Forcing the Four Saints to Retreat

"Slash!"

Tongtian's face remained calm, but hatred seethed in his eyes, and killing intent filled heaven and earth.

The Three Pure Ones had once been one. Ever since their birth in the Primordial World, they had cultivated together, entered the Zixiao Palace together, founded great sects together, and become Sages of heaven and earth together...

With this slash, the brotherhood of countless epochs vanished like smoke and clouds.

Blood-red sword energy filled heaven and earth, and Tongtian held nothing back of the Power of Primordial Chaos remaining within him.

Every stream, every strand.

All of it poured into the Immortal-Slaying Sword Formation.

Boom!

The Immortal-Slaying Sword Formation erupted with dazzling bloody light. Within it, the myriad heavens and worlds could faintly be seen reflected before it finally became a streak of blood-red light, instantly crushing the vast sea of lightning manifested by the Pangu Banner like rotten wood and dry weeds.

"This... how is this possible?"

"However powerful the Immortal-Slaying Sword Formation may be, Lord Hongjun himself said that four Sages could match it!"

"This power... it must rival the God-Slaying Spear, surely?"

Horror filled Yuanshi's face, his scalp tingling as he immediately turned to flee.

I cannot withstand it!

That was his only thought.

Not just Yuanshi-even Taishang Laozi and the Two Sages of the West wore expressions of terror.

The power Tongtian unleashed at that moment filled them all with dread.

But fast as Yuanshi was, the Immortal-Slaying Sword Formation, infused with the Power of Primordial Chaos, was faster!

Almost before Yuanshi could react, it slammed into him, sending his blood and vital energy churning and setting his five organs ablaze. Even the three flowers above his head wavered, showing signs of imminent collapse.

Such might struck terror into heaven and earth.

For cultivators, even Heavenly Dao Sages, the three flowers above their heads were their most vital possession.

Their Great Dao and all the laws they had comprehended lay within those three flowers.

If the three flowers collapsed, even a Heavenly Dao Sage would fall.

After all, the laws of the Heavenly Dao were subordinate to the laws of the Great Dao.

The power Tongtian wielded now, however, was the Power of Primordial Chaos, formed from the gathered laws of the Great Dao.

It might not overcome four Sages, but a lone Yuanshi was nowhere near enough to stand against it.

One sword strike fell, and Yuanshi was gravely wounded.

Yet that dazzling strike had also exhausted all of Tongtian's Power of Primordial Chaos.

He was now a bolt at the end of its flight.

But the Four Saints did not know that!

Though inwardly Tongtian was panicking like an old dog, outwardly he remained as calm as drifting clouds. With a wave, he drew the Immortal-Slaying Sword Formation into his sleeve, then looked at the Four Saints before him with indifference and disdain.

"From this day forth, I, Tongtian, sever my robes and all ties of brotherhood with my two elder brothers. We shall never have dealings again, even unto death!"

"For the sake of our friendship over countless epochs, I will spare your lives this once."

"The next time we meet, we will be enemies, not friends!"

"As for you, fellow Daoists Jieyin and Zhunti, I will remember today's kindness. You two had best be careful next time."

"Farewell!"

With that, he swept his sleeve and turned into a streak of rainbow light, returning to his cave abode on Golden Ao Island in an instant.

Then he waved his hand, and countless laws of the Great Dao emerged. The entirety of Golden Ao Island was swallowed by boundless white mist, vanishing completely from heaven and earth.

Golden Ao Island.

As the home of Tongtian, a Heavenly Dao Sage, how could it possibly be an ordinary island?

Its location was not fixed. It wandered through the endless void, only occasionally appearing upon the East Sea.

As its master, Tongtian could control the island completely.

Unless Hongjun, who controlled the Heavenly Dao, divined its location, even Taishang Laozi or Fuxi, the master of the Eight Trigrams among the Three Human Emperors, would struggle to determine Golden Ao Island's exact position.

That was why later generations said that the finest grotto-heavens and blessed lands could only be seen by those with great providence.

