation leader of Chan Jiao?

Yun Zhongzi!

Who was the third-generation leader?

Jiang Ziya!

It was not any one of the Twelve Golden Immortals!

But that is a story for another time!

The expressions of the Two Sages of the West were even uglier than Yuanshi's!

They never expected that there would be eight True Immortals of Merit within the Mystic Gate!

Even more absurd was that they were not just True Immortals, but all Quasi-Saints!

Tongtian's schemes run so deep!

No wonder he dared to abandon his Sage status and dissolve Jiejiao.

As long as these eight exist, the inheritance of Biyou Palace can never be severed!

No wonder Tongtian wanted to dissolve Jiejiao.

If he hadn't dissolved it, the Karma of those abandoned disciples would have surely drained the merit of the eight away completely.

It could even cause the Eight Immortals to perish within this Great Calamity!

Jieyin and Zhunti exchanged a glance, both feeling a sense of relief in their hearts!

It was fortunate that they had forcibly abducted Kunpeng and that Lu Ya had come as well.

Otherwise, relying solely on these Eight Immortals, their Western Teachings would have had no hope of gaining any advantage.

However, as things stood now, although the Western Teachings were not crushing their opponents as directly as previously anticipated, they still held a massive advantage.

The eight Quasi-Saints were indeed shocking, but they were, after all, only eight Quasi-Saints!

Jieyin and Zhunti were full of confidence in the ten thousand immortals of the Western Teachings!

Duobao slowly stepped forward and said with a smile, "There are quite a lot of fellow daoists from the Western Teachings. How about this: I shall set up a formation. If you win, you may decide how to dispose of us as you please!"

"How about it?!"

Before the Two Sages of the West could say anything, the expressions of the great powers of Chan Jiao changed drastically!

How could Duobao dare to represent them?

If they lost, would they have to agree even if the other side demanded the dissolution of Chan Jiao?

The Twelve Golden Immortals were just about to speak up when they suddenly felt a supreme force descend upon them, making their breathing ragged.

The words of opposition that were on the tip of their tongues simply could not be uttered!

They were all too familiar with this feeling—it was the pressure of a Sage!

Yuanshi had made his move!

Taishang, Tongtian, Nuwa, Jieyin, and Zhunti looked at Yuanshi with strange expressions.

Yuanshi's face turned bright red—he was mortified!

He wished he could just slap the Twelve Golden Immortals to death!

The ten thousand immortals of the Western Teachings, led by Minghe, were challenging the Mystic Gate, yet the Chan Jiao, who were supposed to be the main force, couldn't even voice their own stance.

With no other choice, the Eight Immortals of Biyou Palace had stepped out to fight.

It didn't matter that the Twelve Golden Immortals of Chan Jiao were useless, but they shouldn't be dragging everyone else down!

Just now, these Twelve Golden Immortals had actually wanted to refute Duobao's proposal.

How could Yuanshi allow them to voice their opposition?

Where would that leave his reputation?!

Wouldn't that be a total disgrace?!

This was the Immeasurable Calamity, the Investiture of the Gods Battlefield.

The great powers of the Three Realms were all watching!

If the Twelve Golden Immortals caused infighting within the Mystic Gate, his reputation as Yuanshi would be completely ruined!

No one knows a disciple better than their master!

The moment the expressions of the Twelve Golden Immortals shifted, Yuanshi knew exactly what they were about to do.

He didn't care how the other Sages would view him at that moment, he immediately used his aura to ruthlessly suppress the Twelve Golden Immortals!

He, Yuanshi, cared about his face!!

Yuanshi made a decision in his heart: "Once this Investiture of the Gods ends, I will properly punish the Twelve Golden Immortals!"

The ten thousand immortals of the Western Teachings naturally could not sense the actions of the Chan Jiao Sage.

But the Eight Immortals of Biyou Palace, along with Minghe and Lu Ya, were Quasi-Saints, and they could vaguely perceive it.

However, these ten immortals were all shrewd individuals, and none of them would seek trouble for themselves.

