Abundant and Mixed, Great Calamity Must Be Cut! Old Merits Are Not Crimes, Shangqing Is Not Guilty!

The numbers are vast and chaotic; the Great Tribulation must prune them! Past merits are not crimes; the Shangqing lineage is innocent!

Inside Yuxu Palace.

The Twelve Golden Immortals remained silent.

That remark from just moments ago—"The disciples of the Chan Sect do not enter the mortal world, but have they ever shouldered a single burden for the Jie Sect?"—had nailed them to the spot.

The purity they usually took such pride in.

Was now being reframed by Zhao Xuan.

Not entering the mortal world.

Not bearing responsibility.

Not doing the dirty work.

Not touching the killing tribulation.

And then, standing on the shore, mocking those who waded into the water for being covered in mud.

The words were harsh.

Yet the harshest part was precisely that they were too true.

On Golden Turtle Island.

Zhao Xuan turned another page.

The third page.

The general ledger of the Merits and Demerits of the Three Sects.

The Jie Sect column.

Densely packed.

Requests for aid from the Heavenly Court.

Requests for aid from the Four Seas.

Requests for aid from the human race.

Requests for aid from rogue cultivators.

Requests for aid from Mountain Gods and Earth Deities.

Behind every category, there was a total count.

The Chan Sect column.

Seclusion.

Avoiding the tribulation.

Pure cultivation.

Untouched by the mortal world.

Further down.

Blank.

The Western Sect column.

Barren.

Looking on from the sidelines.

Waiting to ferry those with affinity.

Further down.

Blank.

The Ten Thousand Immortals felt a chill in their eyes as they watched.

So, once the accounts were laid out, they were this blindingly stark.

Zhao Xuan said, "The Investiture of the Gods List is to determine the fate of the disciples of the Three Sects."

"Very well."

"First, we shall audit the merits and demerits of the Three Sects."

"Who has merit?"

"Who has demerit?"

"Who has reaped the benefits?"

"Who has borne the responsibility?"

"Who should enter the tribulation?"

"Who should avoid the tribulation?"

"Write it all down clearly."

He looked up at the projection of the list.

"Is this so difficult?"

The Investiture of the Gods List did not answer.

On the third page, the column for the Chan Sect remained glaringly empty.

Zhao Xuan raised his brush and added a line below.

The Chan Sect has yet to establish equal merit, yet enjoys a pristine reputation first.

He added another line.

The Chan Sect has yet to shoulder equal responsibility, yet avoids the tribulation of slaughter first.

He added yet another line.

Chan Sect disciples have not entered the same mortal world, yet claim the Jie Sect's mortal sins are heavy first.

The final stroke fell.

High above the nine heavens, that line of charges suddenly shuddered.

It seemed as if it wanted to dissipate.

Zhao Xuan lifted his eyes.

"Do not dissipate."

"The charges have already been written."

"The accounts have not yet been settled."

"If you dissipate now, I shall add one more line."

"The Investiture of the Gods List condemns the Jie Sect, yet refuses to audit the Merits and Demerits of the Three Sects."

"This line, too, shall enter the General Ledger."

The characters froze.

The breath in the chests of the Ten Thousand Immortals finally eased a fraction.

In the past, they were crushed by the weight of Heavenly Decree.

Now, Zhao Xuan was using the ledger to pin the Investiture of the Gods List in place.

You wish to pass judgment? Very well.

But do not think you can leave once you have finished.

Settle the accounts clearly first.

Master Tongtian stood behind Zhao Xuan, remaining silent the entire time.

He watched the characters on the General Ledger.

He also watched the list above the nine heavens.

The coldness in the depths of his eyes grew ever deeper.

Zhao Xuan turned to the fourth page.

As this page opened, a new line of text finally emerged beneath the Investiture of the Gods List.

The Jie Sect's Ten Thousand Immortals are numerous and heterogeneous.

The Great Tribulation must prune them.

The moment these eight characters appeared, the entire Golden Turtle Island fell silent.

Numerous and heterogeneous.

The Great Tribulation must prune them.

It had finally been revealed.

The earlier claims of deep worldly involvement and heavy karmic slaughter were merely skin-deep.

The true reason was these eight characters.

The Jie Sect had too many disciples.

The Jie Sect's origins were too mixed.

The Jie Sect's momentum was too great.

Therefore, they must be pruned.

Therefore, they must die.

Holy Mother Guiling could no longer suppress the killing intent in her eyes.

"Numerous and heterogeneous?"

"Are we such an eyesore that even our existence is an offense?"

Holy Mother Jinling's voice was icy.

"So, it wasn't a summons to answer for our crimes."

"It was a move to prune our influence."

Daoist Duobao remained silent for a long time.

He stared at those eight characters, his complexion finally paling by a shade.

Only now did he truly understand.

The so-called Investiture of the Gods was never about waiting for the Jie Sect disciples to commit a transgression.

The Jie Sect had been written into the list from the very beginning.

The reason was simple.

They were too prosperous.

Inside Yuxu Palace.

Yuanshi Tianzun's expression finally shifted.

These eight characters should not have been revealed so soon.

The Investiture of the Gods required a pretext.

The justification had to be the Killing Tribulation.

