Investiture of the Gods List

Biodata

Name	Investiture of the Gods List
Alias(es)	Soul-Locking List; Life-Urging List; Path-Severing List
Species/Race	Heavenly mandate / divine list
Affiliation	Heavenly Court; Zixiao Palace / Dao Ancestor's mandate; Willing Divinity List formally assigned to the Heavenly Court 128
Occupation/Role	Records and assigns beings for investiture as gods; central mechanism of the Investiture Great Calamity; reformed to administer killing tribulation, profit-sharing, and voluntary divine appointments 115 128
Status	Rewritten and finalized under the Three Lists framework; the decree requiring Jie Sect's destruction is abolished, and no single sect may bear the entire tribulation cost 126 128
Overseer	Zhao Xuan, appointed overseer of the tribulation and responsible for maintaining the reformed system 128
First Appearance	Foreshadowed in Zhao Xuan's prophecy; phantom manifests above the nine heavens after Tongtian severs the Jie Sect's Old Merit Karma 1 24

Power Progression

Stage / Development	Manifestation or Functional Change	Outcome	Chapters
Prophesied investiture mechanism	Expected to receive true spirits and fill Heavenly Court offices through the calamity	Jie Sect recognizes the threat of lost freedom and severed immortal paths	1 2
Premature manifestation	Its ancient-scroll phantom appears after Tongtian severs Old Merit Karma; “Jie Sect” emerges at the top	The sect's advance targeting becomes public evidence	24 25
Forced accounting	Displays charges against Jie Sect under pressure from Tongtian, the Three Steles, and the Accountability Ledger	Counter-accounts weaken its charges and prevent its heavenly laws from repairing the exposed gap	27 28 29
Temporary withdrawal	Hongjun closes and withdraws the phantom, declaring the confrontation a pre-calamity rehearsal	The List retreats, but its unsettled account remains open	32
Connection to preliminary registers exposed	Departmental records carry List Qi; projections reveal Zhao Gongming and Holy Mother Jinling as prospective divine appointees	Hidden selection before the official calamity is traced beyond ordinary Heavenly Court record-keeping	44 45 47 48
Advance fate suppression challenged	List Qi marks Zhao Gongming; Lu Qing's service is traced through preliminary and position-assignment records	Zhao Xuan partially forces Calamity Qi out of Lu Qing's fate and bars entry while the account remains unresolved	50 52
Full allocation revealed	The Three Steles expose names, deaths, divine posts, lineages, offerings, and merit assigned in advance	Tongtian and individual disciples begin breaking the written fates	111
Collective withdrawal from the old quota	Jie Sect disciples reject their assigned deaths; names fade and “Golden Ao's Ten Thousand Immortals” shatters	Heavenly Court posts become vacant, forcing renewed deliberation at Zixiao Palace	112 113
Three Lists established	Killing Tribulation, Profit-Sharing, and Willing Divinity replace the predetermined Jie Sect quota	The three hundred and sixty-five principal divine positions remain, but are no longer directly assigned to Jie Sect disciples in advance	114 115 116
Shared obligations activated	Kunlun receives tribulation-entry seals, Maitreya enters the Western Sect's profit-sharing column, and a Thunder Department official volunteers	The burden is visibly distributed beyond Jie Sect, and the List withdraws from above the sect	121 122
Hidden destruction decree abolished	Hongjun shatters “The Interception Sect must perish” and inscribes new binding provisions	Jie Sect survives; individual karma governs entry, and no sect bears the entire cost	125 126
Final settlement	Old debts and fatal arrangements are adjudicated; the Three Lists stabilize, with Willing Divinity assigned to the Heavenly Court	The new Investiture becomes operative under Zhao Xuan's oversight	127 128

Background / History

Three hundred years before the main events, Zhao Xuan predicted that Haotian would complain to Zixiao Palace, the Dao Ancestor would summon the Sages, and the Investiture of the Gods List would manifest to draw disciples of the three sects into tribulation 1.

Jie Sect disciples view the List as a threat rather than an honor: once a true spirit enters it, the person is driven by the Heavenly Court, loses freedom over life and death, and has their Great Dao severed 1.

Zhao Xuan argues early that the List is not a fair distribution of divine appointments, but a political mechanism that leaves the Jie Sect to pay the cost while the Human Sect, Chan Sect, and Western Sect avoid losses 2 3.

