The Prophecy Comes True-Is the Interception Sect Really the Main Force in the Investiture of the Gods?

The Primordial World, East Sea, Golden Turtle Island.

Biyou Palace.

"Oh no. This is really bad!"

"That scoundrel Haotian actually went to Zixiao Palace to lodge a complaint!"

"Haotian wasn't the only one who went. I heard Uncle-Master Taiqing arrived at Zixiao Palace ahead of him."

"Uncle-Master Yuanshi has also left Kunlun Mountain. Those two Western Sages couldn't even spare a thought for Mount Sumeru and are rushing to Zixiao Palace too."

"Everything Senior Disciple Brother said three hundred years ago has come true!"

"Could the Investiture of the Gods List really be about to appear?"

"Once our true spirits are placed on the list, we'll be at the Heavenly Court's beck and call, our lives no longer our own, our path to the Great Dao cut off, and our freedom gone forever... How is this an Investiture of the Gods List? It's clearly a Soul-Locking List, a Life-Urging List, a Path-Severing List!"

Biyou Palace, usually a place of tranquil solemnity, was now unusually noisy.

The Interception Sect's core disciples had gathered in the great hall.

Daoist Duobao stood on the left, his brows knitted tightly.

Holy Mother Jinling's expression was icy, though barely restrained fury lurked in her eyes.

Holy Mother Wudang remained silent.

Holy Mother Guiling paced back and forth, clearly at the end of her patience.

Among the Outer Sect disciples, Zhao Gongming and the Three Xiao Sisters were also present.

Yun Xiao looked the calmest, though a hint of solemnity had crept into her clear eyes.

Qiong Xiao and Bi Xiao, on the other hand, could barely contain their anger.

There was no help for it.

The matter was simply too serious.

So serious that even the Interception Sect, with its Ten Thousand Immortals paying court and its reputation as the Primordial World's greatest sect, couldn't afford to take it lightly.

Three hundred years ago, Zhao Xuan, the first disciple under Master Tongtian, had said something in Biyou Palace.

Haotian of the Heavenly Court would go to Zixiao Palace to lodge a complaint.

Dao Ancestor Hongjun would summon the Sages for a discussion.

After that, the Investiture of the Gods List would appear.

Disciples of the Three Teachings would enter the tribulation and be invested as gods.

When Zhao Xuan had said this, the whole of Biyou Palace had erupted in an uproar.

It wasn't that they didn't respect Zhao Xuan, their Senior Disciple Brother.

In fact, Zhao Xuan held a very special place within the Interception Sect.

He wasn't the sect's most famous disciple.

In terms of renown beyond the sect, Daoist Duobao, Holy Mother Jinling, Holy Mother Guiling, and even Zhao Gongming and the Three Xiao Sisters were all more famous than he was.

Nor was he the disciple who most liked to manage affairs.

Most of the Interception Sect's day-to-day business was handled by Daoist Duobao, Holy Mother Jinling, and the others.

But anyone familiar with the Interception Sect knew that Zhao Xuan had been the first disciple to follow Master Tongtian.

Long before the Three Pure Ones had gone their separate ways, when Master Tongtian was still on Kunlun Mountain, Zhao Xuan had already entered the Shangqing lineage.

Later, the Three Pure Ones parted ways. Master Tongtian traveled east and founded the Interception Sect, and Zhao Xuan went with him to Golden Turtle Island.

Over the years, Zhao Xuan had rarely fought with anyone, and he seldom displayed his abilities in public.

Yet whenever he spoke, everyone in the Interception Sect listened carefully—even Daoist Duobao, the sect's second direct disciple.

It was just that what he'd said three hundred years ago had been too outrageous.

So outrageous that hardly any Interception Sect disciple had dared to believe it, even though Zhao Xuan was the one who'd said it.

What did the Heavenly Court's lack of manpower have to do with the Interception Sect?

If Haotian couldn't hold on to his position as Heavenly Emperor, that was his own incompetence.

He was the dignified Heavenly Emperor, with the Dao Ancestor backing him and the nominal authority to rule the Three Realms, yet he couldn't even assemble a decent staff for the Heavenly Court.

Should they blame Haotian's incompetence, or were they supposed to blame the disciples of the Three Teachings for not volunteering to serve him?

What kind of logic was that?

Besides, even if the Heavenly Court really needed people, even if the Dao Ancestor truly intended to have disciples of the Three Teachings serve as gods in the Heavenly Court, shouldn't the Three Teachings split the burden equally?

Uncle-Master Taiqing had the Human Sect.

Uncle-Master Yuanshi had the Chan Sect.

Their master, Tongtian, had the Interception Sect.

Those two Western Sages might constantly cry about how poor the West was, but at least they'd founded the Western Teachings.

Then there was the Demon Race under Saint Nuwa.

Though the Tribulation of the Sorcerer and Demon had ended, the Sorcerer and Demon Races had both suffered terribly.

