[10...]
[9...]
Shen Zhaochi didn't hesitate.
He couldn't make too much noise, or his masters would notice.
He gathered all the immortal essence within him. Instead of releasing it, he forced it to collapse inward.
He compressed all the energy of a Golden Immortal into his Purple Mansion primordial spirit.
[8...]
It was the most thorough, cleanest way to commit suicide.
His primordial spirit would self-destruct, and his True Spirit would leave his body.
The outside world wouldn't even notice a ripple of energy.
[7...]
Excruciating pain surged from the depths of his soul, as if it were tearing him apart.
Shen Zhaochi clenched his teeth. This was his only chance.
He thought of Master Yunxiao's gentleness, Master Qiongxiao's sweetness, and Master Bixiao's fiery nature.
He thought of how they had devoted themselves to teaching him, day after day, for a million years.
"I'm sorry."
[3...]
[2...]
"I have no choice."
[1!]
A thunderous explosion erupted deep within his soul.
Shen Zhaochi's body remained standing, but his life force had been extinguished completely.
A wisp of True Spirit, almost too faint to notice, slipped free of his body, wrapped in the system's protection.
The next moment.
His consciousness pierced endless space, crossed the Eastern Sea, and descended upon Kunlun Mountain, at the Jade Void Palace.
He "saw" three Daoists whose auras were terrifying beyond measure.
Taishang, Yuanshi, Tongtian.
Before them, a golden list slowly unfurled, radiating the boundless pressure of the Heavenly Dao.
The Investiture of the Gods!
[True Spirit beginning to take control...] [Saint aura detected. System energy consumption increasing...] [10%...30%...70%...] [Takeover successful!] [Congratulations, host. You are now the sole supreme controller of the Investiture of the Gods!] [Mysterious Treasure Chest issued. Please claim it.]
Bzz—
Shen Zhaochi's consciousness fused with the entire Investiture of the Gods.
He could sense each of the vacant divine seats reserved on the list.
Three hundred and sixty-five principal gods, and two thousand deputy gods.
From this moment on, Yuanshi no longer had the final say over who made the list and who didn't.
He did. Shen Zhaochi did!
An unprecedented sense of control filled his True Spirit.
This was what authority felt like.
In the Jade Void Palace, the three Saints sat facing one another.
Venerable Yuanshi wore an impassive expression. Venerable Taishang rested with his eyes closed, while Sect Master Tongtian looked thoroughly vexed.
They had just finished signing the Investiture of the Gods, and the majority of the names on it belonged to disciples of the Interception Sect.
Of the three hundred and sixty-five principal gods, more than two hundred would have to come from his sect.
The rest would be filled by disciples of the Sect of Explanation and the Human Sect.
How was this a discussion among the Three Religions? It was simply two against one, conspiring to cheat Tongtian.
"Are you two really going to be this heartless?" Sect Master Tongtian's voice held a suppressed fury.
Venerable Taishang didn't even lift his eyelids. "Junior Brother, this is the will of Heaven. It isn't something we can control."
Venerable Yuanshi snorted. "Junior Brother Tongtian, it's not that we're forcing you. It's that your disciples are hairy and horned, born of dampness or hatched from eggs. They cultivate no virtue and are burdened with karmic sin. They should be placed on the list, serve the Heavenly Court, and atone for their karma."
"You!" Sect Master Tongtian was so enraged that the three flowers above his head trembled.
"Fine, fine, fine. You say my disciples lack virtue? Each of your Twelve Golden Immortals is entangled in a tribulation of slaughter and has committed bloodshed in the mortal world. So why shouldn't they be placed on the list?"
Venerable Yuanshi's expression darkened. "The disciples of my sect are all True Immortals of Fortune and Virtue. They have their own ways to survive the tribulation."
In other words, my people have a way through this. Yours don't, so they deserve to die.
"Hmph!" Sect Master Tongtian rose with a sweep of his sleeve. He didn't want to waste another word on these two old schemers.
Just then, a sudden change occurred!
The Investiture of the Gods hovered between them. The Dao Ancestor Hongjun had just bestowed it upon them, and it had yet to be sent to the Investiture Altar. Suddenly, a flash of golden light rippled across it!