The List's connection to the Jie Sect is exposed when Haotian tries to erase Zhao Xuan's Three Steles. The attempt forces out the Jie Sect's Old Merit Karma, a thread linking the sect's past service to the Heavenly Court, the Sea Eyes, star nodes, human tribes, and other affairs. Tongtian severs the thread, causing the phantom of the List to tremble and reveal itself, with “Jie Sect” written at the top 24.

Its premature manifestation becomes evidence against the original claim that the Investiture is impartial. Zhao Xuan, Tongtian, and the Ten Thousand Immortals demand to know why the Jie Sect is listed first and what crime the sect has committed 25 26.

Under pressure from Tongtian's decree, the Three Steles, and Zhao Xuan's Investiture of the Gods Accountability Ledger, the List produces accusations against the Jie Sect: many disciples, deep worldly involvement, heavy karmic killing, and flourishing yet chaotic numbers 27 28. Zhao Xuan counters each charge with records showing that Jie Sect disciples were invited into worldly affairs, bore burdens for others, and embodied Tongtian's teaching without discrimination 27 28.

The first charge against the Jie Sect is cracked open when Zhao Xuan concludes: “Past merits are not crimes. Shangqing is without sin.” The gap remains visible on the List, and it cannot fully suppress or mend the accusation while the Accountability Ledger remains open 28 29.

The Dao Ancestor intervenes from Zixiao Palace, declares the manifestation a rehearsal before the true calamity, and withdraws the List. The fourth page of Zhao Xuan's Ledger remains open, meaning the account is delayed rather than settled 32.

After this withdrawal, Zhao Xuan warns that the delay allows opponents to seek new accusations. Tongtian gives him authority over Jie Sect's Investiture-related affairs, and the sect begins investigating its own misconduct. Haotian and Yuanshi likewise shift toward gathering evidence of actual wrongdoing, rather than attempting to recast past merits as crimes 33 34.

A later investigation exposes the Heavenly Court's use of old service records to identify suitable divine appointees. What first appears to be a Water Department recruitment scheme proves to involve an All-Department Preliminary Register. Zhao Gongming is marked for the Wealth Department, and a fragment resembling the List appears with his name before Tongtian's lingering sword intent destroys it 43 44 45.

Haotian investigates the unauthorized departmental records but discovers that their List Qi could not have been produced by ordinary officials. He claims that the aura did not originate in the Heavenly Court and directs Zhao Xuan toward the authority above it. Zhao Xuan records that response and questions the List itself, causing an incomplete projection bearing Zhao Gongming's and Holy Mother Jinling's names to appear 46 47.

The List justifies their selection by vacancies in the Wealth and Dou Departments, calling their suitability the Heavenly Mandate. Zhao Xuan counters that useful abilities and honorable deeds are not grounds for death. His investigation captures threads connecting the List to Lingxiao, Kunlun, and Mount Sumeru, and traces Lu Qing's service through preliminary records and a Position Assignment Register into the Investiture mechanism 48 49 50 52.

The inquiry eventually reaches an old council-seat shadow associated with Zixiao Palace, exposing traces of an earlier allocation of benefits and sacrifice. When the full List is revealed, a new line states that it was deliberated in Zixiao Palace and that all Sages knew. The Three Steles display not merely divine appointments, but deaths, preserved lineages, incense offerings, and post-tribulation merit already apportioned in advance 65 111.

Tongtian attacks the collective death allocation, and Jie Sect disciples begin dismantling their individual written fates. Their united refusal causes names to fade from the old List and leaves Heavenly Court offices vacant. Hongjun agrees to reopen deliberations at Zixiao Palace, where the original quota is replaced by Killing Tribulation, Profit-Sharing, and Willing Divinity 111 112 113 114 115.

The reformed Lists impose obligations on Kunlun, the Western Sect, and the Heavenly Court. Nevertheless, a hidden decree requiring Jie Sect's destruction remains deep within the old List. Zhao Xuan and Tongtian reject this collective sentence while accepting individual accountability. Hongjun finally declares that Jie Sect shall not perish and rewrites the Investiture to forbid placing the entire tribulation cost on one sect 121 122 125 126.

