After hearing Daoist Jieyin's words, Yuanshi and Grand Supreme Elder Laozi could not help but fall into thought for a moment.
As exalted Saints, they were actually helpless against a junior and even had to ask Dao Ancestor Hongjun to intervene.
That was truly too humiliating for them.
But then they remembered that Lin Xuan had plundered everything they had accumulated over countless kalpas.
Moreover, they were currently in the midst of the Investiture of the Gods Tribulation.
If Lin Xuan kept hiding with the disciples of the Interception Sect and refused to show himself,
how could the Investiture of the Gods Tribulation proceed?
Could they really send their own direct disciples to undergo the tribulation and fill the Investiture of the Gods?
Although those disciples seemed like useless trash compared with Lin Xuan,
they were still beings of great fortune selected from countless trillions of living creatures in the primordial world.
They still had to rely on those disciples to continue their Saintly legacies, thereby seize the primordial world's fortune and advance their comprehension of the Great Dao.
And remaining deadlocked here was no solution either.
The tribulation would only grow increasingly severe, and by then, it might drag even the Saints into it.
In the end, Sect Master Tongtian and his Interception Sect, who had been imprisoned in Zixiao Palace, would become the greatest beneficiaries of this tribulation.
At the thought of that outcome, the four Saints felt as miserable as if they had eaten feces.
They could only resent the emergence of the anomaly Lin Xuan.
Otherwise, the Interception Sect would have long since been at their mercy.
How could things have evolved into this situation?
Left with no choice,
Yuanshi and Grand Supreme Elder Laozi could only nod and agree to Daoist Zhunti's proposal.
Afterward, the four Saints flew together toward Zixiao Palace beyond the Thirty-three Heavens to seek an audience with Dao Ancestor Hongjun.
Within the Outer Chaos,
an ancient, unadorned immortal palace floated there, as if it had existed since time immemorial and suppressed the countless spatiotemporal realms.
Boundless streams of chaotic energy surged into the immortal palace, and the three thousand Heavenly Dao Laws manifested there.
Anyone who saw this immortal palace would naturally have a name emerge in their mind.
Zixiao Palace.
This was the dojo of the teacher of all the Saints, Dao Ancestor Hongjun!
After the four Saints—Taishang, Yuanshi, and the others—arrived,
they stopped outside the gate, each tidying their appearance before speaking respectfully in unison:
"Disciples Taishang, Yuanshi, Zhunti, and Jieyin request an audience with Master!"
After a long while,
the gates of Zixiao Palace silently opened, and boundless immortal light poured out from within.
Taishang, Yuanshi, and the other two Saints exchanged glances.
Only then did they file into Zixiao Palace.
Once inside, they saw an old Daoist dressed in a hemp robe sitting cross-legged on a meditation cushion, with various visions of the Great Dao manifesting around him.
The elements of earth, fire, wind, and water revolved ceaselessly, while endless spacetime realms appeared and vanished.
Seeing this, the four Saints immediately bowed and saluted, speaking in unison:
"Disciples pay respects to Master!"
The old Daoist slowly opened his eyes upon hearing this. Looking at the four Saints before him, he said without joy or sorrow:
"What brings you here?"
The four Saints kneeling on the ground fell into a speechless silence upon hearing him.
The atmosphere within Zixiao Palace grew increasingly oppressive.
Finally, Daoist Zhunti, his face sallow and yellow, gritted his teeth, hardened his heart, and spoke:
"To eliminate the Investiture of the Gods Tribulation as soon as possible, save all living beings of the primordial world, and allow the three hundred sixty-five Virtuous Immortals and eighty-four thousand Stellar Fiends to take their proper positions, we beg Master to intervene and erase Lin Xuan, this anomaly of the Heavenly Dao!"
Grand Supreme Elder Laozi followed up:
"Lin Xuan, this anomaly, stole all the pills this disciple refined. He even seized the Eight Trigrams Furnace used for alchemy."
"He maliciously destroyed the blessed lands and daoist abodes of this disciple and my junior brothers, damaging the primordial world and its heavens."
"This child is truly a scourge. We hope Master will erase him and restore peace and clarity to the primordial world."
Yuanshi and Daoist Jieyin also kowtowed at the same time and said:
"This disciple asks Master to erase Lin Xuan!"
Daoist Hongjun looked calmly at the four disciples before him and showed no reaction.
Just then, an undisguised scoff rang out within Zixiao Palace.
"I can finally see your true colors clearly."
"You keep claiming that you are doing this for all living beings of the primordial world, but in truth, you are nothing more than selfish schemers, plotting against my Interception Sect's disciples so that your own disciples will not have to undergo the tribulation."
"I, Tongtian, am ashamed to associate with you!"
Upon hearing this, Yuanshi suddenly raised his head and looked toward Sect Master Tongtian, who was imprisoned on the meditation cushion. Everything he had experienced during this period surged into his mind.
His expression instantly darkened, and he spoke his true thoughts outright:
"Everyone under your Interception Sect is a feathered or horned creature, or one of the Spawned and Moisture-Born. To ascend the Investiture of the Gods and attain the position of a righteous god is their fortune and destiny."
"They should rightfully undergo the tribulation and take calamity in place of the Virtuous Immortals under my sect!"
Upon hearing Yuanshi's words, Sect Master Tongtian's blood surged, and his face flushed crimson.
Pointing at Yuanshi, he said in a trembling voice:
"So that is how you have always viewed the disciples under my sect. You want my disciples to take calamity and undergo the tribulation in your place."
"When you made these plans, did you ever consider the brotherly bond between us?"
"In that case, our ties end here!"
"From this day onward, there are no Pangu Three Pure Ones—only Sect Master Tongtian! Let the Heavenly Dao bear witness!"
After Sect Master Tongtian's voice fell, thunder suddenly rang out of nowhere.
The Heavenly Dao bore witness to this oath.
Before you continue