Yun Xiao Takes the Deputy Leader's Seat; Long-Eared Dingguang Immortal's Soul Is Destroyed

Suddenly, he stopped. A trace of confusion appeared on his anguished face.

He looked up toward the East and made a quick calculation with his fingers.

"Hmm? My junior brother Yuanshi and senior brother Taishang are actually dueling in the Eastern Land?"

"How interesting. How interesting."

A figure appeared out of thin air beside him. It was none other than Zhunti, who had been chasing Randeng all over the world but had never managed to catch him.

Zhunti looked thoroughly annoyed and down on his luck.

"Senior brother, that old rascal Randeng is slippery as an eel! I've chased him for so long and haven't even caught a single hair!" Zhunti complained indignantly.

"Brother, don't be impatient," Jieyin said slowly. "We can set Randeng aside for now. There's been a change in the Eastern Land. Perhaps this is an opportunity for our Western Paradise to flourish."

"Oh? What opportunity?" Zhunti's eyes lit up.

Jieyin briefly explained the duel between Venerable Yuanshi and Grand Supreme Elder Laozi.

After listening, Zhunti's leering face immediately broke into a scheming smile.

"Heh heh, senior brother, I understand!"

"Yuanshi and Taishang are fighting among themselves, while Tongtian is confined to his home. Doesn't that mean the Nine Bends Yellow River Formation, the three Sanxiao witches inside it, and those twelve good-for-nothings from the Sect of Explanation are all tempting prizes with no one to guard them?"

"Especially!" Greed glimmered in Zhunti's eyes. "The Primordial Golden Dou in the hands of the Sanxiao is a top-tier Innate Spiritual Treasure! And the treasures belonging to the Twelve Golden Immortals of the Sect of Explanation... If we could 'guide' them all to our Western Paradise..."

"Good." Jieyin nodded, wearing an expression of "compassion for all living beings."

"The Sanxiao fairies are burdened by sin and are destined to join our faith. The Twelve Golden Immortals of the Sect of Explanation have had their cultivation destroyed; now is the perfect time for them to see through the mortal world and take refuge in our faith."

"Brother, when you go, let compassion guide you. Bring all these destined souls back to our Western Paradise, and use the waters of the Eight Treasures Merit Pond to wash away their sins and worldly dust."

"Rest assured, senior brother! I'm the most compassionate of all!"

Zhunti chuckled and accepted the decree.

He no longer bothered with Randeng. With a flash, he turned into a streak of golden light and silently made his way toward Xiqi in the Eastern Land.

The mantis stalked the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind.

Yuanshi and Taishang were the mantises dueling.

The Sanxiao and the Twelve Golden Immortals of the Sect of Explanation were the pitiful cicadas.

And Zhunti was the oriole waiting to reap the spoils!

But none of them knew—

A more cunning hunter was lurking behind that oriole.

Wa Huang Palace.

Empress Nuwa was idly teasing a nine-colored luan bird.

Suddenly, she felt something and looked up into the void.

"Hmm?"

A golden decree appeared out of thin air before her.

It carried no magical fluctuations, yet contained a sacred aura of supreme authority, one that held power over the Heavenly Dao.

Empress Nuwa's expression instantly turned grave.

She recognized that aura.

The Investiture of the Gods!

This was a message from the master of the Investiture of the Gods!

She extended a jade finger and gently tapped it.

The decree turned into a streak of golden light and entered her brow.

A message appeared in her mind.

It was simple.

"Daoist friend Nuwa, do you wish to restore the Yao Race?"

"If so, go to Xiqi and help the three Sanxiao of the Interception Sect stop Taishang."

"Once the deed is done, the Yao Race may claim three hundred and sixty-five of the righteous gods named on the Investiture of the Gods!"

"The Yao Race may take control of the Heavenly Court and enjoy incense for ten thousand generations. Rebuilding the Heavenly Court of the Yao Race is not beyond reach!"

The message rang through Empress Nuwa's mind like a thunderclap.

For the first time, her serene saintly eyes showed "shock" and "elation."

Restore the Yao Race!

Take control of the divine Heavenly Court!

This... This was beyond anything she had ever dared to dream of!

Ever since the War of the Liches, the Yao Race's fortune had waned, leaving her, its Saint, with little more than an empty title. She had watched her people become mounts and materials for refining treasures, powerless to do anything.

It was an everlasting pain in her heart.

How could she not want to restore the Yao Race?

But the Heavenly Dao's great design favored the Mystic Gate. What could she do?

Now, this mysterious master of the Investiture of the Gods had made her an astonishing promise!

A promise that could change the fate of the entire Yao Race!

The Investiture of the Gods was a Heavenly Dao treasure that wielded authority over the divine order. Those whose names were inscribed upon it could attain divine positions, become immortal, and receive offerings of incense.

What would it mean if the Yao Race claimed thirty percent of those positions?

It would mean the Yao Race could return to the Primordial Era's stage in a different form!

They might even use the power of the divine order to escape the Heavenly Dao's constraints and restore the glory of the ancient Heavenly Court of the Yao Race!

The temptation was overwhelming!

So great that even she, a Saint, could not refuse!

"Who... is this person?"

A storm surged through Empress Nuwa's heart.

To wield the Investiture of the Gods and make such a promise—this person's identity and intentions were beyond anything she could imagine.

But that no longer mattered.

What mattered was that this was an opportunity!

An opportunity that came once in a thousand years—perhaps the only one she would ever get!

"Stop Taishang..."

Empress Nuwa gazed toward Xiqi.

Her expression gradually hardened.

"Fortune favors the bold!"

"For the future of the Yao Race, I'll wager everything on this!"

She slowly rose to her feet. The Mountain River Society Map, a magical treasure long sealed away, drifted from her sleeve.

"Jin Ning, prepare the carriage."

"This palace is going to the Eastern Land to meet a few old friends."