At the final Zixiao Palace settlement, old karmic debts and fatal arrangements are adjudicated, the Three Lists are stabilized, and the Willing Divinity List becomes Heavenly Court property. Zhao Xuan is appointed overseer of the tribulation, responsible for preventing disorder or restoration of the old system. The mortal calamity continues, but Jie Sect is no longer its predetermined sacrificial foundation 127 128.

Appearance

The Investiture of the Gods List appears as the phantom of an ancient, simple scroll high above the nine heavens. Its surface carries golden light, gray-white heavenly laws, and calamity energy 24 25 29.

• Ancient scroll-like form 24
• Golden light rippling across the list 24
• Gray-white calamity energy and heavenly laws 25 29
• Names not yet fully solidified hidden within its glow 24
• “Jie Sect” appears at the very top during its premature manifestation 24 25
• Incomplete later projections display individual names, including Zhao Gongming and Holy Mother Jinling 47
• Gray-white List Qi leaves a mark on Zhao Gongming's sleeve during the inquiry into his assigned fate 50
• Three faint threads extend toward Lingxiao, Kunlun, and Mount Sumeru when hidden contributions to the List are exposed 49
• The fully revealed List displays destinations after names, including death, divine office, incense offerings, preserved lineage, and merit 111
• Its reformed surface contains three columns: killing tribulation, profit-sharing, and willing divinity 115 126
• At the final proceedings, it hangs in the center of Zixiao Palace with the God-Beating Whip beneath it; neither “Golden Ao's Ten Thousand Immortals” nor the sect-destruction decree remains 126
• It blazes with light when all Three Lists stabilize and Hongjun declares the new settlement complete 128

Abilities & Functions

Divine Investiture

The List is meant to fill the Heavenly Court's divine positions through the true spirits of those drawn into the Investiture Great Calamity 1 7.

The following coercive effects describe the original framework feared by Jie Sect. The final settlement prohibits forcing disciples of the Three Teachings to fill vacancies through death and establishes voluntary appointment through the Willing Divinity List 128.

• Supplies personnel for the Heavenly Court's divine offices 1 7
• Supports the creation of the three hundred and sixty-five Orthodox Gods and the Eight Departments of Immortals 7 30
• Converts those on the List into beings governed by the Heavenly Court 1 30
• Severs the listed person's path of immortality and freedom of the Great Dao 1 30

Under the new framework, willing appointees sign their own names, receive incense offerings, perform divine duties, and observe heavenly laws. The three hundred and sixty-five Orthodox Divine Positions remain, but Jie Sect disciples are no longer assigned as their predetermined occupants 115 128.

Heavenly Mandate and Calamity Qi

The List carries the authority of the Heavenly Dao's calamity and is connected to the decree of Zixiao Palace 25 32.

• Uses calamity energy to pressure Golden Turtle Island after Old Merit Karma is severed 26
• Triggers visions of future deaths and defeats among Jie Sect core disciples 26
• Its phantom is protected by the Heavenly Dao's calamity energy and Zixiao Palace's decree, preventing Tongtian from directly striking it without escalating against the Dao Ancestor's arrangement 25
• Claims that accumulated Calamity Qi makes Zhao Gongming's recorded name unremovable, despite Zhao Xuan's evidence that his deeds do not constitute a genuine calamity 48
• Issues a supernatural command that the calamity cannot be reversed and that the disciples must ask no further questions 49
• Can place List Qi on a prospective appointee before full enrollment, suppressing karmic fate in advance rather than immediately receiving the person's true spirit 50

Tongtian later accepts open confrontation with the arrangement and strikes its written allocations directly. The earlier protection therefore represents a danger of escalation, not an absolute immunity to attack 111 113.

Recording and Accusation

When forced to answer, the List can display written charges against a sect 27 28.

• Lists the Jie Sect's supposed crimes: deep involvement in the world, heavy killing karma, and excessive / chaotic numbers 27 28 29
• Frames Jie Sect merits as karmic burdens until Zhao Xuan counters with documented accounts 27 28
• Its charges can weaken when challenged by verified ledgers and merit records 27 28
• Presents departmental vacancies and a disciple's aptitude as grounds for an allegedly mandated appointment 48
• Records connections between individuals, prospective offices, and schemes extending beyond appointment itself 56 111
• In its final form, records individual karma and obligations rather than treating sect membership as a collective death quota 126 127 128

Premature Manifestation

The List can reveal its shadow before the official beginning of the calamity when hidden heavenly secrets are forced out 24 25.

