Above the East Sea, Three Immortals Island.
This island was the cultivation abode bestowed by the Interception Sect's Sage, Sect Master Tongtian, upon his three personal disciples, the sisters Fairy Yunxiao, Qiong Xiao, and Bi Xiao. Outside, the Nine Bends Yellow River Formation enveloped the island, shrouded in immortal mist and surrounded by auspicious light.
Ordinary Immortals and Gods wouldn't just be unable to set foot on the island; even approaching within ten thousand miles would get them ground to dust by the formation's baleful energy.
Within the island, at Qionghua Palace.
Fairy Yunxiao wore a plain-colored gown. Her demeanor was gentle as she gazed at a tightly shut cave dwelling, a trace of unshakable worry between her brows.
"Elder Sister, you're worrying about that boy Zhao Chi again."
A fiery-red figure flashed into view. It was Bi Xiao, the most impatient of the three.
"He's been in seclusion for a hundred thousand years and still hasn't made any progress. The Heavenly Secrets outside are in chaos, and the Great Tribulation is drawing near. How can I not worry?"
Yun Xiao sighed softly.
"Ah, what's there to worry about?"
Bi Xiao waved a hand, unconcerned.
"With the three of us here, and our honored master too, who in the Primordial Era would dare lay a hand on our disciple?"
"Exactly. Elder Sister, you're overthinking it."
Qiong Xiao also came over to comfort her.
"Zhao Chi's roots may be a bit lacking, and after a million years of cultivation he's still only a Golden Immortal, but so what? We'll protect him and make sure he lives out his days in peace. That won't be a problem."
Yun Xiao shook her head.
"You don't understand. This Great Tribulation is no ordinary one. I used the art of divining the Heavenly Secrets, and saw nothing but blood in the future. Even the Daoist lineages of the Sages face the danger of collapse."
"If Zhao Chi can't break through to the Taiyi realm, then in the midst of this great tribulation he'll be nothing but a slightly larger ant. We... may not be able to protect him."
Bi Xiao pouted. "Elder Sister, don't scare yourself. Our Interception Sect has thousands of Immortals gathering at our gates, and our fortune is at its peak. What could possibly happen?"
Despite her words, the three sisters fell silent and turned their gazes toward the cave dwelling.
Inside the cave.
Shen Zhaochi sat cross-legged, the immortal light around him dim and his aura in disarray.
Before him, the Dao fruit he had spent a hundred thousand years painstakingly cultivating was covered in cracks. With a sharp crack, it shattered completely.
"Pfft."
He spat out a mouthful of golden immortal blood, and Shen Zhaochi's face turned deathly pale.
He had failed again.
His attempt to break through to the Taiyi Golden Immortal realm had failed once more.
He slowly opened his eyes. There was no disappointment in them, only numb emptiness.
A million years.
He had transmigrated to this Primordial Era and become an orphan picked up by the Three Firmament Immortals, their sole disciple. A full million years had passed.
His talent was mediocre, his comprehension ordinary.
It was only because his three masters had piled countless treasures of Heaven and Earth into him that he had managed to become a Golden Immortal in a million years.
But Golden Immortal was his limit.
No matter how hard he cultivated or how long he meditated in seclusion, the threshold of the Taiyi Golden Immortal realm remained an insurmountable chasm.
"A Golden Immortal doesn't even count as cannon fodder in the Great Tribulation of Investiture of the Gods."
Shen Zhaochi gave a self-mocking laugh.
As a transmigrator, he knew better than anyone what was about to happen.
The Three Religions had jointly signed the Investiture of the Gods.
The Twelve Golden Immortals of the Sect of Explanation had incurred a killing tribulation, but Venerable Yuanshi couldn't bear to send his own disciples onto the list. So he and Taishang conspired to push the Interception Sect forward as a scapegoat.
They called it a matter of principle: the Interception Sect's disciples were numerous among those born from dampness and eggs, covered in fur and crowned with horns, and thus deserved to be placed on the list.
Bullshit.
In the end, it was because the Interception Sect's master, Sect Master Tongtian, was too stubborn and didn't understand how the world worked. The other two Sages had joined forces to take him down.
The result: the Interception Sect's thousands of Immortals were wiped out, with fewer than one in ten surviving. A vast Sage's Daoist lineage fell apart.
And his three most beloved masters...
Yun Xiao was pinned beneath Kirin Cliff.
Qiong Xiao and Bi Xiao suffered even worse fates. They were sent straight onto the Investiture of the Gods, their True Spirits trapped and denied freedom for all eternity.
"I can't accept this ending."
Shen Zhaochi murmured to himself.
His three masters had treated him like their own son, raising him for a million years. Their kindness to him was as weighty as a mountain.
How could he stand by and watch them walk toward a tragedy that had already been decided?
But what could he do?