It had to be about one's innate roots.

It had to be about failing to recognize the mandate of Heaven.

It could not be "The Jie Sect is too prosperous, therefore it must be pruned."

Because that was too blunt.

Too unpleasant to hear.

And too unsightly to behold.

Guangchengzi could not help but ask, "Master, why would the Investiture of the Gods manifest this line?"

Yuanshi Tianzun stared coldly in the direction of Golden Turtle Island.

"Because he has blocked every excuse that came before it."

Guangchengzi's heart sank.

Blocked the entry into the world.

Blocked the Killing Tribulation.

Blocked the red dust of the mortal realm.

With those gone, all that remained was the true reason.

The Jie Sect was too prosperous.

Zhao Xuan stared at those eight characters.

Instead, he calmed down.

"Good."

"This line is more honest than the ones before it."

He lifted his brush and wrote a line beside it.

The Jie Sect is prosperous because it teaches without discrimination.

He wrote another line.

The Jie Sect's disciples are diverse because all living beings may seek the Dao.

He wrote yet another line.

If prosperity is a crime, then the crime lies in the Jie Sect's grand scale.

The final line.

If diversity is a crime, then the crime lies in the Shangjing Orthodoxy's founding.

As this stroke fell.

Everyone's heart trembled.

This was no longer just a question posed to the Investiture of the Gods.

This was pushing those eight characters directly before the Saint's orthodoxy.

The Jie Sect has many disciples because Tongtian teaches without discrimination.

The Jie Sect's members are diverse because the Shangjing Orthodoxy does not inquire into one's origins.

If this, too, is a crime.

The Investiture of the Gods List was not asking the disciples.

It was asking Master Tongtian.

It was asking the orthodoxy of the Jie Sect.

It was asking whether "teaching without discrimination" deserved to exist.

Master Tongtian finally spoke.

"Xuan'er."

Zhao Xuan lowered his head.

"This disciple is here."

Master Tongtian looked at the eight characters beneath the Investiture of the Gods List.

"Let it write."

Zhao Xuan nodded.

"Yes."

He looked up.

"Investiture of the Gods List."

"Since you have written that 'numbers are flourishing and chaotic, and the Great Tribulation must prune them,' then continue writing."

"That Jie Sect disciples are many is a crime."

"That Jie Sect origins are mixed is a crime."

"That 'teaching without discrimination' is also a crime."

"That the Shangjing Orthodoxy should be pruned."

"That Saint Tongtian should yield."

"Do you dare to write these lines?"

The nine heavens were silent.

Those eight characters did not continue to extend downward.

Zhao Xuan gave a small smile.

"You dare not."

"Because all those words before were merely excuses."

"'Deep involvement in the world' is an excuse."

"'Heavy karmic debt from the killing tribulation' is an excuse."

"'Shallow roots and thin foundations' is an excuse."

"The true reason is simply that the Jie Sect is too flourishing."

"Yet you dare not say it plainly."

He pushed the General Ledger forward.

"Then I shall write it for you."

The tip of the brush descended.

Conclusion of the first case.

The Investiture of the Gods List initially determined the Jie Sect's crimes.

First, deep involvement in the world.

Second, heavy karmic debt from the killing tribulation.

Third, numbers are flourishing and chaotic.

Verified by the General Ledger.

Those involved in the world were mostly invited to enter.

Those in the killing tribulation were mostly bearing burdens on behalf of others.

Those flourishing in numbers are the result of the Jie Sect's teaching without discrimination.

None of these items are crimes of the Jie Sect.

They are all proofs of the Jie Sect's past merits and orthodoxy.

Conclusion.

Past merits are not crimes.

Shangqing is without sin.

As the final eight characters fell, the eyes of the Ten Thousand Immortals turned bloodshot in an instant.

Past merits are not crimes.

Shangjing is not a crime.

These eight characters pried open a crack in the stifling resentment that had weighed upon their hearts.

The things they had done over these years were not crimes.

The people they had saved over these years were not crimes.

Joining the Jie Sect was not a crime.

Their humble origins were not a crime.

And their ability to stand upon Golden Turtle Island to seek the Dao was certainly not a crime.

Our Lady of the Turtle Spirit whispered, "Past merits are not crimes."

Zhao Gongming added, "Shangjing is not a crime."

Jin Ling said nothing, only gripping her sword tighter.

Daoist Duobao lowered his head, his chest heaving violently.

Soon, those eight characters spread in hushed tones among the Ten Thousand Immortals.

There was no chaotic shouting, no wild roaring, yet everyone heard them clearly.

Past merits are not crimes.

Shangjing is not a crime.

On the Investiture of the Gods List, that line of text reading "Deeply embroiled in the world, heavy with the karma of slaughter" finally suffered a fracture.

The line of charges seemed to have been struck by a blade, leaving a clear gap at the bottom of the list.

In the High Heaven Hall, Haotian stood up abruptly.

Inside Yuxu Palace, Guangchengzi's face turned deathly pale.

On Mount Sumeru, Daoist Zhunti could no longer force a smile.

Because everyone had seen it: the very first charge on the Investiture of the Gods List had been cracked open by Zhao Xuan's questioning.