• Manifests after Tongtian severs the Old Merit Karma connecting the Jie Sect and Heavenly Court 24 25
• Reveals “Jie Sect” first, exposing that the sect was already marked as the primary target 24 25
• Becomes politically dangerous evidence once its bias is seen by the Primordial World 25
• Produces a fragment linked to Zhao Gongming's preliminary Wealth Department assignment 45
• Reappears as an incomplete projection when Zhao Xuan asks where its names came from 47
• Can be held in place by Zhao Xuan's accountability inquiry while hidden threads connecting it to other powers remain taut 49

Preliminary Selection and Fate Allocation

The original selection process is connected to bureaucratic records supplied by outside actors. Zhao Xuan establishes that names and qualifications were fed into the mechanism rather than independently generated by an impartial mandate 49.

• Past-service classification: Heavenly Court departments record disciples' old achievements and identify them as suitable candidates for future offices 43 44 46.
• Position matching: The Position Assignment Register weighs past merit, aptitude, vacancies, and the ability to fill gaps in Heavenly Court authority 52.
• Advance suppression: List Qi can bind a prospective appointment to a disciple's karmic fate before full enrollment 50.
• Relational leverage: Wen Zhong's Thunder Arts qualify him for the Thunder Department, while his discipleship under Jinling is used to draw in the Dou Department; a further mark connects his case to mortal dynasty fortune 56.
• Predetermined destinations: The full List assigns deaths, divine posts, offerings, lineages, and merit in advance 111.
• Concealed collective sentence: The old framework contains the hidden baseline “The Interception Sect must perish,” surviving the initial establishment of the Three Lists until Hongjun explicitly abolishes it 125 126.

Three Lists Framework

The reform does not abolish the Investiture or its divine positions. It replaces the predetermined Jie Sect quota with three distinct sources of responsibility, formally approved by Hongjun 114 115.

List	Function	Established Examples / Conditions
Killing Tribulation List	Assigns consequences according to killing tribulation and individual karma	Taiyi Zhenren and the Twelve Golden Immortals must face their own karma; Chan Sect disciples may not transfer their trials to Jie Sect or make others die in their place 121 127
Profit-Sharing List	Records gains and binds beneficiaries to their associated karmic cost	Randeng is bound through a strand of the Spirit Coffin Lamp's wick; Maitreya bears the Western Sect's conversion-related karma under its profit-sharing column 122 127
Willing Divinity List	Allows willing candidates to sign for Orthodox Divine Positions	A Thunder Department official becomes the first volunteer; the List belongs to the Heavenly Court, and signatories receive offerings, exercise duties, and obey heavenly laws 122 128

Registration on the Profit-Sharing List is not automatically a death sentence. Maitreya's entry establishes the price of future Western Sect gains rather than placing him in a death position 122.

The reformed system also works with Jie Sect's departure, formation, and mortal-affairs registers. Disciples may enter the tribulation, remain to guard the sect, or seek Heavenly Court office, but their actions and karma must be recorded 123 127 128.

Binding Provisions and Oversight

Hongjun's final rewrite establishes three binding provisions within the List 126:

• Jie Sect shall not perish 126.
• Its disciples shall enter the tribulation according to the karma of the Three Lists 126.
• No single sect shall bear the entire cost of the tribulation 126.

The final settlement additionally forbids forcing disciples of the Three Teachings into divine vacancies through death. It preserves individual consequences rather than granting Jie Sect blanket immunity from judgment 126 128.

Zhao Xuan becomes overseer of the tribulation. He is responsible if the Three Steles are misused, the new Lists fall into disorder, or someone attempts to restore the old system 128.

Limits and Vulnerabilities

The List is not portrayed as omnipotent; its authority can be stalled, questioned, and partially exposed through merit, records, and Saint-level pressure.

