Qing Xuanzi looked at the fewer than a thousand Intercepting Sect disciples remaining and nodded in satisfaction.
"From now on, if anyone else joins the Intercepting Sect, Duobao, keep a close eye on them. Let even one slip through, and I'll slap you. I wonder how many slaps you can take?"
Duobao shuddered all over. You thought far too highly of him. He figured that a single slap would turn him into mush.
The troubling part was that he knew Tongtian had a habit of loving to teach. So long as someone called him "Master"—
Every single one of them would be accepted without exception.
How was he, a disciple, supposed to stop that?
Qing Xuanzi knew what Duobao was thinking and said, "Duobao, can't you learn from the Elucidating Sect and set up something like a Heart-Questioning Formation?"
"Don't be afraid. If Tongtian comes back to settle accounts later, just say I ordered it and tell him to come find me."
"Martial Uncle, then I'll listen to you. If Master gets angry later, you must help me out."
What else could Duobao do? He could only agree. Otherwise, there would be no need to wait for Tongtian to return.
Qing Xuanzi would throw him out right now.
"Good. Now, I'll begin the sermon. Like the Elucidating Sect, I'll preach for ten thousand years in five sessions, two thousand years each. How much you can comprehend will depend on your own fortune."
Tongtian, in the Purple Cloud Palace, breathed a sigh of relief. Qing Xuanzi had finally begun preaching.
If this continued, the Intercepting Sect would probably be tormented out of existence.
It would just be harder to accept disciples properly in the future.
"Third Brother, I think Junior Brother Qing Xuanzi's method is excellent. Why don't you personally set up a Heart-Questioning Formation?"
Yuanshi felt that Qing Xuanzi was exceedingly considerate. He had even thought of Tongtian's little flaw.
Tongtian turned his head away, unwilling to listen to Yuanshi's nagging.
"Disciple Tongtian, I will also set a rule. If you accept another disciple who tarnishes the Intercepting Sect's reputation in the future, I'll slap you too."
Hongjun's finishing blow was masterfully delivered, driving straight into Tongtian's heart.
One move, and it was GAME OVER.
Qing Xuanzi preached in Biyou Palace for two thousand years. After all the disciples awakened, he instructed them:
"This sermon is over. Go back and consolidate what you have gained. Oh, right—if someone named Ran Deng comes here seeking to become your fellow disciple in the future, don't spare me any face. Just swarm him and beat him half to death."
"We obey the decree."
Mount Sumeru.
While meditating, Zhunti suddenly felt a stirring in his heart. He opened his eyes and calculated.
Eh, the rabbit had inexplicably died, and it had even died in an ancestral shaman's stomach.
This was absurd. The ancestral shamans actually dared to touch someone from the Intercepting Sect?
And that Ran Deng had been beaten so badly that he was barely recognizable.
The ancestral shamans had done that as well.
Yet the Elucidating Sect had actually refused to accept Ran Deng. That truly exceeded Zhunti's expectations.
When had Yuanshi changed his temperament? Wasn't he the one who cared most about face?
Ran Deng was, after all, one of the Three Thousand Guests of the Purple Cloud Palace.
He had come from afar to acknowledge Yuanshi as his master. Shouldn't Yuanshi have eagerly accepted him?
Zhunti was completely unable to make sense of it.
Most speechless of all, the ancestral shamans had wiped out nearly two thousand Intercepting Sect disciples, yet Tongtian had not uttered a peep.
Tongtian: I couldn't say anything. The slap was right above my head. Tell me, wouldn't you be scared?
"Senior Brother, this is bad. Every plan has been thrown into disarray. Not only did Ran Deng fail to join the Elucidating Sect, he was nearly beaten by the ancestral shamans until he could no longer care for himself."
"Even more outrageous, the ancestral shamans killed nearly two thousand Intercepting Sect disciples and even swallowed them, yet Tongtian didn't make a sound. Isn't that far too strange?"
Upon hearing this, Jie Yin quietly calculated for a while. It was indeed exactly as Zhunti had said.
There was nothing mystical about it at all.
How could they know that Qing Xuanzi was behind it?
Even the Heavenly Dao did not know that Qing Xuanzi had orchestrated everything.
