The Conversation Over a Game of Go in Eight Sceneries Palace; Sparks Ignite as the Calamity Begins

Grand Master Xuandu's gaze was calm and unreadable, yet seemed able to pierce every illusion. It rested quietly on Tongtian, who was disguised as Wang Lingguan. His casual question seemed ordinary enough, but it made Tongtian feel as if he had fallen into an ice cellar; the blood in his veins nearly froze.

Had he been found out? No! The Chaos Thousand Faces Art was flawless in its transformation. Wang Lingguan's aura, magic power, and even the slightest mannerisms had all been imitated perfectly! There was no way Xuandu could have seen through him at a glance! Was this a test? Or had that wisp of Grand Pure Will sensed the unusual fluctuations of the Chaos Bead or the Otherworld Fragment inside him?

In that split second, Tongtian's thoughts raced, but his face immediately took on an expression befitting Wang Lingguan: a hint of surprise and just the right amount of respect. He cupped his hands and said, "I am Wang Lingguan, General of the Vanguard. Greetings, Master Xuandu. I was just inspecting Flowing Sand River in the lower realm when I noticed some unusual activity, which seemed related to the unease that has recently spread through the Primordial World. I hurried back to report it to King Li. I happened to pass by here and disturbed you, Master. Please forgive me." He emphasized Flowing Sand River again, trying to divert attention elsewhere.

At his words, Grand Master Xuandu's face remained as still as a placid well. His deep eyes simply continued to watch Tongtian in silence for a moment. That brief silence, however, brought immense pressure.

Just as Tongtian could barely restrain himself and was preparing to strike, Xuandu finally spoke, his tone as mild as before. "The matter of Flowing Sand River will take its own course. His Majesty is about to arrive at Guixu, and every part of the Heavenly Court must remain vigilant. Since General Wang has already reported back, return to your post."

He wasn't going to investigate further?! Instead, he had merely offered a casual reminder and looked away, as though they had truly just happened to meet and he had asked a routine question.

Tongtian's mind filled with doubts, but there was no time to dwell on them. He immediately bowed. "I obey!" Then he rode his flying light toward the Record and Registry Department at an unhurried pace, though his back was already drenched in cold sweat.

Only after he had traveled far enough that Xuandu's aura was no longer detectable did Tongtian's taut nerves relax a little. Yet the inexplicable sense of wrongness and danger only grew stronger. Xuandu's appearance had not been a coincidence! Nor had Laozi's wisp of will swept over him by accident! They must have noticed something—so why hadn't they exposed him? Were they concerned for the Heavenly Court's reputation, or did they have another motive?

The thoughts of Saints were as unfathomable as the depths of the sea.

Tongtian suppressed his churning thoughts and grew even more cautious. He followed his original plan and reached the Record and Registry Department. It was a relatively quiet hall, responsible for managing the registration records of low-ranking celestial officials, strongmen, and heavenly maidens. It also occasionally handled transfer documents for minor divine posts. It was indeed far from a place of importance.

Using Wang Lingguan's token and identity, Tongtian entered the archives with little difficulty. Claiming he needed to check records of recent ascendants from the lower realm, he began quickly leafing through files made of Jade Slips and spirit foil. His divine sense sifted through the vast sea of information with utmost efficiency, searching for any traces related to the Investiture of the Gods, its custodians, or the rules governing its operation.

Time passed second by second. The archives held nothing but the faint clacking of Jade Slips and the figure of Tongtian (Wang Lingguan) flipping through them. Everything seemed normal.

Yet Tongtian's heart gradually sank. These low-level records contained very little information about the Investiture of the Gods. Most were merely routine entries, and none of them came close to the core. Finding a loophole here would be harder than reaching the sky.

Could this dangerous infiltration really end with nothing to show for it?

Just as impatience began to rise within him, the Otherworld Fragment he had obtained from the Netherworld Cold Pool suddenly gave off a faint heat, without warning!

Almost at the same time, the system's warning sounded urgently:

[Warning: Detected nearby high-intensity foreign law fluctuation... Source: depths of the Heavenly Court... Similarity between fluctuation frequency and Otherworld Fragment increased to 33%]

Tongtian jerked his head up! An otherworldly fluctuation? Deep within the Heavenly Court?! Before he could think it through, that fluctuation suddenly became clearer. It wasn't spreading out; it was being drawn by some force and heading straight toward the Record and Registry Department! It was moving incredibly fast!

"Not good!" Tongtian's expression changed dramatically. He instantly realized this was no coincidence! The thing had likely been drawn by the fragment inside him, or by the faint traces left behind when he had contacted the Investiture of the Gods earlier! Or rather, it had drawn the being controlling it!

Without hesitation, he retreated, ready to tear open space and flee at any cost!

But it was already too late! Vmmm! The space inside the archives froze in an instant, locked down by a force that was savage, chaotic, and ravenous. Every Jade Slip silently crumbled to dust beneath its power!

A fist-sized energy form, twisted and shifting, seemingly made of pure darkness, passed through the hall's walls like a ghost and appeared before Tongtian! It had no fixed shape, and strange patterns resembling those on the Otherworld Fragment surfaced on its surface from time to time. Its aura made the Chaos Netherworld Magic Power within Tongtian stir restlessly!

This was the source of the foreign law fluctuation! A living Otherworld Energy Lifeform with a will of its own! It had been lurking inside the Heavenly Court!

The dark energy form seemed intensely interested in Tongtian. It let out a soundless shriek that pierced straight into his spirit, then lunged at him. The space it passed through was eaten away, leaving blackened traces!

Tongtian had nowhere to dodge. A fierce glint flashed in his eyes as he prepared to risk exposing himself and unleash the Chaos Bead to destroy it. At that critical moment—"Sigh..." A barely audible sigh, as if it had come from time immemorial, drifted through the frozen space.