Minghe and Lu Ya exchanged a glance and nodded simultaneously.

The original Jiejiao was indeed extremely proficient in formations.

If it were anyone else, they truly wouldn't dare to accept Duobao's proposal.

But Minghe and Lu Ya had enough confidence to agree to it.

Ninety-nine percent of the ten thousand immortals of the Western Teachings were originally from Jiejiao!

Tongtian had always taught his disciples without discrimination, embracing all who sought the path.

Although he had divided them into inner and outer sects and established the eight great personal and true disciples, in reality, as long as one's heart was firm in seeking the Dao, anyone could listen to his lectures whenever he preached.

Most importantly, among the Western Teachings, there were still those who were originally the Attendant Immortals of Tongtian!

It was not one, nor two or three, It was a full five!

What exactly were the Attendant Immortals?

They were the immortals closest to the Sage; while they lacked the title of personal disciples, in reality, they were not much different.

Whatever the personal disciples knew, they knew as well!

Minghe and Lu Ya looked simultaneously at Chang'er Dingguang Xian, Piluxian, Lingya Xian, Qiushou Xian, and Jinguang Xian.

These were the original Attendant Immortals who served before Tongtian!

After these five entered the Western Teachings, they were deeply trusted by the two leaders of the Western Teachings, and their cultivation levels were outstanding among the Ten Thousand Immortals, with the potential to reach the Quasi-Saint realm!

Minghe casually summoned these five immortals to his side—this was clearly intended to disgust Duobao and the others!

"Fellow Daoists, I shall rely on you for what comes next."

Chang'er Dingguang Xian and the others all bowed and shouted, "We obey your decree!"

Only after finishing this did Minghe slowly reply to Duobao: "Agreed!"

Duobao stared fixedly at Chang'er Dingguang Xian and the others, staring until they felt a chill run down their spines.

After a long while, he finally shifted his gaze away.

Duobao said leisurely: "I originally did not want to make things difficult for you, but since Fellow Daoist Minghe is so interested, then I shall increase the difficulty!"

He lightly pinched a spell seal, and a formation map flew out from Duobao's crown, instantly expanding to an infinite size.

As the formation map swooped down, the entire Investiture of the Gods Battlefield was instantly enveloped within it!

The Two Sages of the West were shocked and lunged forward in unison: "How dare you!"

The two Sages of the West, Jieyin and Zhunti, who had been sitting securely on their fishing platform, saw the moment the formation map descended, and their expressions changed drastically.

Both lunged forward:

"Duobao, how dare you!"

However, while their speed was not slow, had the Four Saints of the Mystic Gate ever been slow?

The Four Saints of the Mystic Gate had been watching them the entire time!

In the blink of an eye, the Two Sages of the West were surrounded by the Four Saints of the Mystic Gate!

Yuanshi stared at Jieyin and Zhunti with a gloomy face: "We Sages had an agreement beforehand; do you intend to go back on your word?!"

He had lost all face earlier because of the Twelve Golden Immortals!

He was just looking for an opportunity to vent.

Now that the Two Sages of the West had delivered themselves to his doorstep, he would not hold back!

Zhunti was furious, his eyes splitting with rage as he shouted at Yuanshi: "Duobao is cheating!"

Ignoring Yuanshi's expression, he turned and glared fiercely at Tongtian, "You actually handed the Immortal Slaying Sword Array to Duobao to use?!"

"What a deep scheme you have!"

The two Sages of the West were going mad with anxiety!

They never imagined in their wildest dreams that Duobao would deploy the Immortal Slaying Sword Array!

The number one killing formation in the Primordial Era!

It was originally the supreme Lingbao that Tongtian used to suppress the Luck of Jiejiao.

Who would have thought that Tongtian would lend it to Duobao during the Investiture of the Gods Calamity!

This was an attempt to exterminate the Western Teachings!

The Immortal Slaying Sword Array was the supreme formation once possessed by Luohu.

Once the formation was set, the sword qi would flow like a great river, endless and inexhaustible.

