Crane Boy grew more frightened the more he thought about it, and the more frightened he became, the more he thought.
The tears he had finally stopped now streamed down again without end under the weight of his fear.
Given Heavenly Lord of Original Beginning's temperament, even if he did not immediately destroy him, he would find an opportunity to strike. He might not even give him the chance to enter the Investiture of the Gods Scroll.
The thought of Yuanshi directly annihilating his soul and spirit made Linghe burst into tears again.
He repeatedly slammed his head against the ground before Qin Hong and cried,
"I was wrong... I was wrong..."
"Uncle-Master Qin Hong, Linghe did not know it was you. I failed to recognize greatness..."
"Please, Uncle-Master, do not tell Heavenly Venerate!"
"Uncle-Master, Linghe was wrong. Linghe knows his mistake..."
Looking at the tearful Linghe, Qin Hong's heart stirred. "Hehe, you know you were wrong? You want me not to tell Second Uncle?"
Seeing there was hope, Linghe hurriedly knocked his head against the ground even harder.
"Uncle-Master, please spare Linghe's life! Please show mercy!"
"Spare your life?" Qin Hong raised his head and deliberately put on a mature air, stroking his chin with his chubby little hand as his eyes turned thoughtful. "That is not impossible!"
"However, you have to agree to do some things for me. Then I will not tell Second Uncle, and we will be even."
At this moment, Qin Hong had Linghe's weakness in his grasp. Linghe was Heavenly Lord of Original Beginning's personal attendant and surely knew and encountered things far from ordinary.
If Linghe could be used by him, Qin Hong would be even more confident in plotting against Heavenly Lord of Original Beginning.
"Alright... alright. Uncle-Master, please speak. Linghe will not refuse even if it means dying ten thousand times!"
Upon hearing Qin Hong's words, Linghe was like a drowning man clutching at a lifesaving straw. Whether he could make it ashore or not, he had to grab it first.
"From today onward, Linghe will obey Uncle-Master in all matters and follow your lead!"
After several more heavy kowtows, Qin Hong felt secretly delighted. No wonder this fellow had become Yuanshi's favorite third-generation disciple. His skill at saying flattering things was simply beyond reproach!
"Mm, Linghe, I came to Kunlun Mountain today because Golden Ao Island was truly too boring. I merely came to visit relatives and drop by."
"Is Second Uncle here?"
"By the way, who is at Jade Void Palace right now? They can keep me company for a while!"
"I traveled for so long and have not had a proper chance to play!"
Hearing Qin Hong's words, Linghe let out a long sigh of relief. He had thought Qin Hong would make him do something terrible, but it turned out he had only come to visit and find someone to play with.
He really was a child. Though his cultivation was high, he still could not change his playful nature.
Linghe stood up shakily, keeping his head bowed low as he said,
"Reporting to Uncle-Master, Heavenly Venerate has gone to Zixiao Palace!"
"The Twelve Golden Immortals under Heavenly Venerate already have their own dao fields. Only some third-generation disciples remain in Jade Void Palace now."
Thinking of several figures, Linghe continued, "There are also some insignificant second-generation disciples."
Though Linghe's pause had been brief, Qin Hong still noticed it.
However, Qin Hong showed no reaction and merely said calmly,
"Who are they? Tell me their names. What can I know if you merely say there are disciples?"
Linghe hurriedly replied respectfully,
"The second-generation disciples include Uncle-Master Shen Gongbao and several others. As for the third-generation disciples, I am their leader."
When he said "their leader," Linghe seemed slightly proud. But when he remembered Qin Hong was beside him, he immediately lowered his head and did not dare look up.
Because of that, Linghe did not see the fleeting surprise and astonishment on Qin Hong's face.
"Shen Gongbao?"
"An unexpected gain!"
This name was not unfamiliar to Qin Hong. On the contrary, it was immensely famous, much like Sun Wukong from Journey to the West.
Throughout the Investiture of the Gods Calamity, Shen Gongbao played an extremely important role.
With a single phrase—"Fellow Daoist, please stay"—he had tricked countless cultivators onto the Investiture of the Gods Scroll. Of course, most of them had been disciples of the Interception Sect.