• Cannot ignore Tongtian's question once it is carried by a Saint's decree and the Three Steles 26 27
• Cannot fully justify the Jie Sect's guilt once Zhao Xuan opens the Accountability Ledger 27 28 29
• Cannot mend the gap in its accusation while the Ledger's counter-account remains open 29
• Is withdrawn by the Dao Ancestor before the confrontation fully resolves 32
• Its hidden institutional connections can be captured and recorded by the Clear Gate Register 49
• Its advance hold on Lu Qing's fate can be partially loosened by reconstructing the documentary chain; Zhao Xuan prevents entry while the account remains unresolved 52
• Its attempt to draw Jinling into the investigation can be blocked and entered as evidence of interference 52
• Individual written fates can be cracked or broken when exposed: Duobao strikes his line with his Golden Bell, and Zhao Gongming breaks his death sentence with the Twenty-Four Sea-Calming Pearls 111
• Collective refusal backed by Jie Sect fortune causes names to fade from the certain-death quota and leaves associated divine offices vacant 112 113
• Hongjun can reorder its columns, abolish its concealed destruction decree, and establish new binding rules 115 126

Resistance remains dangerous. Duobao fears that continued investigation could crush the people named in the List, while Zhao Xuan warns that an impulsive attack could be recast as defiance of the Heavenly Mandate and used to deepen the entanglement. His early strategy therefore distinguishes auditing an entry from forcibly changing an already-enrolled name 49 50 52.

Related Concepts / Items

• Three Steles — Zhao Xuan's accountability monuments outside Golden Turtle Island. They ask where disasters come from, who should have managed them, and who bears merit and karma; later they add why the Jie Sect is written first and what crime the Jie Sect committed 22 24 25 26. They subsequently reveal the full allocation, support resistance to written fates, and become evidence illuminating cause and effect under the new Investiture 111 113 126.
• Investiture of the Gods Accountability Ledger — Zhao Xuan's counter-ledger used to audit the List's charges, the Jie Sect's merits, and the profits and costs of the Investiture 26 27 28 29 30. He later opens a new accountability inquiry demanding inspection of the List's names and pins its exposed connections in place 49.
• Old Merit Karma — a hidden karmic thread linking Jie Sect service to the Heavenly Court and the affairs it maintained; once the Investiture begins, it becomes a shackle pulling Jie Sect disciples toward the List 24.
• Heavenly Emperor Seal — used by Haotian to finalize petitions acknowledging Jie Sect service, turning previously muddled work into recorded merit and karma 19.
• Clear Gate Register — preserves the Heavenly Court's responses, exposes preliminary assignments and hidden institutional threads, and traces the records used to push disciples toward the List 43 47 49 50 52.
• Heavenly Court Private Register — recruitment instrument offering a Water Department divine post in exchange for persuading other Jie Sect disciples to accept investiture 43.
• Water Department Old Seal — exposes the Water Department Preliminary Register and red-circled priority candidates 44.
• All-Department Preliminary Register — advance candidate records extending beyond the Water Department to the Wealth Department and potentially other offices 45 46.
• Position Assignment Register — intermediary mechanism matching recorded merit and abilities to divine vacancies and gaps in Heavenly Court authority 52.
• Interception Sect Old Merit Ledger — assembled from voluntarily submitted records to challenge the Court's use of past service as grounds for conscription 45.
• Purple Heaven Old Council Seat Shadow — fragmentary evidence of an earlier allocation of divine gains, avoided calamity, increased power, and life-sacrifice roles 65.
• Heavenly Court Divine Position Register / Godhood Register — tracks offices associated with the Investiture; vacancies appear when Jie Sect withdraws and are subsequently reorganized under the Three Lists 112 115 122 126.
• God-Beating Whip — accompanies the List at Zixiao Palace and develops three marks corresponding to killing tribulation, profit-sharing, and willing divinity after the reform 115 126.
• Killing Tribulation List, Profit-Sharing List, and Willing Divinity List — the three reformed columns governing karmic consequences, accountable gains, and voluntary divine service 115 128.
• Departure Register, Guardian Sect Formation Register, and Tribulation Envoy Register — Jie Sect safeguards that regulate leaving the mountain, formation use, and involvement in mortal affairs under the revised framework 123 127.
• Nail-Head Seven-Arrow Book / Straw Effigy — ritual instruments associated with Zhao Gongming's old prescribed death; the effigy is exposed and suppressed as that fate is challenged 111 123.
• Spirit Coffin Lamp — a strand of its wick is placed on the Profit-Sharing List to bind Randeng to outstanding obligations 127.

