Inside the Investiture of the Gods Space.
Shen Zhaochi's figure floated silently above the golden Divine Seat.
Before him, a gigantic Water Mirror clearly showed everything happening outside Xi Qi City.
From Sanxiao's furious arrival, to Qiong Xiao bringing out the Golden Flood Dragon Scissors, to True Man Yuding protecting Xi Qi City with the Apricot Yellow Flag, and finally to Yun Xiao making her threat and preparing to set up a formation.
The entire process, without the slightest detail missed, had played out before his eyes.
"Good. Very good."
A satisfied expression appeared on Shen Zhaochi's face.
Everything was proceeding perfectly according to the script he had written.
Sanxiao's fury, the Sect of Explanation's shock and panic—everyone's reactions were all within his calculations.
He was like a brilliant director, hidden behind the scenes, quietly enjoying the grand performance he had directed himself. The Primordial Era's top experts and the Sages' disciples had all become actors on his stage, reciting the lines he had written according to the script he had given them.
The feeling of controlling everything and manipulating the fates of all living beings filled him with a satisfaction unlike anything he had ever felt.
"Randeng, oh, Randeng. You'd better carry this blame well."
Shen Zhaochi's gaze pierced endless space and landed somewhere in the Primordial Era, on a pitiful figure fleeing frantically with a furious Sage in pursuit.
Randeng was probably kicking himself by now.
He never would have dreamed that a moment of greed would make an enemy of Zhunti, that madman.
How fast could a Sage move? No matter how great Randeng's abilities were, he couldn't shake him off. Now he was like a rabbit hunted by a predator, fleeing for his life through the Primordial Era without a moment to catch his breath.
What he could never have imagined was that while he was running for his life, a burden of blame heavy enough to ruin him forever had already been personally forged by Shen Zhaochi and firmly placed on his shoulders by the fairies of Sanxiao.
Once he finally managed to escape Zhunti and return to the Sect of Explanation, he would discover that he had become the sworn enemy of the entire Interception Sect and a disgrace whom everyone in the Sect of Explanation condemned.
By then, he would have no choice but to leave the sect and join the West. He likely wouldn't have any other path left.
And this was also one part of Shen Zhaochi's plan.
"As for Xiao Sheng and Cao Bao..."
Shen Zhaochi's gaze shifted back to the Water Mirror, to the two corpses Sanxiao had already gathered.
In the original course of the Investiture of the Gods, these two unlucky fellows had used the Treasure Dropping Golden Coin to knock Zhao Gongming's Sea Calming Divine Beads out of his hands. Zhao Gongming had struck them dead with a whip in return, and they had ended up on the Investiture of the Gods as two obscure wandering immortals.
In this world, their fates had remained unchanged.
The only difference was that the one who killed them had been Shen Zhaochi instead of Zhao Gongming.
After Randeng stole the treasures and lured Zhunti away, Shen Zhaochi had silently descended upon that stretch of sea.
He had seen Zhao Gongming, gravely wounded and near death, his hopes utterly extinguished, and the two rogue cultivators preparing to kill him and seize his treasures. He hadn't hesitated for a moment.
He had wanted Xiao Sheng and Cao Bao to kill Zhao Gongming with their own hands.
Only then would Zhao Gongming's death be sufficiently "humiliating," sufficiently "ironic," and sufficiently capable of driving Sanxiao to the most extreme fury.
A Quasi-Saint whose might had shaken the Primordial Era, only to die at the hands of two nobodies—the blow to his pride would be even worse than if a Sage had killed him, and the flames of vengeance in his family would burn even brighter.
And the moment Xiao Sheng and Cao Bao had succeeded, Shen Zhaochi had struck.
He hadn't used divine power. Instead, he had imitated a sword aura and the aura of a Measuring Heaven Ruler, dispatching the two pawns swiftly and cleanly.
Then he had erased every trace of himself, leaving behind only the "evidence" he wanted Sanxiao to see.
Using one person's hand to kill another, and accomplishing four things at once.
The first hand was Zhunti's. He had used a Sage to cripple Zhao Gongming, creating the opportunity for the later ambush.
The second hand was Randeng's. He had used Randeng's greed to lure Zhunti away and prepare the perfect scapegoat.
The third hand was Xiao Sheng and Cao Bao's. He had used them to end Zhao Gongming's life, pushing the tragedy to its dramatic climax.
The fourth hand was his own. He had cleaned up every loose end and directed every clue toward the conclusion he wanted others to reach.
The entire plan had been tightly linked, flawless from beginning to end.
No one could connect Zhao Gongming's death to him, the master of the Investiture of the Gods.
In everyone's eyes, this was simply a tragedy born of greed, betrayal, and coincidence.
"Next comes the Nine Bends Yellow River Formation."
Shen Zhaochi's gaze returned to the Water Mirror.
The three Yun Xiao sisters had already begun surveying the terrain on a mountain called Mount Qi, preparing to set up their formation.
The Nine Bends Yellow River Formation!
This was the most crucial part of his entire plan.
It was one of the Primordial Era's top formations, with the Primordial Golden Dou at its core. It could rob immortals of their Fortune, strip away the three flowers atop their heads, and destroy the five energies within their chests.
In the original course of the Investiture of the Gods, Sanxiao had set up this formation and captured all the Twelve Golden Immortals of the Sect of Explanation, stripping them of their cultivation and reducing them to mortals. This had forced Venerable Yuanshi and Grand Supreme Elder Laozi, two Sages, to set aside their dignity and intervene together.
In the end, the three Sanxiao sisters had died tragically at the hands of the Sages. Yun Xiao had been crushed beneath Kirin Cliff, while Qiong Xiao and Bi Xiao had perished, their souls scattered, and ended up on the Investiture of the Gods.
That had been the turning point when the Interception Sect began its decline, and it was an everlasting wound in the hearts of countless disciples of the Interception Sect.
This time, Shen Zhaochi didn't merely intend to bring the Nine Bends Yellow River Formation back to the Primordial Era.
He also intended to change Sanxiao's fate!
He would save them!
These three were the masters he had revered most in his previous life. Though their roles had changed in this life, his feelings for them had never changed.
He would never allow them to suffer the same fate again!
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