"This is..."
Sect Master Tongtian was stunned.
Who?
Who had secretly intervened to protect his disciples?
Could it be his master, Hongjun?
Impossible. His master believed in the balance of the Heavenly Dao and would never favor either side.
Could it be his senior brother, Taishang?
Even less likely. He'd be lucky if Taishang didn't kick him while he was down.
Could it be his junior sister, Nuwa?
Ever since the Lich Cataclysm, she had secluded herself in Wa Huang Palace and stopped concerning herself with worldly affairs.
Sect Master Tongtian thought of every Saint in the Primordial Era, yet still couldn't find an answer.
This power belonged to none of them.
"Could it be... the Great Dao is fifty, the Heavenly Dao derives forty-nine, and one has escaped?"
Sect Master Tongtian thought of a possibility.
Beneath the Heavenly Dao, there was still a sliver of hope.
Could that sliver of hope have fallen to his Interception Sect?
"Master?"
Daoist Duobao watched his master's expression shift again and again, growing even more worried.
Sect Master Tongtian slowly opened his eyes. The fierce sword energy in them receded, replaced by a thoughtful look.
"Duobao."
"Your disciple is here."
"Deliver my decree. Order all Interception Sect disciples traveling abroad to return to Golden Ao Island at once and cultivate in seclusion. They are not to leave."
"Huh?" Duobao was taken aback. "Master, why the sudden order? Many of our junior brothers and sisters are still out searching for opportunities..."
"The Cataclysm has begun. There are killing intents everywhere out there. What opportunities could they possibly find?" Sect Master Tongtian's voice turned cold. "Those hypocrites from the Sect of Explanation are just waiting for an excuse to target our disciples. Going out now would be no different from throwing their lives away."
"Understood!"
Duobao didn't dare ask anything else. He hurriedly accepted the order and left.
"Golden Spirit."
"Your disciple is here."
Golden Spirit Holy Mother stepped forward.
"Take my Qingping Sword and guard the mountain-protecting formation on Golden Ao Island. Starting today, activate the formation at full strength. Without my written order, no one may enter or leave without permission. Even if a Golden Immortal from the Sect of Explanation comes to visit, turn them away."
Sect Master Tongtian handed his sword to Golden Spirit Holy Mother.
The Qingping Sword was a High-grade Innate Spiritual Treasure, and a symbol of a Saint's status.
Using it to suppress the Formation Eye showed just how seriously Sect Master Tongtian was taking this.
"Master, are you... going to break completely with the Sect of Explanation?" Golden Spirit Holy Mother asked gravely as she accepted the sword.
"Break with them?" Sect Master Tongtian sneered. "Their Twelve Golden Immortals have incurred a killing tribulation and want to use my Interception Sect's disciples to fill the quota. There's no face left to save."
"I simply don't understand. We're all disciples of the Dao Ancestor. Why does Second Senior Brother have to bully us so relentlessly?"
There was anger and confusion in Sect Master Tongtian's voice.
He had founded the Interception Sect, accepting disciples without distinction and drawing countless immortals to his banner. How much vitality had the sect brought to the Primordial Era?
So why, in Venerable Yuanshi's eyes, were his disciples nothing but "creatures born from the wet and hatched from eggs, covered in fur and horns"?
"Enough."
Sect Master Tongtian waved a hand, looking somewhat dispirited.
"You may all leave. I'm going into seclusion to contemplate how to overcome this tribulation."
"Yes, Master."
The disciples bowed and withdrew.
Only Sect Master Tongtian remained in the hall.
He gazed at the empty hall, a trace of confusion flashing in his eyes.
Where was that sliver of hope?
Who was the mysterious being helping him from the shadows?
He couldn't figure it out.
But he knew he had to do something.
He couldn't sit by as he had before, watching his disciples go to their deaths one by one, only to be forced to set up the Myriad Immortals Formation and suffer a crushing defeat.
"The Investiture of the Gods..."
Sect Master Tongtian murmured.
The root of everything lay in the Investiture of the Gods.
Once the names on the list were filled, the Cataclysm would naturally pass.
"Since Second Senior Brother insists on a fight, I'll see it through to the end."
"But this time, who ends up on the list remains to be seen."
Fighting spirit blazed anew in Sect Master Tongtian's eyes.
A Saint's dignity could not be challenged.
And the countless immortals of the Interception Sect were no lambs for the slaughter!
Inside the Investiture of the Gods Space.
Shen Zhaochi "watched" everything happening in Biyou Palace and smiled, pleased with how well his plan was going.
