As Tongtian's words fell, silence filled Zixiao Palace. Clearly, no one present had expected him to be so bold.
He'd openly challenged the number one expert in the Primordial World, Hong Jun, the very foundation of the path to sainthood?
That was gutsy!
Of course!
Admiration aside, Nuwa instinctively edged backward. She didn't want Dao Ancestor to get angry and strike her down along with him.
"Junior Brother, mind your words!"
Though Taishang Laojun was secretly delighted, he glanced at Hong Jun's dark expression on the high dais and still stepped forward to smooth things over.
"Master didn't mean it that way. It's just that your Interception Sect has so many experts..."
"Oh?"
Before Taishang Laojun could finish, Tongtian interrupted impatiently. "Senior Brother, Second Senior Brother just spoke on Master's behalf. Is it your turn now?"
As he spoke, Tongtian looked up at Hong Jun, whose face had darkened on the high dais. "All of you speak for Master. So who's sitting up there? Isn't it Master himself?"
"You?!"
Taishang Laojun was left speechless and was about to say more, but Hong Jun, seething with rage and yet helpless, beat him to it.
"As for the Investiture of the Gods, you may discuss it among yourselves. I won't be taking part!"
With that, Hong Jun suppressed the urge to fight Tongtian and disappeared from the high dais with the boy and girl attendants beside him.
"This..."
Everyone watched Hong Jun leave, stunned.
What was going on?
When had Dao Ancestor become so even-tempered?
Someone had practically trampled all over him, and he was still acting as if nothing had happened, simply turning around and leaving?
He hadn't been like this before, had he?
"Heh!"
Sect Leader Tongtian sneered. Did these people really think he was stupid?
Would he dare provoke Dao Ancestor without being sure he could handle it?
Ridiculous!
As the saying went, the Heavenly Dao was impartial and regarded all things as straw dogs!
Did the Heavenly Dao care whether you belonged to the Interception Sect or Chanjiao?
As long as you didn't interfere with its proper workings, what did it matter if you turned the heavens upside down?
Besides, how many times greater had the ancient battles between the Wu and Yao clans, or the struggles between the dragons and phoenixes, been than this?
The Heavenly Dao hadn't intervened then, either!
What had his Interception Sect done to deserve being singled out by the Heavenly Dao just for attracting all the immortals to pay it homage?
And after visiting the Journey to the West world, Sect Leader Tongtian had come to understand many things.
It was Hong Jun who was targeting him, not the Heavenly Dao!
As for why Hong Jun was targeting him...
He didn't know yet!
But one thing was certain: whatever history he and Hong Jun shared, it wouldn't involve the Heavenly Dao.
So what did he have to fear?
With the Four Immortal Slaying Swords in hand, he really wanted to test this first saint beneath heaven and see whether Hong Jun deserved his reputation!
Inside Biyou Palace,
After Tongtian and Nuwa of the Journey to the West world guessed that Xuanming might be an attendant sent by some mighty figure behind the scenes, their attitude toward him changed completely.
An ant?
How could that be?
In the eyes of a mighty figure who could tear open a passage between two worlds and toy with the timeline as if it were in the palm of his hand, they, the saints confined to a single world, were far more likely to be the ants.
However,
The two of them had been saints for so long that, even after realizing this, they still acted rather stiffly.
Fortunately, Sect Leader Tongtian returned at just the right time, rescuing the three of them from their awkward conversation.
"Grandmaster, how did it go?"
Seeing Tongtian walk in with an easygoing expression, Xuanming felt a slight stir of curiosity and asked.
Had Hong Jun still not shown his hand this time?
"How did it go?"
"Heh!"
"Fantastic!"
Tongtian returned to his seat of honor, then excitedly recounted how he'd turned the tables, leaving Taishang Laojun, Yuanshi Tianzun, and Hong Jun speechless.
"This..."
Not only were Tongtian and Nuwa from the Journey to the West world stunned, even Xuanming felt a chill run down his spine as he listened.
"Grandmaster, you just turned the table over like that?"
"What else?"
Sect Leader Tongtian spread his hands. "Should I have followed your friend's example and let those bastards walk all over me?"
"Friend, it wasn't that bad..."
Journey to the West Tongtian's old face flushed, but he didn't sound very convincing as he objected. Compared with his counterpart in this world, he really did seem a little spineless, didn't he?
"Junior Brother, aren't you afraid Dao Ancestor will trip you up behind the scenes?"
Nuwa was a woman, and more attentive to detail. Rather than focus on Sect Leader Tongtian's courage, she voiced her concern.
"With Dao Ancestor's power, even without confronting you directly, it wouldn't be hard for him to get members of the Interception Sect onto the Investiture of the Gods, would it?"
"Uh..."
The smile froze on Sect Leader Tongtian's face. Had he really not considered that?
He'd only been thinking that he wasn't afraid of Hong Jun, and that at worst, he could go to the Chaos and fight him there.
But now that Nuwa mentioned it...
With the methods of a saint, secretly killing a few Great Encompassment Golden Immortals, or even Quasi-Saints with Three Corpses, didn't seem particularly difficult.
Take his Six Souls Banner, for example!
Once he wrote someone's name on it, he could pray away half the life of even Taishang Laojun or Yuanshi Tianzun.
And no one would even be able to figure out what had happened!
"What should I do?!"
The more Tongtian thought about it, the more uneasy he became. If he'd really offended Hong Jun and, as a result, all the members of the Interception Sect ended up on the list, wouldn't he spend the rest of his life plagued by Inner Demons?
"Friend, if it comes to it, we should strike first!"
Beside him, Journey to the West Tongtian seemed to have remembered his disciples' tragic deaths in the Ten Thousand Immortals Formation. A fierce glint flashed in his eyes.
"You and I together would easily beat the likes of Taishang and Yuanshi. Even against Dao Ancestor...we'd still have a chance!"
"No, that won't do!"
Before Tongtian, whose eyes had lit up, could agree, Nuwa stepped forward to object. "As the Heavenly Dao's spokesperson, Dao Ancestor can't die as long as the Primordial World endures. We'd only be wasting our efforts!"
"This..."
Nuwa's words were like a bucket of cold water, extinguishing the little flames in both Tongtians' hearts. How the hell were they supposed to deal with this?
Were they supposed to smash the Primordial World to pieces just to get at him?
"Hmm... Actually, it's not necessarily so!"
Just as the three of them were at a loss, unsure what to do, Xuanming seemed to have thought of something.
"Grandmaster, based on what you said today, there was still a trace of humanity in Hong Jun's words?"
"Hmm?"
Sect Leader Tongtian paused. What did Xuanming mean, that Hong Jun's words still had a trace of hu—
Wait!
If the Heavenly Dao was impartial, why did Hong Jun still show a trace of humanity? Could it be...
"He hasn't finished merging with it yet!"
Before Sect Leader Tongtian could react, Nuwa was the first to catch on. Her eyes shone with excitement, and her tone turned peculiar.
"In our world, there's a saying that Dao Ancestor completed the Heavenly Dao by merging with it. Could it be true?!"
Before you continue