Wen Zhong had little desire to deal with Shen Gongbao.
The two had indeed been good friends, but that had been during the honeymoon between the Chan Sect and the Interception Sect.
Now that the Chan Sect and the Interception Sect were at odds, they were enemies.
Personal friendship had to come second to the struggle between their teachings. Wen Zhong understood that perfectly well.
Had Tongtian not transmigrated, perhaps Jiang Ziya would have become the one chosen to carry out the investiture of the gods, and Shen Gongbao would have devoted himself wholeheartedly to helping the Interception Sect. Then they might have been able to main-
-tain their friendship.
But now, that was no longer possible.
Perhaps once the investiture of the gods was over, they could go back to being good friends.
But for now?
Wen Zhong could not be bothered with him.
After all, with the Chan Sect and the Interception Sect at odds, too much contact between them would not be good.
It could easily lead to misunderstandings.
But just as Wen Zhong began considering how to get Shen Gongbao to leave,
he suddenly received an unexpected message from Tongtian.
"Wen Zhong, see if you can find some way to coax that fellow Shen Gongbao onto Golden Ao Island."
Wen Zhong was rather bewildered by those words.
He could not fathom what the Sect Leader was thinking.
Why did he want Shen Gongbao coaxed onto Golden Ao Island?
Wen Zhong truly could not understand it, but since Tongtian had given the order, he simply had to obey, whatever the reason.
"Brother Shen Gongbao, if you have nothing else to do, why not visit Golden Ao Island?"
"The friends you're looking for are all on Golden Ao Island now."
"Although I don't know the details, given how urgently our Sect Leader summoned them, I imagine he intends to expound on the Dao."
"After all, with the Investiture Calamity approaching, our Sect Leader probably wants his disciples to gain more means of preserving their lives and improve their cultivation."
"Since you're looking for those friends anyway, you could listen to our Sect Leader expound on the Dao while you're there. You'd benefit quite a bit."
"I'm still very busy here, so I won't be entertaining you."
Wen Zhong racked his brains and pondered for a moment before finally coming up with that speech.
Even as he spoke, however, his expression remained dark, his tone unhurried and faintly cold.
For one thing, Wen Zhong naturally had a stern face. He was serious and rarely smiled, so asking him to hoodwink someone really was asking a little too much.
Moreover, he knew Shen Gongbao was clever. If he suddenly became warm and friendly, Shen Gongbao would certainly notice something amiss, and the deception would fail.
That being the case, he might as well keep his cold expression.
Shen Gongbao, meanwhile, was also somewhat bewildered.
A sage expounding on the Dao was indeed a powerful temptation.
Despite having belonged to the Chan Sect for so long, he had only heard the Primordial Heavenly Venerable expound on the Dao once.
That single occasion had allowed him to break straight through from a heavenly immortal to a true immortal.
The chance to hear a sage expound on the Dao was rare.
Naturally, Shen Gongbao did not want to miss it.
The problem was that the Chan Sect and the Interception Sect were now at odds. Although he could still address Tongtian as his martial uncle...
At such a critical juncture, he was genuinely afraid something might happen.
But the chance to hear a sage expound on the Dao might not come once in a thousand years, and Shen Gongbao was tempted to take the gamble.
"Well, wouldn't that be a little inappropriate?"
"I am a disciple of the Chan Sect, after all. With our two sects facing off like this, I'm afraid Martial Uncle Tongtian might beat me!"
"If it weren't for the Investiture Calamity, I'd certainly go!"
Wen Zhong remained impassive in the face of Shen Gongbao's complaints, showing no inclination to respond.
He knew Shen Gongbao was tempted.
Otherwise, he would never have said so much.
But Wen Zhong also knew he could not keep fanning the flames, or Shen Gongbao would notice something was wrong.
Thus, he simply closed his eyes on his meditation cushion, assuming the posture of someone about to cultivate, and spoke in an unhurried tone.
"That's your business. Decide for yourself."
"But our Sect Leader teaches all without discrimination. Everyone in the Three Realms knows that. Would he care that you belong to the Chan Sect?"
"Besides, you, Shen Gongbao, might count as someone among the third-generation outer disciples of our two sects, but to a sage, you're no more than an ant."
"Would our Sect Leader really concern himself with a mere Shen Gongbao?"
"I'm going to cultivate. I still have official business to attend to in Chaoge this afternoon."
"Take care. I won't see you out!"
With that, Wen Zhong began cultivating, showing no intention of paying Shen Gongbao any further attention.
Shen Gongbao, on the other hand, was no longer in a hurry.
But seeing Wen Zhong's attitude, he understood that he would probably lose this good friend until the Investiture Calamity ended.
In any case, it would be difficult to plot an enemy's defection in such a short time.
Then why not take this opportunity to hear a sage expound on the Dao first?
With a little luck, I might even break straight through to profound immortal.
As for the relationship between the Chan Sect and the Interception Sect, that doesn't matter. I have plenty of friends in the Interception Sect.
Besides, Wen Zhong was right. As a sage, even if Tongtian noticed me, he probably wouldn't bother with such an insignificant figure.
Having convinced himself, Shen Gongbao set off straight for Golden Ao Island without hesitation.
He was afraid of missing this rare chance to hear a sage expound on the Dao.
Nothing unexpected happened.
After nearly half a year of travel, he finally found the entrance to Golden Ao Island amid the vast East Sea.
Shen Gongbao had originally intended to announce his name and the reason for his visit, but when he saw that the great formation had not been activated, he made his own way-
-inside the formation.
The moment he appeared, he found himself surrounded.
"Who are you, and what are you doing at our Interception Sect?"
"My name is Shen Gongbao, a third-generation disciple of the Chan Sect. I've come to visit friends."
"Take him to see Senior Brother Duobao first."
"Understood!"
Naturally, Shen Gongbao had no objection to the Interception Sect disciples' procedure.
Of course, he would not have dared object, either!
After all, this was the Interception Sect, not the Chan Sect.
About half a day later, Shen Gongbao finally met Daoist Duobao.
Daoist Duobao said little about Shen Gongbao's reason for coming. He merely waved a hand and let him go spend time with his friends in the Interception Sect.
Only after dealing with this matter did Daoist Duobao go to the secluded chamber where Tongtian cultivated.
After reporting what had happened, he could not help asking,
"Master, why did you allow this member of the Chan Sect onto our Golden Ao Island?"
"This fellow has little ability, but that tongue of his is thoroughly unpleasant. He's also friends with many people in our Interception Sect. Leaving someone like him outside to stir up wind and rain makes me very uneasy. Better to keep him right under our noses."
"But he'll leave eventually, won't he?"
"No, he won't. Until the Investiture Calamity ends, people may enter Golden Ao Island, but no one may leave!"
Meanwhile, Shen Gongbao had no idea he had been duped.
Instead, he was delighted.
With directions from others, he had finally found the friend he had been longing to see.
Zhao Gongming.
"Brother Gongming, it's been so long! It feels as though three autumns have passed!"
"You have no idea. Just to find you for a chat, I first went to Mount Emei Luofu Cave, then rushed over to the Three Immortal Islands."
"In the end, it was Wen Zhong who told me you'd already returned to Golden Ao Island."
"So here I am."
Zhao Gongming sat cross-legged on a meditation cushion. After hearing Shen Gongbao's words, his expression became one of utter astonishment.
Then the look he gave Shen Gongbao began to turn decidedly strange.
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