Expelled from the Interception Sect? A Sudden Realization!

Kunlun Mountain, Azure Roaming Palace.

The atmosphere was oppressive, suffocating.

"Seize the secrets of Heaven, and ten thousand immortals shall come to pay homage! Our Interception Sect stands foremost among all sects in the Primordial World. Why should we fear this so-called Investiture of the Gods Calamity? Asking our fellow disciples and sworn brothers to willingly enter the Investiture of the Gods—I, Zhao Gongming, will be the first to refuse!"

"Lingxiao has beguiled the masses with demonic words and harbors sinister intentions. He seeks to destroy our Interception Sect. I beg Master to see through him!"

"Fiendish baleful aura coils around him, and mad, defiant words spill from his mouth. Junior Brother Lingxiao did not deliberately defy Master—he must have suffered a cultivation deviation. I ask all junior brothers to calm down..."

The accusations crashed beside Lingxiao's ears like sudden thunder, making his body tremble faintly.

"Rebellious disciple, what else do you have to say?"

Lord Tongtian wore a dark daoist robe. His eyes were as deep as stars, and a mysterious aura surrounded him. At his side, the Green Duckweed Sword flowed with chilling, razor-sharp light. He stared impassively at Lingxiao, like an ancient well without a ripple.

Yet upon closer inspection, one would find his brows tightly furrowed, with anger faintly flickering in his eyes.

"Rebellious disciple... Heh heh!"

"Has the trust between master and disciple truly grown so thin?"

Lingxiao's voice was low. He let out a soft sigh, his face carrying struggle and a complex despair.

As he looked around at the faces surrounding him, Lingxiao found them both familiar and strange. He gently shook his head, and boundless bitterness surged in his heart.

Exhaustion and helplessness left Lingxiao's already battered body swaying on the verge of collapse. His listless Primordial Spirit was breaking apart as well. In an instant, the twilight decay of one at death's door seeped from him; he had nearly lost his Dao heart and perished in meditation out of thin air.

Just moments ago.

Within the Azure Roaming Palace, he had argued with Lord Tongtian on reasonable grounds over the matter of the Investiture of the Gods.

What he received in return was everyone's verbal condemnation.

"Senior Brother Lingxiao, you are confused!"

"Every fellow disciple present knows how much you have labored and contributed. If you had not entered the Immortal-Slaying Sword Formation to suppress our sect's fortune and sort through the karmic consequences of slaughter, our Interception Sect would have long since existed in name alone."

"But that cannot be your excuse to rely on Master's favor and act arrogantly, destroying the foundations of our Interception Sect!"

Scorching Dao resonance spread through the hall.

Lu Ya beat his chest and stomped his feet, his expression rich with both indignation and utter disillusionment.

At that moment, Holy Mother Turtle Spirit began to curse. "Lingxiao, you have disappointed me beyond measure! A hundred thousand years ago, you were open and upright, honorable and forthright. You gave your heart and soul for our Interception Sect—how did you become like this now?"

"Your origin has been damaged and your cultivation has fallen, but Master and the rest of us have never mistreated you. Why, then, did you become a traitor who wishes to send your fellow senior and junior brothers onto the Investiture of the Gods?"

"I once thought you had merely lost your realm and foundation. Who would have thought that you had already lost the Dao heart you once possessed—and buried the bonds between fellow disciples with your own hands!"

The resplendent Dao voice rang out, deafening and earth-shaking.

Lingxiao was slightly dazed, a cold, desolate smile hanging from the corner of his lips.

His eyes flickered, filled with the weariness of countless ages.

After transmigrating to the Primordial World, he possessed the foundation of the Twelve-Grade Purifying White Lotus. He took form during the Witch-Demon Calamity, then entered Lord Tongtian's tutelage and became a direct disciple of the Interception Sect.

Thereafter!

Because of Tongtian's words—"My disciple Lingxiao possesses the potential of a sect leader"—Lingxiao had devoted himself heart and soul to the Interception Sect, wishing to rewrite its fate within the grand current of Heavenly Dao.

Now that he thought of it, that so-called potential of a sect leader was likely nothing more than a grand empty promise Tongtian had painted for him.

What a pity that he had been so foolish as to believe it...

Scene after scene surfaced in Lingxiao's mind, only for him to knead them into phantoms.

He had befriended disciples of the Human Sect and the Clarifying Sect, mediating the conflicts between the Interception Sect and the Clarifying Sect to prevent the Three Pure Ones from splitting apart and Lord Tongtian from retreating to Golden Turtle Island.

During the Witch-Demon Calamity, he had taken in Lu Ya, the little Golden Crow, and brought Kong Xuan and the Golden-Winged Great Roc into the Interception Sect.

During the era of the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors, he had helped Tongtian seize the Kongtong Seal, allowing Interception Sect disciples to occupy several positions as teachers to the Human Emperors.

Ten thousand immortals came to pay homage to the Interception Sect, yet its disciples had no one to guide them. Lingxiao had poured out his heart's blood to establish the Interception Sect Heavenly Rules, diligently instructing his fellow disciples. He had not hesitated to expend his own origin to clarify their Dao hearts and purify the aura of karmic sin from them.

He had even!

A hundred thousand years ago, entered the Immortal-Slaying Sword Formation alone to sort through the Interception Sect's karmic consequences of slaughter and suppress its fortune. He had fought until his Zenith Heaven Golden Immortal cultivation was completely lost, nearly being beaten back to his original form.

Yet now, he was trapped in a cage, reduced to such a state.

