Questions from the Master, the Authority of the Chief Disciple

The rear hall of Biyou Palace was not as grand and open as the front hall, instead carrying a quiet, ancient simplicity.

Master Tongtian did not sit high upon a cloud bed. He stood with his hands behind his back before an enormous jade wall engraved with the mountains, rivers, geography, and revolving stars of the Primordial World, as though observing the evolution of heaven and earth.

Xuan Chuan followed the attendant boy inside and respectfully bowed. "This disciple, Xuan Chuan, pays respects to Master."

Master Tongtian did not turn around. His calm voice carried over. "What you said before the myriad immortals today was rather bold."

Xuan Chuan's heart tightened. He knew the real matter had arrived. Maintaining his bowed posture, he said in a deep voice, "This disciple is terrified.

Yet the doubts in my heart are like a bone lodged in my throat. I cannot rest without speaking them. If I have given offense, I beg Master to punish me."

"Punish you?" Master Tongtian slowly turned, his gaze falling upon Xuan Chuan. That gaze seemed capable of piercing through every disguise and reaching straight to one's origin.

"You even withstood a palm strike from me. Are you still afraid of punishment?"

Xuan Chuan lowered his head. "This disciple would not dare. That day, Master showed mercy, and this disciple was fortunate."

"Fortunate?" Master Tongtian neither confirmed nor denied it. He walked over to a meditation cushion and sat down, gesturing for Xuan Chuan to sit as well.

"Tell me. You have been setting the sect's affairs in order for some time now. You whipped Ma Yuan, confined Horned Head and Spirit Tooth, and persuaded Gongming and the Three Xiao Sisters.

Now, before the myriad immortals, you have expounded upon your path of 'Clearing the Root.' What exactly have you seen? Or rather... what have you deduced?"

This time, his gaze held scrutiny, along with the faintest trace of inquiry.

Xuan Chuan's previous displays, especially the aura of unpredictable change brought by The One That Escaped, meant Master Tongtian could no longer regard him as an ordinary Golden Immortal disciple.

Xuan Chuan knew this was the crucial moment to lay his cards on the table. He had to offer more compelling reasoning, yet he could not directly reveal the Investiture of the Gods.

He took a deep breath and drew upon the power of The One That Escaped and the Jade Disc Fragment, lending his words an added air of mystery and credibility.

"Master sees clearly." Xuan Chuan carefully chose his words. "While this disciple was in seclusion, my soul somehow came into contact with a place...

The Chaos Origin Grounds, where I glimpsed fragments of shattered and chaotic heavenly secrets. Though incomplete, the scenes within made this disciple's hair stand on end."

He raised his head and met Master Tongtian's gaze without retreating. "This disciple saw that Tribulation Qi did not arise from nothing. Behind it... there are those pulling the strings!"

Master Tongtian's eyes narrowed slightly. "Those pulling the strings?"

"Yes!" Xuan Chuan's tone was certain. "This disciple saw the Jade Clarity Immortal Light of Kunlun Mountains and the golden Buddhist radiance of the Western Teachings faintly intertwining, their aim... directed straight at our Golden Turtle Island!

In the eyes of certain beings, the flourishing spectacle of our Jiejiao, where myriad immortals came to pay homage, was not a sign of prosperity. It was... a source of Karmic Force that urgently needed to be purged, a stumbling block obstructing the rise of their teachings!"

His words practically named Primordial Heavenly Venerable and the two Saints of the Western Teachings as the ones secretly plotting against Jiejiao!

Master Tongtian's expression remained composed, but the aura around him stirred slightly. It was not as though he had noticed nothing. The Three Pure Ones had long since gone their separate ways, their ideals irreconcilable.

He knew something of the ambitions of the two Saints of the Western Teachings as well. He simply had never imagined they would join hands to lay such a deadly trap for Jiejiao.

"Do you know what crime it is to slander a Saint?" Master Tongtian's voice turned cold.

"This disciple is willing to guarantee it with my life!" Xuan Chuan declared resolutely. "Within the heavenly secret fragments this disciple saw, there were also vague scenes of Jiejiao disciples being plotted against, converted, and even sacrificed as chess pieces! That Long-Eared Dingguang Immortal..."

He stopped at the right moment. He did not directly state that Long-Eared Dingguang Immortal would betray them, but the name he had mentioned was enough to set Master Tongtian thinking. Long-Eared Dingguang Immortal had always been somewhat two-faced; Master Tongtian knew that.

Silence fell over the hall. Only the faint glow of the revolving stars on the wall illuminated their faces.

After a long while, Master Tongtian slowly spoke. "Under the Heavenly Dao, even Saints must follow the mandate of heaven. Even if they have schemes, they still require an opportunity."

"Master, that opportunity is the Killing Tribulation!"

Xuan Chuan said urgently, "It is precisely because Jiejiao bears heavy Karmic Force and its disciples are a mixed lot that they have been given the best excuse and point of entry!

They need not act personally. They need only follow the Heavenly Dao and advance the Killing Tribulation, then borrow the power of the Heavenly Dao to cast Jiejiao into a state of eternal damnation!"

"So that is why you are so eager to set the sect's affairs in order and reduce its Karmic Force?" Master Tongtian looked at him.

"Yes! Only by cutting away the rot to cure the poison and clearing out the hidden dangers within

can Jiejiao's fortune become pure and its foundations secure, giving us the means to resist during the great tribulation! Then those hidden manipulators will have nowhere from which to draw strength!"

Xuan Chuan's eyes burned. "This is not retreat. It is for the sake of striking back more effectively, for preserving the life's work of Master and all of us!"

Master Tongtian fell silent once more, his fingers lightly tapping the edge of the meditation cushion as he clearly weighed the matter.

Though Xuan Chuan's words were shocking, their logic was not entirely impossible.

Especially when combined with some of Master Tongtian's own vague perceptions, and the aura of "unpredictable change" around Xuan Chuan that even he could not fully see through.

At last, Master Tongtian made his decision.

He raised a hand, and a stream of light flew toward Xuan Chuan, transforming into an ancient token engraved with the character "Jie," radiating a faint aura of the Saintly Dao.

"This is the 'Jie' Token."

Master Tongtian said evenly, "With this token, you may draw upon a portion of the non-core resources in Golden Turtle Island's treasury for... your rectification efforts.

You may also consult every text within the Scripture Repository apart from the core inheritances, including certain ancient secrets, formations, and miscellaneous studies."

Xuan Chuan was overjoyed! This was tangible support—resources and connections, or rather, intelligence!

"Furthermore," Master Tongtian's tone turned grave, "what you are doing is no longer some minor affair.

Now that you have entered the game, remember this well: when Saints contend, their moves are silent, yet perilous beyond measure."

His gaze was deep, as though it pierced through the palace and looked toward Kunlun and the west.

"Recently, I have sensed that lectures at Kunlun Mountains have become increasingly frequent, while Guangchengzi and the others have descended the mountain more often.

In the lands of the Western Teachings, Buddhist chants have also begun spreading eastward. It seems some of their disciples have entered the Southern Jambudvipa Continent and have been frequently... contacting certain peripheral disciples of our sect."

He looked at Xuan Chuan meaningfully. "Take care of yourself. Do not betray the authority I have granted you, and do not... fall too easily.

Though The One That Escaped is a variable, it is also easily envied by heaven and resented by others."

Xuan Chuan accepted the weighty "Jie" Token, feeling the authority and responsibility it contained, as well as his master's implicit approval and warning. He bowed deeply.

"This disciple will not fail Master's trust! I will surely seize that sliver of hope for Jiejiao!"