Relationships

• Heavenly Court / Haotian — the main beneficiary of the List, which is intended to fill Heavenly Court positions and establish authority over the Three Realms 7 30. Haotian later investigates unauthorized preliminary registers and argues that their List Qi originates beyond ordinary Court officials. Under the final settlement, he receives the Willing Divinity List as a lawful recruitment mechanism instead of relying on forced Jie Sect deaths 47 128.
• Jie Sect — the first faction revealed at the head of the List; its disciples regard the List as a mechanism that targets them for death and servitude 1 24 25. Their collective rejection removes the predetermined quota, and the final rewrite guarantees the sect's survival without exempting individual disciples from karma 112 113 126 128.
• Zhao Xuan — principal challenger of the List; uses the Accountability Ledger to force it to answer for its charges and expose the cost borne by the Jie Sect 26 27 28 29 30. He traces the source of names, architects the Three Lists reform, and becomes the official overseer responsible for safeguarding the new system 49 52 114 128.
• Master Tongtian — Jie Sect Saint who severs Old Merit Karma, forces the List to manifest, and asks what crime the Jie Sect has committed 24 26. He later cleaves the collective allocation, prevents its suppression, and supports renegotiation at Zixiao Palace. His refusal to accept the destruction of his lineage precedes Hongjun's abolition of the hidden decree 111 113 125 126.
• Dao Ancestor / Zixiao Palace — higher authority that withdraws the List, declares the manifestation a rehearsal, and postpones the Investiture discussion 32. The List later states that it was deliberated at Zixiao Palace with all Sages aware. Hongjun ultimately orders its reorganization, removes the sect-destruction decree, and finalizes the Three Lists 111 115 126 128.
• Chan Sect — avoids worldly karma while benefiting from the Jie Sect being pushed toward the List; Zhao Xuan highlights its blank merit column and pressure on the Jie Sect 18 28 30. Later evidence links the selection process to Kunlun. Under the reform, the Twelve Golden Immortals receive tribulation-entry seals and must bear their own karma rather than transferring danger to Jie Sect 49 52 121 127.
• Western Sect — benefits indirectly from the Investiture while avoiding direct cost; Jieyin warns that speaking would put the Western Sect into Zhao Xuan's ledger 29 30. Its connection to the old mechanism is exposed, and Maitreya is subsequently entered in its profit-sharing column so future conversions carry an explicit karmic price 49 122 127.
• Zhao Gongming and the Three Xiao Sisters — core Jie Sect disciples who receive calamity-energy visions of their future deaths and defeats tied to the List 26. Zhao Gongming is later exposed as a preselected Wealth Department candidate, while the full revelation shows his ritual murder and the sisters' fatal confrontation. Their old arrangements are broken or replaced with protective rules at the final settlement 45 48 50 111 123 127.
• Holy Mother Jinling — named in the incomplete projection as suitable for a Dou Department vacancy; the mechanism also attempts to exploit her bond with Wen Zhong 47 48 52 56.
• Daoist Duobao — recognizes the danger of investigating the List but ultimately cracks his own written fate with his Golden Bell, becoming one of the first disciples to resist an exposed individual allocation 49 111.
• Lu Qing — Outer Sect test case through whom Zhao Xuan traces the conversion of Sea Eye service into preliminary selection and fate suppression 50 52.
• Wen Zhong — his Thunder Arts, mortal service, discipleship, and dynasty ties are used as prospective routes into the calamity. His prescribed death at Juelong Ridge is abolished, and his future mortal-war involvement must be recorded 56 111 127.
• Taiyi Zhenren — entered on the Killing Tribulation List for karma involving Biyun, Nezha, Chentang Pass, and the Nine Dragon Divine Fire Cover; receives concrete punishment during final settlement 121 127.
• Randeng — placed under profit-sharing accountability and barred from both Jade Emptiness and the Western Sect until his debts are settled 115 127.
• Maitreya — the Western Sect's designated profit-sharing name, not an immediate death appointee; bears the associated karma if the sect uses the Investiture to convert people 122 127.
• Heavenly Court Thunder Department volunteer — the first willing deity under the revised system, filling a regular Thunder Department vacancy without requiring a disciple's death 122 128.

Story Role / Major Arcs

Prophecy and Fear

The List begins as the core threat in Zhao Xuan's three-hundred-year-old prophecy. Its expected emergence turns the Jie Sect's previous confidence into panic, because being listed means loss of freedom and severance of the Great Dao 1.