Raising his eyes, Lingxiao smiled bitterly. "I have lost my Dao heart? I disregard the bonds between fellow disciples? Do you know that in the Primordial World, a hundred thousand years are but the flick of a finger, yet to me, they have been seas turning to mulberry fields."

"Master has abandoned me, and my fellow disciples despise me. Where is there even half a place for me in the Interception Sect? If the Investiture of the Gods Calamity had not happened to be approaching, and if you had not sought to bury the future of the Interception Sect, why would I have come to this?"

Having thought it through, Lingxiao no longer hoped for anything.

It was only that Lingxiao had never expected the Interception Sect's disciples to all be such contemptible people.

Ever since his Zenith Heaven Golden Immortal cultivation had been utterly destroyed, and his foundation and origin damaged, he had lost his former prestige among the disciples of the Interception Sect. He was more like a drowned dog, beaten and cursed by everyone.

Duobao, Immortal Dingguang, Lu Ya, and the others hurled vicious words at him. The Three Xiao Sisters, Holy Mother Golden Spirit, and the rest stood silently to one side of the great hall, while the eyes of countless other disciples carried mockery and ridicule.

Thus, Lingxiao vented all the grievances filling his chest, declaring that there was no longer any place for him in the Interception Sect.

"This is outrageous, utterly outrageous!"

"A mere cripple dares to spout such wild nonsense in the Azure Roaming Palace, claiming that our Interception Sect will be destroyed! I beg Master to discern the truth and expel this wretch who defies his sect and disrespects a Saint from the Interception Sect, thereby upholding our sect's venerable majesty!"

Immortal Dingguang pointed at Lingxiao, his body trembling without stop.

His hair stood on end in rage, vicious light blazing from his eyes, as though Lingxiao had committed some unforgivable sin!

Expel him from the Interception Sect!

The moment those words were spoken, the eyes of the Interception Sect disciples present gleamed. They could not help exchanging looks, especially Daoist Duobao, whose heart surged with towering waves.

As the chief disciple of the Interception Sect, he was naturally meant to inherit Lord Tongtian's mantle and wield the authority of the Interception Sect.

Yet Lingxiao had emerged out of nowhere, astonishing the world.

Even Lord Tongtian had once said those words.

My disciple Lingxiao has the makings of a sect leader!

"A true man is born between Heaven and Earth—how can he remain gloomily beneath another for long? If you become the leader of the Interception Sect, would I, its chief disciple, not become mere decoration?"

"Junior Brother Lingxiao, do not blame your senior brother for being ruthless..."

Daoist Duobao narrowed his eyes and fixed his gaze on Lingxiao.

What happened today had naturally been fanned along from behind by him!

"Defying the sect and disrespecting a Saint? Hahaha..."

"When all the birds are gone, the bow is put away; when the rabbits die, the hunting hounds are cooked! Seeing that my origin has been utterly damaged and my cultivation completely lost, you wish to expel me from the Interception Sect under such a hypocritical pretext. What a laughable farce!"

"In the end, it is merely that those who walk different paths cannot make plans together..."

The indignation, grievance, and humiliation in Lingxiao's heart all dissipated like smoke. At this moment, he found the conduct of the Interception Sect utterly ridiculous.

Within the Azure Roaming Palace, it appeared that Daoist Duobao, Immortal Dingguang, and the others were stirring up trouble, but in truth, they all had Lord Tongtian's tacit approval. Everything was simply meant to kick away Lingxiao, this stumbling block.

Taking the initiative to enter the Investiture of the Gods did not serve the interests of the Interception Sect!

Only by sweeping aside Lingxiao, this obstacle, could the entire Interception Sect unite as one and jointly contend against the Clarifying Sect, the Human Sect, and the Western Sect. Lord Tongtian would then have a chance to command all the luck between Heaven and Earth—and perhaps even take another step forward!

Having understood everything, Lingxiao's mind became clear, and he no longer harbored any unrealistic fantasies.

"This Interception Sect is not worth staying in!"

Lingxiao raised his head and sneered as he faced Tongtian directly.

The bond between master and disciple, the fellowship between sect brothers.

All of it had vanished into ash and smoke!

"You wicked disciple, do you truly dare disregard your master's sect and betray the Interception Sect?"

Tongtian's gaze was icy. His hands, concealed beneath his jade sleeves, trembled faintly.

With the foundation of the Twelve-Grade Purifying White Lotus, Lingxiao had devoted himself heart and soul to the Interception Sect. If Lingxiao had not become crippled, Tongtian truly would have wanted him to inherit his mantle.

Unfortunately, as a disciple, Lingxiao had reached far too far!

The Investiture of the Gods Calamity was not something he could meddle in, much less could he defy Tongtian in public!

The atmosphere fell silent, oppressive enough to suffocate.

Just as Lingxiao was about to refute Tongtian and tear away all pretense with him completely, a cold electronic mechanical voice suddenly sounded in his mind.

[Ding!]

[Host's awakening detected. God-Tier Choice System successfully loaded!]

[Choice One: Swallow your anger and endure everything. Apologize to Tongtian. Reward: one Black Tortoise Shell.]

[Choice Two: Sever karma and cut off all ties. Become a Rogue Cultivator, free and unfettered. Reward: Chaos Green Lotus origin.]

[Choice Three: Fall into the demonic path and immediately refine all Interception Sect disciples. Reward: the Heavenly Dao's baleful supreme treasure, the Godslaying Spear.]

Before he could suppress his shock at the system's arrival, Lingxiao fell into a conflicted choice...

Sever karma, or immediately refine them!

How should he choose?