Renouncing His Sage Dao Fruit

Boom!

As Tongtian spoke, Kui Ox let out a roar. Ten thousand rays of rosy light shone from his body, and purple qi rose around him, lending him an incomparable divine majesty.

Kui Ox possessed profound karmic fortune, and now, as he assumed human form, it instantly multiplied several times over.

After all, assuming human form meant opportunity.

As the saying went, once wind and cloud met, the dragon would rise. By assuming human form, Kui Ox had broken free of his original fate.

From this day forward, he would no longer be merely a mount.

Precisely for that reason, Kui Ox's karmic fortune naturally soared countless times over in an instant.

A short while later, Kui Ox fully transformed into a towering, muscular man eight feet tall.

He was a burly man with a completely bald head.

He wore animal skins, his head was covered in tattoos, and a ring hung from his nose.

Though he merely stood there quietly, anyone could sense the towering, blood-soaked baleful aura surrounding him.

Yet despite that overwhelming baleful aura, his karmic fortune remained mighty and abundant.

"Thank you for bestowing this art upon me, Master!" Kui Ox knelt and solemnly kowtowed three times.

He truly was grateful to Tongtian. Otherwise, he could only have remained a mount for the rest of his life.

After all these years, he had finally endured his way to freedom.

Tongtian nodded, then said, "From this day forward, I bestow upon you the name Zhou Kui!"

"Zhou Kui thanks you for the name, Master!" Zhou Kui hurriedly replied.

Tongtian wasted no words. "From this day forward, you shall oversee the Punishment Hall."

"Within the Interception Sect, you shall be responsible for punishing anyone who harbors filth and corruption or commits wicked deeds."

"Remember, do not disappoint me."

Zhou Kui hurriedly said, "I shall obey your decree, Master!"

Only after settling all of this did Tongtian say calmly, "Next, there is only one final matter."

Immediately afterward.

Under everyone's bewildered gazes, Tongtian flew straight out of the main hall of Biyou Palace. He stood high in the firmament, then shouted.

"I, Tongtian, hereby renounce my Heavenly Dao Sage Dao Fruit! Let heaven and earth bear witness!"

Boom!

With Tongtian's shout, a great formless saber manifested directly within his sea of consciousness and thunderously severed the last strand of karmic connection between him and the Heavenly

Dao.

Then Tongtian's Heavenly Dao Sage Dao Fruit instantly flew out of his body. Only after rising to the summit of the firmament did it shatter with a thunderous explosion.

It turned into countless streams of light and vanished completely between heaven and earth.

The instant the Heavenly Dao Sage Dao Fruit left his body, Tongtian sensed that he was beginning to become incompatible with the world of the Primordial World.

In the past, he could freely command the spiritual qi of heaven and earth, but now doing so had become incredibly difficult.

Yet Tongtian did not care in the slightest.

He had now switched to cultivating the Nine Revolutions Heavenly Art, and all the power within him had long since transformed into the power of primordial chaos. Though he could no longer readily command the spiritual qi of heaven and earth, as long as he avoided a drawn-out battle, he had no fear of the Four Saints joining forces.

Even if he fought a drawn-out battle, he would not fight it upon the lands of the Primordial World.

If he went directly beyond the heavens, the power of primordial chaos filled every corner. There, Tongtian would have no fear even if all six sages joined forces.

Of course, if Hongjun took action, Tongtian still would not be his match.

Thus, in the Primordial World as it stood, aside from Hongjun, there were only the deeply concealed Demon Lord Luohu and certain gods and demons who seldom took action...

As for the other sages, Tongtian feared none of them in single combat.

The Heavenly Court.

The Jade Emperor Haotian and the Queen Mother Yaochi were discussing their next move in the empty Heavenly Court.

When they suddenly heard Tongtian's oath and witnessed the Heavenly Dao Sage Dao Fruit shatter immediately afterward, they were utterly dumbfounded.

They could not understand it.

What was wrong with Tongtian? Why would he willingly shatter his Heavenly Dao Sage Dao Fruit?

