"Interception Sect."
"What crime warrants a place on the list?"
The last word Zhao Xuan spoke fell.
The first page of the Investiture of the Gods Accountability Ledger opened by itself.
The page was blank.
But the Investiture of the Gods List in the Nine Heavens could no longer remain blank.
Tongtian had already asked once.
Zhao Xuan asked again.
And above the Three Steles, the four words "What crime did the Interception Sect commit?" had already been carved.
This question carried the Saint's decree, as well as the old accounts recorded on the Three Steles.
The Investiture of the Gods List could no longer pretend it hadn't heard.
It was just that this question was truly difficult to answer.
The Investiture of the Gods List trembled for a long while, but nothing appeared on it.
"My master asks you: what crime did the Interception Sect commit?!"
Zhao Xuan suddenly roared.
The will of the Interception Sect's Ten Thousand Immortals and the decree of Saint Tongtian surged together toward the Investiture of the Gods List.
The list shuddered violently.
At last, beneath the words "Interception Sect," the first line of pale gray text emerged.
The Interception Sect had numerous disciples.
They were deeply entangled in worldly affairs.
Their killing tribulation was immense.
They ought to be entered on the list.
Zhao Xuan looked at those words.
His gaze turned colder by the moment.
"Heh.
"Numerous disciples?
"Deeply entangled in worldly affairs?
"An immense killing tribulation?
"They ought to be entered on the list?
"By that logic, then..."
He picked up his brush and wrote four characters on the first page of the Investiture of the Gods Accountability Ledger.
"Old Merits Become Crimes."
The four characters fell into place.
On Golden Turtle Island, the faces of the Ten Thousand Immortals all changed.
Because those four characters were so precise!
The merits of the past had become their original sin!
At that moment,
the Ten Thousand Immortals stared at the lines of accusations.
Their voices trembled.
"Deeply entangled in worldly affairs?
"Who sent us into the world?"
Zhao Gongming's voice turned heavy.
"An immense killing tribulation?
"Who sent us to quell the chaos?"
The fingers of Holy Mother Jinling, gripping her sword, turned faintly white.
"Numerous disciples? That's a crime too?"
Zhao Xuan didn't turn around.
He only looked at the Investiture of the Gods List.
"Today, we won't reopen old cases.
"We'll look at the General Ledger.
"Since the Investiture of the Gods List says the Interception Sect is guilty,
"then let's write it all out, one item at a time.
"Who asked us to enter the world?
"Who gave us the killing tribulation?
"And who was bothered by our numbers?"
As he spoke, he turned a page in the ledger in his hand.
There were no detailed cases.
Only totals.
Over ten thousand years,
the Interception Sect's disciples had received 3,976 requests for aid from the Heavenly Court, the Four Seas, the Mountain and Earth Gods, Human Race tribes, and rogue cultivators overseas.
Of these, disaster relief, quelling unrest, protecting the Dao, mediation, patrols, repairing formations, calming the seas, and clearing spiritual channels accounted for over ninety percent.
Fewer than one in twenty had come with a formal request.
Fewer than one in ten had been rewarded with an official record of merit.
Had those who requested aid taken responsibility afterward?
Blank.
Had those who benefited settled their accounts afterward?
Blank.
Had the Investiture of the Gods List verified their merits beforehand?
Blank.
Three blank spaces, like three slaps.
They struck the accusations on the list.
At last, the Ten Thousand Immortals understood.
They had once thought they were merely being scolded.
Only now did they realize they had been used without payment.
And after being used, they were to be condemned.
Zhao Xuan looked up.
"The Investiture of the Gods List says the Interception Sect was deeply entangled in worldly affairs.
"Then shouldn't we also write down the people who asked the Interception Sect to enter the world?
"Should the Heavenly Court be written down?
"Should the Dragon Palace be written down?
"Should the Human Race tribes be written down?
"Should the Mountain and Earth Gods be written down?
"And those who received the Interception Sect's protection day after day, then turned around and said we had been tainted by the mortal world—should they be written down too?"
The Investiture of the Gods List remained silent.
Zhao Xuan asked again, "If they aren't written down,
"then on what grounds is this so-called 'entering the world' a crime belonging only to the Interception Sect?"
No one answered.
The pale gray text remained.
But its color had faded a little.
High Heaven Hall.
Haotian abruptly lifted his head.
The Haotian Mirror before him showed the scene unfolding on Golden Turtle Island.
Taibai Jinxing stood below the hall, his expression already changed.
The thing they feared most had still happened.
Zhao Xuan hadn't cursed the Heavenly Court.
He hadn't attacked the Heavenly Court either.
He had merely made the Investiture of the Gods List write down clearly who had asked the Interception Sect to enter the world.
But once that was written clearly, the Heavenly Court could no longer remain untouched.
Haotian's fingers slowly curled tight.
"He means to drag Me into the causes and effects of the Investiture of the Gods."
Taibai Jinxing lowered his head without a word.
Because this wasn't dragging anyone in.
The old accounts had always been there.
It was only that nobody had dared lay them bare.
Inside Yuxu Palace,
Yuanshi Tianzun watched the Cloud Mirror Reflection, his expression turning cold as well.
