"Run? Why should we run?"
Sect Leader Tongtian had never been beaten into submission, and his anger had reached its limit. His tone was downright brusque.
"Not that I'm looking down on them, but if they dare come, I'll make sure they stay here!"
"Uh..."
Xuanming's mouth twitched. "Grandmaster, tell me, is it possible that the 'you' from back then thought the same thing?"
"That's different!"
Sect Leader Tongtian shook his head, casually breaking the restriction Yuanshi and the others had left behind with the Immortal-Slaying Sword. He sneered as he looked toward Jade Void Palace.
"Back then, 'I' must have gone soft. Otherwise, with the Immortal-Slaying Sword Formation and the Six Souls Banner, so what if all four of them joined forces?"
"Grandmaster is absolutely right!"
Xuanming chuckled and played along for a couple of sentences, then turned to look at Yunxiao, whose form Tongtian had just restored. She still seemed a little dazed.
"Elder Yunxiao, how are you feeling?"
"How am I feeling? Heh..."
Yunxiao didn't answer. Now that she was fully conscious, she stared at Sect Leader Tongtian with a complicated look. Her voice was half mocking, half despairing.
"Master, my senior brothers and junior sisters are all dead. And now you're finally willing to show yourself?"
"I..."
Sect Leader Tongtian's lips moved. He wanted to say that he wasn't the master she thought he was, and that her master still didn't dare show his face.
But he swallowed the words before they could leave his mouth.
Try putting yourself in her shoes.
If the Dao Ancestor had ordered him into seclusion to reflect, would he truly have the courage and strength to defy him?
Probably not.
Even for the sake of the few remaining disciples of the Interception Sect, he wouldn't fall out with the Dao Ancestor or his two brothers.
As long as he was still alive, they wouldn't dare go too far.
Thinking of this, Sect Leader Tongtian suddenly felt that he understood the version of himself in this world. Would he have been able to do any better?
"Senior Sister, you really can't blame Master for this!"
Seeing how awkward the atmosphere had become, Green Lion and White Elephant hurriedly stepped forward to explain on Tongtian's behalf.
"When you were suppressed, Master showed up too. But Sage Taishang and Sage Yuanshi joined forces with the two Saints of the Western Teachings to attack him. He was fighting four against one and simply couldn't spare a hand!"
"What?!"
Yunxiao's expression changed abruptly. She only remembered that she and her two sisters had been bullied by the two Saints, Taishang and Yuanshi, who had used their superior strength against the weaker. She had resented her master for standing by and doing nothing.
She had never imagined that her master's situation had been a thousand times more dire than theirs.
Those were four Saints!
There were only six Saints ordained by Heaven across the entire Hong Huang Continent, and four of them had joined forces to attack her master...
"Why? This is unfair!!"
The more she thought about it, the more indignant Yunxiao became. She raised her head and looked at Sect Leader Tongtian. "Master, won't the Dao Ancestor do anything? Why does he let them bully the Interception Sect?"
"The Dao Ancestor? Heh!"
Xuanming curled his lip. Having read plenty of web novels from later generations, he even wondered if the Dao Ancestor still existed.
Was merging with the Dao really so easy?
Put nicely, he had gained control of the Heavenly Dao's authority and become the supreme Heavenly Dao, whose power overshadowed the entire Hong Huang Continent.
But what was the truth?
What was the Heavenly Dao?
It was the rules!
The Heavenly Dao could only act against you when you broke the rules.
But as long as you didn't break them?
No matter how overwhelming its power, it couldn't bypass the rules of Heaven to punish you. At most, it could conjure some special effects to scare people.
So, had he taken control of the Heavenly Dao, or had the Heavenly Dao taken control of him?
"Xuanming, watch your words!!"
Sect Leader Tongtian, of course, knew nothing of these speculations from later generations. Seeing Xuanming's disdainful expression, he immediately furrowed his brow.
He was confident he could take on his two brothers at once.
But the Dao Ancestor?
If he actually provoked that old geezer, he might end up locked away with his future self.
"Grandmaster, you're worrying too much, aren't you?"
Xuanming smiled and shook his head. "With the Dao Ancestor's power, how could he fail to notice us? Since he hasn't come to interfere, doesn't that mean he's given us tacit approval?"
"Hmm..."
Hearing this, Sect Leader Tongtian nodded unconsciously. That was what he thought, too, though he still felt a little uneasy.
After all, he wasn't the Sect Leader Tongtian of this world!
But their conversation terrified Green Lion and White Elephant, as well as Yunxiao, who had only just escaped and hadn't had time to adjust to her surroundings.
"M-Master, did you... leave without telling the Dao Ancestor?"
"Of course."
Tongtian didn't deny it. He turned to look at the three of them—oh, no, there was also the Golden-Winged Great Peng nearby.
"Crack!"
Without the slightest hesitation, Tongtian clenched his hand in the air. The Golden-Winged Great Peng, who had been planning to report Sect Leader Tongtian for sneaking out of Biyou Palace to the Saint as soon as they got out, vanished without a sound.
Golden-Winged Great Peng, dead!
"Gasp?!"
Green Lion and White Elephant's hearts lurched at the sight, and their faces turned pale.
"Master, he's Tathagata's maternal uncle..."
"Ridiculous!"
Tongtian snorted in disdain. "How come I've never heard that Duobao had a maternal uncle? Is a blood-related maternal uncle someone you can acquire later?"
Seeing that the two still looked panic-stricken, Tongtian scolded them, exasperated:
"You're both Great Luo Golden Immortals. How can you have so little composure? You're not even as steady as Xuanming, a Golden Immortal!"
"Master, he gets to stay by your side!"
Green Lion muttered, unconvinced. "If you brought us along, we wouldn't be afraid of those bald monks from Buddhism either!"
"Exactly!"
White Elephant chimed in. "You're even hiding your departure from the Dao Ancestor. What if he realizes you've left and orders you back? Wouldn't we still end up being ridden by others?"
"He won't get the chance!"
A profound glint flashed in Sect Leader Tongtian's eyes. He raised a hand to stop Green Lion and White Elephant from saying more, then turned to look at Yunxiao.
"Yunxiao, go find Qiong Xiao and Bi Xiao. While you're at it, get in touch with the Interception Sect disciples whose true spirits are on the Investiture of the Gods, and see who among them can still serve the sect!"
"Master, you..."
Yunxiao seemed to have guessed Sect Leader Tongtian's plan. Her lips parted, but she wanted to persuade him and didn't know what to say.
"I have my own arrangements!"
Sect Leader Tongtian's mouth twitched into a rare smile. His voice softened as he reassured her, "All the suffering you've endured these years—I'll settle every last bit of it with them."
"Yes!!"
Seeing that Sect Leader Tongtian had made up his mind, Yunxiao said no more. She turned into a streak of light and headed straight for the Heavenly Court.
"Master, th-this..."
Only then did Green Lion and White Elephant react. Their faces showed both excitement and trepidation, and they even felt the urge to turn and run.
Come on, Master!
Have you even fully recovered from the injuries you suffered the last time four Saints ganged up on you? Would the outcome really be any different if it happened again?
Before you continue