The next instant, a hazy phantom of the Taiji Diagram, as though inked in water and brush, soundlessly appeared above the dark energy form and turned gently once.

There was no earth-shaking explosion. The arrogant, murderous dark energy form simply grew hazy and transparent, like writing wiped away by an eraser, then vanished without a trace. It didn't even leave behind a ripple.

The frozen space instantly returned to normal, as if nothing had happened.

Only that sigh and the fleeting glimpse of the Taiji Diagram Phantom remained deeply imprinted on Tongtian's mind.

Grand Supreme Elder Laozi!

So it really had been him! He had known all along that something from another world was lurking in the Heavenly Court! He had even been monitoring it in secret! He had waited until this thing was stirred up by Tongtian and attacked before destroying it. Was this a warning? Or was he purging his own house?

Tongtian felt a chill run down his spine, and suddenly understood much more. The Heavenly Court, the Primordial World—both were far more complicated than he had imagined! The struggle between Saints, the infiltration from other worlds, the undercurrents surging beneath the surface—all went much deeper than appearances suggested!

He absolutely couldn't stay here any longer! Without another moment's hesitation, he stopped disguising himself as Wang Lingguan. Chaos Netherworld Magic Power erupted around him as he tore open the void and prepared to flee!

"Daoist friend, please wait."

Grand Master Xuandu's voice rang out again, calm as ever. He had appeared at the entrance to the archives at some point, holding an ordinary-looking Green Lamp. Its flame flickered, yet it had stilled the chaotic fluctuations in the space around them.

Tongtian halted and slowly turned. His eyes were full of cold wariness, and the Chaos Bead was poised within him. "Daoist Xuandu, what do you want?" He no longer bothered to disguise his voice, which had returned to its usual coolness.

Xuandu looked at him with a complicated expression and sighed softly. "My master asked me to pass a message to you."

Tongtian's pupils narrowed. "Speak."

"Though a spark is small, it can set vast plains ablaze. The calamity wave is near. Take care of yourself." Xuandu slowly spoke the sixteen words, his tone distant, as if they held endless meaning.

A spark? Did he mean Tongtian? The calamity wave? The Otherworld Great Tribulation? Was Laozi warning him, or hinting that he shouldn't act rashly?

After speaking, Xuandu stepped aside, clearing the way. The flame of the Green Lamp flickered faintly, and the space around them quietly returned to normal, as if to say: The way is clear. Go ahead.

Tongtian looked deeply at Xuandu, and seemed to see through him to the Grand Pure Saint enthroned beyond the Thirty-Three Heavens. Laozi's actions were unfathomable. He had destroyed the otherworldly creature, offered a warning, and then let him go. Which side was this senior brother on? Or did he stand apart from every side, obeying only the indifferent Heavenly Dao?

There was no time to ponder. Tongtian hesitated no longer. He gave Xuandu a slight nod, then turned into a faint gray streak of light and vanished into the void.

Grand Master Xuandu stood where he was, watching the direction in which Tongtian had disappeared. He lowered his gaze to the Green Lamp in his hand and remained silent for a long while. At last, he let out a sigh so faint it could barely be heard, and his figure slowly faded away.

A short while later, Tongtian had traveled millions of miles and left the Heavenly Court far behind. He appeared in a barren mountain range in the northern part of the Primordial World.

He reappeared with a dark expression. Thinking back on what had happened in the Heavenly Court, he was still shaken, but he had also gained a great deal.

Though he hadn't found any directly useful information in the Record and Registry Department, he had unexpectedly drawn out the otherworldly creature that had been lurking there, and caught a glimpse of Grand Supreme Elder Laozi's unfathomable attitude and methods. Laozi's words were even more worthy of repeated reflection.

"Though a spark is small, it can set vast plains ablaze..." Tongtian murmured to himself, a more resolute light gradually kindling in his eyes. "That's right! I am the spark now! One day, I'll set this rotten world ablaze!"

After this experience, he was even more certain that he couldn't rush the matter of the Investiture of the Gods. He had to wait for the true "calamity wave" to rise, for the world to fall into chaos and the Saints to be occupied with other matters. That would be the best opportunity!

For now, the right path was to strengthen himself, lay his plans across the Primordial World, and wait for the winds to rise.

He sensed the positions of Wudang and Kui Niu, and found that both had completed their diversionary mission without a hitch. They were shaking off their pursuers and heading toward the agreed meeting point.

Tongtian felt somewhat reassured and was about to set off to meet them when a sudden sense of foreboding struck him. He jerked his head up and looked toward the eastern horizon!

In the far east, the direction of Guixu, which had previously glowed only a dim red, suddenly erupted in a surging, ink-black radiance! The light was filled with the utmost destruction, devouring power, and chaos. It even seemed to overshadow the radiance of the Primordial Heavenly Dao!

Next, the entire Primordial World shook violently! It was as if an invisible giant hammer had struck it with tremendous force!

Wuuu! A desolate, ancient horn call, filled with boundless fury and warning, rang out from deep within the source of the Primordial World and echoed throughout all the myriad realms!

It came from the direction of the remains of Buzhou Mountain: the primordial world's warning horn, sounded by Pangu Will!

The calamity wave wasn't on its way.

It had already arrived!

Tongtian stood atop the mountain, the gale whipping his robes until they snapped. He stared at the black eruption devouring the light and listened to the desolate horn call. Rather than showing fear, his eyes blazed with fierce determination and battle intent.

The chaotic age had begun. The spark must burn!

He moved, turning into a streak of light, and without the slightest hesitation sped toward the place where the calamity had begun—Guixu! He wanted to see for himself what this so-called Otherworld Great Tribulation looked like!