Just as Saint Jieyin was brewing his vicious plot to overthrow the human race high above the Nine Heavens...
Elsewhere.
Inside Biyou Palace on Golden Ao Island, home of the Interception Sect.
Immortal mist curled through the air, and Dao Rhythm arose naturally.
Sect Master Tongtian, Nuwa, Houtu, and Gu Changqing sat around a white jade table, sipping tea and discussing the Dao.
The atmosphere had been peaceful and serene.
With ten thousand immortals paying homage, the Interception Sect's fortune flourished. With an unfathomable being like Gu Changqing presiding over it, everything prospered.
Sect Master Tongtian's hearty laughter rang out from time to time. Houtu wore a tranquil expression, and whenever she spoke, every word was a pearl containing supreme truths.
Only Gu Changqing remained as languid as ever.
He reclined on a cloud couch, holding a Purple Gold Gourd and taking intermittent swigs of Immortal Brew.
His eyes were hazy with a trace of drunkenness, and he seemed utterly uninterested in the three Sages' discussion of the Dao.
Tongtian and the others had long since grown accustomed to his behavior and thought nothing of it.
Yet, at a certain moment...
"Hmm?"
Nuwa's hand, holding her Jade Cup, paused slightly in midair.
The peaceful aura around her, harmonized with all things in Heaven and Earth, showed a barely perceptible disturbance.
It lasted only an instant, but how could it escape Tongtian and Houtu?
"Junior Sister Nuwa, what is it?"
Sect Master Tongtian stopped speaking and looked over with concern.
Houtu also cast her a questioning glance.
At their level, every movement and every thought accorded with the Heavenly Dao. They would never become unsettled without cause.
If they did, something momentous was bound to happen!
Nuwa slowly set down her Jade Cup, a rare gravity appearing on her graceful, regal