Inside Biyou Palace.
Holy Mother Guiling's words made Daoist Duobao frown. He hurriedly reminded her:
"Junior Sister Guiling, watch your words."
Holy Mother Guiling gave a cold laugh.
"Watch my words?"
"Senior Disciple Brother already hit the nail on the head. Haotian even ran to Zixiao Palace to complain. The Investiture of the Gods List is practically about to appear. What do I have to watch my words for?"
"Do you think if I shut up now, the Investiture of the Gods List won't come out?"
"Do you think if I say a few nice things, Uncle-Master Yuanshi will send the Twelve Golden Immortals onto the list?"
"Do you think if I kowtow to those two from the Western Teachings, they'll willingly hand over their disciples to fill the vacancies in the Heavenly Court?"
Daoist Duobao's expression darkened somewhat.
But he didn't immediately argue back.
Because he knew that although Holy Mother Guiling's words were harsh, they might not be without reason.
Zhao Gongming sat to one side and couldn't help letting out a long sigh.
"Looking back now, the way Senior Disciple Brother looked at us three hundred years ago really was strange."
"Especially when he looked at me and my three younger sisters. That look... sigh, I can't put it into words."
Bi Xiao said with displeasure:
"Eldest Brother, don't be so gloomy."
"Even if the Investiture of the Gods List really is coming, even if someone wants to scheme against my Interception Sect, so what?"
"My Interception Sect has Master, the Four Immortal-Slaying Swords, and ten thousand disciples."
"At worst, we fight!"
"Are the Twelve Golden Immortals of Chan Sect really that formidable?"
"If they dare come, I'll let them taste the power of the Nine-Bend Yellow River Formation!"
In the past, Zhao Gongming would probably have laughed heartily and praised his little sister for speaking well.
But today, he couldn't bring himself to smile.
Because three hundred years ago, Zhao Xuan had looked at him and said:
"Junior Brother Gongming, loyalty is a good thing, but sometimes it's precisely your loyalty that others scheme around."
Zhao Gongming hadn't understood at the time.
Now he was beginning to understand.
This so-called Investiture Great Calamity probably wasn't something that could be solved simply by fighting.
It involved the schemes of Saints, conflicts between sects, and struggles between the disciples of Saints.
One careless move, and the whole game was lost.
He, Zhao Gongming, valued loyalty. What Senior Brother Zhao Xuan had said before had probably been a warning to him.
He had to prepare for trouble before it arose.
Just as the atmosphere inside Biyou Palace grew heavier and heavier, the rear hall's doors finally swung open.
A figure walked out.
He wore a dark Daoist robe, his black hair bound beneath a crown. His features were handsome and refined, his expression composed.
It was Zhao Xuan.
Yet Zhao Xuan seemed somewhat different from how he had been three hundred years ago.
There was no sharp killing intent about him, nor did he deliberately release any pressure.
But when he stepped out, the entire Biyou Palace inexplicably fell quiet.
It was as if every clamor of emotion had been pressed down by something heavier the moment they saw him.
He had the air of someone who had reached the very limits of composure.
"Senior Disciple Brother."
Daoist Duobao was the first to salute.
The others also greeted him one after another.
"Greetings, Senior Disciple Brother."
Zhao Xuan nodded and swept his gaze over them.
Duobao.
Jin Ling.
Wudang.
Gui Ling.
Zhao Gongming.
Yun Xiao, Qiong Xiao, Bi Xiao.
They were all standing alive before him now.
But after the Investiture of the Gods...
As someone who had transmigrated, Zhao Xuan knew the fate of the Interception Sect in the Primordial World all too well.
Duobao entered Buddhism.
Jin Ling was placed on the list.
Gui Ling perished, her Dao vanishing with her.
Zhao Gongming was worshiped to death with the Nail-Head Seven-Arrow Book.
The Three Xiao Sisters were personally suppressed by a Saint.
Wudang survived by sheer luck, but could only watch helplessly as the Interception Sect's Ten Thousand Immortals dwindled away and its lineage came close to being severed.
As for the other disciples of the Interception Sect, there was even less to say.
Those two shameless Saints from the Western Teachings alone had spirited away countless disciples of the Interception Sect.
Ten thousand immortals had gathered at its gates; in the end, ten thousand immortals entered the calamity.
How tragic!
What was even more laughable was that despite the Interception Sect paying such a terrible price, when the people of the Primordial World spoke of the sect, all they had to say was: "They failed to recognize the Heavenly Mandate."
Failed to recognize the Heavenly Mandate.
Those four words sure came in handy.
The Heavenly Court lacked people, so the Interception Sect had to fill its ranks. That was the Heavenly Mandate.
