Laozi Suffers a Setback, Xuandu Joins the Jie Sect!

Xuandu clenched his teeth, blood already seeping from the corner of his mouth.

With the body of a Mortal standing between two waves of Saintly Might, death should have been inevitable.

Yet, in the unseen, the two currents of Saintly Might checked each other, forming a delicate zone of balance around him that allowed him to draw a few ragged breaths.

But this balance was as fragile as paper.

He had to make a choice.

No—he had made his choice long ago!

Xuandu suddenly raised his head. His gaze passed over Laozi before him and fixed directly on Sect Leader Tongtian, clad in green and holding a sword.

He bowed deeply once more, his voice hoarse but carrying an ironclad resolve:

"This Junior has made up his mind!"

"I beg the Sage to take me in!"

As soon as these words were spoken, the entire scene fell silent.

For the first time, the Indifferent and Non-Action Aura around Laozi showed a Subtle Fluctuation.

He slowly turned his head. For the first time, those eyes that saw through the ages truly fell upon Xuandu.

There was no anger, no pressure.

Only an appraisal that seemed almost like the Heavenly Dao itself.

Xuandu felt as though every secret within and without his body had been laid bare beneath that gaze.

Fortunately, he had not detected his system.

Laozi's gaze rested on Xuandu for a moment.

This Child's Root Bone was ordinary, and his fate had originally been clear: he was meant to enter the Human Sect and inherit the Way of Purity.

Now, however, his fate was a sea of Chaos.

Interesting.

Laozi's eyes returned to being Calm as an Old Well.

He did not grow angry. At his level of cultivation, emotions had long since faded.

He merely felt that things had become somewhat different.

Sect Leader Tongtian, however, laughed heartily.

"Good! What a splendid 'mind made up'!"

The appreciation in his gaze toward Xuandu deepened.

Unafraid of Saintly Might, steadfast in his True Heart—this Child's temperament suited him very well.

What the Jie Sect pursued was to seize that Glimmer of Hope amid ten thousand desperate predicaments!

This Child's words and actions embodied that very path!

"Elder Brother."

Tongtian looked toward Laozi. Sword Intent soared to the heavens, cleaving apart the Heavenly Dao Rules Laozi had invoked.

"You have seen it as well."

"Forcing the matter gains nothing and only loses purity."

"This Child is fated with my sect. Today, I shall accept him."

Before his words had even faded, without Tongtian seeming to make any move, a hazy azure immortal light had already enveloped Xuandu.

In an instant, Xuandu felt his entire body lighten.

The oppressive pressure around him was completely cut off.

Laozi stood quietly where he was and did not stop him.

Non-action was not incompetence, much less fear.

It was simply that, at this moment, for this matter, openly turning against Tongtian was not a wise move.

Though the bond between the Three Pure Ones had already grown faint, it had not yet reached the point of completely tearing off all pretense.

Moreover, the variables surrounding this Child remained unclear. Whether forcibly taking him in would bring fortune or disaster was still unknown.

Since his heart leaned toward the Jie Sect, then let him go.

The Heavenly Secret shifted and turned; what the future held remained unknown.

Laozi gave Xuandu a deep look, his gaze seeming to pierce through time and space, catching sight of some vague fragments of the future.

Then he withdrew his gaze, gave Tongtian a slight nod, and said in the same even tone:

"Since that is the case, take care of yourself."

With that, Laozi Took a Step. His figure became like a dream bubble, dispersing between heaven and earth.

There were no spatial ripples, no waves of mana, as though he had never descended at all.

The vast Saintly Might that had blanketed heaven and earth dissipated along with it.

The sky cleared once more, and the waves continued to surge.

Only the disrupted Heaven and Earth Rules, along with the lingering dread in the hearts of the Myriad Immortals on Golden Ao Island, proved that the confrontation between the two Sages moments ago had not been an illusion.

Xuandu's entire body went limp, and he nearly collapsed to the ground.

His back was already completely soaked in cold sweat.

Gambling against a Sage, even if only for a moment, had drained every ounce of his strength.

Yet an immense ecstasy surged up within him!

He had succeeded!

He had succeeded!

He had broken free of his original fate and successfully stood before the gates of the Jie Sect!

Though he had not formally entered the sect yet, Sect Leader Tongtian's words had practically made it a certainty!

"Whew!"

Xuandu let out a long breath of stale air and looked up at Sect Leader Tongtian.

Tongtian was looking at him as well, an intrigued smile on his face.

"Little fellow, you've got some nerve."

Tongtian's tone was casual, yet it carried an innate majesty.

"You actually dared to say you wanted to join my Jie Sect right in front of Elder Brother."

Xuandu hurriedly bowed again.

"This Junior seeks only the Dao in his heart, with no other thoughts."

Cannot Find by Searching Book Title? Try Searching Author—perhaps it was simply renamed!

Tongtian smiled but neither confirmed nor denied it.

"Come with me."

With that, he swept his sleeve robe.