When Qin Hong had read the Investiture of the Gods Scroll in the past, he had only simply known Shen Gongbao as a bad man, a great villain.
But now that he was in the prehistoric world and the Investiture of the Gods Calamity was about to begin, Qin Hong's thoughts became active.
The role Shen Gongbao played in the entire Investiture of the Gods Calamity was not the slightest bit inferior to Jiang Ziya's.
If there was any greatest difference between the two, it was that Jiang Ziya had ultimately read out the Investiture of the Gods Scroll.
When the Investiture of the Gods Calamity began, Sect Master Tongtian, in order to prevent his disciples from encountering calamity, ordered all Interception Sect members to enter seclusion and not roam the prehistoric world lightly, all to safely survive the Investiture of the Gods Tribulation.
Yet under Shen Gongbao's influence, the Interception Sect's disciples came out of their caves one after another, joined the Investiture of the Gods Calamity, and were eventually tricked onto the Investiture of the Gods Scroll one by one.
In the end, even Sect Master Tongtian could no longer sit still. He had no choice but to emerge and face the calamity, only to end up imprisoned beyond the heavens by Hongjun for the rest of his life.
The Interception Sect, said to receive the homage of ten thousand immortals, collapsed in an instant. Those who survived became nothing but puppets, laborers for the Heavenly Court, or mounts for Western Buddhism. Their lives were worse than death!
It could be said that without Shen Gongbao, the entire Investiture of the Gods would have barely contained any trace of Interception Sect disciples.
If there had been no scheme behind this, that would naturally have been impossible.
Qin Hong now deduced that Shen Gongbao must have received guidance from Heavenly Lord of Original Beginning, meant to lure the Interception Sect's people out of seclusion and onto the list.
Otherwise, with only Jiang Ziya holding the Investiture of the Gods Scroll and no Shen Gongbao, how could the Interception Sect's disciples have been drawn out of seclusion?
Therefore, Shen Gongbao as a person—or rather, this role—was necessary.
Without Shen Gongbao, there would have been Wang Gongbao, Li Gongbao...
If things had not gone this way and the Interception Sect's disciples had not emerged from seclusion, then only the Sect of Enlightenment's disciples could have gone onto the list.
"Hehe, Second Uncle, I did not expect you to have planned everything so early, just waiting to strike against my Interception Sect!"
An indescribable light flashed through Qin Hong's eyes.
All the details he had overlooked when reading the Investiture of the Gods Scroll before now surfaced in Qin Hong's mind one by one.
Jiang Ziya was granted the Heavenly Book, Shen Gongbao was expelled from the Sect of Enlightenment, joined the Interception Sect and formed ties with it, then entered the Shang Dynasty and became its national preceptor.
The Sect of Enlightenment stood with Xiqi, while the Shang Dynasty had no immortal sect lineage backing it. If it had any, it was only Grand Tutor Wen, the Interception Sect disciple who was sworn brothers with the Shang king and could not simply watch the Shang Dynasty perish.
As a result, there were naturally not enough candidates for the Investiture of the Gods Scroll. Shen Gongbao then continuously persuaded various Interception Sect disciples, luring them all out and onto the Investiture of the Gods Scroll.
In the end, Shen Gongbao even took the blame for an enormous crime and went onto the Investiture of the Gods Scroll himself.
What a fine performance of birds slain and bows stored away, rabbits dead and hunting dogs cooked!
Perhaps even when Shen Gongbao died, he would not understand that Second Uncle had intended for him to die from the very beginning!
Hehe, Second Uncle, what masterful methods you had!
He just did not know who had participated in this scheme, or how many people had played what roles within it.
Qin Hong's mind was now highly focused as he continuously considered the hidden workings of the Investiture of the Gods.
The schemes and plans within it were absolutely not as simple as he imagined.
As Tongtian's son and the young sect master of the Interception Sect, his foremost goal was to thwart the schemes against the Interception Sect and his father in the Investiture of the Gods Calamity.
Even if that meant becoming enemies with the entire prehistoric world, what was there to fear?
Before you continue