This was something everyone yearned for but could never obtain.

"Haotian, Saint Tongtian, he..." Yaochi could not help saying.

Haotian was equally bewildered. Only after a moment did he sneer. "Master Hongjun and the Four Saints probably pushed him so hard that he snapped."

Yaochi smiled as well. "There was no helping it. With ten thousand immortals paying homage to the Interception Sect, it had long since become a thorn in everyone's eye and a splinter in their flesh."

At this point, Yaochi's heart overflowed with envy, jealousy, and resentment.

The Heavenly Court she and Haotian ruled had only two or three cats, big and small, to its name.

Meanwhile, ten thousand immortals paid homage to the Interception Sect. It looked more like the Heavenly Court than the Heavenly Court itself...

By contrast, their genuine Heavenly Court looked like a shoddy counterfeit.

"Hmph, I would welcome more of this sort of thing."

Haotian could not help saying, "It would be best if all six sages renounced their Sage Dao Fruits. That would spare our Heavenly Court a great deal of worry."

Wa Huang Palace.

Nuwa reclined against her spacious seat, gazing at the empty Wa Huang Palace. No one knew what she was thinking.

But when she sensed Tongtian renouncing his Sage Dao Fruit, she was first stunned, then scornful.

"Tongtian really is useless. The Four Saints put a little pressure on him, and he actually renounced his Sage Dao Fruit."

"Don't you know that once you renounce your Sage Dao Fruit, the immortals of your Interception Sect will meet an even worse end?"

"Idiot!"

After paying it a little attention, Nuwa could no longer be bothered with the matter.

After all, the great tribulation of the investiture of the gods had little to do with her. She hardly had any disciples.

Zixiao Palace.

Hongjun reclined high in the ninefold heavens, his expression vast and unfathomable. Though he appeared to be sitting there, no one could sense even a trace of his presence.

It was as though he did not exist at all.

This was the terrifying aspect of Hongjun's union with the Dao, his body merged with the Heavenly Dao.

Suddenly.

At the very instant Tongtian renounced his Sage Dao Fruit, Hongjun's eyes snapped open.

As his eyes opened, it was as though primordial chaos had first parted. The brilliant light spilling from them resembled the very first ray of light in existence.

Terrifying, boundless, dreadful!

"Teacher..."

"What happened? Why would Teacher...?"

"No, something momentous has happened in the Primordial World. Let me divine what it is!"

Seeing Hongjun's expression change, the Four Saints instantly understood that something momentous had happened in the Primordial World.

They each began divining, and immediately, all their expressions changed drastically.

Tongtian had renounced his Sage Dao Fruit.

Wasn't this joke going too far?

"Now the Three Pure Ones no longer live up to their name." Taishang Laozi could not help shaking his head.

Yuanshi, however, wore a sly smile and said disdainfully, "Who can he blame? If Tongtian hadn't insisted on accepting those beasts clad in scales and armor, with scant fortune and no destined affinity, how could the qi of tribulation have blinded him into doing such a thing?"

As for the Two Sages of the West, they exchanged a glance and nearly laughed aloud.

Their plan had succeeded!

The great tribulation of the investiture of the gods had not even begun, yet one sage had already been stripped of his status. The Interception Sect was finished now.

All they needed to do next was maneuver things properly and ensure the Chan Sect suffered even heavier losses. Then their Western Teachings would have practically no difficulty taking control of the Primordial World.

"Bastard!"

Hongjun let out a furious curse, his expression utterly dark. With a wave of his hand, Tongtian, who was still in the Primordial World, felt an immense pulling force descend upon him.

It seemed intent on dragging him somewhere.

If he wished, he could indeed resist this pulling force.

But Tongtian smiled and made no attempt to resist.

He knew very well that at this critical juncture, the only person who would act-and possessed the ability to act-was Hongjun.

Since he would have to face him sooner or later, there was no need to resist.

More importantly, Tongtian was not yet a match for Hongjun, who controlled the Heavenly Dao. Under these circumstances, showing weakness when necessary was crucial.