After all, in the Heavenly Dao's eyes, Qing Xuanzi was quietly crouching in the starry sky, refining stars.
Who would have imagined that Qing Xuanzi possessed a clone technique?
He had put on a show of openly repairing the road while secretly advancing through Chencang.
Meanwhile, his true body constantly carried the Chaos Clock and carried out his covert operation right beneath the Heavenly Dao's nose.
That was also the main reason Qing Xuanzi had driven the Elucidating Sect and Intercepting Sect disciples back.
Otherwise, if this group of disciples suddenly made astonishing progress here—
It would be strange if the Heavenly Dao did not grow suspicious.
Therefore, Qing Xuanzi would rather spend twice as much time to send them back.
Ten thousand years later, Qing Xuanzi found that the Three Sects Disciples were still progressing too slowly.
There was a reason he had put so much effort into cultivating the Three Sects Disciples.
He believed that at the final moment, the Heavenly Dao would definitely have some means of interference.
For example, Qing Xuanzi did not believe that the stars and Lu Ya had not secretly cultivated disciples of their own.
The shamans and demons each had their own tasks: some acted, while others set up formations.
They simply could not spare the manpower.
As for the human race, the cultivation of the Three Thousand Congenital Humans was still too weak. After all, there had not been enough time.
Moreover, he intended to begin focusing on cultivating the Congenital Human Race twenty thousand years later.
However, they would have another purpose.
After all, not everyone could be like him.
Thus, the Three Sects Disciples were what Qing Xuanzi would use to resist those scattered stragglers.
He did not want even the slightest flaw in the plan.
Left with no alternative, Qing Xuanzi once again brought out twenty-five Enlightenment Stones.
Each of the Twelve Golden Immortals of the Elucidating Sect received one.
For the Intercepting Sect, Qing Xuanzi also assembled a group of Twelve Golden Immortals.
Xuan Du of the Humanity Sect received one.
They were the Seven Attendant Immortals, along with Duobao, Zhao Gongming, and the Three Xiao.
Another ten thousand years passed, and Qing Xuanzi finished preaching.
Only then did the progress of the Three Sects Disciples satisfy Qing Xuanzi.
They had basically all reached the bottleneck of the Great Luo Golden Immortal realm. Given another several tens of thousands of years to consolidate their foundations,
they would certainly all advance into Hunyuan Golden Immortals.
During this period, Qing Xuanzi went to the Purple Cloud Palace like a ghost.
He obtained three hundred and sixty-five Star Lord Banners from Yuanshi.
From then on, the contingency preparations for the Stars All Over The Heavens Formation were complete.
After finishing his teachings to the Three Sects, Qing Xuanzi immediately reclaimed the Enlightenment Stones.
He did not have many of those things in his possession, and he would still need them to cultivate the human race.
He then began focusing on cultivating the Three Thousand Congenital Humans.
Time flowed on. To cultivators of the primordial world, several tens of thousands of years were no more than the time needed for a nap.
In the blink of an eye, the hundred thousand years the Heavenly Dao had granted the shamans and demons were nearly up.
In the eyes of all living beings in the primordial world,
the two races had never ceased their conflict.
They fought almost every year, with brawls involving dozens or hundreds breaking out daily.
Mass fights involving thousands or even tens of thousands occurred every month as well.
All beings in the primordial world could see it.
The aura of the tribulation was growing increasingly dense, and the great war between shamans and demons had become inevitable.
On this day, Qing Xuanzi finally received a message from Hongjun.
The message was very short, containing only two words: Begin.
But Qing Xuanzi understood: the Heavenly Dao had pressed the button for the shaman-demon war.
As for its beginning, Qing Xuanzi looked toward the Fusang Tree on the Sun Star.
Ten little Golden Crows were playing there. Qing Xuanzi saw Zhunti leave Mount Sumeru.
He immediately informed Eastern Emperor Taiyi, "Execute the Golden Crow Plan."
"Received."
Eastern Emperor Taiyi had waited nearly a hundred thousand years for Qing Xuanzi's command.
Ever since Qing Xuanzi had told him about this plan, he and Dijun had discussed it for a long time.
At last, he had waited for this day.
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