Tongtian had a headache.
But he also knew time waited for no one. Neither the Four Saints nor Hongjun would give him much time.
After all, Laozi had only one disciple, while Nuwa had none. The Primordial World owed the Western Teachings a great karmic debt, so they, too, could naturally stay out of the great tribulation of the Investiture of the Gods.
Only the Chan Sect and the Interception Sect were left to contend!
Since Yuanshi refused to let his Twelve Golden Immortals enter the tribulation, his only choice was to entrap Tongtian's Interception Sect.
Tongtian was no silver-tongued speaker, and Laozi had been egged on by Yuanshi.
On top of that, the Two Sages of the West kept jumping about and sowing discord to spread their teachings across the Primordial World.
The Interception Sect taught all without distinction. Its countless disciples were famed as ten thousand immortals paying court.
That naturally made it everyone's target.
Tongtian had to lose, and the Interception Sect had to scatter.
Otherwise...
Neither the Chan Sect nor the Western Teachings-not even the Heavenly Court-would have any hope of growing stronger.
The Interception Sect was a towering mountain blocking everyone's path.
It had to be moved!
Tongtian naturally knew all this. He understood that he had become everyone's enemy.
If he survived this tribulation, the Interception Sect would emerge from its cocoon as a butterfly and become the true foremost sect of the Primordial World.
If he could not, its only path was to vanish like smoke and scattered clouds.
But whatever lay ahead, he had to raise his cultivation as quickly as possible.
Taking out the three drops of Pangu's essence blood gifted by the system, Tongtian began refining them without the slightest hesitation.
Rumble!
The three drops of Pangu's essence blood entered his body and instantly erupted with boundless power. Threads of Great Way laws emerged, brimming with Pangu's insights into the Great Way of Power.
Gradually...
Tongtian began gaining new insights into the Great Way of Power and the Great Way of Primordial Unity.
He instinctively circulated the Nine Revolutions Heavenly Art. Together with the three drops of essence blood merging into him, his presence grew ever more vast and unfathomable, his majesty ever more intense.
Meanwhile, his own Heavenly Dao Sage fruition began to grow increasingly faint.
The entire cave abode dissolved into chaos, as though the Primordial World had yet to be created and heaven and earth had yet to separate.
Perhaps there were no Golden Lotuses Springing from the Earth or waves of celestial music like those accompanying a Heavenly Dao Sage's sermon, but that aura of chaos radiated weight and mystery, inspiring awe at a glance and chilling the heart with dread.
This was the power of the Great Way!
Tongtian immersed himself in cultivation, but his disciples knew nothing of it.
An atmosphere of panic now permeated every corner of Golden Ao Island.
At the center of Golden Ao Island stood a majestic hall.
Its beams were carved and its pillars painted, its lifelike exotic beasts radiating a boundless oppressive might.
Three great characters were carved above the hall's main entrance, releasing wisps of Dao resonance that bore down upon the nine heavens, the ten lands, and all the worlds.
Biyou Palace!
Tongtian's four direct disciples-Daoist Duobao, Golden Spirit Holy Mother, Wudang Holy Mother, and Turtle Spirit Holy Mother-had all gathered inside the hall.
"Senior Brother Duobao, what exactly is Master's situation right now?"
"I don't know either. Master hasn't sent us any word, but judging by that battle outside Golden Ao Island just now, he should have won."
"Our two martial uncles have gone too far, especially Martial Uncle Yuanshi! To keep his own disciples out of the Investiture of the Gods, he actually wants our brothers and sisters in the Interception Sect put on the list. Utterly outrageous!"
"We just don't know how Master is doing now. Our other brothers and sisters are all saying he's gravely wounded, and they're terrified. Our Interception Sect has no guiding pillar at the moment. If this drags on, chaos is bound to erupt!"
As his three junior sisters spoke, Daoist Duobao's face filled with fury, and he shattered a table with a slap.
"They're all a bunch of bastards!" Daoist Duobao said coldly. "Even if Master is gravely wounded, it was to keep our Interception Sect off the Investiture of the Gods List."
