Kunlun Mountain, Palace of Green Essence.
The atmosphere was stifling, oppressive enough to suffocate.
"Seizing the secrets of Heaven, ten thousand immortals bowing in homage! Our Sect of Interception stands foremost among all sects of the Primordial Wilderness. Why should we fear the so-called Investiture of the Gods Tribulation? I, Zhao Gongming, will be the first to refuse if you ask our fellow disciples and sworn brothers to willingly enter the Investiture of the Gods List!"
"Ling Xiao has confused the masses with demonic words and harbors malicious intentions. He seeks to destroy our Sect of Interception. I beg Master to see clearly!"
"Baleful energy coils around him, and mad words spill from his mouth. Junior Brother Ling Xiao did not deliberately defy Master—he must have fallen into qi deviation. I ask all junior brothers to calm down..."
The accusations crashed like sudden thunder beside Ling Xiao's ears, making his body tremble faintly.
"Rebellious disciple, what else do you have to say?"
Sect Master Tongtian wore a black Daoist robe. His eyes were as deep as the stars, and an enigmatic aura swirled around him. The Qingping Sword at his side glinted with chilling sharpness as he stared impassively at Ling Xiao.
Yet a closer look would reveal his furrowed brow and the faint anger in his eyes.
"Rebellious disciple... Heh."
"Has the trust between master and disciple truly grown so thin?"
Ling Xiao's voice was low. He let out a soft sigh, his face filled with struggle and complicated despair.
As he looked over the faces around him, Ling Xiao found them both familiar and strange. He slowly shook his head, his heart overflowing with bitterness.
Exhaustion and helplessness left Ling Xiao's already battered body swaying on the verge of collapse. His dispirited Primordial Spirit was breaking apart, and an air of approaching death seeped from him. His Dao Heart nearly crumbled, and he almost passed away while sitting there.
Just moments ago.
Inside the Palace of Green Essence, he had argued with Sect Master Tongtian on reasonable grounds over the matter of the Investiture of the Gods.
What he received in return was condemnation from everyone present.
"Senior Brother Ling Xiao, you are muddleheaded!"
"Every fellow disciple here knows of your great contributions. If you had not entered the Immortal Slaying Sword Formation to suppress our sect's fortune and sort through the karmic slaughter, our Sect of Interception would have long existed in name only."
"But that cannot serve as an excuse for you to rely on Master's favor and destroy the foundation of our Sect of Interception!"
Scorching Dao Resonance spread through the hall.
Lu Ya beat his chest and stamped his feet, his expression rich with both indignation and utter disappointment.
At that moment, Holy Mother Turtle Spirit began berating him. "Ling Xiao, you have disappointed me deeply! A hundred thousand years ago, you were open and upright, willing to give your heart and soul for our Sect of Interception. How did you become like this?"
"Your foundation was damaged and your cultivation fell, but Master and the rest of us never mistreated you. Why, then, did you become a traitor who wanted to send your fellow brothers onto the Investiture of the Gods List?"
"I originally thought you had merely lost your realm and accumulation. Who would have thought that you had already lost your former Dao Heart and buried the friendship among fellow disciples with your own hands?"
Mighty Dao Sound boomed through the hall, deafening all who heard it.
Ling Xiao was slightly dazed, a cold smile hanging from the corner of his lips.
His flickering eyes were filled with the weight of ages.
After transmigrating into the Primordial World, he possessed the Foundation of the Twelve-Grade Pure World White Lotus. He took form during the Lich Tribulation, then became Tongtian's personal disciple and joined the Sect of Interception.
After that!
Because Tongtian had once said, "My disciple Ling Xiao possesses the qualities of a sect master," Ling Xiao had devoted himself wholeheartedly to the Sect of Interception, hoping to rewrite its fate in the grand trend of the Heavenly Dao.
Now that he thought of it, those so-called qualities of a sect master had likely been nothing more than an empty promise Tongtian used to placate him.
What a pity that he had been so foolish as to believe it...
Scene after scene surfaced in Ling Xiao's mind, only to be kneaded into illusions and scattered away.
He had befriended the disciples of the Human Sect and the Sect of Enlightenment, mediating the conflicts between the Sect of Interception and the Sect of Enlightenment to prevent the Three Pure Ones from splitting apart and Tongtian from withdrawing to Golden Turtle Island.
During the Lich Tribulation, he had taken in the young Golden Crow Lu Ya and brought Kong Xuan and the Golden-Winged Great Peng into the Sect of Interception.
During the era of the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors, he had helped Tongtian seize the Kongtong Seal, allowing disciples of the Sect of Interception to occupy several positions as Human Emperor's Masters.
Ten thousand immortals had come to the Sect of Interception, yet none had taught them. Ling Xiao had poured out his heart to formulate the Heavenly Rules of Interception, diligently instructing his fellow disciples. He had even expended his own source to clear their Dao Hearts and purify their karmic miasma.
More than that!
A hundred thousand years ago, he had entered the Immortal Slaying Sword Formation alone to sort through the Sect of Interception's karmic slaughter and suppress its fortune. His cultivation as a Golden Immortal of Grand Dao had been utterly destroyed, and he had nearly been beaten back to his original form.
Yet now, he was trapped in prison and reduced to such a state.
