"I finally see it now. Some people treat their own junior brother worse than a stranger!"
"Even at a time like this, he can't so much as soften his tone?"
"Who knows how much oppression Senior Brother Tongtian suffered in the past."
"The Interception Sect has disbanded anyway. Why not join our Western Teachings, Senior Brother Tongtian?"
Jieyin and Zhunti traded remarks back and forth, even remembering to extend an olive branch to Tongtian.
But with every sentence they spoke,
Heavenly Venerable Yuanshi's expression darkened another shade.
Mocking him to his face was bad enough, but they even wanted to poach someone from their Mystic Gate.
Did they really think he was dead?
Yet Heavenly Venerable Yuanshi genuinely could not muster a single word of rebuttal.
Jieyin and Zhunti only grew more enthusiastic as they spoke.
"Senior Brother Tongtian, why bother being polite when you encounter someone like this in the future?"
"Tell us every last thing he's done. You spared his dignity, but he certainly never spared yours."
Of course, Tongtian knew Jieyin and Zhunti were trying to sow discord.
After all, the dust had yet to settle. Who knew what unexpected turns might arise?
He had no desire to become their tool, so he simply said nothing.
Little did he know that even his silence was a fault in Heavenly Venerable Yuanshi's eyes!
If Tongtian did not refute them, didn't that mean he agreed?
"Tongtian, is that truly what you think?"
This time, before Tongtian could speak, Jieyin beat him to it.
"Senior Brother Yuanshi, why react so strongly?"
"Senior Brother Tongtian hasn't said a single word."
"And why do you look so upset, Senior Brother Yuanshi? Why don't we hurry up and choose who will face the tribulation, so you can go back and rest sooner?"
The situation clearly favored the Two from the West.
Naturally, Jieyin wanted to settle things as soon as possible.
The longer the night dragged on, the more troublesome dreams it might bring!
Heavenly Venerable Yuanshi's face was flushed crimson.
Yet there was nothing he could do about the two of them.
Watching the three of them, Nuwa, who had been sitting to one side enjoying the show, finally could not hold back a laugh.
But she laughed only once before composing herself again, continuing to sit as serenely as an angler on her fishing platform.
Little did she know that Jieyin and Zhunti were both shameless rogues.
Now that Nuwa had entered the fray, they could hardly wait to pull her aboard their boat too.
Zhunti looked at Nuwa with a smile.
"I just saw you laugh, Junior Sister Nuwa. You must wholeheartedly agree with us?"
Seeing this, Jieyin smiled as well.
"Of course. Anyone who encounters someone like this would have to stay and enjoy the show!"
Seeing Zhunti and Jieyin start maligning him again, Heavenly Venerable Yuanshi finally lost control and slammed the table!
"Shut your mouths!"
Unfortunately, neither Jieyin nor Zhunti was easily cowed.
Jieyin even retreated several steps, clutching his chest.
"What's this? Are you angry, Senior Brother Yuanshi? Surely you aren't thinking of treating us the way you treated Senior Brother Tongtian?"
Zhunti hurriedly hid behind Jieyin as well.
"Senior Brother, what do we do? I'm so scared!"
Nuwa fought to suppress the upward curl of her lips and managed not to laugh aloud again.
Heavenly Venerable Yuanshi's lungs were almost bursting with rage.
Yet these two shameless rogues from the West insisted on making trouble here.
If they really managed to win Tongtian over, the Chan Sect might truly have to face the tribulation!
Besides, he understood Tongtian's temperament well enough.
Once this matter was over, he could go and offer him some proper words of comfort.
Wouldn't that put it all behind them?
They were brothers, after all. Surely they would not nurse a grudge overnight.
Compared with the Two from the West, his elder brothers were clearly more worthy of his trust.
Besides, as long as the three of them from the Mystic Gate worked together, wouldn't making the Western Teachings face the tribulation be a simple matter?
Thus, the most pressing task was still to get Tongtian to relent.
Heavenly Venerable Yuanshi looked at Tongtian again, his voice taking on a rare gentleness.
"Junior Brother, my methods in the past were indeed improper."
"But I truly had your best interests at heart. We of the Mystic Gate are one, and now, more than ever, we ought to work together with one heart."
"What do you think?"
Hearing that Heavenly Venerable Yuanshi still had not forgotten to woo Tongtian, even now,
the two from the Western Teachings were not the least bit worried.
They saw things far more clearly than Heavenly Venerable Yuanshi did.
This time, Heavenly Venerable Yuanshi had clearly incurred Tongtian's displeasure.
If Tongtian still helped the Mystic Gate deal with them, his brain would truly have to be waterlogged!
Thus, Jieyin and Zhunti quieted down instead.
They, too, wanted to wait for the dust to settle and return to their Western Teachings as soon as possible.
Everyone's gaze fell on Tongtian once more.
Only this time, Tongtian's tone rang out far more firmly.
"As for the investiture of the gods ceremony, I believe none is better suited than the Chan Sect!"
This time, Tongtian threw Heavenly Venerable Yuanshi's exact words straight back at him!
Meanwhile, on Golden Ao Island,
Lu Feng could not help applauding his teacher.
He had seen everything that happened inside Zixiao Palace with perfect clarity.
His teacher had never intended to let that scoundrel Heavenly Venerable Yuanshi gain an advantage.
Since Heavenly Venerable Yuanshi had dared stab their teacher in the back earlier, he had better be prepared to receive a stab in return now.
For the first time, Lu Feng felt that he had truly done the right thing by disbanding the Interception Sect!
Although training disciples was somewhat troublesome,
it had now allowed them to evade a calamity.
Moreover, because the Interception Sect had disbanded so suddenly, even Dao Ancestor Hongjun had failed to notice.
That was why it was now Heavenly Venerable Yuanshi's turn to suffer a great misfortune.
He just wondered how many Chan Sect disciples would remain this time.
Imagining the scene to come, Lu Feng could not help chuckling.
Strictly speaking, this Investiture of the Gods Tribulation had been triggered because the Chan Sect disciples had incurred a killing tribulation, compounded by Dao Ancestor Hongjun's intent to advance his own schemes and Haotian's request.
With all these parties pushing it forward, the Investiture of the Gods Tribulation had come into being.
But no matter how one looked at it, this calamity should have had nothing to do with their Interception Sect.
Yet these people wanted the Interception Sect to serve as their sacrificial scapegoat and toil for Great Emperor Haotian.
And that was already a relatively good outcome for the Jie Sect disciples.
What about those with worse outcomes?
Most had died during this calamity.
There were vast numbers of Jie Sect disciples, but only so many places on the Investiture of the Gods List.
The other disciples who could not make it onto the Investiture of the Gods List could only die in the Primordial World, with no one to collect their bodies.
Whenever he thought of how Heavenly Venerable Yuanshi and the others had brought all this about,
Lu Feng felt an especially deep sense of satisfaction now!
The Interception Sect had already disbanded. No one should even dream of dragging its disciples off to be sacrificial scapegoats!
If they needed someone to toil or face the tribulation, they could step up themselves.
Lu Feng settled his mind.
The scene before his eyes gradually began to fade.
There was naturally no longer any doubt about what would happen next.
His teacher was no fool.
They had already forced their way to his doorstep, and he was supposed to make way for them?
Before you continue