All Sides Benefit, What of the Jie Sect? They've Lost Their Sect!

"This question."

"Who shall answer?"

Zhao Xuan's voice was not heavy.

Yet it felt like a nail, driven straight into the hearts of everyone in the Primordial World.

Outside Golden Turtle Island, the sea breeze paused for a moment.

It was not a celestial phenomenon.

It was simply too quiet.

So quiet that even the Rogue Cultivators watching from afar could hear the sound of their own throats swallowing.

The fourth page hung above the Investiture of the Gods Accountability Ledger.

The words upon it were clear and distinct.

The benefits of the Investiture: the Heavenly Court gains gods, the Chan Sect avoids the tribulation, the Western Sect gains influence, and the Xuan Sect gains order.

The cost of the Investiture: why must it be borne solely by the Jie Sect?

This sentence was too direct.

So direct that there was not the slightest room for maneuver.

The first question asked whether the Jie Sect was guilty.

Now, the second question asked who was reaping the benefits.

Zhao Xuan raised his head, looking toward the Investiture of the Gods List high above the nine heavens.

"Investiture of the Gods List."

"Since you have listed the three sins of the Jie Sect."

"Should you not also list the four benefits of the Investiture?"

"First, the Heavenly Court—what does it gain?"

As his voice fell.

Inside the High Heaven Hall.

Haotian's expression sank instantly.

Taibai Jinxing's heart tightened.

It was here.

Zhao Xuan did not ask if the Heavenly Court had participated.

He asked directly what the Heavenly Court had taken.

This was more ruthless than asking about guilt.

Because the Heavenly Court could not deny it at all.

The emergence of the Investiture of the Gods List was, from the start, intended to fill the ranks of the Heavenly Court.

Three hundred and sixty-five Orthodox Gods.

The Eight Departments of Immortals.

The Thunder Department, Fire Department, Plague Department, Dou Department, Wealth Department, and Water Department.

Once all the gods were in their positions, the Heavenly Court would finally possess the framework to truly govern the Three Realms.

This was the greatest benefit to the Heavenly Court.

Haotian's fingers slowly tightened within his sleeves.

He wanted to say that this was the order of the Three Realms.

But the words died on his lips, unsaid.

Because what Zhao Xuan asked about was not order.

Zhao Xuan asked about profit.

No matter how beautifully the word "order" was phrased, it could not cover up the fact that it ultimately fell under the control of the Heavenly Court.

Outside Golden Turtle Island.

Zhao Xuan did not wait for the Heavenly Court to answer.

He raised his brush and wrote the first line on the fourth page.

The benefit of the Heavenly Court: utilizing the Investiture to fill divine positions, gaining the Orthodox Gods of various departments, and establishing authority over the Three Realms.

As the characters settled.

Inside the High Heaven Hall, there was dead silence.

No one dared to say he was wrong.

No one could say he was wrong.

Zhao Xuan continued to ask, "What does the Chan Sect gain?"

Inside Yuxu Palace.

Guangchengzi suddenly looked up.

Chijingzi's expression shifted as well.

Among the Twelve Golden Immortals, some had eyes turned cold, while others felt a tremor in their hearts.

They certainly knew what the Chan Sect gained.

They gained avoidance of the tribulation.

They gained purity.

They gained the assurance that the Twelve Golden Immortals would not be on the Investiture of the Gods List.

They gained the preservation of their disciples' foundations in the Immortal Dao.

If the Investiture of the Gods List was to be filled, disciples of the three sects were all caught within the tribulation.

Yet, if the majority of those who ended up on the list were from the Jie Sect, then the burden on the Chan Sect would naturally be lightened.

For every one more of the Jie Sect who died, one fewer of the Chan Sect would perish.

No one said these words aloud.

But that was how the account was settled.

Yuanshi Tianzun sat upright on his cloud bed, his expression growing colder still.

Zhao Xuan's brush had already descended.

The profit of the Chan Sect: Use the Jie Sect to fill the tribulation, protect the Twelve Golden Immortals, and preserve the purity of the Jade Emptiness Immortal Dao.

"Presumptuous!"

Guangchengzi finally could not hold back and let out a low shout.

Yet, he stopped after uttering only those two words.

Because he suddenly realized he could not continue his rebuke.

To call Zhao Xuan a slanderer?

Was the Chan Sect willing to let the Twelve Golden Immortals be on the list?

To call Zhao Xuan's words nonsense?

Then why did the Investiture of the Gods List not designate the Twelve Golden Immortals of the Chan Sect as the primary count?

To accuse Zhao Xuan of disrespecting a Saint?

But Zhao Xuan was asking about the account.

He was not kneeling in supplication.

Guangchengzi's chest heaved, his face looking ugly to the extreme.

Zhao Xuan paid him no mind.

His voice continued to spread.

"What does the Western Sect gain?"

On Mount Sumeru.

The smile on the face of Zhunti faded completely.

Jieyin also lifted his eyes.

This question was even more unpleasant to hear.

Because in the game of the Investiture of the Gods, the Western Sect had always been the one best at feigning poverty.

The West is barren.

The West has no disciples.

The West has a thin foundation.

The West cannot afford further losses.

But after the Investiture of the Gods, did the Western Sect truly gain nothing?

No.

They gained people.

They gained fortune.

They gained the void left behind after the great Eastern sects were shattered.

They gained the opportunity that arose after the Ten Thousand Immortals of the Jie Sect were scattered.

They gained a path for the future prosperity of the West.

Zhao Xuan set his brush down.

The benefit to the Western Sect: Borrow the internal strife of the East, ferry the disciples of the Jie Sect, seize the fortune of the East, and open the opportunity for the Western Sect to flourish.

Zhunti stared at that line of text.