He was a good-for-nothing who had failed to break through to the Taiyi Golden Immortal realm in a million years.
Go beg his grandmaster, Sect Master Tongtian?
Don't make me laugh. Beneath the Sages, all were ants. He didn't even qualify to meet a Sage.
Besides, the Sages had already been blinded by the Heavenly Dao and couldn't see what the future held.
This was a truly nightmarish start.
Just as Shen Zhaochi's thoughts grew troubled and despair washed over him—
[Ding!]
[The Three Religions have signed the Investiture of the Gods at Jade Void Palace. The Great Tribulation of Investiture of the Gods has officially begun. The Strongest Godhood System is activating!]
A cold, mechanical voice rang without warning in his mind.
Shen Zhaochi froze completely.
A system?
[Host: Shen Zhaochi]
[ cultivation: Mid Golden Immortal]
[The host is at the very heart of the Great Tribulation of Investiture of the Gods. Two beginner routes are now available. Please choose one.]
It was here!
Shen Zhaochi's spirits lifted.
[Route One: Avoid the Tribulation and Escape Disaster. The host will receive the Innate Spiritual Treasure "Sea Calming Divine Beads" (twenty-four beads) and the Heaven Concealing Secret Method. These can conceal the host's Heavenly Secrets to the greatest extent. Find a place to hide and cultivate in seclusion until the tribulation has passed.]
At the sight of this option, Shen Zhaochi's heart skipped a beat.
The Sea Calming Divine Beads!
They were the treasure Daoist Randeng would later use to attain the Dao. Their power was boundless.
With this treasure and the Heaven Concealing Secret Method, he was ninety-nine percent certain he could safely make it through this great tribulation.
For any immortal caught in a tribulation, this was an irresistible temptation.
But he didn't choose right away.
He looked at the second option.
[Route Two: Pulling the Firewood from Under the Pot. The host must immediately end his own life. Under the system's guidance, his True Spirit will instantly enter the "Investiture of the Gods," making him its supreme controller. The host will also receive one Mysterious Treasure Chest.]
[Warning: This route is extremely risky. Once chosen, the host will immediately die, and his physical body will be destroyed. If the attempt to enter the Investiture of the Gods fails, the host will perish completely. Please choose with care.]
Shen Zhaochi stared at the two options, lost in thought.
Route One: lie low.
Lie low until the end of time, until the tribulation was over.
He could survive.
But what about his masters? What about the Interception Sect?
Would the Sea Calming Divine Beads let him fight Venerable Yuanshi, who wielded the Pangu Banner? Or Taishang, with the Taiji Diagram in his hands?
Impossible.
At most, he could watch the tragedy unfold, then live out his days in hiding.
What was the difference between living like that and being dead?
His gaze fell on Route Two.
End his own life.
Enter the Investiture of the Gods.
Become its supreme controller.
It was an idea so insane it bordered on madness.
What was the Investiture of the Gods? The core of this great tribulation! A tool the Heavenly Dao used to bring order to the Primordial Era!
To control it meant controlling the life and death of every deity placed on the list. It might even let him influence the course of the entire tribulation to some extent.
The risk?
Instant death. Game over for good.
The reward?
A trump card capable of flipping the board!
"Take a chance, and a bicycle becomes a motorcycle."
Shen Zhaochi's breathing grew a little quicker.
He was a transmigrator. His greatest advantage wasn't his cultivation or his magic treasures—it was his knowledge of what was to come!
He knew how the Investiture of the Gods worked, who would be listed, and every major turning point in the future.
If he could control the Investiture of the Gods...
He could make sure that those hypocrites from the Sect of Explanation were assigned their places nice and neatly.
The Twelve Golden Immortals, Randeng, Old Man Nanji—every last one of them could get on the list and work security for him!
As for himself, he could rebuild his body after losing it.
With his True Spirit inside the Investiture of the Gods, as long as the list endured, so would he.
This was a huge win with no downside!
The only problem was how to keep it from his three masters and complete the "end his own life" step.
If they found out, they would never let him do it.
Shen Zhaochi stood and paced back and forth inside the cave dwelling.
His mind raced.
Route One was a poison disguised as comfort. It meant giving everything up and scraping by.
Route Two was a desperate gamble that would let him live through death. It was his only chance to change his fate.
He, Shen Zhaochi, had spent a million years suffocating in the Primordial Era. He didn't want to keep living that way.
"Master, forgive your unfilial disciple."
Shen Zhaochi bowed deeply toward the entrance of the cave, in the direction of Three Immortals Island.
"Once I take control of the divine path, I'll defy Heaven and change your fates!"
He made his decision.
[System, I choose Route Two!]
[Choice confirmed. Route Two: Pulling the Firewood from Under the Pot, activated. The host must end his own life within ten breaths, or the choice will be considered abandoned.]
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