Xuandu's vision blurred, and the scenery around him shifted at breathtaking speed.

By the time he steadied himself, he was already inside an incomparably magnificent great hall.

The great hall seemed to have been cast entirely from green jade. Its vaulted ceiling hung high above, carved with the Stars, its Dao Charm naturally formed.

Faint Sword Qi lingered all around, yet it contained vigorous vitality.

There were not many decorations within the palace hall; it was simple yet grand.

This was the Biyou Palace!

The core of the Jie Sect!

At that moment, several figures were already waiting within the great hall.

Some possessed a presence as deep as the sea, some as sharp as swords, and some as ethereal as clouds.

Without exception, every one of them was so powerful that Xuandu felt suffocated.

His gaze swept over them.

The man at the forefront wore a golden Daoist robe. His features were kind and broad, but his eyes were deep as he studied Xuandu.

He was Daoist Duobao, the Jie Sect's chief disciple.

Beside him stood a noble and magnificent female immortal, Spiritual Light gleaming around her. She was Saint Mother Jinling.

On the other side, Saint Mother Wudang possessed an otherworldly air, while Saint Mother Guiling's eyes were lively and bright.

There was also Qiushou Xian and Jinguang Xian... all members of the Seven Attendant Immortals.

Further away, Xuandu spotted a bold, burly man with a Golden Whip hanging at his waist. He was surely Zhao Gongming.

And the three peerlessly graceful women beside him must have been the Three Goddesses of Xiao.

These figures who would later stir the vicissitudes of the Investiture of the Gods Tribulation had all turned their eyes upon him, a mortal who had only just entered the Biyou Palace.

Curiosity, doubt, scrutiny, indifference...

Every kind of gaze was present.

Watched by so many Great Powers, Xuandu felt pressure like a mountain.

But he knew this was the final hurdle.

He took a deep breath, forced himself to calm down, and met their gazes openly.

Sect Leader Tongtian was already seated high upon the cloud bed, looking down below.

"This child is named Xuandu. He originally had a thread of destiny with the Grand Pure Sage."

Tongtian spoke in an even voice, yet it carried throughout the great hall.

"Yet his heart is inclined toward my Jie Sect's Dao. Today, he wishes to enter my sect."

As soon as these words were spoken, the expressions of everyone in the Palace Hall varied.

Daoist Duobao furrowed his brow slightly and said solemnly:

"Master, since this child is fated with Uncle-Master Taiqing, if we accept him, would that not..."

He did not finish his words, but his meaning was clear: he feared they would incur the displeasure of the Grand Pure Sage because of this.

Sect Leader Tongtian waved a hand and said indifferently:

"No matter."

"The rise and fall of fate each have their destined course."

"Since Elder Brother has already left, that is tacit approval."

"This child possesses a resolute temperament. Even beneath Saintly Might, he did not alter his resolve. He is fated with our sect."

With the sect leader setting the tone, no one said anything further.

Yet the gazes they turned upon Xuandu now held even more scrutiny.

For him to contend with the Grand Pure Sage over a disciple, and for their Master to be willing to slightly offend Taiqing's dignity to accept him—what Special Aspect did this child possess?

Judging by his Root Bone, he was merely an ordinary member of the Human Race.

Sect Leader Tongtian's gaze settled on Xuandu.

"Xuandu, since you are willing to enter my Jie Sect, do you know the Jie Sect's Teachings?"

Xuandu's heart tightened. He knew the crucial moment had arrived.

He Took a Deep Breath and declared in a ringing voice:

"The Jie Sect's Dao lies in the character 'Jie'!"

"For the All Beings of heaven and earth, Seize a Thread of Life!"

"Teach Without Discrimination—so long as one possesses the heart to seek the Dao, one may hear the Dao!"

At this point, he paused. Drawing upon his own understanding, he continued:

"The Heavenly Dao is incomplete; how can the affairs of the world be entirely Heaven's Decree?"

"Our Human Race is frail. If we submit to Heaven and do nothing in all things, we can only become the Demon Race's Blood Food, until our race is ultimately exterminated!"

"Only by seizing that thread of change and fighting with all our might can we seek one chance at life amid ten thousand deaths!"

"This aspiration is precisely in accord with the Jie Sect's Dao!"

His voice echoed through the Great Hall.

For a moment, the Palace Hall was silent.

A trace of astonishment flashed through the eyes of Personal Disciples such as Daoist Duobao and Jin Ling.

This child was no more than a Mortal, yet he understood the Jie Sect's Teachings to such a degree?

What was more, he had linked them to the fate of the Human Race. His words had substance; they were no empty talk.

The approval in Sect Leader Tongtian's eyes grew ever stronger.

"Good."

He slowly nodded.

"From Today Onwards, you shall enter my Jie Sect."

The instant his words fell.

In Xuandu's mind, the system's notification sounded like immortal music!

[Detected that the Host has successfully joined a sect: Jie Sect!]

[Beginning real-time calculation of the Cultivation Sum of the sect's disciples...]