Unless one could remove the Immortal Slaying Four Swords simultaneously, there was no hope of breaking the formation!

After Luohu was executed, Hongjun passed the Immortal Slaying Sword Array to Tongtian, saying, "If one Sage sets the array, it cannot be broken without four Sages; it is the number one for slaughter in the Primordial Era, use it with caution!"

The fact that the two Sages of the West had agreed to Yuanshi's wager was also largely due to this Immortal Slaying Sword Array!

Just as Yuanshi was about to retort, he heard Tongtian ask in confusion, "Is it not allowed for cultivators in the Primordial Era to use their own dharma treasures when dueling?"

"When did the Dao Ancestor ever issue such a rule? Why am I unaware of it?"

Hm?!

All the Sages looked toward Tongtian in unison.

Zhunti was so angry he laughed: "Tongtian, all the fellow Daoists here know this is your dharma treasure. Do you dare claim this treasure belongs to Duobao?"

Tongtian replied with a solemn expression, "It is merely the Immortal Slaying Sword Array!"

"I passed it down to him long ago!"

He furrowed his brows slightly, "I can swear an oath to the Heavenly Dao. If I have spoken even half a lie, let me suffer Heavenly Punishment!"

Hiss!

The expressions of the Sages changed once more!

Tongtian was actually capable of swearing such a ruthless oath?

The Sages could not help but look up at the sky!

Even they had subconsciously assumed that Tongtian was lying!

However, the sky over the Earth Immortal Realm remained perfectly clear!

Let alone Heavenly Punishment, there wasn't even a single cloud!

Tongtian watched the Sages' reactions and couldn't help but shake his head: "My character isn't so poor that it's on the same level as the two fellow Daoists from the West, is it?"

Zhunti was about to be driven mad, "Tongtian, do not spout slander. How is my character poor?"

Tongtian pointed nonchalantly at their feet:

"You go back on your word; your character is lacking!"

This retort left the Two Sages of the West gasping for air!

A fatal blow!

Jieyin pressed his palms together and said coldly to Tongtian:

"Fellow Daoist, your schemes run deep!"

Tongtian looked stunned and aggrieved: "What have I schemed?"

"Your plans are far-reaching. You self-abolished your Sage position, disbanded Jiejiao, and passed the Immortal Slaying Four Swords to Duobao early on. I fear you had already calculated this day!"

"Truly remarkable!"

Ah?!

Tongtian waved his hand: "When it comes to wisdom, Senior Brother Yuanshi is the first among all Sages; I am far behind!"

He said with particular sincerity, "When that Immortal Slaying Sword Array was passed down, it was merely intended as a token of identity. There was no other meaning behind it."

The Two Sages of the West curled their lips; clearly, they did not believe him!

At this point, Even Taishang, Yuanshi, and Nuwa stopped speaking up for Tongtian.

They were convinced!

All the Sages shared the same thought:

Tongtian was truly peerless in his scheming!

Expelling inferior disciples, self-abolishing his Sage position, and disbanding Jiejiao.

Without great wisdom, could such things be done?

In any case, the other Sages could not do it!

Passing the Immortal Slaying Sword Array to Duobao early on clearly meant he had foreseen this day long ago!

As for the claim that the Immortal Slaying Sword Array was just a token of identity for Biyou Palace...

That was something to listen to, but certainly not to believe!

The Immortal Slaying Sword Array was, after all, the number one killing formation in the Primordial Era according to the Dao Ancestor.

Even the Sages themselves coveted it—this was a weapon capable of taking on multiple opponents at once!

Who would easily give that to someone else?

The Sages certainly wouldn't!

Judging others by themselves, the Sages easily reached a conclusion:

With supreme wisdom, Tongtian had foreseen the Investiture of the Gods Calamity of today, and thus had made preparations in advance, which was why he was so relaxed!

But how could they know that Tongtian was telling the truth!

In the eyes of Tongtian and his Eight Great Disciples, the Immortal Slaying Sword Array was truly not the number one dharma treasure.