This sense of helplessness, this feeling of losing control, nearly shattered the Dao Heart of the high-and-mighty Sage.
"Tongtian... Zhao Gongming..."
His voice was hoarse and dry. He was no longer roaring, only mumbling to himself as if in a daze.
"No... That's not right..."
He abruptly raised his head, his bloodshot eyes sweeping over the disciples below, who were already frozen with fear.
"It wasn't them... There must be someone else behind this!"
"Who? Who is plotting against my Sect of Explanation?!"
He sprang to his feet, unleashing the full force of his Sage's pressure without restraint!
But this time, it wasn't a violent surge. It was a twisted, chaotic power that seethed with madness.
The very laws of the Jade Void Palace wailed beneath its force, and cracks began to appear in the space around them.
"Master!"
"Please calm down, Master!"
The nine remaining Golden Immortals were struck by this aura and all spat out blood, dropping to their knees in terror.
They could feel it: their master was on the verge of madness!
"Enough!"
Just then, a cool, authoritative voice came from outside the Jade Void Palace, instantly calming the rampaging laws.
A figure walked in slowly, treading on golden lotuses and holding a flat staff.
It was none other than the Sage of the Supreme Clarity, Grand Supreme Elder Laozi!
"Senior Brother?" When Venerable Yuanshi saw him, a trace of clarity finally returned to his crazed eyes.
"Yuanshi, you've gone too far." Grand Supreme Elder Laozi looked at him and spoke calmly. "When a Sage grows angry, heaven and earth change color. How can you behave like this, having lost control of your mind?"
"Senior Brother!" Venerable Yuanshi seemed to have found someone to lean on—or perhaps to be a child who had suffered a terrible injustice. His voice even carried a hint of a sob. "Look! Just look at my disciples! Guangchengzi, Chijingzi, Taiyi! They're dead! Those beasts from the Interception Sect killed them!"
"I can't see anything! I can't calculate a single thing! This tribulation is wrong! It's completely out of control!"
Grand Supreme Elder Laozi frowned slightly at his brother's loss of composure, then sighed.
He made a quick calculation, and his brow furrowed as well.
"The Heavenly Secrets... have indeed been completely obscured. This power is no weaker than ours. It may even... surpass our junior brother Tongtian's."
His words made Venerable Yuanshi's heart sink completely.
If even his detached, serene senior brother—who was most skilled at divining the Heavenly Secrets—said so, then the situation was far worse than he had imagined.
"Then... what should we do?" Venerable Yuanshi asked, bewildered.
Grand Supreme Elder Laozi fell silent for a moment, then slowly replied, "Wait and see. Since we can't figure things out, we should stop sending our disciples down the mountain. Gather our followers, seal the caves, and quietly recite the Yellow Court Scripture. Wait for this fog to lift on its own."
"No!" Venerable Yuanshi refused without a moment's thought. "Are my disciples' deaths to go unavenged? Is my Sect of Explanation's reputation to be thrown away just like that? I can't accept it!"
"Then what do you intend to do? Enter the fray yourself and fight Tongtian to the death, making all of the Primordial Era pay for it?" Grand Supreme Elder Laozi's voice turned cold.
Venerable Yuanshi was left speechless.
Just then, Daoist Randeng, who had been kneeling nearby with "unwavering loyalty," flashed a glint of keen insight in his eyes.
He knew his chance to shine had come again.
He spoke with "profound grief." "Master, the Sage of Supreme Clarity is absolutely right! We truly shouldn't act rashly at this moment. However... the death of my nephew Taiyi has left behind a grave problem!"
"What problem?" Venerable Yuanshi immediately asked.
"Nezha!" Daoist Randeng said gravely. "My nephew Taiyi's disciple, the reincarnation of Lingzhuzi, is now in the household of Li Jing, the military commander of Chen Tang Pass, and is about to be born! This child is one of the key figures destined to face the tribulation for our Sect of Explanation. Taiyi was supposed to go there in person and guide him into becoming a disciple. But now... Taiyi has already fallen in the tribulation. If no one goes to guide the child, he may end up lost among the common folk—or worse... be taken by the Interception Sect!"
Daoist Randeng's words struck Venerable Yuanshi's heart like a heavy hammer.
That was right!
Nezha!
He had nearly forgotten his most important piece on the board!
He had already lost three Golden Immortals. He absolutely couldn't afford to lose Nezha, his vanguard general!
"Someone must go! Immediately!" Venerable Yuanshi cried urgently.
But whom could he send?
He looked at the nine disciples below, too frightened to make a sound, and a wave of sorrow welled up in his heart.
He no longer dared send any of his direct disciples down the mountain.
As he hesitated, Shen Zhaochi revealed a "kind" smile inside the Investiture of the Gods Space.
"Want to take Nezha? Too late."
His gaze turned toward distant Chen Tang Pass.
Above Li Jing's residence, fortune gathered, and the hazy figure of a delicate child began to take shape.
"Three years and six months. The time has come. He should be born."
Shen Zhaochi's will stirred ever so slightly.
"Waaah—"
A loud cry rang out from Li Jing's rear courtyard, echoing throughout Chen Tang Pass.
But the cry hadn't come from the birthing room.
It had come from a spinning ball of flesh that radiated a precious light.
Chaos reigned in the military commandant's residence.
Li Jing stared at the "monster" his wife, Lady Yin, had given birth to, his face livid with shock and fury.
"Demon! It's a demon!"
He drew the treasured sword at his waist, murder in his eyes.
"I, Li Jing, guard Chen Tang Pass and have slain countless demons! How could I allow you, you demon, to be born into my household and bring chaos upon my family?!"
He raised his longsword and brought it down with all his might on the ball of flesh still rolling across the floor!
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