Ye Changqing's Last Chance

The Saints gathered once more in the Purple Firmament Palace amid primordial chaos.

Sect Master Tongtian frowned as he watched the other Saints, who were all smiling.

Ye Changqing had warned him long ago not to sign the Investiture of the Gods. It marked the beginning of the Interception Sect's destruction.

A flash of purple light, and Old Ancestor Hongjun appeared before them out of thin air.

"Greetings, Teacher!"

All the Saints hurriedly bowed.

Old Ancestor Hongjun gave Sect Master Tongtian a complicated look, then returned to his usual inscrutable calm.

"Tongtian, how is Ye Changqing's injury?"

He asked the question out of the blue.

Sect Master Tongtian's gaze sharpened. The Heavenly Dao had always viewed Ye Changqing as a thorn in its side. This sudden change could only mean trouble.

He could only answer through gritted teeth, "Thank you for your concern, Teacher. He's been much better lately."

A strange bitterness welled up inside him. He could only hate himself for being so useless as Ye Changqing's master.

He had tried everything, yet still couldn't heal Ye Changqing. Even letting him live as a mortal with a longer lifespan would have been enough.

"It wouldn't be difficult to keep Ye Changqing alive. It all depends on whether you're willing..."

Old Ancestor Hongjun spoke cryptically.

His words filled Sect Master Tongtian with tremendous hope.

"Teacher, you have a way?"

A beam of golden light flew from above Old Ancestor Hongjun's head and slowly unfurled in midair. Three characters appeared on it: Investiture of the Gods.

"This is a heavenly book nurtured by the Heavenly Dao."

"Leave a trace of your True Spirit within it, and you can be deified in the Heavenly Court in the future!"

"Think carefully. This is also Ye Changqing's last chance..."

Old Ancestor Hongjun had made himself perfectly clear. As long as Sect Master Tongtian agreed to sign the Investiture of the Gods, Ye Changqing could be deified in the Heavenly Court.

Though he would face many restrictions from then on, at least he would be able to live.

That was a thousand times better than having his True Spirit ground away by the Great Dao backlash.

But Ye Changqing had repeatedly warned Sect Master Tongtian never to sign the Investiture of the Gods.

One side held his beloved eldest disciple; the other, the entire Interception Sect. He couldn't bring himself to choose.

Still, the ten thousand immortals of the Interception Sect stood united. They would never sit by and watch Ye Changqing die.

"All right!"

"I'll sign!"

After much deliberation, Sect Master Tongtian gritted his teeth and declared.

He would carve out a sliver of life for his disciple, even if it meant sacrificing the entire Interception Sect.

If anything really happened to the Interception Sect, he would drag everyone present down with them, just as Gonggong Ancestral Shaman had done long ago.

The murderous intent in Sect Master Tongtian's eyes vanished in an instant, but the others still noticed it.

They didn't care in the slightest. As long as he signed the Investiture of the Gods, that was all that mattered.

Only after watching him sign it did Laozi, Venerable Primordial, and the Two Sages of the West reveal faint, sinister smiles.

"Teacher, when will you put Changqing on the list?"

Sect Master Tongtian looked up at Old Ancestor Hongjun and asked.

Old Ancestor Hongjun put away the Investiture of the Gods without expression. "The Great Dao backlash within him is still strong. Before he dies, I'll visit Golden Ao Island."

After saying that, he fell silent. The other Saints took the hint and left the Purple Firmament Palace.

Sect Master Tongtian glanced at the Azure Palace behind him, his brow furrowed. He could only hope that Old Ancestor Hongjun had meant what he said.

But his words represented the Heavenly Dao. Surely he wouldn't go back on them.

Only then did Sect Master Tongtian leave the chaos, finally with a glimmer of hope in his heart.

In the Primordial World, the vast procession had already left Taiyin Star.

There was just one more person in the group now. Her name was Chang'e.

Her husband, Hou Yi, had died long ago in the Witch-Demon War, and all her clanspeople had perished as well.

Even the place where they had lived had been destroyed in the chaos.