But a starved camel was still bigger than a horse. Even now, the Demon Race had plenty of top experts who could take up divine posts in the Heavenly Court.

If all those Sages had people at their disposal, why should the Interception Sect be the one to suffer in the end?

Was Xuandu of Uncle-Master Taiqing's Human Sect not going on the list?

Were all Twelve Golden Immortals of Uncle-Master Yuanshi's Chan Sect free of tribulations?

Were those two Western Sages going to do nothing but complain about being poor and pay no price at all?

Could the Demon Race really stay out of it just because of the War of the Sorcerer and Demon they'd started themselves?

At the time, that was more or less what the Interception Sect's disciples had thought.

Some even wondered whether Senior Disciple Brother Zhao Xuan had spent too long in seclusion, gone a little mad from divining the Heavenly Secret.

After all, what was the Interception Sect's situation now?

Ten Thousand Immortals paying court!

Who in the Primordial World didn't know the Interception Sect was at its height?

In the East Sea, Interception Sect disciples suppressed demons and monsters.

In the Southern Wilderness, Interception Sect disciples quelled the poisonous miasma.

When chaos broke out among the independent cultivators overseas, it was often Interception Sect disciples who stepped in to mediate.

When evil cultivators harassed human tribes, Interception Sect disciples often lent a hand along the way.

Even in the Heavenly Court, quite a few officials had been selected from among the Interception Sect's collateral disciples.

Across the entire Primordial World, whether in the number of disciples, the weight of their influence and fortune, or their impact on all corners of the world, the Interception Sect was unquestionably number one.

Under those circumstances, who could have imagined that the sect with the most disciples and the greatest reputation would become its own greatest liability?

But now...

Haotian had gone to Zixiao Palace.

Taiqing had gone to Zixiao Palace.

Yuanshi Tianzun had gone to Zixiao Palace too.

The Two Western Sages had also gone to Zixiao Palace.

Even Master Tongtian had been summoned to Zixiao Palace by the Dao Ancestor's decree.

What did this mean?

It meant that the first of Zhao Xuan's predictions from three hundred years ago had come true.

Haotian really had gone to lodge a complaint.

And the Dao Ancestor really had summoned the Sages to discuss the matter.

So next, would the Investiture of the Gods List appear, and would the disciples of the Three Teachings enter the tribulation?

At that thought, the Interception Sect disciples who'd once dismissed Zhao Xuan as a fearmonger finally began to grow restless.

Holy Mother Guiling was the first to blurt out:

"Where's Senior Disciple Brother?"

"At a time like this, why is he still in the rear hall?"

"Since Senior Disciple Brother calculated what would happen today three hundred years ago, he must have already thought of a way to deal with it."

Holy Mother Guiling had never been known for her good temper.

She was especially quick to anger when it came to the Chan Sect and the Heavenly Court.

The reason was simple.

Over the years, Chan Sect disciples had often insulted the Interception Sect with words like "feathered and horned," "born from the moist and hatched from eggs," and "ignorant of propriety."

Others might have been able to put up with such insults.

Holy Mother Guiling truly couldn't.

What, you weren't born as an ancient god, so you weren't worthy of cultivating the Dao?

Your true form wasn't an immortal root or jade, so you deserved to be looked down on?

The Primordial World was so vast. Did Uncle-Master Yuanshi's family own the Great Dao?

Only Chan Sect disciples were allowed to cultivate, while no one else could seek the Dao?

What was even more infuriating was that Chan Sect disciples looked down on the Interception Sect while enjoying the peace brought by its disciples, who suppressed demons and monsters and kept order throughout the Primordial World.

When chaos broke out in the East Sea, where were the Chan Sect disciples?

When the Southern Wilderness Poisonous Miasma erupted, where were the Chan Sect disciples?

When evil cultivators slaughtered human cities, where were the Chan Sect disciples then?

When all was said and done, wasn't it just that their Chan Sect had few disciples, each one precious as gold, and they didn't want to get tangled up in these troublesome causes and effects?

Fine.

They were above it all.

They were True Immortals of Fortune and Virtue.

They stayed out of worldly affairs.

So who was supposed to handle all this mess?

In the end, it was still the Interception Sect's disciples who did the work!

Then, after they'd finished, the Interception Sect got none of the good reputation. Instead, its disciples were branded "too bloodthirsty," "lacking in virtue," and "born from the moist and hatched from eggs."

What kind of logic was that?

The more Holy Mother Guiling thought about it, the angrier she became.

"Senior Disciple Brother said three hundred years ago that the Investiture of the Gods List would appear, and that the Interception Sect would provide the main force to fill it. Back then, I thought he was being too pessimistic."

"Now that I think about it, he wasn't pessimistic enough!"

"We were the ones who were too stupid!"

"The Heavenly Court needs people, the Human Sect has too few, the Chan Sect's disciples are too precious, and the Western Teachings are dirt poor. Think it over, and doesn't that leave only our Interception Sect with the most disciples, the easiest to bully, and the easiest to smear?"

At that, the great hall fell silent.