Tongtian, who had still been seething with rage, looked at Green Lion and White Elephant kneeling before him, weeping and looking as though they'd found their salvation. A few question marks appeared over his head.
This didn't look like the reaction of someone who'd betrayed the sect?
"Grandmaster..."
Seeing Tongtian's confusion, Xuanming lowered his voice and explained, "The version of you in this world suffered a few setbacks and could no longer look after the Interception Sect... Martial Uncles, they only did it to save their own lives!"
"???"
After hearing Xuanming's explanation, Tongtian wasn't relieved at all. If anything, he was even more confused.
What did he mean, he couldn't look after the Interception Sect after suffering a few setbacks?
He was a Sage who shared the same lifespan as Heaven and Earth!
And he wielded the Immortal-Slaying Sword Formation. Even outnumbered two to one, he could completely crush those two old Western Teachings geezers. He was the strongest Sage of all!
Who could make him suffer a setback?
As he wondered,
Tongtian heard the Green Lion spirit before him ask timidly, "M-Master, has Dao Ancestor finally agreed to let you out?"
"Crack!!"
Green Lion's words were like a bolt from the blue. Tongtian's vision went dark, and even his body trembled slightly.
"D-Dao Ancestor?!"
Turning to Xuanming, Tongtian murmured, half in confusion and half seeking confirmation, "So the version of me in this world was imprisoned by Dao Ancestor?"
"Yes, and no!"
"Hm??"
Tongtian had thought he'd figured out the truth, but at that answer his brows furrowed into a deep frown. What did "yes, and no" mean?
"Grandmaster, um... it'd be better to let Martial Uncles explain."
Xuanming looked up at the bewildered Green Lion and White Elephant. "Martial Uncles, Grandmaster has been asleep for many years, so some of his memories are missing. Please explain the entire story of the Investiture of the Gods War to him."
"Huh??"
Green Lion and White Elephant stared at him, utterly dumbfounded.
Seriously?
Did you even hear what you just said?
Missing memories?
This was a Hunyuan Sage who shared the same lifespan as Heaven and Earth, endured as long as the sun and moon, and was eternal and immortal!
And you were saying he'd lost his memories after taking a nap?
"Hm??"
Tongtian turned his head and gave a displeased snort. His suffocating pressure descended over Green Lion and White Elephant once more.
"Qiushou, Lingya, do you have a problem with that?"
"No, absolutely not!"
With another thump, Green Lion and White Elephant prostrated themselves, shaking their great heads like rattles.
"M-Master, y-you've misunderstood! I-I was just wondering where to begin!"
"Y-yes!"
"Master, where should we start? With them surrounding and attacking you? Or..."
"Surrounding and attacking me?"
A strange glint flashed in Tongtian's eyes. "Then start with them surrounding and attacking me."
"Yes, yes!"
Green Lion and White Elephant hurriedly agreed. Once they felt the aura of death recede, they exchanged a glance, and Green Lion began:
"Master, this whole thing was Senior Brother Chang'er's fault. If he hadn't betrayed the sect with the Six Souls Banner, even if you'd faced four Sages, so what? Even if you couldn't win, you could've taken a few of them down with you!"
"Exactly!"
White Elephant chimed in. "Back then, you used the Immortal-Slaying Sword Formation to beat those four shameless bastards until they fled with their heads in their hands. If Dao Ancestor hadn't been biased..."
"Shh!!"
Before White Elephant could finish, Green Lion warily shushed him. "Are you stupid? Master finally got out, and you want Dao Ancestor to lock him up again?"
"Mmph!!!"
White Elephant instinctively covered his trunk and shook his head in terror, his eyes full of worry.
Clearly, he was afraid their only hope would be snuffed out.
After all, no normal person wanted to be ridden around everywhere—especially by a former enemy.
But Tongtian could no longer concern himself with any of that.
The moment he heard that "he" had been surrounded and attacked by four people, his rage instantly surged to its limit. He didn't wait for Green Lion to continue. Closing his eyes, he began calculating.
He wanted to see whether this was just a smokescreen cooked up by the two Western Sages to drive a wedge between the Three Pure Ones, or...
"Rumble!!"
Before Tongtian could calculate anything, the sky above Shituo Ridge suddenly turned pitch-black.
Not only that,
Within the ink-black thunderclouds, tens of thousands of deep-red Nine Heavens divine bolts writhed like silver snakes, as though they would strike down the very next second.
"What... what is that?!"
Green Lion and White Elephant went deathly pale. Even Golden-Winged Great Peng, who had been listening in stunned silence, trembled beneath the thunderclouds.
"Hmph, is that all?!"
Tongtian looked up at the sky, a sneer spreading across his face. He was about to disperse the thunderclouds when Xuanming stopped him.
"Grandmaster, you mustn't!"
Xuanming hurriedly stepped in front of Tongtian, his expression grim. "Grandmaster, if they sense your presence, we might never make it back!"
"..."
Tongtian's expression froze, especially as he recalled Green Lion's words: "he" had been surrounded and attacked by four people...
"Hah!!"
Tongtian let out a deep breath and reinforced the barrier with a wave of his hand. Only after making sure no one would discover them did he turn and glare at the deathly pale Green Lion.
"Useless fool! What are you afraid of with me here? Hurry up and tell me which four bastards surrounded and attacked me!"
"I..."
Green Lion opened his mouth. He wanted to say that back then, with you there, we'd feared nothing—and that was how we'd ended up as someone's mounts.
But he only dared think it to himself.
Under Tongtian's cold gaze, Green Lion could only explain in a low voice, "Besides the two Sages of the Western Teachings, the ones who surrounded and attacked you back then were your senior brothers, Lord Taishang and Lord Yuanshi!"
"???!"
Tongtian's face darkened further. "Are you sure Taishang was involved?"
"Of course!"
Green Lion and White Elephant nodded in unison. They'd seen it with their own eyes. How could it be false?
"That's impossible!!"
Tongtian still found it hard to believe. "Eldest Martial Brother has always been detached and indifferent. Renjiao barely has any disciples. What reason would he have to get involved?!"
"Grandmaster!"
Seeing Green Lion and White Elephant too frightened to speak, Xuanming sighed, his voice tinged with sorrow.
"Your beloved Eldest Martial Brother didn't just take part in surrounding and attacking you. After Master and the others relied on the Hunyuan Golden Dou and Golden Flood Dragon Scissors to set up the Nine Bends Yellow River Formation, stripping the Three Flowers from the heads of all twelve Golden Immortals of Chanjiao, they even disregarded their dignity and personally intervened, bullying their juniors!"
By this point, Xuanming's eyes had reddened. He gritted his teeth and continued, "He turned Master into a pool of blood with the Taiji Diagram. Second Martial Uncle was struck by the Jade Ruyi and had her soul scattered on the spot. Only Eldest Martial Uncle, whose cultivation had reached the Quasi-Sage realm, survived. Worried that he wouldn't die, they forcibly imprisoned him on Kirin Cliff, where he's remained trapped to this day!"
"Grandmaster, you... you must stand up for them!"
Before you continue