Raising his eyes, Ling Xiao gave a bitter smile. "I have lost my Dao Heart? I disregarded the bonds of fellow disciples? Do you know that in the Primordial World, a hundred thousand years are but the flick of a finger, yet to me, they have been an eternity?"
"Master has abandoned me, and my fellow disciples despise me. Where in the Sect of Interception is there still room for me? If the Investiture of the Gods Tribulation had not been approaching, and if you had not been about to bury the future of our sect, would I ever have come to this?"
Having understood everything, Ling Xiao no longer held any hopes.
He simply had not expected that the disciples of the Sect of Interception were all such vile people.
Ever since his cultivation as a Golden Immortal of Grand Dao had been destroyed and his foundation and source damaged, he had lost his former prestige among the sect's disciples and become like a drowned dog, hated and beaten by all.
Duobao, Dingguang Immortal, Lu Ya, and the others hurled vicious words at him. The Three Xiao Sisters and Holy Mother Golden Spirit stood silently to one side of the great hall, while many other disciples looked at him with mockery and ridicule in their eyes.
Thus, Ling Xiao vented all the grievances in his heart, declaring that the Sect of Interception no longer had a place for him.
"Outrageous, utterly outrageous!"
"A mere cripple dares spout such nonsense in the Palace of Green Essence, claiming that our Sect of Interception will be destroyed! I beg Master to discern the truth and expel this man who defies his sect and disrespects a Saint from the Sect of Interception, to uphold our sect's dignity!"
Dingguang Immortal pointed at Ling Xiao, his body trembling without end.
His hair stood on end in fury, and vicious light blazed in his eyes, as though Ling Xiao had committed an unforgivable sin!
Expel him from the Sect of Interception!
The moment those words were spoken, the eyes of the Sect of Interception disciples present gleamed. They could not help exchanging looks, and Duobao in particular felt stormy waves rise in his heart.
As the First Seat of the Sect of Interception, he naturally wished to inherit Tongtian's legacy and take control of the sect's authority.
But Ling Xiao had emerged from nowhere and astounded all living beings.
Even Tongtian had been moved to utter those words.
"My disciple Ling Xiao possesses the qualities of a sect master!"
A true man is born between Heaven and Earth. How could he remain despondently beneath another for long? If you become the sect master of the Sect of Interception, then would I, its First Seat, not become a mere ornament?
"Junior Brother Ling Xiao, do not blame your senior brother for being ruthless..."
Duobao narrowed his eyes and fixed his gaze upon Ling Xiao.
Naturally, he had been secretly fanning the flames behind today's events!
"Defying the sect and disrespecting a Saint? Hahaha..."
"When all birds are slain, the bow is put away; when the rabbit dies, the hunting dog is cooked! Seeing that my source is exhausted and my cultivation utterly lost, you wish to expel me from the Sect of Interception with such a hypocritical excuse. What an absurd joke!"
"In the end, it is simply because we walk different paths and cannot scheme together..."
The indignation, grievance, and humiliation in Ling Xiao's heart all vanished like smoke. At this moment, he found the conduct of the Sect of Interception's people utterly laughable.
Within the Palace of Green Essence, it appeared that Duobao, Dingguang Immortal, and the others were causing trouble. In truth, they had all received Tongtian's tacit approval. Everything was merely meant to kick aside Ling Xiao, this stumbling block.
Voluntarily entering the Investiture of the Gods List was not in the interests of the Sect of Interception!
Only by removing Ling Xiao, this obstacle, could the entire Sect of Interception unite as one and confront the Sect of Enlightenment, the Human Sect, and the Western Sect. Then Tongtian might have a chance to seize all the fortune between Heaven and Earth and possibly advance even further!
Having seen through everything, Ling Xiao's mind became clear, and he no longer clung to any unrealistic fantasies.
"This Sect of Interception is not worth staying in!"
Ling Xiao raised his head and sneered as he faced Tongtian directly.
The bond between master and disciple, the friendship between fellow disciples.
All of it turned to ashes!
"Wicked disciple, do you truly dare abandon your sect and betray the Sect of Interception?"
Tongtian's gaze was icy. His hands, hidden beneath his jade sleeves, trembled slightly.
With the Foundation of the Twelve-Grade Pure World White Lotus and all Ling Xiao had done for the Sect of Interception, Tongtian truly would have wanted him to inherit his legacy if Ling Xiao had not become crippled.
Unfortunately, as a disciple, Ling Xiao had overstepped his bounds!
The Investiture of the Gods Tribulation was not something he could meddle in, much less could he defy Tongtian before everyone!
The hall fell silent, its oppression suffocating.
Just as Ling Xiao was about to refute Tongtian and completely tear away all pretense, a cold electronic voice suddenly sounded in his mind.
Ding!
Host's enlightenment detected. The God-tier Choice System has successfully loaded! Choice One: Swallow your anger and endure everything. Admit your mistake to Tongtian. Reward: one Black Tortoise Shell. Choice Two: Sever karma and cut off all ties. Become an unaffiliated cultivator and roam freely. Reward: Primordial Chaos Green Lotus Source. Choice Three: Fall into the demonic path and immediately refine all disciples of the Sect of Interception. Reward: Heavenly Dao Baleful Treasure God-Slaying Spear.
Before he could suppress his shock at the system's arrival, Ling Xiao fell into a conflicted choice...
Sever karma, or immediately refine them!
Which would he choose?
Before you continue