Bzz—
A strange Dao charm spread from the list.
The three Saints' expressions changed in unison.
"What's going on?" Venerable Yuanshi furrowed his brow.
"The Investiture Altar hasn't been established, and the tribulation hasn't begun. Why is the Investiture of the Gods reacting?" Venerable Taishang opened his eyes as well, a ripple stirring his usually placid Dao Heart.
Sect Master Tongtian stared at the list in bewilderment.
He could sense that, just a moment ago, a wisp of an exceedingly faint True Spirit had entered the Investiture of the Gods in a way that none of them had noticed.
That was impossible!
The Investiture of the Gods was a supreme treasure of the Heavenly Dao. It was guarded by the power of the Saints and protected by the laws of Heaven.
Forget a tiny True Spirit—even they, the Saints, couldn't interfere with its workings without the Heavenly Dao's permission.
"A True Spirit has been placed on the list," Sect Master Tongtian said gravely.
Venerable Yuanshi made a hand seal to divine the Heavenly Secrets, but they were shrouded in chaos. He could calculate nothing.
He sneered. "Nonsense! The tribulation hasn't even begun. Who would die and have their True Spirit placed on the list?"
Sect Master Tongtian ignored him. He tried to divine the Heavenly Secrets again, this time focusing on his own domain: Golden Ao Island and the Immortal Islands under its jurisdiction.
A moment later, his expression turned strange.
"So that's what happened... It was my disciple's disciple, Zhao Chi."
"He died by merging with the Dao, sacrificing himself for it?"
Sect Master Tongtian couldn't make sense of it.
The boy's aptitude was a little lacking, but he was still precious to the three Yun Xiao sisters.
Why would he suddenly lose hope and take his own life?
Still, he could discern a few clues.
Shen Zhaochi's death hadn't been an ordinary suicide. At the instant he died, he had used some unknown power to send his True Spirit precisely into the Investiture of the Gods.
The Investiture of the Gods was a tribulation, but it was also a refuge.
Once a True Spirit entered the list, it was protected by the Heavenly Dao. During the tribulation, as long as the list remained intact, the True Spirit couldn't be destroyed.
This boy's certainly quick-witted, Sect Master Tongtian mused.
Rather than be at the mercy of others during the tribulation and be killed before ending up on the list, why not enter it of his own accord and gain an early advantage?
He couldn't understand exactly why it had happened, but Sect Master Tongtian felt there was more to it than met the eye.
He didn't say anything, though.
Venerable Yuanshi and Venerable Taishang couldn't figure it out, but he could sense the general outline.
This was his opportunity.
"Since our discussion is settled, I'll take my leave, Senior Brothers." Sect Master Tongtian suppressed his doubts, cupped his hands to the two of them, then transformed into a streak of azure light and vanished from the Jade Void Palace.
He needed to return to Biyou Palace at once and study what had happened to the Investiture of the Gods.
Watching Sect Master Tongtian leave, Venerable Yuanshi's expression darkened further.
"Senior Brother, this Investiture of the Gods..."
"It's fine." Venerable Taishang waved a hand and closed his eyes again. "It's only an ant's last-ditch struggle. It won't affect the bigger picture. The will of Heaven is still on our side."
Venerable Yuanshi relaxed a little at that.
That was right. Beneath the Saints, all were ants.
No matter how wildly an ant jumped, what kind of storm could it stir up?
Three Immortals Island, Qionghua Palace.
Yun Xiao was worrying when her heart suddenly skipped a beat, and an inexplicable sense of dread washed over her.
"Something's wrong!"
She whipped her head toward the cave where Shen Zhaochi was cultivating in seclusion.
"Big Sister, what is it?" Qiong Xiao noticed her reaction.
"Zhaochi... Something may have happened to Zhaochi!" Yun Xiao's voice trembled slightly.
Before she had even finished speaking, Bi Xiao, the most hot-tempered of the three, had already transformed into a streak of fiery light and charged toward the cave.
"Zhaochi! Get your butt out here!"
With one palm strike, she shattered the cave's stone door.
But inside, there was no one.
No—there was someone.
Shen Zhaochi's body was still seated cross-legged on the cushion, his posture peaceful and lifelike.
But... there was no sign of life.
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