Guangchengzi stood below, his face looking particularly grim.
He recognized the ledger in Zhao Xuan's hand.
And he recognized the source of those entries in the General Ledger even more.
Qingxiaozi.
The Third Sea Eye.
The request for aid from the East Sea.
Guangchengzi's refusal to sign.
Those accounts had all been buried among past events.
Now Zhao Xuan hadn't recounted the old cases.
He had simply placed the totals before the Investiture of the Gods List.
That was harsher than reopening the old cases.
Old cases could still be disputed.
Once the General Ledger was laid out, no one could wriggle free.
Guangchengzi said quietly, "Master, if we let him keep asking, the Chan Sect will be dragged in too."
Yuanshi Tianzun didn't look at him.
He only said coldly, "You've already been dragged in once."
Guangchengzi's face went pale.
He didn't dare speak again.
Mount Sumeru.
The smile on Daoist Zhunti's face had faded too.
"This Zhao Xuan is truly ruthless."
Daoist Jieyin sighed.
"He isn't reopening old cases.
"He's only asking about the General Ledger.
"That's what makes this difficult."
Zhunti frowned.
"If he keeps asking about the Western Sect's accounts as a bystander—"
Jieyin closed his eyes.
"That would look even worse."
On Golden Turtle Island,
Zhao Xuan had already turned to the second page.
The second page.
The General Ledger of Killing Tribulation.
The words on this page were even colder.
When Interception Sect disciples exterminated demons, the killing tribulation was recorded against the Interception Sect.
When Interception Sect disciples quelled disasters, the killing tribulation was recorded against the Interception Sect.
When Interception Sect disciples protected people, the killing tribulation was recorded against the Interception Sect.
When Interception Sect disciples filled the gaps for the Heavenly Court, the killing tribulation was still recorded against the Interception Sect.
When Interception Sect disciples calmed the seas for the Dragon Palace, even the backlash was recorded against the Interception Sect.
But every column below was blank.
After the Heavenly Court requested aid, had it shared any of the killing tribulation?
Blank.
After the Dragon Palace benefited, had it shared any of the karmic consequences?
Blank.
After the Human Race tribes were saved, did they ever repay the merit?
Blank.
The Chan Sect disciples stayed out of the mortal world. Did they ever shoulder even one share for the Interception Sect?
Blank.
Zhao Xuan pointed to this page.
"Look closely."
"When my Interception Sect disciples slew demons, who was it for?"
"When my Interception Sect disciples quelled the chaos, who came asking for help?"
"When my Interception Sect disciples suppressed disasters, who reaped the benefits?"
No one answered.
Zhao Xuan's voice grew colder.
"When they asked for help, they said it was for the greater good of the Three Realms."
"When something went wrong, they said it was the Interception Sect's killing tribulation."
"When they enjoyed the benefits, they said the Heavenly Court ruled with skill."
"When they counted the sins, they said the Interception Sect was too bloodthirsty."
He looked up at the Investiture of the Gods List.
"And in the end, when the gods were invested, all the karmic consequences and killing precepts fell on the Interception Sect alone."
"Those who drew us into the game, however, enjoyed the merit and reaped the rewards."
"This is what you call the Interception Sect's killing tribulation being too heavy?"
On Golden Turtle Island, the immortals' eyes had turned utterly cold.
This time, they understood.
The so-called heavy killing tribulation boiled down to one thing.
The Interception Sect did the dirty work.
Others took the benefits.
The Interception Sect took the blame.
Zhao Gongming said quietly, "So it wasn't that our killing tribulation was too heavy."
"It was that we shouldered too much for them."
Holy Mother Guiling gritted her teeth and sneered.
"What a fine Investiture of the Gods List."
"It doesn't even record who asked, who hid, or who took the benefits."
"It only says the Interception Sect's killing tribulation is too heavy?"
"Then it's time we changed the rules!"
Zhao Xuan picked up his brush and added a line beneath the General Ledger of Killing Tribulation.
If a killing tribulation arises from a request for aid, the one who made the request shall share the burden.
He added another line.
If karmic consequences arise from receiving benefits, the recipient shall be recorded as well.
Then a final line.
Do not punish only those who took action while ignoring those who benefited.
He looked up.
"Whoever asks for help shares the burden."
"Whoever benefits gets entered in the ledger."
"Whoever hides behind the scenes and pretends to be clean is using someone else's blade to kill."
"If that's how it is, is it fair or not?!"
As those words fell,
the Haotian Mirror in High Heaven Hall trembled.
Several celestial officials went deathly pale.
Whoever asks for help shares the burden.
Whoever benefits gets entered in the ledger.
By that reckoning, not one of the things the Heavenly Court had asked the Interception Sect to do over the years would escape the ledger.
Taibai Jinxing's throat went dry.
"Your Majesty—"
Haotian said nothing.
He knew Zhao Xuan hadn't said those words for the Interception Sect to hear.
He'd said them for the Heavenly Court to hear.
And for the Investiture of the Gods List to hear.
If it truly came to that,
the Heavenly Court might get dragged into it too!
Before you continue