After Tongtian left, the Four Saints stood above the East Sea with ugly expressions, all silent.

Before coming here, none of them had imagined that Tongtian would be so overbearing, or that his strength would be so great.

Even with all four of them taking action, they had ended up in this state.

Utterly bedraggled. What a disgrace!

They knew perfectly well that, although this place appeared deserted, the eyes of countless mighty beings throughout the Primordial World were fixed upon it.

Who knew how people like Nuwa were laughing at them behind their backs right now?

"Everyone, we must hurry to the Zixiao Palace and ask Master Hongjun to uphold justice!"

"Indeed! Senior Brother Tongtian is an utter bastard!"

"He actually dared to tear up the Investiture of the Gods List decreed by Teacher Hongjun. He deserves death!"

"Exactly, exactly! We must bring a proper complaint against Tongtian and have Teacher Hongjun punish him severely!"

"Those within our great sects all possess tremendous fortune. How could they enter the Investiture of the Gods List? Only Junior Brother Tongtian teaches all without distinction. Most of his followers are born of wetness and eggs, wretches with scant blessings and worthless lives. They deserve to enter that Investiture of the Gods List."

After Taiqing Laozi spoke, the Two Sages of the West chimed in one after another, both sowing discord.

The three Sages had to go their separate ways, or the Western Teachings would never be able to spread their faith throughout the Primordial World.

But Laozi's expression remained impassive, and he gave no response.

Clearly, he already regretted getting involved in this wretched affair.

He only had one disciple, after all. There had been no need for him to get involved, had there?

Yuanshi was his junior brother, but was Tongtian not his junior brother too?

Now look what had happened. Not only had he lost face, but he had also parted ways with his third brother for good.

Worst of all, he had gained nothing whatsoever. The thought filled Taishang Laozi with fury.

He was in no mood to exchange nonsense with the Two Sages of the West. With a cold snort, he headed straight for the Zixiao Palace.

He, Taishang Laozi, was no fool. How could he fail to see what the Two Sages of the West were plotting?

Yuanshi's expression was the worst of all.

After all, he was the most severely injured, and the three flowers above his head had begun to collapse.

He had no mind to consider anything else now, so he said flatly, "My injuries are serious. I must return and cultivate for a time."

"Farewell!"

With that, he ignored Jieyin and Zhunti and returned straight to his Jade Void Palace.

At the sight, the Two Sages of the West exchanged a glance.

"Elder Brother, does this mean our plan succeeded?"

"Never mind all that. From this day onward, the Three Pure Ones have gone their separate ways. That can only benefit our Western Teachings."

"True. Let us go to the Zixiao Palace first and see what Teacher Hongjun has to say."

After a brief exchange, the two turned into streaks of rainbow light and headed straight for the Zixiao Palace.

Meanwhile, within the largest cave abode on Golden Ao Island.

Tongtian wore a grave expression. He calculated on his fingers, and only after sensing that the Four Saints had left did he relax a little.

This is hard!

He had been an ordinary person in his previous life, yet now he faced a predicament like this.

Though he appeared to be a Heavenly Dao Sage now, it still gave him a terrible headache.

He had destroyed the Investiture of the Gods List and even forced the Four Saints to retreat, but all he had achieved was a delay.

After all, the Investiture Calamity was ordained by the Heavenly Dao. Even with the Investiture of the Gods List destroyed, it was hardly a problem for Hongjun, who had already merged with the Dao and controlled part of the Heavenly Dao.

Not to mention that the Heavenly Dao would cooperate in this matter.

If the Investiture of the Gods List was destroyed, couldn't they simply make another?

What should I do?

Tongtian's brows knitted tightly, and his mind began racing.

As he recalled all the events of the Investiture of the Gods List known to later generations, even with a system, Tongtian felt deeply uneasy.

He absolutely could not accept Tongtian's original fate.

But as things stood, although the Four Saints had retreated in defeat, this clearly was not over.

Hongjun will definitely question me. What should I say when the time comes?