Kunlun Mountain was shrouded in gloom. Venerable Yuanshi had been struck so hard that his Dao Heart had collapsed, and he had directly announced that he was sealing off the mountain to avoid the calamity.
At the other end of the Primordial Era, in the West, on Mount Sumeru.
Beneath the Bodhi Tree, the two saints Jieyin and Zhunti sat facing each other.
A Water Mirror floated before them. It showed the entire sequence: Venerable Yuanshi had activated the Pangu Banner, only for the Heavenly Secrets to strike back and grievously wound him, leaving him unconscious.
Seeing Venerable Yuanshi in such a sorry state, a gleeful smile finally appeared on Zhunti's usually anguished face.
"Senior Brother, did you see that? Yuanshi really brought this on himself."
Zhunti chuckled, his voice full of satisfaction. "He's always acting like he's above everyone because he belongs to Pangu's Orthodox Lineage, looking down on this person and sneering at that one. Well, now he's finally hit a brick wall. He doesn't even know who his opponent is, yet he's been beaten into a collapse of his holy heart. What a huge joke!"
Jieyin still wore his usual bitter expression, though a hint of something hard to discern flickered in his eyes. He spoke slowly, his voice as compassionate as ever. "Junior Brother, be careful what you say. Senior Brother Yuanshi has suffered such a calamity. We should sympathize with him."
"Sympathize? I can't bring myself to." Zhunti curled his lip. "Back then, the two of us made great vows to the Heavenly Dao for the sake of the Western Teachings' lineage, shouldering boundless karmic debt just to secure our saintly positions. Yuanshi, on the other hand, didn't have to do a thing. Just because he came from a good background, he could sit back and enjoy the status of a saint. Over the years, he's tripped us up more times than I can count, openly and in secret, calling us heretics."
"Now he's gotten what was coming to him. Good! It shows that the Heavenly Dao turns in cycles, and the fortunes of the Eastern Mystic Gate are about to run out! This is the perfect opportunity for the West to rise!"
The more Zhunti spoke, the more excited he became, his eyes shining.
Listening to him, Jieyin's expression seemed to grow even more bitter. He sighed. "Junior Brother, I understand what you're saying. But have you ever wondered who this being is, the one who drove Yuanshi into such a state?"
"Even with the Pangu Banner in hand, Yuanshi couldn't glimpse the slightest trace of the Heavenly Secrets. Instead, he was gravely wounded. Such methods are likely on a level no lower than the Dao Ancestor's. If we act rashly now and anger that being, I'm afraid our fate will be even worse than Yuanshi's."
Jieyin's concerns were not unfounded.
Saints might be immortal, but only in relative terms. If they truly provoked a terrifying being even the Dao Ancestor was unwilling to offend, being suppressed for hundreds of millions of years would be worse than death.
The excitement on Zhunti's face cooled somewhat.
He furrowed his brow and thought for a moment before saying, "You're right, Senior Brother. We really can't afford to offend that being. But we're not trying to make an enemy of him!"
"Think about it. Why did that being target the Sect of Explanation? Why revive Shi Ji and take Nezha away? It's obvious he's supporting the Interception Sect and suppressing the Sect of Explanation!"
"That means that being has a close relationship with the Interception Sect, perhaps even with Tongtian! And what we want to do doesn't conflict with his goals. You could even say our aims complement each other!"
Jieyin's brow twitched. "Oh? How so?"
A glint flashed in Zhunti's eyes. Lowering his voice, he laid out his plan.
"Senior Brother, our goal has always been just one thing: Zhao Gongming of the Interception Sect, and the twenty-four Sea Calming Divine Beads and Qiankun Ruler in his possession!"
"Once we obtain those two treasures and combine them into the Twenty-Four Heavens, we can use them to suppress the fortunes of the Western Teachings! Then our teachings can finally escape their impoverished plight and truly usher in an era of great prosperity!"
"We held back before because we feared Tongtian and Yuanshi might interfere. But what about now?"
Zhunti's lips spread into a wide grin.
"Yuanshi is already scared out of his wits and has announced that he's sealing off the mountain. He can barely look after himself. As for Tongtian, he's been winning one victory after another and is feeling so pleased with himself that he's let his guard down. And that mysterious being is targeting the entire Sect of Explanation. I doubt he'll care what happens to one outer-sect disciple like Zhao Gongming."
"This is a heaven-sent opportunity! Right now is the perfect time to seize the Twenty-Four Heavens! As long as we act cleanly and don't take Zhao Gongming's life—just 'convert' him to the West and have him willingly offer up his treasures to become a guardian deity of our teachings—I doubt Tongtian or that mysterious being would go to war with the Western Teachings over a single disciple!"
After hearing Zhunti's detailed analysis, Jieyin's eternally bitter face finally softened a little.
He closed his eyes and silently began to divine the matter.
A moment later, he opened his eyes and slowly nodded.
"Good."
He said only one word, but it made his stance clear.
"Excellent!" Zhunti slapped his thigh and sprang to his feet. "Senior Brother, there's no time to lose. Let's head for the Eastern Sea at once! The longer we wait, the more likely things are to change!"
"Not so fast." Jieyin shook his head and stopped him.
"Senior Brother, what are we waiting for?" Zhunti said anxiously.
Jieyin replied unhurriedly, "Zhao Gongming's fortune is at its height, and he has powerful treasures protecting him. It won't be easy to convert him. Even though we're saints, if we make our move near Golden Ao Island, Junior Brother Tongtian will arrive with a single thought. That could complicate matters."
"Then what should we do?"
A faint, inscrutable smile appeared on Jieyin's face, though he still looked as if he were about to cry.
"Wait."
"Wait? For what?"
"Wait for Zhao Gongming to leave Golden Ao Island on his own. Wait until he reaches somewhere far from the Interception Sect, where he'll have no one to rely on." Jieyin spoke slowly. "And we can't go there directly. The whole world knows whenever a saint travels. We'll have to assume other identities and slip there quietly."
With that, Jieyin transformed into a gaunt, sallow-faced old Daoist with a mournful expression.
Zhunti immediately understood and transformed as well, becoming a short, shifty-eyed Daoist.
They looked at each other, each seeing in the other's eyes the look of a scheme successfully carried out.
"Your wisdom is unmatched, Senior Brother!" Zhunti said admiringly.
"Let's go, Junior Brother." A bamboo staff appeared in Jieyin's hand. He pointed it eastward. "The Eastern Sea awaits."
The two inconspicuous figures slipped away from Mount Sumeru without a sound and made their way toward the turbulent Eastern Sea, the heart of the calamity.
They had no idea that their supposedly flawless plan, every move they made, was clearly displayed before Shen Zhaochi in the Investiture of the Gods Space.
"So they've finally arrived? The Primordial Era's two top salesmen."
Watching the two shady Daoists in the Water Mirror, Shen Zhaochi couldn't help but twitch at the corners of his mouth.
"The plan can begin."
"Zhao Gongming, your road to godhood is ready. Randeng, it's time for you to offer your pledge of allegiance. And you two unlucky rogue immortals, Xiao Sheng and Cao Bao—your parts have already been written, too."
Shen Zhaochi's gaze swept slowly across the map of the Primordial Era before finally settling on the Eastern Sea, on an immortal mountain called Mount Wuyi.
There, two reckless rogue cultivators were basking in delight over a newly acquired Innate Spiritual Treasure: the Treasure Dropping Golden Coin.
A grand drama centered on Zhao Gongming, involving the Interception Sect, the Sect of Explanation, the Western Teachings, and countless rogue cultivators, was about to unfold under Shen Zhaochi's direction.
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