He had just used his control over the Investiture of the Gods to expend a great deal of divine power, sending a faint "warning from the Heavenly Secrets" into Sect Master Tongtian's awareness.
He hadn't directly told Tongtian what would happen in the future.
If he had, Tongtian might not have believed him. Worse, it could have drawn the Saints' attention and exposed him.
Instead, he had vaguely shown Tongtian the outcome: the Interception Sect's core disciples had gained a sliver of hope.
That was enough.
With Sect Master Tongtian's intelligence and suspicion, he would naturally think things over and make changes.
As long as he began to change and stopped responding passively as he had in the original story, the Interception Sect's fate could still turn around.
Shen Zhaochi's goal wasn't to replace Tongtian and command the Interception Sect.
He still wasn't qualified to do that.
His job was to be a capable "support."
He would secretly clear obstacles for the Interception Sect and offer them a helping hand.
For instance, he could start by letting those people from the Sect of Explanation get a taste of what it felt like to be entangled in tribulation energy.
Shen Zhaochi turned his attention to Kunlun Mountain.
He could sense that the three names he had written on the list—Guangchengzi, Chijingzi, and Taiyi Zhenren—were now burdened with even more tribulation energy because of the changes on Sect Master Tongtian's side.
The Heavenly Dao was balanced.
Now that the Interception Sect had gained a little more hope, the Death Qi on the Sect of Explanation's side would naturally increase by the same amount.
"Excellent."
"Next, it's time to give Daoist Randeng a little trouble."
Shen Zhaochi's will locked onto Daoist Randeng, who was on his way back from Jade Void Palace to his own abode.
The future traitor of the Sect of Explanation, the Western Ancient Buddha Randeng—his streak of bad luck was officially beginning now.
Daoist Randeng rode on a cloud away from Kunlun Mountain.
He was still pondering the strange premonition he'd felt earlier.
Something seemed wrong, but he couldn't put his finger on what.
"Never mind. Perhaps the coming Cataclysm has left me unsettled."
He shook his head and thought no more of it.
His destination was a celestial island on the coast of the Eastern Sea. It was his abode: Lingjiu Mountain Yuanjue Cave.
As he flew, a thick bank of dark clouds suddenly appeared ahead.
Lightning flashed and thunder roared within them. A wave of destructive energy swept toward him.
"Nine Heavens Divine Thunder?"
Randeng furrowed his brow.
This divine thunder was immensely powerful. It was a punishment from the Heavenly Dao, reserved for those steeped in grave sin.
Why had it appeared here for no reason?
He didn't think much of it. As a Quasi-Saint, moving mountains and filling seas was child's play. He could simply go around a mere thundercloud.
But just as he was about to change course,
the thundercloud seemed to have eyes. It moved along with him.
He turned left, and it turned left.
He turned right, and it turned right.
It kept him firmly in its sights.
"How dare you!"
Randeng was getting annoyed.
He was a distinguished guest of Purple Sky Palace and the vice-leader of the Sect of Explanation. How could he let a little thundercloud toy with him?
He stopped and summoned his companion spiritual treasure, the Lingjiu Lamp.
Its flame flickered, casting a dim light that shielded him.
"Let's see what you can do to me!"
Rumble!
As soon as the words left his mouth, a massive purple bolt of divine thunder came crashing down with world-destroying force.
It struck the protective light around the Lingjiu Lamp head-on.
Crack!
The light shook violently, and a fine fracture appeared in it.
Randeng was shocked.
The divine thunder was far more powerful than he'd imagined!
The Lingjiu Lamp was a Top-grade Innate Spiritual Treasure with astonishing defensive power. Even a Grand Unity Golden Immortal's full-strength strike might not be enough to shake it.
How could a single bolt of thunder have cracked it?
Before he could react,
rumble, rumble!
Hundreds upon hundreds of bolts of divine thunder came crashing down like rain, blotting out the sky.
"Oh no!"
Randeng's expression changed dramatically. He hurriedly poured all his power into the Lingjiu Lamp.
At the same time, he summoned another treasure, the Qiankun Ruler, transforming it into a barrier above his head.
Even so, the sudden thunderstorm left him blackened from head to toe and in a wretched state.
A full stick of incense passed.
Only then did the clouds slowly disperse.
Randeng was covered in soot. His Daoist robe was in tatters, and a trace of blood clung to the corner of his mouth.
He had actually been injured!
It was only a light injury, but it was enough to make him lose face.
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