Strategic Withdrawal

Zhao Xuan uses the coming List as the reason to recall Jie Sect disciples, suspend outside duties, and expose the Heavenly Court's dependence on unpaid Jie Sect labor 4 5 7 8 10.

Accountability Campaign

Before the List fully appears, Zhao Xuan changes the terms of the Investiture debate by demanding written records of merit, responsibility, compensation, and divine authority. This turns the List from a tool of vague destiny into something that must face concrete accounts 13 15 18 19 21.

Three Steles and Premature Manifestation

The Three Steles force disasters, responsibility, and merit into public record. When the Heavenly Court tries to erase them, Old Merit Karma is exposed and severed by Tongtian, dragging the List's phantom into the open 22 23 24.

Jie Sect Written First

The List reveals “Jie Sect” at the top before the official Investiture begins, proving to the Jie Sect that the selection was not neutral. Zhao Xuan frames this as evidence that the List had already chosen its victim 25.

Trial of the List

Zhao Xuan and Tongtian force the List to state the Jie Sect's crimes. The List names worldly involvement, killing karma, and chaotic numbers; Zhao Xuan counters with ledgers showing these are merits, burdens borne for others, and the result of Tongtian's inclusive orthodoxy 26 27 28.

Withdrawal, Not Resolution

The Dao Ancestor withdraws the List and says the displayed numbers are not final. Zhao Xuan notes that although the List is gone, the account remains open, leaving the conflict unresolved 32.

The pause leads to competing investigations. Zhao Xuan prepares an internal audit so genuine wrongdoing cannot be used to condemn the entire sect, while Haotian and Yuanshi search for fresh evidence against disciples such as Ma Yuan and Chang'er Dingguang Xian 33 34.

Buying Names and Turning Merits into Chains

The Heavenly Court offers divine office to an Outer Sect disciple who can recruit suitable fellows. Zhao Xuan's examination shows that this is a scheme to obtain names and qualifications for future departmental appointments, using old service records as a guide 43.

The Water Department's records expose priority candidates, and Zhao Gongming's Wealth Department entry proves that the scheme extends across departments. Zhao Xuan collects the disciples' old documents and begins demanding a public answer to who entered their names 44 45 46.

Questioning the Source of the List

Haotian disclaims authorship of the List Qi and pushes the inquiry toward the higher authority behind the Court. Zhao Xuan instead addresses the List as an accountable mechanism, asking where Zhao Gongming's and Jinling's names came from 47.

Its answer identifies divine vacancies and individual suitability as destiny. Zhao Xuan records the indictment “Taking vacancies for calamities,” then captures connections to the Heavenly Court, Kunlun, and the Western Sect. The dispute shifts from whether disciples deserve punishment to who supplied their information and designed their allocations 48 49.

Auditing Fate through Individual Cases

Rather than allowing the List to strengthen its hold by investigating Zhao Gongming first, Zhao Xuan chooses Lu Qing. He traces Sea Eye service through the Water Department's records and the Position Assignment Register, partially loosening the Calamity Qi and barring entry while the documentary account is unresolved 50 52.

Wen Zhong's case reveals a broader mechanism: service, cultivated abilities, master-disciple bonds, and mortal dynasty fortune can all be used to pull people toward prospective divine posts. Zhao Xuan rejects treating these strengths and relationships as automatic obligations to the List 56.

Full Revelation and Rejection of Written Deaths

The Three Steles reveal the complete allocation, exposing the division of lives, offices, offerings, merit, and lineage. The declaration that the List was deliberated in Zixiao Palace and known to all Sages makes the arrangement a direct issue of high-level responsibility 111.

Tongtian cleaves the collective sentence, and Zhao Xuan urges disciples to reject their own prescribed fates. Duobao and Zhao Gongming lead the resistance. As the Ten Thousand Immortals dismantle the roads to death, their names fade from the certain-death column and Heavenly Court posts become vacant 111 112.

Zixiao Renegotiation and the Three Lists

Tongtian prevents Yuanshi from closing the exposed List, and Zhao Xuan again challenges the unequal cost imposed on Jie Sect. Hongjun agrees to renewed deliberation at Zixiao Palace 113.