A long while passed.

He suddenly chuckled.

But this time, the smile did not reach his eyes.

"This Senior Disciple Brother of the Jie Sect."

"His accounting is far too precise."

Jieyin did not speak.

Because precise accounts are the hardest to deny.

Outside Golden Turtle Island.

Zhao Xuan looked up one last time.

"What does the Xuan Sect gain?"

This question was softer than the previous three.

Yet it caused the hearts of many great powers to sink.

The benefit to the Heavenly Court could still be called the order of the Three Realms.

The benefit to the Chan Sect could still be hidden behind the pretense of seeking purity and avoiding the tribulation.

The benefit to the Western Sect could still be disguised as a stroke of fate.

But what of the benefit to the Xuan Sect?

After the Investiture of the Gods, the Three Realms would be orderly.

The Heavenly Court would have its gods.

The killing tribulation of the Disciples of a Sage would be quelled.

The general trend of the Primordial World would return to the rule of a single Heavenly Dao.

This was called the Xuan Sect gaining order.

Who paid the price?

The Jie Sect.

Who was shattered?

The Jie Sect.

Who was locked onto the list?

Still the Jie Sect.

Zhao Xuan wrote with a single stroke.

The benefit to the Xuan Sect: Borrow the defeat of the Jie Sect, quell the killing tribulation of the Disciples of a Sage, establish the order of the Heavenly Court, and stabilize the general trend of the Primordial World.

On the fourth page, four lines of text were now complete.

The Heavenly Court gains gods.

The Chan Sect avoids the tribulation.

The Western Sect gains power.

The Xuan Sect gains order.

Every line was a benefit.

In every line, there was no Jie Sect.

On Golden Turtle Island.

The Ten Thousand Immortals looked at those four lines, their eyes turning red bit by bit.

It was not fear.

It was stifled rage.

It was hatred.

It was the feeling of finally seeing the truth, the pressure that had been building in their chests for countless years, no longer able to be contained.

Zhao Gongming stared fixedly at the fourth page.

His fingers tightened inch by inch.

"So—"

"They all take the benefits."

"And in the end, they let my Jie Sect die?"

No one answered.

Because the answer was right there on that page.

Holy Mother Guiling gritted her teeth, a fierce light surging in the depths of her eyes.

"What a magnificent Investiture."

"What a magnificent grand design."

"So this grand design was meant to pave their way with the lives of my Jie Sect disciples!"

Holy Mother Jinling did not speak.

But the sword intent behind her had turned chillingly terrifying.

Daoist Duobao's expression was complex to the extreme.

In the past, he had always prioritized the grand design above all else.

He had also been most afraid of the Jie Sect driving itself into a dead end.

Yet, as this ledger was laid out today, he suddenly realized that the grand design he had once championed might never have been intended for the Jie Sect from the very beginning.

The grand design must be stable.

Who would be shattered to ensure it?

The heavenly mandate must be fulfilled.

Who would die to ensure it?

If the one to be shattered was the Jie Sect, and the ones to die were the Jie Sect, then why should the Jie Sect be the one to uphold this grand design?

Holy Mother Wudang whispered, "Senior Brother."

"Continue writing."

The words were soft.

Yet they made many Jie Sect disciples tremble in their hearts.

Because they knew that the truly heart-wrenching part had not even begun.

The benefits had already been written.

Next, came the costs.

Zhao Xuan lowered his eyes.

The tip of his brush descended once more.

The Cost of the Investiture.

The first cost.

The death of Jie Sect disciples.

As these seven characters appeared.

Countless disciples on Golden Turtle Island held their breath.

Death.

Not a trial.

Not a tempering.

Not entering the Heavenly Court to enjoy a divine position.

It was death first.

The true spirit leaves the body, and the physical form perishes.

The Investiture of the Gods List had never wanted living Jie Sect immortals.

It wanted the true spirits that remained after death.

Zhao Xuan continued to write.

The second cost.

True spirits ascend the list, driven by the Heavenly Court, the path of immortality severed.

This time, even the onlookers in the distance changed color.

In the past, they had only heard that ascending the list to be invested as gods meant attaining a divine position.

But Zhao Xuan's words tore the skin right off that divine position.

Ascending the list after death.

Taking orders from the Heavenly Court.

From then on, the Great Dao is severed.

This was no Investiture of the Gods.

This was clearly turning free-roaming immortals into servants bound to a list.

Zhao Xuan wrote again.

The third cost.

The orthodoxy of the Jie Sect withered, and the Ten Thousand Immortals were scattered.

Daoist Duobao's eyelids twitched violently.

Holy Mother Wudang lowered her head.

The Three Xiao Sisters remained silent.

The flames of fury in Zhao Gongming's eyes burned even brighter.

They all recalled the future that Zhao Xuan had spoken of.

Ten thousand immortals coming to court.

In the end, ten thousand immortals entering the tribulation.

This was no empty phrase.

It was a blade that would fall upon the neck of every Jie Sect disciple.

Zhao Xuan did not stop.

The fourth cost.

The reputation of Shangqing was tarnished, and past merits were twisted into crimes.

Holy Mother Guiling suddenly looked up.

This point made her feel even worse than the previous three.

She did not fear death.

But she could not endure that after the Jie Sect had perished, it would still be branded with the labels of "ignorant of heaven's mandate," "shallow roots and conduct," and "deeply mired in the killing tribulation."

On what grounds?

It was the Jie Sect that did the work.

It was the Jie Sect that bore the karma.

And in the end, it was the Jie Sect that was reviled.

There was no such accounting under heaven!

Zhao Xuan set down his final stroke.

The fifth cost.

Saint Tongtian lost his sect, and the Jie Sect's fortune collapsed and scattered.

BOOM!