The Chan Sect wanted to avoid the calamity, so the Interception Sect had to die. That was the Heavenly Mandate.
The Western Teachings wanted to flourish, so the Interception Sect had to be converted. That, too, was the Heavenly Mandate.
Taiqing was detached, Yuqing was noble, the West was compassionate, and the Heavenly Court was orthodox.
In the end, only the Interception Sect had failed to recognize the Heavenly Mandate.
So the grand design of the entire Primordial World had to be fulfilled using the lives of the Interception Sect's disciples?
Zhao Xuan sneered inwardly.
It was precisely because he was a transmigrator.
Because he knew the Interception Sect's tragic fate.
Because he knew the Investiture Great Calamity had never been a fair contest.
It was a gambling table that had been set long ago.
That was why he had claimed to glimpse a fragment of the future and revealed the Interception Sect's fate in advance.
Put simply, in this Investiture of the Gods:
The Heavenly Court wanted people.
The Chan Sect wanted to avoid the calamity.
The Western Teachings wanted to reap the benefits.
Taiqing wanted to maintain the balance of the Xuan Sect.
The Dao Ancestor wanted to perfect the order of the Heavenly Dao.
Every side wanted to claim a share of the spoils from this table.
But the question was, who was putting up the stakes?
The lives of the Interception Sect's disciples.
That was the most laughable part.
They sat around the table dividing the spoils, yet they expected the Interception Sect to wager its lives.
Why?
"Senior Disciple Brother, you already know what happened in Zixiao Palace?"
Daoist Duobao asked in a low voice.
Zhao Xuan nodded.
"I know."
"Then, Senior Disciple Brother, do you think the Investiture of the Gods List will really appear?"
"It will."
Zhao Xuan answered at once.
So quickly that he didn't hesitate for even a moment.
Everyone in the hall felt their hearts sink again.
Holy Mother Guiling gritted her teeth and asked:
"So the Investiture of the Gods List really is going to take disciples from the Three Teachings to fill the divine posts in the Heavenly Court?"
"Yes."
Zhao Xuan remained calm.
Bi Xiao couldn't help asking:
"Then why does it have to be my Interception Sect?"
Zhao Xuan glanced at her and asked in return:
"If not the Interception Sect, then who?"
Bi Xiao was taken aback.
Zhao Xuan spoke slowly:
"Fill it with disciples from the Human Sect?"
"Uncle-Master Taiqing has only Xuandu as his lone disciple. If Xuandu goes on the list, what becomes of the Human Sect's lineage?"
"Fill it with disciples from the Chan Sect?"
"Uncle-Master Yuanshi cares most about one's roots and origins. In his eyes, the Twelve Golden Immortals are all True Immortals of Fortune and Virtue. Usually, if a disciple of my Interception Sect so much as looks at them, it's as though their Daoist robes have been sullied."
"Do you really expect him to send the Twelve Golden Immortals onto the Investiture of the Gods List to serve Haotian?"
"Fill it with disciples from the Western Teachings?"
"Those two uncles from the West would love to pull up every blade of grass in the East by the roots and carry it to Mount Sumeru."
"You expect them to hand over their people?"
"They'd probably cry so hard they could flood eight hundred li of the Merit Pool."
At this, Zhao Xuan chuckled.
"So if not the Interception Sect, then who?"
His words were blunt.
So blunt that they verged on disrespect toward the Saints.
If this hadn't been Biyou Palace, the residence of Saint Tongtian, the Sages would probably have sensed it at once and brought down divine punishment!
Yet even after hearing such thoroughly disrespectful words,
not one of the immortals in Biyou Palace spoke up to refute him.
Because they knew Zhao Xuan was right.
Taiqing wouldn't be willing to sacrifice Xuandu.
Yuanshi wouldn't be willing to sacrifice the Twelve Golden Immortals.
Those two from the Western Teachings would only take advantage of the situation to convert others; they would never offer up their own people.
So who would be left in the end?
The Interception Sect.
It could only be the Interception Sect.
It had the most disciples, the most varied origins, the easiest reputation to smear, and the easiest labels to stick on it.
Furred and horned.
Born of the wet or hatched from eggs.
Lacking virtue.
Failing to recognize the Heavenly Mandate.
Look, the excuses were all ready-made.
Zhao Xuan continued:
"You think the Investiture of the Gods List is about conferring godhood?"
"Wrong."
"That's not conferring godhood. It's carving up the meat."
"The Heavenly Court gets manpower, the Chan Sect gets to stay clear of the calamity, the Western Teachings get fortune, Taiqing gets balance, and the Dao Ancestor gets the order of the Heavenly Dao."
"What does my Interception Sect get?"
Zhao Xuan looked at them and said each word distinctly:
"Death."
Before you continue