"What have we cultivators to fear from death? Even if Master loses, I, Duobao, will take down one or two of the Chan Sect's Golden Immortals even if it kills me."
"With no word from Master, I, Duobao, as the sect master's foremost disciple, have the authority to take temporary command of the Interception Sect."
"Gather every Jie Sect Disciple. I have something to say!"
The other three naturally had no objections. A short while later, countless Interception Sect Immortals had gathered outside the great hall of Biyou Palace.
Celestial spiritual energy soared skyward. Each of them radiated their own oppressive might, while treasures shone in a multitude of colors.
This was why everyone else feared the Interception Sect.
The Interception Sect was far too terrifying.
Ten thousand immortals paying court was no mere empty boast.
Without the great tribulation of the Investiture of the Gods, no one could shake the Interception Sect's position.
Seeing everyone gathered, Duobao wasted no words and poured out everything in his heart.
"Brothers and sisters, Master fought the Four Saints for our sake, regardless of the cost. So what if he was defeated?"
"If Master dares to wage war against the Four Saints, do we Interception Sect Immortals lack that same courage?"
"What is there to fear in death? For Master's sake, I, Duobao, will tear our enemies apart even if I die in battle. Kill one, and I've broken even. Kill two, and I've made a profit."
"For Master, I, Duobao, dare to do it. What about you?"
Roar!
At Duobao's words, all the Interception Sect Immortals roared.
Duobao did not fear death. When had they ever feared it?
They remembered how, as creatures clad in scales and armor, they had once been scorned by every great sect. Those sects had disdained even speaking to them, let alone teaching them.
Only Tongtian had taught all without distinction, granting them a slender thread of hope and a chance to glimpse what the Great Way truly was.
Every one of them was grateful for Tongtian's kindness.
And now, for all their sakes, Tongtian had dared to fight the Four Saints to the death.
Just as Duobao had said, their master Tongtian had shown no fear. So what if he was gravely wounded now?
As Interception Sect disciples, even if they died, they had to drag a few people from the Chan Sect down with them.
With Duobao's speech, the fear and panic throughout the Interception Sect were swept clean away.
All the Interception Sect disciples stood united, their shared resolve forming an unbreakable wall. Boundless killing intent poured from them, as though they were ready to seek out the Chan Sect that very instant and fight them to the death.
Their roars shook the heavens.
Even Tongtian, who had just emerged from seclusion, sensed what was happening.
By now, Tongtian had completely refined the three drops of Pangu's essence blood.
He himself had been formed from Pangu's essence, energy, and spirit, and could address Pangu as Father God. Naturally, Pangu's essence blood did not reject him.
Thus, everything had gone smoothly.
His innate foundation had now surpassed Taishang's and Yuanshi's. With the Nine Revolutions Heavenly Art in particular, he had already begun advancing toward Primordial Unity Great Luo.
His current Heavenly Dao Sage status had become a burden to him.
After all, the Great Way and the Heavenly Dao were two different things.
The Heavenly Dao stood beneath the Great Way.
At present, Hongjun alone cultivated the fruition of Primordial Unity.
The so-called severing of the Three Corpses was nothing but a deception.
Tongtian had now reunited his Three Corpses as one and fully switched to cultivating the Nine Revolutions Heavenly Art.
Through this cultivation session, Tongtian had separated himself from his Heavenly Dao Sage fruition and gradually severed all karmic ties.
Now, only one final thread remained.
Just then, he heard the commotion the Interception Sect Immortals were making outside.
A brief divination made everything clear.
Originally, he had been deeply displeased with Daoist Duobao, to the point of wanting an excuse to kill him.
After all, this very Daoist Duobao would later defect to the Western Teachings and become Buddha Tathagata, the Present Buddha.
But the sight before him made Tongtian set that thought aside for the time being.
People's thoughts changed with the passage of time.
Perhaps Tongtian's defeat in the previous life had driven Daoist Duobao into utter despair, leading him to seek refuge with the Western Teachings.
But now that he had transmigrated here in this life, he would naturally change all of it.
Before you continue