The resulting reform preserves the three hundred and sixty-five principal divine positions but replaces the Jie Sect quota with Killing Tribulation, Profit-Sharing, and Willing Divinity. Hongjun explicitly rules that Golden Ao's Ten Thousand Immortals will no longer be a predetermined quota, and the God-Beating Whip receives corresponding marks 114 115 116.

Putting Shared Responsibility into Practice

Kunlun's Twelve Golden Immortals receive tribulation-entry seals, ending their ability to use Jie Sect disciples as shields against their own karma. The Western Sect supplies Maitreya's name under profit-sharing, and a Heavenly Court Thunder Department official accepts voluntary office 121 122.

With obligations established on all three sides, the List withdraws from above Jie Sect. Zhao Xuan and Tongtian then translate reform into internal safeguards covering departures, formations, and mortal affairs 122 123.

Abolishing the Hidden Sect-Destruction Decree

Despite the new columns, the old List retains the concealed sentence “The Interception Sect must perish.” Zhao Xuan distinguishes individual judgment from collective destruction, arguing that the Three Lists already address tribulation, greed, and Heavenly Court staffing without eliminating the sect 125.

Tongtian prepares to fight rather than accept the severance of his lineage. Hongjun declares that Jie Sect shall not perish, shatters the old sentence, and inscribes the principles of survival, individual karmic entry, and shared cost 126.

Final Settlement and Continuing Oversight

At the final proceedings, Taiyi and the Twelve Golden Immortals are bound to their own consequences; Zhao Gongming's ritual death and Wen Zhong's death at Juelong Ridge are prevented; the Three Xiao Sisters' formation receives protective rules; and Randeng and the Western Sect's gains are placed under profit-sharing accountability 127.

Hongjun assigns the Willing Divinity List to the Heavenly Court and forbids filling vacancies through forced disciple deaths. Zhao Xuan accepts responsibility as overseer, and the new framework begins operating throughout the Three Realms. The calamity remains, but its costs are no longer automatically imposed on Jie Sect 128.

Notable Quotes

"With one's true spirit on the list, one is henceforth driven by the Heavenly Court. Life and death are no longer in one's own hands, the Great Dao is severed, and there is no more freedom..." 1

"At the head of the Investiture of the Gods List, why is the Jie Sect written first?" 25

"The Investiture of the Gods List is not here to select people. It has already made its choice. It has chosen the Jie Sect." 25

"What crime has my Jie Sect committed?" 26

"Past merits are not crimes. Shangqing is without sin." 28

"The list has withdrawn. But the account has not." 32

"How can a vacancy in the Heavenly Court become the Jie Sect's death tally?" 48

"The list was deliberated in Zixiao Palace; all Sages knew." 111

"The Ten Thousand Immortals of Golden Ao shall no longer be a predetermined quota." 115

"The Interception Sect must perish." 125

"The Interception Sect shall not perish." 126

"No single sect shall be made to bear the entire cost of the tribulation." 126

"Disciples of the Three Teachings must not be forced to fill vacancies through death." 128

Trivia

• The List's first visible faction name is Jie Sect, which turns its hidden bias into public evidence 24 25.
• Zhao Xuan reframes “investiture” as bondage by emphasizing that true spirits on the List become Heavenly Court subjects with severed immortal paths 1 30.
• The List's premature manifestation is caused indirectly by Haotian's attempt to remove the Three Steles, not by the official start of the calamity 24 25.
• Dao Ancestor later describes the manifestation as a “rehearsal,” allowing its numbers to be treated as non-final while leaving Zhao Xuan's account unresolved 32.
• The later claim that the List has “not appeared” refers to its official issuance: projections and List Qi are already present before the true calamity begins 45 46 47.
• Zhao Gongming's sleeve mark represents advance karmic suppression, not completed true-spirit enrollment 50.
• The reform preserves the three hundred and sixty-five principal divine offices rather than abolishing the Heavenly Court's staffing needs 115 126 128.
• Maitreya's profit-sharing registration is explicitly distinguished from entry into a death position 122.
• Establishing the Three Lists does not immediately erase every element of the old framework; the hidden sect-destruction decree requires a separate confrontation and explicit abolition 115 125 126.
• The first voluntary appointee is an existing minor Thunder Department official rather than a dead disciple recruited from another sect 122 128.
• The final settlement changes how the calamity is administered, not whether karma or mortal conflict continues 128.

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