When she heard that Ye Changqing and the others were traveling across the entire Primordial World, she decided to join him.

To repay his kindness, she resolved to accompany him on the final leg of his journey.

Ye Changqing had no idea that Sect Master Tongtian had secretly signed the Investiture of the Gods to save him.

But he sensed that something was off in the air. The baleful energy of the tribulation was spreading across heaven and earth.

The secrets of heaven were shrouded in chaos. When he turned to look at the Interception Sect disciples behind him, their figures blurred for a brief moment.

Ye Changqing furrowed his brow, a bad feeling rising within him.

"What's wrong, Senior Disciple Brother?"

Yunxiao was the most perceptive. She immediately noticed the change in his expression.

But Ye Changqing couldn't say what was wrong, so he only shook his head.

Kunlun Mountain rose in layer upon layer of majestic peaks, radiant with rosy light and brimming with spiritual energy.

After Buzhou Mountain collapsed, it had become the undisputed foremost immortal mountain in the Primordial World.

It was the third place Ye Changqing intended to visit.

Before the Three Pure Ones went their separate ways, he had spent long years at their cultivation grounds on Kunlun Mountain.

Every corner of the mountain bore traces of his past.

They said that people always longed for their hometown before they died. This place held far too many of his memories.

Caw!

A crane's cry rang out over Kunlun Mountain as a white crane circled in the sky.

"Who dares trespass on Kunlun Mountain?"

The white crane transformed into a child and shouted down at the people below.

White Crane Boy was a close attendant of Venerable Primordial and a disciple of Immortal Weng of the South Pole, the Chan Sect's senior disciple.

As the saying went, a dog took after its master. After spending so long at Venerable Primordial's side, this fellow had naturally picked up some of his ways.

Though he, too, had been born from an egg, Venerable Primordial favored him greatly.

During the Investiture of the Gods Tribulation, he had repeatedly used Venerable Primordial's Three Treasures Jade Ruyi to kill members of the Interception Sect.

His hands were stained with the blood of Interception Sect disciples.

"Imbecile! Don't you even recognize me?"

Ye Changqing scolded him, making no effort to hide his displeasure.

Even if it were Immortal Weng of the South Pole himself, so what?

Anyone who dared disrespect him would leave here in a coffin!

"Slap him!"

Ye Changqing didn't give White Crane Boy a chance to argue. He simply ordered Daoist Duobao beside him.

How could White Crane Boy fail to recognize Ye Changqing? He had only been bluffing because Ye Changqing had brought so many people with him.

"How dare you!"

"Breaking into a Saint's cultivation grounds is a capital offense. Don't compound your crime by causing more trouble..."

He cried out, threatening them once again.

But Daoist Duobao didn't care. He teleported straight in front of White Crane Boy and raised a hand to slap him.

"Form the grand array!"

White Crane Boy didn't dare face him directly. He hurriedly activated Kunlun Mountain's defensive array, keeping Daoist Duobao a hair's breadth away.

He breathed a sigh of relief and quickly sent a message to his master.

"This is bad! Ye Changqing has gone mad!"

"He's brought the ten thousand immortals of the Interception Sect to attack Jade Void Palace..."

Venerable Primordial wasn't in the Primordial World, so White Crane Boy had no choice but to notify the Chan Sect's senior disciple, Immortal Weng of the South Pole.

BOOM!

A deafening crash rang out from Kunlun Mountain, startling every living creature within tens of thousands of miles.

They wondered what sort of person would dare challenge a Saint's authority.

But when they saw the densely packed ten thousand immortals of the Interception Sect in the sky, they quickly lost their curiosity.

Better not to get involved!

White Crane Boy made a face at Ye Changqing from inside the grand array. If he could hold out for a little while, reinforcements would arrive.

The Saint's master had personally set up this array. How could this rabble possibly break through it?

SMACK!

A slap cracked across his face, loud and clear.

White Crane Boy was sent flying by the blow and crashed into the ground, leaving a deep crater.

"How is this possible..."